NY, CT, NJ Close Gyms, Movie Theaters, Casinos; Bars/Restaurants Takeout Only. Regional Cooperation Stressed

From Governor Cuomo via Twitter from his press conference today, where his messaging was consistent with that of past press conference. Governor Cuomo has been asking the federal government to have a countrywide mandate on restrictions. His fear is that shutting down New York state bars, for example, results in, “Everybody drives to New Jersey to drink,” for example. Or to the movies, or to go out to dinner. Or go to the movies.

Cuomo’s fear is that when he shuts something down in New York, people will go elsewhere to get it. He said this yesterday (Sunday) and again today (Monday). If something is shut down in New York City, people might come to Beacon to do it instead.

In backing up his strategy, he said:

“I don’t remember this happening, period.”

“This pre-empts what any mayor or any county executive anywhere said. You can’t close bars in Manhattan but leave them open in Nassau. Because now everybody drives to Nassau to drink.”

“In an emergency situation, there is a protocol that makes sense. Local governments can make rules, the state can override those rules, and the federal government can override those rules.”

“They are counter to common sense, and they are counter to public safety and public health.”

With regards to public schools, Cuomo indicated he would have a statewide policy on school closures as well.

Authorities are considering a recommendation to stop elective surgeries for now.

From Governor Cuomo’s Twitter:

“NY, CT and NJ are taking joint regional action to reduce the spread of #COVID19:”

Effective 8pm TONIGHT (Monday):
-Crowd capacity reduced to 50.
-Restaurants/bars will be takeout/delivery ONLY.
-Gyms closed.
-Movie theaters closed.
-Casinos closed.

UPDATE! Residential and Commercial Evictions Are Banned Statewide Until Further Notice

Published Date: Monday, March 16, 2020

Update! This just in from Assemblymember Jonathan G. Jacobson’s office: The ban on evictions has been put into effect statewide, has no time limit at this time, and includes commercial evictions.

Read all about it here at TheRealDeal.com (a real estate news website).

According to the article: “The decision to halt evictions comes amid calls from officials and community organizers from all over the state to implement an immediate ban on evictions — including a letter signed by two dozen state senators, followed by a similar letter from the state Assembly.”

Keep the tips coming in!

Parents: Avoid Each Other At Lesson Pickup. Resist Bringing Kids (I Know - Hard!) Or Keep Them And You In The Car

Published Date: Monday, March 16, 2020

Hi everyone,

Today is the first day of lesson pickup for the kids to learn at home (or, let’s face it - pretend that we have some semblance of something normal for now).

This is amazing that the teachers have created these alternative learning tools for us.

The most natural feeling for all of us as we go to pickup is to want to see each other and catch up. Our kids are pining for each other. Totally normal. We may forget to social distance, and hug or stand next to each other, thinking that we are immune.

Please, don’t do this. Delete this temptation by figuring out a plan to not bring your kids to pickup, and to not get close to each other at pickup. All of us could be carriers and show no symptoms. If you must bring your kids to pickup - if you are solo - keep them in the car. It’s too hard to control them when they get excited and want to see each other.

If you are feeling symptoms - even the slightest ones - consider asking a neighbor to pick up your lessons for you. If you have coronavirus/COVID-19, chances are your entire house does too. Even though they may not feel symptoms ever, or they may feel mild symptoms.

If you had a mystery cold last week, or the week before, consider really isolating. It’s also allergy season, so add that to the list of “Am I feeling a symptom?” circumstances. It’s OK. Just keep taking your temp. Call your doctor with questions. It’s all good.

I woke up with ever-slight asthma this morning. Totally normal for me during the spring. I always get a bad cold in April. Just check my doctor records! But it’s upped our game plan of “just in case.”

Our plan is to ask a neighbor to pick up our materials, or send one of us in the car and make a grab dash. Our teacher also emailed a PDF of things. If you are a single parent, and you are practicing “just in case,” just skip it altogether and ask a neighbor to bring it home for you if you want to. Stay healthy. Stay rested. Stay positive. Do what is best for you to take care of your family.

This isn’t forever. Our kids will learn. They will not be stunted. This will be OK.

Let’s just flatten the curve.

xoxo

NYC Schools Close Until April 20 - Possibly Longer - And NYC Isn't Alone

Published Date: Monday, March 16, 2020

Photo Credit: Beacon Moms Facebook Group (amazing group!)

On Sunday evening, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio declared that New York City would shut down schools until April 20, 2020, possibly longer. The mayor and Governor Cuomo have both been resistant to closing schools because so many depend on the structure of school as childcare. “I am distraught at having to take this action, but I became convinced over the course of the day there was no other choice,” DeBlasio said.

In Ohio, where only a few cases have been reported, their governor, Mike DeWine, is listening to experts who are telling him that 100,000 cases probably exist. “We can’t stop it, but we can slow it down,” he told a local FOX station. New York’s Governor Cuomo has consistently said during press conferences that as testing increases, confirmed cases will be found and numbers will continue to go up. Kansas also has a handful of confirmed cases at the moment, and has shut down districts for two weeks. DC, Michigan and Oregon have also closed schools to slow the spread.

Schools in NYC will be open for grab-and-go meals for breakfasts and lunches, which is also happening for Beacon kids. However, Beacon kids are picking up meals in the parking lots of South Avenue Elementary and Beacon High School. NYC will try to keep on bus drivers and cafeteria workers to try to distribute food.

New York City will have remote learning in a way that has never been done before. According to the Gothamist article where this has been reported, they highlighted a message on the website for the new materials: “These materials do not replace what your child has been learning at school, but during this unusual time it is important that students continue to read, write, do social studies and science activities, and work on math problems."

Beacon City School kids have received robocalls from their principals this evening (Sunday) with instructions on how to pick up learning materials. Those instructions did include to be mindful of keeping a social distance of 6 feet between each other, which is hard for adults to do, and really hard for little ones to do. But it will be a welcome opportunity to see each other.

Depending on the teacher, parents may already communicate with their teacher via app, and some may use Google Classroom in a way to connect remotely to the plan and get guidance from the teacher. Perhaps we will eventually meet in a field with enough social distance, for teaching by megaphone so that we can see our teachers? Or YouTube or Vimeo?

The prediction of this blogger is that new ideas will develop (if not already in the works) on how to connect with and teach our kids. The first note we’ve received from our teacher said that she misses the students.

As for how long this two-week break for Beacon will turn out to be, if NYC just went to April 20? Ohio has already projected till the end of the school year. Said Governor DeWine: “Look, the projections - and I’m just going by what medical experts are telling us - is that this may not peak until the latter part of April or May. We’ve just informed superintendents, while we’ve closed schools for three weeks, that the odds are that this is going to go on a lot longer. and it would not surprise me if all the schools did not open again this year.”

As for Mayor de Blasio: He also said that there is a real possibility that the schools may remain closed for the rest of the year.

Meanwhile, Governor Cuomo today shared in a press conference that he wrote an open letter to President Trump, asking him to assign the Army Corps of Engineers to retrofit buildings to be hospitals, as he anticipates more ICU beds are needed for ventilators for the critically ill patients with coronavirus. Listening to the governor ask for this during the press conference is actually a lot more reassuring than reading about it here in words. He is doing prep work, but is convinced they will be needed. That the wave of care will hit the healthcare system in New York. People - off the record in texts - who work in hospitals outside of New York have indicated that their lives caring for patients have become already quite busy.

Time to get that schedule together.

Takeout Is Trending As Beaconites Stay Home and Self-Quarantine

Published Date: Sunday, March 15, 2020

Photo Credit: Governor Cuomo’s Twitter

Take out before a hike outside.
Photo Credit: Lisa Marie Martinez

We love our small businesses here in Beacon. LOVE THEM. We love free enterprise, and the ability for businesses to make decisions without regulation strangling them. But we are in a pandemic here, and the numbers all around Beacon keep. going. up. All of us have had to work very hard to keep our blood pressure down, and make calm, smart choices.

Please remember that as you read this article. It is asking you to do take out. Have a picnic in your car of the lovely open faced croissant sandwich that Beacon Pantry made for you. Get that burger and fries from Barb’s and take a hike (in town, I don’t mean leave - just walk down the old train tracks or the Fishkill Creek or something and eat the burger there).

Beacon Businesses Are Doing Takeout

If you are from NYC and you have come to Beacon to get away from the pandemic that is filling ICU hospital beds needed for ventilators (Governor Cuomo’s words), please stay home. We do need your business, eventually. But all of us, probably in the whole country at this point, need to stay home and focus on our own health, eating well, taking breaks from coronavirus updates, and not standing near each other. In a bar. In a coffee shop. In a restaurant.

When A Little Beacon Blog asked Mayor Kyriacou about social distancing and the community, he sad:

“All the experts say that the most important thing that we can do is slow the transmission of COVID-19 ("flatten the curve"), so that our emergency services are not inundated. What that means in practice is canceling large crowd events, and practicing "social distancing." It does not mean shutting everything down.

”For example, the City of Beacon is shifting our board meetings to the much larger public space at the Tompkins Hose Firehouse across Route 9D from City Hall, spacing out our seating, monitoring for size of crowd, creating the option of teleconferencing, and giving board members the option of making individual personal decisions as to whether to attend in person or by teleconference.”

Beacon business in retail have been contemplating closing all weekend. Here are examples:

Temporary Beacon Business Closures:

In light of both the 50 percent occupancy reduction mandate by Governor Cuomo, many restaurants have taken measures to reduce tables. Fitness studios have limited number of guests. Whether this is being enforced is another question. Locally, on St. Patrick’s Day, bars were packed as Spain and France completely shut down their countries, and mandated that bars close, and that restaurants could do take-out. Grocery stores and petrol stations and other essential stores could stay open.

Obama’s Medicare boss issued a most dire warning.

The Bagel Shoppe in Fishkill. Patrons can eat inside, but curbside service is now a thing for them.
Photo Credit: Brianne McDowell

Echo Beacon will close to follow the school schedule and idea of social distancing. Business was busy this weekend as people got wind of the last chance to stock up. Maybe she will do pickup, however, and do something creative to shop for people while from inside.

Hudson Beach Glass was going to have their Second Saturday gallery opening, but postponed at the last minute, and temporarily closed its doors for two weeks to the public.

Binnacle Books: Has temporarily closed their Main Street doors to the public, but are still taking special orders (we order all of our books through them, no matter who the author). Their online order form is so. easy. You can also get a yearly membership for 10 percent off every purchase.

King + Curated, the custom jewelry shop that allows customers in to handle and buy jewelry, closed for two weeks and is taking custom orders via FaceTime for client meetings. Online ordering remains possible, and they plan to run sales!

Beetle and Fred canceled most of their classes, and may make other adjustments. Curbside delivery is now available for people to pick up their fabric if they want to - if they don’t want to come in.

Beacon Pantry: Same thing. To-go items are being prepped, and the pantry side of the store may start making deliveries. The eatery remains open. They do have a back parking lot to make quick, easy pickup of to-go orders.

Yankee Clipper Diner is making curbside pickup available, in addition to being open.

Beacon Bread and Tito Santana Taqueria have limited their total number of people to 20 at once, and have outside tables.

River Therapeutic Massage closed for now and canceled all massage appointments.

Barb’s Butchery is open for walk-in meat orders, but is doing take-out only for the meals. You can always call ahead.

Some restaurants are wishing that Hudson Valley Restaurant Week had been postponed, since participating in the event is a financial investment that they made.

The galleries were the first to close, with almost all of them postponing shows. The Howland Cultural Center has had almost every event cancel.

Even New York Times writer Charlie Warzel told his New Yorkers to not go to brunch right now. He got slammed in his Twitter and with emails from angry bar owners. But please. Governor Cuomo is pleading for hospital beds and for retired medical professionals to come out of retirement as he prepares for an unprecedented impact on the hospital system that the number of people needing care at the same time will have.

A Little Beacon Blog is going to be doing a big edit to our Shopping and Restaurant Guides to make it easy for you to see how to alternatively shop and eat.

Please. New Yorkers: Stay in NYC. Just stay inside of your apartments. Open the windows. Get fresh air.

Beaconites: Order takeout. Buy gift cards. Ask a store owner to bring you that package of pens that you need (I need some new pens from Zakka Joy! She is open). Beacon Barkery will deliver cat food to your porch. He did it to mine today.

Dutchess County Sheriff‘s Office Suspends Enforcement of Evictions For 2 Weeks

Published Date: Sunday, March 15, 2020

The Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office has suspended enforcement of evictions for two weeks. This has been announced on the Democratic Caucus of the Dutchess County Legislator page on social media.

Says Legislator Hannah Black in the announcement:

“New information has been provided in response to the COVID-19 pandemic for our County’s residents: The Dutchess County’s Sheriff’s Office will suspend evictions for 14 days beginning Monday, March 16th. This plan to suspend evictions, will be revisited after 2 weeks to determine whether or not the suspension should be extended.

”I hope this information proves helpful and provides our residents with some ease of mind knowing that they will be able to remain in their homes while they may have to be out of work for 2 weeks due to the need to close schools. Once the legislators are given a memo on this suspension, we will be able to share that information with more detail.”

To shed light on how the process works, according to the City of Beacon’s Chief of Police, Kevin Junjulas, police officers in Beacon are not directly involved with evictions when at an address within Beacon. “Evictions are a civil process and all done through the Sheriffs Office Civil Division,” he told A Little Beacon Blog.

Pressure to make these types of types of allowances seems to be increasing. Gothamist reported that “a petition circulated by Housing Justice for All garnered more than 10,000 signatures before the moratorium [in NYC] was announced.” Some larger property owners have pledged a 90-day moratorium. From the article: “Some top property owners with the Real Estate Board of New York said they would stay evictions for the next 90 days, with an exception for ‘criminal or negligent behavior that jeopardizes the life, health or safety of other residents.’ The property owners represent more than 150,000 rental units across [NYC].”

Beacon Residents and Rent

Residents have been responding to Dutchess County’s eviction news with a brief sigh of relief, accompanied by a skeptical: “That’s not enough, but OK. Haha. Rent is due in two weeks. What if I don’t have it?”

City Council Member Terry Nelson: “I hope that gets extended because two weeks is not even close to being a sufficient amount of time.” From Legislator Hannah Black’s announcement above, it sounds like there is an open door to revisiting: “This plan to suspend evictions, will be revisited after 2 weeks to determine whether or not the suspension should be extended.”

While this legislation is a good sign for tenants, it is at the enforcement level, and does not impact if a landlord can decide to break a lease with a tenant if they cannot pay their rent due to wage loss from the pandemic-related States of Emergency in New York City and Dutchess County that encourage social distancing. Logic would indicate that breaking a lease with a long-term tenant would be a bad idea, as there would most likely be other residents with lower savings accounts as well.

When asked what message he had for the landlords, Mayor Lee Kyriacou told A Little Beacon Blog: “Be kind if at all possible; work it out. For example, consider allowing tenants to split monthly rent in two, in effect deferring half for two weeks (we've done that for years for two of our four Beacon tenants); or consider using some of the deposit for current rent (again, we've done that in the past). Obviously, landlords have their own mortgages and obligations, so there needs to be kindness and understanding in both directions at times.”

Several Beacon Residents Commute To Jobs In NYC That Are Being Temporarily Cut

Several Beacon residents commute into New York City to work in different industries, such as hospitality and film and television. Both sectors have been severely impacted by the coronavirus/COVID-19. Most film and television production in New York City, Los Angeles and other cities like Richmond, Virginia and Cleveland, Ohio have been halted for at least two weeks. You won’t be seeing any new broadcasts of late-night shows or Wendy Williams, and some news broadcasts have had to move locations because of CBS and other media outlets closing to deep clean, courtesy of staff exposure to coronavirus.

Not all film productions have indicated they will pay those gig-based employees to retain them for two weeks, but some have. A top showrunner of “Mythic Quest” has challenged studios to pay their crew while shows are shuttered, according to Deadline. In hospitality, those working for hotels have seen their shifts slashed and they are told not to come to work, but to use their paid vacation days instead. Restaurant workers who rely on hefty tips at major NYC restaurants and bars may not even have paid vacation or sick days to work with, and must file for unemployment right away.

Dutchess County Legislator Nick Page told A Little Beacon Blog via email that there is no talk yet of restricting landlords from breaking leases if a tenant cannot pay due to the pandemic, nor the reverse (a tenant breaking lease if they cannot pay).

Family Movies Streaming Now - Recommended By This Beacon-Based Entertainment Journalist

Spirits rose in the coronavirus-self-isolating world when Disney announced that it would release Frozen 2 early on its streaming service, Disney+. It was one of the first announcements that gave parents and caregivers hope that someone somewhere was thinking of us, and would help make our lives easier as we were home from school for at least two weeks. While I had zero intention of subscribing to Disney+ before, that changes tomorrow (Sunday).

Suggestions were flying Saturday morning around The Beacon Moms Group on Facebook with suggestions on anything from how to create a daily schedule to how to limit screen time (while valuing screen time as a tool as well).

Gwynne Watkins is a mom in the group, and is a entertainment and culture journalist. You can find her analysis at media outlets like Yahoo Entertainment, Vulture, Elle Magazine, and GQ magazine. Here’s a quick rundown of the kinds of articles you can find from her, such as: “How Prison Theater Is Changing Lives” and “33 Best TV Couples Of All Time.” You can also find her on Twitter for all her latest thoughts.

I asked Gwynne for her recommendations for what to stream now with the family. Personally, my family and I are streaming Lost In Space (modern-day Swiss Family Robinson - fighting for their very survival… much like us maybe in 10 days?), and we really loved Raising Dion. Both have been picked up again to make another season.

Here are Gwynne’s movie recommendations - presented by streaming service! She did some research for you on what movies are available now, and where. Oftentimes, show series with episodes (as opposed to movies) move around the streaming services. Like, one day Odd Squad will be on Netflix, and then it disappears for while because Amazon Prime bought it, and it’s over there for a price.

“My kids are 4 and 12,” Gwynne prefaces. “So I did two categories: one for younger and one for older kids.”

FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY:

• Netflix - Mary Poppins Returns, Coraline, Hugo, The Little Prince, The Croods, Chicken Little, Stuart Little, Space Jam, Adventures of TinTin, Princess and the Frog, Tarzan, Incredibles 2, Ralph Wrecks the Internet, A Little Princess (1995), Bolt, Boy and the World

• Hulu - Chicken Run, The Polar Express, Dr. Seuss: The Cat in the Hat, Curious George, A Boy Named Charlie Brown, Charlotte's Web (1973), How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (Note: many of these are also on Prime)

• Amazon Prime - Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, My Little Pony: The Movie, The Court Jester, Odd Squad: The Movie, Sleeping Beauty (Royal Ballet)

KIDS 8-10 AND UP:

• Netflix - Groundhog Day, Hairspray (2007), A Wrinkle in Time, Karate Kid, Monster House, National Treasure, Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, Miracle, Spy Kids, To All The Boys I've Loved Before

• Hulu - Fighting With My Family, Bumblebee, Rango (Note: many of these are also on Prime)

• Prime - Captain America: The First Avenger, The Avengers, True Grit

What do you like? Tell us in the Comments below.

Beacon Cancels or Postpones Easter At Memorial Park, Beacon Barks Parade, Easter Sunrise Service, and Good Friday Procession

Published Date: Saturday, March 14, 2020

In keeping with State and County directives to reduce the spread of COVID-19, the City of Beacon is canceling or postponing public-supported events involving large attendance scheduled between now and the end of April. That includes Easter at Memorial Park, Beacon Barks Parade, Easter Sunrise Service, and Good Friday Procession.

What To Do Instead

Easter at Memorial Park: Let’s be real here. This is really just a big candy fest, and a highly stressful event for parents with young kids who like to run off. So, there is a chance that parents are breathing a sigh of relief with this cancellation.

Beacon Barks Parade: We will check in with Libby and Nanci, who are (were) taking back their bigger role as parade organizers this year. They had stepped away after selling their shop, Beacon Barkery, to Donald and his son John. Donald has been recovering from an illness, and John just launched the shop’s brand new website, where you can order online! You may even get delivery of pet food from John at the Beacon Barkery, if you call the store to see if he’s available to do so. Back to the parade: We’ll circle back with an update, and ways to support adopting cats and dogs.

Religious Services: If any of your religious services are canceled during this Holy Week time, there may be creative ways of connecting. Consider going outside during the peaceful dawn hours, and perhaps your religious group has recorded a video of a service and uploaded to YouTube or Vimeo, and you can play/watch/listen to it while you take some time to honor the moment. †

City of Beacon's Message To Residents Regarding Coronavirus Procedures and Upcoming Plans

Issued by the City of Beacon via press release on March 13, 2020:

The City of Beacon is working closely with Dutchess County and New York State to ensure public health and safety in connection with COVID-19, and wants to inform the community of the following current information and actions.

Public Information:

The City of Beacon recognizes that the best local health expertise lies with the Dutchess County Health Department, and that best overall information is provided by way of collaboration with Dutchess County and New York State. Accordingly, the City is promptly re-communicating relevant, accurate information provided by the best sources, whether electronically on the Beacon Public Access Channel (Channel 22) , the City of Beacon website (http://www.CityofBeacon.org), links in documents, or in printed form.

City Preparedness:

The City is working closely with expert state and county partners, participating in multiple daily calls and meetings involving communities throughout the region. Information is passed on to all city staff, including police, fire and other departments, and the community, and the city is taking the appropriate recommended actions to properly inform to safeguard our community, including actions and recommendations to reduce the pace of transmission of COVID-19.

Large Public Events:

As State and County directives recognize, the major risk of COVID-19 transmission involves large public events. Accordingly, the City is canceling or postponing public-supported events involving large attendance scheduled between now and the end of April – including the Parade of Green, Good Friday Procession, Easter at Memorial Park, Easter Sunrise Service and the Beacon Barks Parade.

Beacon Recreation Programs:

The City is following the lead of the Beacon City School District, and discontinuing programming consistent with the school district schedule. Other City-sponsored recreational activity involving small groups in large enough venues will continue, with City staff monitoring and ensuring allowance for “social distancing.”

Public Board Meetings:

Meetings of the Beacon City Council, Planning and Zoning Boards, and other regular and ad hoc city board meetings – will continue to meet on schedule, with a change of location from the Court Room at the Municipal Building to the much larger public meeting room across Route 9D at the Lewis Tompkins Hose Meeting Room located at 13 South Avenue. This will allow for appropriate “social distancing” in a much larger venue; if necessary, the City will monitor and limit public attendance appropriate to venue size. The City will continue to televise City Council and other board meetings, and is working on installation of teleconferencing for meetings. Board members are or course free to make individual choices regarding attendance specific to their individual circumstances.

City Hall & Municipal Buildings:

Our City Hall at One Municipal Plaza and all other public municipal facilities remain open. Municipal buildings are being cleaned twice a day, and are safe for the public. Residents are encouraged to contact the City by phone or e-mail, where you will receive excellent customer service.

Some Accurate Sources of Information:

Below are some links to accurate and up-to-date local information on health and safety. Take care to find and rely on accurate official sources, and not unofficial, informal or uninformed ones.

• Dutchess County Coronavirus Information Hotline: 845-486-3555

• NYS DOH Novel Coronavirus Hotline: 1-888-364-3065

• Dutchess County State of Emergency: https://www.dutchessny.gov/Departments/County-Executive/Dutchess-County-Announces-State-of-Emergency.htm

• Dutchess County Department of Health: https://www.dutchessny.gov/Departments/DBCH/2019-Novel-Coronavirus.htm

• NYS DOH Website: https://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/communicable/coronavirus/
  

Public Health Reminders:

The City of Beacon wishes to repeat some official common-sense public health guidelines including personal hygiene, social distancing, and avoiding large public gatherings and events. These come from the Dutchess County Department of Health and the New York State and the New York State Department of Health.

• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.

• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.

• Stay home when you are sick.

• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.

• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.

From The Dutchess County COVID-19/Coronavirus Fact Sheet

What Are The Symptoms Of Coronavirus COVID-19?

COVID-19 symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as long as 14 days after exposure.

What If I Am Sick?

If you believe you have contacted COVID-19, call ahead to your primary care doctor or urgent care so that they can take necessary precautions upon your arrival. Do NOT go directly to the hospital unless you are in distress.

Photo Credit: Dutchess County Department of Behavioral & Community Health Facet Sheet, as circulated by the City of Beacon.

Food Pantry At Beacon Recreation Remains Open On Saturdays - Precautions Being Taken

Published Date: Saturday, March 14, 2020

The food pantry at the Beacon Recreation Center will remain open during the coronavirus voluntary self-quarantine mode, and is serving people one-by-one on Saturday mornings. The food pantry is run by the New Vision Church of Deliverance and is located at 23 West Center Street, around the corner from South Avenue Elementary and near-ish to the Beacon Housing Authority.

“Precautions are being taken. We will give out numbers and have people come in one at a time. [There will be] hand-washing, then obtaining food,” said Kenya Gadsden, who represents the church’s food pantry.

Donating Food To This Food Pantry

Usually, Trader Joe’s and ShopRite have donated the food to the New Vision Church of Deliverance’s food pantry at the Beacon Recreation Center. According to Kenya, that has become more difficult during the past few weeks.

Anyone wanting to donate can drop off a bag(s) at 9:30 am on Saturdays to 23 West Center Street. Or, you can drop it off at the church, New Vision Church of Deliverance, 831 Route 52, Fishkill, NY.

Also located on the property of the Recreation Center is the Tiny Food Pantry, which is a grab-and-go style food pantry that people can place food into whenever they want, and people can take whenever they want. Expired food is not accepted, and ALBB recommends that you place in it whatever you would buy for yourself or your family. If you like it, someone else who can’t buy it probably does too! Toiletries and hygiene products like are pads also accepted.

March 2020 Art Gallery Guide to Second Saturday in Beacon, NY - On Hold

Published Date: Saturday, March 14, 2020

Once things get back to normal, you’ll have an extra-lot of art to catch up on. Some of the shows that were set to open on Second Saturday, March 14 (clockwise from top right): Alaina Enslen at RiverWinds Gallery; Carl Craig’s soundscape at Dia Beacon; Rick Rogers at Hudson Beach Glass; Kaiju group show at Clutter Magazine Gallery; and the sixth annual CoMFY show at the Howland Public Library.

Well, it’s Second Saturday weekend, and normally we wish all Beaconites and visitors a happy one. But there’s nothing normal about this month’s edition. As you’ve surely heard by now, the spread of COVID-19 (aka coronavirus) and efforts to knock it down are leading to lots of cancellations, in the interests of public health and not overwhelming medical facilities. Dutchess County government issued guidelines Friday that prohibit gatherings of more than 20 people for at least the next five days.

With luck, hard work, and patience by all, the public health emergency will pass soon, and we can get back to the spirit-soothing effects of visiting galleries and creating community. We’re keeping our comprehensive Second Saturday Art Gallery Guide live and updated, so you can keep tabs on all the artists and galleries we love, and get right back into supporting them as soon as is safe for everyone to do so. Even if we can’t have the usual openings, with luck we’ll be able to enjoy the exhibitions at each venue.

Beacon art venues with postponed or close notices as of 3/13 (check the individual venue for specifics): 
• Dia Beacon: Closed until further notice.
• Clutter Gallery: Closed for the Kaiju Kanibal opening; online-only exhibition will happen.
• Gallery at Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries (Clarkson University): Closed until further notice.
• Howland Public Library: We Persist! CoMFY show reception is canceled, but the library remains open. 
• No. 3 Reading Room and PhotoBookWorks: Closed for now, until this passes.
• Mother Gallery: March 21 Jenny Morgan opening canceled; gallery closed until further notice.

Take care of yourselves and one another!

The (Not) Happening This Weekend Guide - 3/13/2020

Published Date: Friday, March 13, 2020

Hiya... Whatcha doin'? Yesterday (Thursday) was a big day. The past couple weeks have actually been big weeks in terms of coronavirus takeover, as industry standard across the United States has become the cancellation of trade shows (Architectural Digest's AD Show), medical device companies swamped in backorders and canceling trade shows until October, movie companies halting international premieres until Christmas, talent agencies (such as CAA) mandating that their client meetings happen remotely. So when a reader wrote in on Wednesday to ask to ask if Beacon's St. Patrick's Day Parade was going to be canceled, we pursued the question but didn't believe that it would actually happen. The answer was that the City of Beacon and the Parade Committee had been meeting about it, and would announce on Thursday morning. This is when our brain broke. What does that mean for businesses? If gathering in a large group outside is being avoided, what does that mean for art gallery openings? This is Second Saturday! Fortunately, it is also Summer Camp Planning Season, so Wednesday night distracted us back to normal as we dove into organizational upgrades to that guide, so that parents would have an easy time searching camp options by week and age range. Thursday happened. By now A Little Beacon Blog was ready. ALBB published that the parade was canceled. Managing Editor Marilyn Perez began fielding the cancellation emails for other events. Second Saturday Guide Editor Catherine Sweet began thinking about how to address the semi-self-quarantine vibe that was taking over Beacon and the Hudson Valley. Governor Cuomo gave a press conference and recommended (OK, mandated) that gatherings of 500 and more were banned in all of New York State, and gatherings of less than 500 could happen, but the venue's legal capacity of the room should be reduced by 50 percent in the name of reducing density to stop the spread of the virus, in the name of not overloading hospitals. Dutchess County held a press conference, and State Senator Sue Serino then issued an email suggesting that groups limit themselves to 20 people. One reader response was: "That's family dinner." Right. That's probably the point. The virus is so contagious, and we have seen with others, like with the New Rochelle family, that carriers can be asymptomatic. So, if you feel fine, and go out because you aren't sniffling or sneezing, you still might pass it to someone, and that someone might have a minor lung issue, or a weak heart. And those people are the most at risk. Care for serious patients exists in the hospitals, but not if there are a lot of cases at once. We have the Second Saturday Guide for you below. We have a few coronavirus articles for you as well. How you balance your social life is up to you - because seeing others is important. Laughing, dancing, supporting businesses who are open - all of these things are very important. Fortunately, we are in a use-your-best-judgment zone at the moment (unlike Italy). An Insightful Letter From CEO of Cleveland Clinic - His And Other Healthcare CEOs' Requests To President Trump Beacon City Schools Will Continue Free Breakfast/Lunch Program For All Children During 2-Week Closure Beacon's Teachers Spent Professional Learning Day Creating At Home Learning Tools For 2-Week School Closure Beacon City School District Closes Schools For 2 Weeks - Why This Is Good (Words From A Doctor In Italy) Dutchess County Resident Tests Positive For Coronavirus; Gatherings Limited To 20 Gatherings of 500+ In New York State Are Not Permitted Starting Friday 5 pm - 500 or Less Reduced By 50% - How These Businesses Are Preparing Beacon City School District Superintendent Matthew Landahl Updates Community After Governor Cuomo's Message On March 9, 2020. How To Disinfect An iPhone - A Beaconite Tech Guru Provides The Answer   SPONSORED BY:  No. 3 Reading Room & Photo Book Works WRITTEN BY: Catherine Sweet Beacon art venues with postponed or closed notices as of 3/13 (check the individual venue for specifics): Dia Beacon: Closed until further notice. Clutter Gallery: Closed for the Kaiju Kanibal opening; online-only exhibition will happen. Gallery at Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries (Clarkson University): Closed until further notice. Howland Public Library: We Persist! CoMFY show reception is canceled, but the library remains open. You could still see the art. No. 3 Reading Room and PhotoBookWorks: Closed for now, until this passes. Mother Gallery: March 21 Jenny Morgan opening canceled; gallery closed until further notice.   Special Note From Catherine Sweet, Second Saturday Guide Editor: Hey, Beaconites and any people thinking of visiting town for this month’s Second Saturday! We’re hearing about event postponements and gallery closures as they come in, and we’ll try to keep everything here updated. Please have patience with us, with gallery owners, and with one another if you’re out and about - we’re all just trying to do our best. In light of Gov. Cuomo’s statements on limiting public contact, and Dutchess County’s strong recommendations to avoid gatherings of more than 20 people (post from county legislator Nick Page on Facebook), there’s a good chance that many more Second Saturday activities will be postponed and canceled. But the art will still be there when we’re on the other side of this virus. If you do decide to go out, please be conscientious about your habits and consider the people around you. If a venue looks like it’s more than half-full, look through the window and scope it out for next time, then saunter on down to the next gallery. Remember, too, that historically, lots of art gets created when people are facing challenging conditions. GET THE ENTIRE SECOND SATURDAY GUIDE Sponsored by Antalek & Moore for car insurance. Got an event? Submit your event here for consideration.   Parade of Green - POSTPONED Information > Maple Fest at Randolph School - POSTPONED Information > Beacon Farmers Market - CLOSED THIS WEEKEND This weekend only. Check their Facebook for next weekend. Information > Howland Cultural Center - POSTPONED EVENTS This weekend and next weekend. Howland Chamber Music Circle - POSTPONED EVENTS Information > Atlas Studios - POSTPONED EVENTS Information > Mid-Hudson Children's Museum Closed For One Week - Temporary Information > Plan ahead and check out what's coming up this month in our Events Guide.   BOUTIQUES ON THE WEST END     Luxe Optique 183 Main Street www.luxeoptique.com Now is the perfect time to get your frames adjusted! Are they ready for a tighter fit? Luxe Optique can do it in-store for you! Don't you want to feel this confident in your frames?   BOUTIQUES ON THE EAST END Lambs Hill Bridal Boutique 1 East Main Street, Retail #3 www.lambshillbridalboutique.com (near the dummy light) If you are a bride on a budget, or have a short time frame, be sure to check out this weekend's sample sale at Lambs Hill Bridal Boutique! Don't forget to vote for Lambs Hill Bridal Boutique for #bestofhudsonvalley2020! Visit www.hvmag.com and vote for best Bridal shop (#7) Type in "Lambs Hill Bridal Boutique," in the town of Beacon. ⠀ Call (845) 765-2900, or book your appointment online through their website!  Be sure to check A Little Beacon Blog's Shopping Guide for all of our sponsors! You don't want to miss great discoveries like PTACEK Home and LLTO (Live Light Travel Often).   Thank you to Barb's Butchery, Eat Church, and BAJA 328 for sponsoring the Restaurant Guide!   For a full list of upcoming classes, visit A Little Beacon Blog's Adult Classes Guide. Submission Guidelines for classes you'd like us to consider adding to these guides can be found here. For a full list of upcoming classes, visit A Little Beacon Blog's Kids Classes Guide. Submission Guidelines for classes you'd like us to consider adding to these guides can be found here.   HEADLINE NEWS FROM OUR SPONSORS   Antalek & Moore Insurance Agency Buying a car online might seem like an easy way to get a new vehicle, but the truth is, it's even more complicated than buying a new TV. Consult with Antalek & Moore to find the right auto insurance for your car. Tin Shingle Beacon local Patti Devine is a Guest Expert on this Tin Shingle TuneUp, speaking about how to use the confusing world of Facebook Ads, should you want to. This TuneUp webinar is available for you to watch for free for a limited time. Simply visit the page and press play! Learn More >     Katie James, Inc. Offering couture branding for businesses, crafting of social media strategy, website designs, and newsletter plans to keep your customer base engaged. Learn More > Beacon Chamber of Commerce Business Directory Is your business in the Business Directory of the Beacon Chamber of Commerce yet? It should be. Join here today. Learn More > MASTHEAD Producers of this newsletter include: Katie Hellmuth Martin, Publisher, Writer, Designer, Photographer Marilyn Perez, Managing Editor Catherine Sweet, Editor of the Second Saturday Guide Advertise With A Little Beacon Blog The support from every advertiser of A Little Beacon Blog helps make local news get produced. You can be part of making it happen, and get your business in front of the community in a meaningful way. Learn More > NEWSLETTER SIGNUP Until next week!

An Insightful Letter From CEO of Cleveland Clinic - His And Other Healthcare CEOs’ Requests To President Trump

Published Date: Friday, March 13, 2020

As you may know, I am from Cleveland, Ohio. For that reason, I get kept abreast of Ohio developments both for the coronavirus, and for the weather (usually, weather in Cleveland travels to Beacon in about one day… it’s how I’m so good at predicting snow flurries or super rainy days).

Earlier this week, in my inbox, an email arrived from the CEO of the Cleveland Clinic, Tomislav Mihaljevic, M.D. The email had been sent to Cleveland Clinic board members, and was forwarded to me by a friend. In this time of “What do we do in a pandemic?” I found it comforting. The Cleveland Clinic granted A Little Beacon Blog permission to publish it for you to read too. Here it is:

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March 11, 2020

Dear Board Members,

We will keep you updated on Cleveland Clinic’s preparations and response to COVID-19.

At Cleveland Clinic, our primary concern is to care for patients and protect our caregivers. We are ahead of other organizations in terms of our preparations. We have collaborated with community leaders and providers to ensure the safest care for all patients.

Today (March 11, 2020), I am traveling to the White House and will be joined by other healthcare CEOs and top industry representatives. Our charge is to share what we are doing and also advise the federal government on what more can be done.

As a global healthcare leader, Cleveland Clinic is using this opportunity to request three barriers be removed by the government.

• We believe access to care is critical and will ask for testing, treatment and quarantine to be guaranteed for all Americans through appropriate payment channels.

• We seek relief from regulations that limit our ability to reach patients virtually and surveys that distract hospital operations during this epidemic.

• And we request that all medical conferences and large gatherings be temporarily cancelled.

This morning, we announced the following precautions to our caregivers:

• We are restricting all international and business travel until further notice.

• We will be reviewing all Cleveland Clinic events, including Continuing Medical Education, for cancellation.

• We asked caregivers to replace in-person meetings with virtual options.

• Also, caregivers will not receive attendance infractions for shifts missed due to exposure to COVID-19, and we are finalizing guidelines to provide compensation during a leave of absence.
  In addition, we educated caregivers on how we are preparing in this video.

Because of our outstanding clinicians, I am proud to report that Cleveland Clinic will be the first to launch onsite patient testing for COVID-19, starting tomorrow, March 12. By testing onsite, we can return results within 8 hours, versus 3-4 days currently when sending to the CDC. We will begin with limited testing capacity and are working to quickly increase this in the days ahead.

We know you may get more questions about testing and will send these guidelines out to you shortly. We will continue to send frequent updates as this situation evolves. You can also visit ClevelandClinic.org or the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) website for information and travel guidance for more information about COVID-19.

Thank you for your support.
Tomislav Mihaljevic, M.D.
Chief Executive Officer and President
Cleveland Clinic

Beacon City Schools Will Continue Free Breakfast/Lunch Program For All Children During 2-Week Closure

Published Date: Friday, March 13, 2020

Superintendent Matthew Landahl announced that the Beacon City School District will be offering one meal each morning at two different locations for all kids in the City of Beacon starting Monday, March 16, 2020, the same day that the two-week school closure starts, in the name of reducing density and spread of coronavirus/COVID-19. Schools in Ohio are also extending to their school children the free breakfast and lunch programs, as they too find themselves in sudden protection mode.

LOCATIONS:

10 to 10:30 am: Beacon High School
10:30 to 11 am: South Avenue Elementary

Superintendent Landahl stated: “This will be ‘grab and go’ and is available for all children in Beacon, please spread the word!” Children will be given two meals at the grab-and-go location so that kids can take home a meal to eat the next day at breakfast. The Beacon City School District Food Services Director put together this program in a matter of days.

Superintendent Landahl told A Little Beacon Blog: “Food services staff will work on putting the grab and go bags together. They will include both breakfast items and lunch items so kids can eat lunch and then eat the breakfast the next day. Karen Pagano, our food services director, put this together in about three days. Kids just will have to sign their names, but it is open to all children in Beacon, not just our students.”

South Avenue Elementary has the highest amount of low-income families in its district, and is in close proximity to housing developments for a lot of families in need. The Beacon Recreation Center, located a few blocks away, was the former location for the summer lunch program (that was discontinued last year due to eligibility shifts within the district for that program).

There is a food pantry located at the Recreation Center that is open on Saturday mornings. This food pantry is organized by the New Vision Church of Deliverance. This is in addition to the Tiny Food Pantry mini-house that is located on the grounds of the Recreation Center that anyone can leave food in at any time.

Beacon's Teachers Spent Professional Learning Day Creating At-Home Learning Tools For 2-Week School Closure

Students in the Beacon City School District were off for a scheduled Professional Learning Day for teachers. Consider it a practice day for the anticipated two-week school closure due to the Dutchess County State Of Emergency declared on March 13, 2020, in an effort to reduce the coronavirus/COVID-19 spread. For a district that had virtually no snow days (fact-checking this… can’t recall if there was one snow day, or just a delay), parents aren’t getting off that easy. Kids, however, are ecstatic. At least in this closure, there is no snow to shovel, which is what usually happens with snow days. Unless we get a blizzard too. And if that happens, well, we’ll deal with it.

Beacon’s Superintendent Matt Landahl announced that teachers had been preparing for a two-week closure, and took the Professional Learning Day to create the materials that kids can use to log into classes from home. According to the announcement, elementary school students will be given access to Chromebook laptops at home.

School principals will reach out to parents on Monday, using the school messenger by Monday afternoon. Parents and students also have access to online and app-based communication tools with teachers that they have already been using.

Superintendent Matt Landahl ended his update with a cheer: “We will keep updating you with information next week and hang in there!”