Which nights on Tinker Street should a road crew leave alone? Until last week, Woodstock had less than a year to answer. On October 8, Hudson Valley One reported that the New York State Department of Transportation is pushing back the start of the Tinker Street reconstruction again. The state says it needs more time for engineering. The design stays about where it was. The extra time goes to deciding which weeks the work should avoid, and the town has already started naming them.
The Schedule Moved Back
The project covers Route 212 from the Village Green to Schoonmaker Lane. In May, construction was set to start in spring 2027. The October report gives a preliminary schedule that runs several years longer.
| Phase | Earlier plan | October 2026 preliminary schedule |
|---|---|---|
| Start of work | Spring 2027 | Tree clearing, November 2028 |
| South side | Not phased in reporting | 2029 |
| North side | Not phased in reporting | 2030 |
| Completion | Not stated | By 2031 |
Hudson Valley One's October story puts the cost at $25 million to rebuild the road and add ADA-compliant sidewalks. The same outlet's May coverage of the town's design requests gave $30 million. Every date is still subject to change. Town Supervisor Anula Courtis still called the schedule "aggressive."
The street that carries the Halloween parade, the Pride parade, and Christmas Eve in the hamlet gets at least two more years in its current form before tree clearing starts.
What Is Actually Being Built Between the Green and Schoonmaker Lane
With the design mostly settled, the debate has shifted to the calendar. According to Hudson Valley One's October report, the current design includes:
- Sidewalk bump-outs in the center of town. Pedestrians are easier to see and have a shorter distance to cross.
- A longer ADA-accessible sidewalk on the south side. It now runs all the way to the sledding hill across from the post office entrance. The first design stopped short of that.
- 22 trees removed and 28 planted. The new trees won't necessarily go where the old ones stood. Complete Streets Committee co-chair Grace Murphy said most of the trees coming out are in poor condition, dead, or almost dead.
The tree count matters here more than it would in most towns. In May the town asked the state to survey every tree in the project area with a trunk at least eight inches across. It also asked for at least one replacement for each tree removed, in line with Woodstock's local tree law, and named more than 40 possible spots for new street trees between the post office and the Village Green. The state's plan of 28 new trees for 22 removed meets the one-for-one floor and goes a little past it.
Other requests got turned down, at least for now. Murphy said the state rejected a 25 mph speed limit from the Village Green to the post office. It also rejected cutting lane width from 11 feet to 10 1/2 feet, and it rejected raised crosswalks. She told the town board that the speed limit is "not a done deal" and that all of the suggestions are still on the table. The mixed-use path from the Woodstock Post Office to Wittenberg Road has no funding and is not part of this project.
So the delay gives the committee more time to push the rejected items again. For everyone else, the main change is time.
The Businesses Organized Around Seasons
Business owners on Tinker Street have been planning around timing since spring. The Overlook reported that about 30 local businesses met after a March 24 public presentation on two related Route 212 projects. Melissa Gibson, co-owner of HERbal Woodstock, and Lea Haas, owner of Garden Cafe Woodstock, then took the group's concerns to the town board on June 2.
They did not ask to stop the project. The owners said they supported the accessibility and pedestrian-safety work. They asked for less disruption in the summer months and for a plan covering parking, rerouting, traffic flow, signs, and communication before construction begins. "Summer is not just a busy season," Gibson told The Overlook. "It is the season that allows us to survive all the quieter months." Haas said Garden Cafe employs 17 local residents.
By late July the timing question had more voices. In a Times Union report, Overlook Bakery co-owner Rosie DeVito said the sidewalk hazards needed fixing even with the disruption construction would bring. Golden Notebook co-owner James Conrad stressed how much summer matters. Woodstock Emporium founder Mark Hedrick said the tourism season runs roughly from March to September. By the time of a July 9 meeting with the state, Gibson was acting as the business liaison. The Times Union reported that she said there were ways to reduce the effect on access and that the DOT seemed open to questions.
All of that was planned around a 2027 start. The October schedule puts the first south-side season in 2029, so the businesses that organized for next year now have about two extra years to prepare.
The Town Turned the Seasons Into Dates
At the October 6 town board meeting, Courtis took the business owners' seasonal concerns and named specific dates. "First and foremost, Woodstock will remain open," she said, according to Hudson Valley One. The project was first going to close Tinker Street. After talks with the state, the plan now keeps it open with alternating traffic through the work zone. The details aren't set yet.
"There's going to be construction. There's going to be disruptions. There's no way to sugarcoat such a large project on such a little road," she said. She added that the town is planning for business access, parking, deliveries, and clear information for customers.
Then she named the dates. The town will ask the DOT to avoid or pause work during the Halloween parade, the Pride parade, and Christmas Eve. "While there's no guarantee of construction-free periods, we're going to advocate to take care of our businesses and ensure that our town thrives," Courtis said.
Nothing is protected yet. These are requests the town plans to bring to the state. Still, the list shows what the town treats as its own. Summer matters to the shops. These three days are when the street is used for community events more than for traffic. Courtis also asked businesses to use the extra time to organize, plan how they will talk to customers, and tell the town how it can help. Gibson said in June that the coalition hoped to keep going as a business support network after the work is done.
The Openings That Went Ahead Under the Old Schedule
Some of the biggest commitments on and near the corridor this year were made while a 2027 start was still the plan.
The owners of Silvia opened two businesses on the former Gemela site at 43–45 Mill Hill Road. The ownership team is Craig Leonard, Betty Choi, Doris Choi, and Niall Grant. According to Edible Hudson Valley, The Penny Cafe opened April 23 with coffee, pastries, breakfast, and lunch. The Penny Tavern, a sit-down restaurant and bar, followed on May 20. The Overlook reported that the same team got approval on January 15 for a proposed 17-room hotel next door at 39 Mill Hill Road. They hoped to start construction in the spring. No reporting so far confirms that work has begun.
On Tinker Street itself, Hudson Valley One reported in June that Daniel Gallant had stepped down as Woodstock's deputy supervisor and was set to take over Oriole 9 at 17 Tinker St. He said the plan was to keep the current staff and extend evening hours. That report did not give a takeover date.
These decisions were made when a 2027 start was the official plan. A café, a tavern, a hotel approval, and later evening hours all went ahead with construction expected the following year. The delay doesn't change those commitments. It adds about two more years before the work reaches them.
October 31 Comes First
The first event on the town's list is three weeks away. Hudson Valley One's October event guide lists Woodstock's Annual Halloween Parade for Saturday, October 31, at 4:30 p.m. It describes the parade taking over the center of town, with costumed children and adults gathering at the Village Green and the streets around it. No route, theme, or 2026 road-closure details have been published yet. Last year the Woodstock Chamber of Commerce & Arts listed a 5:00 p.m. start, so check the time closer to the day.
This year's parade, like the next two, will run on Tinker Street as it is now, with no construction anywhere on the schedule. The town plans to ask the state to keep the parade clear once the work starts, so by the 2029 parade the street could be under construction, or construction could be paused for the night.
At Grist Mill Real Estate, we follow Route 212 as closely as we follow Main Street in Saugerties, because changes to a town's main road eventually affect how people get around it. If you have questions about how the Tinker Street timeline might affect a property on or near the corridor, call us. We're happy to talk it through.
