Episodes

  • Cookie Backlash Turns to Boon

    Cookie Backlash Turns to Boon
    Sep 27 2024
    Homestyle faced criticism over Trump treats
    There was nothing sweet about the phone calls Homestyle Desserts Bakery began receiving last week about its butter cookies featuring images of presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, according to co-owner Laura Timmons.
    The quadrennial tradition, dating back more than two decades, had never drawn controversy until this month, when a Philipstown resident on Facebook denounced Homestyle for putting "the face of a 34-time convicted felon … who incited an attack on our nation's Capitol" on cookies and vowed to stop patronizing the bakery.
    Then the angry calls began, said Timmons on Monday (Sept. 23). "Why would you do that?" "You guys are disgusting." "We're not going to buy from you anymore." "We're going to tell all our friends."
    Standing behind the counter inside the Peekskill location (Homestyle also sells the cookies at its location on Route 301 in Nelsonville), Timmons pointed to a stack of white shipping boxes sitting on a table. The bakery is being inundated with a different type of call: Trump fans placing orders for shipments to Florida, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and other states.
    A story posted by The Journal News on Sept. 20 about the controversy reached Dan Scavino Jr., a Westchester County native who was deputy chief of staff in the Trump White House and is an adviser to the former president's campaign. He reposted it on social media, and Homestyle has been swamped with orders, mostly for Trump treats.
    On Monday, Timmons said she expected to send out 2,000 Trump cookies and 200 with Harris' image. "We were selling even until that post [from Scavino] went out, and then it shifted," she said.
    Homestyle has been putting edible images on cookies and cakes for decades, said Timmons, with clients that have included the Yankees and their players. The visages of the Democratic and Republican candidates for president were introduced on cookies about 25 years ago and meant to be a bipartisan diversion, said Timmons.
    Unfortunately, the hardening divide between Democrats and Republicans has been characterized by increasing hostility. A Pew Research Center poll in 2022 found that growing numbers of partisans view each other as "more closed-minded, dishonest, immoral and unintelligent."
    Passions have led to attacks on businesses, but typically only if they promote one candidate over another. The owner of a Manhattan clothing store, for example, said a man wearing a Trump T-shirt attacked her last month, apparently angered by a pro-Harris poster in her window.
    In a Facebook post in response to the phone calls, Homestyle said that its employees and their family members and friends "hold different beliefs and choices" without threatening each other. "Everybody should be free to choose, and fighting over it is not the answer," said Timmons.
    State Sen. Pete Harckham, a Democrat whose district includes Peekskill, visited the bakery on Sunday (Sept. 22) after hearing about the calls. The senator, who in April 2022 presented Homestyle with a certificate recognizing it as a New York State Historic Business, recorded a video before leaving.
    "I know that we're divided and I know we're polarized, but cookies? Really?" he said, holding a microphone in one hand and a bipartisan order of six cookies for each candidate in the other. "Threatening a bakery is not a productive way to help your candidate."
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    3 mins
  • Suddenly More Appealing: Skilled Trades

    Suddenly More Appealing: Skilled Trades
    Sep 27 2024
    Plenty of jobs, decent wages and less fear of AI
    With abundant, well-paying jobs available across the U.S., and the soaring costs of a four-year college degree, more high school graduates are considering a path that not long ago was seen as less desirable: a "blue collar" career in the skilled trades.
    Only 25 percent of Americans believe it is extremely important to have a college degree to find well-paying employment in the current economy, according to a poll by the Pew Research Center. Forty percent of respondents felt a degree was not important at all.
    Skillwork, a Nebraska-based agency that connects employers with skilled workers, estimates there are nearly 3 million unfilled trade jobs in the U.S., including some 500,000 in manufacturing. It cited a plumbing company in Seattle where many employees earn more than $100,000 annually and an electrician in Ithaca who makes $90 an hour, which translates to $172,000 a year.
    Michele Santiago, a guidance counselor at Beacon High School for 20 years, said she's seen an uptick in interest in the skilled trades from students and parents. "Ten percent of our 11th and 12th graders now attend the Dutchess BOCES Career and Technical Institute" in Poughkeepsie, she said.
    BOCES stands for Board of Cooperative Educational Services, which offers vocational training for students in districts that contribute funding. It also provides training in fields such as graphic design, fashion design, and film and audio for students who may pursue four-year degrees.
    Students in the 10th to 12th grades also can attend the annual Hudson Valley Construction Career Day, held in the spring. "It's hands-on," Santiago said. "Students speak to members of local unions about their trade, apprenticeship programs and benefits of being in a trade union."
    In Cold Spring, about 10 percent of the juniors and seniors at Haldane High School receive vocational training at the Putnam-Northern Westchester BOCES in Yorktown Heights, said Amanda Cotchen, a Haldane guidance counselor. "Students know that a trade is an option; we promote career readiness as opposed to just a college focus," she said.
    Tommy Andrews, 18, a recent Haldane graduate, is pursuing a trade by another route: the military. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy Reserve and will attend boot camp in December before training to become a construction electrician. "I'll make up to $1,000 a week during the 22 weeks of boot camp and trade school," Andrews said. "And I'll receive a $20,000 bonus for signing up. I can't wait to go."
    As part of a six-year commitment, he'll work one weekend a month plus a two-week stint each summer. He hopes to land a full-time job through the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Although the Air Force and Army also offer training in skilled trades, the Navy was an easy choice for Andrews because his father and grandfather served.
    Stephen Lowery, director of career and technical education at Putnam-Northern Westchester BOCES, said college costs and rising student debt have changed the landscape over the past five years. Depending on the trade, BOCES grads can step out of high school into a job that pays as much as $70,000 a year.
    Lowery also has seen a shift in parental attitudes. "Parents who have always pushed going to college now see they won't have to pay that big tuition, and their kids are going to get a good job doing something they love," he said.
    Asked to pick the five trades offering job opportunities for BOCES grads, Lowery quickly named electrical; welding; heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC); carpentry; and landscaping-urban forestry.
    While the role of trade unions has declined in recent decades, he sees a resurgence there, as well, because unions realize workforces are aging and they need to recruit younger members. He pointed to the Sheet Metal Workers as one union that has been working closely with BOCES to fill its dwindling ranks.
    Nicholas Millas, the principal at Dutchess BOCES Career and Techn...
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    6 mins
  • MTA Approves Capital Plan

    MTA Approves Capital Plan
    Sep 27 2024
    Spending includes Hudson Line upgrades
    The Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Wednesday (Sept. 25) approved a $68 billion capital plan that runs through 2029 and will shore up Metro-North's Hudson Line to better withstand the effects of global warming.
    "The board is pretty proud of this plan," said Neal Zuckerman, a Philipstown resident who represents Putnam County on the board and heads its finance committee. "It's $13 billion larger than our last capital plan. It's equally balanced between the Long Island Railroad and Metro-North. That hasn't been the case in a long time, even though our ridership is basically the same."
    The only outstanding question - which was also on the table for the previous plan, which covered 2020 to 2024 - is where the money will come from. Many projects from the previous plan are on hold because Gov. Kathy Hochul in June "paused" a congestion-pricing plan that had been expected to provide the MTA with $15 billion for capital projects. Hochul vowed to replace that funding but has not said how it will be done.
    The new capital plan does not have any funding from congestion pricing in it. Zuckerman said that the board has identified where about half the funding it needs will come from. "It's the responsibility of the governor and the Legislature to come up with" the rest, he said.
    The new plan mostly sticks to maintenance and upgrades instead of initiatives, except for a project to convert a lightly used freight line into a commuter rail connecting Roosevelt Avenue in Queens with the Brooklyn Army Terminal.
    For the Hudson Line, which includes Metro-North stops in Garrison, Cold Spring and Beacon, the plan allocates $800 million toward improvements recommended earlier this year in its Climate Resilience Roadmap. They include rehabilitating shorelines, stabilizing slopes and improving drainage. Hudson Line riders have faced delays because of flooding and mudslides caused by increasingly frequent extreme weather.
    The plan also includes an upgrade to the Brewster train yard that will allow the Hudson Line to utilize the next generation of railcars. Zuckerman said there are still subway and railcars in use that went into service 40 years ago, when the MTA unveiled its first capital plan. Upgrading the cars should increase what he said is riders' No. 1 concern: reliability.
    "What riders care about the most is on-time performance: 'Did I arrive on time?' 'Did I arrive safely?' 'Was my ride smooth and comfortable?'" Zuckerman said. "Even with its older cars, the MTA delivers on that mission. The problem is, when the cars reach a certain age, the maintenance costs become prohibitive."
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    2 mins
  • $1.4 Million in Climate Funding Coming to Highlands

    $1.4 Million in Climate Funding Coming to Highlands
    Sep 27 2024
    Beacon, Cold Spring, Philipstown receive grants
    Beacon, Cold Spring and Philipstown are set to receive nearly $1.4 million in funding to mitigate the effects of climate change.
    The money is part of the most recent round of funding from the Clean Energy Communities program of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). Philipstown will receive $580,000, Beacon $493,750 and Cold Spring $290,000. Beacon also has qualified for an additional $375,000 grant.
    Before the announcement, the largest grant given to a community by the Clean Energy Communities program was $10,000.
    "For a town this size, it's just mind-blowing," said Martha Upton, the Philipstown Climate Smart coordinator.
    The program acts in conjunction with Climate Smart Communities, an initiative in which municipalities receive points for taking steps to lower the greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming. Philipstown and Cold Spring are both certified bronze in the Climate Smart initiative, while Beacon is silver. The more points a community earns, the better its chances of receiving state grants.
    The Philipstown funding will be used to install solar panels on the highway garage roof, implement energy efficiency upgrades in municipal buildings, install public networked electric vehicle chargers at Town Hall and the Recreation Center and purchase a Ford Lightning EV pickup and battery-powered landscaping equipment.
    Upton said that the Town Hall chargers have already been installed and the ones at the Recreation Center should be ready within a few weeks.
    Cold Spring also will purchase a Ford Lightning EV pickup and battery-powered landscaping equipment and install chargers at the wastewater plant near Mayor's Park. The rest of the funding will go toward a food scraps drop-off pilot program, LED lighting upgrades at the water plant and efficiency upgrades at Village Hall.
    Beacon's funding will go toward electric vehicles, a solar array and EV chargers.
    The timing of the funding is fortuitous because the City Council on Aug. 19 approved a six-year Climate Action Plan. "This will help us achieve our goals on time," said Faye Leone, Beacon's Climate Smart coordinator. "We're going to be ahead on some stuff, which is great."
    Although the communities were in competition with each other for the money, Leone noted that the grants benefit the region. "The more our neighboring communities can do, the better our air quality is," she said.
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    2 mins
  • Roots and Shoots: Meadows for the Masses

    Roots and Shoots: Meadows for the Masses
    Sep 27 2024
    "Gardens are not enough," says Janis Butler. Her review of the research shows that we can do more to support plants and insects by adding or converting lawns and gardens into meadows.
    "We need significant space for diverse species of plants and insects to interact," she says. Creating these ecosystems through meadows restores ground that has been lost to development and other environmental pressures.
    Butler, a Master Gardener and Master Forester volunteer, will be the opening presenter at a symposium on meadows scheduled for Sunday (Oct. 6) at Boscobel in Philipstown. She will focus on the relationship between insects and plants and why we need meadows in our yards.
    Meadows Matter: How to Create a Meaningful Meadow is a full-day program co-organized by seven groups and nonprofits. It will include presentations by landscape professionals and site visits. It's for anyone with a yard who wants to understand this style of planting, what it involves to create and care for, and why it can have huge benefits.
    We think about meadows as wild, open spaces that happen naturally. In landscaping terms, it's a style of cultivating plants. The working definition of a meadow that will be used at the symposium is "an open habitat or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs and other non-woody plants, largely composed of species native to the region and has limited human intervention."
    There isn't a required size or shape. It could be 10 feet by 10 feet or acres. What matters is the plants and maintenance, or non-maintenance. You leave it alone and don't mow regularly or add fertilizers. The plants are important because you want to create a habitat with nesting, food and shelter for wildlife and insects, including pollination opportunities.
    Erin Muir, co-founder of Figure Ground Studio, will discuss establishing a meadow with seeds or immature plants called plugs, although there isn't a right way. It depends on the site, how you prepare it and, to some extent, your level of expertise and budget. Muir has designed and created meadows for clients and in her yard. She has given me a tour of the latter, and it's rich in plants and insects.
    Now in its fifth season, Muir planted her meadow from seed after the family home was built in Philipstown. "It's about providing support for the more-than-human realm," she says. "We can do a lot if we make the pathway."
    Muir maintains the meadow with once-a-year mowing and, in the beginning, managing the invasive mugwort. The plants that dominated in the first year - coreopsis, rudbeckia, partridge pea - have given way to bergamot, joe pye weed, northern sea oats and other natives, demonstrating the dynamics of launching plant communities and seeing them evolve.
    The expectation that an expanse of lawn is the tapestry of a home is losing its hold as more people become aware of the need for biodiversity and are excited by the beauty of an alternative. Just this week, Margaret Roach wrote in The New York Times about a suburban couple who carefully turned their lawn into a meadow while managing it to avoid negative reactions from neighbors.
    Organizations like Homegrown National Park and Wild Ones offer resources on what to plant and design options. In Beacon, Bryan Quinn of One Nature, who will present at the symposium, has been collecting data for his Refugia Project, tracking the impact of the 150 gardens he and his team have designed and planted in Beacon.
    Quinn estimates that One Nature's gardens cover 52 acres, or 5 percent of the city. These contiguous spaces and the density give pollinators a fighting chance when so much land is developed or disturbed.
    Boscobel's lawn-to-meadow conversion makes it the ideal site for the symposium. "We're adding a meadow to diversify Boscobel's ecosystem and introduce important facets of Hudson Valley beauty, history and stewardship," said Jennifer Carlquist, the executive director. Seeded this spring, the planting is showing bursts of asters, goldenrod, sedge, partridge pea, min...
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    4 mins
  • Cold Spring Continues Fjord Trail Debate

    Cold Spring Continues Fjord Trail Debate
    Sep 27 2024
    Mayor cites 'troubling departures' from agreements
    Mayor cites 'troubling departures' from talks
    When speaking about the Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail, "the size of my trust deficit only grows," Mayor Kathleen Foley said at the Sept. 18 meeting of the Cold Spring Village Board.
    The comment was part of a lengthy statement in which Foley outlined her concerns surrounding the 7.5-mile-long linear park from Cold Spring to Beacon following recent meetings with HHFT officials.
    Foley, Philipstown Supervisor John Van Tassel and Nelsonville Mayor Chris Winward wrote the state parks department in April to outline their objections to having the trail start at Dockside Park, a move they said would create a tourist destination "in and of itself" and draw vehicular traffic to the village. Foley said on Wednesday that they never received a reply.
    She said that an Aug. 16 letter from HHFT Chair Chris Davis and Executive Director Amy Kacala did not accurately reflect the outcome of meetings she, Van Tassel and Winward had with HHFT officials on April 20 and May 11, saying it included "troubling departures" from what had been informally agreed upon.
    She said while one of HHFT's original and primary missions was to help manage and mitigate existing conditions in Cold Spring, the Aug. 16 letter states HHFT has "no responsibility for the mitigation of the impacts on the village of existing visitation."
    Foley said Kacala has stated that the trail is expected to become, "the epicenter of tourism in the Hudson Valley." Many Cold Spring residents believe the village already suffers from overtourism.
    A discussion about having Little Stony Point serve as a terminus for the trail and a "pause point" for review of the trail's development was replaced in the letter by "general references to the opening of the Breakneck Connector, Breakneck train station, and visitor center and parking at Dutchess Manor," Foley said, with a trail south from Little Stony Point to Cold Spring still identified as HHFT's preferred route.
    She quoted Kacala as having said at a meeting in September that Chris Davis had misunderstood the schedule and that there would be no pause in construction.
    The mayor also commented that the letter changes a 2030 timeline for construction at Breakneck and Dutchess Manor to a "nebulous and surprising 2026-27."
    In addition, she said a role for local boards in decision-making "has been watered down to the worrisome and undefined inclusion of 'local voices and interests' " in the letter.
    Former Philipstown Supervisor Bill Mazzuca, who had been invited to attend the May 11 meeting, wrote to Davis stating that the Aug. 16 letter included "discrepancies from what I understood to have been verbally agreed to."
    In early September, state Sen. Rob Rolison expressed concern about HHFT's plans, as did Putnam County Executive Kevin Byrne, who wrote to the governor, state parks and HHFT advocating the inclusion of local leaders in the trail's planning process, citing the "profound effect" a trail entrance at Dockside Park would have on local municipalities and calling for a pause so that "a more expansive review of the local impacts can be considered before proceeding."
    Foley said: "We've got one chance to get this development right; let's get it right the first time. A great visitor experience for someone from Buffalo or Watertown should not come at the detriment of the quality of life in Philipstown, Nelsonville and Cold Spring."
    Trustee Aaron Freimark said he was troubled that he had not been informed of the May 11 meeting and said there is a need for greater transparency and trust in the mayor's negotiations with HHFT.
    "It's a bit disingenuous to represent that you are unaware of what it is I'm doing," Foley responded. "You are copied or forwarded most communications, but you have to read the emails."
    She pointed out that she negotiates on behalf of the village on other issues including with Seastreak and federal agencies.
    "You have trust for me there, ...
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    7 mins
  • 'A Missed Opportunity'

    'A Missed Opportunity'
    Sep 20 2024
    Planning Board pans Beacon project
    Members of the Beacon Planning Board were cautious last year when they began their review of a proposal to construct two 4-story buildings at the busy corner of North Avenue (Route 9D) and Beekman Street.
    A stone's throw from City Hall and the soon-to-be-completed Beacon fire station, the 45 Beekman St. site is a prominent feature of one of the entrances to the city and offers the opportunity to repair some of the damage done in the 1960s and '70s by urban renewal, the board members said.
    Earlier this month, they delivered a stinging assessment of the plan, which was created by Beacon architect Aryeh Siegel and Colliers Engineering & Design of New Windsor.
    The project would require the demolition of the three-story former Beacon Popmart building. After merging that parcel with two adjacent vacant lots, Beekman Arts Center and Bay Ridge Studios would construct two buildings with 15,000 square feet of commercial space at street level and 64 one- and two-bedroom apartments.
    During the Planning Board's Sept. 10 meeting, renderings showed brick-and-glass exteriors and, on one building, an all-glass corner tower extending to a recessed fourth floor. The second, smaller structure, called the High Street Building on renderings, would mostly front Beekman, with a first-floor walkway running along the exterior of the buildings.
    According to the drawings, the buildings would be constructed close to the sidewalk on Beekman, which project officials said is based on a recommendation for the Linkage district in the city's 2017 comprehensive plan.
    But the placement of the buildings alone won't be enough to "engage the pedestrian," the board members said. "It's Anywhere, Anytown U.S.A. mediocre architecture," said John Gunn, the chair, before the board referred the project to its architectural review committee. "To me, it's just a mishmash of forms that have no context, no relationship. My God, what a missed opportunity if this is what ends up getting built."
    Board member Kevin Byrne contrasted the covered walkway and brick exterior of the buildings. "It's like two different things are happening and they're not talking to each other," he said.
    The developer is in talks with the state Department of Transportation to purchase up to a half-acre of land that would bring the building at the corner of Beekman and Route 9D close to the Beekman sidewalk. The traffic signals at Route 9D and Beekman, as well as at 9D and Verplanck Avenue, would be timed to mitigate traffic at the intersection, where cars leaving the Metro-North station on weekday afternoons routinely back up while waiting to get to Interstate 84.
    The Planning Board will continue its review at its Oct. 8 meeting.
    19 Henry St.
    The board will continue a public hearing next month on the proposal to build four attached, two-story townhomes on a quarter-acre Henry Street parcel.
    The townhomes would each feature a one-car garage and back patio. A single-family home and accessory structures on the lot would be demolished.
    Two Catherine Steet residents spoke during the hearing on Sept. 10. One was concerned about noise and privacy while the other mentioned displacement of water from swampy areas behind Henry Street.
    The developer may use evergreen trees, rather than deciduous, to screen between the townhomes and Catherine Street, while the project engineer said that runoff from the building would be directed away from Catherine.
    14 North Cedar St.
    A proposal for a two-story, four-unit apartment building on an empty North Cedar Street lot returned to the Planning Board this month for the first time since June 2023.
    Board members advised the developer, who plans to use a modular building, to opt for a site plan that fits with the surrounding neighborhood.
    "The building isn't situated on the lot like any other residential building in the neighborhood, so it's going to stand out," Byrne said. "The old fabric in this town is something that doesn't exist in many p...
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    4 mins
  • The Goats of Haldane High

    The Goats of Haldane High
    Sep 20 2024
    New mascots munch on invasives species
    Chocolate and Chip.
    Those are the names of the goats relocated to the Haldane campus on Sept. 14 by the Habitat Revival Club to clear invasive species from a half-acre plot behind the high school.
    The eco-friendly animals will consume unwanted plants such as mugwort, wineberry, callery pear and poison ivy, said Sofia Kelly, a junior who founded the student club and serves as president.
    The goats will allow for the expansion next spring of the high school's pollinator garden. Kelly said the club plans to replace the invasives with coneflowers, bee balm, hyssop, pussy willow, goldenrod, butterfly weed, joe pye weed, yarrow and other native plants.
    The project, which cost $4,500, was funded by the Haldane School Foundation and the two boer/nubian goats and a containment fence were provided by Green Goats of Rhinebeck. The firm has worked with nearby colleges like Vassar, Marist and Bard but Haldane is its first high school, said owner Ann Cihanek.
    The goats should have the parcel cleared in about two weeks, Cihanek said. They will probably return in the spring to eat stubborn plants that regrow.
    "Invasive species and invasive plants are a relevant and underrepresented issue," said Kelly, noting that the club's mission is to "steward nature." It has 45 members, including middle schoolers.
    Goats are pesticide-free and efficient: They digest the entire plant and don't poop out seeds, as birds do, Cihanek said. They also don't mind poison ivy.
    Members of the Habitat Revival Club are keeping the goats supplied with fresh water and visited the elementary school to read Beatrice's Goat, by Page McBrier, which tells the story of how a goat helped a family in Uganda.
    Once the goats were in place, elementary school teachers began leading their classes to the pen. The animals are friendly, but students are not allowed to pet them because their fur usually has oil from poison ivy. The pen has no gate to ensure the animals aren't accidentally released.
    The project has been a year in the making. After hearing of Kelly's interest in clearing invasive species, Adam McNeil, the director of facilities, suggested goats because his previous employer, the Croton-Harmon district, had briefly considered the idea. Kelly sent her proposal to the Haldane School Foundation in October.
    Green Goats, which has about 100 animals, provides plant removal around the Northeast, including at many New York City parks, the Vanderbilt Mansion and Poets' Walk Park in Hyde Park and for private clients, including three homeowners in Philipstown.
    Cihanek started renting the animals to clear land in 2005. Tragedy struck in 2016 when a barn fire killed all 110 goats. Volunteers rebuilt the structure and helped replace the herd. In the spirit of giving back, Cihanek said she discounted the cost for Haldane by about 40 percent.
    Once the project is complete, Kelly hopes to turn her attention to other areas on campus overrun by invasive species, such as a retention pond adjacent to the athletic field.
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    3 mins