‘We have missed the boat’
Concert barge again appears headed to Florida, leader of local effort says
KINGSTON, N.Y. » The on-again, offagain attempt to bring a floating concert hall to the city’s waterfront appears to be off again. Less than a week after saying there would be a “renewed push” to have Kingston become the new home of the Point Counterpoint II, effort organizer Peter Wetzler said the vessel won’t be coming.
In a Monday email to supporters, Wetzler, a Kingston resident and composer, wrote: “I just wanted to let you all know that Robert Boudreau (the owner of the vessel) called me yesterday to say that he didn’t want me to continue to pursue bringing the Point Counterpoint II to Kingston as he now has a firm commitment with money on the table from [buyers in] Florida for $500K, plus towing and restora-
tion, and solid backing from state and local authorities.
“Because I had nothing immediately tangible to counter, it appears that we have missed the boat once
again — pun intended,” Wetzler wrote.
Wetzler said in December 2017 that the Point Counterpoint II — a barge-like watercraft that’s 195 feet long and opens like a clam shell to reveal a concert stage — had been sold by Boudreau to a consortium of businesspeople in Florida. But last
week, in announcing his renewed push to bring the vessel to Kingston, he said the Florida deal had fallen through and the vessel was up for grabs again. Now, though, it appears the Florida deal will come to fruition after all.
Wetzler began his effort to bring the Point Counterpoint
II to Kingston in July 2017, but the cost was a hurdle that proved to be insurmountable. At the time, Wetzler said the asking price was $2 million.
Boudreau, the founder of the American Wind Symphony Orchestra, told the Chicago Tribune last summer that Kingston would
be “a perfect place” for the Point Counterpoint II because the community is “going through a very creative time.”
The Tribune said Kingston emerged as a likely location to save the vessel from the scrap yard after cellist Yo-Yo Ma campaigned to preserve it. Ma’s plea drew
the attention of Wetzler.
The Point Counterpoint II currently is in dry dock in Illinois.
Boudreau said previously that there had been inquiries about the Point Counterpoint II from France, England and other American cities, including Buffalo.