Happening This Weekend 5/25/2018
/
|
|
|
|
Public Speaks Out About Airbnb Short-Term Rentals to City Council in Public Hearing
/
Please Note: This article was originally written in April after the Public Hearing on Short-Term Rentals on April 2, 2018, but had not been published yet. It is being published now to be used as reference for an upcoming article after Beacon's City Council voted on May 21, 2018, against creating legislation to officially legalize Short-Term Rentals, thus leaving them illegal by default.
Attending the Public Hearing on Short-Term Rentals was an enlightening experience to hear the inner workings of how renting out one's home - or a room in one's home - works on Airbnb. The meeting was not specific to Airbnb, but most everyone who voiced their feedback for the proposed legislation was using Airbnb and referred to it in their experience. There was not a common thread to identify a single type of person who would use Airbnb. They were men, women, single men, single women, people with young children, people who cleaned the Airbnb homes, renters or homeowners who lived below or next to a property listed on Airbnb.
What Is Available in Beacon on Airbnb?
Before we get into what the public said, let's take a look at what is available on Airbnb in Beacon, and how people approach it here. The photo above includes a picture of penguins that hangs in a room available on a short-term basis. That is the "Antarctica Room" that you can rent from Aga and David, who may be in the house with you during your stay in this private room, or they can leave you in private. According to the listing, "the room currently displays an exhibition of Antarctica by your host." It comes with a hair dryer, option of a bassinet, and "the queen-size bamboo mattress is the right blend of firmness, softness and all around comfiness with lux linen bedsheets." This listing has 85 all-star reviews, and does not allow smoking, pets, or parties. What did one guest think?
"We really enjoyed our stay in Beacon at Aga and David's place! Our visit was brief, but it was nice to get to meet David. The room is charming, the private bathroom is so nice, and we loved their taste in decor. And the bed was very comfortable. :)
This Goldilocks rooming scenario is very real in Beacon and all over the world, but is largely unregulated. Beacon's city government is stepping up to the plate again, after trying once in 2014, to try to regulate it. Based on recent outcry from neighbors of a house purchased as an investment property by a Beacon resident, David Allis at 51 Orchard Place, the City Council scheduled a public hearing to hear ideas and feedback from the people of Beacon. Said Mayor Randy Casale at the meeting: "Right now they [short-term rentals] are all illegal. We are trying to figure a law out to make it legal."
Those Not In Favor...
Submitted to the public hearing was a petition with 70 signatures. Elaine Ciaccio, a neighbor of the Orchard Street house, asked for specific regulations:
We call on the City of Beacon to regulate short-term rentals in single-family residential neighborhoods. In the last four years the number of short-term rentals have more than doubled. This destabilizes our
neighborhoods, effects quality of life and has a negative impact on the rental market.
- Ban non-owner occupied whole home short-term rentals.
- Require registration and establish regulations that maintain the zoned character of our residential neighborhoods.
Also submitted, but not read aloud, was a letter from Airbnb written by Andrew Kalloch (click here to get the letter titled "Airbnb testimony" who works with Airbnb's Public Policy. According Airbnb's letter, the listing service "has brought over 300 million guests in 4.5 million listings in 81,000 cities in nearly every country across the globe." In Beacon in 2017, according to the letter, there were 110 "active hosts" who served 9,100 guests.
Who Attended the Public Hearing on Short-Term Rentals?
Over 30 Beacon residents spoke at the podium to voice their opinions and experiences. A majority of those citizens were Airbnb short-term rental landlords who rented out all or part of their primary residence. At least two of the speakers were homeowners who had purchased at least one other home for the sole purpose of Airbnb-ing it: David Allis on Orchard Place, and the owner of Play, the kids' toy store on Main Street.
The owner of Play stated: "I consider it a public service. I love Airbnb. Have been using it for 12 years myself. I go every summer with my dog and my family and usually another family, and we share a place. I offer that to people coming to Beacon. It’s a dog-friendly place, it’s a fenced yard. People love it."
Some people speaking were not short-term landlords, but attended to voice favor for the practice; among them was one woman who is employed by short-term landlords to clean their homes in preparation for guests. No hotel owners or bed-and-breakfast owners voiced their opinion at this public hearing.
Short-Term Rentals and Airbnb's Self-Governing System of Safety
While the meeting's purpose was to hear feedback on the experience of providing a short-term rental from one's home in general, all of the people in attendance who offered short-term rentals were doing so using Airbnb (which is not the only site to offer that service). Their feedback about renting in the short-term was interwoven with descriptions of how short-term landlords/homeowners must interact with Airbnb's rules.
Several homeowners spoke about how guests are screened, and more than one attendant had children. One homeowner, theater producer Jessica Jelliffe, lives in her 100-year-old home with her husband, 5-year-old son, and a legal long-term tenant which she says covers their mortgage. When they needed extra income, she made her job to be managing the short-term rental side with Airbnb.
Guests have to go through a three-step verification process that the host sets the limits for, that ensures that [the guests] are who they say they are. The star rating and the review process after the guest has stayed with us ensures that the location is what it says it is. And if anything isn’t fit or isn’t how it was described or is unsafe in any way, shape, or form, they let other potential guests know by giving a lower number of stars and/or giving public feedback or private feedback, which I always pay close attention to because it directly effects my business. As a traditional landlord. I know more about my Airbnb guests than I do about my own tenant.
Speaking of long-term tenants, experiences with those were vocalized as well. Daniel Aubry, a realtor, commented that he has rented to long-term and short-term tenants, and it was his long-term tenant who caused him the most problems. "My poor neighbors had to suffer his rantings. It took me three months to get him out." Mike Diago, a social worker and father of a young son, owns the self-proclaimed "most famous Airbnb in town - an intimidating 13-foot turquoise camper" with his wife. He commented on his good neighbor policy: "I checked with all my neighbors. Triple checked. 'No problem at all, Mike.' One guest asked [my neighbor] for sugar, and I was mortified."
Short-Term vs Long-Term Tenants
According to Airbnb's statistics, the typical host earned about $8,800 last year by renting their space for about four nights a month, reinforcing the fact that most hosts are not full-time “commercial” operators. 70 percent of Beacon hosts are women, and the average age of hosts is 46, with 15 percent of hosts over the age of 60. Supplemental income from short-term rentals (STR) is particularly important to this population, which often struggles to “age in place” on fixed incomes.
Yes, There Was a "No" Vote on Short-Term Rentals in Beacon
/Hi,
Yes, there was a 4-3 "No" vote on Short-Term Rentals in Beacon, and yes we are compiling an article for it. The vote Monday evening and its results took many by surprise. It's not a straightforward issue, so we are gathering information and quotes to present it as clearly as we can. Even the headline is tricky to write! Because if we write it one way, it looks like Beacon's City Council isn't supportive of short-term rentals, when in fact they did show support for them, and had all been crafting legislation to make short-term rentals legal. But four of the people on the City Council voted against the legislation they had been working on. That results in short-term rentals remaining prohibited by default because they are not on the list called Schedule of Use Regulations. That list is part of the Beacon Zoning Ordinance, which, according to City Attorney Nick Ward-Willis, states: "Any use not specifically listed shall be deemed to be prohibited."
VOTING RESULTS
Terry Nelson No
George Mansfield No
John Rembert No
Amber Grant No
Jodi McCredo Yes
Lee Kyriacou Yes
Mayor Randy Casale Yes
So... Short-term rentals remain not on the list.
Stay tuned as we compile our article...
Learn Digital Marketing From a Beaconite at the East Fishkill Library
/
Tonight, the publisher of A Little Beacon Blog (ALBB), Katie Hellmuth Martin, delivers a Digital Marketing Presentation in partnership with SCORE Mentors Dutchess County and Tin Shingle, ALBB's sister company. Tin Shingle is a training platform for business owners and artists who are doing their own PR and marketing.
Happening at the East Fishkill Public Library, this Tin Shingle Training TuneUp is hitting the road. Road trip! During this free seminar, Katie will cover:
The landscape of Digital Marketing as it is now.
Ideas you can share as a service provider, retail shop, artist, nonprofit, and other entities.
Identification of what is holding you back - and how to break through it.
A sneak peek of Tin Shingle's upcoming article: “8 Things I Learned About Marketing After Deleting the Facebook App From My Phone.”
Come! Pre-register, as space is extremely limited.
When: Tuesday, May 22, from 6:30 to 8 pm
Where: East Fishkill Library, 348 NY-376, Hopewell Junction, NY, 12533
How Much: Free
Details: Learn quick and easy techniques that your business can use today to help more people find out about your business via this complimentary seminar. Designed for business owners who run a storefront, sell a product, or provide a service direct to customers, this workshop will get you comfortable with strategies in Facebook, Instagram and blogging, and knowing what to do with your newsletter.
Katie Hellmuth Martin is the publisher of A Little Beacon Blog and runs Tin Shingle, an online training and resource platform for small businesses and marketers. Having helped hundreds of businesses resolve myriad issues preventing them from promoting effectively, Katie is well-equipped to help you promote your business.
This has been a partner message from our sponsor, Tin Shingle. A Little Beacon Blog can continue to report the news and things to do with support from businesses and friends like you! Click here to learn about ways to sponsor.
The Storm Photos - Macrobursts and Tornadoes Everywhere Ripping Down Trees, Cutting Power
/
The fire in this picture is on 9D, near Stony Kill Farm. A transformer exploded on the road.
Photo Credit: A Little Beacon Blog - photos taken from various sources, noted below.
Turns out that a sick day, with three kids in quarantine after a diagnosis of strep throat, was a blessing in disguise. A major storm hit Beacon (and the Hudson Highlands, NYC, CT, PA, and NJ) at around 4 pm on Tuesday, May 15. Weather watchers were expecting rain, but when warnings of hail and high winds came across the TV, severe-weather veterans took to their yards to bring in potted plants and lower the basketball hoops. My neighbor is such a veteran weather watcher that he warned me of imminent hail before I embarked on a family walk to Key Food to fill up the fridge after my little ones ate through everything. An hour after returning, my phone vibrated its insistent SOS call, which we usually only hear for Amber Alerts. Only this time, it said "Tornado in your area. Take shelter."
"This was the storm rolling in! Hudson Valley Weather called this photo a gust front!"
Photo Credit: Sheila Lassen, Mountainville, NY (Part of Cornwall)
I gathered my brood, and we went straight to the basement. Thank goodness that for Mother's Day I treated myself to a bunch of new flashlights and lanterns. After a brief power outage from our winter blizzards, I realized I had no working flashlights anymore. Normally at this time of day, my husband would be working in New York City, but on Tuesday, he was headed home early (he'd been recovering from his own bout with strep) and was on 9D when the rains, macrobursts and tornadoes hit. The winds flattened trees around him and literally ripped through other trees.
At least three fatalities were blamed on the winds, which brought trees down, right onto people in cars (see details in this Highlands Current article). Three tornadoes went through Connecticut, and at least four hit New York (including one in Newburgh) bringing winds between 75 and 100 mph, spanning paths of several miles (see a photo here from Central Hudson). Some of the worst damage was caused by macrobursts that ripped through Dutchess County and other counties. Macrobursts possess wind speeds of 100 mph or more, and travel in straight lines for miles, unlike tornadoes, which have rotating, swirling, damaging winds. Central Hudson also confirmed that 1,000 lightning strikes happened per hour: “Storm with winds up to 78 MPH + 1,000 lightning strikes per hour has interrupted service to more than 72,000 customers.” Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro declared a State of Emergency, and Governor Andrew Cuomo declared a State of Emergency and deployed 125 National Guard members to help with the storm's effects.
On Wednesday, Central Hudson stated that many workers were on duty to clear trees (from street scenes like these) and restore power: “Approximately 185 line workers together with nearly 180 tree personnel are clearing roads and restoring power in our service territory today. Additionally, more than 270 mutual aid line workers are anticipated to arrive throughout the day.” See Central Hudson's trucks here restoring power.
By Thursday, that number grew: “A field force more than 1,000 strong is at work today clearing roads, responding to emergencies and restoring electric service.” They noted: “Mutual aid crews from as far as Niagara Falls, Michigan and Vermont have arrived.”
The Stony Kill wagon, a reliable sight on route 9D promoting the Open Barn, was turned over. Amazing that it did not get torn to smithereens! The wagon has since been righted back up.
Photo Credit: Katie Hellmuth Martin
In Wallkill, my assistant was working on a project with me via email, and the next minute she was MIA, as the wind had ripped open a tree in her yard, and it tore apart a newly completed shed at her neighbor's house.
Castle Point, which is located along the Hudson River just north of Beacon, is the home of many families as well as the VA Hudson Valley Health Care system. Macrobursts ripped through the area. My friend's wife works at the VA hospital, and he was waiting for her to come home, as it's a 10-minute drive. She did not get home for several hours, after being stuck in Castle Point as it dealt with trees and debris that had been tossed around by wind.
Beacon school teacher Brian Antalek, who lives in Castle Point, was quoted in the Poughkeepsie Journal as having to park his car at neighboring Stony Kill Foundation and walk two miles to his home in Castle Point. One man who I encountered at the grocery store told me about the huge oak tree in his yard that blew into the next yard. Shingles and pieces of housing landed in his yard, and he could only surmise that they were from Newburgh, as they didn't match anything nearby.
A map of a tornado path in Saugerties shows a tornado traveling across the Hudson River.
Photo Credit: National Weather Service via Hudson Valley Weather.
Newburgh received extensive damage, and is still recovering and still has areas without power. According to Eastern Dutchess Fire and Rescue: "Electrical substations which supplied power to the City of Newburgh sustained heavy damage requiring extensive repair. It is very possible that vast areas of the City may experience many days without electricity." Residents are boiling their water and those with gym memberships were using the facilities to shower. I got a call from a sales person living in Newburgh on Friday trying to set up a meeting, which she couldn't quite commit to, saying "I can't see anyone like this, I have to wait until the power comes back on."
Stony Kill Farm and Common Ground Farm in Fishkill suffered many trees down. A fire erupted on 9D near the farm (in the picture below with red bathroom barn). A transformer had exploded and caught fire on 9D. Stacey from Stony Kill Foundation reports that all of the farm's animals were unharmed and OK.
We had been to Stony Kill and Common Ground a week prior, on school field trips to see Common Ground Farm's pride and glory, the thriving tomatoes under the tarp greenhouses they built - which were destroyed by the winds.
An electrical fire blazing on 9D, in front of Stony Kill Farm. This view is of their bathroom facing 9D. The fire was not in any of Stony Kill's buildings and all of their farm animals are OK.
Photo Credit: Common Ground Farm
The greenhouse that protects the fledgling tomatoes at Common Ground Farm.
Photo Credit: Common Ground Farm
In Dutchess Junction, a tree fell on a power line. That caused an electrical fire for about 45 minutes until Central Hudson came and turned off the power, according to Maria Garcia Mojica, who submitted the picture below.
An electrical fire in Dutchess Junction.
Photo Credit: Maria Garcia Mojica
The interior designer Ryan Samuelson experienced severe damage to his home on Washington Avenue in Beacon while he was in the basement. "I was just coincidentally down in the basement grabbing something. I didn’t even know about the storm warnings. Then I felt and heard a loud crunch and knew something pretty serious just happened."
Ryan Samuelson's home on Washington Avenue in Beacon.
Photo Credit: Ryan Samuelson
In Fishkill, Route 52 was brought to a standstill, contributing to the traffic blockade that delayed people for hours trying to get into or out of Beacon. The CVS pictured below is the one on Route 52 near Love Nails. These photos were submitted by Kathy Harrison.
Many construction projects are in progress here in Beacon. The most recent are those on 9D which cleared parcels of trees to prepare for the construction of new apartment buildings. One of two trees left on one property blew over (doesn't seem to be dead yet, however). Fencing blocking the other construction project blew away. A reproduction of the children's book, The Lorax, which is about preserving trees, had been posted on the fence in a statement about the removal of the trees. That portion of the fence remained through the wind blast. The fencing destroyed in the storm has since been replaced.
In Beacon, many trees came down. This yellow house on Verplanck is a known abandoned house, which is rumored to be lost in bank foreclosure paperwork. Just who will haul away this tree may not be straightforward.
Abandoned house on Verplanck.
Photo Credit: Katie Hellmuth Martin
A tree blown down on Willow Street by the storm blocked this alternate backroads artery for two days after the storm. With 9D already limited by planned construction to finish NYSDOT ADA curb-cut ramps between Main Street and I-84, side streets like Willow, Orchard Place, Dutchess Terrace and others become back-road alternates. This made getting into or out of Beacon even more difficult. This tree below was cleared swiftly on Friday.
This Tree, down and blocking Willow Street, was Cleared away two days after the storm.
Photo Credit: Dana Devine O'Malley
The macrobursts took out bits and pieces of structures in their path, making some of the destruction seem random. A brick wall and bush were taken out at this house on Rombout Avenue.
A house on Rombout Avenue.
Photo Credit: Katie Hellmuth Martin
The small Fanny Fay Girl Scout House, at the end of Rombout Avenue, is surrounded by trees. We headed over to check out if any had fallen. This one did, but fell away from the house, further into the woods.
This Tree uprooted at the end of rombout avenue, at the Fanny Fay Girl Scout House.
Photo Credit: Katie Hellmuth Martin
Please note that most businesses in Beacon are now open! Several opened soon after the storm. Some parts of Main Street were without power, while others retained it. Main Street Beacon is back in business.
Statistics on a Few Tornadoes in New York
While the macrobursts, with winds of 100 mph and higher, caused major widespread damage, here are some statistics on the recorded tornadoes.
Ulster County
Saugerties, NY
Rating: EF1
Estimated Peak Winds: 90 mph
Path Length: 5 miles
Path Width: 528 feet (0.1 mile)
Start Time: 2:29 pm
Location: The tornado path started along Route 212 between Woodstock and Saugerties and moved east through the western and southern part of Saugerties before crossing the Hudson River and ending in Tivoli, NY, just south of Clermont State Historic Site.
Orange County
Newburgh, NY
Rating: EF0
Estimated Peak Winds: 75 mph
Path Length: 0.62 miles
Path Width: 50 yards
Start Time: 4:16 pm
Location: Originated near Albany Post Road, south of Bennett Road. The tornado lifted near the Hudson River behind Susan Drive.
Putnam County, NY Tornadoes
Kent, NY
Rating: EF2
Estimated Peak Winds: 115 mph
Path Length: 100 yards
Path Width: 1.14 miles
Start Time: 4:29 pm
Location: Originated near apartments on Route 52, continuing along Route 52 before lifting near Town Road
Patterson, NY
Rating: EF1
Estimated Peak Winds: 100 mph
Path Length: 75 yards
Path Width: 2.89 miles
Start Time: 4:32 pm
Location: Originated along Route 22 north of Haviland Hollow Road, lifting near the intersection of East Branch Road and Fairfield Drive.
What was your story during the storm? Please share it in the comments below.
|
|
Color, Form, and Magic Workshop
