Highlands Current Audio Stories

Municipalities, nonprofit, residents challenge review

As anticipated by votes earlier this month by the Cold Spring and Philipstown boards, the municipalities on Wednesday (May 20) filed a state lawsuit challenging the conclusions of a mandated environmental review of the proposed 7.5-mile linear park that would connect Beacon to Cold Spring. At the same time, a nonprofit group, Protect the Highlands, filed its own lawsuit.

The legal actions name Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail Inc., a subsidiary of Scenic Hudson, and the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Both allege that a recently completed state environmental review fails to adequately assess the project's impact on the village and town.

The lawsuits had to be filed before May 20, or 120 days after the end of the environmental review process, to meet a state deadline. The legal actions are Article 78 proceedings, which enable municipalities and others to challenge the actions or inactions of local and state agencies.

Protect the Highlands filed its challenge in Albany County, along with four Cold Spring residents — Tom Impellittiere, Stephanie Impellittiere, Stephanie Skiptunis and Rosanne Powell — whom the filing says "will suffer direct environmental, aesthetic and community impacts distinct from those experienced by the public at large."

The village and town filed their lawsuit in Putnam County. The municipalities hope to have Putnam County join them, but the Legislature did not vote on the request before the filing deadline.

At the Wednesday meeting of the Village Board, Mayor Kathleen Foley said that the lawsuit "does not stop the project, as some have erroneously asserted," but that "we would be delinquent in our duties if we did not challenge the findings."

She said that, earlier in the week, the village received an email signed by residents who support the Fjord Trail, requesting a referendum on the project. Foley said a vote "is not a possibility under state law." She added that she could say "with certainty that even if every resident in this village stated their unconditional support for the Fjord Trail project, this board would still be asking fiscal, environmental and quality-of-life questions."

The lawsuit also names Putnam County, and Cold Spring resident Laura Bergman, which Foley said was done to give both the opportunity to join as petitioners or respondents. Bergman owns property at the entrance to Dockside Park.

Both lawsuits focus on the southern section of the trail, from Cold Spring to Breakneck Ridge. In February, HHFT said it would delay construction on the southern end by at least two years to collect data on a stretch of the Hudson River where an elevated boardwalk is planned. A pedestrian bridge at Breakneck, which underwent a separate environmental review in 2022, is under construction, along with a parking lot on Route 9D across from the former Dutchess Manor, which will be the HHFT headquarters.

Protect the Highlands alleges that the state's "findings statement," which cleared the way for HHFT to move forward, was "arbitrary, capricious and irrational on several fronts" and should be annulled.

The municipal suit asks that the findings statement be nullified for the southern section, and notes that HHFT must get land-use and Zoning Board approvals from Cold Spring and Philipstown for sections of the trail on private property or within the state park. (The environmental review concluded that HHFT does not need local approval for parts of the trail built on state land.)

In addition, the suit says that access to Dockside Park, which is owned by the state and maintained by the village, would only be available through an easement on private land. It asks the court to rule that the easement does not provide the access required to reach the trail.

Cold Spring and Philipstown argue that concerns regarding traffic and emergency services "were marginalized, if not completely ignored," and that several findings were "arbitrary a...

Employment program provides work experience

Beginning in July, as many as eight Beacon teenagers will have a chance to work at jobs that could pay dividends.

The city's youth employment program, managed by the Recreation Department, will hire residents aged 16 to 18 for summer work. In its second year, the project is funded by county grants. Applicants' families must be eligible for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, a state program, to qualify.

The program was created by Samantha Brittain, a supervisor in the Recreation Department. She was encouraged to apply for funding by Louise McLoughlin, the executive director of the Dutchess Workforce Investment Board, who knew Brittain from her time working for Green Teen Beacon, a program of Cornell Cooperative Extension Dutchess County.

"We struggle with getting someone in Beacon to run a youth employment program," McLoughlin said. "I knew that Sam would know what I was talking about, so I called her."

Days after receiving the first grant, in May 2025, Brittain hired three teens for the department's after-school program. The idea was to provide participants with work experience while hiring for positions the department has had trouble filling. Last summer, six teens were hired to help the Department of Public Works clean city parks and Main Street. Another group joined the after-school program in the fall.

One of those employees is Zion Segarra, 17, a senior at Beacon High School who has been part of the project since its beginning. He hopes to study HVAC at Dutchess Community College, but his 15 hours per week with the after-school program also qualify him for employment at any state-certified childcare facility.

At South Avenue Elementary, Segarra and the other teens supervise activities to keep the K-5 students safe. Many are working their first jobs. "They lead by example," said Kyra Cimino, who manages the after-school program. "It's cool to do what the older kids are doing."

In addition, "a lot of what they do is one-on-one conversations," Brittain said. "That's where the love grows."

Segarra recalled connecting with a student earlier this year who said he felt out of place. "I make sure everybody feels welcome," he said. "If they need to talk to somebody, they don't need to be scared."

This year's summer program begins in July and, noting that "it's challenging to encourage 16-, 17- and 18-year-olds to do manual labor in the heat of summer," Brittain plans a more diverse curriculum. The teens will work with the DPW for two hours each day, but they'll also visit city departments to observe how a municipality operates day-to-day.

Students will learn financial literacy, resume-writing and interviewing skills. In August, they'll help for two weeks at the Recreation Department's Park Days summer camp at Memorial Park. "The kids start to realize that these are all important skills, even as simple as they are," said Mark Price, the recreation director. "Longer-term, maybe one of them goes, 'I want to be a teacher.' They may be good at it."

There's a bonus: Summer employees are eligible to enter New York's State and Local Retirement System. There is no deadline to apply; Beacon teens can email Brittain at [email protected].

Haldane virtuosos team up for concert

For the first time, longstanding Haldane pals Sofia Kelly and Delia Starr are performing their greatest hits together at an independent, one-off concert at St. Mary's Church in Cold Spring on May 31.

In the fall, Kelly will attend the University of Cincinnati to study classical vocal music. Many selections on the program will highlight her dramatic, operatic style and are works she submitted on audition tapes for college applications and competitions, like attending the Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan and singing at the International InterHarmony Music Festival in Italy.

In a video of the lieder "Die Stille Stadt" by Alma Mahler (wife of Gustav), recorded at St. Mary's and on the program for Sunday, she looks ready to vanquish a village as her booming voice resonates.

Starr began plunking the piano at age 5 and is a fourth-generation musician. In addition to composing solo piano works in the classical vein, she wrote a piece at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute for a string quartet and will perform a "Piece for Clarinet and Piano" at the show (Katherine Filatov will accompany).

Beyond their passion for European art music, the two share another bond: Their fathers are professional musicians.

Composer and jazz pianist Daniel Kelly learned to play classical after Sofia cottoned on to the genre a couple of years ago, and will accompany her on a tune by Randy Newman and one of his originals based on a poem by Rainer Maria Rilke.

Eric Starr's father, Nelson, played trumpet in the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. Eric composes, leads Haldane's jazz performance program and teaches drums and piano at his Cold Spring studio. He also holds annual recitals at the Chapel Restoration, where Delia has played three solo shows.

Kelly decided to attend a large school where she could minor or double-major in environmental studies. Starr, a junior, is applying to conservatories as well as universities and will major in composition, perhaps with a minor in piano performance.

"It's nice to meet other people with different interests," says Starr. "I love music, but don't want to be trapped in a bubble with the same type of people."

She's expanding her writing prowess beyond the piano because "it makes you a better candidate," she says. "I'm gearing up for tours and applications."

Pecking out parts on the keyboard, she also plays back MIDI simulations of other instruments in her software program.

"That's why piano is so great; all the notes are in front of you, and I use that to my advantage because it's easy to translate lines or chords for other instruments," she says.

At the concert, Starr will perform her original music alongside pieces by Chopin and Beethoven. Her compositions hint at Brahms' cinematic style, and she admits an affinity for French impressionists like Fauré and Debussy. "I love film scores, and that may be something I get into," she says.

Kelly and Starr crafted a thoughtful program that features guest artists, offers varied musical styles and contrasts vocals with instrumentals.

"We've been talking about doing a concert together for so long, and it's now or never in our Haldane lives, so we're ready for a musical goodbye," says Kelly. "Delia and I share a sense of deep camaraderie in the music world, and we'll always be in the same orbit."

St. Mary's Church is located at 1 Chestnut St. in Cold Spring. The free concert begins at 4 p.m. and will be followed by a reception.

Purveyor of art toys shuts down

Ron English opened Popmart at the corner of Wolcott Avenue (Route 9D) and Beekman Street in 2019, and it thrived.

New York City residents trekked north to buy collectible figures made from his designs — otherworldly creations like the three-eyed, three-breasted Bunnny Rabbbit and toys-cum-cultural critiques such as the McDonald's derivative MC Supersized and the General Mills cereal-inspired Franken Fat and Honey Butt: The Obese Bee.

"We'd release something new, and they want to be the first to get it," said English, a painter, muralist and sculptor who has been designing toys for two decades. "You could buy as many as you want from us, so they'd buy 10 and sit in the parking lot and list them on eBay."

Those memories will survive Popmart, which is being emptied after going supernova on April 25, less than two weeks after an end-of-an-era fire sale on the livestreaming site Whatnot. Clutter Magazine hosted a party afterward at the KuBe Art Center, inside the former Beacon High School.

A coming development with 64 apartments and retail space in two 4-story buildings sealed Popmart's fate. The building, which English leased, will be demolished. That is at least a year away, according to English. The business could have remained open longer, but "then came Trump," he said.

Before the president imposed across-the-board tariffs last year, Popmart paid $5,000 in shipping costs to import figures from Mindstyle, its manufacturer in China. When the tariffs took effect, the cost ballooned to $25,000, said English. "We don't want to lose money doing this," he said.

Two days after the closure, Jennifer Moyer, who organized the Whatnot sale, loaded an SUV with toys to deliver. Meanwhile, the task of emptying the building continued, with help from English's wife, Tarssa Yazdani, and his apprentice, Beacon artist Mike "Skatchface" Long.

They were dismantling an idea that emerged from English's partnership with Mindstyle, one of the best-known manufacturers of art toys. Its owner, MD Young, "made all of my toys," said English. After English moved to Beacon 20 years ago, Young encouraged him to find a storefront. "He goes, 'I hear your town's hot,'" said English.

Popmart began with a stunt — a "fake store with fake products" — before English began selling his toys, which are made in limited editions of 100. The shop was open four days a week. On other days, people would hang out and drink beer while English signed toys. "These kids would be like, 'It's really you,' " he said. "You wouldn't expect the artist to be there."

Part of the building housed a recording studio for a music project called The Rabbbits. English recruited the musicians and wrote the songs. He and Yazdani toured the U.S., China and Asia, selling toys at pop-up events. "We could roll into your town and set up the whole store in two hours," he said. "I sign for two hours, and then we break down and drive to the next town. It was fun."

Mindstyle, which paid the rent at Popmart, continued paying even after rising tariffs halted imports, according to English. However, about two months ago, he said, Young withdrew his support. Although the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Trump's tariffs to be illegal, Young doubted that it would ever get better, said English.

The final three months drew a stream of visitors, he said. In addition, more than 1,000 toys were sold during the 13-hour Whatnot marathon that began April 12.

"We can still do stuff in Asia — we can make it there and sell it there," said English. "We just can't come here anymore."

D.C. trip included Arlington National Cemetery

Memorial Day will hold added meaning for 82 members of the Haldane High School junior class following a four-day trip to Washington, D.C.

The first three days of the March trip included visits to the U.S. Capitol, the Jefferson and Lincoln memorials, the September 11 Memorial and Museum, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Smithsonian Institute.

On the final day, the group traveled to Arlington National Cemetery. It is there that Rhys Williams and a few classmates visited the grave of his grandfather, Preston Williams.

Preston Williams' military service included two Army tours during the Vietnam War. In May 1967, as commander of Company C, 3rd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, and just short of his 25th birthday, Williams was in combat for nine straight days.

During a two-hour firefight, he moved from position to position, directing supportive fire — gallantry that earned him a Silver Star. He was also awarded a Purple Heart, four Bronze Stars and other commendations during his service. Williams died in June 2024 and was buried at Arlington with military honors.

Rhys said he remembers his grandfather's funeral vividly, including the 21-gun salute. "I realized the impact he had on others, how he meant a lot to so many people beyond our family," Rhys said.

On March 27, he revisited the burial site. "I wanted to see it again," Rhys said. "I felt very proud of my grandfather; you can see all his awards on the gravestone."

The trip to Arlington concluded for the juniors with Cooper Corless and Christine Junjulas, accompanied by Jaiden Gunther and Elaina Johanson, placing a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on behalf of Haldane High School.

"Having the opportunity to actually lay the wreath was so powerful; I was really moved," said Corless. Junjulas echoed that sentiment: "It was a really cool way to have our school honor the people who have done so much for our country." Both have family members who served in the military.

Teachers Kristen Peparo and Marilyn Granese, co-advisors for the class, planned the Washington trip. "I think the students felt a reverence for our country, its leaders, our history and the sacrifice many made to fight for our democracy," Peparo said. She said that, while visiting Arlington, the Haldane group passed by a military funeral.

"Our students were so respectful and considerate of the grieving family," she said. "It was wonderful to see them pay such deep respect for those who made the ultimate sacrifice."

Part of civilian flotilla taking aid to Gaza

A former Clearwater captain was among 428 activists detained by Israel while aboard a flotilla attempting to break the naval blockade of Gaza, according to a group called Global Sumud Flotilla.

Liam Henrie, who last year served as a captain for Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, which is based in Beacon, was on board La Cirena, one of the vessels intercepted by the Israeli Navy on Monday (May 18). He and the other detainees was released as of Thursday and deported to Turkey. Global Sumud Flotilla alleged the detainees were subjected to "extreme violence and sexual humiliation" by Israel Defense Forces.

Global Sumud Flotilla said that 31 of about 50 vessels were "boarded, disabled and seized" on May 18 near Cyprus. The flotilla had left from Turkey and was carrying food and medical supplies.

By Wednesday, the detainees had been taken to the Israeli port of Ashdod. The Times of Israel reported that the national security minister, Ben Gvir, posted a video online from a detention center in which he is shown taunting the prisoners, who are kneeling with their hands tied.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued an unusual statement criticizing his minister. "Israel has every right to prevent provocative flotillas of Hamas terrorist supporters from entering our territorial waters and reaching Gaza," he said. "However, the way that Minister Ben Gvir dealt with the flotilla activists is not in line with Israel's values and norms. I have instructed the relevant authorities to deport the provocateurs as soon as possible."

Global Sumud Flotilla said that Henrie, who lives in Kingston, also was among 180 people detained on April 29 when their flotilla was intercepted by Israeli forces near Greece. The group said the activists were held on a prison ship for 36 hours.

High school teachers organize showcase

Surrounded by students' work in the administrative office at The Lofts at Beacon, a funky historic building bathed in natural light, Beacon High School art teachers Mark Lyon and Claudine Farley beamed with pride.

The showcase, which closes May 30, features pottery and visual images. Friendship is a recurring theme.

Opposite the entrance hang three striking paintings by Luna Ayers-Uekawa, Elena Moleano and Willa Staempfli with bright colors and fantastical beasts.

"I gave them the freedom to go on a rollercoaster ride," says Lyon. "No bullseyes, and it had to be an original work that does not copy a picture."

Several students won Scholastic Art Awards, and Carlos Lampon received a full scholarship to the Rhode Island School of Design. His painting, "Explore Friendship," is a complicated construct: the heads of eight young people rotate around the frame as if everyone is lying in a circle; one cozies up to a glowing orb that resembles the moon.

Alina Joseph

Caleb Ramirez

Carlos Lampon

Elena Moleano

Luna Ayers-Uekawa

Mira Miller

Nicholas Perry

Nora Marshall

Pen Lipari

Prince Jones

Samantha Garcia

Shannon Colandrea

Suvi Oshea

Taylor Kelliher

Willa Staempfli

Zenis Haris

Lampon renders complex features such as hair, hands and rumpled shirts with skill. In another acrylic, a lady in red lounges on a porch. The long shadow cast by a post crosses her body and pierces the frame.

Mira Miller's untitled painting portrays her and some pals working on an Eagle Scout woodworking project. Amidst the chaotic scene, a self-portrait appears in a corner, with Miller holding tools and donning safety googles.

A fun-filled painting by Taylor Kelliher features soft lighting and a dog, while her arresting final project from this year shows a girl in a colorful costume strutting her stuff while reflected in a mirror from behind. "Her brush strokes are more confident," says Lyon. "She's come a long way."

Some of Farley's pottery students replicated yellow rubber ducks to reflect their personalities. One young artist who values sleep topped the work with an old-fashioned nightcap.

More advanced students created personalized paper bags from clay, including "What's Next," which features a sad face. "It laments the situation of seniors, whose world is breaking up as they move on from high school," says Farley.

A charcoal drawing by Alina Joseph demonstrates a sophisticated balance between shade and light. Prince Jones created photos with movement; "Heart Eyes" is the result of waving lights around a dark stage. The background and the subject wearing pink glasses are multiplied, manipulated and over-exposed.

Caleb Ramirez shot photos at Long Dock Park, Shannon Colandrea shares an image taken in Iceland, and Samantha Garcia zoomed in for a close-up of her dog's nose.

A digital artwork by Zenia Haris captivates in part because it's disorienting and challenging — even after digesting it for an extended period.

Using an iPad and the program ibisPaint, he wielded a stylus to draw in the digital realm, creating deep shades of blue and purple, as well as bright reds and oranges. His cut-paper collage "Losing Touch" is an allegory about how he's "jealous of my younger self; it was much easier to make friends."

No matter what path he takes at SUNY Albany, Haris says he will keep creating. "I've been doing art projects since I was a little kid," he says. "There are always ideas floating around my brain."

The Lofts at Beacon Gallery, at 18 Front St., is open Monday to Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closed for lunch 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.) and Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

250 Years Ago (May 1776)

Gen. George Washington wrote the Continental Congress, asking that two or three thousand stands of arms [weapons for one soldier] reserved for provincial use be "borrowed" to defend New York City. He enclosed a report from troops in the Highlands, where Col. Ritzema said his regiment had only 97 flintlocks and seven bayonets.

The Board of Treasury asked New York and five other colonies to conduct a census of their inhabitants for tax purposes.

The carpenters, boatbuilders and painters who had been drafted for military service by Major Gen. Israel Putnam were ordered to gather at sunrise outside his New York City headquarters to receive their orders.

A general order was issued in New York City to double the number of night sentries due to fears of a surprise British attack.

The Third Provincial Congress, based in New York, declared its independence from British rule.

Robert Livingston wrote from Philadelphia to his sister, Catherine, at the family estate in Clermont, on the Hudson River in Columbia County. "We have reason to believe that our enemy will make great efforts this summer," he wrote. "I hope, however, by the blessing of God, to see them repelled & this country, after a glorious struggle, emancipated from the tyranny of an inhuman prince."

150 Years Ago (May 1876)

Burglars broke through a rear window of William Rumpf's shop and stole hundreds of his best cigars, along with some chewing tobacco.

In an item under the headline "Wonderful," the editor of The Cold Spring Recorder reported that "three wagonloads of dirty and dishonest nomads came down Main Street at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, turned onto Garden Street and pushed for the Fishkill Landing road without stopping!"

The new Putnam County sheriff, Charles Brewster, a Cold Spring native, ended the practice of allowing inmates at the Carmel jail to lounge outside.

According to The Recorder, two patrons of a Cold Spring saloon measured the distance around its walls and raced around the room until they had walked at least three miles.

Mrs. P.K. Paulding of Paulding Avenue reported she had lost an oxidized silver pencil with a chain.

The schools "have been nearly depopulated for a fortnight" by the measles, according to The Recorder. "Nearly every house has a case."

James Trimble and James Kennedy were convicted of breaking the window of Morrison's boathouse before threatening to burn down the shanty and drown its occupant. Both were sentenced to six months in the penitentiary.

From The Recorder: "Lost, between Chestnut Street and the post office, on Thursday afternoon, a black feather."

Late on a Friday night, after they heard voices inside the Champlin blacksmith shop in Nelsonville, friends of the proprietor went quietly to a back door. Suddenly, two or three men dashed past them. Inside, the friends found a pile of chisels, saws and hammers, ready to be carried away. It was supposed that the intruders planned to free two prisoners at Town Hall.

Roger Maher died suddenly on a Wednesday afternoon at C.M. Brown's tavern. The bartender said he had taken a sip of whiskey when his head dropped.

Jacob Southard still had his grandfather's discharge papers from the Revolutionary War signed by George Washington and other top officers.

The Recorder suggested paying children 10 cents [about $3 today] per cup of potato bugs they collected and delivered to a kitchen stove.

While driving along the Garrison road, William Ladue came across a raccoon that had been treed. After going home to retrieve a rifle, he shot the animal dead, then brought the carcass into Cold Spring to show off his marksmanship.

David Robinson informed The Recorder of the need for a fence around the New Burying Ground to prevent grazing cattle from knocking down the headstones.

Enoch Lawrence, 84, the oldest resident of Cold Spring, was painting his house on Garden Street.

William Purdy was jailed at Town Hall after being accused of assaulting his wife. His brother came from Tarrytown to...

HVS opens theater in Philipstown

Standing under the curving wooden proscenium of the just-finished Samuel H. Scripps Theater Center in Philipstown, Davis McCallum recalled the moment last month when he showed the company's actors the building for the first time.

Some of them were speechless, said McCallum, the artistic director of Hudson Valley Shakespeare. Some cheered, danced or sang. Some hugged him. But the actors who had been part of the troupe for years, performing under a seasonal tent at Boscobel and then at its current home, the former Garrison Golf Course on Route 9, said it felt like a homecoming.

"It's hard to overstate the commitment that a person makes when you decide you want to be a theater actor," said McCallum. "There's not a lot of glory; there's not a lot of remuneration. You do it for the love of the craft and the art of theater. To have a space dedicated to exactly that feels like a real validation for the company."

"It's as simple as it needs to be, and it provides everything you could need to do your job very well," added Kendra Ekelund, the managing director.

HVS provided the media — reporters from The New York Times, Times Union, Times of London and NY1, among others — with a sneak peek on Thursday (May 14) during the building's ribbon-cutting. The public will be able to visit the 451-seat theater for the first time during an open house with tours and music on Sunday (May 17), 599 days after the 2024 groundbreaking. Once the season opens on June 10 with previews of As You Like It, the HVS grounds will be open to the public from dawn to dusk.

"The golf course was a place that people were already very accustomed to walking their dogs and having access to, and we wanted to maintain that and honor the incredible opportunity that receiving this land is by sharing it with our neighbors as a public good," said Ekelund.

"And there's great birding here," said architect Jeanne Gang.

Gang is a founder of Studio Gang, a past recipient of a MacArthur Foundation "genius" grant and named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time in 2019.

Her work has been hailed for incorporating sustainability in surprising and practical ways. The WMS Boathouse at Clark Park doubles as a stormwater management system for the Chicago River, diverting runoff from the sewers and the river itself. The Gilder Center, which opened in 2023 at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, swirls around a towering atrium that lets in enough natural light and air circulation to drastically lower the building's energy demands. Even the roof of Studio Gang's Chicago office has been transformed into an urban prairie, with nearly 100 species of native wildflowers.

Before the May 14 ceremony, Gang and Ekelund showed off the features they hope will qualify it to become the country's first purpose-built theater rated LEED Platinum, the highest possible rating offered by the U.S. Green Building Council. Some features, such as solar panels and dots on the soaring windows to prevent bird collisions, are obvious. But tucked behind an elegant green room where actors will relax before performances sits a massive tank that captures rain from the roof to flush the toilets.

Photos by Ross Corsair

"It was important for us to be water-conscious because the golf course had been such a large user of water," said Studio Gang's Teo Quintana, the project leader.

The theater presents a stark contrast from what HVS actors, technicians and audience members experienced for decades under the tent at Boscobel. No longer will crew members have to fight off raccoons determined to chew through lighting cables, or audience members sit behind support poles, or actors use dressing rooms outfitted with folding chairs, card tables and black curtains thrown over pipes.

The crew will also no longer have to stay up until 2 a.m. after each performance to shake sand from the costumes and drive for miles to an off-site laundry r...

Plus, other construction updates

The Beacon Planning Board held a public hearing on Tuesday (May 12) on a developer's proposal to open a karaoke bar called The Howl just off Main Street.

The plan would convert the former art gallery space at 1154 North Ave. (Route 9D), near the west end of Main, to a venue for "immersive live-performance experiences." The site is across from the police station; the next street over, West Church, is residential, while two 4-story buildings with 64 apartments and nearly 14,000 square feet of commercial space have been approved nearby on Beekman Street.

The parcel is owned by a group that, through several LLCs, holds more than two dozen properties in Beacon, most of them on and around the west end of Main Street, including the housing development under construction at 2 Cross/172 Main.

The applicant, Eric Weitner, told the board on Tuesday that the two-story brick structure will have an 80-person lounge on the first floor. The second floor will have six private karaoke suites and, while designed for 80 people, its expected usage will be "more like 40" patrons, the project architect said.

According to project materials, The Howl was conceived as a "value-add to the local community and aligns with Beacon's long-standing tradition of fostering arts, music and creative gathering spaces." Weitner said he is working with an acoustic engineer on noise control and will submit a report with plans for next month's meeting. The intention is to "not disturb any of the neighbors," he said.

The venue would be closed Monday and Tuesday and open from 2 p.m. to midnight on Wednesday and Thursday, from noon to 1:30 a.m. Friday and Saturday and from noon to 11 p.m. on Sunday.

A consultant said the venue will need 38 parking spaces at peak; it would use the public lot at City Hall, the same one that could be utilized by Prophecy Hall and a future hotel at 1064 Wolcott Ave. There should be about 10 spaces left in the lot after accounting for those uses, the consultant said.

Several residents submitted emails to the Planning Board supporting or opposing the project, and others attended the Tuesday hearing. "This business is going to be located in my backyard," said Rob VanCott, who lives on West Church. "I'm not a fool; people are going to be hanging out in the back of the property" doing what "comes along with having a good time."

Weitner said a rear door would be an emergency exit only and "there won't be an influx of people waiting outside to get in." There will be no outdoor seating, he said. Board members asked him to return with plans showing how customers would be evacuated in an emergency. The public hearing remains open.

Planning Board members on Tuesday chastised the owner of 364 Main St., where a three-story building with commercial space and 20 apartments is nearly complete. The project was approved in 2022, but officials returned seeking approval for architectural changes that occurred during construction.

The changes do not affect the building footprint but include material selections, facade changes, window detailing and the replacement of Juliet balconies and doors with double windows. There is also a reduction in rooftop area and, after discovering that the first-floor elevation is two feet higher than anticipated, a front patio was modified.

Board members were unhappy. "Why these changes were made without communication is a hot potato," said Randall Williams, who acted as chair in John Gunn's absence. Len Warner said that, after dropping approved features, "what we're left with is a really drab building." Karen Quiana added: "The Main Street facade is completely unacceptable in my view. It is awful."

In a comment responding to a Facebook post in March, architect Aryeh Siegel wrote: "This isn't the building I designed. It's embarrassing." On Tuesday, an architect from a different firm appeared with Eric Baxter, the owner. Williams asked Baxter to return next month with "substantial suggestions, n...