Letters & Comments

To the editor:

On August 18, I attended the Stephentown Town Board meeting. It was a fairly normal and relatively routine meeting, except for the item on the agenda having to do with the film, Taking Woodstock. The issues were discussed briefly at the Town meeting with regard to the shoot locations on Route 43 between Calvin Cole and Tinley Road, the Stephentown Hotel and the Stephentown Evangelical Church. A number of residents who lived in and around Tinley Road made their concerns known again – and again, and again. The individuals from the film company, including the location manager continued to give as much information as possible as to how the process would work and how the company would do as much as possible to create as little inconvenience as possible. Tom Sherman, the Town Supervisor, suggested that those who still wished more information and had other questions could stay afterwards for a post-meeting get-together with the representatives from the film company.

Unfortunately, from the comments, attitudes and overall demeanor of the same residents, one would have thought that the film company was doing a three month invasion of Cambodia…. We are talking about two days of shooting on Route 43, one of which is on a Sunday with setup. All one could hear from 5 or 6 people was antagonism, negativism, grave personal “inconvenience” and seeming infringements on their personal liberties: Where would all the “extras” go? The road is too small; people were parked on part of a lawn; they would refuse “to use a placard to get to my house.” The film company was not trying to locate a lead smelting plant 100 yards from their homes. 

As I said in the meeting – after I frankly could take no more – there are communities and villages all around America (and of course in upstate New York) which would kill to have filmmaking done in their towns and locations. The Governor has a whole agency devoted to making things smooth and attractive so filming companies will come to the state, towns or cities. How can the people who are opposed to this be so myopic as to not see the benefits to the community as a whole. Have so many people in our society become so parochial and so selfish in refusing to be “inconvenienced” a very modest bit on two days, while there is a significant benefit for the community in shooting parts of a national film there? What happened to the concept of working for the betterment of the whole, even if it means a very modest personal “sacrifice” – if at all. I must commend the four young individuals from the set location unit of the film company for their patience. They really showed Job-like behavior. Honestly, I can imagine some other organizations simply snapping shut their folder and saying “Adios, who needs this hassle?” Thankfully they did not. 

The people fighting this and clamoring for “answers” to repetitive questions must not have heard that the location unit was renting a house on Garfield Road for the duration of the filmmaking. Maybe they also did not hear that many people have been paid significant sums for the use of their personal property for parts of the film or that local restaurants are already benefiting. Maybe they do not understand if an entity is cordially welcomed into a town’s midst, they will return for other films or spread the word to other companies what a nice place Stephentown is and how open and welcoming the people are. Maybe they have not heard there is a national recession and local businesses actually appreciate companies coming in and spending money. 

Rather than grousing and griping about the filmmakers coming and setting up a tent on a vacant field, maybe those people who are complaining should simply wander over and introduce themselves and tell them how glad they are that these guests can come to Stephentown and appreciate its beauty. Instead of demanding that everyone who comes on the set have “criminal background” checks, maybe they can just go and engage in polite, friendly, welcoming conversation. Just maybe, as a result of a positive interaction with other people from outside the area, the people who are clamoring and angry might not feel so insular and might even receive a significant intellectual, moral, and personal benefit.  

Brian Baker 

Main Street, Stephentown