Planning Board denies remediation plan for vacant former St. Patrick’s School at 80 Woodland Ave

The Village of Catskill Planning Board denied approval of a remediation plan for the vacant former St. Patrick’s School at 80 Woodland Ave while noting the plan provides practical guidance for the codes enforcement officer to secure the property.

Attorney T.J. Ruane, representing property owner Dennis Frascello, outlined neighbor complaints including overgrown shrubbery, broken windows and indoor lighting left on overnight. Chairman Gil Bagnell told the Board "New York State law requires windows on vacant buildings to be boarded up" and said the owner’s proposed lighting would meet code if it remained "below 3000 degrees Kelvin, was down‑lighted, fully cutoff, and did not spill over the property boundaries." He also emphasized that the proposed improvements "were not a step toward Mr. Frascello’s prior proposal to convert the school into apartments," which had been denied because of R‑1 zoning restrictions.

Key elements the owner agreed to include were trimming and mowing, removing broken Venetian blinds, boarding windows, eliminating interior lights left on overnight, and installing security cameras. Despite those elements, the Board voted to deny formal approval of the presented plan; minutes and a vote tally were not specified in the transcript. Several board members nevertheless said the package offered reasonable compromises that the codes officer could use to secure the property. The Board and Village Attorney Wayne Thompson proposed a follow‑up meeting among the owner, his attorney and Chairman Bagnell to finalize details for enforcement and remediation.