A hearing scheduled for Wednesday, October 21, was to consider whether Sylvan Beach Amusement Park and 18 other properties owned by landlord Douglas Waterbury would be sold to satisfy a debt that a court-appointed referee pegs at roughly $5.3 million. The properties span four counties — Cayuga, Madison, Oneida and Oswego — and include not just the lakeside midway but also the Sterling Renaissance Festival and a cluster of apartment buildings in Oswego and Morrisville.
According to WKTV, a court-appointed official is recommending the sale of the properties, starting with the nine parcels that make up the Sylvan Beach midway at 112 Bridge Street. The lender has told the court Waterbury owes about $5.3 million, the station reports, citing court documents filed ahead of the hearing scheduled for Wednesday, October 21.
The foreclosure case traces back to an August 2024 lawsuit filed by Green Lake Associates LLC, a Tully-based private lender that acquired and refinanced debt secured by Waterbury's properties, according to the Rome Sentinel. The lender alleged Waterbury was late on payments for a $2.6 million loan, and a judge ruled in Green Lake's favor in January. Syracuse.com reports that Green Lake Associates did not return calls seeking comment.
A Disputed Price Tag
Court-appointed referee Diane Martin-Grande reported in August that the total owed, with interest, came to about $5.3 million and recommended selling the 19 properties one county at a time, beginning with the Sylvan Beach parcels, per the original reporting from Syracuse.com. Waterbury's attorney, Ryan Suser, disputed that figure, arguing the amount was inflated by excessive points and interest charged on those points.
Per the Rome Sentinel, Suser contends the finance charges alone should total $2,685,438.08, and he has alleged that the combination of points and interest amounts to usurious financing. Waterbury has said he and his companies are reorganizing their debt structure and that operations are continuing as normal across the business, with one notable exception.
Santa's Workshop Sits Out the Holidays
Santa's Workshop, listed under defendant North Pole Associates LLC, is not among the 19 parcels named in the foreclosure action, the Rome Sentinel notes. Still, the holiday attraction will not open for the 2026 season, with the closure attributed to a staffing shortage, according to the original Syracuse.com reporting. Waterbury has said he plans to reopen Santa's Workshop in winter 2027.
The case also names Campus Hill Apartments in Morrisville, three parcels at 15385 Farden Road in Sterling that make up the Sterling Renaissance Festival, and four Oswego addresses — 56 W. Bridge St., 58-60 W. Bridge St., 129 W. 4th St. and 131 W. 4th St. — according to Syracuse.com's review of the case. Oswego city officials have confirmed those four properties lacked rental permits, and code violations on them date back five years, the outlet reports.
Tenants Describe Years of Conditions and Contact
Former tenants who spoke to Syracuse.com, requesting anonymity out of fear of repercussions, described Waterbury checking on their homes frequently and letting repairs sit for months. One former tenant called him probably the worst landlord in landlord history. A woman who rented from Waterbury said he introduced himself as Mark during a property inspection and only learned about allegations against him after she had already signed her lease; she said he drove past her home as many as 10 times a day, calling the drive-bys creepy, though she added that he never explicitly bothered her.
A male former tenant said he dealt with a mouse infestation that Waterbury blamed on him and did not help resolve, so he caught the mice himself. He also said he could not get rental assistance because the property lacked proper permits. He described Waterbury as a danger to people around him and said he was embarrassed to tell people he rented from him. Multiple former tenants said conditions and Waterbury's reputation were factors in their decisions to move out.
Pending Criminal Charges and Past Settlements
Waterbury is separately facing criminal charges of stalking, attempted rape, attempted bribery of a witness and patronizing a person for prostitution, the Rome Sentinel reports; he has pleaded not guilty to the charges. WRVO reported that he was charged on March 3 with attempted rape, attempted bribery and patronizing a person for prostitution.
In 2019, Waterbury settled two lawsuits alleging he used rental properties to coerce women into sex; the Rome Sentinel reported he agreed to pay $850,000 and was barred from direct contact with tenants, while WRVO reported the settlement figure at about $800,000. He was fined $15,000 by a federal judge in 2021 for continuing to engage with renters, and WRVO reported he was arrested again in 2022 on a charge of violating a court order.
A Long History of Financial Trouble
This is not the first time Waterbury's properties have landed in foreclosure proceedings. Cayuga County filed a foreclosure notice against four Sterling properties in November 2014, a move that was averted when back taxes exceeding $70,000 were paid the following January, Syracuse.com reported at the time. That same year, festival management turned to the public to help raise $300,000 just to open the gates.
This is not the first time Waterbury's properties have landed in foreclosure proceedings. Cayuga County filed a foreclosure notice against four Sterling properties in November 2014, a move that was averted when back taxes exceeding $70,000 were paid the following January, Syracuse.com reported at the time. That same year, festival management turned to the public to help raise $300,000 just to open the gates. Campus Hill Apartments in Morrisville is among the properties named in the foreclosure case. The hearing scheduled for Wednesday, October 21, was to determine whether this latest chapter would end the same way earlier disputes did, or whether the amusement park's midway and the rest of Waterbury's holdings would go up for sale.
