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Catskills: the New Hamptons?

Aired August 04, 2003 - 11:47   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Are New Yorkers heading for the hills and forsaking the Hamptons this August? The Catskills just up the Hudson from the city are not as pricey but they still feature that kind of old Hamptons lifestyle.
Another thing that's making Catskills the summer scene, celebrities are apparently moving in. Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston just bought a place. They join neighbors Robert De Niro, Kelsey Grammer and Yoko Ono.

Shyama Patel has a weekend getaway in the Catskills, lucky her. She writes about the region in the cover story for the latest edition of "New York" magazine. Shamma, welcome.

SHYAMA PATEL, "NEW YORK" MAGAZINE: Thank you for having me, Daryn.

KAGAN: Well it's great to have you with us. Sell us on the Catskills. What's so great to do there?

PATEL: The Catskills is a great destination, Daryn. You can do things all summer and all winter. You can go hiking, you can go river rafting, you can go canoeing, you can go biking. And in the winter it's terrific too. You can go cross country skiing, downhill skiing, you could ice skate probably in your own pond.

KAGAN: And since New York tends to be a big thing about who's best, the magazine did a big comparison to the Hamptons. And a huge difference is what money can buy you in the Catskills compared to what you would get in the Hamptons.

PATEL: Well the Catskills has two things over the Hamptons, I'd say. the first thing is that it's a year-round destination. And the second thing, of course, is that it is so much less expensive. You can really get a lot for your money up there.

KAGAN: I mean some examples that you have in here, like a house for $170,000, a farm house, and you can also get a lot of land with it as well.

PATEL: Absolutely. And you can get maybe barns and stables...

(CROSSTALK)

KAGAN: ... also a feature in the magazine called "Shore Losers" where they talk to some people who hang out in the Hamptons. And basically they say there is no comparison. Kind of like if you want to leave the Hamptons then good riddens. We're too crowded anyway.

PATEL: I think there are people who love the Catskills and people who love the Hamptons. And people who go to the Hamptons will always go there, I think. They have houses there, they're are used to it. They like the activity, the bustling nature of it all. They like seeing celebrities on the streets. I think those people would not like the Catskills.

But for many of us the Catskills is about the rural scenery, about the farm stands, about having lots of space, about no traffic. Those things I think will always appeal to a different kind of person.

KAGAN: Well you mentioned celebrities. Apparently, according to you some celebrities are moving in.

PATEL: Absolutely. There are many celebrities who are up there already. You know the ones that you mentioned and also Edie Falco's up there, Steve Buscemi, David Bowie just bought half a mountain up there.

But you don't really see the celebrities in the Hamptons -- I mean in the Catskills the way you do in other parts of -- in other resort destinations because I think that they go there for the same reasons that a lot of us go there which is that it's got a lot of privacy, it's got great outdoor activities, things like that -- that they're not there to be seen.

KAGAN: So this is kind of letting the secret out of the bag. I would imagine that there's some locals that have been up there for years that aren't happy to see the celebrities and really aren't too happy to see your piece on the cover of "New York" magazine. Like, Shyama, you know, keep this private. We don't want people to be hearing about this and come and make all the prices go up.

PATEL: You know, I think that there are two sides to that. That definitely it's making the prices go up there but it's also been a huge, huge impact on the area in terms of the economy. It's, you know, the area has been in a slump for a long time. And this is -- the money coming in is really sort of helping local businesses, it's really helping the locals, really.

KAGAN: Well, if you can't get away to the Catskills, if you're in a different part of the country, you might just want to pick up a copy of "New York" magazine or catch it online. It's by Shyama Patel, "Why are so Many People Ditching the Hamptons and Heading to the Hills?" you can live vicariously through the magazine if nothing else. How about that?

PATEL: Thank you for having me.

KAGAN: Shyama, thank you so much and thanks for sharing the insight the Catskills. Shyama Patel, "New York" magazine.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired August 4, 2003 - 11:47   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Are New Yorkers heading for the hills and forsaking the Hamptons this August? The Catskills just up the Hudson from the city are not as pricey but they still feature that kind of old Hamptons lifestyle.
Another thing that's making Catskills the summer scene, celebrities are apparently moving in. Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston just bought a place. They join neighbors Robert De Niro, Kelsey Grammer and Yoko Ono.

Shyama Patel has a weekend getaway in the Catskills, lucky her. She writes about the region in the cover story for the latest edition of "New York" magazine. Shamma, welcome.

SHYAMA PATEL, "NEW YORK" MAGAZINE: Thank you for having me, Daryn.

KAGAN: Well it's great to have you with us. Sell us on the Catskills. What's so great to do there?

PATEL: The Catskills is a great destination, Daryn. You can do things all summer and all winter. You can go hiking, you can go river rafting, you can go canoeing, you can go biking. And in the winter it's terrific too. You can go cross country skiing, downhill skiing, you could ice skate probably in your own pond.

KAGAN: And since New York tends to be a big thing about who's best, the magazine did a big comparison to the Hamptons. And a huge difference is what money can buy you in the Catskills compared to what you would get in the Hamptons.

PATEL: Well the Catskills has two things over the Hamptons, I'd say. the first thing is that it's a year-round destination. And the second thing, of course, is that it is so much less expensive. You can really get a lot for your money up there.

KAGAN: I mean some examples that you have in here, like a house for $170,000, a farm house, and you can also get a lot of land with it as well.

PATEL: Absolutely. And you can get maybe barns and stables...

(CROSSTALK)

KAGAN: ... also a feature in the magazine called "Shore Losers" where they talk to some people who hang out in the Hamptons. And basically they say there is no comparison. Kind of like if you want to leave the Hamptons then good riddens. We're too crowded anyway.

PATEL: I think there are people who love the Catskills and people who love the Hamptons. And people who go to the Hamptons will always go there, I think. They have houses there, they're are used to it. They like the activity, the bustling nature of it all. They like seeing celebrities on the streets. I think those people would not like the Catskills.

But for many of us the Catskills is about the rural scenery, about the farm stands, about having lots of space, about no traffic. Those things I think will always appeal to a different kind of person.

KAGAN: Well you mentioned celebrities. Apparently, according to you some celebrities are moving in.

PATEL: Absolutely. There are many celebrities who are up there already. You know the ones that you mentioned and also Edie Falco's up there, Steve Buscemi, David Bowie just bought half a mountain up there.

But you don't really see the celebrities in the Hamptons -- I mean in the Catskills the way you do in other parts of -- in other resort destinations because I think that they go there for the same reasons that a lot of us go there which is that it's got a lot of privacy, it's got great outdoor activities, things like that -- that they're not there to be seen.

KAGAN: So this is kind of letting the secret out of the bag. I would imagine that there's some locals that have been up there for years that aren't happy to see the celebrities and really aren't too happy to see your piece on the cover of "New York" magazine. Like, Shyama, you know, keep this private. We don't want people to be hearing about this and come and make all the prices go up.

PATEL: You know, I think that there are two sides to that. That definitely it's making the prices go up there but it's also been a huge, huge impact on the area in terms of the economy. It's, you know, the area has been in a slump for a long time. And this is -- the money coming in is really sort of helping local businesses, it's really helping the locals, really.

KAGAN: Well, if you can't get away to the Catskills, if you're in a different part of the country, you might just want to pick up a copy of "New York" magazine or catch it online. It's by Shyama Patel, "Why are so Many People Ditching the Hamptons and Heading to the Hills?" you can live vicariously through the magazine if nothing else. How about that?

PATEL: Thank you for having me.

KAGAN: Shyama, thank you so much and thanks for sharing the insight the Catskills. Shyama Patel, "New York" magazine.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com