Sarah Trafton is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media the Catskill community is struggling with the upkeep of Howard Street Park in the village, and as a result there has been recent talk of removing the benches because of certain night-time activity. The park and its four benches are maintained by Cultivate Catskill. “The park is a great asset of the village,” Cultivate Catskill member Hudson Talbott said. “It gets abused by other people, especially at night. Possibly even drug situations or exchanges occur there. There is a huge amount of litter. Volunteers are constantly cleaning up.” The village board has proposed that the benches be eliminated as a way to discourage loitering, Talbott said. Village President Vincent Seeley said the village has been getting complaints about the condition of the parks. Seeley is also concerned about people staying in the parks for extended periods of time. Talbott believes that removing the benches would do more harm than good. “Right now we’re searching for a compromise,” Talbott said. Catskill resident and community activist Richard Wagoner posted signs to alert community members to the risk of losing the benches if the park is not kept clean. Wagoner does not see how removing the benches would address littering, public intoxication or fighting. “All of this comes down to common courtesy,” Seeley said. “... Cultivate Catskill has done an unbelievable job beautifying the village. Having people disrespect our parks is a slap in their face and is unacceptable. Something needed to be done.” Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.