Afleveringen
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Firefighters say they will continue fight for station
A state judge on Monday (March 31) dismissed a request by the Beacon Engine Co. that she prevent its members from being "excluded" from a 136-year-old firehouse and delay the city's sale of the building.
Two weeks earlier, Judge Maria Rosa had rejected a request from the retired volunteer firefighters that she pause a city order for them to vacate the station by March 31.
The East Main Street firehouse, inactive since 2020, has been at the center of an ownership dispute as Beacon officials prepare to sell it and the 113-year-old Mase Hook & Ladder station on Main Street. The city hopes to raise $3.7 million.
The retired firefighters argue that Beacon Engine Co. owns the original 2½-story structure, with the city holding an adjacent engine bay added in 1924. In fact, that was what all parties believed for decades, including when the City Council voted to close the station five years ago as part of a plan to consolidate operations.
However, Beacon officials in 2023 conducted a title search that they say revealed municipal ownership of the entire facility. A real-estate expert told the court that a deed recorded in 1889, the year the station was built, showed that the Village of Matteawan, which preceded Beacon, owned the site.
Rosa noted in her decision that the volunteer company, which uses the decommissioned firehouse for social gatherings and to coordinate charitable campaigns, stands to suffer "irreparable injury" - a criterion required for the order it sought - if the station is sold. But at the same time, the firefighters "failed to sufficiently demonstrate" either a valid ownership claim or "any defect in the city's claim of title" in the dozens of documents submitted to the court, she said.
Conversely, Paul Conrad, the title expert hired by the city, provided "copies of the recorded deeds, as well as a survey depicting how the city acquired" the parcels that comprise the property, Rosa said.
Her decision would appear to give Beacon the go-ahead to sell the station. City officials have commissioned Gate House Compass Realty to list Beacon Engine in May for $1.75 million and Mase for $1.95 million.
The stations are to be sold with covenants that restrict renaming them or altering historical features. The proceeds will offset the $14.7 million the city spent to build a central fire station that opened near City Hall last fall.
Nonetheless, Joe Green, a Beacon Engine Co. trustee, said Wednesday that the firefighters are preparing another legal challenge. In a document submitted to the court on March 27, Lauren Scott, the firefighters' attorney, said the fire company's claim that it owns at least two-thirds of the property is based on a title search it commissioned.
Scott, who called the testimony by the city's title expert "glaringly deficient due to its lack of analysis" of historical deeds, argued that Beacon's charter prevents a litigant from enforcing a claim, debt or demand against the city for at least 30 days after filing a notice of claim in court.
Because Beacon Engine filed notice on March 7 signaling its intention to seek judgment on the ownership challenge and "unjust enrichment" for building maintenance and insurance the volunteers say they funded, the company cannot submit its complaint until Monday (April 7), Scott said. -
Meeting draws rally by farmers
The Putnam County Legislature took the first step toward lowering its portion of the sales tax rate during a Tuesday (April 1) meeting filled with farmers protesting lawmakers' refusal to add operations to a special district.
Legislators, by a 5-4 vote, approved a request for state legislation to lower the sales tax collected by Putnam from 4 percent to 3.75 percent. The higher rate had been in place since 2007, when the state enacted a law allowing Putnam to increase its sales tax from 3 percent. The law has been extended every two years since, with the most recent extension expiring Nov. 30, 2025.
Consumers in Putnam County pay 8.375 percent sales tax, which includes 4 percent for the state and 0.375 percent for the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District. If Putnam's request is approved by the state, the new tax rate will be 8.125 percent.
County Executive Kevin Byrne and four of the nine legislators, including Nancy Montgomery, who represents Philipstown and part of Putnam Valley, opposed the reduction, which will cause an estimated $5 million reduction in annual revenue for the county. Byrne said the proceeds from sales taxes have funded property-tax reductions and a sales tax exemption for clothing and footwear under $110.
Town and village officials, who have demanded for years that Putnam share sales tax revenue with their governments, also support the higher rate, said Montgomery.
"They're the ones who hold the burden of generating the sales tax," she said. "They're the ones who pick up the garbage; they're the ones who provide and pay for the EMTs who respond to people falling off the mountain or falling on your sidewalk."
Legislator Dan Birmingham, who had initially proposed a reduction to 3.5 percent, said the county's savings, or "unrestricted reserve funds," of $134 million justified giving residents a break. During his first stint as a legislator, from 2004 to 2012, Birmingham supported the 2007 increase to 4 percent to cover county losses attributed to the Great Recession.
Now, Putnam is "sitting on top of the largest fund balance-to-budget ratio this county has ever seen," he said.
In one confusing sequence during the Tuesday meeting, Montgomery voted for the 3.75 percent reduction, proposed a motion to reconsider its approval and argued with Chair Amy Sayegh before being allowed to change her vote to "no." "Robert's Rules say that if you vote yes on a resolution, you can make a motion to reconsider," said Montgomery, explaining her initial vote.
Montgomery also tried to place on the agenda a resolution authorizing the county to share 50 percent of sales tax revenues above the budgeted amount with towns and villages.
Ag district
With farmers standing in solidarity, Montgomery asked her colleagues to suspend the April 30 deadline for applications to the county's Agricultural District while the process undergoes a review. Farms approved for the district gain protection from "unreasonable" local restrictions, and other benefits, under a 1971 state law designed to preserve agriculture.
A vote in August to reject five farmers recommended by the Agriculture & Farmland Protection Board for inclusion not only spurred a lawsuit from Ridge Ranch, a livestock operation in Patterson, but protests by farmers and their advocates. Amid the backlash, Paul Jonke, then chair of the Legislature, removed a Philipstown farmer, Jocelyn Apicello, from the board.
The farmers accuse a faction of the Legislature and Neal Tomann, a Philipstown resident who is the interim Soil & Water District manager, of being hostile to farming, and their complaints led Byrne to convene a roundtable meeting last month.
Before Tuesday's meeting, farmers gathered in the parking lot behind the Historic Courthouse, their vehicles draped with banners - "Save Putnam County Farms" and "Learn More About Ridge Ranch and the Fight for Fair Farming." Inside the courthouse, they lined up to speak, often talking over Sayegh a... -
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The scraped-up underbellies of skateboards add an organic texture to Betty Stafford's sculptures and hanging works. The scratches multiply when riders slide across curbs, railings and other urban obstacles while performing tricks.
Stafford disfigures and reshapes the discarded boards to create abstract sculptures, wall hangings and mobiles that convey movement. They are carved with a handheld jigsaw and assembled with a drill. Beyond the wood decks, Stafford uses ball bearings and the metal trucks that connect the wheels.
Like many of her low-lying sculptures, the components of "Catch of the Day" (a bird going after fish) fit together with slots and seem to lean into each other around a solid center of gravity. "Fiddlehead" features curlicues that resemble flowers.
Cross-cutting the decks reveals from six to a dozen plies of laminated wood, some darker than others, though bright pinks, blues and greens peek through on occasion. Stafford often leaves the edges unfinished and incorporates the boards' natural bends.
Her bane is removing grip tape, the sandpaper-like coating atop the deck. In the summer, after letting the boards bake in the sun for a few hours, she can peel it off with minimal effort. Otherwise, it can take hours, she says.
Her fractured portraits, inspired by modern English painter Francis Bacon, include a work encased in a purple plastic milk crate and others that use the covers of wooden boxes that once shipped plumbing supplies. Thin, oxidized copper wires culled from boat windows sometimes add a minimalist touch.
"Coffee Break"
"Creature"
Detail from "Ishod"
"Ishod"
"Kingsize Slim"
Stafford has a BFA from the University of Texas, Austin and studied drawing and watercolor at the Art Students League in Manhattan before moving to Philipstown more than three decades ago. She worked in the fashion industry and still draws but began making art with skateboards following the death of her son Sam, an avid rider, in 2013 at age 19.
Skateboards usually contain colorful designs beneath the deck, the part that gets scratched up. Riders will cover the damage with stickers and those images sometimes are reflected in Stafford's work, which caused a stir when a skateboard sculpture was accepted for a recent group show. The gallery asked her to remove any copyrighted images, so she pulled the piece.
Stafford's Ishod and Mask series goes for an Oceanic look, including an image reminiscent of Easter Island. A profile of Bob Dylan during the 1960s conveys lightness because of circles and ellipses drilled into his faux Afro.
No matter what medium she uses, Stafford says her art is "all over the place." Daily walks in the woods help inform her style.
She gets the raw material from 2nd Nature Skatepark in Peekskill and Hacienda Skate Shop in Newburgh. "I've received some seriously broken boards that made me wonder if the skater was all right," she says.
For more of Betty Stafford's work, see bettystafford.com. -
Institute sends $8 million annually to New York
Local librarians are campaigning against a March 14 executive order issued by President Donald Trump that could cripple a New York agency that distributes state funds to local libraries.
The Institute of Museum and Library Services in Washington, D.C., which has a $290 million budget, sends federal money to cultural institutions and state library associations, including $8 million annually that funds the New York Division of Library Development.
The DLD is responsible for distributing state aid to public libraries - including $70 million annually to those outside New York City - through regional organizations like the Mid-Hudson Library System, whose 66 members include the Howland in Beacon, the Butterfield in Cold Spring and the Desmond-Fish in Garrison. The DLD also oversees $45 million in state funds distributed each year for library construction projects.
The Mid-Hudson Library System, which is based in Poughkeepsie and has a $3.74 million budget, provides support services, programming grants and negotiates discounted group licenses from software, e-book and database providers.
"The absence of DLD staff to facilitate aid programs that impact us is our largest, immediate concern," said Rebekkah Smith Aldrich, executive director of the Mid-Hudson system. "Severe delays in receiving our operating aid could deplete our reserve funds and compromise our ability to pay our bills."
Along with shared resources, the Howland library expects to receive $8,200 in grants from MHLS in 2025; Desmond-Fish, $4,000; and Butterfield, $54,000 for an HVAC project. "We pushed to finish the project so as not to incur additional costs as we were told by contractors that prices were set to increase in April due to tariffs" implemented by Trump, said Joanna Reinhardt, the director at Butterfield. "This was prior to learning of the IMLS news; we may have held off had we known."
There are 762 public libraries in New York.
Gillian Murphy, the director at the Howland, feels that same sense or uncertainty. "Grant money may not come through or will come late because lack of staff," she said. "We have construction grants that we rely on and who knows what will happen to those."
The IMLS, created by Congress in 1996, is one of seven small agencies named in Trump's executive order, titled Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy. It directs that the agencies be "eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law."
The acting director of IMLS, Keith Sonderling, said on March 20 that he planned to "revitalize" the agency and "restore focus on patriotism, ensuring we preserve our country's core values, promote American exceptionalism and cultivate love of country in future generations."
The federal money sent to states by IMLS should be funded through October, Smith Aldrich said, but 60 of the agency's 70 employees have been placed on administrative leave, which "calls into question if this is happening. The Grants to States Program may need to be reauthorized this fall by Congress," which is a focus of lobbying.
IMLS also distributes grants to museums. The Greater Hudson Heritage Network received $269,038 in 2024 to conserve 35 objects at 10 museums, including Maj. John Andre's flute at Boscobel in Philipstown.
Catching Up with…
The Howland Public Library (Beacon)
The Julia L. Butterfield Library (Cold Spring)
The Desmond-Fish Public Library (Garrison) -
The Mayor flies into eternity
Karen Finnegan never expected the bird to have such an impact.
Before The Mayor became the unofficial mascot of Beacon, the red hen was a scruffy, squawky stray who had a thing for laying eggs in people's yards. In the spring of 2020, about two months after the pandemic shutdown began, the hen was seen wandering around Harbor Hill Court and Davies Avenue. Neighbors dubbed her the Beacon Hood Chicken.
Finnegan already owned chickens, so when she read about the stray online, she drove from her home in Fishkill to rescue it from what surely would have been a lonely, and perhaps short, life on the streets. Once home with her new family, the hen carried herself like she owned the place. She was renamed The Mayor.
She would peck at the back door to be let inside. Unintimidated by larger members of the animal kingdom, she drank water from the same dish as the three family dogs.
Once, when The Mayor slipped into Finnegan's house, she hopped up on the kitchen table and took a sip from her husband Kevin's coffee. Exasperated, he could only muster: "There's a chicken in here. I need a new coffee."
That's the confident, outspoken bird that Finnegan recalled on Tuesday (March 25), a week after The Mayor died quietly in her arms. Finnegan said she doesn't suspect bird flu. "I think it was just old age," perhaps exacerbated by fright from an encounter with a fox, she said. "Before anyone else says it, she was no spring chicken and she was a good egg," Finnegan wrote on Facebook. The Mayor was about 6 years old, an average lifespan for a backyard fowl.
After adopting the chicken, Finnegan leaned into The Mayor's unique character, livestreaming the hen's bedtime routine on Facebook. "She was such a funny little animal," Finnegan said. "She was making me laugh, and I wanted to spread that. She was a little bit of joy in a very dark period" of the pandemic.
Things snowballed after Halloween in 2020. Desperate to maintain a semblance of normalcy, volunteers collected donations and cleaned out the candy shelves at Walmart so The Mayor - wearing a pink tutu donated by a Beacon seamstress and wheeled in a stroller - could deliver treats to more than 100 houses. The exercise was repeated, only larger, at Christmas and Valentine's Day.
By 2021 The Mayor had become a celebrity, attracting a crowd everywhere she went. That spring she met Marc Molinaro, then the Dutchess County executive and later elected to Congress, who proclaimed her the county's Poultry Laureate. Drivers would slow down to say hello when Finnegan walked The Mayor down Main Street. In 2023, the hen threw out the first pitch at a Hudson Valley Renegades baseball game.
Something else was happening, too. Assuming The Mayor's persona, Finnegan's voice became amplified. Online and in person, she began to comment on the cultural changes she saw happening during the pandemic, often with a biting sarcasm that she might not have used before.
"The Mayor led the charge," said Alexandra Devin, whose 6-year-old daughter, Madelein, participated in a women's march with the chicken and 100 other humans at Memorial Park in 2021. "She was like the face of what Karen wanted to put out into the world."
When COVID-19 vaccines were introduced in December 2020, The Mayor and Finnegan, who has an immune-compromised child, hand-delivered cards congratulating people who took the shots. Inevitably, they were criticized by those opposed to the vaccines or the masks that were still commonplace.
The Mayor "was able to be political and funny," Finnegan said. If things got too heated, she would remind detractors to "stop arguing with a chicken, jackass."
Finnegan also has four children who identify as queer - "I have an L, a G and a B; I don't have a T," she said. In 2022, she founded Defense of Democracy with Laura Leigh Abby, who co-owned a Beacon fitness studio. The organization mobilized around school board elections in Wappingers Falls, opposing candidates endorsed by a conse... -
Developer proposes million-dollar homes off Route 9
The Philipstown Planning Board gave its final approval on March 20 to a site plan for Hudson Highlands Reserve, a 24-lot residential project revived in 2021 after being in limbo for more than five years.
Horton Road LLC, the developer, applied to construct 22 homes on part of a 210-acre property between Horton Road and East Mountain Road North, setting aside 79 percent as open space. The homes, at 2,500-to-3,000 square feet, will be listed for $1 million to $3 million and built to "green" environmental standards. They will be clustered, along with two existing residences, on 31 acres and accessed from a new road off Route 9.
The development also will include a commercial lot on the highway and a 15-acre common lot with a 19th-century barn for a homeowners' association clubhouse. As part of its agreement with the town, Horton Road LLC agreed to pay $105,000 in recreation fees.
The project is Philipstown's first approved "conservation subdivision," which allows the developer to build more homes in exchange for leaving open space. Its 166 acres of protected space will include portions of Clove Creek, the 5.7-acre Ulmar Pond, forests and wetlands, and a one-lane, stonewall-lined trail that is a remnant of a roadway connecting Horton Road and East Mountain Road North.
Under a conservation agreement between Horton Road LLC and the town, the open space will be reserved for "passive recreational uses" by the homeowners, such as cross-country skiing, hiking, picnicking and walking. The agreement also restricts new buildings, herbicides and pesticides and the clearing of trees and vegetation.
Although Horton Road LLC still has conditions to satisfy, such as obtaining a state Department of Transportation permit for the Route 9 entrance and approval from Putnam County for wells, the Planning Board approval caps a process that began in 2014.
Horton Road LLC is owned by the David Isaly 2008 Trust and the Jason Isaly 2008 Trust, and managed by Christina Isaly Liceaga, David Isaly's sister and the wife of Ulises Liceaga, who was identified in 2014 as the project's architect.
Ulises Liceaga told the Planning Board in 2014 that he and his wife purchased land on East Mountain Road North in 2000 to build a weekend home while living in New York City. "Avid horseback riders, we looked for a place to have some horses" and began envisioning Hudson Highlands Reserve, he said. In 2013, Horton Road LLC had acquired parcels from Lyons Realty, Rodney Weber and Joseph and Denise Frisenda.
After a public hearing in 2019, the project went dormant while its owners prepared responses to detailed questions from the Planning Board and others and began drafting a state-mandated environmental impact statement. In 2021, Horton Road LLC reintroduced the project to the Planning Board, which granted preliminary site plan approval in September 2023. -
Judge expected to rule on legal challenge
A title expert hired by the City of Beacon testified in court last week that the municipality has owned the Beacon Engine Co. firehouse at 57 East Main St. since 1889, the year it was built.
Earlier this month, a group of retired volunteer firefighters asked state Judge Maria Rosa to pause an order by the city for them to vacate the former firehouse by March 31 because Beacon intends to sell the building. The firefighters challenged the city's ownership, saying it relied on "aged, handwritten deeds" and "incomplete searches and conclusory assertions." They asked Rosa to stop any sale until she determined their rights.
Paul Conrad, the president of Real Property Abstract & Title Services, a Poughkeepsie firm, testified on March 21 that, after surveying the site and conducting an "extensive, thorough review" of deeds dating from 1860 to 1921, "the city's ownership of the property is clear." Conrad said the volunteer Beacon Engine Co. "never came into ownership of such reserved land."
The 2½-story brick firehouse was conveyed to the Village of Matteawan, he said, which merged with Fishkill Landing in 1913 to become the City of Beacon. Property owned by the village was assumed by Beacon.
Rosa denied the firefighters' request for a pause on March 14. She is expected to rule on the ownership dispute next month.
The city intends to sell the empty Beacon Engine and Mase Hook & Ladder stations to offset the $14.7 million it spent on a central fire station that opened near City Hall last fall. According to an agreement filed with the court, Gate House Compass Realty will list Beacon Engine in May for $1.75 million and Mase, at 425 Main St., for $1.95 million.
Gate House will receive a commission of 2 percent of the sales - or $35,000 and $39,000, respectively, if the buildings sell for the asking prices. The agency's agreement with the city gives it exclusive listing rights until Nov. 1.
Any delay in marketing the properties could prevent the city from obtaining the highest price, City Attorney Nick Ward-Willis wrote in a memo to the judge. He argued that the retired firefighters have failed to produce any title reports, recorded deeds or certified surveys showing ownership.
The City Council voted in February 2020 to close Beacon Engine, one of two stations in the city that had been headquarters for volunteer fire companies for more than a century. At the time, it was believed that the volunteer company owned the 1889 station, with the city holding an engine bay that was added in 1924.
The city's plan was to modernize Mase and the Lewis Tompkins Hose Co. building, a third volunteer station. But by 2023, two things had changed: Beacon officials conducted a title search that they said showed municipal ownership of Beacon Engine. In addition, the city pivoted, opting to tear down Tompkins Hose and build the central station at the site. When it opened, the Beacon Engine and Mase buildings became surplus.
According to testimony by Mayor Lee Kyriacou, the retired volunteers offered in 2023 to lease or purchase Beacon Engine. The city rejected that offer but the mayor said he told the volunteers they could use the station rent-free as a social hub and to coordinate charitable campaigns. When the central fire station was completed, they were welcome to meet there, he said. -
Demand surges at libraries, but they are expensive
A trip to the library used to mean driving into town, searching the shelves for the latest bestselling novel and taking the book to the circulation desk.
These days, more residents are opening their smartphones or tablets, scrolling through digital shelves and tapping "borrow."
Librarians in the Highlands report dramatic increases in apps like Libby and Hoopla that allow patrons to borrow e-books, audiobooks and digital magazines.
"You can bring a piece of the library with you on the road," said Johanna Reinhardt, director of the Butterfield library in Cold Spring. Reinhardt said the library circulated nearly 20,000 e-books, audiobooks and other electronic material last year, compared to 2,200 in 2015.
The demand is similar at the Howland library in Beacon and the Desmond-Fish library in Garrison. In January alone, nearly 80,000 e-books, audiobooks and other digital materials were circulated through the Mid-Hudson Library System to patrons using Libby. Ten years ago, it was 16,000.
Librarians Scramble as Trump Targets Agency
Gillian Murphy, director at the Howland, said that digital loans will soon be dominant. "We're still lending more print books, but it's going to flip in the next couple of years," she said. Dede Farabaugh, the director at Desmond-Fish, added: "We have patrons who never see us because they're just doing things electronically."
The growth of digital lending brings financial challenges because libraries must purchase licenses that are sometimes more expensive than the physical copy. For example, a digital copy of a bestseller may cost $15 on Amazon, but libraries often must pay $50 or more and are limited in how many times it can be lent. With print books, libraries may pay $30 for a bestseller and lend it out until it falls apart.
Last year, Butterfield reduced the e-books and other items that patrons can check out on the Hoopla platform from 10 to five per month because of a surge in usage that raised costs.
Public libraries have lobbied for legislation to reduce e-book prices, but Gov. Kathy Hochul vetoed a bill that would have compelled publishers to lower digital prices for libraries. She said the legislation would violate federal copyright laws that give publishers and authors the right to determine what to charge. -
Neighbors seek to reclaim view and privacy
When the Rosenberg family bought a house in 2013 on a hill rising from Route 9 in Philipstown, the views to the south and north were "1,000 percent blocked with trees," said Beth Rosenberg.
To the south sat Cockburn Farms, which had been dormant for two decades. To the north was a single-family home at 201 Old West Point Road.
"We didn't hear anything and didn't see anything," she said.
Three years later, in 2016, Sean Barton and Joshua Maddocks bought and reopened Cockburn Farms to sell Christmas trees. Five years after that, Barton bought the home to the north, cut down trees and began operating, without town approval, a landscaping business.
"I would have never bought the property if it was sandwiched between two commercial properties," said Mark Rosenberg.
Now, some trees will be returning, courtesy of the Philipstown Planning Board, which is reviewing a request by Barton and his company, KPB Properties, to legalize its commercial use of 201 Old West Point Road.
KPB wants to construct a 7,400-square-foot, two-story building with an office and storage for landscaping equipment and materials. It will have eight parking spaces and an access road from Route 9 that runs along the south side of the Garrison Garage. The residence will remain.
A planting plan reviewed during a public hearing in February shows young trees along the front of the structure to screen it from Route 9 but no screening along the border with the Rosenberg property. "He absolutely needs to find not just one level of depth [of trees] but a couple of levels for Beth's side because that just seems like an unnecessary burden for a homeowner," said board Chair Neal Zuckerman.
When the hearing continued March 20, project engineer Margaret McManus opened with a revised proposal reflecting changes based on the board's criticisms. Chief among them: Two rows of evergreens - up to 8 feet when planted, and as high as 50 feet when mature - to replace weathered stockade fencing.
Between the hearings, Beth Rosenberg said she and Barton discussed her family's concerns while walking the property together. "Since we were able to talk, it ironed out some things," she said. "It's just the privacy."
Both properties are in the Highway Commercial zone, which allows single-family homes to coexist with businesses ranging from art galleries and bed-and-breakfasts to light-industry, retail and service businesses.
Cockburn Farms had not grown trees since the mid-1990s when Barton and Maddocks, both from Garrison, purchased the property. In 2018, KPB bought 201 and 203 Old West Point Road.
According to Ron Gainer, the town's engineer, Barton moved his landscaping business to 201 Old West Point Road "without benefit of any permits or town approvals," resulting in multiple violations and a stop-work order.
When Barton introduced the project to the Planning Board in January 2024, his appearance "had been mandated by the court," which required that he get a site plan approved by the board, said Gainer.
Last month, Beth Rosenberg told the Planning Board that she and her husband and three children were sometimes awakened as early as 6 a.m. by the sounds of mowers and other equipment, along with workers yelling and playing music. Those concerns spurred a discussion this month about ways to mitigate the impact on the family, including adjusting operating hours.
Barton told the board that when snowstorms occur, his employees arrive early to warm up the trucks and attach plows. Warming up a diesel truck can take up to 20 minutes, but "Route 9 traffic is louder than my trucks," he said.
Beth Rosenberg said she understands that trucks need to idle but that the yelling and laughing from employees while they're getting set up is a problem. "I'm not trying to stop them from doing business," she said. "It's just being more cognizant of what you're doing at what hours." -
Judge rejects request to delay eviction
A Dutchess County judge last week rejected a request by retired volunteer firefighters to pause a city order to vacate a 136-year-old station on East Main Street. The firefighters argue it is not clear that Beacon owns the property.
City officials plan to sell the Beacon Engine Co. and Mase Hook and Ladder stations and apply the proceeds to a $14.7 million central station that opened in October near City Hall. Gate House Compass Realty was selected to facilitate the sales, and the buildings should go on the market next month.
The Beacon Engine Co. station was built in 1889 at 57 East Main St. by the Village of Matteawan, which merged in 1913 with Fishkill Landing to become the City of Beacon. The 2½-story brick structure was constructed in the Second Empire style of 19th-century France. The Mase firehouse is a 113-year-old, three-story brick building at 425 Main St.
Together with the Lewis Tompkins Hose Co. station, which was on the site of the new firehouse, the buildings were the headquarters for generations of volunteers. Beacon Engine closed in 2020 and Mase was vacated when the new station opened, but retired volunteers have continued to use Beacon Engine for social and charitable events.
On March 12, a group of those volunteers asked Judge Maria Rosa to set aside a city order that they vacate the building by March 31. The volunteers also asked Rosa to stop any sale until she determined their rights to the station.
After Rosa denied the petition two days later, Beacon Engine Co. trustees said they are preparing to move out, although they dispute city ownership.
When the City Council voted in February 2020, just weeks before the pandemic shutdown, to close Beacon Engine, both the retired volunteers and city officials believed the fire company owned two-thirds of the building - the original structure, which is believed to have housed the first motorized fire engine in Dutchess County - with the city holding a larger bay added in 1924.
Since that time, the firefighters say, Beacon officials conducted a title search that showed municipal ownership of the entire building. In their petition, the volunteers disputed that, saying ownership is unclear because of "aged, handwritten deeds" and "incomplete searches and conclusory assertions" by the city.
City Attorney Nick Ward-Willis said Tuesday (March 18) that Beacon provided the volunteer trustees with documentation of its sole ownership two years ago and would file supporting evidence with the court today (March 21). The volunteer company offered to lease or purchase the building but was turned down, he said.
"While the city recognizes and appreciates the years of contribution from the volunteer firefighters," the company has provided no evidence of ownership, Ward-Willis said.
Since the city closed the station in 2020, volunteers say they have paid for its maintenance, including roof, floor and window repairs and insurance, despite the unclear title. It continued to be the headquarters for charitable efforts such as the annual Toys for Tots drive and fundraising for a campus in Hudson for volunteer firefighters who can no longer care for themselves.
The building is a social hub for retired volunteers and could attract more members if the city halted or paused plans to sell, said Joe Green, a Beacon Engine Co. trustee. "There's a lot of guys who would use this firehouse if they could," he said, estimating that as many as 250 retirees from the three companies live in the area.
Mike Angeloni, the company treasurer, said the volunteers approached the Beacon Historical Society about creating a City of Beacon Firefighters Museum at the site and, if given the green light, would have pursued grants to continue rehabbing the building. The company had a good working relationship with the city "until the dollar signs came out," he said.
The Beacon Engine firehouse was listed in 2004 on the National Register of Historic Places, which limits what... -
Agency says PCB monitoring and mitigation will continue
For many people, much of the news coming out of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the second Trump administration has been disheartening.
Lee Zeldin, the former New York State legislator who was recently appointed to lead the agency, has said he intends to roll back dozens of regulations, slash the agency budget by 65 percent and eliminate its scientific research department.
"We are driving a dagger straight into the heart of the climate-change religion," he said in a news release on March 12. Zeldin described regulations targeting greenhouse-gas emissions, the primary driver of climate change, as "hidden 'taxes' on U.S. families."
But announcements from the EPA's Albany office, which oversees the Hudson River PCBs Superfund Site, have a different tone.
"We are full speed ahead with our full team," said Project Director Gary Klawinksi, an EPA veteran, earlier this week.
He said that includes the continuing monitoring and clean-up of pollutants called polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) that General Electric dumped into the river from two manufacturing plants over a 40-year period that ended in 1977. The pollution ended commercial fishing in the river and kicked off decades of legal battles.
The EPA will continue to work with the Army Corps of Engineers to clean the river, Klawinski said. He noted that, as part of a settlement agreement with the agency, GE has to reimburse his office for the work.
"It's all set up under different, various legal agreements, and those legal agreements are important," he said. Klawinski said Superfund programs appear to be off the table from funding cuts and freezes that are taking place elsewhere. The agency also receives some of its funding from outside the federal government. "It's my understanding that the Superfund program remains an important part of both the EPA and this administration's work, regardless of who is reimbursing the projects," he said.
At EPA headquarters in Washington, D.C., a representative said "work continues apace at Superfund sites" because "the president's priorities and Administrator Zeldin's first pillar of Powering the Great American Comeback is providing every American with clean air, land and water."
In the last days of the Biden administration, Klawinski's office released a final version of its latest five-year review of the cleanup. It confirmed the findings of a draft released in July 2024 that determined the EPA doesn't have enough information to determine if GE needs to continue to dredge sediment from the Upper Hudson to remove PCBs. Klawinski said that the agency plans to release an addendum by 2027 - and possibly as soon as this year - which will make that determination.
Local environmental groups, banding together under the name Friends of a Clean Hudson, released their own report in November 2023, analyzing the data that the EPA used and concluding that it has enough to rule the cleanup hasn't worked. For more than a decade, the groups have warned that the clean-up was doomed to fail because initial measurements of the contamination were flawed and GE wasn't targeting PCB "hot spots."
Last week, 15 members of Congress from New York and New Jersey, including Rep. Pat Ryan, a Democrat whose district includes Beacon, and Rep. Mike Lawler, a Republican whose district includes Philipstown, signed a letter to Zeldin urging him to declare that the cleanup has not worked, based on 2023 and 2024 data.
But in Albany, Klawinski said "we just don't scientifically have enough years of data in order to be able to, with enough confidence, make a decision" about the effectiveness of the cleanup. While the data shows that the level of PCBs in fish and sediment are declining, "are they going down in a way that meets the expectations of the record of decision in those legal agreements?" he asked.
Klawinski said his office is analyzing the most recent data, which wasn't included in the five-year report. It... -
Philipstown resident sees program frozen
If things had gone as planned, Sophia Ptacek would be making the final arrangements for her Fulbright fellowship, a nine-month stint working on industrial decarbonization and air pollution reduction for a Colombian government ministry.
But because the Trump administration paused funding for her program, the 28-year-old is living with her parents in Philipstown and checking her email.
"I'm holding on to hope that it could still happen," said Ptacek, who grew up in Garrison and Cold Spring and attended the Poughkeepsie Day School. "But I am in limbo. It's sad."
Ptacek last year completed a dual master's program at Yale University in environmental management and public health. She also was selected for a Fulbright Public Policy Fellowship, part of a U.S. State Department international exchange and education program suspended by the White House in February. Founded in 1946, the Fulbright program typically awards 9,000 scholarships each year to promote international cooperation and an exchange of ideas.
"The freeze on State Department grant programs threatens the survival of study abroad and international exchange programs that are essential to U.S. economic and national security," said Fanta Aw, executive director and CEO of NAFSA: Association of International Educators, based in Washington, D.C. "Halting inbound and outbound exchanges shuts the United States off from a vital flow of ideas, innovation and global understanding and influence, creating a vacuum that could easily be filled by competing nations."
Ptacek wants to help reduce air pollution in Colombia. "There's quite a lot of manufacturing and heavy industry, and as a result, a lot of air pollution that has public health impacts for communities near these plants," she said.
The details of her fellowship were still being confirmed, but Ptacek was scheduled to travel to Bogotá to work for the ministry of health, environment or energy and mines. Last month she received an email telling her to "pause making travel arrangements" because of "ongoing administrative issues affecting the transfer of funds from the U.S. State Department to Fulbright implementing partners."
Last week she received a second email informing her of layoffs at the Institute for International Education, the organization that administers her program.
As to what happens next, "I have no clue," said Ptacek.
Because of the uncertainty, she has taken a job with Turner Construction helping clients figure out how they can implement energy-efficiency measures, electrification and building decarbonization, she said. She'd also like to work in maritime decarbonization, moving ships and ports away from fossil fuels to mitigate climate change and reduce air pollution. -
Designs would 'calm' traffic, protect pedestrians
Rutgers University has released a traffic study of Cold Spring that includes recommendations to improve safety at four busy village locations.
The study was conducted by the Voorhees Transportation Center at the university and funded by the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council (NYMTC). It outlines measures to reduce and "calm" traffic and improve pedestrian safety.
NYMTC, created in 1982, is the metropolitan planning organization for Putnam, Westchester and Rockland counties, New York City and Long Island.
The report, posted at dub.sh/CS-traffic-study, makes recommendations for Main Street at the Visitors' Center; Fair Street; Lunn Terrace at Market Street; and Main at Route 9D. It also considers the trolley operated by Putnam County.
During its research, Voorhees conducted a resident survey and hosted a workshop. Its 39-page report was also reviewed by Putnam County and state agencies.
Main Street at Visitors' Center
The report notes this is the only Main Street location where legal U-turns can be made and is a busy area with frequent encounters between drivers and pedestrians. It recommended adding high-visibility paint and patterns to crosswalks; adding a crosswalk across Main; and installing signage and pedestrian lighting. It also suggested the village consider a mini roundabout.
Fair Street
The street is a challenge because it's narrow, frequently used by delivery trucks and congested with hikers on busy weekends. Inconsistent parking rules and one-way traffic on weekends create confusion, the report said. It recommends adding sidewalks to both sides between Main Street and Mayor's Park, installing pedestrian lighting, restricting on-street parking and encouraging drivers to use the municipal parking lot.
Lunn Terrace at Market
The area is described as "the most challenging" of those examined for the study because it provides the only vehicle access to the Metro-North parking lot and the lower village, and it's busy. It suggested a crosswalk across Market and better signage, road markings and striping to direct pedestrians and drivers. It also said the village could consider a small roundabout with splitter islands and a flashing sign at the crosswalk.
Cold Spring trolley
The researchers observed what most residents already knew - people don't know how to find it and can't get real-time data about its schedule. The recommendations included payment options besides cash; route modifications to encourage ridership; updated signage with timetables; and shelters at popular stops.
Main Street at Route 9D
The researchers found that, between 2019 and 2022, there were 68 vehicle crashes in the village, and that 44 percent were on Route 9D and 20 percent at its intersection with Main Street. Its recommendations included reflective crosswalk markings; the removal of obstacles that interfere with driver sightlines ("daylighting"); no parking within 25 feet of the intersection; increasing the interval on pedestrian crossing signals; and streetscaping to slow traffic. It also suggested examining the addition of left-turn lanes on Route 9D.
In response to the report, Mayor Kathleen Foley said there is a perception that the village is so overrun with visitors, that it can't do much on its own. But she said the report "emphasizes steps that are common sense and simple, and that we can do ourselves to improve traffic and pedestrian movement for residents and visitors alike."
She noted that the report could help the village make the case for grants to address the issues it identifies.
Foley said eliminating parking on Fair Street has made driveways safer, reduced driver confusion and created a wider roadway for trucks, buses and emergency vehicles. "Shifting Fair to one-way northbound during the busy season, as we did in the fall, provided an alternate loop for vehicles to move around the village and eliminated tangle-causing left turns onto Main Street," she said.
Stronger vi... -
County receives about $65 million annually
About 10 percent of Dutchess County's funding - $65 million - comes from federal funding through eight agencies, according to a newly released report by Dan Aymar-Blair, a Beacon resident who is the county comptroller.
The report also calculated that Dutchess residents receive $1.9 billion annually in direct federal assistance through programs such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and military medical insurance.
Aymar-Blair released the report, which is posted at dub.sh/dutchess-federal, following a freeze on Jan. 27 by President Donald Trump of all federal funding, causing confusion for municipal governments and nonprofits. Although a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order a few days later and ordered the money restored, the funding has been inconsistent and unpredictable.
At the same time, cuts driven by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an ad hoc agency created by the administration and led by carmaker Elon Musk, have caused further uncertainty.
"We were getting a lot of questions," said Aymar-Blair. "People had concerns about how much federal funding the county had, what it was used for, and whether it had been touched by the feds."
In Putnam, the finance department and clerk did not respond to inquiries about how much of the county's funding comes from the federal government. Putnam does not have a comptroller's office.
Aymar-Blair said he had expected that the investigation would reveal sources of federal funding that the county could do without, but "every single program struck me as vital to the county's functioning and to supporting the vulnerable people in our county."
The county's largest source of federal funding in 2024 was $43.6 million from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which funds programs such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (aka "welfare"); the Home Energy Assistance Program; adoption and foster care; and the enforcement of child support.
The county also received $2.95 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (aka "food stamps") and $12.9 million from the Department of Transportation, among other federal expenditures.
The report said that, as of Feb. 20, the county had not seen delays in federal disbursements, but Aymar-Blair said this week that's no longer accurate. "Everything's changing all the time," he said.
At a March 6 meeting of the county Legislature's Public Works and Capital Projects Committee, Bob Balakind of the Department of Public Works reported that a federal grant the county had received to study the feasibility of electrifying the county bus fleet had been frozen. A consultant hired to produce the study was already a month into the work; if the funds aren't forthcoming, the county will have to pick up the tab.
A grant to install new cameras at Dutchess County Airport also was paused, although "that may have since wiggled loose again," Balakind said. He noted that 90 percent of the airport's capital funding comes from the federal government, with the remainder split between the state and county.
"We're usually only stuck with paying that last 5 percent, which is great," he said. "But that federal funding is now much more volatile."
There is confusion about the status of some of the $3.2 million that the Department of Housing and Urban Development pays the county after the nonprofit Hudson River Housing reported that it had been told its contract with HUD would not be renewed as of March 31. That could leave dozens of Poughkeepsie families homeless, it said. Hudson River Housing did not respond to a request for comment.
Meanwhile, the future of the Social Security Administration office in Poughkeepsie, the only one in the county, has been in doubt. The office, which had been closed for renovations, appeared on a list of government sites that DOGE expected to close.
Earlier this week, Aymar-Blair said that the office's staff weren'... -
But planned drive-thru may not be allowed
The Beacon Planning Board on Tuesday (March 11) approved a developer's proposal to convert a building at 420 Fishkill Ave. to a Dunkin' coffeehouse with a drive-thru, although the City Council is considering a law that would ban drive-thrus.
The project, which will include other retail and apartments, has for months intersected with an ongoing city study of Fishkill Avenue.
In early 2024, Mayor Lee Kyriacou appointed a citizen committee to study a mile-long stretch of the corridor and make recommendations regarding zoning, streetscapes and accessibility, among other questions.
In November, Jay Healey, a member of the committee, brought an application to the Planning Board to transform the site of his family's former Ford dealership to the Dunkin' building. Two weeks later, the council asked the Fishkill Avenue committee for its early zoning recommendations. To move away from auto-related uses, it suggested that the council ban any new self-storage facilities, drive-thrus, gas stations, car washes, auto lots and repair shops.
J.C. Calderon, the committee chair, said that its members had not all agreed but that the recommendations were informed by public feedback, including a survey.
On Jan. 27, City Attorney Nick Ward-Willis told the council that the Dunkin' project would be regulated by whatever zoning is in place when a foundation is poured and "something substantial has come out of the ground."
After approving the application on Tuesday, Planning Board members discussed the council's draft law, which would only ban new self-storage and drive-thrus. They said that drive-thrus could work in the Fishkill Avenue corridor but they would need more time to thoroughly review the idea. They did not favor "categorical prohibition" of the two uses.
45 Beekman St.
The Planning Board continued a public hearing Tuesday on an application to construct two 4-story buildings with 64 one- and two-bedroom apartments on Beekman Street at its intersection with Route 9D.
The project, which has been reviewed for more than a year, would include 15,000 square feet of commercial space and 91 off-street parking spaces.
The feedback provided by neighbors was critical, with several people asking the Planning Board to send the developer "back to the drawing board."
A Cliff Street resident said she was committed to Beacon's continued growth but "strenuously opposed" to the Beekman proposal. "It is simply too much construction for too little space," she said, noting that many cities "would love to have the character and personality that we have," but "this project is out of keeping with the unique historic character and look and feel" of Beacon.
The board will continue the public hearing next month.
291 Main St.
The Planning Board also held a public hearing on plans to construct a three-story addition in the alley adjacent to the two-story Telephone Building at 291 Main St. The third story would be set back from the second-story facade, and the addition would feature commercial space on the ground floor with three apartments on the second and third floors.
Planning Board members cited "self-imposed" issues with the design, with Kevin Byrne suggesting that the Main Street frontage on the addition be reduced to one story. He said he is "very skeptical about [the project] unless some major changes are made." Karen Quiana said the plans call for too much construction on the South Brett Street side of the building. "It feels like there's a little too much stuffing for the taco there," she said.
Several residents made similar statements. A South Brett Street neighbor lamented former owner Deborah Bigelow's yearslong restoration of the historic building, saying, "I hope she doesn't know what's going on. That's my secret hope."
The hearing will continue next month. -
Boscobel launches $2 million-plus restoration
Jennifer Carlquist will never forget the evening of April 16, when she learned a ceiling in the historic mansion at Boscobel House and Gardens had collapsed.
Carlquist, its executive director and curator, has been in the museum business for 30 years, including the past 10 at Boscobel. She is used to making nighttime runs from her home to deal with routine problems such as false security alarms.
This call was different. "It was beyond my worst nightmare," she said. "I could never have imagined what I saw."
The collapse left the floor covered with plaster, broken period furniture, damaged antiques and debris. An investigation revealed a 1950s reconstruction flaw: The ceilings were made of concrete and, after more than 65 years (the early 19th-century mansion was moved from Montrose to Philipstown in 1955 to escape the wrecking ball), the shank nails could no longer handle the weight.
The force of the collapse was so great it impacted rooms throughout the mansion. Nineteen of its 24 ceilings now need replacement, Carlquist said.
And it could have been worse. "Hours before, we had a school group in that room," Carlquist said. "And their teacher, who used to work at Boscobel, was pregnant."
Carlquist recalled the outpouring of support that followed. M&T Bank, Antipodean Books, Yannitelli Wine and Spirits and Foodtown provided boxes, the Appalachian Market lent a dumpster, the Desmond-Fish library shared air scrubbers and the Greater Hudson Heritage Network arranged for vacuums, supplies and volunteers.
Resources were also made available by the Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative, Metropolitan Museum of Art's American Wing, Greenwich Historical Society, Stair Galleries and Caramoor, she said.
Reconstruction is now well underway. Carlquist estimates Phase 1 will cost about $2 million, but "that doesn't include replacing carpets, window treatments or wallpapers that were ruined. That's Phase 2," she said.
A public fundraising campaign has begun and the National Trust for Historic Preservation has been approached for money. Representatives from the Department of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation will visit soon to advise about state grants, Carlquist said.
"We have a federal grant from the National Endowment for the Arts for an exhibition that's supposed to open this fall," she said. "We're on pins and needles, hoping there isn't a disruption to funding" because of Trump administration cuts.
Carlquist said the restoration is a chance to rethink the mansion, making it more accessible in part by removing some of the red ropes. For example, a second-floor room once served as living quarters for Sarah Wilkinson, an enslaved woman known as "Sill." Removing ropes there would allow visitors to enjoy views overlooking the expansive gardens.
The Boscobel mansion was built by States Dyckman, a Loyalist who returned to the U.S. after fleeing during the America Revolution. He began construction in Montrose, 15 miles south, in 1806 but died that same year. Two years later his widow, Elizabeth, completed the Federal-style house, which was inspired by the symmetry of ancient Greek and Roman architecture.
By the early 20th century, the home was in disrepair. In 1955, it was sold at auction for $35 (about $400 today). Just before it was to be razed, historian Benjamin West Frazier purchased the house for $10,000 ($118,000), had it dismantled and stored the pieces. Lila Acheson Wallace, a philanthropist who had co-founded Reader's Digest, financed the reconstruction in Philipstown overlooking the Hudson River, and the house opened for tours in 1961.
Boscobel is located at 1601 Route 9D. The mansion is closed but the grounds are open Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission is $14 ($7 for ages 4 to 18). Sunday will be added by April 6, Friday by April 25 and Monday by Memorial Day. Some exhibits from the house have been moved to the Visitor Center. -
State allows 5.15 percent tax-levy increase
The Beacon school district is considering taking advantage of the full 5.15 percent tax-levy increase it has been allowed for 2025-26 by New York State to raise more than $50 million in property taxes.
A state tax cap for public school districts and local governments limits annual increases to 2 percent or the rate of inflation, whichever is less. However, other factors in a complicated formula can push the allowable increase well beyond that. At Haldane, the cap for 2025-26 is 3.38 percent and at Garrison, 5.78 percent, although both districts will likely ask voters for less.
In Beacon's case, two factors in the formula raised the amount of property taxes the district can collect. First, it is the first budget to include debt service on a $50 million capital project approved by voters in 2024. Second, and more significantly, development added $1.2 million to the levy.
Beacon has had the highest tax-base growth in Dutchess County for at least five years. In 2024-25, new construction allowed the district to add $793,795 to its levy. In 2023-24, it added $721,620.
The administration has yet to propose its spending plan for 2025-26, but the district will spend $83.9 million in 2024-25. Its revenue this year includes $47.7 million in property taxes, or 3.91 percent more than 2023-24. The school board will continue a discussion of the 2025-26 budget at its March 24 meeting and vote on the plan on April 22. District voters will have their say on May 20.
If the budget is approved, worst-case scenario figures provided by the district estimate an average $122 annual tax increase for Beacon homeowners, $159 for district residents in Fishkill and $161 for those in the Town of Wappinger.
During the school board's meeting on Monday (March 10), some members questioned whether the district should seek the maximum allowable increase.
"It seems a little high at 5 [percent], but I know what we're trying to do," said Eric Schetter. "If we could get it below 5, I would be happier with that. I think it would 'sell' more" to voters.
However, Meredith Heuer, who joined the board in 2016, noted that "if we don't use what we can with our levy, we fall behind very quickly." The district chose not to seek the maximum allowable increase during one of her first years as a board member, she said, "and the next thing you know, you're negotiating for a teachers' contract, and there is no money."
Superintendent Matt Landahl said Monday that pushing the budget "to cap" would allow the district to potentially expand from eight- to nine-period days at Rombout Middle School, giving students receiving extra academic help more time for electives and expanding class topics beyond core subjects. That change, if implemented, would probably require the district to hire four full-time teachers, he said.
Additional reading and math teachers are needed at the elementary level, and the district hopes to expand a reading-support program offered in grades 3-5 to include grades K-2.
"This is a lot, and to be real, we probably cannot afford all of this," Landahl said. "But I want to create, at minimum, a two-year plan to get this done. We want to look at multi-year planning for these larger initiatives, to make them affordable, to make them sustainable."
Another factor for the board to consider is the unpredictable nature of its state and federal funding. Last year, the district received no increase in state funding, which typically accounts for a third of its revenue. That included foundation aid - state funding without spending restrictions - which was flat from 2023-24 to 2024-25, at about $21 million.
Gov. Kathy Hochul has proposed 2 percent foundation aid increases for nearly every district in the state, including Beacon, for 2025-26, but "there's concern on our end, in terms of: How long is that going to be the case?" Landahl said.
Federal funding makes up far less of the district's budget - about 2 percent - but it pays fo... -
Police say he embezzled at least $208,000
A Philipstown resident was arrested on Wednesday (March 12) and accused of stealing at least $208,000 from two local organizations for which he served as treasurer.
In a news release, Putnam County Sheriff Kevin McConville said Mark A. Kenny, 61, had served as a treasurer for the civic groups, which he did not name, saying they had been victims of a crime.
He said the agency's investigation began in December when one group reported that funds apparently had been stolen from its bank account over four years. An investigator learned Kenny was also treasurer of the second group and requested its records over the past five years.
After a review, the sheriff said the investigator found Kenny had used funds for personal expenses such as gas, cellphone charges, dental bills, pet supplies, cigars, liquor, automotive and lawn equipment, building materials, dumpster rentals and dining at restaurants and bars in Putnam, Dutchess, Westchester and Orange counties.
The sheriff said Kenny also made purchases from a restaurant distributor after he submitted a credit application in the name of one of the organizations, adding he and his wife as authorized users. The investigation uncovered cash withdrawals from ATM machines and bank branches.
The sheriff said Kenny appears to have stolen at least $118,000 from one organization and at least $90,000 from the other. He was arraigned in Philipstown Town Court on three felony counts of grand larceny and released until his next court date.
No further information was available; a Philipstown court clerk said the town does not release documents from any case unless a person is convicted or by special permission from Justices Camille Linson or Angela Thompson-Tinsley. Philipstown also does not upload its records to the state's electronic system.
Kenny's LinkedIn profile says he is a graduate of New York University and since August has been a manager for global product risk and control at Wells Fargo. In December 2023, according to court records, he was sued by Lending Club for a $4,702 debt it said had gone unpaid. -
Beacon professor's quest led to publication
Thirty years ago, Adam McKible, a doctoral student at the University of North Carolina, stretched across a blanket outdoors to read The Letters of Davy Carr, a serialized novel published anonymously in 1925 and 1926 in a monthly magazine for Black writers and readers called The Messenger.
McKible, who today lives in Beacon and is an English professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said he wasn't confident that the excerpts would contribute anything to a chapter in his dissertation devoted to the magazine.
But after finishing the pages he had printed from microfilm, he realized he had found a forgotten novel written during the Harlem Renaissance and filled with details about the daily lives of Blacks in Washington, D.C. Its narrator, Davey Carr, also commented on hot-button topics such as Blacks whose skin was light enough to "pass" for white.
"I realized it was a good novel, so the first thing I did was go to all my African-American literature professors and asked if they ever heard of it," McKible said. "Nobody had."
McKible set aside the pages to finish his degree and begin work as a professor. In 2001, he shared the excerpts with a Columbia graduate student who knew how to use a new technology called Google and was able to identify the author as Edward Christopher Williams, the first Black graduate of the New York State Library School in Albany. In 2004, after the serial was typed into a manuscript, HarperCollins published the novel as When Washington Was in Vogue.
To mark the 100th anniversary of When Washington Was in Vogue's publication in The Messenger, McKible will speak at 7 p.m. on Wednesday (March 18) at Stanza Books in Beacon. He will be joined by Eve Dunbar, an English professor at Vassar who will discuss another memorable novel published in 1925, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Born in Cleveland to a Black father and Irish mother, Edward Williams graduated from Case Western Reserve University before attending librarian school. Case Western hired him as its library director, a position he held until resigning in 1909 to become principal of Dunbar High School in Washington.
Between those jobs, Williams married the daughter of Charles W. Chestnut, one of the Harlem Renaissance's best-known writers. In 1916, he became head librarian and chaired the romance languages department at Howard University. He died in 1929.
Before HarperCollins published the book, McKible attempted to locate Williams' granddaughter by cold calling every Patricia Williams in Washington, D.C. After its publication, he received an email from Patricia's son in Georgia, who said she had died in 2000. He thanked McKible for the novel's publication.
"I was conscious that this was somebody else's book, and I felt that it was important that it get out in the world," McKible said. -
As the saying goes, the best time to plant a tree was yesterday. Tree time and people time are different and in the decades of growth that an oak needs to reach its full size, humans age out or move on. That makes planting a hopeful cast for future generations to enjoy the benefits of a maple or white pine.
As the window closes to avert the worst effects of climate change, any day is a good day to plant a tree. Trees offer shade and cooling, clean the air and store a lot of carbon. They are critical parts of our ecosystems. Recognizing their role in mitigating global warming, the state's 25 Million Trees by 2033 initiative is part of New York's goal to be carbon neutral by 2050.
Using a tracker developed by the Department of Environmental Conservation, you can add your tree plantings to a statewide map at dub.sh/tree-tracker. There aren't any reports of new trees in Putnam County and only three reports for 18 trees around Beacon. But it's new! Give us time.
Annabel Gregg is the program coordinator at the DEC. Her job is to coordinate public and private efforts to fill gaps and get people excited about planting trees.
Why 25 million trees?
It begins with the Climate Action Plan of 2019. To reach carbon neutrality by 2050, the scoping plan sets out to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by 85 percent and sequester 15 percent using trees and forests. To hit that goal, we need to establish 1.7 million acres of new forest by 2040. The reforestation plan is nearly final and Gov. [Kathy] Hochul wanted to get us started. That's why the 25 million trees by 2033 launched last year. We need to scale up and do it fast.
How does the tree tracker fit into this?
We launched it a month ago, so we're still adding data from 2024. We can use the tracker to measure progress. With Arbor Day coming on April 25, it's a great time to celebrate trees. There will be a lot of planting events. By this time next year, we can tell how well the tracker has integrated into what people are doing and make this part of the norm.
How is tree loss accounted for?
New York is 62 percent forested. The U.S. Forest Service conducts an inventory every five to seven years. New York state lost 1 percent of its forest cover between 2017 and 2022, the year of the most recent survey. [Pamela's note: The inventory lists Putnam County with 76 percent cover and Dutchess County with 53 percent. Throughout the state, 73 percent of forested land is in private hands. See dub.sh/forest-inventory.]
Are there new approaches to reach the goal? I'm wondering about the dense plantings pioneered by Japanese forest ecologist Akira Miyawaki.
We're setting up the first pilot project of a Miyawaki forest at the Five Rivers Education Center in Delmar [near Albany]. We're hoping that kids who come to the project will see all these species in a small space. We're studying the best reforestation and afforestation [planting where there has been no recent covering] strategies and there are programs like Regenerate New York for landowners to support things like slash walls [made of logs to protect young trees from deer].
Sources for trees
The Tree Tracker explains how to plant trees and has a calendar of tree-planting events. Until Saturday (March 15), the Butterfield library in Cold Spring and the Desmond-Fish library in Garrison are offering free seedlings to children. Sign up at their websites. Beacon residents can purchase any of six species through the city at a discount. See dub.sh/beacon-trees.
The deadline to order discounted seedlings from the DEC is May 14. For example, it offers 25 red-oak seedlings for $30. If you can't plant them all, consider sharing an order with friends or donating some. But act quickly because many varieties are already sold out. See dub.sh/DEC-trees. - Laat meer zien
