Don’t blame NYC residents for changes in Woodstock

Dear Editor:

“Welcome to Woodstock! Unless you’re from New York City; then come here for a day and buy tie-dye shirts then get out!”

Woodstock will never be the same? Letter writer Jan Halaska (“Woodstock will never be the same,” March 31, 2021) is absolutely right. But we don’t chalk up that conclusion to the fact it’s hard to find a contractor or the hippies are all fading away.

First, let’s ask ourselves

WHY Woodstock is a destination? Certainly not because of a concert that wasn’t held here or a yellow bird in the Peanuts gang. No, Woodstock, you are not made up of 90% boutiques and scads of locally owned gift shops and restaurants because locals are jonesing to buy a new wind chime each week. Tourists do that. Tourists keep the town and its locally owned businesses alive and thriving.

This attitude of misdirected aggression toward New York City transplants most likely spurned from a bad run-in Halaska had with a true jerk New Yorker, or the fact it’s hard to find parking in town. Not all “cidiots” are hedge-fund/ trust-fund babies or multimillionaires. Just like not all locals are terrible, crotchety entitled “Karens” who don’t believe in COVID-19 or using the words “please” or “thank you.”

Woodstock hasn’t gone anywhere; it has evolved like many other small hamlets. This pandemic hopefully has shown us that everyone is just a human trying to live the best version of their life, and that we can cohabitate and co-exist with mutual respect.

Mark Bailey Capalbo

Boiceville