The Columbia NE Repair Cafe, held at the Firehouse in New Lebanon on Saturday, October 23, was a smashing success. Ten organizers from the Climate Smart Communities Task Forces of New Lebanon, Austerlitz, Chatham and East Nassau welcomed a steady stream of visitors from as far away as Taghkanic and Albany, and as nearby as up the road in New Lebanon. Other event volunteers and the 20 fixers who spent the day plying their skills on a wide variety of repairs came from the four sponsoring towns as well as Canaan, Hudson, Stuyvesant, Niverville, Kinderhook, East Chatham and Stephentown.
The weather cooperated, allowing visitors to socialize and enjoy donated refreshments outdoors.
Columbia NE Repair Cafe can be reached by email at ColumbiaNERepairCafe@gmail.com. With this successful launch, the group plans to hold regular events in the future, although there is no date set yet. In the meantime, New Lebanon’s Climate Smart Community has an ongoing bike clinic which accepts bikes for repair and donation to those who need them. The bike clinic can be reached at mja45@cornell.edu.