BARRYVILLE, NY — Conversations continue between the Town of Highland and the owners of the Barryville Oasis about alleged code violations. 

The Oasis is the former D&R Auto building that John Pizzolato and his partner Roswell Hamrick have renovated into a to-go store and a cider-tasting room. It has been in conversation with the town about alleged code violations since a fire inspection in November 2022.

The town prepared to file a lawsuit in a meeting on Wednesday, April 12, with the stated intent of bringing the Oasis back into compliance with the town’s codes and enforcing a February stop-work order, closing the establishment due to failure to obtain a special use permit. Pizzolato maintains that a special use permit is not needed. 

The lawyers for the Barryville Oasis and the Town of Highland planned to set up a conference and discuss an out-of-court resolution to the issue. As of April 27, town attorney Michael Davidoff planned to set up a conference call after the town and its consultants came up with a list of the applications and permits required of the Oasis.

The Oasis had requested such a list at a January 23 meeting of the Town of Highland Planning board, said Pizzolato. “They’ve been intentionally delaying us since January 23 and then said we were out of touch.”

Code enforcement officer BJ Gettel informed the lawyers for the Barryville Oasis in an email on Wednesday, May 3 that, after review, the Oasis did not need a special use permit, according to an email forwarded by Pizzolato to the River Reporter.

The resolution authorizing the town’s lawsuit states that its building department issued town code and New York State building code violations against the premises, as well as the stop-work order, and it seeks to prevent the violations and to direct that the owners comply with all permits needed. 

The building is currently before the Town of Highland Planning Board for a required site plan approval.

According to planning board chairman Norm Sutherland, the site plan that was submitted lacked too much information and could not be passed on to the town’s engineer. In order to be approved, a signed, engineered site plan, showing the septic, parking, contour lines for handicapped parking, property lines and setbacks is required to move forward on site-plan approval. 

According to Pizzolato, the business is waiting for a copy of its lease from the New York State Department of Transportation to determine any new setbacks that would get incorporated into a site plan.

Damage to the pump

Investigation into an incident of damage at the Oasis has progressed as well. 

An initial release from the Town of Highland indicated that a diesel pump at the Barryville Oasis had been “sideswiped” by a car transport truck late on Thursday, April 20. 

Review of security camera footage indicated that the driver responsible hit the pump multiple times, and that the incident was no simple accident but the result of intoxication or intent, said Pizzolato. 

New York State Police public information officer Stephen Nevel told the River Reporter the state police was not investigating the incident.

Editor's note: This article has been updated as of 2:15 p.m. on Wednesday, May 3 to reflect new developments.