Since 1969 people came from all over the world to gather at the site of the original Woodstock Music and Arts Festival in the spirit of peace, music, love and freedom. Locals used it year-round for an array of reasons, including camping. Mirriam Yasgur (Max’s wife) owned it until 1981. She would run people off, but never called the police. Because people largely ignored her, it helped to create a public easement on the site due to the continuous, open, obvious, daily, “hostile” use of the private property. It was unfenced, unposted, and undeveloped for more than 20 years between 1969 and 1989.
In 1981 the property was purchased by Louis Necketopoulos (going by Louis Nicky.) The 38-acre portion of the original Woodstock site included the infamous concert bowl. June Gelish was Louis Nicky’s secretary, confidant, and mistress. They lived together in Brooklyn. Louis’ real wife, Helen Necketopoulos, lived in Manhattan and was separated from him, although Helen was still involved in Louis’ personal affairs (not business), and was privy to the property he owned upstate.
In 1983 a deed, (later to be accused of being a forgery), was filed in Sullivan County (where Bethel/the site are) that transferred ownership from Louis to June Gelish and Louis as joint tenants, giving June survivorship/ownership if Louis were to die before her. In 1984 a marker/monument was placed on the site which named June and Louis the owners.
Louis was very ill from the time he purchased the site until he died in 1989, according to Helen. Though he was ill, in 1989, Louis was hoping to hold a 20th anniversary commercial event at the site, but was having trouble getting permits from the town. However, word was already out that there was going to be a gathering, and all kinds of volunteers stepped up to help with the planning. In early August, just days before the anniversary, Louis Nicky died. Still, thousands of people showed up to celebrate. It was a full-on music and camping festival with a stage and live music, pulled together by volunteers. Several garbage bags full of donated money from the crowd were delivered by volunteers to the town to offset any costs the gathering produced.
In 1990, June Gelish, claiming ownership, decided to stage a commercial concert during the anniversary. The town supervisor, Alan Scott, sued her for staging a commercial event on property that was zoned residential/agricultural. He got a court order to stop her. She soon filed the first trespass complaint against people who entered the site, although she had invited everyone, and thousands of people were already there. A slew of people lined up to receive trespass tickets in good humor, but the local constable ran out after 25! Three people showed up to fight the case, which resulted in a dismissal for all.
Meanwhile, Helen filed a case in Brooklyn as administratrix of her late husband’s estate, intending to take ownership of the Woodstock site. Helen’s lawyers discovered the deed that transferred the site to June Gelish. They had the signatures checked by an expert who found that the signature for Louis on that deed differed from his own. The evidence was filed in the surrogate court that the deed was a forgery, and an order was issued from the court preventing June from selling or transferring the property until the ownership issue was settled.
In 1991, June was not to be seen on the scene. When people began to arrive for the anniversary gathering, police were blocking the roads and blocking the entrance way with piles of dirt. They failed to prevent the gathering from occurring, because people entered the site and there was no landowner to tell them to leave.
In 1992 Scott succeeded in stopping the assembly by unlawfully blocking roads with town equipment, snow plows, etc. There are allegations that police threatened to use tear gas.
In 1993 June was back, and on the anniversary people entered the property and faced off her threats of arrest. Three people were arrested for trespass for refusing to leave. Then 600 tons of wet chicken and duck manure were brought to the site to deter anyone else from entering it.
In 1994 another commercial event began to unfold, being it was the 25th anniversary. Sid Bernstein (who brought the Beatles to America) tried to get permits, but couldn’t until a local millionaire decided to invest $5 million in the show and then the town fully cooperated. The event fell apart due to a lack of ticket sales, and people entered the property en masse to stage a free event, as usual, along with the full cooperation from the town, police and emergency services.
In July, 1995, June Gelish transferred the property, for no money, from herself to herself as President of Gelish Realty, llc, a corporation which existed at her home address in Brooklyn. This was in violation of the Brooklyn Surrogate Court order, (which had been renewed and was still in full effect).
In 1995 the free gathering again went unhindered in august.
In April of 1996 June Gelish died, and all of a sudden New York State Police took over all of the roads leading to the site and started threatening people with arrest if they even pulled over and stopped their car on the side of the road to take a picture, much less enter. Until then people were accustomed to driving anywhere on the property, anytime. A road had actually been created on the site by the public.
In May of 1997 a local millionaire, Alan Gerry, announced to the press that he had bought the Woodstock site from June Gelish for a million dollars, but no record of the sale could be found. However what was discovered by the public, for the first time, was the court order from Brooklyn regarding the alleged forged deed; up until that point it was the private business between Louis and Helen Nicky, and June Gelish. Now that Gerry claimed to be the owner, it became public knowledge that ownership of the site was in question at all. It was revealed that any transfer of the property from June Gelish to Alan Gerry should be legally void.
Another factor in the way was Helen, the little old woman in Manhattan, arguably the only true owner of the site left alive. She was paid by Gerry as an “interested party” (not an owner) to end her involvement with the site, for a pittance of what the site was worth. She stated to the media that she was devastated about the way it went down. According to reports of people who talked with her at that time, she was confused and disappointed. Still no legal transfer of a deed to the site had occurred. Ownership had been in question in the courts for about seven years at that point.
No one challenged Gerry’s ownership until he announced his intentions for the property. He stated to the press and put signs up that said “No Camping, No Fires, No Music, No Vehicles.”
In 1997 six people purposefully got arrested on the site. Their intention was to force Gerry to prove he had legal title to the property. No evidence was ever presented during the trial that linked Alan Gerry to the Woodstock site. Not a cancelled check, not a written agreement, not a bill of sale. The court even refused to allow the lawyer to enter the court order from Brooklyn preventing such a transfer as evidence in the case. The appeals were also unsuccessful in the county and on the state level.
On August 21, 2000, two of the creators of the Woodstock Nation Foundation, Daniel Eggink and Abigail Storm, were arrested for refusing to leave the Woodstock site. The appellate Judge in White Plains would not even let their lawyer give the evidence that Gerry could not and did not own the property. A new precedent in NY State law was created: because Gerry was not compelled to show proof of ownership, now anyone in NY can file trespass charges against anyone else, irregardless if they own the property they are complaining about. The Foundation’s lawyer was disgusted at the end result.
It appears that in order to cover up and get around lack of clear title Gerry created the not-for-profit Gerry Foundation and joined with the Town of Bethel to form the Bethel Development Corporation. He then acquired 1,000 acres adjoining the site and built his $70 million dollar performing Arts Center on the site and on the land next door, subsidized with $15 million in taxes from NY, calling it Bethel Woods. A museum, shopping center and a pub/restaurant are on the actual original site; the concert pavilion on the adjoining piece of land. “The Bowl”, the infamous natural amphitheater, remains untouched, for now...
The summer of 2006 brings the opening of Bethel Woods, starting July 1st with the New York Philharmonic to a sold out pavilion. Phil Lesh and Tray Anistasio will perform on July 9th. August 13th, Woodstock reunion time, brings Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. Gerry is the only entity being encouraged to hold entertainment events in Bethel.
Does he own the site legally and fairly? June Gelish’s deed was never deemed legal by any court. No one has seen proof that Gerry even paid Gelish the million dollars. It appears this has not been fairly resolved.
Did June Gelish get away with a lie all those years? What does Alan Gerry know?
Either way, the longtime tradition of gathering freely there has been replaced, seemingly permanently, with $45-$125 dollar tickets. |
