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Loading in now is the Palestine Bake Sale from @angryasianwomxn @butihatepepperoni ; and the final episode of the Peekskill Riots (!!) from @jonscottbennett at @beaconlibrary
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Big Goal for 2026 is to get this Things To Do In Beacon Newsletter to you by Friday afternoons. Bigger Goal is to learn to dance as good as this girl.
Members of A Little Beacon's Blog Squad get deep discounts on Event Promotion, so consider starting your membership. ALBB has been hard at work designing our Media Kit, which will be dropping soon with new offerings and prices.
Mountain Stream Budo 340 Main Street, Beacon NY KOBUDO CLASSES Mondays 6pm Wednesdays 5pm Saturdays 12pm
Some of the female students pose with their weapons! Over the course of training, students will learn to use 12 different primary weapons and a number of secondary weapons, all of which are derived from authentic Okinawan farming and fishing tools.
Come in and try a class any time! Learn More >
Boat America: Learn From The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary: Part of Requirements of Certificate Day: Saturday, April 18th Time: 9am-5:30pm Location:Fishkill Police Department offices at 801 NY-52, Fishkill, NY 12524The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary’s Verplanck Flotilla will host a "Boat America" Responsible Boating Course. This is the course that is necessary to obtain your State of New York Boating Safety Certificate. Starting in 2025, this Certificate is necessary for anybody to operate on the waterways of New York. Learn More >
Mountain Stream Budo 340 Main Street, Beacon NY
Li’l Dragons Karate class (ages 4-6) meets 3 times per week: Tuesdays and Fridays 5pm Thursdays 5:30pm.
Email Noah at info@MountainStreamBudo for more info and to schedule your free trial class! Learn More >
Features from our Sponsors. Is your business on the menu?
CARTER'S RESTAURANT 424 Main Street, Beacon NY
It's been a day. Enjoy the 🍸 Espresso Martini at Carter’s. Smooth. Bold. Perfectly crafted. Their signature Espresso Martini is made with rich, authentic Lavazza espresso, delivering the perfect balance of deep coffee flavor and silky cocktail smoothness. Catering and Private Parties available. Call: 845-743-6527 Instagram > Carter's is a Sponsor!
HUDSON VALLEY FOOD HALL 288 Main Street, Beacon NY
Did you know that Five Penny's makes over 140 flavors of ice cream? All made on premises at the Hudson Valley Food Hall, with love ❤🍨
BAGEL-ISH
226 Main Street, Beacon NY
Bagel-ish is open on Easter! Place pre-orders by Friday noon. Be a bunny and hop onto this task. Instagram > Bagel-ish is a Sponsor!
FAREGROUND'S
FREE COMMUNITY DINNER
50 Liberty Street, Beacon NY
Take out only this week! Please bring your own containers, if you can!
🥘Every Friday, Fareground's Welcome Table offers a Free Community Dinner from 5:30-7pm. All are welcome. Please share with anyone who might like to attend. Say the organizers: "Let’s come together to share food and community! Special thanks to Second Chance Foods for the ingredients!!" Want to help out?
✅ Sign up to volunteer fareground.org/volunteer or link in bio.
✅ Donate at fareground.org/donate or link in bio.
✅ Donate ingredients!
✅ Bring a friend or neighbor. Instagram >
Single purchases of Event Promotions are available, starting at $60/listing. Membership for Deep Discounts on event listings are available.
Lit Lit at the Howland Cultural Center
Day: Every 1st Friday Time: 6:30pm Sign Up if want to read; 7pm event begins Location: 477 Main St, Beacon, NY 12508
A monthly literary open mic series. Hosted by Donna Minkowitz. Donna says: “Folks are welcome to read their own writing of any genre, of up to five minutes in length. If you’d like to read, please arrive by 6:30 to sign up at the Howland Cultural Center. Or just, and listen :-) The Howland asks that everyone donate $5 to help keep the lights on, more if you can, less if you can’t. Soft drinks, beer and wine, and snacks are also available. Come hang out and be with your Lit Lit family!” Sign Up To Read >
Free Shopping: Pop-Up Prom Attire At Beacon’s Howland Public Library Day: April 4th, 11th and 12th. Time: 12-4pm Details: Nearly-New, Gently-Used Party Attire Location: Howland Public Library, 313 Main Street, Beacon, NY
The Beacon Library confirms that this is for local students from schools in any area! Bring a friend. More Details >
Discount Tree Sale Extended Through Weekend Day: Now
The City of Beacon has extended their discount tree sale through the weekend. Only a few trees left! Find Out More >
Seasonal Kayak Lottery Open For Docking At Long Dock Park, Via Scenic Hudson Day: Now till April 19th
Scenic Hudson has announced their annual lottery for keeping kayak’s at Long Dock Park has opened. Details in this article. Find Out More >
75th Anniversary Olga Galloway Scholarship Luncheon
from Les Soers Amiables Civic Club Inc. Day: Saturday, April 25th, 2026 Time: 12pm-4pm Price: $80 Deadline: April 20th for tickets to attend; April 11th for Advertising Location: Anthony’s Restaurant & Catering
799 NY-82 Hopewell Junction, NY 12533 HONOREES:
Lastar Gorton: “Crowned In Courage Award”
Lavonne McNair: “Beulah Jackson Education Award”
Tara Simmons: “Legacy of Prayer and Purpose Award”
Reverend Dr. Anesta Vannoy: Olga Galloway President’s Award KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Jessica Turner MISTRESS OF CEREMONIES
Kenya Gadsen Tickets > Cash, Check, Money Order to PO Box 697, Beacon, NY 12508 or Zell. Call Maryilyn Cooper, Chairperson, 845-559-4424
City of Beacon’s Earth Day Cleanup and Earth Day Fair Day: Saturday, April 18th 2026 Time: 9am-12pm: A CITY-WIDE SWEEP OF BEACON
From the organizers: “Team up with friends and neighbors to do some Beacon spring cleaning. Help us clean for 30 minutes or few hours. Many hands make light work. Work gloves, boots, long pants and sleeves recommended. Garbage bags and buckets will be provided. Time: 12:00pm - 3pm : Hudson Valley Brewery - Earth Day Fair Earth Day Fair: “Come to celebrate our city and connect with local organizations & neighbors. One free drink ticket will be provided to volunteers 21+. Non alcohol beverages also available.”
Upon Registering, you will be able to select an area of Beacon to show up in. Registration >
Breaking Bread: Cold Spring Farmer’s Market Annual Gala Day: Tuesday, April 21st, 2026 Time: 5:30pm Check-in; 6pm Start; 10pm Ends Location: Garrison Institute
In collaboration with the Garrison Institute, the Cold Spring Farmer’s Market is hosting their Community Dinner. Featuring some their amazing vendors products (like Eggbert’s Free Range Farms and All You Knead) and foods. Catered by Fresh Company, there also will be a couple of talks about local agriculture and grains! It will be a great event showcasing agricultural practices in the HV! Tickets >
Beacon Litfest (side event) Day: Friday, April 24th, 2026 Time: 7-9:30pm Location: Denning's Point Distillery 10 N Chestnut, Beacon
For those of you who had a blast at last year's amazing 90s Dance Party, we've got more excitement coming in 2026. Felix Hernandez, radio personality and executive producer of live music series for NPR (you've heard him for years on WBGO) AND the legendary Rhythm Revue dance parties at Roseland Ballroom, NYC, will be our DJ for the night! Tickets >
Beacon Litfest (Main Event) EARLY BIRD PASS available until April 1st. Day: June 12th-14th, 2026 (Friday - Sunday) Time: TBA Location: Multiple venues throughout Beacon, NY
Big Literary Voices. Small Town Vibes (c)
Enjoy major award-winning poets and writers, immersive performances, mixers, book signings, special VIP experience, and more!
We are thrilled with this year's line-up! Find out more at beaconlitfest.org Tickets >
Free Breakfast Program Day: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays Time: 6:30am-8:30am Location: 12 Hanna Lane, Beacon, NY 12508
They have a Wish List of food items! If you're in the mood to donate, find the list here. Information >
FRIDAYS: Fareground's Free Community Dinner Day/Time: Fridays, 5:30pm-7:30pm Location: First Presbyterian, 50 Liberty Street, Beacon, NY 12508 Information > Volunteer > Donate >
The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla from Verplanck, NY will host a "Boat America" Responsible Boating Course on Saturday, April,18, 2026, from 9am - 5:30pm in the Community Room in the Fishkill Police Department offices at 801 NY-52, Fishkill, NY 12524
This is the course that is necessary to obtain your State of New York Boating Safety Certificate. Starting in 2025, this Certificate is necessary for anybody to operate on the waterways of New York.
Coast Guard Auxiliarists teach the course. The session will cover the rules of navigating, equipment use, boating emergency management, environmentally friendly boating and water safety for all ages.
Registration costs $45 per person. Children under 17 can attend for free when accompanied by a paying adult.
Scenic Hudson has announced their annual lottery for keeping kayak’s at Long Dock Park has opened. They say via press release:
“The Hudson River paddling season is beginning soon, and Scenic Hudson is pleased to reopen the kayak storage pavilion at Scenic Hudson's Long Dock Park in Beacon. Storage slips for 32 boats will be available from May 9 to October 31. The 2026 seasonal fee is $225.
“NOTE: Due to the limited number of available storage slots, filling out the form will enter your information into our lottery system. We can't guarantee you'll be selected from the lottery, but we're rooting for you!”
If your name is selected from the lottery, you will receive an email notice from Scenic Hudson with additional instructions by Wednesday, April 22.
Please direction questions to Scenic Hudson Parks Team at parks@scenichudson.org.
The City of Beacon has announced that they have a few trees left and are extended the Discount Sale through the weekend. “We would love for them to find a backyard here in Beacon.”
Tree Species Still Available:
Sweet Gum
A sweetgum tree (Liquidambar styraciflua) is a tall tree, typically reaching 60–100 feet at maturity, known for its star-shaped leaves that turn vibrant red, orange, yellow, and purple in fall. It has ridged bark and produces spiky, round seed pods. It is native to the eastern and southeastern United States, extending into parts of Mexico and Central America, and is especially valued for its striking autumn color.
Eastern Red Maple
An eastern red maple (Acer rubrum) is a medium to tall tree, typically reaching 40–70 feet at maturity, known for its three- to five-lobed leaves that turn brilliant red (and sometimes orange or yellow) in the fall. It has smooth gray bark when young that becomes darker and slightly furrowed with age, and produces small red flowers and winged seeds in early spring. It is native to the eastern United States and parts of Canada, and is especially valued for its striking autumn color.
White Oak
A white oak (Quercus alba) is a large, long-lived tree, typically reaching 60–100 feet at maturity, known for its rounded-lobed leaves that turn shades of red to burgundy in the fall. It has light gray, scaly bark and produces acorns that are an important food source for wildlife. It is native to the eastern and central United States, and is especially valued for its strength, durability, and classic form, as well as its attractive autumn color.
Firefighter putting out the fire in the container truck at Hudson Baylor Recycling Thursday. Photo Credit: Beacon Professional Firefighters Facebook Page, possibly Robert Reynolds.
Late rainy morning Thursday, a fire started inside of a container truck holding rejected recycling materials at Hudson Baylor Recycling at 508 Fishkill Avenue (Rte. 52), which is past the car wash, Groveville apartment community and Beacon Lofts.
According to a person familiar with the situation, a person saw the fire and called to alert the fire department. According to the Beacon Professional Firefighters who posted on their Facebook page: “Beacon Fire units are operating at a tractor trailer full of trash on fire at Hudson Baylor Recycling. Castle Point Professional Firefighters requested to the scene with an engine. A 10-35 has been transmitted calling back all off duty personnel. Fishkill Fire Department requested to standby in the City with an engine.”
The sign for Hudson Baylor Recycling on FIshkill Ave. / Rte 52 Photo Credit: Katie Hellmuth
The person familiar with the situation said that it is not common for a truck full of trash to catch fire, and that a cause has not been released yet. However, the cause could have come from inside of the truck, such as discarded batteries that combusted, or some other reason. The person familiar with today’s fire said that the incident was minor and uncommon for them.
Is A Truck Full Of Trash Normal At The Recycling Center?
The rejected recycling material is a normal process of the recycling center, which does sort through items placed into the recycling cans of homes and businesses that are picked up by Royal Carting (now owned by Casela) and taken to this recycling center.
If something is not “clean” enough to be put through the recycling center, such as soggy cardboard, or plastic containers covered in peanut butter, it is removed from the recycling collection and discarded into the regular trash. That trash is put into a container truck, like this one that caught on fire, and driven up to the burn plant.
Items that don’t qualify as recycling, which can be referred to as “dirty” can “contaminate” an entire collection of recycling. During a recycling presentation to City Council on August 27, 2018, Steve Hastings of Republic Services explained the economics of recycling during a crash in that market, and stressed, “When in doubt, throw it out.”
Beacon local, but contemporary art work notable, David Ross made the front page of the New York Times on Saturday, March 28th, 2026, after first appearing in their digital story about the article in the newspaper’s Instagram on March 24th. In that article, A Little Beacon Blog was alluded to, but not named, as a source that penetrated him possibly more than the fallout from art world he may be experiencing, after resigning from his position from School of Visual Arts (SVA) in Manhattan.
A Little Beacon Blog had emailed him about his board positions on the local golf course, the 9-hole Southern Dutchess Country Club, as well as his board position on Beacon’s Board of Assessment Review, a property tax board that property owners can appeal to if they feel their properties have been assessed to high, and they want it lowered and them paid a refund.
While David never did respond to those questions, his wife, the former Beacon City Councilmember, Peggy Ross, asked out loud, presumably at their kitchen table or maybe on the phone between them, “What does the golf course have to do with anything?” Her question was printed in the New York Times after David decided to respond to ALBB’s questions in that national newspaper.
Notable in that digital article was the video of David baking muffins in his kitchen, from the POV of the New York Times photographer who was standing outside in the dark filming the video, as he tried to portray himself as a person impacted by the Epstein Files, which had made it all the way to his home. Read more about his response here.
But in Saturday’s edition, there was a different photo. A photo that took up an entire interior Page A11, the coveted “National” section of the paper - of David walking in the sun on some pavement, presumably on his nature walk, reflecting on this unfortunate turn of events. The photo was an aerial shot from a drone flying above his head. Cementing the local public’s suspicion that this entire piece was a publicity stunt that he collaborated with the New York Times on.
Arvind Dilawar, an independent journalist who has written for ALBB and the New York Times, Vice, Dropsite, and other publications, wrote in to ALBB: “Just read about the NYT snubbing ALBB in their Epstein apologia. NYT bends over backwards for pieces of shit. Always have. They did something similar for Hitler, believe it or not.”
ALBB’s first response was: “Good God, man. Front page of the New York Times? With additional drone footage of his favorite nature walk? After the scathing reviews by the readers of the New York Times who Commented that his sympathy story was rejected? Please somebody take the Internet away from this man and his wife.”
The Internet in Beacon responded via Comments at ALBB’s Instagram: @restless_gif: "What does the golf course have to do with anything?" is very Epstein Class.
@amberinthesky187: "The New York Times is actually disgusting"
@beatrice.vandijk: "They should have corrected "community blogger" to "local independent journalist"
@decaffeinatedpapi: "Far, far too soft of a piece. My god. The man hung out with monsters. He should be stripped of everything he has “earned”."
@laurenruyle: "Yet no mention of the sickening email thread where he called JE’s idea for an art show called “Statutory” featuring minors and showing how easy it would be for them to tempt adults a brilliant idea. Horrible"
bryanne_af: "This piece is insane. We saw what he wrote. He indulged Epstein’s pedophilic fantasies very specifically in the emails in an effort to get money. The ends do not always justify the means. We don’t want someone with that type of poor judgement and weak morality in any position of leadership or authority."
On Monday, March 30th at 3:21pm, the City of Beacon announced via Facebook with a photo that the City of Beacon Water Filtration Plant on Liberty Street had “experienced a leak into the Fishkill Creek of Aluminum Sulfate (or ‘Alum’), which is a coagulant used in the water filtration process.” The photo that they shared showed the water just downstream of the Groveville Hydroelectric Dam, where there are several residential apartments. While Comments were open at first, the City of Beacon shut Comments down shortly after posting the announcement.
The City of Beacon did not robo-call residents to alert them of this leak, which did cause the water in the Fishkill Creek to “appear milky,” their announcement described. The City did not mention the drinking water status, but did state that “there is no threat to human health and safety, and a full review will be done to understand better how the chemical made its way into the Creek.”
In their announcement, the City of Beacon also stated that “the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has been working with our staff to confirm that the leak has stopped and monitor the Fishkill Creek for fish impacts.”
Trout season officially opens Wednesday, April 1st. Two sets of yearling trout were stocked into the Fishkill Creek the 3rd week of March: 360 Brown Trout (9"-10") and 40 Brown Trout (12"-15"), according to the Department of Environmental Conservation.
The librarian of South Avenue Elementary School, Mr. Aaron Burke, usually releases his hatchery of trout in May. He raises his trout as a group educational project with the 5th graders of South Avenue.
Update 4/3/2026: Dylan Hetrick told ALBB readers via Facebook:
Brown Trout fished and caught after the spill. Photo Credit: Dylan Hetrick
1. Brown Trout were stocked above Jean Van Pelt Park in Glenham. 2. The Texaco Dam and The Groveville Dam are above the spill and the trout stocking site, it's highly unlikely the trout were affected. 3. What about the other wildlife impacted, like Smallmouth Bass, Panfish, Invertebrates, herring, and aquatic plants? 4. Having fished Fishkill Creek for years, I've seen no change in the Brown Trout's behavior this year.
The City of Beacon repeated their tree purchasing program based upon the success of last year. The program offers six varieties of trees at close to 50% off retail and will be delivered directly to your home. Tree varieties include Dogwood, Red Maple, Serviceberry, Sweetgum, Tulip, and White Oak. Some are already sold out.
How It Works
From the City’s website: “All trees listed would be delivered to the homeowner in 15-gallon pots (unless indicated below). Average tree height would be 5’ to 10’ with a trunk caliper of 1.25”-1.75”. All trees will be delivered to your home in April 2026 before Arbor Day. Please note that the homeowner will be responsible for planting and caring for the trees delivered. Please consider purchasing a TreeGator® with each tree. Treegator® Slow Release Watering Bags are the fastest, easiest, and most efficient way to effectively water a newly planted tree or shrub.”
We thank Jonathan Rochkind, a fellow member of Jewish Voice for Peace in Baltimore, for inspiring this statement about why the struggle for Palestinian freedom is inextricably linked to freedom and justice in the United States. JVP is a nationwide grassroots Jewish organization working for Palestinian freedom — and a world where all people everywhere live in freedom, equality, and dignity.
“When crimes against human rights and dignity are normalized, it doesn’t stay localized to one place. Instead, it enables it against anyone and everywhere.”
— Tina Bernstein and Arthur Camins
The reported death toll in Gaza is now over 75,000, including approximately 17,000 children. The health care system has been decimated. Indiscriminate attacks on civilians, violence, and forced civilian mass evacuations continue in the West Bank, and now in Lebanon. There is complete destruction of human habitation in Gaza. People are starving. These are war crimes and crimes against humanity.
This continues despite the declaration of a ceasefire.
And all of this has been done with the support, cover, complicity, and encouragement of the United States.
There is a direct line from normalizing war crimes in Palestine to Trump’s extrajudicial execution of people on boats in the Caribbean. From getting used to dehumanization of Palestinians — to the kidnapping and detention in camps of immigrants here.
When crimes against human rights and dignity are normalized, it doesn’t stay localized to one place. Instead, it enables it against anyone and everywhere.
Within the anti-authoritarian organizing eUorts, there is the claim that including Palestinian freedom in our movements was too divisive, too dangerous. Nothing could be further from the truth. Excluding opposition to U.S.-enabled genocide and violence and land theft in the West Bank has been used as a wedge to defeat, confuse, and divide us.
Now the same narrow exceptionalism is being used to undermine the struggle for the rights of our queer and trans neighbors and loved ones.
The only way we can defeat authoritarianism is to build movements that benefit everybody.
That includes our queer and trans siblings. That includes all our immigrant neighbors. That includes solidarity with the Iranian people’s movements against repression at home and bombs from abroad. That includes Jews and Palestinians in solidarity. When they come for one of us, they’re going to have to face ALL of us. This is the only way we keep each other safe. This is how we win.
The onslaught we face has given rise to massive opposition, but it is divided. Solidarity will not always be welcome. However, we must not be put off. While supporting one another, we must continue to assert our solidarity. Solidarity is survival! Solidarity is a verb. It requires action.
As the daffodils rise up out of the leaves, we are doing a throwback of this colorful mural on the public bathroom at Memorial Park, which is closed during the winter and will reopen in the warmer weather.
This bathroom was closed for a long time, due to repeat vandalism and reluctance to keep it open. The Highway Department was tasked to clean it, and it was one that nobody wanted to deal with. There was a special key to access it that only a few people had access to.
Under the administration of then Mayor Randy Casale and former City Administrator Anthony Ruggiero in August 2019, this bathroom was painted on, but remained closed. The artist Joe Pimentel painted it with the sourcing of community children organized by the Wee Play volunteer group that conducted most of fundraising for the Tot Park there at Memorial Park.
Later, under the new City Administrator Chris White in 2021, this bathroom was put under the cleaning maintenance of the cleaning crew from Chris’ condo association, which was a minority-owned cleaning service company.
Back then, a longtime Beacon resident, Danielle Soto-Eckert told ALBB: “The bathroom at Memorial Park has been closed literally my whole life. I’m 30 years old and can think of less than 5 times that it’s been open while I was there as a child, and now an adult with kids. I take my kids to Bowdoin Park (in Wappingers Falls) because their bathroom is always open.”
Perhaps one day, the bathroom will be open year round.
Spring is in the calendar, which means that registration is open for Beacon City School District’s Career Fair! A great opportunity to meet Beacon students on their level. Learn how they tick and what appeals to them (candy and stickers).
This year's fair will be on Friday, May 29th and will run from 10:30am to 1:30pm. Set-up and a light breakfast will begin at 9:30am. The fair will be held in the gymnasium of Beacon High School (101 Matteawan Road, Beacon, NY). A light lunch will also be provided to participants.
A student tries on a Beacon Fire Department jacket to experience how heavy it is. Photo Credit: Katie Hellmuth
Meet the future dreamers, the writers, nurses, the stylists, the engineers. Top attractions are the Twin’s Barbershop who give away free hair cuts, the drone dude, the video dude Video Ventures, several non-profits, and new businesses looking to connect with students.
“Each year, my goal is to bring on more participants in an effort to expose our students to the myriad of opportunities in the world of work,” said Michele Santiago, Guidance Counselor at BHS organizer of the event. “I appreciate you all so very much and thank those who have participated in past events.”
A Little Beacon Blog has represented there for maybe 6 years now, and delights in meeting the secret dreamers who quietly approach the table to inquire about writing and the creative path.
In a reverse course to what became customary for many Beacon parents, Beacon City School District Matt Landahl encouraged parents and caregivers this week via email to have their kids participate in the New York State Testing that begins on April 8th and 9th for English/Language Arts and April 21st-22nd for Math. He said that one of the reasons parents were encouraging or accepting their kids opt out has changed.
“One of the reasons the opt-out movement began over 10 years ago,” Dr. Landahl explained in his email, “was that, at one point, test scores were tied to teacher evaluations. That is no longer the case; test scores do not impact individual teacher evaluations. The tests are also not used to determine grades or grade advancement decisions, either.”
Regarding Beacon’s participation, he said: “The Rombout student ‘opt-out’ or test-refusal rates have been high over the last few years, and we want to work to increase test participation.” He explained that New York State expects that all students take the tests.
“A higher participation rate on the test helps us identify strengths and weaknesses of our overall academic program and performance, and it also helps us identify individual student needs.”
Making it less convenient to opt-out, Dr. Landahl said that the district is no longer accepting notes the day of the test to exclude a student from taking it. He encouraged parents to connect with appropriate administrators connected with their child, a list of which was provided.
Said Nate Morgan, President Hastings Teachers Association (and a Beacon parent) to A Little Beacon Blog: “However, if the state test scoring is still tied to the initial metrics/measures, then they can still be abusive to students by mislabeling them as not college and career ready when they are, in fact, college and career ready. Linking the 3rd grade to 8th grade scores to teacher evaluation was a flawed problem, but not the exact nature of the problem with the 3-8 state test.”
Said Jessica Colon: “If it won’t affect teacher evaluations or students grades, what’s the point? Waste of students time and energy. I came from Beacon City School District. Graduated with a high school ‘regents’ diploma. Meant absolutely nothing.”
Said Ruthie Viera: “How about students with in special education. Those state tests are NOT modified for them so they’re taking a test that every student is supposed to take -already setting them up for failure. Our children are NOT & should not be labeled as a number.”
Popping on the art wall at the Beacon Skate Park is this new design, fresh in yellow and orange shades from a background of blue.
The art wall was erected last year as part of the Participatory Budget Program the City of Beacon has with Beacon High School, and has seen a series of designs. Even someone who popped a prom question. That’s in ALBB’s archives, and will be published so that you can see.
Editorial Note: The reader should know, that as far as the public knows, David Ross was not currently in the National news. His initial news around February 3rd, 2026 had died down after his resignation from his Chair and teaching position at SVA (School of Visual Arts in NYC) after ARTNews broke the story by publishing his correspondence and travel flight log to New Mexico. ALBB’s published on his local resignations here as they happened on March 4th, 2026, with a News Digest sent to our newsletter on March 10th.
It should be noted that When the New York Times published their 2nd article on David regarding this topic, they did so with a photo spread of his local life here in Beacon. He took them to his 9-hole golf club; inside of his home; a shot from outside of his home while he baked muffins at night from the POV of the photographer outside peeking into him through his dimly lit kitchen window; and on his nature walk. These actions are indications that David and Peggy either requested the article to be written in the New York Times so that he could better control his narrative, or somehow agreed to it if it was the idea of the New York Times. But a question is, how did the New York Times even learn about David’s local news, and why did they not mention A Little Beacon Blog when they quoted the questions I emailed David. Articles about David at that the New York Times in the past have been glowing. The initial piece they published about him regarding the files was cushion-y.
From a publicity point of view, this was a staged, or “planted” piece of writing. From a journalistic point of view, the New York Times article did quote some of his emails that enabled the behavior of the pedophile class. Based on the response from the response of the New York Times’ own readers, from a publicity point of view, that article was a mistake. But I am not a publicist. I am a journalist.
The reason why A Little Beacon Blog was not mentioned in the New York Times article - which is locked behind a paywall - is probably because that publication and David and Peggy did not want local coverage of it. It was pure coincidence that I saw it on Instagram as I made my lunch, at which time, I scan headlines to stay current. After that, I started receiving texts, asking if I or ALBB was the “community blogger” mentioned in the article.
“I would say that David is not tainted. He was seen.”
— Katie Hellmuth, Writer/Publisher A Little Beacon Blog
The reporter did not name ALBB by name, and seemed to quote David’s referral as “The sender was his neighbor, a community blogger who lived a few blocks away. She wanted to know about a flight he’d taken to New Mexico in the 1990s. She wanted to know if he was still volunteering on a city tax board or serving as chairman at a local nine-hole golf course.”
Editorial Note: One reader asked me how I knew David Ross was in The Files, and if I searched the files for random people like they did. No. A different reader of ALBB commented on a Facebook post linking to the Hudson Valley Post article about it. This person may have been a Troll Groupie of ALBB (we have a few) who was using it as a distraction piece from a different topic we were publishing about - maybe ICE. Pro-ICE readers like to distract a lot. But. I knew who David was from past reporting I’d done, so I began researching.
So many pieces of this situation to reflect on. But first - The Comments. The Comments of the New York Time’s Instagram post weren’t having the entire piece. Most people in the comments were mad at the New York Times for giving David a platform on which to apologize again, and bare the shame he felt after being written about by ARTNews, Hypoallergic, the New York Times, the Hudson Valley Post, and other publications. ALBB hasn’t even published the article yet that analyzes the emails in the time frame of Epstein’s known actions. Published at ALBB are developments that happened in Beacon:
I haven’t published my analysis of his email correspondence yet, and what was so troubling with it, but it is coming. It’s been half-way finished for some time, as I needed to introduce some of his involvements in Beacon, and then get to the emails. But this New York Times piece did divulge some of them.
David never answered ALBB’s email. Which is par for the course here in these parts. The two articles that ALBB has written so far only discuss his resignation from the board of the nine-hole golf course that the New York Times refers to - and featured with a photo in their article! Southern Dutchess Country Club made the New York Times.
Neither of us were mentioned by name, actually. And that may have been David’s choice. To protect us. As both the golf course, and possibly this blog, or the community it reaches, are very special to David’s heart. They are part of his home.
The Files Came Home
National media is one thing. Home is another. After all of the emails that David received, this one was from Beacon. He told the New York Times: “Ross, 77, scanned through the message as his stomach dropped. He noticed that the sender was not a lawyer or a prosecutor but his neighbor, a community blogger who lived a few blocks away.”
When I started this publication 14 years ago, and as I started listening to City Council Meetings each week - each week!! - I knew that I would have to report on hard things. I was petrified of then Mayor Randy Casale. The things he said were…who knows how they would be received! And his grammar. When people got mad at him, they went for his grammar. Now, after I publish hard things, people go for my grammar. That’s how I know I hit a nerve by reporting the right thing. Randy remains one of my sources for All Things Beacon to this day.
But I had to learn to look past personal feelings, and get the facts for an article.
As for David Ross. He revealed in today’s New York Times article that Beacon was home to him. As he has told a local podcast, Beaconites!in 2020, he has lived all over he world: “I’ve lived in amazing places,” he told Beaconites!. “I lived in San Francisco at the top of Telegraph Hill when I was director of SFMOMA. I lived on Madison Avenue when I was director of the Whitney. I lived in Cambridge when I was running the ICA. But I have to say, living in Beacon, this is the first place I’ve ever fallen in love with. This is where I feel I belong.”
“What does the golf course have to do with anything?”
From the New York Times article: Left: Photo of the Southern Dutchess Country Club with the 9-hole golf course in Beacon that David was on the board of. Right: David making muffins.
David probably feels safe here. Lots of people do. We drive through the woods and exhale (if they aren’t bulldozed down for new developments, or if we aren’t attacked by random assaulters).
We film Bannerman Island on the train on the way into New York City on a Moody Monday, knowing that we are going into a very fast paced life, but will return to a nice and slow life. Which works on its own clock.
The photographer of the New York Times article went into his home to photograph him and his wife, Peggy Ross, a former Beacon City Council Member, at one of their tables. “This mess is swallowing every little corner of our lives,” Peggy told the Times. “What does the golf course have to do with anything?”
The golf course is everything. First of all, golf courses are where lots of these deals and networkings get done. And people in Trump’s life are buried (that we know of so far)! But really, a golf course doesn’t need to be fancy to matter. People want to know who people are around them. The only reason we knew David was on this board is because Mayor Lee Kyriacou thought it mattered when he used David’s position there to justify his appointment to the Board of Assessment Review.
Which leads us to the next board: the “tax board” that the New York Times glazed over. Taxes are not sexy, fun, interesting, but they are also everything. Yes, David “volunteers” his time to be on this board, but what he is doing impacts people’s properties.
Further, Mayor Kyriacou did not tell the public that his appointment was married to a former City Council Member, or had been very involved in wanting to develop the Madame Brett factory to be a private contemporary art museum with an architect who owned 20 other properties at the time. All of this matters.
But the public was not told this - or reminded of this - at the board appointment. And nothing disastrous may have happened. But we need to know. Because lots of people in Beacon know that we are not told the full picture in some matters.
In fact, we were not told that David was no longer on that board after ALBB sent him that email. Which he never responded to. To this day - he’s never answered my question about New Mexico. But he answered it to the New York Times in their article.
Disappearing
ALBB’s questions did not matter to David, in that, he never responded. He may have made actions in his life because of the questions, but otherwise, ALBB’s questions did not matter. I had to find the answers a different way.
Personally, I’m used to disappearing. That’s the beauty of living in NYC. You can disappear in the crowd of NYC. If you fall down, the people might see you and help you back up, and then keep walking. I loved that about NYC.
David was very upset about being in the files. “Because I’m tainted,” he answered Peggy to her question about the golf course. “I’m in the files.”
I would say that David is not tainted. He was seen.
In this New York Times article, David went on to explore his role in the art and fundraising world that Epstein was so relied upon. These fundraisers needed his money. He gave it. But with strings attached. Those strings were stories that he wove to protect himself. To create reality and normalize things like pedophilia and rape so that his world could continue.
David was very honest about his reflections in the New York Times piece. “The best thing to do is to call up the golf course and resign,” David said that he told Peggy.
“You’re guilty of poor judgement,” Peggy responded. “You never saw any girls. You never witnessed any crimes.”
This feeling of fear is not unique to Peggy. Several wives of fundraiswers like David may be harboring the same fear of the unknown. The Times reported that “Peggy had assumed Ross cut ties with Epstein aftre he retired from full-time museum work in the early 2000s. She hadn’t known about the emails until the files were released, beacuse Ross never thoguht they were worth mentioning to her.”
David took the Times reporter to his backyard studio to reflect on the famous people he was in pictures with. He prided himself on getting artists money. When at the San Fransisco Museum of Modern Art David wanted to acquire the artist Robert Rauschenberg’s personal collection for the museum. “He remembered asking Rauschenberg to write down any price. The artist scrawled $22 million on a piece of paper, and Ross agreed without haggling and closed the deal.”
But in Beacon, David could disappear into his more comfortable life of music and muffins. Guitars and bands. No pressure from needing to make deals like that, with people who have enormous amounts of money to deliver. “Some donors were great, wonderful people who became friends - people who cared deeply about art.” David told the reporter. “Some were horrible assholes with just unbelievably troglodyte points of view, and I was the karma wash.”
The Muffins
The Times took a video of David making muffins. Baking is what people do when they need to go to their soul. The Times reported: “He had survived cancer four times, and he found himself reflecting on his career and writing about legacy. ‘There’s more integrity in making something that nobody will ever see than in trying to hustle and blow smoke.’”
About the music he makes with local musicians in Beacon: “It’s taken years to shrink my ego down to size. I’ve made progress, but I’m still trying to get there.”
Why We’re Here
We’re in this spot because we have been lied to for(ever) so long. So many presidencies. Even local politics - the lies are thick. It takes a lot of digging, interviewing, cross-referencing to find the lie. With Epstein, women and men have been telling about what happened to them. They have gone on record. But nothing.
We are still going through a genocide of Palestine, and now Lebanon. By our country - What more do people need to see or be told to realize that small things matter? People are done. Ownership is required. It doesn’t mean that one’s soul is done. Or cooked. Or…it just means that everything matters.
This is why the Comment section at the New York Times is backfiring for young David. No more victimizing. The concern should be for the people abused, killed, tortured, threatened, harassed by Epstein and those around him. Forward motion. Impacting something in forward motion that makes a difference that makes a change in this hellscape we are currently swirling in.
David should keep breathing. Keep making muffins. Keep making music. Keep taking ownership. Move forward.
No more covering. No more excuses.
Free Palestine.
Comments From Readers Of The New York Times Article
After I identified this blog to the readers of that New York Times Instagram post of their article - since that publication named so many other names here in Beacon except this publication - their readers responded. Here is what some of them said:
@raquel_is_sovereign: @alittlebeacon Excellent work. Thank you
@charukumarhia: @alittlebeacon you did good work! Thank you!
@parisakaramiinsta: @alittlebeacon every community should be so lucky to have such a diligent journalist.
@thestorywithcharu: @alittlebeacon 👏🏽 👏🏽 👏🏽 well done!
@lothcatnip: @alittlebeacon good on ya
@jenpastifloff: @alittlebeacon 🙏🙏
@oregon.small.fry: @alittlebeacon thank you! Appreciate great local journalists
@bruuuse: @alittlebeacon did anyone at @nytimes reach out to you or did they just take Ross at his word that you’re just some “community blogger”?
- No. Nobody from the New York Times reached out to me. Nor did they mention the name of this blog.
@bruuuse: @alittlebeacon thanks for the background and, more importantly, thanks for your work on this!
@scotcherg: @alittlebeacon excellent public interest journalism. Well done
@loba_toledo: @alittlebeacon 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
@amyslysly: @alittlebeacon Your reporting skills are 💯x that of @nytimes
@c.hugger640 @alittlebeacon you are amazing. Truly. never forget that the work you’re doing is important, the MOST important of our time, for survivors.
@aldmannor: @alittlebeacon keep this up. GO GET EM! 👏👏👏 all power to you. May we all go read your pieces. Shame on the @nytimes for yet another scrub piece. Yuck nyt.
@sorta_smith: @alittlebeacon thank goodness there are small “community bloggers” carrying on the critical role of the fourth estate while outlets like @nytimes fail us on so many levels
@thrilhelm: @alittlebeacon now THAT is journalism. Thank you for this!!!
@dina411: @alittlebeacon great work helping to get pedophiles and apologists out of our local government and cultural spaces. Thank you!!!!
@blue_eyed_nazarlik: @alittlebeacon 👏
@heidigretchensophia: @alittlebeacon !!!
@nichole_elis131: @alittlebeacon oh thank you so much for your work and efforts bringing information forward. 🙏🏼
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.
