What?s left of the outdoor pool at Grossinger?s Catskill Resort and Hotel in Liberty, N.Y. Image by Abigail Jones

More than three decades after it shuttered, Catskills resort Grossinger’s could reopen as a hotel, spa and conference center.

Louis Cappelli, who owns the property, is applying for it to be designated a “brownfield,” a first step to securing funds to rehabilitate the property as a glamorous getaway, he told The New York Times.

Cappelli has owned the property for the better part of two decades, but told the Times that a new casino set to open a few miles away could revitalize the area.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis of the crisis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

“I’ve been a lone wolf trying to do this, and I really haven’t been able to accomplish it because of the enormity of the task,” Cappelli said. “But now that the casino is in fact going to be opening up there, I think the opportunity now exists to have this kind of original dream come true.”

Grossinger’s was the grandaddy of the Borscht Belt resorts, where its largely-Jewish clientele flocked during the hot New York summers. The Borscht Belt declined beginning in the 1970’s due to greater availability of air travel and air conditioning.

Contact Daniel J. Solomon at solomon@forward.com or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you move on, I wanted to ask you to support the Forward’s award-winning journalism during our High Holiday Monthly Donor Drive.

This year, we have stood together in strength and sorrow. Our Forward team has worked around the clock to help you find clarity amid the chaos.

If you’ve turned to the Forward in the past 12 months to better understand the world around you, we hope you will support us with a gift now. Your support has a direct impact, giving us the resources we need to report from Israel and around the U.S., across college campuses, and wherever there is news of importance to American Jews.

Make a monthly or one-time gift and support Jewish journalism throughout 5785. The first six months of your monthly gift will be matched for twice the investment in independent Jewish journalism. 

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount