It is time once again... We are going Holiday House Lights Hunting in Beacon and want to know where your light display is. Submit cross streets or addresses here in the comments, or send to editorial@alittlebeaconblog.com. Bring on the magic!
Beacon is Open Late on the East End! Sixteen shops have joined together to stay open till at least 9 pm tonight, Thursday. Happy shopping! Next Thursday, they'll offer another late night, in addition to being open extra days, to optimize local shopping convenience.
The Sip, Snack, & Shop is presented by the Beacon East End Association, a group of 16 stores working to bring more awareness - and people, especially local Beaconites - to follow Main Street's curve to explore all of the shops on the east end of town. Kitchenware, underwear, boots, skirts, jewelry, art - there's so much!
Photo Credit: Merideth Geers
Photo Credit: Google
The Monday evening after Thanksgiving, Peter and Ruth Robillard were inside their home watching a movie when Peter heard a popping sound outside, and ran out to find his front porch on fire. At 7:13 pm, first responder units were dispatched "for trees on fire next to the residence," according to the Beacon Professional Firefighters - IAFF Local 3490 via their Facebook page. The couple got out of the home safely, and a fundraising page has been set up in their name, collecting over $8,000 so far from 109 people.
According to The Beacon Professional Firefighters - IAFF Local 3490, less than 2 minutes later, the first to arrive found a large blaze on the front of the house, with the fire reaching into the porch area and inside the home from the brush near the sidewalk.
Photo Credit: Unknown
"A second alarm was transmitted at 7:17 pm by Assistant Chief Lahey, which provides for station coverage and a callback of off-duty firefighters for assistance," according to The Beacon Professional Firefighters. At the scene were Career Firefighters, an Interior Volunteer Firefighter, and three Exterior Volunteers.
Beacon was also assisted by the Village of Fishkill, initially as FAST (Firefighter Assist and Search Team). They were used to assist with overhaul and ensuring that the fire was out. At 7:54 pm, the fire was declared under control, and the salvage and overhaul process got under way. By the end of the incident there were approximately four interior, four exterior, and four fire police volunteers, according to The Beacon Professional Firefighters - IAFF Local 3490 Facebook page, all of whom left by 11:08 pm.
From the Beacon Professional Firefighters: "Due to the fast actions by the Career Firefighters on the initial responding units, the fire extension and water/smoke damage was limited to a portion of the house. Remember, the Beacon Career Firefighters are dedicated to your safety 24/7."
You can donate to the Beacon Fire Department by responding to mailings that go out, and by purchasing a Christmas tree from their lot near Dogwood at 60 East Main Street. Donate to the Robillard Family by clicking here.
When the trees were taken down at 51 Orchard Place in Beacon, one resident who was watching them fall said she felt "scared." The home that sits up on the mini-hill at 51 Orchard Place, at the base of the Y that loops East Willow and West Willow to regular Willow Street, had recently come under new ownership by Fortress Enterprises, LLC, after being empty for quite some time, according to a parcel search with Dutchess County.
"I have watched this house deteriorate for over 6 years. I was really excited to see that someone had bought it and was beginning to bring it back to life," said Karen Nelson on December 4, 2017 at the City Council meeting. She spoke during the Public Comment portion of the meeting, where people can address the council members with anything on their minds.
Several mature trees were cut down at 51 Orchard Place - more than the three mature trees that are allotted for in Beacon's city code. "After all the trees fell, the light had changed. The noise level was higher," Karen said. "The sight lines into neighbors' houses across the street were clearer. And theirs into mine." The noticeable shift to the space, as well as the addition of a new driveway, prompted Karen to look into the matter. Word on the neighborhood circuit was that the house was being refurbished to be a $500/night Airbnb property. This house wouldn't be the first in Beacon to be used for Airbnb, but it seems to be in the first wave of properties used solely for different short-term renters without owner occupancy.
Beacon has yet to create regulations around Airbnbs, while New York City has addressed them. Fines of $1,000 per violation have already been issued. According to The Verge, "The law under which they were charged fines people who rent out entire apartments for fewer than 30 days. State lawmakers believe those rentals encourage property managers and owners to construct what essentially amount to hotels in residential buildings."
Airbnb sued New York City in 2016 over the law, according to The Verge, but dropped the lawsuit after it settled with the city in December. "Airbnb agreed to allow New York to pursue violators so long as prosecutors only went after hosts, as opposed to the company itself."
Airbnb has disrupted the travel and hotel industries, and now the change is coming to smaller destination communities as they decide how to fit vacation rentals alongside full-time residents. Beacon has yet to regulate the issue, but the easy access Airbnb gives to creative locations has spurred people from all over to visit Beacon. Personally, we have received an Airbnb's order of pizza (wrong address), and people from California one day came to our front porch and rifled through our mailbox looking for house keys - because they had the wrong address for their Airbnb.
51 Orchard Place after the removal of trees and the addition of a driveway.
"This is shocking to me," said Karen before the City Council. "In every Beacon zoning map I could find, it shows that this neighborhood is zoned for [Single-]Family Homes. And I emphasize the word 'homes.' It doesn’t say houses or structures or buildings. It is a residential neighborhood."
"Kids" here being the figurative word for the sudden attention on this private property and their choice to take down trees that were unhealthy, that did not produce full greenery anymore, and were gangly, virtually hiding the home from view. Depending on which side of the house you are on, one may even say there is now a better view of Mount Beacon as you drive around Orchard Place to turn onto any of the Willow streets.
Google Maps photo of 51 Orchard Place, screenshot on 12/8/2017, after the trees were cut, but before Google updated their photo inventory.
Photo Credit: Google Maps
Regardless, there are laws that homeowners must follow. Unless you are living in the Wild West on dusty land in a log cabin you built yourself, with trees you cut down yourself, surrounded by nothing but distant mountains and rolling weedy meadows, sometimes there are rules one must follow in one's city. Rules are more obvious when they are delivered from an apartment complex manager, or condo community homeowners association. When it's individual homes on acres of land, the rules can be little harder to anticipate, since it feels like land that you own, where you should be able to do what you want.
Rules can be tricky to know about! Unless, of course, you pore over every line item in the Zoning Code. Beacon voices spoke out first via Facebook to discuss the incident. During the City Council meeting, Mayor Randy Casale addressed some of the concern:
“They [the homeowners] didn’t go to the Planning Board. They didn’t go to the Zoning Board. We got an ordinance that says you can’t cut more than three mature trees down without getting a permit. They didn’t do that. The Building Department is over there. It’s probably going to wind up in court. That’s where we are right now. That’s the best I can tell you.”
To get clarification for this article on which ordinance the mayor was referring to, A Little Beacon Blog emailed the mayor's office to find out exactly which ordinance this is, but did not get a reply by the time this article published. There are sections of the code that refer to trees, but we want to link you to exactly the right one, as provided by a city official. We also emailed the Building Department for a report on the current status of their actions, as alluded to by the Mayor, but also did not receive a reply before publication.
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Hot off the Beacon City School District's Twitter account! Beaconites voted yesterday to approve the Capital Project, which includes designing a modernized science room at Rombout Middle School, and at other schools, ripping out old carpet from several classrooms, fixing doors, turf for sports, and other improvements. Votes were 480 Yes to 98 No. When this writer voted at 2 pm, the total number of voters was at 95. It was a long election day. Read more about the Capital Project here.
Nina Schutzman of the Poughkeepsie Journal, who covers education for the newspaper, looked at election results for the Beacon City School District, Red Hook Central School District and Spackenkill district, and noticed that this year produced a higher voter turnout than other years, as well as majority votes of Yes in these districts to approve their Capital Projects. Voters approved the Red Hook Central School District's $10 million capital plan with 1,637 Yes to 615 No, according to Nina. Quoting the Spackenkill's Board of Education President, Nina reported that their $24 million capital plan passed, 882 Yes to 385 No.
Beacon Superintendent Matt Landahl tweeted his approval: "The Beacon City School District capital project passed today with 480 yes votes and 98 no votes. Thanks to the community for the support of the project!" According to Dr. Landahl, the next steps for the district include going through a review process by the state, and seeking bids. "Most construction will take place during the summer of 2019. We put out for bids around January 2019 give or take. The state has a lengthy review process before we begin but the planning work with architects, engineers, district staff and board members begins immediately."
Today is the day for voting on the Beacon City School District Capital Project. The proposal includes a lot of improvements in all public schools, while not increasing taxes. We reported on it a bit ago, so go refresh your mind about what's in the proposal. Then head to Beacon High School or Glenham Elementary School (depending on where you live) by 9 pm to cast your vote.
The ballot pictured here was, at 2 pm, the 95th ballot to be cast.
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The very first pioneers to The Lofts at Beacon Falls, the new apartment complex located in Beacon's Historic District at 50, 52, and 54 Leonard Street (between Grove and Amity), were true out-of-towners: Many of them were parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, of couples who had moved to Beacon with their young families to start their new lives as Beaconites. The Lofts at Beacon Falls are located on the mountain side of Fishkill Creek, just up the road from Dogwood and The Roundhouse. If you sit on the benches across from Wickham Solid Wood Studio and what used to be The Hop, you are looking right at them, though they are hidden behind trees (see the picture below). Current residents moved from Florida, Michigan, North Carolina and other far-off states to settle in here and live within walking distance of Beacon's businesses. Small city living has a strong appeal, and The Lofts at Beacon Falls are delivering on that.
Because the Lofts at Beacon Falls are nestled into Beacon's Historic District, the newly designed buildings needed to conform to certain standards to keep with a historic look. You'll notice similarities between The Roundhouse complex and The Lofts at Beacon Falls on Leonard Street, with the gray-brown coloring, brick and black trim on the exterior. According to Bob Murphy of the Beacon Historical Society, the property was part of the Matteawan Manufacturing Company; by the mid-1930s, it was the Braendly Dye Works.
Insider Tip: If you sit on the benches across from Wickham Studio or the former Hop to reflect on things on the Fishkill Creek, you can see parts of The Lofts at Beacon Falls through the trees.
Another Insider Tip: Leonard Street is one-way if you are driving towards the Lofts at Beacon Falls, so you'll need to take a right on Amity to drive around the block to come into the entrance down Grove Street, which turns into Leonard Street.
Inside, you'll find modern design and amenities of apartment living. Designer kitchens and open floor plans make for a spacious feel in the one- and two-bedroom apartments, trimmed with granite counters, laminate wood floors, and Edison-style lighting. A washer and dryer come with each unit, making it super convenient to plan a cozy day of laundry, tucked inside an apartment surrounded by the wooded landscape of the Fishkill Creek.
Walk outside of the apartment complex and follow East Main down to Main Street at Beacon's famed Dummy Light, and you're just about at Beacon's East End, an area dominated by more former factory buildings with renovations under way, making room for more art galleries, boutiques and eateries to frequent. Numerous boutiques, including Style Storehouse, Kaight, King + Curated, Lambs Hill Boutique, and more, cater to a variety of personal styles. Need something as specific as a brow wax? Find it at The Blushery, at the T where Main Street meets the end of East Main - just one of the niche storefronts available to Beaconites.
A full workout center is located in the heart of the apartment community for anyone who needs easy access to a quickie workout on the machines. Residents may even bring in their personal trainer for a guided workout. Staying fit is certainly do-able from this location, with access to trailheads on Mount Beacon, as well as nearby fitness centers on Main Street like Zoned Fitness (formerly Hudson Valley Fitness), and the Shambhala Wellness Center and Live Your Life Gear.
The planners at The Lofts at Beacon Falls made certain to build pet-friendliness into their offerings, allowing animals as residents for an additional fee. No one's circling the neighborhood looking for parking, because one spot is allotted to each unit, and additional parking spots are available. Security is of top importance, so there is surveillance inside and outside, as well as keyless entry that can even work from a smartphone. The full list of what's included can be found here on their Amenities page.
There are 78 apartments available at The Lofts at Beacon Falls. The community of already-established residents is waiting to grow. Monthly rental prices range from $1,800 to $2,700, with spaces ranging from 800 to 1,400 square feet. Some apartments boast an office, a feature that has attracted people who work from home as well as commuters who want to set up a workspace in their home.
James founded James M. Bello and Associates, his family-run business, in 1985. In the decades since, he has employed several hundred subcontractors to design and build homes, renovations, and light commercial projects. A native of Brooklyn, James and his wife have lived in Dutchess County for the last 18 years, and currently reside in Hopewell Junction. Says James: "We noticed a big change in Beacon and we wanted to be part of it. We want to offer value to some of the people who live in Beacon, or are moving here."
SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT
Dorothy Bizzoco
Call: (845) 765-8044
Email: Dorothy@loftsatbeaconfalls.com
You can view the apartments any time, just contact Dorothy Bizzoco, who would love to show you around. Who knows, maybe you'll be moved in in time for their Christmas Party this December. Bring the eggnog from your kitchen down to the party!
Publisher's Note: This has article has been produced as Branded Content, and was written in partnership as an advertisement for The Lofts At Beacon Falls. It is through sponsorships like this one that A Little Beacon Blog can continue to bring you coverage of Beacon and beyond. Please see our Editorial Policy for more information. Thank you for supporting businesses who support us!
This article was written and prepared by Diane Lapis, Trustee of the Beacon Historical Society.
The hand-written signature discovered on a section of window molding in the Telephone Building tells two stories: one of the man who signed it, and the other of the woman who saved it.
Deborah Bigelow was established in the business of conserving antique furniture and decorative arts when she purchased Beacon’s original Telephone Building in 1992. Historic building restoration calls upon the talents of many artisans. Deborah’s passion for fine craftsmanship, as well as her conservation skills, are on view in the impeccable adaptive reuse of this early 20th-century building.
The Telephone Building, 291 Main Street, circa 2017.
An original telephone in the Hudson Valley with the familiar 914-831 digits.
Photo Credit: Beacon Historical Society
Travel back in time to 1880 when telephone service first arrived in the twin villages of Fishkill Landing and Matteawan (now Beacon). According to the Beacon Historical Society, telephone service started with 37 subscribers who had devices connected to an exchange. As the two villages grew, so did the need for additional access to telephone service. The Hudson River Telephone Company provided the technology, and moved into its new quarters at 291 Main Street in 1907.
It had taken two years to modernize the lines, with over 15 miles of cable and a million feet of wire strung between Fishkill and Beacon. Newly designed phones replaced the old ones, and huge storage batteries, charged by an electric generator in the basement, powered the system. Telephone operators ran a switchboard, connecting calls when a subscriber lifted the receiver off the hook. The first floor of the building had special booths for transient users of the service – a precursor to the modern-day telephone booth.
Beacon's Telephone Building, as replicated on a postcard, circa 1910.
Photo Credit: Beacon Historical Society
Photo Credit: Beacon Historical Society
Completed at a cost of $18,000, the modified Italianate masonry structure - faced in brick and trimmed with limestone, bluestone, slate and tin - was considered an important civic building of its day. Campbell & Dempsey, and A. E. Dederick, contractors and builders from Kingston, built both the Beacon structure and a similar one on Brown Street in Peekskill, NY, in 1907. They knew what they were doing: Two years prior, the team had built a larger building on Broadway in Kingston, NY.
All three buildings share common elements, but it was A. E. Dederick’s signature on a section of window molding, found while renovating the bathroom in the Beacon building’s basement, that linked together the construction of the three sister buildings. The Kingston Daily Freeman newspaper reported on the construction of these early communication exchanges by this crew.
Today, only the Beacon building is a thriving concern: The Peekskill office was demolished in 1952, while the Kingston office is used as a storage facility for Verizon.
While the Peekskill and Kingston offices featured the title “TELEPHONE BUILDING” engraved in limestone above the door, the Beacon office’s imposing Roman letters are today made of cast iron, assembled with pins on a 10-foot-long cast iron plaque set in the Main Street cornice. According to Beacon architect Aryeh Siegel, the brick and limestone columns are unique for a Main Street façade, signifying the importance of this civic building. Siegel’s comment directs a passerby's attention to the limestone capitals atop the brick columns and the keystones above the windows and front door, along with the elaborate tin cornice featured along the roofline - all hallmarks of the building’s classical influences.
The Telephone Building served the Beacon community for almost 60 years before it was sold to James Letterio, CPA, who operated his accounting business from the location for decades. When Deborah Bigelow purchased it, the building had been in use for roughly 85 years. While the original front doors were gone, the rest of the original work remained intact, though buried under layers of flaking paint, a drop ceiling and linoleum flooring. Prior to renovation, the entire building was featured in a B-rated film called “Super Troopers.” With the building transformed into a police station, the film’s art director judged the old battery room’s flaking paint perfect for some of the scenes. He noted that the “look” of the room was almost impossible to fake.
Since 2003, Deborah has been on a mission to restore the architectural beauty of the building by recovering and saving original material wherever possible. For example, the original oak windows are preserved with their weights, pulleys, and slate sills intact. The building displays other beautiful features such as intricate iron grillwork, elegant cast-iron radiators and staircase, floating maple floors, and brick-lined arched doorways. When Deborah and her crew sandblasted the interior brick, she discovered that the brick came from Dutchess Junction’s own Budd Brick Company (1888-1910). Today, she replaces missing mortar with a version that has been color-matched by Package Pavement in Stormville, NY.
Photo Credit: Beacon Historical Society
The cornice was painted with a sand-filled paint to look like the limestone foundation below and was constructed of galvanized tin fascia and dentils nailed into the brick wall. Paint samples analyzed by the Williamstown Art Conservation Center identified the original materials and colors used in 1907, and this information guided Deborah’s choices during restoration. The icing on the “cornice cake” came when she discovered fragments of original, 24-karat gold leaf on the TELEPHONE BUILDING letters that had eluded sample analysis. A master gilder, Deborah replaced the gold leaf last summer.
Deborah enjoys sharing the beauty of the Telephone Building and its history with her tenants - many of whose 21st-century businesses fittingly involve communication and public service. Among her tenants, Beahive and A Little Beacon Blog occupy the first floor. The second floor includes individual Beahive office spaces, apportioned by shoji screens to provide privacy without loss of light. Deborah’s own business, Gilded Twig, shares the lower-level suite of offices with financial advisor Aaron Verdile.
Now that Beacon is fast-growing and changing, the Telephone Building stands like a stalwart sentinel guarding the past as well as embracing the future. Deborah’s notes and photographic documentation of the building before and after renovation inform its history. Her research will remain part of the building’s, as well as the city’s, historic record.
Deborah Bigelow, art conservator, master gilder, and owner of Beacon’s original Telephone Building will talk about her renovation of the building since purchasing it in 1992. Ms. Bigelow will show before and after photographs, artifacts found during its renovation, and offer a glimpse of preservation procedures and the art of gilding. BHS Trustee Diane Lapis will discuss the 1907 building’s architecture and its place in the city’s history. The presentation will take place on Tuesday, November 28, at 7 pm at the Howland Cultural Center, 477 Main St. in Beacon.
Deborah Bigelow up on the boom in 2017, completing her restoration of the cornice of the Telephone Building at 291 Main Street.
Photo Credit: Beacon Historical Society
Making their return to A Little Beacon Space on Thanksgiving Weekend will be the wonderful folks at 50Roots.com for their Second Annual Pop-Up Shop! Watch for the sidewalk sign to be out, and then come on in! Here's what the weekend will look like:
Friday: OPEN! 1 pm(ish) to 6 pm
Saturday: 11 am to 8 pm
Music by Rich Michos and a Complimentary Happy Hour!
Sunday: Noon to 5 pm
Normally, the collection from 50Roots.com is only available online, as the digital retailer (wife-husband team Christa Gray Page and Patrick Page) is based out of Newburgh, NY. "Like a lot of Americans," says Christa, "we believe in supporting our economy, and we appreciate the designers and businesses that put their hearts into every product that they create."
This weekend only, you can interact with everyone shopping the pop-up. You never know what will happen in a pop-up experience. Remember last year when 50Roots did the Mannequin Challenge? Watch the video below to see how everyone stood still in fun poses (like mid-dancing). Have fun as you shop all of Main Street!
TRIXIE & MILO
COCKTAIL SHAKER
Says Patrick: "Alcohol is a misunderstood vitamin. It’s vitamin A, isn’t it?" Better not take the malnourishment risk. Enjoy your favorite beverage with this 1950s-style cocktail shaker.
GREEN TREE JEWELRY
STEAMPUNK ROCKER THROW SWITCH
The Frankenstein Light Switch cover goes over any standard and medium size residential single rocker light switch and installs over the existing plastic cover using the existing screws to fasten to the wall (in some cases longer screws may be required; for these cases 50Roots has supplied two extra, longer screws)
BOARDING PASS
YOU EARNED IT BOTTLE OPENER
The You Earned It bottle opener is made in the USA of solid brass. It is sand-casted, tumbled, polished and hand finished making it the smoothest bottle opener ever used. Says Christa, of all the praise: "That’s not just the post-work beer talking."
LOVE THY BEAST
CANVAS PET TOTE
Carry your dog around in style! This utilitarian tote is made with 18-ounce weight double layer of cotton duck canvas and is double topstitched for extra durability. There is a comfortable scoop for your woof's head and has two outside pockets in the front for you. The inside features a collar-to-leash attachment with solid brass hardware and a removable sturdy, bonded leather foot pad.
BOARDING PASS
LEGO CUFFLINKS
Why not have a reminder of being a kid when you’re climbing your way up the corporate ladder? Repurposed and recycled lost and forgotten pieces of memorabilia are converted into Lego Cufflinks. Hand-crafted using real Legos, the tiles are secured with super strong epoxy to silver plated bezel cufflink posts.
BOARDING PASS
WHISKEY AND HOW TO ENJOY IT GIFT SET
This gift box is designed to provide an introduction to this fine spirit, and features two hefty eight-ounce whisk(e)y tumblers, two premium leather coasters, and a guide book written and edited by the gents of Boarding Pass. The booklet is a highly informative guide to understanding whisk(e)y, how it’s crafted, and most importantly, how to enjoy it with friends.
BOARDING PASS
WORK HARD/PLAY HARD DUFFEL
Made from 18-ounce duck canvas, 1000-denier nylon on the exterior and 4420-denier nylon on the interior, this duffel offers durable, water-repellent quality that looks as good as it protects. It’s the perfect size for a weekend getaway or carrying your gear to the gym.
FABRIC HORSE
EVERYDAY TOTE in EVERGREEN
Says Christa: "Possibly our favorite bag to date from our dear friends at Fabric Horse." This bag fits in your bicycle basket and is shaped to hold a 13" laptop. Water-resistant, and made from waxed canvas and factory rejected seatbelt webbing.
KIT-CAT CLOCK
This clock was so popular last year, it sold out! So 50Roots brought it back. Check out the Scarlet Limited Edition Kit-Cat Clock. Add some pop to your home or office. Perfect for the holidays and every day!
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Published as submitted via Press Release from the Howland Public Library in order to get the word out to you faster...
Beacon, Cold Spring and Garrison libraries have teamed up for Reel Life Film Club, a new film series for middle school students. Reel Life Film Club is an opportunity for middle school students to view award-winning documentary films and talk about them with filmmakers.
The next screening will be in Beacon on Friday, December 1, at 6 pm at the Howland Public Library. The club will be viewing the documentary To Be Heard (2010). Shot over four years, To Be Heard is the story of three teens from the South Bronx whose struggle to change their lives begins with writing poetry. As writing and reciting become vehicles for their expressions of love, friendship, frustration, and hope, these three young people emerge as accomplished, self-aware artists, who use their creativity to alter their circumstances. The film was produced and directed by Roland Legiardi-Laura, Edwin Martinez, Deborah Shaffer and Amy Sultan.
Amy Sultan, one of the directors of the film and co-founder of the Power Writers program featured in the documentary, will be on hand for a discussion after the film. In 2011, the film won multiple awards including the audience award at DOC NYC, the Seattle International Film Festival and the Sarasota Film Festival.
Pizza will be served at the events and registration is encouraged. To register to attend the December 1 screening of To Be Heard, email community@beaconlibrary.org.
The Howland Public Library is located at 313 Main St., Beacon, NY. To find out more about programs for tweens and teens at the library, go to www.beaconlibrary.org.
Sometimes readers write in to share their thoughts. Sometimes they want driving directions. Sometimes they want to hear a tie-breaker as to which bridge they should take to get here, and what they should do if they can only spend two hours in Beacon as a pit stop on the way to somewhere else (of course we point them to The Things To Do In Beacon Guides for easy access to everything).
But something in this particular reader's letter felt very crisp and fresh, and she gave us permission to reprint it here. Her language has been preserved to convey the enthusiasm, but edits have been made where a word needed capitalization for easier reading:
“Architectural Digest named Beacon one among 15 most beautiful Main Streets. Only East Coast contender!!! And very well deserved. It’s breathtaking!
I ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ BEACON!!! What a shiny pearl!!! Driving down Main Street in one direction=the wide and scintillating Hudson River. Driving in the other direction=a wall of verdant green mountain! Gorgeous! Brattleboro, Vermont, got nothing on you, pretty Main Street of Beacon!!! Can’t wait to visit again n explore more n more n more. Plus, cool vibe. ENJOY!!!!!”
I asked her what brought her to Beacon, wondering if it was the Architectural Digest article?
“I wanted to explore Hudson Valley. I’d been to White Plains many times years ago n once to Troy n Albany. Wasn’t impressed. I guess there’s a lot of press on Hudson Valley now. Maybe it was the HBO show “Girls” where they travel north from the city? Beacon is right by the Hudson River n same trip visited Sleepy Hollow too. But Beacon by far was the star!!! Main Street is so long. The river so wide but really the mountain is most impressive. It’s instant falling in love. You drive Main Street once n you’re ready to pick up roots n retire to Beacon forever. It really made my❤️ sing! Cold Spring was ok too but not nearly as picturesque. AND THAT MAGAZINE AGREES! Of all East Coast, only Beacon rated a shout out!
I visit Brattleboro occasionally—it’s only 1.5 hrs from Hartford. The mountain is pretty but the CT River is just a trickle up there. So Beacon wins again.”
To illustrate this article, I stepped outside to take a picture of Main Street facing the mountain. I took a moment to look at the mountain to angle out the shot, not intending to cross the street. When I finished deciding where I was going to take the picture, I looked behind me before crossing the street, and a Fire Department vehicle had been waiting patiently for me to cross. I hadn't realized I was standing close enough to the sidewalk to activate someone to wait, and appreciated the gesture. This type of action could be why our reader hearts Beacon so much.
PS: We love Cold Spring! Not to worry, neighbors. We also have mad love for all of the other cities and towns mentioned here. One of the best aspects of Hudson Valley life is the way we all work together here; we all love experiencing the best that each locale has to offer.
Photo Credit: Katie Hellmuth Martin
The City of Beacon's Planning Board voted this week to approve plans put forth by Scenic Hudson to add parking spaces at Mt. Beacon's trailhead, to address the growing problem of hikers' cars overflowing into residential areas. During the November 14, 2017, monthly Planning Board Meeting, Meg Rasmussen, Senior Park Planner for Scenic Hudson, presented the plans, which would increase the number of spots from 44 to 77. The plans incorporated requested changes to stay away from existing wetlands. Scenic Hudson maintains the public trails and parking lot at no cost to the City of Beacon.
Some main points to the enlargement project include:
Members of the public who were at the meeting generally supported the increase in parking, and voiced concern that it will not solve the problem of parking as the number of hikers using the area continues to soar, especially as Breakneck Ridge prepares to close for restoration. Chairman of the Board James C. Sheers said: "I applaud the applicant for trying to address this situation. I am very concerned about the future. This will absorb a lot of what we have been seeing, but eventually it won't. Hopefully we will take steps to address it when this becomes an issue again."
Mountain Stream Budo: Adult Martial Arts Classes
Mountain Stream Budo: Kids Martial Arts Classes
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The City of Beacon entered into a contract with Legal Services of the Hudson Valley to provide increased access to Beacon tenants facing eviction. They may also be able to help with sources of rent arrears assistance. Call the paralegal, Steven Mihalik at 845-253-6953 to inquire.
Dutchess County Helpline. Open 24/7 to take your calls, listen, and give you resources.
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Where is Lambs Hill? In the renovated factory building near the dummy light.
