Judge denies Palenville group's tax exemptionAugust 10, 2012 in Catskill, Palenville by Tom Roe
http://newsroom.wgxc.org/archives/category/greene-county/catskill-greene-county/palenvilleJulia Reischel in The Watershed Post reports that last Thu., Aug. 2, a New York State Supreme Court judge ruled against the Maetreum of Cybele against the town of Catskill with the judge denying the group's attempt at a religious tax exemption. "Catskill's assessor has repeatedly denied requests by the group to take its property, a three-story former inn on a three-acre parcel in Palenville, off the tax rolls....
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Palenville's pagans lose religious tax exemption caseBy Julia Reischel | 8/9/12 - 7:52 am
http://www.watershedpost.com/2012/palenville%E2%80%99s-pagans-lose-religious-tax-exemption-case
The Maetreum of Cybele in Palenville. Photo by Julia Reischel. A group of self-described pagans in Palenville has lost its bid for a religious exemption from property taxes.
Last Thursday, a New York State Supreme Court judge issued a decision in the trial of a case filed by the Maetreum of Cybele against the town of Catskill. (You can read the decision below.)
Catskill's assessor has repeatedly denied requests by the group to take its property, a three-story former inn on a three-acre parcel in Palenville, off the tax rolls. (For an in-depth look at the controversy behind the lawsuit, see our 2010 feature story, "The Pagan Exemption.")
The Maetreum, led by Reverend Mother Battakes Cathryn Platine, argued that the property is the worldwide religious headquarters of the Cybeline Revival, a pagan faith. The town of Catskill contends that the property is mainly used for non-religious residential purposes.
