Police Clear Barricades after Easement Standoff at Doubleday Court
By JOSHUA YOUNGQUIST
COOPERSTOWN
For decades, the narrow 20 foot right of way connecting Chestnut Street to the small parking lot behind Doubleday Court in the Village of Cooperstown has quietly served as the only access point for customers, employees and delivery vehicles. In recent months, that routine passage has become the center of an escalating dispute between the owners of Cooperstown Coworks and the Cooperstown Batting Range, whose properties share the driveway.
Dan and Molly Hernandez—owners of Cooperstown Coworks, a coworking office space with shared amenities—say the conflict began shortly after they purchased and renovated their two unit property in October 2023. The coworking space opened for business in June 2024. According to Hernandez, employees of the batting range, owned by Matt Kent, began parking along the easement soon after Coworks opened, narrowing the lane to the point where larger vehicles could not pass.
Hernandez said he initially tried to resolve the issue quietly. He left notes on cars asking drivers not to block the right of way. The next morning, he said, a blockade appeared.
Over the past year, Hernandez said Kent has repeatedly threatened to block the access entirely or construct a fence across the shared driveway. Kent has also filed two requests with the Village of Cooperstown—one for maintenance work on the shared space and another to install fencing—without notifying Coworks, despite the shared nature of the easement.
Past issues have added to the tension. Hernandez cited incidents in which batting cage nets broke and balls struck Coworks’ windows. He said the batting range never reimbursed him for the damage.
“We’ve learned more about Matt Kent since,” Hernandez added. “He’s been sued multiple times for things like this and lost.”
While the dispute has simmered since Coworks opened just over a year ago, it escalated sharply this past week on July 15, when concrete barricades were placed across the right of way, completely blocking access to the parking lot. Hernandez contacted police, who arrived to the scene where there was skid-steer equipment loaded on a tow truck which was used to place concrete barriers to block the egress. Officers remained on scene until the village attorney Martin Tillapaugh determined how to proceed. Police authorized the barricade’s removal and the towing of a vehicle blocking the lane. That vehicle was taken Unadilla; Hernandez said it cost the owner $1,200.00 to retrieve it.
Hernandez said Cooperstown Police Chief Jess Lanza made it clear that the lane cannot—and should not—be blocked under any circumstances, given its role as the only access point to the parking lot and the businesses that rely on it.
Despite the police intervention, Hernandez said additional barricades have been placed since then, and officers are aware of the ongoing situation. He said police may assist in removing any new obstructions. He also said he has heard that the batting range owners may attempt to dig a trench across the easement, an action he believes would be difficult for police to enforce against. He is now in contact with Otsego County Code Enforcement officials to prevent that possibility.
Hernandez said he is also trying to confirm whether the right of way qualifies as a fire lane, noting that emergency vehicles would not be able to pass if cars continue parking along the easement. That concern has become more pressing as the dispute continues.
“I just want people to have access to the parking lot,” Hernandez said. “I’m trying to solve the problem without creating more issues.”
AllOtsego could not verify by press time whether the driveway is a fire lane or not. An Otsego County Codes official said they “could not say.”
The right-of-way serves roughly a dozen parking spaces behind Doubleday Court, used by customers of Cooper Country Crafts—one of the village’s longest running businesses, having celebrated its 50th anniversary in May 2024—Coworks members and other nearby businesses. Hernandez said the goal is simply to preserve access that has existed for generations.
As the dispute continues, Coworks is working with village officials, police and county code enforcement to ensure the easement remains open. Hernandez said he hopes the matter can be resolved without further escalation, but recent actions have made that uncertain.
For now, the right of way remains open under police authority, and Coworks continues to monitor the situation daily.
Matt Kent is also the owner of The Wood Bat Factory. Although AllOtsego reached out to Kent on multiple occasions this past week, he did not respond as of press time.
