The Time Is Now (and did you check under your car?)...Retail Therapy Edition 11/28/2021
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HUDSON VALLEY FOOD HALL
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Family Day At Masjid Ar Rashid Islamic Teaching Center In Beacon - All Are Welcome
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Photo Credit: Google
Photo Credit: Screenshot from the Highlands Current
Last week’s Highlands Current profiled Abdullah Wajid, an Imam with the Masjid Ar Rashid Islamic Teaching Center in Beacon on Main Street near the Beacon Natural Market and across from the Post Office. The profile was in the paper’s weekly Q&A section. The interview was excerpted from the original episode interview by Zach Rogers, host and creator of the podcast “Beaconites!”
He recalls how the center has been in Beacon for more than 30 years. “The composition of the mosque was mostly African American, with a couple of Egyptian and maybe one Pakistani family. Today there’s a wide range of people who come. The number of families is anywhere from 150 to 200. You won’t see them at one time unless it’s a celebration like what we call Eid — we have two every year — or Ramadan.”
He encourages people to come to the mosque, and learn about their events, like this one last month on Women’s Health. He said during the interview: “We have made a very strong effort to let the people know that our mosque is approachable. You can come in; there are no rules that say you have to be a Muslim. We want to let the people know that we are supportive of the community. We try to demonstrate the best of character and try to be sensitive, especially to our neighbors. In Islam, neighbors are very important.”
There is a Family Day at the mosque today (Sunday, November 28, 2021 at 1pm. Details are here, and people are encouraged to bring a dish. Read the excerpted interview at Highlands Current, and listen to it in full at Beaconites!.
The Beacon Bicycle Menorah Is BACK! From Beacon Hebrew Alliance; Sculpture By Ed Benavente
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The Beacon Bicycle Menorah, organized by Beacon Hebrew Alliance; sculpture by Ed Benavente.
For a number of years, the day after the Beacon Bicycle Tree Lighting, the Beacon Bicycle Menorah Lighting, known as Illumin8 from the Beacon Hebrew Alliance, would take place. For 8 nights, a different bicycle tire would be lit and dedicated to a group of people.
Over time, some people wanted a traditional holiday lighting with a tree, and the Beacon Bicycle Tree went into retirement. The mood was sad, as people missed the tradition. Then the 2020 pandemic hit, and all events stopped.
Come 2021, with most Beaconties and most people in the Hudson Valley doing their best to act safely during this pandemic by getting vaccinated, the Beacon Bicycle Menorah is BACK! Lit up by the Beacon Hebrew Alliance on the first night of Hanukkah on November 28, 2021 from 6-6:30pm at Pohill Park (at the base of Wolcott Avenue aka 9D and South Avenue and Main Street).
From the Beacon Hebrew Alliance: “The story of Beacon is the story of a town coming through hard times with hope and dedication. Join us on Facebook Live or at Polhill Park as we celebrate Illumin8tion and light up our community with our one-of-a-kind Beacon Bicycle Menorah.
“Hanukkah tells us that we can hope against all reason and sometimes, we will prevail. Sometimes, the mighty will fall before the weak, and sometimes, just a little bit of fuel will get us through the darkest night - or even eight of them, if need be.
“Each night we will be honoring a group of people with a prayer or reading and song, as our representative honoree places the bicycle tire on the menorah!”
Menorah Dedication Schedule:
From 6-6:30pm for 8 nights of Hanukkah, the Beacon Hebrew Alliance will honor the following groups of people (on Friday, December 3rd, the time will be 4-4:30pm):
Sunday we honor Elders.
Monday we honor Teachers.
Tuesday we honor First Responders.
Wednesday we honor Artists & Musicians.
Thursday we honor Public Service (fire, police, medical, etc.).
Friday we honor Children.
Saturday we honor and remember our Founding Members for the BHA Centennial.
Sunday we honor All those who serve our community.
Catalytic Converter Cut/Stolen From Beaconite's Car - This Theft On The Rise
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While talking to a relative from Kansas City over the Thanksgiving Break, we learned about a rise in catalytic converter theft from a suburban neighborhood out there (here’s a June 2021 example of an uptick at the Kansas City airport). The next day, a Beaconite wrote in to ALBB say that they watched 3 people in black ski masks cut the catalytic converter out from underneath their car in their driveway at 2:30am on Thanksgiving Eve. They live near a free municipal parking lot, which has noise and people walking through which can provide distraction.
UPDATE 11/28/2021: Mo Dabashi of The Beacon Car Wash across from Key Food reported in that they also experienced theft of 2 catalytic converters from their lot the night before Thanksgiving. The same night that the resident originally mentioned in this article had theirs stolen.
According to Beacon Police when ALBB called to verify, there is a rise in theft of catalytic converters in the Hudson Valley area. According to a July 2021 article in the Poughkeepsie Journal reviewing data from the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), the average monthly number of stolen catalytic converters was 108 stolen/month. In 2021, after rising during the economic hardship induced by the pandemic in 2020, that number spiked to 5,000 stolen/month.
What Is A Catalytic Converter?
The catalytic converter is a long cylinder under the car that is part of the exhaust system in between the engine and the muffler. According to Chapel Hill Tire: “Your catalytic converter is named as such because it converts toxins into less harmful byproducts, such as water vapor and carbon dioxide. Without this component, your vehicle will no longer be filtering and reducing harmful emissions, including hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, and carbon monoxide.”
The electronic vehicle (EV) the Tesla, for instance, does not have a catalytic converter because it does not burn fossil fuels and has no need for the exhaust system, according to Specialty Metals. For metal scrappers, a Ford would be worth more than the Tesla, according to Specialty Metals.
When a fuel-burning car has rumbling sounds underneath, one never wants it to be a bad catalytic converter, as they can be expensive to replace if one buys a new one from the car maker. Without a catalytic converter, the car would be very loud, and release different toxins. In many areas, it is illegal to drive without a catalytic converter.
In New York State, as reported by the law firm Goldberg and Segalla, it is “unlawful for any person to install, sell, offer for sale, or advertise any new aftermarket catalytic converter in New York State unless it has been exempted pursuant to the requirements of California Code of Regulations, title 13, section 2222 (see table 1, section 200.9 of this Title).”
One Beaconite’s Experience Of Hearing The Catalytic Converter Be Cut Out
The Beaconite who alerted ALBB described the scene: “But at around 2:30 in the morning, we were awoken by a strange sound outside...A squeaking grinding sound, almost like a loose belt on a car. My partner shot out of bed and looked out our bedroom window, which is directly above our driveway where our car was parked. He was surprised to see 3 men in all black wearing ski masks - nothing identifiable showing. One was actually under our car. He realized immediately that they were cutting out the catalytic converter on our Honda CRV.”
The Beaconites were scheduled to drive to family for Thanksgiving. But after their catalytic converter was cut out, said: “Thanksgiving morning, we called around for a rental car but could not get one, so spent Thanksgiving on our own. Talk about gratitude --- I'm grateful that my kid didn't wake up to see the commotion. I'm grateful that no one was hurt. It was just such a scary incident.”
The mechanic shop has estimated the replacement job for this Beaconite to be $2,000.
Why Do People Steal The Catalytic Converter?
Photo Credit: The Poughkeepsie Journal
Inside of the catalytic converter are precious metals that help convert the toxic chemicals. These metals are platinum, rhodium, and palladium, according to Chapel Hill Tire and Fox4KC. As pointed out by the Poughkeepsie Journal, rhodium exceeded the price of gold per ounce.
According to Fox4KC and the Poughkeepsie Journal, a catalytic converter can sell for $150 - $300. According to Chapel Hill Tire: “The Toyota Prius is the most targeted car for catalytic converter theft. As a low-emissions vehicle, Prius converters contain larger amounts of the precious metals platinum, rhodium, and palladium. Thieves can fetch as much as $700 per converter from unscrupulous scrap yards.”
Watch This Video Of 2 Hudson Valley Men With Tow Truck Steal A Catalytic Converter
These two men in a video captured in a security camera published on the Poughkeepsie Journal shows how brazen the theft can be. Stolen in broad daylight, these two men - one in shorts showing his white skin - drove in a tow truck to a SUV parked in a parking lot behind what looks to be a small strip mall. One man looked for the catalytic converter, and the two men went for it. Once cut out, one man put it in a storage drawer in the tow truck, and they drove away.
See here where a collection of catalytic converters were in a storage facility in CA.
Should you have any leads on thieves of catalytic converters, or storage places of them, or scrapping sources, contact the Beacon Police Department at 845-831-4111.
Easy Local COVID Vaccination Drugstore For 5-11 Kids, Older Kids, and Adults - Plus Shopping For Prizes!
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The little pharmacy in Cold Spring - Drug World - has been on the hunt to provide COVID-19 vaccinations to the area since the vaccination for adults first became available. The Highlands Current covered the behind-the-scenes in what was required to administer the vaccine in their article “Drug World Chases COVID Vaccine.” This, followed by a letter from a reader, “Thanks To Drug World” which described what owner Heidi Snyder did to secure doses and partnered with Mark Snyder and Father Steve Schunk from St. Mary’s Episcopal Church to organize a team of community volunteers to administer it, according to a letter from John and Eva Humbach, followed by several other letters of support published in the newspaper.
Soon after the child’s dose of the COVID-19 vaccine for kids ages 5-11 became available, Drug World secured doses and made scheduling available on their website. Drug World’s website is also connected to the national database of vaccination locations, called Vaccines.gov, an easy to use online tool filtered by zip code, age and vaccination brand to book a vaccination for any available age.
Locations that do not have online booking do offer a phone number to call, or directions on if walk-ins are accepted. In Beacon, for instance, the new local pharmacy Beacon Wellness Pharmacy with the black and white awning across from Rite Aid offers the flu vaccination for walk-ins, and needs an appointment made online for the COVID-19 vaccination. The kids ages 5-11 will be available soon at Beacon Wellness Pharmacy, said the owner Enrique Reynoso, RPH, M.B.A., BCMTMS (review to come of Beacon Wellness Pharmacy’s shopping selection! we totally shopped it while flu-shotting).
Benefits Of Going Local Pharmacy - Shopping!
At any pharmacy, you are going to find a shopping selection. If you know A Little Beacon Blog, you know we love a good drug store and hardware store. Drug World did not disappoint Their Hanukkah selection is front and center at the front doors, while inside, there is a well curated selection of designer band-aids, coveted poppet stress toys (they are the new fidget-spinner and are all the rage on Tik Tok - kids collect them), and even picture frames! Not sure if you know, but picture frames are hard to find.
Take a look at our shopping pictures below, and book yourself a vaccination or booster today! Drug World also offers COVID-19 testing.
COVID Cases In Beacon Kids Ticks Up - District Offered Vaccination Clinic - Use Vaccines.gov To Easily Find Vaccination Appointments
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New York’s Governor Kathy Hochul is recommending for people to use Vaccines.gov, which has an easy-to-use vaccination finder for all age groups and brands of COVID-19 vaccination.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, and winter starts sending people indoors more, the predicted increase in cases has happened, including in children. According to a report released by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the number of children infected by COVID-19 used to average 16.9% of total cumulated cases. For the week ending November 18, that percentage rose to 25.1%
From American Academy of Pediatrics 11/18/2021:
As of November 18, almost 6.8 million children have tested positive for COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic. This week nearly 142,000 child cases were added, an increase of about 32% from two weeks ago. Child cases have declined since a peak of 252,000 the week of September 2nd, but COVID cases among children remain extremely high. For the 15th week in a row child COVID-19 cases are above 100,000. Since the first week of September, there have been over 1.7 million additional child cases.
The age distribution of reported COVID-19 cases was provided on the health department websites of 49 states, New York City, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam. Since the pandemic began, children represented 16.9% of total cumulated cases. For the week ending November 18, children were 25.1% of reported weekly COVID-19 cases (children, under age 18, make up 22.2% of the US population).
In Beacon, that increase seemed to correlate. As with other schools in other districts and states, parents receive emails from the districts stating if there are new confirmed cases in which schools. The Beacon City School District (BCSD) Matt Landahl emailed parents each day - sometimes twice a day - that new cases were confirmed to be within the district. In each email, he specified the number of confirmed cases within each school, and that individuals have been or will be notified to quarantine. Beacon has 4 elementary schools, 1 middle and 1 high school.
In mid-November, the number of confirmed cases in the BCSD increased. The list of dates and confirmed cases has been posted in this article to the right, which are based on confirmed case notification emails from Dr. Landahl. These show that on November 16, numbers of confirmed cases were doubling.
UPDATE 12/2/2021: A sentence in the above paragraph has been edited to just say “confirmed cases.” Dr. Landahl sends the number of confirmed cases, which could be children or adult staff working in the school buildings.
On Monday and Tuesday before Thanksgiving (November 22nd and 23rd, 2021) the there was a district-wide early dismissal for parent/teacher conferences. Thanksgiving break began on Wednesday, November 24th. Everyone will return on Monday November 29th, 2021.
Vaccination Clinic Hosted By BCSD A Success
Days after the vaccination for kids ages 5-11 was approved, the BCSD organized a vaccination clinic in order to provide easy access to parents and children in a familiar environment: the Beacon High School. Organized by Deputy Superintendent Ann Marie Quartironi in partnership with Village Apothecary who administered the shots (see the Village Apothecary’s list of upcoming vaccination clinics).
In terms of shots administered at those clinics, Dr. Landahl shared data with ALBB that over the course of both clinics (November 9th and 10th): 278 pediatric doses were given, and 106 boosters were given.
Another BCSD hosted vaccination clinic is not scheduled yet, but several other regular locations are available to people, including Walmart in Fishkill, Drug World in Cold Spring, and others. Visit Vaccines.gov to find locations by zip code and schedule an appointment. Insurance is not needed, but may be asked for, but is not required.
CONFIRMED CASES IN THE BEACON CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT (BCSD) IN OCTOBER & NOVEMBER 2021
October 1
1 confirmed case
October 4
2 confirmed cases
October 5
1 confirmed case
October 6
2 confirmed cases
October 7
2 confirmed cases
October 12
2 confirmed cases
October 15
2 confirmed cases
October 16
3 confirmed cases
October 19
1 case
October 23
1 confirmed case
November 12
2 confirmed cases
November 12
1 confirmed case
November 16
2 confirmed cases
November 16
6 confirmed cases
November 17
3 confirmed cases
November 19
7 confirmed cases
November 19
7 confirmed cases
November 22
7 confirmed cases
Easy Vaccination Appointment-Finder
New York’s Governor Kathy Hochul is recommending for people to use Vaccines.gov, which has an easy-to-use vaccination finder for all age groups and brands of COVID-19 vaccination.
If people would like schools and businesses to stay open, then those people should get vaccinated, and boosted. Expect to get boosted on the regular.
The Beacon City School District has guidelines in place to keep kids and staff safe while in school together, and sends notifications quickly when vaccination clinics are available nearby, in addition to what can be found at Vaccines.gov.
So far for the 2021/2022 school year, the district has not closed any schools in the name of mass quarantining, and instead works diligently to contact trace individuals who may have been in contact with those who tested positive for COVID-19. Those people go into their own quarantine schedule.
The New Omicron COVID-19 Variant
On the Friday after Thanksgiving, a new variant emerging in South Africa was declared to be of concern as it is studied. It is has been named Omicron. Part of why Omicron is of concern is because of how many other mutations it produces. Watch the video below from the a South African epidemiologist, Salim Abdool Karim as he explains how Omicron works, as they know it so far.
Governor Hochul has declared a State of Emergency in New York State in preparation for Omicron to come to this state, which for the “surge and flex system” to go into effect, which can halt or limit non-essential or non-urgent hospital procedures.
Governor Hochul said: "The vaccine remains one of our greatest weapons in fighting the pandemic, and I encourage every New Yorker to get vaccinated, and get the booster if you're fully vaccinated."
The Tiny Self-Serve Food Pantry At The Beacon Rec Center Moved Around Back - Here's A Video To Find It
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The Tiny Food Pantry at the Beacon Recreaction Center has moved “around back”! The Recreation Center is located at 23 West Center Street, close to South Avenue Elementary and in the heart of where several neighborhoods intersect, including the new-ish South Avenue Park playground, Loopers Court (basketball court), and in the winter, a sledding hill.
This is the self-serve food pantry that anyone can put food into, and anyone can take what they need. This pantry takes non-perishables, refrigerated unopened food, and produce. You can contribute to it at any time, any hour. Pick your favorite foods that you would love, kids would love, and seniors would love (as their dietary needs change with age). Consider contributing toiletries like tampons, pads, and Depends. Those are pricey.
This self-serve food pantry very accessible to many neighborhoods and kids. Started and managed by Fareground, this food pantry now includes a community refrigerator. See several of Beacon’s food pantries and soup kitchens in ALBB’s Food Pantry and Soup Kitchens Guides. Includes directions on how to contribute and how to access when in need.
Holiday Wreaths Are Going Up! 2021 Version
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For the last few days, Beacon’s Highway Department has been out hanging the wreaths. Piled in the highway trucks, when not hauling leaf bags and tree debris from people’s homes left out on sidewalks, the crew has scheduled the days before Thanksgiving to hang the wreaths, just in time for the big opening day of shopping: the day after Thanksgiving.
Notice the new Municipal Parking sign pictured here (there are others now throughout the city), one of the recommendations of the Main Street Access Advisory Committee, and desire by many in the community for years. A new design was implemented as well.
🛍 Shopping and eating ideas are in A Little Beacon Blog’s Guides! Shops and Restaurants who want to promote specific events or products, consider starting your subscription advertising campaign with us this season! We love promoting you, readers love reading about you, and your support helps make it happen. 💕
Safe travels and/or happy cooking! Get boosted. Stay safe.
Beacon Trivia! The Highway Department employee pictured here, Edward McNair, is also a small business owner. With his wife Erika McNair, he co-owns InsideOut Infusion (concierge IV hydration and vitamins), OurtClothing.com, and The Virtue Brand clothing line.
Beacon Trivia! The new parking signs were designed by Beacon local Theresa Kraft, who is a designer with a background in product design and way finding signage. Theresa is an original member of the Main Street Access Advisory Committee since its inception in 2020
New Marker Dedicated For Tomb Of The Unknown Soldier At Madam Brett Homestead By Melzingah Chapter Of DAR
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Left to Right: NY State Vice Regent, Pamela Barrack; Melzingah Regent Joan Miskell; President General, NSDAR Denise VanBuren, Melzingah Vice Regent Ethel Fyffe.
Photo Credit: Melzingah Chapter of DAR
On November 18, the Melzingah Chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) held a Never Forget Garden Marker Dedication on the grounds of the Madam Brett Homestead.
VFW Post 666 Commander Harold Delamater and Marine Corps League Det 861 Adjutant Tony Pulliam were invited to participate in the ceremony.
The marker was received from the New York State DAR organization in honor of Denise VanBuren, President General and Melzingah Daughter. The marker is in recognition of the 100th Anniversary of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier; and is for all who visit the garden to express patriotism, with the noble purpose of remembering all whose lives were courageously given in service to the United States of America, both at home and abroad.
A permanent marker will be placed in the Spring of 2022.
PODCAST DROP! Beacon Bread Company, Ziatun and Tito's Restaurateur Kamel Jamal On Palestine's Future Liberation
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Way back in warmer times in Beacon (June 2021), we sat down with Kamel Jamal to talk about Palestine on ALBB’s sister podcast station, “Wait, What Is That?”
Even though I have known about Kamel for 10 years, I had not made moments to speak with him. Really speak with him. I knew his politics. I knew he fought back in social media. I knew he answered back to outlandish reviews. I knew he didn’t like the empanada guy at the Beacon Farmers Market. I knew he was a Palestinian refugee. I knew his wife Lena was lovely and quietly fierce, and that his sister Kate (who now goes by her Palestinian name, Khitam) was raw fierce and lovely.
And that’s it.
However. When 2020 happened, I started to come out of my shell. On all of my platforms. In different ways (different platforms have different audiences in different moods). I started reporting on Black Lives Matter protests in Beacon. I started researching questionable employment and disciplinary actions by the City of Beacon that might not be able to prove discrimination on paper, but continuously result in decisions that don’t add up. And who knew that writing about COVID safety and vaccination recommendations during a world-wide pandemic would be so gutsy.
Kamel and I started circling each other. Then residents in a neighborhood in Palestine called Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem protested the scheduled take-over or demolishing of their homes by Israeli forces in May 2021, resulting in a lop-sided exchange of bombs that resulted in dozens of Palestinians being killed (including children), as well as some Israeli citizens. Anyone dead is too many. Especially when defending their home. This, after decades of recently lived histories of horrific murders and attacks on both sides of the Israeli checkpoints, resulting in friends and family members lost from the entire region.
Brandon Lillard and I reached out to Kamel to see if he would be willing to speak to us on our podcast, where we could ask him all of our big and small questions. Kamel said yes. We also reached out to Rabbi Brent of the Beacon Hebrew Alliance to see if we could talk to him as well. He considered it, knowing it is delicate territory, and in the meantime, wrote this blog post. Soon after, Next Step Hudson Valley organized a Free Palestine march in Newburgh, which ALBB covered and wrote about here with videos.
Right around that time, Kamel reached out to me, as he wanted to be a sponsor of A Little Beacon Blog for 3 of his restaurants: Beacon Bread Company, Ziatun, and Tito Santana’s (WTF is the alter-ego of Beacon Bread, and serves as the cool friend next door who you sometimes see when they’re in the mood). This part was a coincidence, but did create the first time for Kamel and I to really talk over coffee. We were very honest with each other, which was as refreshing as the mint he uses in his watermelon salad.
Take a listen of this podcast episode. There was a moment where he was overcome with emotion, but you’ll probably not be able to find it. Both Brandon and I were very grateful to be sitting with Kamel, with him so accepting of our questions, as he earned to speak about his Palestine.
The Artists Behind The "Greetings From Beacon" Mural At Beacon Bread Company
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Many people in Beacon double as something else. The owner of Beacon Bread Company, Kamel Jamal, happens to be an extremely creative person, both visually and with phrases. He not only doubles the number of restaurants he creates, but enables others to share their talent as well.
It was no surprise when he commissioned one of his Beacon Bread staff, Shannon J. Ramos, to cover the side of the building he leases with an inviting and celebratory “Greetings From Beacon!” mural. Shannon is a muralist and tattoo artist from Poughkeepsie, who developed this design with her boyfriend and fellow artist, Sean who is from Wappingers Falls.
“We met through art,” said Sean. “She’d go to my art shows, and I’d go to her art shows. I love her art. I was in a grumpy mood this morning, but this changed me today. Being able to paint with her is so much fun.”
After 2 months of working for Beacon Bread as a server, Shannon and Sean began researching the design, and after looking at tons of postcards, went with this rainbow connection that “brings happiness,” Shannon said. Painting on the brick wasn’t so much of a challenge, she felt. Shannon used house paint for the hand/detail work, and Sean’s medium is spray painting.
“Murals are a lot of work” Shannon explained. “So it’s fun to have someone to balance off and bring different aspects of art to it. He’s good at spray paint. I’m good at hand-paint. It’s fun to play off each other.” Sean points out that they enjoy the interactive process of having passer-byers walk past to watch them paint. The flowers were left un-colored so that BEACON could stand out. The entire mural took about one day to complete.
Shannon is a full time restaurant server and artist. She has remained at Beacon Bread after starting there in the Spring of 2021, and was surprised to experience the creatively supportive vibe she got from the management. “I got the job, and then…you know…you want to be as available as possible for hours, but then I could only work certain days, and they were totally cool with that and wanted to make it work. It’s cool about them, as they are cool about flexible schedules, and having me do this mural and highlighting what I like to do.”
Follow Shannon at her Instagram.
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HUDSON VALLEY FOOD HALL
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Beacon Farmers Market To Stay Open Outside All Year - Bring Your Mittens, Kittens!
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Featured here: Happy Belly, at the Beacon Farmers Market.
The Beacon Farmers Market was one of the first to pivot hard when the business shutdown happened when COVID-19 was first discovered and declared a global pandemic. They quickly built a extremely robust but temporary well-serving website to connect devoted customers to vendors, and opened outside, withstanding the deep snowfall Beacon experienced last year.
This year, vendors agreed that they prefer to stick it out outside in the DMV parking lot, where there is more space, possibly better internet, and that small-scale live music that helps keep the market moving.
Managed by Common Ground Farm, the organization approached the City of Beacon to seek permission to operate outside year round. The parking lot is owned by Dutchess County, and leased by the City of Beacon. The City Council approved the extended occupation of the DMV parking lot in early November. Expect to shop the market outdoors all year!
The Shred Foundation, a skateboarding organization serving under-served youth which is Black founded, at the Beacon Farmers Market.
Diana Mae Flowers, a Beacon Farmers Market staple for creative bouquets.
Cooperstown Cheese Company at the Beacon Farmers Market.
Trax, a Beacon local coffee roasters with 3 locations in Beacon, also likes to serve it up at the Beacon Farmers Market.
Eggberts Free Range Farm, another Beacon Farmers Market staple and wonderful source for eggs, beef, lamb and pork.
Advocates for free New York Health Insurance, which would in theory be funded by a payroll tax on New Yorkers. Anna Brady Nuse started a Change.org petition for the cause, and has been pursuing Beacon’s Mayor Lee Kyriacou to show support for free New York Health Insurance by putting it on Beacon’s City Council Agenda, where the council can create and vote on a Resolution supporting it. So far the Mayor has not put it on the agenda.
Hop and Shop is BACK In Beacon For Holiday Shopping 2021! Details Here…
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Back for its 4th year of community supported shopping, Hop & Shop is thriving this year in its efforts to support businesses on Main Street during this holiday season. Produced by retail elves on Main Street who do this in addition to running their brick and mortars, Hop & Shop is two nights (Thursday and Friday, 12/2-3) of longer shopping hours in Beacon (recommended closing time is 9pm, which is late for Beacon), plus fun deals or specials to go along with it.
Businesses can sign up here, and shoppers can learn about specials after November 29th, when the holiday shopping season officially kicks into high gear. This will be a great activity after Thanksgiving in that Black Friday slide. For those interested in how this works, see their FAQ page.
Hop & Shop has been doing a fabulous job promoting participating shops on their Instagram, so you should follow along with them here. We have highlighted a few shops below that are either super-new, hard to find, or ones that you just must walk into. To see all of Beacon’s shops, visit ALBB’s Shopping and Restaurant Guides. Follow along with Hop & Shop for more, and see you out and about!
BERTE
500 Main St.
Berte is a curated home decor and lifestyle shop in Beacon, NY with a focus on emerging designers and makers who embody their playful, yet calming modern aesthetic. Passionate about “the hunt,” founder Aimée deSimone finds new pieces and brands wherever they emerge – whether that’s abroad or closer to home in New York’s Hudson Valley. She takes great pride in their collaborative relationship with makers (mostly female and BIPOC), who share our commitment to sustainability, equity, and design.
TIP: Look for their “wall necklaces” if they still have them.
INGLEWOOD MARKETPLACE
17 E Main St.
Established in 2015, Inglenook Marketplace is a home goods, general goods, and candle making brand. They are purveyors of local, fine & sustainable products. They specialize in eco-friendly options, including their very own refillery inside of our Beacon location. You can fill up on Laundry Soap, Body Wash, Shampoo, Dryer Balls, and you can even refill your used Inglenook Marketplace candle!
TIP: We tried the grapefruit dish soap, and love it!
WANDERLUX
473 Main St. Suite 2
Wanderlux style provides an exclusive, accessible, and sustainable short term rental (or option of purchase) experience of luxury fashion, shoes, and accessories for both men and women. Luxury items without the hefty price tag, closet space, dry cleaning costs, and waste.
TIP: Located where Cold Fit Cryotheraphy used to be, behind the architects storefront office near Wonderbar.
SILICA STUDIO
428 Main St.
Silica Studio is a very new and very interactive type of business in Beacon. Take a Pottery Class and learn to make your own piece on the wheel or hand build it yourself with instruction by a skilled potter. Great for date nights or family/friend bonding! Also discover some beautifully unique works of art by local artisans in the front of house mini gallery! Silica Studio is a place to access creativity and fun for all!!
TIP: Can’t wait to try this.
HUNCA MUNCAS
145 Main St.
For lovers of nature, craft, magic and play. Handmade, sustainable & ethically manufactured gifts for children and the home.
TIP: If you were looking for cloth rabbit dolls and looks of a very sweet nature, this is your spot.
Graffiti Sprayed Onto New Building - 249 Main Street - Tagged With Words, Not Art
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This photo was taken 1 week after the graffiti was covered up with paper by a person who wanted to remain anonymous, but wanted to make the vandalism less glaring.
One of the new apartment buildings in Beacon - 249 Main Street - was tagged last weekend. The words “Go Home” were spray painted in white over the building and windows. A person who wished to remain anonymous covered up the graffiti with white paper one day after the incident happened. A Little Beacon Blog has reached out to the Beacon Police and to the realtor who represents the property, The Gate House Team at Compass (formerly Gate House Realty), to inquire if the incident had been reported to the police, and if so, if security cameras on Main Street or neighboring businesses had been used to find who did the spray painting. Neither have responded. Baxter built the property.
This is not the first time buildings have been tagged in Beacon by menacing individuals. Last year in January 2020, a handful of businesses were tagged. In that case, 3 New Windsor men and 1 man from Newburgh were taken into custody and charged in relation to vandalism, as reported by the Poughkeepsie Journal, who identified the men after the City of Beacon Police Department shared the information.
Some of the art you see around Beacon on the sides of buildings is a result of covering up unwanted graffiti. Removing the paint is very difficult.
The intent of the message is not clear. Beacon’s real estate has been hot for a while, and is currently pricing out many locals who live here who need to stay in rental units, or want to move from rental units into property they purchase. Some Beaconites are selling directly to each other, and not listing their homes, in order to avoid bidding wars and do their friends a favor to keep their friends in Beacon. One the other hand, some Beaconites are setting the prices very high on their homes, hoping to get cash offers.
Beacon’s Mayor Lee Kyriacou has been resisting the City Council’s push to sign into law the Good Cause Eviction Law, as neighboring towns have, including Newburgh, Poughkeepsie, and Kingston. During the first meeting the City Council had to discuss Good Cause Eviction Law, Beacon’s attorney Nick Ward-Willis of Keane and Beane rushed to silence the discussion and move it to Executive Session, which is when the City Council, Mayor and City Administrator can discuss things in private from the public.
Since then, Councilperson Dan Aymar-Blair has presented a proposal to accept Good Cause Eviction Law, which has the support of many in the public who continuously show up to City Council meetings to voice their support. Mayor Kyriacou, who is a landlord, continues to not support it, saying he defers to the city’s attorney, who is not recommending the law, stating that New York State guidance is needed. However, New York State’s Attorney General Letitia James just stated she supports the law.
Said Letitia in a filmed speech shared with City Limits: “I step before you as someone who was once in poverty…who was once evicted. And so paying the rent — yeah rent is too damn high. So we’ve gotta talk about rent and housing and all the issues that we care about. Yes, we need to pass Good Cause Eviction.”
Airbnb is also a factor in Beacon’s real estate economy. While it is good for some house owners and apartment renters who offer it, it is taking long term rental units and houses off the market. While Beaconites who rent out on Airbnb were deathly afraid of Beacon’s then Building Inspector, Tim Dexter, enforcing code requirements on them and shutting them down under then Mayor Randy Casale’s administration, Beaconites have nothing to fear now. Tim Dexter has since retired, replaced by his then assistant, David Buckley. Under Mayor Kyriacou’s administration, the current Building Inspector took a very different approach to code interpretation, and removed the road-block of fire-safety egress windows or ceiling sprinklers in his interpretation to make offering Airbnb more affordable for homeowners who did not want to invest in such safety features.
Further, Beacon’s City Administrator Chris White says that he spoke with David Buckley, and the two discussed how the Airbnb regulation Beacon passed years ago is unenforceable. There seems to be little desire at the administration level to begin enforcement.
If any such enforcement has happened that you would like to share with ALBB, please do so by contacting us.
One week later, the white paper covering the graffiti is still up on the apartment building, albeit ripped and blowing in the wind. Sadly, the graffiti was done at the building’s “promotional” window, that encourages a passer-byer to “tag” the realtor with a selfie photo.
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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.