Ready for you!! 🍓🍓🍓💅🏼
Strawberry Festival is on. 12-5pm at Pete and Toshi Seeger Riverfront Park. ALBB is face painting kids and adults. Discounts for Beacon kids in the district (homeschool and private school included). Also pictured is dear Joyce who hyjacked Katie to make sure we got to our spot. We are between Faregound and Common Ground Farm and near the strawberry shortcake table! For easy line representation. See you soon.
ALBB is Face Painting Sunday at the Beacon Sloop Club’s Strawberry Festival!
🍓🍓🍓
This will be our first of the season.
Come down and see us! It’s at the Pete and Toshi Seeger Riverfront Park from 12-5pm.
The face painting chair is magical.
Sometimes the kids take a nap 😴
Adults too.
Available for Birthday Parties and Events also.
Cash, Cards and Apple Pay accepted.
See you soon!
☁️💗 SCOOP! Beacon’s maybe first slime shop is prepping to be open this Saturday. Located in the Little White House we blogged about earlier, Up In The Clouds Beacon from Tina and Mike Lentini is putting the finishing clouds on the walls and windows. It will be like Toppings but with slime and don’t eat it :)
Last week ALBB reported that the Mexican food eatery, Dulce Cielo MX, located inside of the Hudson Valley Food Hall, was going to be temporarily closing while they looked for a new location.
You’ll still recognize a friendly face of one of her employees who has been absorbed by fellow food-stall neighbor, Trina Mazumder of the Bangledeshi/Sri Lankan Tara Fusion in the meantime.
Like the Tinkerbell story, think good thoughts and keep clapping.
After waiting to see what would happen after the June 4th deadline of the first round of layoffs at Rite Aid corporate, it has been determined that the Rite Aid in Beacon will close in July. Rite Aid declared bankruptcy twice after losing in court settlements demanded from the opioid crisis. The FingerLakes1 has confirmed that Beacon’s location is on the closing list.
Customers with prescriptions are encouraged to act now to transfer them. The independent and locally owned pharmacy across the street, Beacon Wellness, has been accepting Rite Aid transfers. Vogel Pharmacy, who used to be in Beacon next to what used to be Homespun but moved to Wappingers across from the stadium, is also accepting prescription transfers.
The liquidation sale in Beacon might start June 12th. The shelves are more stocked than usual because the corporate warehouses needed to empty out. Beacon’s Rite Aid doesn’t yet know if their sale will be 50% or 75% off. It’s a good time to wait to buy hair care products, makeup and sun screen until the sale starts.
The Rite Aid in Wappingers on Rte 9 has a small poster outside that reads 50% off in hand-written black Sharpie.
It is not known yet what will happen with the building property.
Rose Story, former and long-time chair of the Spirit of Beacon Day, told A Little Beacon Blog readers that she wants the Beacon Police to sit up in the cemetery driveway on Washington Avenue like they used to, she said.
Traffic safety and slow-down mechanisms are underway from recommendations from the Traffic and Safety Committee, which are in front of the City Council now and include the completion of a 4-way stop at Washington Avenue and Tillot Street.
In his presentation to the City Council in May, Ben Swanson, Secretary to the Committee said that there have been several requests for Stop signs along Washington Avenue. A Stop sign was discussed at Grove Street, but ultimately Tillot Street was decided upon. “Tillot Street was eventually the preferred option by the Committee because it is a primary school crossing area there's nearby bus stops. It's kind of where the character of the neighborhoods are changing along Washington Avenue becoming more dense residential, so it's kind of seen as a safety improvement to add the Stop signs to make this a four-way stop,” Ben said.
A Public Hearing is set for this stop sign addition, where the public can come to Town Hall or call in to voice their opinion.
People can submit traffic requests to Beacon’s Traffic and Safety Committee.
A little while back, a search was on for a lawnmower repair person in ALBB’s “Lawn Services” section of the Business Directory. Verplanck Auto recommended three sources in Newburgh, and a local person in Beacon who had a sign on Washington Avenue near the cemetery. Being a fan of yard signs as effective and endearing marketing, we opted to find the person on Washington Avenue.
Having memories of that sign, it was nowhere to be found. So a video was made to put out to seek such person. A Beacon community member named Melissa wrote in to say that Joe had passed in December 2024, and was a positive person. According to his obituary, he was 63 and passed away peacefully at home. He went to Beacon schools and was married to Kathy J. Grove, who survives him. His parents are Stella (Knapp) Heady and the late Richard W. Heady Sr..
Expressed in his obituary: “Joe enjoyed life; he enjoyed being outdoors and the company of his friends & family. He will be greatly missed.”
The City of Beacon has announced their annual free trashing dumping is open now through the 3rd week of September for residents up to 250 pounds.
In a Facebook post, they wrote: “The City's annual free bulk garbage program is open for the summer season once again. Residents who are up-to-date on their taxes are eligible to bring up to 250 pounds of bulk garbage over the course of the summer to the City's Transfer Station (until the third Saturday in September). The Facility is open between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.”
The Transfer Station is located at 90 Dennings Avenue.
Tonight’s 6/2/2025 City Council Meeting is open to the public, in that the public can come to speak on any topic for up to 3 minutes at the beginning and end of the meeting. Meeting begins at 7pm and is at Town Hall. The agenda has been republished to ALBB here.
Tonight’s meeting consists of 3 Public Hearings concerning the following. A Public Hearing means that the City Council needs to hear from the public on this specific subject before voting on proposed legislation.
Accessory Apartment Requirements, to make those easier to apply for and build.
Drought Emergency Plan.
Loitering Law with Marijuana removed from it in order to match New York State’s law (ALBB wrote on that here).
Five laws are up for vote:
2026-2030 Capital Program Proposal (a vote to pass this budget on major purchases and infrastructure upgrades).
Traffic and Parking (ALBB wrote on that here)
Appointing Justine Bienkowski to the Tree Advisory Committee
Appointing Brian Donnelly to the Tree Advisory Committee
Self-Storage Facilities and Warehouse Storage Changes to law to address how they would not front on the street (must be set back). This is a reversal to an earlier proposed full out ban.
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In a detailed set of Track Changes, the Beacon’s City Council at its 5/19/2025 Meeting agreed to set a Public Hearing to possibly Accept the proposed change in Beacon’s Loitering law in order to match New York State’s legality of marijuana and cannabis use in public spaces of streets and sidewalks, but not city parks, which Beacon has made such usage location illegal (listen to ALBB’s podcast episode about that law). Streets and sidewalks, however, the City of Beacon is proposing to deem legal in order to match New York State’s law.
The City’s Attorney Nick Ward-Willis explained: “The City's current loitering law says that if one is using marijuana, then they are deemed to be loitering. This would remove that from your from your law. Marijuana or cannabis use is permitted except where prohibited. So it can't be used in the city's parks, but it can be used in other public ways such as the road or the sidewalks. And that's permitted by New York State, so this makes the City's loitering law consistent with New York State law.”
The Public Hearing is set for the June 2nd City Council Meeting.
Beacon’s Parking and Traffic Safety Committee made the following recommendations during this week’s City Council Workshop meeting, which was presented by Ben Swanson, who serves as the Secretary for the Committee and is the Assistant to the Mayor’s Office. There will be a Public Hearing scheduled to hear from the public before these modifications are voted upon.
A resident requested that the single parking spot on the East side of North Chestnut be eliminated. Councilperson Paloma Wake asked who brought this parking issue to the attention of the Traffic and Parking Safety Committee. Ben answered: "Someone who said that they use that intersection often in their travels." Ben added that there is a "related issue about the the mechanics [Verplanck Auto], whether or not they're allowed to be parking full up; filling up their little lot there on the corner. That's kind of a separate tangential issue," Ben said.
Both sides of the street are no-parking zones 50 feet from the intersection of Verplanck. The new no-parking spot would extend the East side to be 80 feet from Verplanck, and no cars would be between the house's driveway and Verplanck. The rest of Chestnut would remain having on-street parking.
A Little Beacon Blog asked Verplanck Auto if they were aware of any on-street parking issues, and they said that they were not. They agreed that the reduction of that single parking space would be a good idea, as turning into North Chestnut is difficult.
Beacon’s Fire Chief Thomas Lucchesi requested that the on-street parking on the tiny triangle at Willow Street and Verplanck be eliminated, as firetrucks need to get through. Ben explained that Willow Street is being used as the Fire Department’s “primary access route, rather than going further along Main Street than they have to.” The fire trucks come up from the new station, turn down Willow Street and go back into the surrounding neighborhoods.
Currently, there is a driveway there, and the on-street parking. During Sunday church-time, this area gets particularly crowded. When cars are parked there normally, they can become easy targets to be hit by people cutting right instead of taking the 90 degree right turn onto Verplanck from Willow Street.
Ben stated: “Verplanck and Willow Street at that intersection itself would be a very tight turn for a fire apparatus to make that turn. That access-road is really pretty crucial to their their access.”
Fire Chief Thomas also requested that no parking be along both sides of Willow Street for specified distances. For the West side of the street, the distance would be 65 feet, and from the East side of the street, the distance would be 90 feet.
Councilperson Paloma Wake stressed her concern for loading zones for businesses along Main Street. Turning onto Willow Street when trucks are parked on both sides of the street can be difficult, and during high traffic time between 3-5pm, a car can get stuck between them, therefore needing to alternate the oncoming cars. Trucks also do park further down into the middle of Willow Street to walk their loads down.
The proposal is to put Stop signs in both directions of travel on Washington Avenue at the intersection of Tillot Street, making the intersection a 4-way stop. Currently, there are Stop signs in both directions on Tillot Street.
Ben explained that there have been several requests for Stop signs along Washington Avenue. A Stop sign was discussed at Grove Street, but ultimately Tillot Street was decided upon. “Tillot Street was eventually the preferred option by the Committee because it is a primary school crossing area there's nearby bus stops. It's kind of where the character of the neighborhoods are changing along Washington Avenue becoming more dense residential, so it's kind of seen as a safety improvement to add the Stop signs to make this a four-way stop,” Ben said.
A Public Hearing will be scheduled so that the public can come in or call in with their opinions before the City Council votes on these changes.
As yard-work picks up this spring season, some people have been putting tall grasses (ahem), tree branches, and other brush from the yard into their trash cans. Royal Carting has confirmed that they will not pick up such leafy yard waste if placed into the can, as it can become uncontained when going into the truck.
If your garbage can was skipped for this reason, Royal Carting advises to remove the yard waste, and then call them for a pickup or wait until the following week. The number to call is on the trash can, and is 845-896-6000.
If lawn bags are not in your budget at this time, you can use brown paper grocery bags from Key Food or whoever is using brown paper bags. Put those out on the sidewalk like you normally do for the City of Beacon to pick up. If you have lots of tree branches, or even small bags of yard waste, you can call the Beacon Highway Department to be added for their list of pickups. Despite the trucks driving all over, they might be on a mission for something else and cannot stop to pickup yard-work bags unscheduled.
Pictured in the yellow square is the floating doc at Beacon’s doci. The white box next to it is a boat tied to it.
Photo Credit: Jen BEnson, Communications Director of Hudson River Sloop Clearwater.
The Clearwater when it is docked in Beacon at the floating doc, which was removed around March 10, 2025 after sustaining damage.
Photo Credit: Poughkeepsie Journal/Patrick Oehler
Ferry users are not the only ones impacted by the disappearance of the floating dock announced two months ago that attaches to Beacon’s dock on the Hudson River. Clearwater, an organization started in 1960 by Pete and Toshi Seeger to educate people about the environmental importance of the Hudson River who has served more than half a million people tells ALBB that they have had to move for the foreseeable future. “Loss of docking in Beacon is significant for Clearwater,” the Executive Director, David Toman, told A Little Beacon Blog., when asked if this decommission affects them ”Beacon has been the home of our office for decades, and where our founders, Pete and Toshi Seeger long called home.”
The clearwater with a class on it.
Photo Credit: Hudson River Sloop Clearwater)
Clearwater’s land office is near Mount Beacon on Wolcott Avenue. Their ship “office” docks in Beacon and provides educational and experiential programming to schools, youth and adults. But they’ve since moved to Cold Spring after the floating dock was removed.
“Sailing from Beacon serves a critical need for many schools and the local community,” Executive Director, David continued. “While we've relocated our sails for the foreseeable future and our Youth Empowerment programs to Cold Spring, we hope the city and MTA can expedite the replacement dock to meet this need in addition to returning ferry service from Newburgh."
Programming from Clearwater includes The Sailing Classroom, Onboard Volunteer, Climate Change at Clearwater, Tideline Program, and In-School Programs.
The clearwater with a class on it.
Photo Credit: Hudson River Sloop Clearwater)
No estimate for repair and restoration of the floating doc at Beacon’s ferry landing has been given by Beacon’s City Administrator, Chris White during City Council Meetings. The MTA has given no estimate to A Little Beacon Blog when asked. They so far have only answered about alternate bus service they have provided to riders of the ferry.
According to former Beacon Mayor Randy Casale, the MTA pays for and maintains the floating doc. “The floating dock was the only dock in Beacon that was safely accessible for our sloop,” Clearwater’s Communication Director Jen Benson told A Little Beacon Blog.
In her email signature, Jen reminds people that the Hudson River is on Munsee Lenape Land. It also had other names before being taken over by white colonialists. “The Hudson River runs through the Munsee, Lenape, Mohican, Mohawk, and Haudenosaunee homelands. Prior to European exploration, the river was known as the Mahicannittuk by the Mohicans, Ka'nón:no by the Mohawks, and Muhheakantuck by the Lenape.”
So far, no one knows for how long it will remain decommissioned.
The City's Annual Memorial Day Remembrance and Ceremony is on Monday, May 26th as posted on the City of Beacon’s Facebook. It is outdoors, and is open to the public. The day usually includes a Remembrance at the East Main Street Bridge, followed by a Ceremony at the Memorial Building with the Veterans.
If you have not been inside of the Memorial Building yet, ALBB went on a guided tour in November 2024 after major renovations were completed by the Veterans, including their new kitchen, bathroom, and new offices with Guardian Revival, who also built out and operates a podcasting studio inside. Click here to read the article and see pictures. Programming at the Memorial Building is quite busy.
9:15am: East Main Street Bridge
The Memorial Day Remembrance
11am-11:45am: Memorial Building
The Memorial Day Ceremony will be held at the Memorial Building.
12pm: Unveiling of New Historic Marker
The Ceremony will be followed by the unveiling of the new historic marker alongside the Memorial Building.
Photo Credits: Katie Hellmuth
Sponsored by Antalek and Moore Insurance Agency.
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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.
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