Before becoming a writer, he worked at his parents' motel in Bethel, New York and organized a number of local cultural events. He was eventually appointed to be in charge of issuing public event permits in Bethel. In 1969, after learning the organizers of the Woodstock Festival had been denied a permit in Wallkill, New York, he not only issued a permit for the festival to be held at Max Yasgur's dairy farm, but he also helped to negotiate the agreement. Without Elliot Tiber's work, Woodstock might never have happened.
