HC Audio Stories

Judge rejected fraud claims in June A former Philipstown couple who claim they were victims of fraud is appealing a state judge's ruling upholding the foreclosure and sale of the Route 9 property where they lived and worked. An attorney for Sokhara Kim and Chakra Oeur last month filed a notice of their intent to appeal a June ruling by state Judge Gina Capone. Her decision denied the couple's attempt to regain 3154 Route 9, where they operated Nice & Neat Dry Cleaners and sold Cambodian food. The couple also rented a storefront in the building to the owner of a nail salon. Kim and Oeur, immigrants from Cambodia who also operated an art gallery at the property, were evicted on Dec. 9, 2025, ending a foreclosure process that began in August 2022 when Kim stopped making payments to MT&T Bank on a $570,000 mortgage. An MT&T subsidiary, Chesapeake Holding, paid $620,200 for the parcel at auction in May 2024. Capone rejected Kim and Oeur's main contention — that they were victims of Derek Keith Williams, who met the couple when his girlfriend, Mauny Bun, owned the nail salon. Williams, who is facing fraud and grand larceny charges, convinced Kim that he paid off the mortgage, according to court documents. Then, for the next few years, he hid the foreclosure by demanding that Kim "turn over any mail or paperwork relating to the property," said her attorney, Jacob Chen. In Capone's 31-page ruling, she said both Kim and Oeur were "wholly aware" of the foreclosure and the sale of the property well before they claimed to have learned of the eviction in November 2025. She cited appearances Kim made with Williams in Erie County Court when M&T filed a notice of default on the mortgage loan. She also said a handwritten complaint Kim filed in January 2025 against M&T with the Federal Reserve used the case number for the foreclosure. In addition, said Capone, the contention that Williams withheld mail about the foreclosure "is undermined by the fact that, according to Ms. Kim, Mr. Williams was not living at the subject premises, and present there on a day-to-day basis, until September 2023," a year after the bank initiated the proceeding. "Throughout these many proceedings, stretching across various jurisdictions and courts, one constant, according to the plaintiff, was that Ms. Kim and Mr. Williams acted in concert to prevent, hinder and interfere" with the bank's efforts to gain the property, said Capone. Williams, a self-described "sovereign citizen" who had been serving a six-month sentence in the Putnam County jail for driving an unregistered vehicle without a license, was charged in February with six felonies: four for grand larceny and two for filing a false instrument with the intent to defraud. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and is being held in the Putnam jail on $100,000 cash bail or $200,000 bond. His next appearance in Putnam County Court is scheduled for Wednesday (Aug. 19) before Judge Anthony Mole.

Accused of payroll irregularities A police union president who alleges in a federal lawsuit that Putnam County has shortchanged Sheriff's Office deputies on overtime wages has been suspended without pay after being charged by the agency with payroll irregularities. Daniel Hunsberger, an investigator with the Sheriff's Office and president of the Police Benevolent Association, the union that represents deputies, was suspended following an internal probe into his "time-and-attendance and payroll records," according to a statement issued Monday (Aug. 10) by Undersheriff James Menton. A 20-year veteran of the Sheriff's Office, Hunsberger faces disciplinary charges that could be referred to Putnam County prosecutors for a review into possible criminal charges, according to Menton. "The public's trust in this office depends on knowing that the time and the resources paid for by the taxpayers are honored," he said. "No member of this department, whatever their rank, assignment or position, is entitled to be paid for time they did not work or to misuse public funds." Hudson Valley Digger, a Substack published by former Journal News reporter David McKay Wilson, first reported on Hunsberger's removal from duty, which follows the suspension in February of Kevin Osika, a deputy and the union's vice president. Sheriff Brian Hess suspended Osika, who is married to Putnam Legislator Erin Crowley, after his Feb. 21 arrest by state troopers on misdemeanor assault and harassment charges following a domestic incident at his home. Menton said that any decision to prosecute Hunsberger would be up to Robert Tendy, the district attorney. According to Wilson, Tendy recused himself from the Osika case because of his office's dealings with the deputy and Crowley. Osika's case in Southeast Town Court is being handled by Dutchess County prosecutors. In May, Southeast Town Justice Louis Gasparini dismissed the harassment charge against Osika, according to Hudson Valley Digger. The deputy, who was on unpaid leave for 30 days and is now on paid leave, is still being prosecuted for third-degree assault. "We are committed to identifying and rooting out any form of misconduct or corruption within this department, and to doing so fairly, impartially and with full respect for the rights of every member," said Menton. "That is how the public's trust is earned and kept." The payroll-related charges against Hunsberger come six months after he joined with Osika and Sgt. Matthew Kraisky, the union treasurer, to sue Putnam in federal court over allegations that the county has for years miscalculated the overtime rate for more than 100 current and former other deputies. The officers accuse Putnam of dividing their annual salaries by the wrong number of working days — 261 instead of the 249 specified in their contract — to calculate their hourly rate. In one example, Hunsberger says his overtime rate for 2024, when he made $122,819 and accrued 138 overtime hours, should have been $92.11 per hour, not the $87.89 paid by the county. The officers accuse Putnam of dividing their annual salaries by the wrong number of working days — 261 instead of the 249 specified in their contract — to calculate their hourly rate. In one example, Hunsberger says his overtime rate for 2024, when he made $122,819 and accrued 138 overtime hours, should have been $92.11 per hour, not the $87.89 paid by the county. According to the complaint, county officials told Hunsberger in November 2024 that the extra 12 days represented holidays or training days. Hunsberger and the other deputies also allege that the county failed to pay them for 15-minute briefings at the beginning of shifts and has not compensated investigators for on-call duty, which requires them to report to headquarters or a dispatched location within 30 minutes. In addition to seeking back pay under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, the deputies are demanding punitive damages equal to the amount of unpaid overtime and the re...

Increase to bring Dutchess closer to neighbors There are 65 pre-K special-needs children in the Beacon City School District. But there are no physical therapists in Dutchess County who contract with the agencies that provide services for them. If a pre-K special education student in the district needs physical therapy, a parent or guardian must travel to Highland, across the river in Ulster County. "That is a barrier for many of our families," said Heather Chadwell Dennis, the assistant superintendent of pupil personnel services for the Beacon district. Dutchess County legislators voted unanimously on Monday (Aug. 10) to increase pay for preschool special education providers, a move meant to address the shortage. While public school districts in New York state coordinate services such as speech, occupational or physical therapy for special-needs students age 3 and up, the agencies or individuals who provide the services are contracted with and paid by the county where they work. The pay rate for providers in Dutchess — $60 for a typical half-hour session — has lagged for years behind neighboring counties (Ulster pays $80), leading providers to take better-paying opportunities elsewhere. The Legislature's vote increases the rate to $80 per half hour. "It's investing in our community and our kids," said Yvette Valdés Smith, the chair of the Legislature, whose district includes Ward 4 in Beacon. The increase will now go to County Executive Sue Serino for her signature. If she enacts the change, it will be retroactive to July 1. Sixty percent of the increased cost will be covered by the state. Another issue Chadwell Dennis has seen in Beacon is when a provider — who travels to the home, daycare facility or school to work with the child — only has time for one session when three children need services. In that case, the district will gather the children in a common space, such as a library, "because the provider can't get to three houses, but they can get to the library one time," she said. It's not an ideal scenario for the early-intervention services that educators say are critical for special-needs children to make gains in communication, thinking and social skills. The resolution was drafted by Legislator Emma Arnoff, who represents LaGrange, Pleasant Valley and Poughkeepsie and is the founder of The Sensory Space, a Poughkeepsie facility where children use sensory supports while participating in play therapy and psychotherapy. Superintendent Matt Landahl said during the Beacon school board's July 30 meeting that he was "elated" to see the increase on the table. Early intervention services for special-needs children provide "a life raft for families that are struggling with a really young child who is struggling," he said, calling it "a vitally important area" that has been overlooked.

Condo development had been set for foreclosure sale A housing development twice halted by the city and ordered by a state judge to be sold to pay down debt is back on the Beacon Planning Board agenda. Eliza Street LLC, the owner of The Mews at Beacon, has hired a Newburgh architecture firm to see the project at 53 Eliza St. to completion, according to materials submitted for the board's Tuesday (Aug. 11) meeting. If that happens, it will be a remarkable turnaround for a project that appeared doomed. In February 2025, a lender, Insula Capital Group, filed a lawsuit in Dutchess County court demanding repayment of nearly $4.63 million from Qele "Charlie" Qelaj, whose project calls for nine loft-like condominiums two blocks from Main Street. The proposal received Planning Board approval in 2019, as well as variances to construct multi-family housing in a single-family zone and to construct nine units on a parcel where six were allowed. But by 2023, construction had stalled as Qelaj sought new financing. In its suit, Insula asked the court to force the sale of the property to pay the debt. There were additional money problems. In April 2025, the Building Department issued the first of two stop-work orders at the site when it said Qelaj could not renew a work permit because of unpaid property taxes. In the months that followed, Building Inspector Bryan Murphy said he allowed windows and doors to be installed to protect the property from the elements, but when further work commenced in April 2026, he issued a second order. Qelaj paid $175,000 in delinquent taxes earlier this year, city officials said. On the legal front, Judge Maria Rosa granted Insula's request for summary judgment in August 2025 and appointed an attorney who determined that Qelaj owed Insula $5.97 million plus costs and interest. The Mews were scheduled to be auctioned in March at the Dutchess County Courthouse in Poughkeepsie, but the sale did not take place. Instead, in an April 21 letter to Rosa, Insula attorneys said the sides had agreed to stay the sale. The agreement was not filed with the court, but the attorneys said the sale will be rescheduled if Qelaj defaults. Otherwise, upon compliance, Insula will drop the suit. In his letter to the Planning Board, Chris Berg of Fifth Street Architecture said he hopes to "see this project stabilized, completed and occupied by residents." But he acknowledged another setback. While authorizing a new work permit, Berg and Murphy — who was not the building inspector when the project was approved in 2019 — discovered that site drawings were never endorsed by the board after its approval. The project "should never have been issued a work permit, let alone subsequent renewals," Berg wrote. Qelaj, who is not the original applicant, is returning to the board seeking endorsement of the 2019 approval so he can proceed with construction, Berg said. He said that Qelaj will work with Murphy to "correct any deviations that have been noted from the original approval." Finally, Berg added that Fifth Street was not involved "in the initial planning or permitting of any portion of the project at 53 Eliza Street — we are simply assisting in getting this project back on track to completion."

A few moments with Appalachian hikers Daniel Farris and his wife, Raychel Pepperman, began hiking the Appalachian Trail on Feb. 22 at Springer Mountain in Georgia, the starting point. By the time they reached Philipstown two weeks ago, they had trekked 1,400 miles and resolved a marital dispute: Farris was walking too fast. "I understand that you're frustrated, but I can't go any faster," Pepperman said she told her husband. Farris slowed down. "The trail has been helpful for our communication skills," said Pepperman, a therapist in Chattanooga. "If one of us gets upset with the other, you have time to think about it while you're hiking, instead of just reacting." The couple is among the many hikers who stop this time of year at the Appalachian Market at Route 9 and Route 403, where they often occupy the picnic tables. About 10 miles of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail meanders through Putnam County, much of it inside Fahnestock State Park. About 3,000 people each year attempt to hike the entire 2,197.9-mile route through 14 states to Mount Katahdin in Maine, according to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, and about a third succeed. Millions of others hike segments. When they stopped at the Appalachian Market in late July, Farris and Pepperman hoped to cover the final 800 miles by mid-September to attend a wedding in Nashville. To fellow hikers, Pepperman, 29, is known as "Chapstick" because of the lip balm she needed on the trail in February. Farris, 31, who sells outdoor gear, goes by "Mossman" because he likes to photograph moss. The market was also a refueling stop for Diver, 26, from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He declined to give his legal name but said his trail name was bestowed after he was seen dumpster diving near a shelter in Grayson Highlands State Park in Virginia. He said he was retrieving his hiking cap, which had been thrown away, along with dozens of empty pizza boxes. Diver said he is hiking the trail because "I wanted to spend as much time outside as possible." He just completed five years in the U.S. Air Force sitting at a computer doing "logistics and stuff." He loves drinking from the springs he encounters. "It's the best water you'll ever get," he said. "It's so cold coming right out of the mountains." Also resting at the Appalachian Market was "Sidequest McMurphy," who said his "government name" is Seth Harper. He's a 23-year-old Eagle Scout who just graduated from the University of Tennessee. When he left Springer Mountain on March 9, Harper's trail name was McMurphy because, according to his former scoutmaster, he resembles the rebellious R.P. McMurphy in Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Harper added Sidequest because "I tend to get sucked into lots of sidequests," such as several days in the reading room at Elmer's Sunnybank Inn in Hot Springs, North Carolina. "Every room has a copy of Leaves of Grass and the Tao Te Ching," said Harper, who plans to attend graduate school and teach history. Harper said he is hiking for the same reason that Henry David Thoreau went to live by Walden Pond: "because I wanted to live deliberately." Hiking across Route 9 on his way to Fahnestock, he said he was listening to the audio version of Alexander Hamilton, by Ron Chernow, which runs 36 hours. Resting at a picnic table, Amanda Edwards, 21, said the last time she did any real travel was in eighth grade, when her class visited Washington, D.C. "Since we passed Maryland, every step I take is the furthest north I've ever been," she said. After graduating in December from Georgia Southern University, Edwards said, "I wanted to do something hard, something I wasn't sure I could finish." Her trail name, "Jukebox," comes from her singing. Climbing Kuwohi Mountain in the Smokies, she sang songs from Sweeney Todd. Also known as Clingmans Dome, the 6,644-foot peak is the highest point on the trail. A few miles before reaching the Appalachian Market, Edwards crossed the lowest point, the Bear Mountain Br...

National group to aid challenger Lisa Kaul A national Democratic Party organization seeking to restore the New York Senate's veto-proof majority has made it a priority to oust Rob Rolison, the incumbent Republican whose district includes Philipstown and Beacon. The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, which formed in 1992 to elect party members to state legislatures, this month named the District 39 campaign as one of six races it will support before the November election. The group is chaired by Andrea Stewart-Cousins, majority leader of the New York Senate. Lisa Kaul, who represents part of the Town of Poughkeepsie on the Dutchess County Legislature, won a three-candidate primary in June to face Rolison, a former Poughkeepsie mayor who is seeking a third, 2-year term. Democrats outnumber Republicans 41 to 22 in the Senate, but one more seat would restore a two-thirds supermajority that the party lost in the 2024 election. Combined with the supermajority in the Assembly, where Democrats hold 103 of the 150 seats, the party could override gubernatorial vetoes without Republican support. As of July 15, the Kaul campaign said it had $37,511 on hand, while the Rolison campaign reported $8,847. Funding from the DLCC will help "reach more voters across the Hudson Valley, have more conversations about the issues that matter to people and share my vision for finding solutions and delivering results in Albany," Kaul said on Tuesday (Aug. 4). Rolison defeated Julie Shiroishi, then chief of staff to Assembly Member Jonathan Jacobson, with 53 percent of the vote in 2022. Two years later, his victory over Yvette Valdés Smith, a Dutchess legislator who represents parts of Beacon and Fishkill, was much closer, at 50.7 percent to 49.3 percent. The DLCC last contributed money to New York state candidates in 2020, when it spent a total of $53,100 on five Senate races, according to the state Board of Elections. The recipients included Stewart-Cousins and state Sen. Pete Harckham, whose district includes part of eastern Putnam County. Harckham is one of three Democratic incumbents named among the DLCC's six priority races in 2026. The two other candidates are, like Kaul, challenging incumbent Republicans. Heather Williams, the DLCC's president, said that supermajorities in both the Senate and Assembly "will help Democrats continue to go on offense on redistricting and keep delivering for families." The Rolison campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Kaul is a native of India and Rhodes Scholar who moved to the U.S. in 2004. She spent five years as an administrator at Vassar College and served on the Arlington school board before defeating Republican Marc Pfeifer in 2023 to win a seat in the Legislature. She ran unopposed in 2025 for a second term and chairs the Environment Committee. In June, Kaul easily won the Democratic primary, garnering 62 percent of the vote to defeat Evan Menist, a member of the Poughkeepsie Common Council (30 percent) and Gay Lee, a former City of Newburgh council member (7 percent). "A strong Democratic majority means progress on affordability, healthcare, housing, reproductive freedom and climate resilience," said Kaul, adding that being a member of that majority means she could "bring state resources home to improve public transportation, build housing our families can afford, invest in infrastructure to keep our water clean and lower utility costs."

Legislators also pass 'transparency' law Cornell Cooperative Extension and Second Chance Foods will receive $150,000 set aside last year by the Putnam County Legislature to aid programs to alleviate food insecurity. In approving the allocation on Tuesday (Aug. 5) of $100,000 to Cornell Cooperative and $50,000 to Second Chance, the Legislature required that at least $50,000 go to the Bountiful Meals program. The two agencies partner on the initiative, which distributes prepared meals to food pantries, libraries and senior centers like the Philipstown Friendship Center in Cold Spring. The organizations can also spend the funds on freezers, packaging and transportation. "Our neighbors who are struggling with hunger cannot afford to wait," said Martha Elder, executive director of the Brewster-based Second Chance. "We stand ready to begin." The $150,000 has been sitting in a contingency account since it was approved in November at the request of Legislature Chair Dan Birmingham. Since then, federal cuts have forced the shutdown of Meals on Main, a mobile food pantry that stopped at the Chestnut Ridge Apartments, Philipstown Friendship Center and the Brookside Senior Citizen Co-op in Philipstown. In addition, work requirements contained in the One Big Beautiful Bill signed last year by President Donald Trump are expected to cut the number of people receiving aid from the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps. "More is coming down the pike," said Nancy Montgomery, who represents Philipstown and part of Putnam Valley in the Legislature, of additional cuts. "We will see dire circumstances." At Montgomery's request, the Legislature removed from the resolution a "whereas" clause noting that the loss of the mobile food pantry in Philipstown "has created an additional gap in food access in the western portion of Putnam County." Legislator Erin Crowley said she was "hesitant" about the allocation because the clause "makes this sound inequitable." The funding should not focus on "specific parts of the county," said Crowley, but be "about making sure that we're covering everybody who is in need, whether it's age, race, religion, politics, color and creed." A law approved by the Legislature on Tuesday codifies the county's practice of livestreaming meetings while requiring that the public be notified when legislators of the same political party hold caucus meetings. Although Legislature meetings have for years been streamed on the county's YouTube channel, and their recordings archived, the Transparency Act enshrines the broadcasts in the county code. Its mandate covers monthly full-board and committee meetings, and public hearings by the county executive. The law also requires that legislators "be heard, seen and identified at all times" during meetings, except for closed-door executive sessions. In addition, it addresses closed-door political caucuses, which allow legislators from the same party to deliberate privately on proposed laws and resolutions. Public notice for "meetings of political committees, conferences and caucuses … at which deliberations of county legislative matters are to be discussed" will be required. A public record of the legislators attending the meeting, as well as a "synopsis of such items of county legislative matters discussed," is also mandated. The Legislature has eight Republicans and one Democrat (Montgomery). The surviving spouses of police officers killed in the line of duty will be eligible for a 50 percent reduction in their county property taxes under another law approved on Tuesday. Legislator Jake D'Angelo proposed the exemption, which is authorized under a state law enacted by Gov. Kathy Hochul in December. Cities, towns, villages and school districts also can exempt spouses. D'Angelo said it "reflects Putnam County's continued commitment to honoring the service and sacrifice" of police officers and "providing meaningful, long-term support to their fa...

Works by Boetti, Riley and Chamberlain on display Magazzino Italian Art specializes in the country's post-World War II output, so it's no surprise that in April, it opened an extended exhibit featuring works by Alighiero Boetti, who is associated with the Arte Povera (Poverty Art) movement. Last month, by coincidence, Dia debuted its own long-term Boetti exhibition that includes three works drawn from its own collection, one of which contains 100 pieces. "We had no idea about their plans until we reached out to borrow an item," says Matilde Guidelli-Guidi, chair of Dia's curatorial department. A decade ago, she and Magazzino director Nicola Lucchi collaborated on a gallery show in New York City and the institutions, which arranged a hasty round of tours in July, plan to coordinate more events. Because Dia's curatorial reach casts a wider net than Magazzino's, its focus on Boetti illustrates his international impact. "Our approach highlights the artist, not the movement," says Guidelli-Guidi. "In light of geopolitical situations today, I started thinking about this two years ago." Arte Povera abhorred pretense, championed the use of everyday items and helped shape the conceptual art movement in the 1960s and 1970s. Boetti's fame grew after the group's loose collective spirit flamed out; he died in 1994 at age 53 of a brain tumor. Two rooms at Dia reflect the artist's playful side with child-friendly embroidered works; a political bent is represented by 16 copper engravings showing the boundaries of countries entrenched in turmoil between 1967 and 1971. This summer, Dia also opened long-term exhibits by Bridget Riley and John Chamberlain. Riley's proto-psychedelic paintings are must-see — and feel. All of the half-dozen works, rendered in black, white and something in between, mess with the senses by seeming to shape-shift and trigger visceral responses. Created in the early 1960s, they pulse like mobiles in motion, even when she uses near-parallel straight lines that somehow convey depth. "Climax" folds in on itself, then expands like an accordion. "Interrupted Circle" presents an optical illusion open to interpretation. One viewer suggested that the hiccup in the top left looked like a rising slice of cake and figured that the circle descended at the bottom like a waterfall; another observer's take conveyed the exact opposite viewpoint. The title "Straight Curve" is a coy play on how the patterns radiate as the eye dances across the canvas. Constructed from half-white, half-black triangles arrayed in various sizes and angles, the shapes sometimes look like squares with shadows. Grids melt into streaks as the work plays with the mind's eye. The Chamberlain show includes 10 large sculptures that weld or bolt together mangled automobile parts. In contrast, nine urethane foam creations from his Stuffed Dog series are placed on knee-high pedestals. One standout, "The Privet," named for a group of Asian shrubs and plants, resembles a narrow see-through hedgerow with serpentine strands resembling twisted reeds or bamboo shoots. About a foot wide, 15 feet tall and more than 50 feet long, the edifice's placement benefits from illumination provided by a massive western-facing window. Beyond the concurrent Boetti exhibits and the relationship between Lucchi and Guidelli-Guidi, the two institutions share another random, whimsical connection. Long before Dia opened its crushed automobile exhibit, an employee at Magazzino with Texas license plates has been driving around with a bumper sticker that reads, "My Other Car is a John Chamberlain." Dia Beacon, at 3 Beekman St. in Beacon, is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday to Monday. Admission is $25 ($18 seniors, $12 students and visitors with disabilities, $5 children ages 5 to 11, free for members, Beacon and Newburgh residents, military families, veterans, SNAP participants and EBT cardholders). Admission is also free for Hudson Valley residents on the last Sunday of the month.

Beacon retailers and landlords cope with cost Saturday (Aug. 1) will be Chris Reisman's first day in business at 323 Main St. in Beacon. His shop, Hudson Valley Vinyl, has been at 267 Main St., two and a half blocks away, since 2017, cultivating a clientele of collectors and casual buyers eager to flip through bins of rock, soul, jazz and other records. Business has been strong, but Reisman said a rent increase forced him to find new accommodations. A handwritten message on a piece of cardboard taped to the door directs customers down the street. In his time as a tenant, Reisman said that 267 Main, a two-story structure which spans six storefronts, has had three owners. The most recent sale, according to Dutchess County records, came in 2024 when Vinit Jobanputra of Westchester County purchased the building for $2.94 million. Reisman had been paying $2,720 monthly on a lease that expired today. He said Jobanputra offered a three-year extension at $3,500 per month — a 29 percent increase — with additional 5 percent increases in Year 2 and Year 3. (When contacted for comment, a property manager said: "The family does not wish to discuss their business with the media.") Reisman said he didn't bother with a counteroffer. Instead, he signed a five-year agreement for 323 Main, where he'll have a similar retail footprint. Reisman describes the rent as "very fair," and said his landlord, a Wappingers Falls resident who has owned the three-story building since 2015, "wants us there for the indefinite future." A listing for 267 Main St. advertises a commercial space with high visibility and foot traffic that's "ideal for retail, boutique, gallery" or a similar business. The asking price, now $3,200 per month, has been reduced, the listing notes. With more than 200 shops and eateries on its milelong Main Street, it's difficult to make generalizations about commercial rents. Instead, The Current decided to highlight a handful of scenarios reflecting the challenges facing small retailers and property owners. Tenants are easy to identify; landlords less so, in part because many commercial properties are owned by limited liability corporations, and the state does not require LLCs to identify their officers. In addition, Dutchess County publishes a study every year with statistics on market-rate, below-market and federally subsidized residential rents in more than a dozen municipalities, including Beacon, but no area agencies track commercial costs. Many factors can prompt a business to move or close, and rent increases are commonly cited. In 2022, the founder of a Long Island-based luxury development firm purchased 340 Main St., which had multiple commercial tenants, for $2.3 million. The owners of Roma Nova, a pizzeria and Mexican restaurant, said they were told their rent would increase from $1,800 to $3,100 per month and they would be required to pay 10 percent of common area and maintenance costs. (Ana and Miguel Tapia sold the restaurant, which is now on Fishkill Avenue.) The owner of the Beacon Barber Shop did not reveal his lease offer, but said in 2023, "It's more than I can afford." He moved the business to Hyde Park, where he said his costs would be $1,900 less per month. Last year, Nikki Hayes, the owner of Stella's Fine Market, a specialty grocery store at 155 Main St., announced on Instagram that she did not want to close "but our rent increase became something I simply couldn't afford any longer." Beacon's popularity has drawn real estate investors to Main Street. "When you have success, you're going to entice investors who want to get in on that," said Mike Oates, president and CEO of the Hudson Valley Economic Development Corp. But he cautioned landlords: "It's one thing to determine rents are below market rate [and can be raised]. But if you have a vacant storefront, it does you no good." The "greed factor," Oates said, has to be checked. "Sometimes landlords feel the market requires them to raise rent to a level that m...

Longer lines, many new faces Fareground raised money in 2024 to buy a refrigerated box truck capable of holding 6,000 pounds of food for distribution to residents in Beacon, Fishkill, Newburgh, Poughkeepsie and Wappingers Falls. A capacity that once seemed sufficient has been surmounted by a problem that continues to grow, and the Fishkill-based nonprofit has outgrown the truck, according to Jamie Levato, its executive director. "We are constantly having to bring in more and more food; storage is becoming a challenge and transport is becoming a challenge." Fareground is not alone in noting longer lines and new faces at every distribution. Dozens of representatives from food pantries across the Hudson Valley told the same story when they gathered Tuesday (July 28) at AME Zion Church in Newburgh to receive an update from the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York, which distributes food to organizations in Dutchess, Putnam and 21 other counties. The food bank illustrated the extent of hunger in the Hudson Valley by sharing new statistics from Map the Meal Gap, a report compiled by Feeding America, a national hunger-relief organization. The most recent data, from 2024, documents the number of adults and children considered "food-insecure" because they lack access to enough to eat. In Dutchess, Putnam and the four other counties (Orange, Rockland, Sullivan and Ulster), 167,990 people were considered food-insecure in 2024, including 53,390 children (a 10 percent increase over the previous year). In Dutchess, an estimated 32,140 people (11 percent of the population) were food-insecure, and in Putnam, 8,430 (8.6 percent). Despite a small decrease from 2023, Dutchess has 10,730 more food-insecure residents than 2021 and Putnam, 3,200 more. Food pantries expect their lines to grow as the costs for food, energy, housing and necessities continue to rise. Those challenges are aggravated by federal cuts that began last year in programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps. In 2025, the Regional Food Bank distributed 53.3 million pounds of food to pantries, more than any year in its nearly five decades of service, except for 2020, during the pandemic. That was despite losing 7 million pounds in cuts by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said Tom Nardacci, CEO of the Regional Food Bank. Nardacci said that people who have never visited a food pantry or "stood outside in the cold to hand out food" are "making decisions that aren't connected to reality." Here are a few local resources if you need food assistance. Beacon's Backyard Kitchen The group serves a hot breakfast at 12 Hanna Lane on Tuesday and Thursday from 6:30 to 8:30 a.m. and to-go lunch until 10:30 a.m. Beacon Farmers' Market The market doubles the value of federal food benefits from June to November. See beaconfarmersmarket.org/food-benefits. Common Ground Farm does the same at the market through its Greens4Greens program. Fareground The nonprofit serves a community meal on Friday from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church, 50 Liberty St., in Beacon. Fishkill Food Pantry Operated by First Reformed Church of Fishkill and St. Mary Mother of the Church, Fishkill, at 1153 Main St., the pantry serves residents of the Highlands, including Beacon and Cold Spring. It is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 9 a.m. to noon and Monday and Wednesday from 2:30 to 6 p.m. Call 845-896-4546 in the morning to make an appointment for that day. Proof of residency is required. Mutual Aid Beacon The group provides groceries on the first and third Wednesday of each month at 8:15 a.m. at Memorial Park. The first Wednesday is for seniors or households with a senior (age 60 and older), and the third (and fifth) Wednesday is open to everyone. Enter near Ron's Ice Cream. You can also walk up at 8 a.m. at the Beacon Recreation Center, 23 W. Center St. Philipstown Food Pantry The pantry at the First Presbyterian Church, 10 Aca...

Fundraising underway for trails at Fahnestock Sam Lee is head of the Putnam Westchester Mountain Biking Association, but he thinks that one county is getting the short end of the spoke. Westchester has sprawling mountain bike trail networks at the Blue Mountain Reservation, Sprain Ridge Park and Graham Hills Park, to name a few, plus bike shops and a mountain bike culture that has thrived for decades. Putnam has scattered trails for those in the know. Most casual bikers must settle for the pedestrian and horse paths at Fahnestock State Park. Lee, who lives in Putnam Valley and works in pharmaceuticals, is enthusiastic about changing that. Why else would he venture to Canopus Lake on a 100-degree morning with a weed whacker? "This is a perfect spot," he said while standing on the slopes between Route 301 and a parking lot, where 2 miles of abandoned access roads are being converted into a tight tangle of bike trails. The parking lot, a drag to hikers seeking to escape pavement, will give bikers a place to tailgate and unwind after a ride, as well as take advantage of the changing rooms for the Canopus Lake beach. Until now, Lee and a handful of volunteers have done the work. But now he's getting professionals involved. Walking the slopes, Lee points out lines of small orange flags placed by biologists from the New York Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation, marking sections where the trails can't go — a remnant of an environmental review that was part of the project approval. With the blessings of the state Parks Department, the Putnam Westchester Mountain Biking Association recently launched a "Funstock" fund at bit.ly/CanopusMTB to raise $45,000 to hire a trail-building crew. And this is not just any crew: Lee plans to bring professional mountain bike racer David Kahn from North Carolina with his Pisgah Trail Co. Khan grew up in Putnam Valley in a biking family (his father owns several Westchester bike shops), so he jumped at the chance to build the trails he wished he'd had as a kid. The association has raised about $23,000, which is enough for a down payment. The hope is that the trail can be open by year's end. Lee and other volunteers have gotten the trails into shape for testing, but they are not sturdy enough to withstand erosion or heavy use. Lee rode a bit in college, but only got serious while rehabbing a knee injury that sidelined him from playing basketball. He passed the time watching videos of riders in the Scottish Highlands and the landscape reminded him of the Hudson Highlands. However, he quickly discovered "riding" in Putnam referred mostly to ATVs and dirt bikes. Lee has been working with state parks and other riders to prepare and legalize unofficial trail networks. He imagines hot summer days when parents teach their children to ride at Fahnestock, then cool off in the lake. This part of the park is underutilized. Most of the year, the parking lot is closed. It's open only in the summer for lake access and, if there's enough snow, for a few weeks of snowshoe and cross-country skiing. With bike trails, the lot could remain open year-round. Lee envisions events and races, with music and food trucks. Until then, he's coming when he can to cut back undergrowth. "I'm looking for areas to keep it rolling, so you're not constantly pedaling uphill or braking," he says. "You don't want to tire yourself out, because these trails don't have a lot of mileage. You want to focus on doing less and improving each time."

Putnam County would add on-demand service Cold Spring resident Carolyn Ricapito, who is 91 and relies on a walker, depends on her daughter and a home aide to get to medical appointments and shopping. She may have another option starting next year: Putnam Executive Kevin Byrne announced on Thursday (July 30) at the senior center in Cold Spring that his 2027 budget proposal will include funding to expand the county's on-demand transit service to Philipstown and Putnam Valley. Riders can book a ride the day before by app or telephone and be driven anywhere within their local zone. Fares are $2.50 for adults and $1.25 for seniors, students and disabled residents. The expansion was among the recommendations in a county-funded study of the $2.5 million Putnam Area Rapid Transit network, which includes fixed-route and paratransit services, a commuter shuttle and the Cold Spring trolley. Dan Hymowitz, director of partnerships for Via, which provides the "microtransit" service, said it should reach 20,000 rides next month in eastern Putnam. The study, conducted by a firm called LaBella, said the transit service in western Putnam should operate from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, and connect via Route 9 to the Hudson Valley Towne Center, Walmart and other destinations in Fishkill, as well as Dutchess County's transit service. Putnam Valley would be included in a zone that would extend into parts of Philipstown and Mahopac. LaBella said it should operate from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Both services would cost about $250,000. "We've known for a long time that there's a gaping hole in service that exists for our residents on the western side of the county, and it needs to be addressed," Byrne said. If approved by the Legislature in the fall, the expansion will add to a nascent on-demand service introduced in May 2025 as a pilot serving Carmel, Patterson and Southeast. LaBella did not recommend any changes for the Cold Spring trolley, which provides service between Manitoga and the Cold Spring and Garrison Metro-North stations.

Editor's note: Beacon was created in 1913 from Matteawan and Fishkill Landing. Officials planned to set off $450 [about $14,000 today] in fireworks on July 4 from three canal boats anchored in the Hudson River. Five steam tugs owned by the New York & Eastern Transportation Co. were idle at the Newburgh docks for lack of business. John Hadfield, the 7-year-old son of Levi Hadfield, drowned in a well at Walsh's brewery in Matteawan. A tailor working at Fishkill Landing was walking along the railroad when he saw the southbound train coming toward him. He stepped onto the other track and was killed by a northbound train. The Highland Hospital in Matteawan planned an addition measuring 22 by 24 feet. Benjamin Ellsden, a newly hired police officer in Newark, New Jersey, and the brother of the Rev. Robert Ellsden of Matteawan, was shot and killed as he and his partner attempted to serve arrest warrants on three brothers accused of extortion. Robert Allen, 22, of Walpole, Massachusetts, drowned in the Hudson, while trying to swim across. His body was spotted by a ferry passenger. A mason working on the third floor of a new building at Groveville dropped a brick that hit another worker in the head, causing a serious injury. The First National Bank of Fishkill Landing installed an iron cresting around its counter. Because of the heat, a Matteawan judge held court outside, under the trees, with the jury sitting on a timber bench. A Fishkill Landing woman was arrested for using profane language. The Hartford, Providence and Fishkill Railroad reported that, although it used a single track over 130 miles, it had not had a serious passenger injury or train collision in 30 years. William Kasher, 20, was swimming across Fishkill Creek at Glenham with Albert Shrayer, 11, on his back, when he became disabled by cramps, and both drowned. They were workers at the Stewart mills. William Ackerman was driving a wagon in Poughkeepsie with a passenger, Sarah Ackerman of Fishkill Landing, when he stopped to deliver a pot of butter. He put the reins on the dash to tie up the 4-year-old colt when it sprang, throwing Miss Ackerman and the butter into the road and running over Mr. Ackerman. The horse pulled the upside-down wagon until it struck the bridge. No one was seriously hurt. Members of the nativist Order of United American Mechanics Lodge No. 52 of Fishkill Landing participated in the Fourth of July parade in Newburgh, pulling a four-horse wagon with 13 young ladies. Another four-horse wagon contained girls from its Juvenile Temple, representing the states and territories of 1876. John McGinn of Fishkill Landing was arrested on charges that he stole soda crackers and canned corn from a merchant's storeroom. Martha Waddle was sentenced to Randall's Island for stealing $20 [$625] and jewelry from the home of Jacob Hawks. The Hudson River District Eclectic Medical Society held its annual meeting in Fishkill Landing. [Eclectic medicine combined conventional treatment with plant and herbal therapies.] A fire engine from Perseverance Co. No. 1, on loan to Fishkill Landing while one of its fire trucks was being repaired, returned to Poughkeepsie with thanks from city trustees. Several people prevented a distraught Rosetta Greenwood, 40, from throwing herself from Long Dock. She had earlier tried to strangle herself with a shawl. Entrants in the Newburgh Bay Regatta included, in the third class, the 18-foot Catboat Uno and 20-foot Catboat Thetis, both from Fishkill Landing. The Rev. Michael McGuire, assistant pastor at St. Joachim's, resigned as chaplain of the Beacon Kiwanis Club after Margaret Sanger, president of the American Birth Control League, spoke during its annual Ladies Day luncheon at the Holland Hotel. Sanger and her husband, J. Noah Slee, owned a summer home in Fishkill. McGuire complained: "Kiwanis teach unselfishness; she preaches selfishness at the expense even of God's laws in nature." While digging a cesspool on his 8-acre property at...

North Highlands family rescued from home A Philipstown Highway Department front-end loader was used to rescue a North Highlands family trapped by floodwaters on Wednesday (July 29) as a storm brought as much as 8 inches of rain to Philipstown and 4.43 inches in Beacon. Jon Kiphart said the Philipstown total is the most he's recorded in 18 years as a volunteer weather monitor. Route 9 was closed in Fishkill near Pet Pleasers in both directions until Thursday evening.

Dutchess commissioners refuse audit The Dutchess County comptroller and its Board of Elections may need a judge to resolve a dispute over whether auditors can review records related to how the board pays election workers. Dan Aymar-Blair, a Democrat who won reelection as comptroller in 2025, said in a news release on Monday (July 27) that he had subpoenaed the two elections commissioners, Erik Haight and Lisa Jessup, and other BOE employees because they have refused to provide records and allow interviews. The subpoena, Aymar-Blair said, was the "last resort" in a battle that began April 24 when the BOE was notified that the comptroller was auditing its payroll process for election workers. The agency objected to the audit as "seeking operational information," which it claimed exceeds the comptroller's authority, he said. "It is not the preference of the Comptroller's Office to obtain audit materials under threat of subpoena," said Aymar-Blair, who lives in Beacon and said the subpoena may be the first ever issued by the office. That threat is unnecessary and illegal, according to a statement issued Wednesday by Haight and Jessup, who were appointed to their positions by the Republican and Democratic parties, respectively. Haight said that the board is relying on "common sense" and advice from the state Board of Elections in determining that it is improper for an elected official to "dictate" policies and procedures of a board "mandated to administer the very election that puts him in office." In addition, Jessup said the Comptroller's Office already has BOE payroll records because it must review and approve payments to election workers. By issuing a news release, Jessup said, Aymar-Blair "is seeking to discredit the Board of Elections" when there are "almost daily assaults on the credibility of our elections coming out of the Oval Office." Both the Internal Revenue Service and the state board have audited the BOE's books, said Haight. The comptroller, by contrast, cannot "conduct a performance review under the guise of a financial audit," said Haight. "That responsibility rests solely with the state board." According to the Dutchess County charter, the comptroller's duties include auditing the accounts "of all units" of county government. Those audits "offer recommendations for making government financial operations more efficient, a high priority for county taxpayers," said Aymar-Blair. Previous audits of the BOE took place in 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2020, he said.

Federal lawsuit alleges he planted evidence A Putnam County sheriff's deputy who served as a lieutenant in the New Rochelle police department is accused in a federal lawsuit of framing a man charged in May 2024 with tossing a baggie of drugs while fleeing police. In a civil rights lawsuit filed July 13 in federal court in White Plains, Ivin Harper accuses Sean Kane, who joined the Putnam Sheriff's Office in March, of planting a baggie of cocaine and crack that led to his arrest. Two felony possession charges filed against Harper in July 2024 were dismissed a month later. Harper wants damages from Kane, two other New Rochelle officers — Timothy Adrian and Maria Vazquez — and Gregory Davis, who allegedly provided the drugs. The lawsuit also names the City of New Rochelle, which Harper says is complicit because it "perpetuated a culture of rewarding officers for their improper, illegal and unconstitutional conduct." Following an investigation by the Westchester County District Attorney's Office, a grand jury in December 2024 declined to indict Kane. But the New Rochelle Police Department said that during its investigation, the officer "admitted he did not see Harper throw the bag of drugs and that an informant (Davis) provided him with the bag of drugs," according to Harper's attorneys. That assertion was first reported by Robert Cox of Talk of the Sound, who obtained the report through a Freedom of Information Law request. The New Rochelle department demoted Kane by two ranks, to police officer, and required him to undergo training, according to a statement issued on March 18 by Neil Reynolds, the police commissioner. Putnam County hired Kane on March 30. In a statement on Tuesday (July 28), the Putnam County Sheriff's Office said it is aware of the lawsuit but declined comment because it is not named in the litigation. It noted that Kane was not charged with a crime. The Sheriff's Office also cited Kane's long career in law enforcement and said it has "confidence in Deputy Kane's ability to serve the residents of Putnam County with integrity and remain committed to ensuring the safety of our community." Harper, a fitness trainer and actor, said the incident began on May 29, 2024, after he parked his Cadillac SUV at an apartment complex in New Rochelle and Kane approached. Harper had earlier reported that a relative took the SUV without his consent but said he had updated the police department when he recovered the vehicle, according to the lawsuit. Allegedly fearful because Kane had previously vowed to "get" him or "plant drugs on him," Harper "left the parking lot and hurried away on foot" while the officer chased him into a parking garage. Returning to the vehicle, Kane allegedly told other officers to search and impound the SUV for "unauthorized use." According to the lawsuit, Kane then met with Davis, who allegedly gave the officer a bag of drugs. The lawsuit says that Kane's body camera was "inadvertently" turned on while the officer allegedly pretended to recover the baggie from under the left front tire of an SUV, with the feint captured on video. The Journal News reviewed the footage in 2024. According to the newspaper, it shows Kane "holding the baggie in his hand in his car" before "pulling up to a parked car, getting out, reaching under the front of the car and getting back into his patrol car." The lawsuit alleges that the bag Kane had when he returned to his squad car was the same one he had held before approaching the SUV.

The Continental Congress voted unanimously in Philadelphia on July 2 to adopt a resolution dissolving ties with Great Britain — except for New York, whose four delegates (William Floyd, Francis Lewis, Philip Livingston and Lewis Morris) abstained because they had not received instructions from the provincial Congress. On July 3, Congress fine-tuned the wording of the Declaration of Independence, voting the next day to approve it. John Hancock, the president of the Congress, signed the document, along with the secretary, Charles Thompson. (A parchment copy was signed by the delegates on Aug. 2.) On July 8, the declaration was read to the public in White Plains and many other cities. Gen. George Washington, in New York City, ordered officers to read the document to their troops. On July 9, the New York Congress adopted a resolution in support of the declaration; in response, its delegates added their "yes" votes on July 15. In New York City, patriots pulled down an equestrian statue of King George III to melt it for ammunition. The British sent two frigates, HMS Phoenix (44 guns) and HMS Rose (20 guns), up the Hudson River to test its defenses. British Gen. William Howe arrived at Staten Island with 130 ships and 10,000 troops. The next day, his brother, Vice Adm. Richard Howe, arrived with 150 ships and 11,000 troops. They sent a message to Washington, who forwarded it to Congress, offering reconciliation and pardon. The Americans felt they had done nothing that required pardon and, besides, they had already declared independence. On July 21, Washington hired two engineers to assess the condition of the forts in the Highlands. On July 26, general orders in New York City noted that "complaints have been made that some of the soldiers ill treat the country people who come to market [to sell vegetables]. The general most positively forbids this behavior." A man driving on the Albany Post Road past Mekeel's Corner [Route 301] at 1 p.m. on a Friday spotted a fire at a tenement house near the chapel. He raised the alarm, and Thomas Mekeel and his sons ran to the site. The front door was locked, so they assumed it was vacant. But during a search, they found Mrs. Samuel Lecount napping in her bed in the attic. She was a heavy woman, so it was with difficulty that they brought her downstairs. The house was a total loss. Two travelers appeared on a Friday at 6 p.m. near the post office in Cold Spring offering to swallow a 13-inch blade for 5 cents [about $1.50 today], or whatever could be offered. The Cold Spring Recorder reported that the water in the cistern at the corner of Main and Chestnut had a woody flavor. The editor said it appeared to contain filaments worn from the wood by the motion of the pump. The Baptist Church hosted a community celebration of the centennial. The program was as follows: "My Country, Tis of Thee"; a prayer by the rector at St. Mary's; "Hold the Fort"; the Declaration of Independence, read by Isaac Vanwinkle; "The Centennial Hymn"; a sermon by the Rev. C.J. Page; "Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow"; and a benediction by the rector. The Village Board ordered signs posted at the public pumps noting that the water was to be used only for domestic purposes. Henry Birdsall, so infirm that he had to be helped home after a visit to Dykeman's store in Nelsonville, was found dead in the stall where he lived in the old Davenport place. It was said that he bought a vial of laudanum [tincture of opium] at Dykeman's for his swollen limbs, and that the vial was found empty, but a coroner's jury did not find any evidence of narcotic poisoning. A dog belonging to Benjamin Hughson bit Mr. Nichols of Nelsonville on the leg as he was passing Town Hall. The animal was shot the next day. Due to the failure of Congress to make appropriations, a large number of workmen were dismissed at West Point. John McGurk hung a sign from his Main Street store with a "well-drawn eagle and shaded in good taste," according to The Rec...

New program teaches culinary, life skills The slogan used by Transformation Kitchen — "We don't just flip eggs, we flip lives" — captures what it hopes to accomplish at 179 Main St. in Beacon: teaching culinary and life skills to people who have been marginalized, while helping them land jobs that pay a living wage. In 2022, Chason Forehand, who lives in Newburgh, founded the nonprofit HR-4U, which launched Transformation Kitchen. "After more than 45 years in the service industry, and my own experiences with abuse, addiction, homelessness and food insecurity, I created Transformation Kitchen to do more than help people find jobs," Forehand said. "We help individuals overcome barriers, ultimately becoming leaders who help others do the same." Chef Chris Follari, a board member of the Poughkeepsie Farm Project who last year directed Hudson Valley Chefs Celebrate Jacques Pépin, is the program's culinary director, while Forehand is the lead instructor. The Beacon location is the second Transformation Kitchen; the first is in Matagalpa, Nicaragua, created in partnership with a Christian organization, Rayo de Sol. The plan in Beacon is to start small. Forehand said potential participants, whom he calls "forges," because "they are forging a new life for themselves," will include single parents, those who've overcome addiction, former prisoners and others who have not been able to earn enough to live independently. "I'm fascinated by metallurgy and the idea of taking something raw and turning it into something beautiful," he said. In addition to being trained to work in commercial kitchens, forges will be coached on life skills, including conflict resolution, wellness and financial literacy, with assistance from the Mid-Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union. "They need to know how important it is to manage their money, to budget and how to stay away from credit and cyberscams," said Forehand. A weekday storefront will open in September, offering homemade packaged foods such as Joy Stix, a chocolate confection. Packaged meals, such as lasagna, stuffed Italian meatloaf and roasted vegetables, will be added later in the fall. Catering and weekend hours are planned for October. "For people coming off the train who don't want to go home and cook a meal, we'll have one for you," Forehand said. The store will also stock merchandise such as hats, T-shirts and a cookbook. "We sell merch like crazy — three times what a nonprofit would normally sell — because we have a fantastic cookbook," he said. Kamel Jamal, who owns the Beacon Bread Factory, The Piggy Bank and Ziatun, is renting the space to Transformation Kitchen at a reduced price. He also provides financial support, will lead sessions covering topics such as baking and will provide access to his commercial kitchens. "Getting involved in this project is important to me, because the restaurant industry has been really good to me," Jamal said. Jamal feels Beacon businesses will benefit from Transformation Kitchen because its graduates will have advanced culinary skills. "It saves Main Street companies money because they'll have to do less training," he said. "We're tweaking our normal culinary program to be sure that it meets Beacon's needs," Forehand added. "People coming out of Transformation Kitchen will also have the life skills; they'll know how to handle themselves." Jamal said culinary and other professionals in Beacon have stepped up, offering to teach classes. "Barb from Barb's Butchery is excited about being involved," he said, and a grant writer has offered to help. He noted that culinary professionals who volunteer will get first shot at hiring new graduates. "Once we get all the basics in order, people will see the magic that can come out of this project," Jamal said. For more information about Transformation Kitchen, see hr-4u.org.

Former employees want lower health costs Their incomes are fixed, but not the cost of health insurance. That was the message on July 16 when a group of retired Putnam County employees attended the Legislature's Personnel Committee meeting to beseech lawmakers to reduce the amount they and other retirees must contribute to their health insurance premiums. Jane Meunier-Gorman began working for Putnam County in 1985, when retirees paid a flat annual amount toward their health insurance and the county paid the rest. Annual premiums had risen to $200 [about $350 today] for individuals and $400 [$700] for families when the Legislature, citing the "burden on the taxpayers," in 2004 allowed the county to instead set rates based on each retiree's date of hire, age at retirement and length of service. Eleven years later, the Legislature approved pension-based contribution rates for six salary ranges, beginning at 8 percent for retirees whose annual pensions were $9,999 or less and rising to 30 percent for those paid $65,000 or more. (Lawmakers later added a seventh salary range by splitting the one covering pensions between $40,000 and $64,999.) "The feeling was that it was more equitable to look at pension amounts rather than just years of service," said Adriene Iasoni, a specialist with the Personnel Department, on July 16. "If you just look at years of service, you can have folks whose earnings are on the lower end, and they may be paying the same as somebody who's at a much higher annual salary." For the 2016 budget, the change raised the total amount pensioners would contribute to Putnam's estimated $4.7 million cost for insurance from $357,000 to $609,000. By 2025, retirees were paying $1.2 million of $7.9 million. This year, the county costs ballooned to $8.8 million, with Gorman and other retired employees paying $1.3 million. Their increases are "deeply troubling" and "place a significant and unexpected financial burden on individuals living on fixed incomes," said former county employees John Mulreany and Aileen Napolitano in a letter to the Legislature. Meunier-Gorman, who was president of the local Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) union when the Legislature adopted the contribution rates in 2015, said employees "were made promises. We were told that we would always have affordable health insurance through our employment with the county." Since retiring from the Health Department in 2024, Gorman said her annual pension is $50,000, and her bill for county health coverage is $10,000. "When I retired after 39 years, and I got my first bill, I couldn't even breathe," she said. "I was like, 'Oh my God, how am I going to afford this?' " Putnam recently created some breathing room for current employees. Legislators in December approved an agreement with Putnam's labor unions that lowered, from 30 percent to 17 percent, the share of health insurance premiums paid by new employees. County Executive Kevin Byrne forged the agreement with Putnam's four unions: the CSEA, the Putnam County Sheriff's Employee Association (jail guards and staff), the Putnam Management Association and the Sheriff's PBA (deputies). For CSEA employees, the share drops to 15 percent after 12 years and 10 percent after 15. Paul Eldridge, the county personnel officer, said the 30 percent rate was significantly higher than new employee contributions in Dutchess and Westchester (20 percent each) and Orange (16 percent) counties. He estimated that 225 employees would benefit, but the plan would add $865,000 to the $11.5 million Putnam allocates for health insurance premiums for current employees. Legislator Toni Addonizio, who chairs the Personnel Committee, voted against the pension-based contribution system established in 2015. She said Putnam "should consider how the other counties do the years of service" during continued discussions about retiree health benefits. "Many people have worked 25 years and still don't, in their retirement, receive $40,00...

State pilot focuses on 'forever' chemicals About 20 percent of private wells tested in Putnam County under a state pilot program exceed guidelines for a family of chemicals linked with cancers and other health problems, officials said on Wednesday (July 22). Public Health Director Rian Rodriguez and Brian Stevens, an associate public health sanitarian, told the Legislature's Health Committee that 540 well owners have applied to have their water tested for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) under a $1.5 million, five-year program funded by the state. Of the 480 wells tested so far, just over 20 percent have PFAS levels that exceed the state guidelines of 10 parts per trillion for PFOA and PFOs, the two most common versions of the chemicals. Those owners can each request up to $5,000 to install a filtration system on the main water line entering their home or business. The state will also subsidize up to $1,000 for filters installed on faucets or other outlets and up to $10,000 to connect a property to a public water system. Stevens said the county had just received its first rebate request and expects many more. "In the next week or so, the state will be providing additional training on how to process those payments and those applications," he said. Putnam and Dutchess are two of six counties selected by the state for a pilot program to address PFAS contamination in private wells. Known as "forever chemicals" because of their duration in the environment and the human body, PFAS have been used for decades in nonstick cookware, water-repellant clothing and other consumer products, as well as firefighting foams. Researchers have linked them to various health problems, including cancers, low birthweights and high cholesterol. Health concerns have led public health officials to close contaminated water sources serving the City of Newburgh and other municipalities, and supply filters to well owners in Mahopac, Putnam Valley and other parts of Putnam County. Rodriguez told the Health Committee in February that the state chose Dutchess, Putnam and four other counties — Orange, Suffolk, Ulster and Westchester — for its pilot because they are "at higher risk" of PFAS contamination. Dozens of properties near the Mahopac Business District received water main filters after testing found about 100 wells had high PFAS levels. The state traced the pollution to dry-cleaning chemicals. New York State has allocated funds to Kent, two neighborhoods in Brewster and the Floradan Estates in Putnam Valley to address contamination. The Putnam Valley school district traced PFAS contamination at its elementary school to foams used by the Putnam Valley Fire Department. When asked by Legislator Nancy Montgomery, who chairs the committee and represents Philipstown and part of Putnam Valley, if testing has identified clusters, Stevens cautioned that the county needs to collect more data. By one estimate, as many as half of U.S. households have some level of PFAS in their water, whether supplied by well or tap. New York State and the federal Environmental Protection Agency regulate PFAS limits in public water supplies, such as the reservoirs that supply drinking water to Beacon and Cold Spring. But an estimated 1 million homes and businesses in the state, and 40 million people nationwide, rely on wells, which are not regulated.

Remediation of small parcel finalized at former Texaco site After asking for feedback during a public meeting in January, the state Department of Environmental Conservation estimates it will cost the property owner $115,000 to decontaminate a 0.67-acre parcel at the former Texaco Research Center site outside of Beacon. The DEC released plans on Wednesday (July 22) to remediate OU-3, the smallest of nine parcels, or "operable units," that make up the 153-acre, Chevron-owned site, now known as Glenham Mills. OU-3, a wooded plot north of Washington Avenue with no structures, is the first parcel to receive a finalized remediation plan. The primary contaminants are semi-volatile organic compounds from an ash pile. The plan includes excavation, in some areas, to 6 inches below the surface; importing clean backfill; implementing an air-monitoring plan during ground-intrusive activities; and creating a site management plan. OU-3 is expected to become suitable for residential use, the state said. Texaco purchased the land in 1931, building a complex to research and develop petroleum products. Over seven decades, chemical dumping left the grounds and Fishkill Creek, which divides the property, heavily polluted. Chevron, which merged with Texaco in 2003, has submitted proposals to the DEC to clean the other eight parcels, including one considered most attractive for development, a 93-acre segment south of Washington and Fishkill Creek known as the Back 93, which Texaco used for worker recreation. The company has been trying to sell Glenham Mills since 2020. It is zoned for offices, laboratories and industrial or manufacturing uses.

Chris O'Leary streamlines his sound The long song "19 Cents a Day" by the Chris O'Leary Band remains captivating and hits hard. Beyond solid solos and tight musicianship, the social commentary evokes comedian George Carlin's cantankerous later years. "One day I was on tour in the Midwest and needed a coat," says O'Leary, who will perform with his band at the Towne Crier in Beacon on Saturday (July 25). "In a Tractor Supply store, I realized that almost none of the plastic junk in that place was made in the U.S.A., even the American flags. Unfortunately, it's the same thing 10 years later." In the song, the ex-Marine and federal law enforcement officer bashes talk show "idiots," corporate downsizing, patriotic merchandising, "looted" pension plans, big-box strip malls, the poor treatment of veterans and "slave labor making that flag in Hong Kong … for 19 cents a day." Unlike a stand-up routine, the music amplifies O'Leary's message as a chugging, understated groove elevates the lyrics. Two saxophones build tension and add atmosphere. As if turning a switch, the music intensifies behind a raucous guitar break. After the band downshifts to the quieter, bass-driven part that underscores more angry words, O'Leary kicks into fifth gear on a harmonica solo. O'Leary's blues boot camp commenced when his Green Beret father heard him listening to KISS, cursed the band and tossed the LP Hard Again, by Muddy Waters, on his bed. "It took a while to grow on me," O'Leary says. "There's an old man on the cover, and I was 11 years old. But I was an aggressive kid, and the harmonica [by James Cotton] is so brutal. There's no nuance. I'd never heard anyone play an instrument like that." O'Leary joined the house combo at Levon Helm's club in New Orleans after The Band broke up in the 1970s and became friends with Cotton, "a fantastic human being whom I idolize to the point of craziness." While serving as lead singer for Helm, O'Leary learned a great deal from the drummer and bandleader, who later settled in Woodstock, although, at first, he recalls, he had tunnel vision. "If it did not come from Chicago, Illinois, between 1951 and 1962, I had no interest," O'Leary says. "But New Orleans blew my doors off because you could see great acts every night of the week that were technically blues bands but had different instrumentation and suggested limitless possibilities." More sage advice taught him to vary things up but keep people dancing: "Don't bore us, get to the chorus," Helm said. He once critiqued a famous guitar player this way: "He knows a lot of notes, but does he have to play them all? Leave some for the rest of us." O'Leary took the comment to heart and dialed down his all-out approach. The schooling continued into his mid-50s, when he got a break with Alligator Records, which recorded Cotton. The tune "19 Cents a Day" clocks in at 7:16. Played live, "Blues is a Woman," a melancholy slow jam with a 1950s vibe, can last for eight minutes. For his 2024 debut on Alligator, The Hard Line, followed by Blue Collar, out this month, only a handful of songs exceed five minutes. The first single off the new disc, "Bad Decisions," runs 4:20. O'Leary says the label's founder, Bruce Iglauer, told him: "Your music is long-winded. We don't need a road map. If you want to get on the radio, you have to streamline things." The Towne Crier is located at 379 Main St. in Beacon. Tickets for the July 25 show, which begins at 8:30 p.m., are $30 at townecrier.com, or $35 at the door. To download music, see thechrisolearyband.net.

Agency rents Town of Newburgh warehouse Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Charles Schumer demanded on Wednesday (July 22) that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security disclose whether a Town of Newburgh warehouse is being leased for Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees. In a letter to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, the New York senators said that the department and ICE's $35.5 million, 15-year lease of a 42,377-square-foot warehouse at 800 Corporate Blvd "has generated significant concern" among residents and local officials "due to the lack of transparency." The General Services Administration approved the lease after seeking space in Newburgh with "secure access into [the] building for deliveries by government vehicles, including detainee buses and vans." The agency identified DHS and ICE as the tenant, but the agency refused to confirm its use of the location, citing concerns about officer safety. Gillibrand and Schumer listed 16 questions (below) they want Mullin to answer, including whether the facility will be used for the "detention, temporary holding, processing, transportation or transfer of individuals in federal custody." They requested a response by Aug. 7. What is the intended use of the facility located at 800 Corporate Boulevard in Newburgh, New York, and what operations will DHS and ICE conduct at this site? Please list every DHS component, contractor and program expected to use the property. What is the expected timeline for the facility becoming operational, and what steps remain before DHS and ICE begin using the site? Please identify any remaining approvals, construction, tenant improvements, permits or other conditions that must be completed before occupancy. Please provide the lease, occupancy agreement, solicitation, program of requirements, statement of work, improvement plans, security requirements, and all associated contracts and subcontracts. Please identify the lessor and beneficial owners, all operating contractors, the appropriations accounts funding the lease and operations, the annual rent and improvement costs, and the total estimated lifecycle costs. Who approved the project, when was it approved and what operational needs is it intended to address? Is the project aimed at increasing detention capacity in New York, supporting increased enforcement operations in New York, expanding the operations of ICE Air, or supporting a broader regional deportation plan? Will the facility be used for the detention, temporary holding, processing, transportation, or transfer of individuals in federal custody? Please provide details regarding the scope and duration of these activities. For each contemplated use, please provide the following: (1) Maximum physical and operational capacity; (2) Projected average daily population; (3) Projected annual throughput; (4) Anticipated opening date and hours of operations; (5) Maximum intended length of stay; (6) Whether people will be held overnight; (7) Whether DHS will publicly report these specific statistics periodically. Please confirm if the facility will hold the following: (1) Families or children; (2) Unaccompanied children; (3) Pregnant or postpartum individuals (4) People with medical or mental health conditions; (5) People with disabilities. Please confirm if the property will provide (1) Free and confidential telephone access; (2) Confidential attorney meeting rooms; (3) Consular access; (4) Visitation; (5) Access to legal materials. Please identify the precise detention standards governing the site. Have you contemplated, requested or granted any waiver, variance, or delayed compliance with any detention, safety, security, medical care, hygiene or other standard? Will Members of Congress, congressional staff and DHS oversight personnel receive unannounced access to this facility? What access will be provided to state and local government, health or emergency officials? Will the facility support ICE Air operations, domestic detainee-transfer flig...

State limits local interaction with feds The Nelsonville Village Board on July 15 approved a resolution supporting a new state law that prohibits municipalities from sharing residents' personal information with federal immigration officials without a judicial warrant. The prohibition is one of several immigration-related restrictions placed on cities, towns, villages and school districts in the 2026-27 budget signed in May by Gov. Kathy Hochul. Nelsonville and other municipalities also are banned from collecting information on a person's immigration status "unless required by law or necessary to administer a public program or benefit," and must deny immigration authorities access to nonpublic areas. Nelsonville's resolution, which "supports our immigrant neighbors whether their family arrived to the United States yesterday or 250 years ago," requires that employees notify Clerk Melissa Harris or the village attorney if they receive a judicial warrant. "We don't think that we would be a target," said Mayor Chris Winward. "But you never know, and better to be prepared than not." The month before the governor enacted the legislation, Philipstown approved an update to an immigration policy it passed in 2017. The town's revised policy contains the same limitations on information-sharing and access to nonpublic areas as the state's policies. New York's new limits extend to local police and county jails. Police agencies are banned from entering into 287(g) agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The ban renders "void and unenforceable" the agreements that 12 Long Island and upstate law enforcement agencies have with ICE to help detain and deport immigrants. Counties are also prohibited from using their jails to hold people arrested by federal immigration authorities, beginning next month. ICE has used jails in Allegany, Broome, Clinton, Montgomery, Nassau, Niagara and Orange counties, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse. The federal government and New York are suing each other over the state's ban on the use of 287(g) agreements and local jails, as well as another provision that prohibits federal officers from wearing masks and requires that they clearly display a name or badge number on their uniform. Nelsonville approved spending up to $7,900 with NR Masonry in Philipstown to replace the concrete steps and repair the porch roof at a village property on Pearl Street used by the Fish and Fur Club. Chunks of concrete have broken off from the steps, which will be replaced with pressure-treated wood. Winward said last month that using cement again would cost significantly more. NS Masonry's bid includes repairing the wood roof over the front-door landing, along with an option to replace the overhang for $1,000. With the repair, "you'll be able to use it without killing yourself coming down the steps," said Trustee Dave Moroney.

Beacon building draws Planning Board's ire For the second straight month, Beacon Planning Board Chair John Gunn blasted the 364 Main St. development team on Tuesday (July 14) as the board parsed discrepancies between the nearly complete building and plans approved four years earlier. According to a spreadsheet submitted by the Poughkeepsie-based Baxter group, which purchased the property in 2024, at least 21 features on the fenced-off structure deviate from the approved site plan. Some changes were made to architectural drawings that were approved when building permits were issued, project officials said. Others were "field changes" approved, sometimes verbally, by city officials onsite. A final category listed applicant/contractor changes. The changes range from window-sill sizes and detailing and the installation of sidewall vents to more noticeable deviations such as the replacement of fire-rated windows with solid walls in stairwells and in a rooftop lobby. In another instance, standard double windows were installed instead of Juliet balconies. A patio at the front of the building was modified because the floor height and Main Street sidewalk were not accurately represented on drawings. Steps and gates next to the adjacent Masjid Ur Rashid mosque were on the site plan but never constructed. A canopy over the residential entrance was removed, with a recessed entryway constructed in its place. Custom wood windows with decorative trim on the storefront were replaced with aluminum windows with insulated metal panels. At least one change — replacing the approved thin-brick veneer with full-depth bricks — likely enhances structural integrity, though it's unclear whether the city approved it. "I've looked at the timeline," said Jason Anderson, the president of ADG Architects, a firm recently hired by Baxter. "The contractor came in, got the building permit and built what was on the drawings, with the exception of the field changes. We have a finished painting that we're trying now to correct." The inconsistencies infuriated Gunn, who acknowledged he was repeating himself. "Do you understand the position that this applicant put the city in?" he asked, his voice rising. "This is a goddamn mess, and you're asking us to help you fix a giant mistake. This is an ugly building. It's built poorly. It looks horrible." Pointing at diagrams, he shouted: "It's not what we approved!" The issues have also derailed the tenants who expected to occupy the building's 8,800 square feet of commercial space and 20 apartments. The owner of Pure Physique, a gym set to open on the first floor, said in a letter to the board that she has had to provide membership refunds while absorbing the financial impact "of a business that is fully prepared to open but is unable to operate." Most of the apartments had been rented, project attorney Taylor Palmer said, but about 25 percent of the tenants pulled out because the building lacks a certificate of occupancy. After more than an hour of back-and-forth, the developer agreed to confer in a work session with the city's consultants. "We need better ideas," Gunn said. The board could vote as early as next month on a proposal to convert a two-story brick building to a karaoke bar called The Howl. The project has received pushback from nearby residents, but Gunn said Tuesday that a city consultant agreed that the applicant's plans to mitigate noise "appear to be very robust." Eric Weitner, the applicant, said he had scaled back operating hours to 2 to 11 p.m. on Wednesday, 2 p.m. to midnight on Thursday, noon to 1:30 a.m. Friday and Saturday and noon to 11 p.m. on Sunday. Sundays will no longer revert to Saturday hours on holiday weekends. There will be no parking in the rear of the building, which adjoins the residential neighborhood. Responding to public concerns, Weitner said staff at The Howl will conduct "perimeter checks" five times per eight-hour shift to keep patrons from congregating outside. Security ca...

Ads blame congressman for insurance coverage losses Before Cait Conley won the Democratic primary in June to set up a clash with Rep. Mike Lawler for the U.S. House district that includes Philipstown, a group called Empire State Voices had already been buying ads criticizing the two-term Republican congressman's record on health care. In a February video that ran on YouTube, a woman identified as "Tracey from Pearl River" (Lawler's hometown) recounted draining her 401K after being denied coverage for cancer, and then regaining insurance through the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. She was afraid Lawler "wants to take that away." In a YouTube ad that ran from late April to May, "Karen from Peekskill" accuses Lawler of cutting the Medicaid her parents rely on to "give tax breaks to billionaires." Lawler countered this month with an ad on Facebook and Instagram: "When premiums were on the line, Rep. Mike Lawler crossed party lines to extend the enhanced ACA tax credits that keep coverage affordable for NY-17 families." But the extension of those Affordable Care Act credits did not pass Congress. That failure and changes to the Republican-led One Big Beautiful Bill that could cut Medicaid enrollments by millions of people are two of the major themes as Conley, Democrats and advocacy groups target Lawler in November's midterm elections. His seat is considered a toss-up and is one of Democrats' main targets as they seek to regain control of the House, which has 218 Republicans, 212 Democrats, one independent and four vacancies. Their success may depend in part on the impact of the One Big Beautiful Bill, which President Donald Trump signed on July 4, 2025. The legislation, which Lawler voted for, extended tax cuts set to expire at the end of last year; temporarily raised to $40,000 (from $10,000) the amount of state and local taxes that can be deducted on federal returns; and allowed workers to temporarily deduct up to $25,000 in tips. But its provisions were also projected to cause 7.8 million people to lose Medicaid coverage by 2034. The bill also affected the health care exchanges New York and other states established when President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act in 2010. A year after the enactment of the One Big Beautiful Bill, the effects on health care coverage are starting to emerge. New York said that because of cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill, the state's no-premium, no-deductible Essential Plan for low- and middle-income residents could no longer cover households earning between 200 and 250 percent of the federal poverty level. The estimated 450,000 people who lost coverage include individuals earning $31,920 or less annually and four-person households earning up to $82,500. Most of the affected enrollees — including an estimated 13,987 in District 17 and 15,656 in District 18, which includes Beacon — have until Aug. 30 to find subsidized health insurance on New York State of Health, the state's health exchange. But unlike their Essential Plan coverage, monthly premiums and deductibles will be required. Danielle Holahan, the executive director for the exchange, told New York Focus, a statewide news organization, that 150,000 to 200,000 Essential Plan users will be unable to buy insurance on the exchange or get coverage through their employers. Their dilemma, which took effect July 1, was the subject of a Facebook ad from a group called Families Over Billionaires. It featured state Assembly Member Dana Levenberg, whose district includes Philipstown. Calling the One Big Beautiful Bill the "big ugly bill," Levenberg charged that Lawler "lied to us. Not once, not twice but three times you voted to cut Medicaid, and you don't represent the people, you represent Donald Trump and all his flunkies." Rep. Mike Lawler, whose House district includes Philipstown, said in an interview with News12 on Wednesday (July 15) that he was arrested on St. Patrick's Day in 2012 on suspicion of drunk driving. At ...

Town board also finalizing rental law A survey of Philipstown residents found little support for a tax on home purchases that would fund the purchase of open spaces, wildlife habitats and other natural resources, according to Town Board member Nat Prentice. The Trust for Public Land funded a three-week poll to "test out support" for a Community Preservation Fund, said Prentice at the board's July 9 meeting. "The results, from 307 responses, "suggested that the voters would not support a community preservation fund at this time, citing mostly cost-of-living reasons," he said. "All they heard was tax." Ted Warren, the public policy manager for the Hudson Highlands Land Trust, told the board last year that a tax of up to 2 percent would apply to the portion of a property purchase exceeding the median price for home sales in Putnam County, which was $580,000 in 2025. For example, a house that sold for $700,000 would be taxed on $120,000 of the sale. Philipstown took an initial step to create the fund, which would need voter approval, in August 2023 by adopting a Community Conservation Plan. But Supervisor John Van Tassel said at the time that the idea of a new tax during the pandemic "did not settle well" with the board. In addition, said Warren, another survey of Philipstown residents conducted by the Trust for Public Land showed "a lot of ambivalence" about a fund. Under the Hudson Valley Community Preservation Act, a state law that grants municipalities in Putnam and Westchester counties the authority to establish conservation funds, the money would be administered by a five- or seven-member advisory board composed of volunteer residents. The Town Board on Wednesday (July 15) approved a $95,050 bid by Cemco Water & Wastewater Specialists to buy and install water meters at properties in the Garrison's Landing Water District. The other bids were $276,400 and $320,200. The previous meters failed in 1999 after the district's source "went from a ground/surface-fed system to a well-fed system" and the pressure increased, Van Tassel said. Philipstown officials said the town did not have the funds to buy meters until the board authorized borrowing $500,000 last year to cover capital upgrades. To repay the loan, the town added a $2,500 levy to the tax bills of property owners within the district, including those who are not connected but use wells. Once the meters are installed, the town will calculate a per-gallon usage fee for properties that use the water, Van Tassel said. Philipstown is finalizing regulations governing short-term rentals, such as those offered on Airbnb. The town is expected to introduce a local law at its Aug. 6 meeting and schedule a public hearing. At the suggestion of Board Member Ned Rauch, the board agreed on Wednesday to add language clarifying that the limit of two people per sleeping area includes an exception for parents who want an infant or small child in their room. Prentice suggested the town eliminate an inspection requirement because STRs are "a very market-driven, self-regulating industry where bad operators don't survive." He noted that the owners of about 100 of the roughly 140 STRs in Beacon have not registered, as mandated by the city. "You could get people to attest that they are keeping in line with code and that their insurance covers them," said Prentice. "If you made it easy on them, they'd all sign up." But Van Tassel said he "would never rely on a homeowner" to ensure an STR unit is safe. In the past, he has cited a 2024 fire at an unregistered Airbnb in Salt Point that killed a Cape Cod woman and her 1-year-old daughter. The owners of the unit, which did not have smoke detectors despite an attestation that it did, were charged with manslaughter. "My feeling would be to send a building inspector," said Van Tassel. The Town Board presented a proclamation to Haldane High School student Allegra Clementson, who organized a food-scrap recycling program in the district as part of a pilot pro...

Facilities face pushback nationwide Gov. Kathy Hochul issued an executive order on Tuesday (July 14) imposing the country's first moratorium on data centers, whose hunger for electricity and water has raised fears of higher electricity bills and depleted aquifers. The order prohibits the Department of Environmental Conservation from issuing permits or licenses for pending data center applications for one year. It also tasks the agency and the Department of Public Service with developing standards to assess potential environmental impacts from the facilities. The warehouse-sized centers can house thousands of servers that are the repositories for the documents, images and video stored and shared by Americans through their smartphones and computers. Their construction has accelerated in recent years, driven first by cloud computing and cryptocurrency trading, and now by the processing needs of artificial intelligence (AI). Local officials and residents have expressed concerned that the energy required to run data centers will leave homeowners and small businesses paying higher rates and footing the bill for upgraded power lines. There are also fears that the water used to cool equipment will threaten aquifers and groundwater. New York will establish the "strongest standards in the nation," said Hochul, who opted to issue an executive order rather than sign a one-year moratorium approved by the Legislature. Her order directs Empire State Development to develop guidance for municipalities to obtain benefits from companies that want to build data centers. Earlier this year, Maine seemed poised to establish a similar moratorium. But the measure was vetoed by Democratic Gov. Janet Mills because it would have blocked a proposed data center in a town that has struggled after a mill closed. Moratoriums have been proposed in at least a dozen states but have not gotten far, though some counties and municipalities have imposed temporary bans. For instance, the East Fishkill Town Board approved a three-year moratorium on June 25 after a nearly two-hour public hearing. The moratorium, which ends on July 1, 2029, prohibits permitting or consideration of any data center "until the completion of federal and state studies" of their power and water usage, noise and heat emissions. It passed amid protests from residents who learned that Treetop Companies had asked the New York Independent System Operator, which operates the state grid, to study the impact of an AI processing and cloud computing center at its property off Donovan Drive. While Treetop's center would connect to Con Edison's grid, NYISO will also study its effect on the Central Hudson's system, which distributes power to residents in Beacon and Philipstown. A proposal to build a 200-megawatt data facility at the shuttered Indian Point is also being studied. Protests also accompanied a vote by the Orangetown Planning Board on July 8 to require DataBank to undergo an environmental impact study of its plan to expand an existing data center. Bloomberg and JPMorgan want to expand data centers in Orangetown, and a developer is proposing to build a facility there. More than 100 communities nationwide have passed moratoriums, and eight municipalities and the Eastern Band of Cherokee in North Carolina have approved permanent bans, according to the U.S. Data Center Moratorium Tracker. The Associated Press contributed reporting.

Haldane first-grader pulled from pool The end of the school year is always a big day, but for a 6-year-old Cold Spring boy, it almost marked the end of his life. Haldane kindergarteners and first graders, along with their parents, celebrated the start of summer at a backyard pool party in the village on the afternoon of June 24, the Wednesday of the final week of school. Bethany Califano said that when she picked up her son, Georgie, from his first-grade classroom at Haldane Elementary that day, "he said everyone was talking about the party, and he really wanted to go." By 2 p.m., the party was in full swing; Georgie was standing by the shallow end of the in-ground pool. "He was waving at me, and I took a picture of him," Califano recalled. But things quickly became a blur for the mother of three. Moments later, while tending to her 1-year-old, she heard someone say, "Are you OK?" "I just knew they were talking about Georgie," she remembers thinking. Stephen Selman, one of the fathers at the party, noticed a boy at the bottom of the deep end of the pool. Because his arms were moving, Selman hesitated. Before he could remove his shoes, Stefanie Kean, a mom, dove in and brought Georgie to the surface. Selman helped her pull him out. Georgie was not breathing. His eyes were open, his lips and eyelids were blue, his skin was gray and his tongue was sticking out, Selman said. Selman, who was a lifeguard as a teenager and trained in CPR, gave Georgie rescue breaths. He was joined by two other dads with CPR training, Aaron Ernst and Aaron Bartkiw, and the three worked as a team, doing chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth. "I pinched his nose, pulled his head back and blew as hard as I could into him," said Bartkiw, also a former lifeguard. "He threw up all over me." Ernst said Georgie, after vomiting four times, started screaming. "It was the best scream that I've ever heard!" Ernst said. "I was just crying and praying; I've never prayed so hard in my whole life," Bethany Califano said. "I've never been so happy to hear him scream; I held him, and he didn't want to let go." After a call to 911, first responders arrived within minutes, Selman said. At that point, a frightened Georgie was talking coherently. He was taken by the Philipstown Volunteer Ambulance Corps, with his mother, to Mid-Hudson Hospital in Poughkeepsie. "We walked into about 20 doctors and nurses," she said. "It was pretty intense." After doctors examined Georgie, he was transferred to Maria Fareri Children's Hospital in Westchester County because of concerns about "secondary" or "delayed" drowning, which can occur up to 24 hours after a near drowning. Fluid builds in irritated and inflamed lungs, potentially causing respiratory failure. After his father, Bobby, and two sisters visited with Georgie, Bethany spent the night with him. He answered all the medical staff's questions quickly and alertly, allaying concerns about possible brain damage due to oxygen deprivation. "They kept giving him random prompts; in the middle of talking to me they'd ask him his favorite color, and he'd answer 'blue' immediately," his mother said. Georgie told his mother that he remembered standing in the shallow end and taking a step "and then it was deep," Bethany said. It isn't clear how long he was underwater. Children typically lose consciousness in 30 to 60 seconds, and brain damage can occur within four to six minutes. "I'm always watching the water, and every time I looked around there were two or three sets of eyes on that pool," Selman said. "There wasn't any neglect, but there is a lesson here about how quickly it can happen." Bethany said hospital staff emphasized that drowning doesn't usually occur as depicted on TV. A victim doesn't scream and splash. "It was so quick, so quiet," she said. "And he's a loud kid." After Georgie spent the night at the hospital, his classmates visited him via Zoom before he was released. Three days later, he spotted a children's inflatable...

Feds lease warehouse in Newburgh Elected officials and Hudson Valley residents are mobilizing against a potential U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in the Town of Newburgh, four months after the agency reversed plans to buy a warehouse in Chester. A notice published by the federal General Services Administration announced that ICE has signed a 15-year, $35.6 million lease with Houston-based Leverage Enterprises Inc. to rent 42,377 square feet at 800 Corporate Blvd., a warehouse owned by the National Realty & Development Corp. near Stewart Air National Guard Base. Citing concerns about the safety of its officers, ICE refused to confirm the warehouse as its location, and the GSA did not respond to questions about its tenant, according to the Times Union in Albany. But the GSA's solicitation in June 2025 sought space in Newburgh that could accommodate "a dedicated sally port/garage" with "secure access into [the] building for deliveries by government vehicles, including detainee buses and vans." More specific is a spreadsheet listing properties owned and leased by the GSA and posted at data.gov. As of Thursday (July 9), the warehouse at 800 Corporate Blvd. is identified as "New Lease-DHS ICE." The lease, first reported on June 30 by the investigative news site Project Salt Box, has sparked bipartisan opposition. Gil Piaquadio, Newburgh's supervisor and a Republican, said on July 2 that the town "will pursue all available legal options to prevent this facility from being established in our community." U.S. Rep. Pat Ryan, a Democrat whose District 18 includes Newburgh and Beacon, said the same day that he was "urgently seeking answers." "We've made it clear: We strongly reject a mass detention center or any ICE facility in the Hudson Valley," said Ryan, who attended a rally on Tuesday (July 7) at Algonquin Park in the town. "We won't stand idly by while ICE moves into our community, terrorizes our neighbors and makes us all less safe." That same furor greeted ICE's proposal to buy a former Pep Boys distribution facility in Chester to expand detention space as the agency implements President Donald Trump's mass-deportation plan. At least eight people have been shot and killed by immigration agents since Trump returned to office in January 2025, according to The Associated Press. They include a Mexican man killed by an ICE officer in Houston on Tuesday, and at least three U.S. citizens. In addition, over 50 ICE detainees have died, more than the previous five years combined, according to ICE data. Flush with funding from the One Big Beautiful Bill, ICE planned to expand its detention capacity by spending $38.3 billion to buy and retrofit warehouses capable of holding 1,000 to 10,000 immigrants. But its "detention reengineering initiative" faced nationwide opposition, including lawsuits. In February, Brian Maher, a Republican whose state Assembly district includes Chester, said ICE had confirmed it would not be purchasing the warehouse there. Opponents of a Newburgh facility are demanding the same decision. "This is about more than one building," said Jonathan Jacobson, a Democrat whose Assembly district includes Newburgh and Beacon, at the Tuesday rally. "It's about deciding what kind of community we want to be." In June, The New York Times reported that ICE planned to sell or give to other federal agencies seven warehouses it bought in other states for $700 million. The agency still held, as of April, an average of 154 people at its detention facility at the Orange County Jail in Goshen, more than double its detainee population in January 2025, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse. Its largest facility in New York is in Batavia, between Buffalo and Rochester. ICE says it is expanding the 650-bed Buffalo Federal Detention Facility in Batavia in response to a recent state law that will bar the agency from detaining people in county jails, according to a report published Thursday by New York F...

Legislators will appoint most members The Putnam Legislature on Tuesday (July 7) approved a law giving it the power to appoint the majority of the Board of Ethics. At the same time, it dissolved the current five-member panel, which had three vacancies. The 5-3 vote (with one legislator absent) could be vetoed by County Executive Kevin Byrne. The executive currently nominates all five volunteer members, who then must be confirmed by the Legislature. The revision reduces the executive's nominations to two and gives one to the Legislature's chair, one to its minority leader and the fifth to a majority of the Legislature. In 2025, according to its annual report, the Board of Ethics investigated three complaints of potential conflicts of interest and received one request for an advisory opinion. It also reviewed 193 financial disclosure forms. It lost three members in 2025: Roderick Cassidy resigned, Joseph DeMarzo decided not to seek another term and John Sweeny died. The board has a budget of about $31,000 for 2026, including $25,000 to hire outside counsel for ongoing litigation. Under the current system, "the Legislature's only role was to vote 'yes' or 'no' " on the county executive's nominees, said Legislator Jake D'Angelo, whose district includes parts of Carmel and Kent. "The public never knew how the candidates were identified, what their qualifications were or who else may have even been considered." As the Legislature's sole Democrat and minority leader, Nancy Montgomery would nominate one member for the panel. A proposal by Legislator Erin Crowley, who represents parts of Carmel, to eliminate the minority-leader nomination failed to gain enough support. "There was a lot of political grandstanding" about the minority nomination, said Montgomery, who represents Philipstown and Putnam Valley. "It's not about giving the minority control; it's about independence and public confidence." The measure shortens board members' terms from three years to two and retains language banning appointees who are lobbyists or officeholders in a political party. It also drops a requirement that at least one member of the board be a county officer, employee or elected official and instead bars anyone in those positions from serving. In addition, if the Legislature's nine members are from the same party, the county chair of the "non-controlling party" gets to choose the minority-party nominee. Putnam's code requires that Byrne hold a public hearing no later than 20 days after receiving the legislation and approve or veto it within 25 days. The Legislature can override a veto with six votes. The current board has two members: Barbara Scuccimarra, a former Republican legislator who was defeated by Montgomery in 2018 and 2021, and Paul Eldridge, Putnam's personnel officer. Despite the three vacancies, legislators decided in June against confirming two Byrne appointees because of the Legislature's plans to change the appointment process and dissolve the current board. A third Byrne appointee, John Molloy, dropped out amid concerns that his position on the Putnam County Republican Committee violated the ban on appointing members who hold office in a political party. Byrne accused legislators of trying to "hijack" the board and "block the board from doing its job." He also said that Molloy "had already taken steps to resign from the GOP committee upon his appointment." The Legislature formally reallocated $2.1 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funding initially earmarked for a mental health crisis center to paving projects. People USA had planned to lease space for the 24-hour "stabilization" center above a childcare center in Brewster, but that sparked outrage from residents and led the Town of Southeast to impose a moratorium on permits for medical and mental health clinics. The nonprofit then tried to open a center in an office building in Carmel. That provoked similar opposition, and the town's Planning Board rejected the applicatio...

Newburgh dock withdraws as starting point The Annual Great Newburgh to Beacon River Swim, in which more than 200 swimmers accompanied by dozens of kayaks and other support boats traverse a mile-wide section of the Hudson River, has been canceled for this summer. Scheduled for Aug. 1, the fundraiser for the Beacon River Pool was called off after the Riverfront Marina of Newburgh withdrew as the starting point, said Karen Frillman, president of the River Pool board. The group has held the swim annually since 2004, except for one year during the pandemic. Frillman said the Riverfront Marina told her that its insurance company will not allow swimming from its docks, although River Pool has event insurance and participants sign liability waivers. Marina representatives declined comment. The swim is the primary fundraiser for the River Pool, which opened last week for its 18th season at Pete and Toshi Seeger Riverfront Park in Beacon. The event raises about $50,000 annually to pay for lifeguards and other operating costs. In addition to a $75 entry fee, swimmers raise money through sponsors. The pier at the Riverfront Marina was an ideal place to start because it projects into the river, allowing swimmers to jump safely without wading over rocks and other obstacles, Frillman said. "We do four groups of 50 swimmers, and they jump in. It's deep enough. You go down, but you don't touch the bottom. And you take off." Frillman said the marina has been the starting point for most of the event's history. In the early years, swimmers left from a dock by Torches restaurant, now Blu Pointe. Frillman said that no one has ever been seriously injured jumping off the docks. "People may have gotten a scratch, but we've never had any kind of an insurance issue, never had any kind of a problem," she said. She said River Pool has been unable to find another safe starting point that allows a direct swim to Beacon. The group will refund 2026 entry fees and look for a solution for 2027. Frillman acknowledged that the swim across the Hudson is risky, which is why the event has at least one kayak minder for every three swimmers. "Getting 200 people across this tidal river is tricky," she said. "You get pushed down by the ebb tide. Then there's slack tide. And then the flood tide kicks in." The River Pool itself takes precautions against risks of swimming in the river. The pool is designed with a walkway that allows swimmers to cross tricky rocks to reach it, and it is 17 feet wide and 30 inches deep, with a net bottom. It's attached to the riverbed with cables, allowing the pool to move with the tide. The pool was modeled after the floating swimming cribs anchored in the East River off Manhattan in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. Scenic Hudson prohibits swimming in all of its two dozen waterfront parks, in part because of liability, said Seth McKee, executive director of its Land Trust & Land Programs. Sojourner Truth State Park in Kingston, which the nonprofit created with New York State, will soon offer supervised swimming.

Beacon developer ordered to make project right The developer of a Main Street building in Beacon must return to the Planning Board on Tuesday (July 14) with a "full, complete and comprehensive" list of how the nearly complete structure at 364 Main deviated from a site plan approved four years ago. The property owner, Eric Baxter, and other project officials came to the board in May seeking approval of an amended site plan after acknowledging that nearly two dozen features on the building — material selections, window and facade details, the replacement of Juliet balconies and others — had been changed during construction. With Chair John Gunn absent, board members rebuked Baxter but took no action. Last month, Gunn took the project team to task. Applications for prominent sites such as 364 "establish our Main Street," Gunn said on June 9. "Our Main Street," he repeated, with emphasis. "The Main Street we all have to look at, experience and live with, and this applicant ignored all of the time that we put in to that review." His voice raised sharply, Gunn said he was "beyond angry at the waste of our time, including this time" spent reviewing the plan again. "I want it known by every applicant that we don't sit here just for our health, or for the fun of it. This is a waste of our time, and I'm tired of it. I want that clear," he said. Gunn said he expected the applicant to return this month with a list of "every single item" that deviates from the plan approved in April 2022. "And I'm not going to talk any more about this until next month when we have that list, and we're going to go line by line, is that clear?" he said. "It's very clear," said Taylor Palmer, the developer's attorney. The project team is taking the matter "very seriously," he said, and intends to "make this project better overall, not just return to center." A public hearing will be required before the board can approve changes, but Gunn said it is too early to schedule one. Once complete, the three-story building will have commercial space on the first floor and 20 apartments on the second and third. A public hearing will continue Tuesday on a proposal to convert an art gallery at 1154 North Ave. (Route 9D) to a karaoke bar. The project was introduced in May and drew immediate pushback from neighbors, who said that people congregating at the venue late at night would disrupt nearby residences. In response, the project team submitted a five-page management plan last month that it said could allay some concerns. It states that the venue will operate primarily via online reservations, though walk-ins may be accommodated if capacity allows. Walk-ins who cannot be accommodated will either wait at the bar or leave and receive a text notification when space is available. Staff will be trained to address capacity-related issues. Patrons will not be permitted to congregate on sidewalks, at the rear of the building or near emergency exits, the plan says. A rear exit will be used for emergencies only. Smoking will be permitted in a designated outdoor area on the southwest corner of the building, but the space will not be used as "an outdoor gathering area." The venue is proposed to be closed on Monday and Tuesday, and open from 2 p.m. to midnight on Wednesday and Thursday, noon to 1:30 a.m. Friday and Saturday and from noon to 11 p.m. on Sunday. On holiday weekends, Sundays would revert to Saturday hours. "That means a Sunday goes to 1:30 a.m. on a holiday? I don't know about that," Gunn said during a June 9 meeting. The applicant, Eric Weitner, said he had based the hours on comparable businesses, including the Vinyl Room and Piggy Bank (both open until 2 a.m. on weekends) and the Happy Valley Arcade Bar (open until 1:30 a.m. on weekends). But if the Sunday schedule is a problem, "we're amenable to bringing that back," he said. Patrons would be encouraged to use public transportation or park on-street or in one of the nearby municipal lots. Noise has been the gre...

Also, updates on creekside zoning, cable franchises Ben Swanson was sworn in on Monday (July 6) by Mayor Lee Kyriacou as Beacon's city administrator, completing a seven-month ascension that included a few unexpected steps along the way. After being named the city's first deputy administrator in December, Swanson, 32, learned three months later he would become interim administrator following the retirement of Chris White, planned for June. Three weeks later, on April 6, the council voted to name Swanson the administrator (removing the interim designation) when White retired. White took a leave of absence in mid-April and did not return, speeding up the transition. Monday's swearing-in finally made everything official. Swanson was hired in 2021 as assistant to the mayor. As city administrator, he will manage Beacon's day-to-day operations and oversee a workforce of about 130 employees. The city intends to hire a deputy to assist Swanson and has received 85 applications. The council was briefed Monday on a proposal to develop 555 South Ave., an 11-acre former industrial site on the banks of Fishkill Creek. The property was the home of the Tioronda Hat Works Factory from 1878 to 1919. According to the state Department of Environmental Conservation, "hat works-related activities" continued until at least 1946, after which the Atlas Fiber Co., Chemical Rubber Products Inc. and BASF Colors and Chemicals occupied the eight-building site. It has been vacant since 1995 and was sold in 2016 to Rodney Weber, a developer who owns the Edgewater complex and several properties on Creek Drive, among others in Beacon. The Hat Factory property was contaminated by at least a dozen chemicals "of concern" but has been remediated through the DEC's Brownfield Cleanup Program. The agency said the site is suitable for "restricted-residential" uses such as multi-family housing, condominiums and apartment buildings, but not single-family homes. On Monday, City Attorney Nick Ward-Willis told the council that Weber intends to submit an application to construct a hotel on the property. Hotels are not allowed in the Fishkill Creek Development District, although bed-and-breakfasts and inns (defined by the city as a hotel with 10 or fewer guest rooms) are permitted. The council could amend the code to allow a hotel, a move Kyriacou said could have positive ripple effects. "We're at the stage now where we want" hotels, he said, noting that changes to creekside zoning regulations would give him "more comfort in saying, 'Let's look at our short-term rentals and start to reduce them.'" If there are alternatives, "we want those short-term rentals to go to long-term apartments," he said. Council Member Paloma Wake said she believes the city should be "looking at this holistically," because hotels are often used as backup sites for emergency housing, which Beacon lacks. The council held a public hearing on Monday on Verizon New York's application for a franchise agreement to provide TV service through its fiber-optic network. The company already provides internet service in the city. The council approved a 10-year renewal of a similar, non-exclusive agreement with Optimum, aka Cablevision of Wappingers Falls, in December. If the Verizon pact is approved, there would be competing cable providers in Beacon for the first time in 40 years, said Pamela Goldstein, a company representative. The agreement would encompass all of Beacon, although Verizon's network only covers about 55 percent of the city. There are no plans to expand, Goldstein said. Federal law allows the city to collect 5 percent of franchisees' gross revenues. In 2024, Optimum paid the city $172,393. One person spoke during the hearing but did not express an opinion on the franchise agreement. The council approved three resolutions Monday regarding the city's historic district. The first added two properties whose owners agreed to the designation: 22 South Ave. and the Elks Lodge at 900 Wolcott Ave. Th...

Silent Book Club meets monthly in Beacon When it came time for chatting to cease, participants in the Beacon chapter of the Silent Book Club pulled out earplugs and headphones to block out background noise. Then the action began: Everyone started to read. Typically held monthly, this meetup took place at Hudson Valley Brewing, but the group bounces around town and sometimes meets at Long Dock Park. "It's happy hour for introverts," says organizer Christina Hellman, who was reading The Night Guest, by Hildur Knutsdottir. Created in San Francisco 14 years ago by two friends, the concept now has some 2,000 chapters worldwide. Unlike book groups that read the same title, "we have no rules," says Hellman. "You just show up and dive in, maybe buy some drinks. It's a BYO book club where you come and go as you like." Like Write Today Beacon, a writing club in which co-organizer Lily Friedrich sets a timer for 20 minutes and everyone hunkers down, 20- and 30-somethings have found ways to socialize around the solitary. The book club premise provides an informal, no-pressure atmosphere for word nerds. Hellman reads the room and goes with the flow as the group seesaws between reading and schmoozing. Once in a while, the format changes. At Yappy Hours, there is no break to read, though people can of course pull out a book and find a corner at any time. On July 1, Hellman hosted the latest in a series of Listen & Craft sessions at the Salvation Army on Main Street, i.e., "listen to your audiobook while you puzzle, draw, knit, etc." The club's catchphrase is "What are You Reading?" At Hudson Valley Brewery, Kelsey Butkiewicz dug into Kin by Tayari Jones on a tablet. Andrea Knox (Shadows in Flight, by Orson Scott Card) had moved to Beacon three weeks before the meeting, and Britt Rivera pored over Homer's The Odyssey. Participants also goofed around on the balcony, gushing over passions like comics, VHS tapes, pinball machines and vintage computer games. Dave Taetsel (Truth of the Divine, by Lindsay Ellis) and Travis Bederka (Closing Time, by Joseph Heller) geeked out over the "janky curves" of analog televisions. "I have many interests," says Bederka in a deep, dramatic voice, including polar exploration, the Roman Empire, European history from 1500 to 1800, 19th-century Germany and World War II. Hellman, who was born and raised in Germany by parents from the Philippines, met and married an American serviceman and lives in Newburgh. The couple plans to relocate at some point, but "there have been many offers to host, so I'm sure the club will live on after I'm gone." She first attended a club meeting in May 2024, a few months after Jessenya Alicea and DJ McErlean started it, and helped out with social media and logo design. "I've made friends with people I never would have met otherwise," Hellman says. "One member says that everyone she knows in Beacon is from the club." The Silent Book Club meets at 6 p.m. on the third Wednesday of each month at Savage Wonder, 139 Main St., in Beacon. Its next meetings are July 15 and Aug. 19. It will also meet at 10 a.m. on July 31 at Bank Square Coffeehouse, 129 Main St. See facebook.com/groups/silentbookclubbeacon or instagram.com/silentbookclubbeacon.

Statue, Declaration display damaged Police are investigating political messages scrawled on a replica of the Declaration of Independence displayed at Putnam County's Historic Courthouse and damage to a newly restored statue of Sybil Ludington, a Revolutionary War hero. County Executive Kevin Byrne said on Tuesday (July 7) that a large reproduction of the Declaration hung on the face of the courthouse in Carmel for residents to sign on the Fourth of July had been removed the same day after being "defaced with political graffiti." On Wednesday, the Sheriff's Office announced an investigation into damage to the base of the Ludington statue, five days after police officers and firefighters escorted the figure back to the shore of Lake Gleneida in Carmel following a $100,000 restoration. Photos provided by the county showed some of the messages on the Declaration. Amid the signatures of residents were scribbles, some with misspellings, such as "5000 children in consencration camps god is telling you – stop being cruel usa 2026," "500 years genocide," "Free Palestine," "Stop ICE" and "Abolish Millionaires." The Town of Carmel Police Department said it received a call about the graffiti on the afternoon of July 4. Because the incident occurred on county property, it handed the investigation over to the Sheriff's Office. Security videos "are being reviewed to help verify the identities of those responsible" for the writings, said Byrne. He also said a replacement replica will be displayed for people to sign during the Putnam Lake Rev 250 Parade on July 11 and the county fair on July 25 and 26. The Declaration of Independence "deserves to be treated with dignity and respect," said Byrne. "Every American enjoys the constitutional right to free speech, but intentionally defacing a public display created for families to celebrate our history and heritage is not an act of civic engagement; it is an act of gross disrespect." Putnam first displayed the reproduction during its Putnam County Heroes Battle the Redcoats reenactment on June 6, and Byrne said he was among hundreds of people who signed the document. It was also displayed on July 3, when the county reinstalled the restored bronze statue of Ludington, a 16-year-old from Kent credited with riding 40 miles on horseback in 1777 to warn her father's militia about a British raid on Danbury, Connecticut. Since being installed at Lake Gleneida in 1961, the 4,000-pound statue has been the target of vandalism and graffiti, necessitating frequent cleaning, according to the Historian's Office. It returned to Lake Gleneida with its surface polished and its base rebuilt to fortify it against water damage. Someone reported damage to the base around 11:40 a.m. on Wednesday, according to the Sheriff's Office, which said its Bureau of Criminal Investigations responded, along with Putnam employees involved in the restoration. Investigators have not determined if the two incidents are related, but "will pursue all available investigative leads," said the Sheriff's Office.

Reservoir affected by recent storms At the beginning of the Wednesday (July 8) meeting of the Cold Spring Village Board, Mayor Kathleen Foley clarified why a Stage 2 Water Emergency had been declared earlier in the day. [Update: The water emergency was rescinded on July 10.] "We are not in a water shortage," she said. Instead, recent storms had overwhelmed the water treatment process with suspended solids, causing drinking water to become turbid or cloudy. In response, the village is trucking water to holding tanks at the Fishkill Road plant. During the emergency, water system users are required to identify and stop all leaks; cease washing vehicles, building exteriors or outside areas; refrain from watering lawns, ornamental shrubs, plants, trees or gardens; irrigate vegetables or fruits for human consumption from hand-held containers only; and refrain from filling and/or maintaining levels in swimming pools, hot tubs and similar recreational pools. Bars, bed & breakfasts, coffee shops, hotels and restaurants should provide drinking water only upon request, and hotels, bed & breakfasts and short-term rentals should wash guest linens only upon request. The water superintendent, code enforcement officer and Cold Spring Police Department will enforce the order, the village said. Foley said that, before the July 5 storm, debris had been cleared from Back Brook in anticipation of heavy flows. The large number of private drains that flow into the brook needs to be factored into the watershed assessment, she said. Fuss and O'Neill Engineering is conducting a Flood Resilience Study focusing on the Back Brook watershed, a 160-acre drainage area that carries stormwater from as far upstream as Bull Hill to culverts beneath Fair Street, which empty into the Hudson River. The firm will host a public workshop later this year. Before its meeting, the board held back-to-back executive sessions that lasted nearly three hours. The first dealt with litigation and the proposed acquisition of real estate, while the second dealt with personnel issues. The board accepted a low bid of $16,800 from WBE Fence Co. for chain-link fence replacement at the Wastewater Treatment Plant. It will be funded with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) money received after the severe storms in 2023. The Cold Spring Fire Co. responded to 21 calls in June, including eight activated fire and CO2 alarms, six assists to emergency medical services, four structure fires and downed wires, two gas odor or smoke investigations and a residential dumpster fire. The Cold Spring Police Department responded to 154 calls in June, including 21 medical assists and six fire assists. Officers made a dozen traffic stops, issuing eight warnings and four tickets. Todd Seekircher resigned from the Historic District Review Board. The village will advertise to fill the vacancy.

Environmental group says advocacy led to dismissal A highlight of America's bicentennial in 1976 was Operation Sail, a parade of tall ships around New York City that featured the sloop Clearwater, representing the environmental organization of the same name created by folk icons Pete and Toshi Seeger of Beacon. The parade returned to New York City on July 4, this time as Sail4th 250 in honor of the nation's 250th birthday. But it sailed with one notable absence. Around 11 a.m., shortly after the parade began, the Clearwater was approached on both sides by U.S. Coast Guard boats and told to exit immediately. The sloop had been scheduled to escort the NRP Sagres, a Portuguese Navy ship. Instead, it was escorted from the parade route by the Coast Guard, Navy and New York Police Department, and had to wait until the parade was over to return to its current port at the Atlantic Basin in Red Hook, Brooklyn. "I was shouting at them [from the deck of the ship], 'Folks, we're part of this parade!'" said David Toman, the executive director of Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, which is based in Beacon. "We're part of this all!" Toman said crew members were not immediately told why the sloop was being removed from the parade, and a call to organizers provided little clarity. "They told us they were unaware of this and that the decision was being made above their heads," said Toman. It was later that someone from one of the Coast Guard vessels told Capt. Rory Kane that it was because of the ship's banners, Toman said. One side of the ship's sail carried a banner that read: "Save the Clean Water Act," with a drawing of Pete Seeger's banjo. The other had a banner that read: "Indigenous Rights, Racial Justice, Climate Solutions." A Coast Guard representative told The Current: "As part of the parade of sail, participants agreed to conditions established by Sail4th. One of those conditions was to not display political or politically charged messages/statements. The owner of the sloop Clearwater was contacted and requested to remove the message being displayed or be removed from the parade of sail. They declined to remove it. So, the Coast Guard enforced the agreement on behalf of Sail4th, removing the vessel from the parade." But Jen Benson of Clearwater, who was on the sloop, said there was no communication from either Sail250 or the Coast Guard regarding the banners. "We were not given an option to remove the banners and continue in the parade," she said. Toman said that no such restrictions existed, only that ships were instructed not to carry banners that could be considered "promotional." A copy of Clearwater's contract with Sail4th 250 that was provided to The Current confirms there were no restrictions on political messaging, only that the ship "may not display any flags, signs or distribute any literature that includes sponsorship names and/or logos without providing examples of these items in advance and receiving express written permission." Sail4th 250 did not respond to numerous requests for comment. "We've been part of the coordination of Sail250 from the very beginning," Toman said. "We signed a contract last year, went to every meeting." While he acknowledged that Sail250 did not specifically approve the sloop's banners, he said he saw other ships in the parade also flying banners. "We're known as America's environmental flagship," he said. "We've been known to fly banners from our sails, as they know. And besides, Sail250 did not tell us to leave the parade." In 1986, the Clearwater took part in the Operation Sail tall ship parade in New York Harbor to celebrate the rededication of the Statue of Liberty. During the parade, the sloop flew two banners from its sails. One read: "Peace on Earth, And Sea, and Sky," and another expressed solidarity with the Rainbow Warrior, a Greenpeace ship that had been sunk by France while in a New Zealand harbor, killing a photographer who was on board. By Brian PJ Cronin The "Save the Clean Wat...

East Fishkill approves moratorium When Debra Pagano heard that a developer was proposing a 1-gigawatt AI data center in East Fishkill, she asked her son in Texas what he thought of the controversial facilities. With 466 currently operating or planned data centers, Texas has more than any other state except Virginia, according to the Pew Research Center. "I asked his opinion — if it was to their advantage or not," said Pagano. "He said, 'If you can put the brakes [on] in any way to stop it from coming, especially to this area, do it.'" East Fishkill's Town Board applied those brakes on June 25. After a nearly two-hour public hearing during which Pagano and other residents aired emotions ranging from concern to fear, the board approved a three-year moratorium on data centers, which are facing a nationwide backlash as their construction accelerates to meet the large energy demands of AI. New York's Legislature approved a one-year moratorium that needs Gov. Kathy Hochul's signature to take effect. Several upstate towns have also hit pause on any new projects, and Orangetown officials in Rockland County are weighing a moratorium for their town, which has several existing centers. East Fishkill's moratorium, lasting until July 1, 2029, prohibits permitting or consideration of any data center "until the completion of federal and state studies" of their power and water usage, noise and heat emissions. The town allows an exception for projects "ancillary to an existing or permitted use" and less than 20 megawatts, or ones eligible for an economic-development special permit. It passed amid protests from residents who learned that Treetop Companies had asked the New York Independent System Operator, which operates the state's electric grid, to study the impact of an AI-processing and cloud-computing center at its property off of Donovan Drive. While the center would connect to ConEd's grid, the study will also look at its effect on Central Hudson and NYSEG's systems. Nick D'Alessandro, East Fishkill's supervisor, has emphasized that Treetop does not have a formal application with the town, but he said before the public hearing that "the people speak, the government listens and the government acts responsibly." He also said a "significant use" like a data center requires "impactful thought" by professionals and the public. "A moratorium gives us time," said D'Alessandro. "Time to study the infrastructure impacts and the environmental impacts. Time to hear from the experts." With its timeout, East Fishkill joins a movement that has led to more than 100 active moratoriums nationwide and permanent bans by eight municipalities and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina, according to the U.S. Data Center Moratorium Tracker. The warehouse-sized centers house rows of servers that are the repositories and waystations for the documents, images and video stored and shared by Americans through their smartphones and computers. Their construction has accelerated in recent years, driven first by cloud computing and cryptocurrency mining, and now by the processing needs of AI. Behind the backlash are economic and environmental concerns: the effect of the power-hungry facilities on household electricity rates; their thirst for large amounts of water to cool equipment and the impact on wells; and other issues such as noise and traffic. A proposal to build a 200-megawatt data facility at Indian Point is also being studied by NYISO. Tanya Radford, an East Fishkill resident, who gets her electricity through Central Hudson, said any project should be subject to a "robust environmental review" that assesses "air, water, noise and light pollution." She also said that developers should pay for any new energy infrastructure they need. "Ratepayers and communities should not have to pay for new infrastructure that supports new industry," said Radford. "Large commercial industrial users should pay premium prices rather than get sweetheart deals at...

Volunteers open paddling routes The Fishkill Creek runs behind Sergei Krasikov's house and it wasn't long after he moved to Beacon that he began to wonder: How much of this is navigable? A quick scan of Google Maps revealed the numerous dams which make canoeing and kayaking the entire 33.5-mile creek from Pray Pond in Unionvale to Madam Brett Park in Beacon impossible, and by late summer some sections are too shallow to paddle. But a few segments seemed open enough to encourage exploring. "That first year or two we paddled from Long Dock into Madam Brett Park, and from Van Pelt Park upstream to the Walmart in Fishkill," said Krasikov, who was elected to the Beacon City Council last year. Then came the macroburst storm of 2018, and much of the creek became jammed with downed trees. Further paddling was out of the question. Krasikov then learned about a defunct group called the Fishkill Creek Watershed Association, which had done everything from developing a natural resource management plan to dragging discarded Christmas trees to the banks of the creek to slow erosion. In 2023, Krasikov founded a new group called the Fishkill Creek Watershed Alliance to carry on the association's work. "They produced great reports," he said. "We're still using them." Since its inception, the Alliance has regularly tested for water quality in the creek and looked at the effects that industry and invasive species are having on its watershed. Through his work with the Alliance, Krasikov met Russel Faller from the Mid-Hudson chapter of the Adirondack Mountain Club and a former member of the Fishkill Creek Watershed Association. Faller mentioned that he used to lead work parties on the creek to keep it clear for paddling, but since the Association's disbanding there was no one to help him. And so last weekend Krasikov, Faller and almost a dozen volunteers in kayaks, surf kayaks, canoes and inflatable standup paddleboards met at Doug Phillips Park in Fishkill. They hailed from all over the Hudson Valley; some were already Alliance members, while others were curious paddlers looking for an excuse to explore someplace new. Armed with hacksaws and ropes, they paddled a little over 2 miles upstream, removing downed trees and logjams, some of which looked like they had been in place since the macroburst. Much of this stretch of the creek is flanked by tall grasses, thickly wooded forests and very few houses. Just a few minutes into the paddle it's easy to get the impression that one is deep in the remote wilderness despite being a few hundred feet away from a bowling alley. One of the only signs of human civilization was a dog chasing a blue heron into the creek. Even litter was sparse, and the one or two beer cans the group did find were, judging from their design, several decades old. Deer and raccoon tracks could be found along the shore. Without chainsaws, much of the work was slow going. Sawing through one particularly large red oak took four people about half an hour. And a logjam just downstream of the junction with Sprout Creek was so dense that it originally looked like Fishkill Creek simply ended there. But after another few hours of sawing and pulling, the water flow was restored and the section was navigable once again. The Fishkill Creek Watershed Alliance's website now has a page dedicated to paddling the creek, with maps to three cleared and navigable sections along with safety tips and other pointers. The most dangerous thing the group encountered last weekend was low-hanging poison ivy, but during a few sections paddlers had to get out and pull their crafts around shallow sections with surprisingly quick rapids. Even the deeper sections are shallow enough that standup paddleboarders should remain seated, bring along a kayak paddle and, if possible, remove the tail fin. It'll take regular maintenance to keep the creek open for paddling, but Krasikov is already thinking ahead. Riverkeeper has had success removing several defunct dams i...

Mandeville hosted a revolution Last month at Mandeville House in Garrison, attendees ate French fromage and drank Perrier and Champagne. Dressed in Revolutionary War garb, Mark Forlow wielded a scabbard to slice open a bottle of Veuve Clicquot with a clean cut through the glass instead of popping the cork. "You have to suspend the neck in ice for an hour or so," he says. "I've seen people do this with a butter knife." The French-themed fete on June 13 paid homage to the Marquis de Lafayette and the pivotal assistance from France during the Revolutionary War. Julien Icher, founder of the Lafayette Trail, a Maryland-based nonprofit, installed a marker a half-mile south from the intersection of Route 9D and Route 403 at the former site of loyalist Beverley Robinson's home. (It burned down in 1892.) George Washington, Lafayette and a who's who of big names stayed and strategized there and at Mandeville House, built in 1737. Gen. Israel Putnam used Mandeville as his headquarters during the entire war, says new steward Sarajane Brittis. People thought that the general's wife, Deborah Lathrop, died in the house after the fall of Forts Clinton and Montgomery in 1777, but she may have been buried alive, says Brittis. Tours are available today and tomorrow (July 4); dates are also planned in October. Owned by the Perry Gething Foundation, Mandeville held regular open houses in the spring and fall, except during the pandemic, says Brittis, who helped the former stewards, Katherine Perry and Robert Perry, her aunt and uncle. They died recently and Brittis took over in 2023. The foundation derives from interior designer Margaret Allan Gething, who worked on Lyndhurst, Constitution Island and the White House. In the 1920s, she reverted Mandeville House to its colonial glory after architect Richard Upjohn bought the place in 1852 and altered the exterior. It remained a private home until Gething died in 1975. She never married and left the house in a charitable trust managed by Robert Perry. Brittis has already reached out to Boscobel, the Putnam History Museum and the Desmond-Fish Library across the road. Beyond providing public access and serving bubbly, Brittis, who dresses in period costume when giving tours, seeks to expand educational programs. In May, she thanked parents for bringing their children along: "It's important to inspire young people and others to keep history alive." Just like 100 years ago, when Gething updated the house, stages of renovations are in store as an architectural firm prepares recommendations incorporating information gleaned by lasers and drones. During a recent tour, Brittis noted that the home reveals layers of history as the structure transformed from a colonial outpost to a modernized building. "The house is a living museum that embodies domestic changes from candles to electricity and pewter to glass," says Brittis. "The community takes a lot of pride in its history, which will continue." The interior confines also reveal the trajectory of human evolution since colonial days. Standing at 6-foot-4, and playing the role of George Washington at a recent event, architectural consultant James Barry continued bumping his head on the staircases. "One time, I bit my gums," he said.

Walking in the Revolution's footsteps One of the first thoughts that occurs to you when reading up on the history of the American Revolution in the Hudson Highlands is that they sure did a lot of walkin'. Many of the routes they took were trails established by the Native Americans and animals of the Hudson Valley. A lot of those paths have since become beloved hiking trails, so there's a good chance that even the simplest of your local hikes will have you walking the same routes soldiers took on their way to light signal fires, watch over the river or perhaps commit a little light treason. So grab ample supplies (water, snacks, bug spray, paper map, musket, tri-corner hat, secret intelligence about West Point stashed in your boot) and let's step back into history. Trailhead: Pocket Road in Beacon (park on East Main) Distance: 4 miles, out and back Elevation gain: 1,125 feet Approximate time: 2 – 3 hours You probably already know that Mount Beacon is named after the signal fires set on its summit during the Revolutionary War. You also probably know about the Beacon Monument built by the Daughters of the American Revolution to honor those signal-keepers back on July 4, 1900. But it remains a seldom-visited spot, probably because it's at the end of an unmarked trail. The good news is that since I last wrote about the monument in 2024, it's become much easier to visit. The easiest way to find the monument is to text Chris Cring at 845-249-5305. He's leading a hike to the monument tomorrow (July 4) on behalf of the Beacon Historical Society. The second easiest way is to head up the white-blazed Pocket Road Trail (technically the first part of the Fishkill Ridge Trail, but no one calls it that). Once you hit the Jeep Road (technically the Mount Beacon Monument Road, but no one calls it that despite it being the easiest way to get there), hang a right and head up to the reservoir. Keep following the road past the reservoir for about half a mile until you pass a wide unblazed path ascending to your right (if you run into the radio towers, turn around because you missed it). Follow this wider path, ignoring the side paths, and you'll soon come into a clearing with the radio towers on your left, a smaller building on your right and low-strung telephone wires in front of you. Hang a right and then walk around the back of the building, keeping the fence on your left. At one point you will pass through a narrow pathway surrounded by barbed wire on both sides. You will wonder if this means that you are trespassing. You're not, keep going. Once you pass this narrow section, the monument will be on your right, almost exactly 2 miles from the start of the Pocket Road Trail. Trailhead: 1 Avery Road, Garrison Distance: 3 miles, out and back Elevation gain: 745 feet Approximate time: 1.5 – 2.5 hours The ruins of redoubts, small open forts made of earth and stones, can be found up and down the Hudson, as they played a vital role in securing control of the river during the war. These two redoubts overlook West Point and were therefore considered of strategic importance by both the Americans and the British (more on that below). This is a popular hike in late fall or early spring, as the views are even better when the leaves are off the trees. But it is not without its summer charms: It's well-shaded, and the ample wineberries along the sides of the trail should make for fine mid-July snacking. Note that these prickly vines are quite thick in a few spots; long sleeves and pants are recommended. You'll find the red-blazed trailhead at the end of the parking lot, leading into the woods. The trail runs parallel to Snake Hill Road and a brook for a while before turning away from the road and ascending. Note that the trail narrows here with a sharp drop-off on one side. This probably shouldn't be your toddler's first hike after they learn to walk. At a half-mile in, the trail splits and a sign points to each redoubt. Head right for the North Redo...

Panel considers resident parking in lower village Mayor Kathleen Foley, at the Wednesday (June 24) meeting of the Cold Spring Village Board, outlined changes needed in the lower village regarding parking, enforcement and related signage. Foley said that although a resident parking district was created in 2015, signage was never installed. "Our officers cannot ticket non-residents without signs," she said. That can leave residents of the lower village without off-street parking, searching for spots on busy weekends. (A residential parking program in the upper village was established in 2024.) Eleanor Chew, a graduating Haldane High School senior, recently completed a three-week internship at Village Hall, studying the area between the Mero-North tracks and the river and inventorying and mapping parking spaces, signage, residences and businesses. Chew has drafted recommendations for resident parking and signage, along with the removal of unnecessary and outdated signs. "We need about 20 resident on-street parking spots," Foley said. The board supported her suggestion to appoint a five-member ad hoc committee composed of lower-village residents to recommend areas for residents-only parking. The board will discuss Chew's recommendations in detail in July. Foley said a "multitude of signs" also need to be removed from Main Street in the upper village, along with improvements to paid parking signage. The village has received a $6,000 donation to fund wayfinding signs throughout the village. Foley said "decluttering" signage needs to be done before the wayfinding system can be installed. The village will add solar-powered, rapid flashing signs at four pedestrian crossings. The signs, approved by the state Department of Transportation, will be installed at Locust Ridge and Route 301; Fishkill Avenue/Academy Street and Route 301; Craigside Drive and Route 9D; and Route 9D between the tennis courts and Haldane parking lot. Pavement striping at the crossings will also be improved. Foley said the project, to be undertaken this year, will cost $80,000, with Haldane covering up to half. The state will add flashing signs at the Main Street traffic light in 2027. The board approved an agreement with Haldane to add a crossing guard near Mountain Avenue and Craigside Drive. Haldane will pay the $15,000 annual salary. Crossing guards are employees of the village and supervised by the Cold Spring Police Department. Seastreak's request to dock at Cold Spring for fall cruises on Memorial Day weekend and on Oct. 24, the date of the annual Halloween parade, was denied. A decision on a request for 12 other docking dates between Oct. 3 and Nov. 1 is pending a structural assessment of the dock. Optimum internet service at Village Hall will be upgraded to fiber-optic for $280 per month. The Village Hall's basic service will be transferred to Wastewater Treatment Plant on Fair Street. Foley cited problems with Optimum throughout the village in recent months. "It is especially impactful for Village Hall because we provide public services, including the police department, and we cannot be down," she said. She described the negotiations with Optimum as "bruising" because "they have a monopoly. There has to be a way to get competition." The village's franchise agreement with Optimum expires in 2031. The board will revisit the licensing of food trucks. Trustee Tony Bardes found a sample law, which Trustee Andrew Hall revised for the board to consider. A year ago, the board instituted a six-month moratorium on licensing food trucks. At the time, Foley noted that Chapter 71 of the Village Code, which deals with licensing, had last been updated 34 years earlier. On June 10, the board approved Cold Spring Boat Club's request for a food truck to operate on Thursday to Monday between Memorial Day and Nov. 1. The boat club leases the riverfront property from the village. Responding to what she described as "a lot of chatter on social media" and elsewhere, Foley sa...

Retired officer's 'brain health' being evaluated A report by a psychiatric expert hired to evaluate the mental health of Edison Irizarry, the retired Beacon police officer who said he shot his roommate nearly a year ago, is complete. A second, commissioned by prosecutors, is expected next. The findings of the first report have not been released. Once complete, both will be considered as the criminal case against the former 17-year Beacon police officer moves forward. Irizarry, 52 at the time, was arrested July 21, 2025, after Beacon police responded to a 911 call placed by Irizarry, who said he had shot his roommate. Officers found Casey Cuddy, 58, of Beacon, dead inside an apartment at 86 Rombout Ave. The department turned the investigation over to the New York State Police after learning that Irizarry, who retired in 2021, was a former officer. Irizarry is accused of shooting Cuddy, a psychiatric nurse, multiple times with a 9-millimeter semi-automatic Glock pistol. He pleaded not guilty in Beacon City Court on July 22 and was indicted by a Dutchess County grand jury on Aug. 5 on a second-degree murder charge. He is being held at the county jail in Poughkeepsie without bail. In an interview last year with the Times Union, Irizarry said he shot Cuddy in self-defense to prevent "something evil from happening" but would not provide details. On Friday (June 26), Brittney Kessel, the deputy unit chief of the Dutchess County DA's Office, and Alexander Rosen, Irizarry's public defender, replacing Susan Mraz Mungavin, who retired, met for about 10 minutes with Judge Jessica Segal in County Court in Poughkeepsie. Irizarry did not appear. After conferring, Segal announced that the defense's mental health report had been submitted. "That took a very long time to get, but it was helpful," she said. However, there has been "no agreed-upon disposition. That's still being discussed" as professionals assess Irizarry's "brain health," Segal said. She set an Aug. 27 date for attorneys to provide updates. That frustrated Cuddy's sister, Dana Miller, who said Friday that she has tired of the slow pace. "We've been waiting a year for the defense to present a defense," said Miller, who lives in North Texas. "It shouldn't have taken that long."

Allows swimming at Beacon waterfront When folk singer Pete Seeger envisioned The River Pool at the Beacon waterfront more than 25 years ago, he said he wanted to encourage swimming in the Hudson, which he sang about as "My Dirty Stream." "He felt that if people were swimming in the water, they would work to keep it clean," said Karen Frillman, president of the pool's volunteer board. Seeger died in January 2014, after the pool had been open for seven summers. The River Pool is scheduled to open this year on Wednesday (July 1) for its 18th season at Pete and Toshi Seeger Riverfront Park. It is waiting for final approvals from the Dutchess County Health Department. Frillman said the department samples the water weekly. "The first year they tested, they said it was [clean enough to be] almost drinkable," she said. "It's a great spot." The health department also inspects the structure to ensure it's safe for the 700 or so children who visit each summer. The pool is 17 feet wide and 30 inches deep, with a net bottom. It's attached to the riverbed with cables, allowing the pool to move with the tide. Seeger modeled the pool after the floating swimming cribs anchored in the East River off Manhattan in the late-19th and early 20th centuries. Volunteers assemble the pool each summer in a cove near the park. It is staffed with a paid lifeguard from noon to 6 p.m. every day except Monday through Labor Day. The group raises about $50,000 a year with The Annual Great Newburgh to Beacon River Swim, scheduled for Aug. 1. Typically, more than 200 swimmers pay $75 to traverse the river escorted by kayaks. The River Pool board would like to see its model replicated, said Ben Weiss, one of its nine trustees. "River Pool at Peekskill, River Pool at Newburgh, River Pool at Albany — that's the big vision." About 10 years ago, the group pitched a larger pool at Scenic Hudson's Long Dock Park in Beacon, measuring 54 feet long by 20 feet wide, with a separate wading pool. "Although this would be an appealing amenity, we were — and still are — concerned about the additional infrastructure, park management demands and liability linked to hosting swimming," said Seth McKee, executive director of The Scenic Hudson Land Trust & Land Programs. For those reasons, McKee said, swimming is not allowed at any of the two dozen waterfront parks and preserves managed by Scenic Hudson, although Sojourner Truth State Park in Kingston, which the nonprofit created with New York State, will soon offer swimming overseen by state parks. The River Pool is part of a larger movement toward providing free, supervised swimming holes. By one estimate, there are 10.7 million swimming pools in the U.S., but only about 300,000 are open to the public. In New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul included funding for new or renovated public pools in her 2024 state budget as part of a program called New York Swims. The state awarded $38 million to municipalities in the Mid-Hudson region, including $8 million to help fund an outdoor aquatic center at Delano-Hitch Recreation Park in Newburgh that opened last summer. In New York City, a nonprofit called Plus Pool has been raising funds since 2015 to build a floating, self-filtering pool in the East River and to deploy river pools across the state, including near the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge. It is testing a 2,000-square-foot pilot this summer near Pier 35 in lower Manhattan.

Future use remains uncertain Despite a push from Rep. Mike Lawler and the U.S. Department of Energy, a restart at the Indian Point nuclear power plant seems increasingly unlikely. Doing so would require unanimous approval from five entities, three of which — New York State, Westchester County and the Town of Cortlandt — have repeatedly voiced their opposition to nuclear power being produced there. (The other parties are the Village of Buchanan and the Hendrick Hudson school district.) As a result, five years after the plant powered down, the question of what will be built there — and when — remains unanswered. The question arose again at the June 18 meeting of the Indian Point Decommissioning Oversight Board (DOB) when Matt Johnson of Holtec, the company decommissioning the plant, shared a schedule that listed 2041 as the goal for "partial site release." A full site release will require removing casks of spent nuclear fuel, but the federal government has not built a storage facility for them. Holtec had planned to release the grounds around a former training building, but discovered in 2024 that it was contaminated with cesium-137. Johnson said the company doesn't know when that release will happen. "I would say we're quite a bit away," he said. Legislators Call on Hochul to Sign Funding Bill Dana Levenberg, whose state Assembly district includes Philipstown, and state Sen. Pete Harckham this week called on Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign a bill that would extend, for another five years, funding for school districts and municipalities that lose tax revenue when a local power plant shuts down. Levenberg and Harckham, whose districts include Indian Point, are members of the Decommissioning Oversight Board. Surrounded by kindergartners at Buchanan-Verplanck Elementary School on Tuesday (June 23), the legislators said that the Electric Generation Facility Cessation Fund had been a lifeline to the Hendrick Hudson school district after the closure of Indian Point. However, the fund is set to expire in 2028. "Closing Indian Point has made our communities safer, but it has also meant a big loss in tax dollars," said Levenberg. Their bill passed in the Senate, 60-1, with support from Rob Rolison, whose district includes Philipstown and Beacon, and in the Assembly, 131-0, with support from Levenberg and Jonathan Jacobson, whose district includes Beacon. At the December 2025 meeting of the Oversight Board, Hendrick Hudson Superintendent Michael Tromblee said that the 2021 shutdown resulted in the loss of nearly a third of the district's operating budget because of the loss of property taxes paid by the plant. He warned that without continued funding, the district would have to consider cuts such as eliminating sports or merging with another district. At the federal level, a bill known as the STRANDED Act (Sensible, Timely Relief for America's Nuclear Districts' Economic Development) would allow municipalities with nuclear plants to tax spent fuel stored on-site. Theresa Knickerbocker, the mayor of Buchanan, said at the June 18 meeting of the Oversight Board that, after years of negotiation, the STRANDED Act appears to be dead, but that Rep. Mike Lawler introduced a similar bill in March, the Economic Recovery for Nuclear-Affected Communities Act. "The communities that are being stranded with this spent fuel should be compensated for the storage of it," said Knickerbocker. "We never agreed to store the spent fuel. The original agreement, when the power plant went in, was not to store it, so this is on the Department of Energy." Emiljuana Ulaj, a Westchester County legislator who is a member of the Decommissioning Oversight Board, said she viewed "full decommissioning" as meaning "people can live here. Someone is able to have a garden. Is that possible?" Tom Congdon, the Oversight Board chair, cited a 2018 study by the Indian Point Closure Task Force (which he also chaired) that advised against building homes at Indian Point. The study also...

Hudson Valley Shakespeare debuts Scripps theater For the debut season of the Samuel H. Scripps Theater Center, named after a newspaper scion who lived in Rhinebeck and worked in the theater world as a lighting designer, the Hudson Valley Shakespeare is presenting a double dose from the Bard and a "special run" of Les Misérables. After previews, opening night for As You Like It was June 20, and King Lear got going on Monday (June 22). The productions run through mid-September, and the schedule begins mixing in Les Miz on Aug. 22. The company has come a long way from its first season at Manitoga when, according to lore, it rained, says artistic director Davis McCallum. They returned the next year at Boscobel under a tent, establishing a tradition that lasted 36 more summers but is now a thing of the past. "We're big on the 'Hudson Valley' part of our name," says McCallum. "Shakespeare's theater was outdoors, and we had to take advantage of the view." That vista inspired the 1809 painting "The Highlands-Hudson River," by James Renwick, one of the founders of the Cold Spring Foundry. The three plays represent "an interesting mix, including two greats from Shakespeare that start in court and unfold in the natural world," says McCallum. "In As You Like It, it's the Forest of Arden, and there's the Heath in King Lear. The river, the mountains and the greenery become part of the story." The Royal Shakespeare Company in London produced the original hit version of Les Misérables, which transferred to Broadway and is a staple of high school stages (Haldane presented it in March; the Beacon players did in 2023). Yet it's been at least a decade since the rightsholder granted a performance license to professional companies, due in part to the successful global tour of the concert version, says McCallum. "I wanted to do this since 2019, and director Jenn Thompson had a great approach," he says. "We petitioned them and, as the first in the cue, we got the go-ahead. It's such an epic canvas; our adaptation is Shakespearean in scale," and features 15 musicians. Despite a 28-year tenure with the troupe, Philipstown local Kurt Rhoads is tackling the intimidating role of King Lear for the first time as a pro at Hudson Valley Shakespeare. "He is the perfect actor on the perfect stage at the perfect time and has been training for a while," says McCallum. "These are banger scenes where actors must convey enormous power and emotional vulnerability," he says. "You have to be funny and terrifying as you're blasting out 40-line speeches at the top of your lungs. Many great classical actors shudder at the part." The work that benefits most from the stunning setting is As You Like It, which features five songs written for the show by Amanda Dehnert. "Some Shakespeare plays had lyrics, but no scores have survived," says McCallum. "We're creating a world inspired by the Gilded Age era and the Hudson River School of painting," he says. After bidding farewell to its seasonal tent, the company will still be exposed to the elements. "You can build an indoor theater anywhere," says McCallum. "Since the beginning, when it rained at Manitoga, being outside and using the setting has been an integral part of our heritage." Hudson Valley Shakespeare is located at 2015 Route 9 in Philipstown. For tickets, which range from $55 to $120, with discounts for seniors, students, children, teens and military, see hvshakespeare.org.

Author, performer will evoke jazz singer If any artist in history could have benefited from better public relations, Billie Holiday fits the bill. Maligned by the press and broadcast media during her lifetime, authors and film producers exploited her legacy after she drank herself to death in 1959 at age 44. To set the record straight about the beloved jazz singer, Paul Alexander, author of Bitter Crop: The Heartache and Triumph of Billie Holiday's Last Year, will read from his book and interview Mala Waldron, Holiday's goddaughter, at the Howland Cultural Center in Beacon on Sunday (June 28). Waldron will also sing while accompanying herself on piano. Local author Eva Salzman produced the event, titled Billie & Banter: Billie Holiday Songs and Stories. Waldron and Alexander teamed up for the first time after she appeared at a symposium in New York City about Holiday's life that Alexander organized in 2024 at Hunter College, where he teaches. "It bothered me that all of the biographies are filled with bogus facts," Alexander says. "She made it hard on historians by making up a lot of things about her past, but there's a larger false narrative out there." The project is part of a growing reclamation effort. Alexander points to a permanent public artwork commissioned by New York City — an "inspirational abstract image" that will be unveiled at the Jamaica Performing Arts Center in Queens, where Holiday lived for many years. After the singer added controversial material to her repertoire, such as the anti-lynching song "Strange Fruit" in 1939, and got hooked on heroin in the 1940s, local and federal law enforcement hounded her. While Holiday lay in her hospital deathbed, Bureau of Narcotics agents handcuffed her to the rail. Sometimes, tragedy turned into triumph: In 1948, less than two weeks after her early release from a year-and-a-day federal prison sentence, she sold out Carnegie Hall. "The media came after her, and the government came after her, and she lost her cabaret card," says Waldron, the daughter of Holiday's final pianist, Mal Waldron. Until 1967, performers needed a New York City Cabaret Identification Card to play in venues that served alcohol. "Billie got such harsh treatment because she was a Black woman with other stigmas," she says. Surrounded by musicians since her childhood, Waldron has lived the jazz life. She will bring a longtime collaborator, bassist Christopher Dean Sullivan, with her to the Howland. Because she was just a year old when Holiday — born Eleanora Fagan and known as "Lady Day" — died in 1959, Waldron's knowledge is secondhand. "I heard all these stories from my father and people who knew her," she says. Holiday co-wrote several jazz standards, Alexander notes, including "God Bless the Child" (with Arthur Herz), "Lady Sings the Blues" (Herbie Nichols) and "Left Alone" (Mal Waldron). On her own, she penned "Tell Me More and More," three blues songs and "Fine and Mellow," the B-side of "Strange Fruit." "She taught Frank Sinatra how to bend notes, and her voice — there's nothing like it in all of music," Alexander says. "Even Ariana Grande, the best imitator I've ever heard, can't copy her. Holiday introduced a vernacular, conversational style that changed the direction of American music." The Howland Cultural Center is located at 477 Main St. in Beacon. Tickets for Billie & Banter, which begins at 4 p.m., are $20 at dub.sh/billie-banter, or $25 at the door.

Dutchess, Putnam faced funding shortages More funding is on the way for families who were turned away for childcare assistance when Putnam and Dutchess counties suspended their programs last summer. Gov. Kathy Hochul and state lawmakers agreed last month to provide $2.4 billion in the 2026-27 budget for the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), a 40 percent increase. It also includes $630 million in supplemental funds for 2025-26. Demand for the program, which covers most of a family's childcare costs, skyrocketed when the state began allowing people with higher incomes to qualify. Income limits now range from $79,215 annually for a two-person family to $153,770 for a six-person household. Most families that qualify will pay no more than $15 per week as their share, according to the state. By September, when Dutchess and Putnam stopped taking applications, there were 1,079 children enrolled in Dutchess, compared to 706 in January 2020, according to the state Office of Children and Family Services. Putnam also experienced a significant increase — from 30 children to 118 — during the period. Dutchess, which received $12.7 million in base funding for CCAP in 2025-26, resumed taking applications on March 1 (see dub.sh/dutchess-child). Putnam, which was sent $1.1 million, still has a notice on the Department of Social Services webpage about the earlier hold on new applications. Hochul and state legislators "appear to have fully funded CCAP," said Himali Pandya, executive director of the Child Care Council of Dutchess and Putnam, but "the jury's still out" on whether $2.4 billion will be enough. Along with more money for CCAP, the budget includes funding for school districts to expand pre-K programs for 4-year-olds and $20 million for a pilot program in Dutchess County to provide childcare for 1,000 infants and children up to age 3. Dutchess, chosen along with Broome and Monroe counties for pilots, is considered a childcare "desert" — meaning it has more than 3 children under 5 years old for each childcare spot. In January, Hochul visited the Day One Early Learning Community in Poughkeepsie to announce that the pilot funding would be in her budget proposal. Founded in 2021, the nonprofit's primary initiative is an 11-week paid program for people who want to work at daycares, open their own or apply their credentials toward associate degrees at Dutchess Community College or Columbia-Greene Community College. Of Day One's 129 graduates, 86 percent are working in childcare, said Madeline Henriquez, its executive director. Day One also operates an 89-seat, five-classroom early-learning center, hosts groups for parents and provides technical assistance to people who want to open childcare centers or home-based programs. It is partnering with Hudson River Housing and Vassar Brothers Medical Center to renovate two houses that will become the county's first 24/7 childcare programs. There is one glaring shortfall in New York's childcare spending: funding to supplement the pay of the educators who are often paid only minimum wage, which is $16 in Dutchess, Putnam and the rest of upstate. The state Senate proposed $500 million in grants to supplement childcare workers' pay, but the proposal failed to make the budget. That leaves the status quo intact for students pursuing degrees in early childhood education at schools like Dutchess Community College, said Pandya. "Kids go through it, and then they go work at Amazon because they can make more money," she said. "Unless we can pay educators what they deserve, we're just not going to be able to retain them."

Each month, writers gather for feedback at Script Lab Laurie Slattery, who discovered Savage Wonder's Script Lab online and appreciated the nonprofit's focus on veterans, showed up for the first time at a workshop last month. Her grandfather stormed Iwo Jima with the Marines, and her nephew served in Iraq. "I wrote some poetry and a script that I had to retrieve from an old computer," she says. After moving to Beacon three years ago, "it took me a while to get my nerve up, but I need some enlightenment and to be around creative people." During the three-hour session, Slattery observed as the group read, then mildly critiqued several script excerpts. Suggestions are delivered with a positive spirit; nothing gets carved up. Francis Kielbe, who had made revisions based on feedback from the previous Script Lab meeting, listened to "Version 2.0" of his screenplay about depressed monsters attending an AA-style gathering. Rob Barron, a regular who teaches theater at The City College of New York, suggested that Kielbe consider "character directions. Do you want the vampire to be like Bela Lugosi or some frat boy? What kind of zombie are you looking for?" Topher Kage, an actor, writer, Army veteran and director of experience at Savage Wonder, plays a genial and gentle host who asks writers, "What do you want to get out of this?" Most come to hear the dialogue outside of their heads. Lauren O'Brien, who created the one-woman Lolo's Boyfriend Show, is writing a TV pilot. "Early in the process, it's hard to tell what you have. Does it hit with people? Is it confusing?" she asks. "The lab helps you see what works and what doesn't work. I'm ready to feel it." O'Brien, who lives in Beacon, heard buzz about the gathering and decided to take the plunge. "I'm a sensitive artist, but we always need feedback," she says. As Kage read the opening scene at a frantic pace, O'Brien pressed play on a phone soundtrack as her alter ego darted around Manhattan, chased by a mystery man wearing expensive shoes. As much as the creators enjoy hearing people read their work, several attendees show up to bring the scripts alive. Cold and semi-cold readings notwithstanding, volunteers keep things moving. Animating one of Barron's scenes, Beacon resident Lily Cabe played a waitress with aplomb, supporting O'Brien and Ted Swindley, author of Always … Patsy Cline, who poured on the smarm as a rogue substance abuser with three ex-wives and a prison bid on his resume. Swindley also dug into his role as an air traffic controller in Kage's script, a 10-minute play presented with authentic sound effects. "I like to work the acting muscle," says Swindley, who also provides advice. Time limits for individual works are loose, but everyone gets an equitable shot depending on the work's length and merit. Kielbe's monster mash lasted four pages; others are more elaborate. "We get excellent feedback from skilled people, and I'm honored to get the attention," says O'Brien. "This vortex of creativity and sharing with others is like being close to God. I feel like I'm part of something." Script Lab is held at 6 p.m. for writers ages 21 and older on the first Wednesday of each month at Savage Wonder, 141 Main St., in Beacon. The next sessions are July 1 and Aug. 5. See dub.sh/script-lab.

Will face Lawler, Rolison in November election After a months-long race that initially had eight contenders, Cait Conley won the Democratic nomination for House District 17, which includes Philipstown, with 49 percent of the unofficial vote. The turnout was 22 percent. Conley, who received 53 percent of the vote in Dutchess County and 57 percent in Putnam, now turns to face Mike Lawler, the Republican incumbent seeking his third term. District 17 is considered a toss-up, with either party able to claim the seat. During the campaign, Conley received the most high-profile endorsements (including from the Dutchess and Putnam Democratic Committees) and raised the most campaign funds ($3.3 million). The West Point graduate has master's degrees from Harvard and MIT, and she spent 16 years on active duty in the U.S. Army before directing counterterrorism for the National Security Council and joining the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Her chief challenger, Beth Davidson, a Rockland County legislator, received 31 percent of the vote. Davidson, who also spent two years on the Nyack school board, attacked Conley late in the campaign over security consulting work she has done for companies that Davidson said had ties to federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Conley denied having done work to assist ICE. A third candidate, Effie Phillips-Staley, a Tarrytown village trustee, received 15 percent of the vote. Lawler took Phillips-Staley to court in an attempt to bump her from the Democratic primary, which would have prevented her from giving up the Working Families Party line on the November ballot to Conley, which she is expected to do to avoid splitting the progressive vote. John Cappello, an Air Force Academy graduate and retired bomber pilot, and Mike Sacks, a lawyer and journalist, each received 1.6 percent of the vote. Lawler, in a statement posted after the polls closed, said: "I look forward to contrasting my record as one of the most bipartisan and effective lawmakers in all of Congress with Cait's stated belief that Republicans are 'the greatest threat to America and our future' and an enemy from within. Frankly, that is disqualifying rhetoric for someone seeking to represent one of the most politically balanced and competitive districts in the country." He challenged Conley to agree to six televised debates, while echoing Davidson's contention that Conley had been "paid handsomely by AI and big tech companies that do business with ICE." Lawler has a campaign war chest of $4.4 million. Conley charged on Tuesday that Lawler has "voted 100 percent of the time with the MAGA agenda." There were no primaries for House District 18, which includes Beacon. Rep. Pat Ryan, a Democrat seeking a third 2-year term, is being challenged in the general election by Republican Jackie Auringer. Lisa Kaul, a Dutchess County legislator, easily won the Democratic primary with 62 percent of the vote to challenge Sen. Rob Rolison, a Republican seeking his third term representing District 39. She defeated Evan Menist, a member of the Poughkeepsie Common Council (30 percent) and Gay Lee, a former City of Newburgh council member (7 percent). The turnout was 17 percent. The district includes Philipstown and Beacon. Kaul won 67 percent of the vote in Dutchess County and 55 percent in Putnam. Rolison won the seat in 2022, defeating Julie Shiroishi, a Beacon resident who was then chief of staff to Assembly Member Jonathan Jacobson, whose district includes Beacon. In 2024, Rolison defeated Dutchess County Legislator Yvette Valdés Smith, whose district includes part of Beacon. She now chairs the Legislature after Democrats flipped the majority in 2025. Kaul had $97,000 in campaign funds as of June 12, while Rolison reported $52,000. There were Republican primaries for two seats on the county Legislature. In District 3, which includes Kent and Patterson, Joseph Cunningham defeated Jorma Tompuri with 61 percent of the vote and will face t...