Arrested with women charged with defacing NYT building

A Cold Spring photographer who has documented protests against the Gaza war was arrested on Sept. 28 on charges of threatening an editor at The New York Times over its coverage of the conflict.

Alexa Wilkinson, 38, was detained after officers from the New York Police Department, with assistance from the state and Cold Spring police, executed a search warrant at a residence in the village. Investigators were on the scene for several hours.

That same day, police arrested Sarah Schaff, 30, on charges that she vandalized The Times building on Eighth Avenue with red paint at 4 a.m. on July 30 and Anna Owens, 24, for being "a lookout." Cleaning up and repairing the damage cost $108,000, according to investigators. The two women were protesting The Times' coverage, which they consider biased against Palestinians, according to prosecutors.

All three were arraigned Monday (Sept. 29) on single felony charges - Wilkinson for second-degree aggravated harassment as a hate crime and Owens and Schaff for second-degree criminal mischief. Wilkinson returns to court on Nov. 17.

Wilkinson "is a respected photojournalist with no criminal record," The Legal Aid Society told The New York Times. Wilkinson "did not participate in or encourage any unlawful activity," it said, and the charge is "wholly unfounded."

According to the criminal complaint, the charge against Wilkinson stems not from the vandalism but from a post that appeared on Instagram that targeted Joseph Kahn, executive editor of The Times, who is Jewish.

In a complaint obtained from the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, a detective with the NYPD's Bias Incident Investigations Unit said a person identified as Wilkinson shared a post that read: "They hanged newspaper editors at Nuremberg," the German city where the Allies tried Nazi officials following World War II. Police said the post was captioned: "Looking at you [Kahn]."

A month after the damage to the Times building, someone using red paint vandalized the apartment building where Kahn lives. The investigation into that incident is ongoing, according to the complaint.

Last November, a New York City videographer was indicted on felony hate crime charges after he recorded protestors hurling red paint at the homes of the director and president of the Brooklyn Museum. According to a criminal complaint, Samuel Seligson, 31, traveled with the group as it spray-painted doors and sidewalks with messages that accused the two leaders of supporting genocide.

Seligson's attorney, Leena Widdi, said her client was acting in his capacity as a credentialed member of the media, describing the hate crime charges as an "appalling" overreach by police and prosecutors.

A law enforcement official at the time described Seligson as a participant who was not directly involved in the property damage. Seligson returns to court on Oct. 15 and, according to court records, is considering a plea offer.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.

No candidates on ballot for Cold Spring justice

The judge's seat at the Cold Spring Justice Court is up for grabs in the Nov. 4 election - but the ballot will not list any candidates.

The unusual circumstance arose after Justice Thomas Costello, who has served for 24 years, decided not to seek reelection to a seventh, 4-year term. However, he did so only after an April deadline for candidates to file paperwork with the Putnam County Board of Elections to appear on the ballot, and no candidate filed an independent nominating petition by a May 27 deadline or was nominated after a party caucus by a July 24 deadline. As a result, the new justice will be elected by write-in votes. (Costello's wife, Cathy, who has been the court clerk for 15 years, announced recently she will retire on Dec. 1.)

Under state law, only village residents are eligible to serve, unless the Village Board adopts a local law that expands the residency requirements.

The Cold Spring Justice Court has two judges. The second, the associate judge, is appointed by the Village Board. Until June, it was Camille Linson, but she moved out of the area and was replaced by Luke Hilpert, who has said he is considering a write-in campaign to succeed Costello.

Philipstown also has two justices; both are elected. One was Linson, who had been elected in November to her third, 4-year term. When she resigned, the Town Board appointed Hilpert to succeed her until the election. Hilpert said he plans to run as a write-in candidate to keep the seat against Fred Clarke, a Cold Spring resident whose name will appear on the Nov. 4 ballot after he was nominated by the Philipstown Democratic Committee. (The other Philipstown justice is Angela Thompson-Tinsley, a Democrat elected in 2023.)

Unlike judges at the state, county and city level in New York, town and village justices are not required to be lawyers, although they must undergo training. There are nearly 1,200 town and village courts in New York, which handle nearly 1 million cases annually, including vehicle and traffic violations, small claims, evictions and minor criminal offenses.

In a classic work, a woman suffers in silence

Performances featuring a lone actor are a trend, says Caitlin Morley, the artistic director at Wayward Son, a theater company in New York City.

A solo adaptation of Dracula at Bannerman Island just closed, and Jim Dale comes to The Depot Theater in Garrison on Oct. 12 for An Actor's Nightmare. Sandwiched in between is Morley and Susannah Millonzi's premiere of The Yellow Wallpaper at the Depot on Oct. 10 and 11.

The pair, who are affiliated with the edgy troupe Bedlam, animated a short story written in 1892 by Charlotte Perkins Gilman that hews close to the original.

The first-person narrative, thought to be autobiographical, centers on a new mother - identified only as "woman" - who is drugged up by her husband, a doctor named John, who dismisses her ideas in knee-jerk fashion and isolates her in a room with bars on the windows.

When she tries to step outside one night, he says, "What is it, little girl? Don't go walking about like that - you'll get cold." In addition to cod-liver oil, he besots her with tonics, ale, wine and rare meat.

Although she is a writer, the woman is forbidden to work until she is "well again" and laments that her stifling husband "does not know how much I really suffer." John contends that the woman succumbs to hysteria and "temporary nervous depression"; the woman's brother, also a physician, agrees.

She takes "pains to control myself," which exhausts her, but wants to socialize, express herself and be with her child. The character continues to write secretly as a creative outlet and a form of rebellion. She becomes obsessed with the room's wallpaper and descends into a form of madness.

Morley, 25, encountered the short story during a gender studies class at Tufts University. "It has a cult following, and people consider it to be either about that crazy lady or a work of horror," she says. "It's often compared to Poe's 'Tell-Tale Heart.' I'm surprised there haven't been more adaptations; it's been marinating inside my head for five years."

She directs the production and Millonzi, an actor, dancer and choreographer who lives in Cold Spring, performs. (This year, Millonzi choreographed two plays for Hudson Valley Shakespeare.)

Though "The Yellow Wallpaper" is 133 years old, "I felt a connection - it reads like a monologue," says Morley. "Many people have a deep love for it and, given the recent movement to silence women, especially regarding health care, we're driven to do this right now."

She cites experiences of "going to the doctor and constantly feeling dismissed and not taken seriously about my own self-knowledge. This play shows the persistence in history of women's voices being minimized. Here, she silences herself; her husband knows better about everything, and he happens to be a doctor."

The Depot Theater is located at 10 Garrison's Landing. Tickets are $20 or $35 at depottheater.org. Both performances begin at 7:30 p.m.

President Donald Trump said Friday (Oct. 3) he has personally reversed $187 million in funding cuts made by his administration for New York's law enforcement and counterterrorism operations, following bipartisan outcry from New York officials.

In Dutchess, funding would have dropped from $574,000 to $54,000, and in Putnam, from $235,000 to $22,000, according to Gov. Kathy Hochul's office. New York joined 11 other states on Monday in a lawsuit aimed at preventing the cuts.

Rep. Mike Lawler, a Republican whose district includes Philipstown, said the cuts were "unacceptable and posed a direct threat to the safety of New Yorkers." He said he also worked to have the reductions reversed. "New York remains the number one target for terrorism, and we cannot let politics put lives at risk," he said in a statement.

The cut would have slashed federal counterterrorism funding for the NYPD from $90 million to nearly $10 million, according to Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who on Wednesday called it "a devastating blow." She called the city "the No. 1 terrorist target in the world."

Trump announced the restoration of federal funding on Truth Social. "I am pleased to advise that I reversed the cuts made to Homeland Security and Counterterrorism for New York City and State. It was my Honor to do so," he wrote. "Thank you for your attention to this matter!"

The reversal came after Hochul sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Monday railing against the cuts, saying they represented 86 percent of homeland security funding to the state, impacting the New York City police and fire departments, state police and other law enforcement agencies.

On Friday, Hochul credited political pushback from the state for the restoration of funds. "From the moment these devastating cuts were announced, I made it clear that New York would not stand by while our law enforcement and counterterrorism operations were defunded," Hochul said in a statement. "I'm glad President Trump heard our call and reversed course, ensuring our state has the resources necessary to support law enforcement and keep our families safe."

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, the only Republican representing New York City in Congress, said she had spoken with Trump about the cuts, which she called a "terrible idea." "New York remains the nation's top terror target, and cutting this funding was never acceptable," she said in a statement.

The Associated Press provided reporting.

Wants Nelsonville station named for McConville

Putnam County Executive Kevin Byrne proposed on Wednesday (Oct. 1) a $222 million budget for 2026 with a tax cut he calls the largest in the county's history and a fund to be shared with its six towns and villages, including Cold Spring, Nelsonville and Philipstown.

Byrne also plans to ask the Legislature to approve naming the Sheriff's Office substation on Main Street in Nelsonville in honor of the late Sheriff Kevin McConville, a Cold Spring resident who died in August. "He was not only a trusted law enforcement officer but also a mentor, a colleague and a friend to many," Byrne said.

Byrne's proposed budget would raise spending by $18 million (8.9 percent) offset by $45.2 million in property taxes and $83.5 million in sales-tax revenue, he said during a presentation at the Historic Courthouse in Carmel. The $1 million reduction in the property tax levy equates to a 2 percent cut, he said.

His budget (online at dub.sh/putnam-budget-2026) also sets aside $2.3 million for Putnam's inaugural sales-tax-sharing agreement with Nelsonville, Cold Spring, Philipstown and five other towns and the Village of Brewster. Each municipality will receive a share based on population to be used on infrastructure projects, with a minimum award of $50,000.

The agreement was tied to a two-year extension of a 1 percent increase in its sales tax - from 3 percent to 4 percent - first approved in 2007 and set to expire in November. A majority of the Legislature initially voted against the extension but relented amid pressure from Byrne, the municipalities and Putnam's state representatives.

"Had we not reached a consensus and acted as we did, Putnam County would have turned away over $21 million in sales tax revenue, which would have forced us to raise property taxes, cut services and excessively rely on our fund balance," said Byrne. "We avoided this crisis scenario."

The budget allocates about $6.6 million in general fund reserves and proposes new positions, including a counsel for the majority-Republican Legislature and a part-time counsel for its minority member, Nancy Montgomery, a Democrat who represents Philipstown and part of Putnam Valley.

Byrne is also requesting two specialists for the Department of Social Services, a prosecutor who will specialize in financial crimes for the District Attorney's Office, a personnel specialist, an accountant for the Finance Department and a veterans service officer.

Based on recommendations from a consultant, the public health nurse positions in the Department of Health would be reclassified to a higher pay grade to improve recruitment and retention. Byrne's proposal also contains raises for management employees, ranging from prosecutors and deputy county attorneys to coroners and elections commissioners.

Byrne is proposing a reduction, from 30 percent to 17 percent, in the share of health insurance premiums that newer employees are required to pay. Four of the county's unions have agreed to the reduction, but the change needs the Legislature's approval, he said.

Other initiatives include a one-year extension of the sales tax exemption on clothing and shoes costing less than $110; changing the criteria for farms applying to Putnam's Agricultural District; and piloting a program in which paramedics would provide public health, primary care and preventive services in homes.

Over 920K in the Hudson Valley are eligible

More than 8 million New York state residents and 924,000 in the Hudson Valley will begin receiving "inflation refund" checks ranging from $150 to $400, Gov. Kathy Hochul said on Friday (Sept. 25).

Automatic payments have started going out to people who filed taxes as a New York resident for 2023 and were not claimed by someone else as a dependent, said Hochul, with payouts continuing through November. "This is your money and we're putting it back in your pockets," she said.

The amount a person receives depends on filing status and income.

Joint filers with incomes up to $150,000 will receive $400.

Joint filers with incomes between $150,001 and $300,000 are eligible for $300 checks.

Single filers with incomes up to $75,000 will receive $200.

Single filers with incomes over $75,000 are eligible for $150.

Visit tax.ny.gov/pit/inflation-refund-checks.htm for more information.

Holtec says no wastewater releases imminent

A federal judge ruled on Wednesday (Sept. 24) that the state overstepped its authority when it passed a law to prevent the company decommissioning the former Indian Point nuclear plant near Philipstown from discharging radioactive wastewater into the Hudson River.

The Save the Hudson act was passed in August 2023 to prevent Holtec International from discharging water containing tritium as it decommissions the shuttered nuclear power plant near Peekskill. Holtec sued in April 2024, arguing that the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 gives the federal government the "exclusive right to regulate the discharge of radioactive materials from nuclear power plants."

The company also argued that the discharges would be far below the federal government's limits for tritium in wastewater and that Indian Point had routinely made similar discharges during its 50 years of operation. Judge Kenneth Karas, based in White Plains, agreed, ruling that Holtec was within its rights as it had assured compliance with federal regulations.

The state has not announced whether it will appeal. However, during a Sept. 25 meeting of the Indian Point Decommissioning Oversight Board, Holtec stated that it does not plan any discharges in the near term and will discuss the issue with local stakeholders this month. If the company decides to release wastewater, it must provide the state with at least 30 days' notice.

"Everyone is still digesting this," said Pete Harckham, a Democrat who introduced the Save the Hudson Act in the state Senate. "We don't know what the attorney general will do." The act was introduced in the Assembly by Dana Levenberg, a Democrat whose district includes Philipstown.

Holtec also said on Thursday that it is not considering reopening Indian Point

despite an article in Politico in which Kelly Trice, the company's president, suggested that it was feasible. The company estimates that rebuilding the reactors would cost $8 billion to $10 billion and take four years. Its estimate was prepared because the federal Department of Energy is "asking everyone that has a closed or decommissioned site," said Patrick O'Brien, a Holtec official.

"The question we always get asked is, 'Is it possible to potentially rebuild Indian Point?'" O'Brien said at the Sept. 25 oversight meeting. "Our goal is to answer the question once and for all publicly and just say yes, but if the political will exists."

In January, five Republican senators from other parts of the state introduced a bill to establish a commission to examine the reopening of Indian Point, saying that the closure "has proven to be a significant setback in terms of grid reliability and capacity." The bill died in committee during the previous session.

If Holtec were to attempt to reopen Indian Point, it would face tremendous hurdles. First, as part of the shutdown agreement, any plans to create nuclear energy at the site must be unanimously approved by the Village of Buchanan, the Town of Cortlandt, Westchester County, New York State and the Hendrick Hudson School District.

At the oversight meeting, Susan Spear, the commissioner of emergency services for Westchester County, read a statement from County Executive Ken Jenkins in which he declared that the county "will not agree to support and will oppose any application for nuclear reactors at the Indian Point site." According to Jenkins, "We need to just move on."

The company's estimate for reopening is based on rebuilding the plant, although its reactors have been dismantled. "We would use existing equipment and add reconstituted parts," said O'Brien. "There's still good equipment there. For now, we're continuing down a path of decommissioning."

In addition, because the design of Indian Point was found, near the end of its lifecycle, to violate the Clean Water Act, any new nuclear there wouldn't be able to draw water from the Hudson.

Holtec is in the final stages of attempting to restart the Palisades Nuclear ...

Students adjust to ban with board games, CD players

A month into the statewide school cellphone ban, students in Beacon and Philipstown are playing cards during lunch, reading during study hall and showing up on time to class because they can no longer make TikTok videos on campus.

Some Beacon High School students recently spent a free period playing tag.

"They're being kids again," said Rachel Faiella, a Beacon High School social worker. "It's such a difference."

Beginning in September, state law banned students from using their own internet-enabled devices during the school day. Students, teachers and administrators seem to agree that the ban has transformed the culture, particularly at Beacon High School, Rombout Middle School in Beacon and Haldane High School in Cold Spring.

Cellphones were already banned in the Beacon and Haldane elementary schools, as well as in Haldane Middle School and the Garrison School, which serves students from pre-K to eighth grade. All local public schools had previously banned the use of cellphones during class.

Beacon and Haldane students have mostly been complying, keeping their phones in their backpacks or leaving them at home, according to school officials. On Wednesday (Sept. 24), Julia Sniffen, the principal at Haldane High School, said a handful of students were starting to test the ban. She said she had three confiscated phones in her office.

Walking down a hallway during lunch, Sniffen saw several students walking together and said, "I hope I don't see any cellphones." The students smiled and raised their hands to show they were empty.

In interviews, students said they like the ban. "It's a lot easier to stay focused and on track, not only academically but also mentally," said Melby Scher, a Beacon senior. She said that, in previous years, the text message "We need to talk" could turn into a daylong distraction.

"Before this year, I was on TikTok and Instagram trying to watch everything," said Samiria Ferrer, another Beacon senior. "Now the phone's away, so I can just focus on schoolwork."

"In study halls, I'm seeing more actual studying," said Rebecca Masback, a Haldane High School teacher.

Students have been innovative in battling boredom, relying on old-school music players that don't violate the ban on internet-enabled devices, said Corey Dwyer, the principal of Beacon High School. "We've seen CD players, Walkmans, MP3 players. We've been joking that the '90s are back."

Haldane and Beacon are providing board games like Scrabble, UNO, Connect 4, Twister and Cornhole. "I'm great at Jenga," said Khiana Nicholson, a Beacon senior, who was playing with friends during lunch.

Some students noted loopholes. For instance, they have discovered they can still stream shows and movies on Hulu and BritBox through their school-issued Chromebooks.

Prince Jones, a Beacon senior, said he thought the ban shouldn't apply to study halls, especially early in the year, when there isn't much homework. During a study hall during the first week of school, "I would just stare at the walls for a little bit and sleep," he said.

"It's a hard adjustment for a lot of us, because, you know, we're all addicted to our cellphones," said Nadine Alayon, a Haldane junior, who was playing an oversized game of Connect 4 in front of the school. "It's been hard not going on TikTok during lunch. But it's fun to see everybody talk and socialize in the hallways."

"I like it a lot," said David Powlis, another junior at Haldane, who was playing Twister in the hall during lunch on Wednesday. He said in previous years, before the ban, "I would be sitting with my nose in my phone, wasting my lunch period."

Federal government settles over land claims

In a settlement with the federal government, eight Dutchess and Putnam County landowners, including five in Beacon, were awarded $1.06 million in compensation for property taken for a proposed 13-mile rail trail - apparently the first resolution in a slew of similar lawsuits.

Metro-North, which acquired the dormant Beacon Line in 1995, is negotiating to relinquish the tracks to the state for a Beacon-to-Hopewell Junction trail. It would wind from Beacon's train station for 4 miles around the city's southern perimeter before running parallel with Tioronda Avenue and the east end of Main Street. The entire Beacon Line is 41 miles long and stretches to the Connecticut border.

The eight plaintiffs are represented by Lewis Rice, a law firm in St. Louis that specializes in rail trail "takings" cases. Four own homes on Tioronda Avenue and another is the limited-liability company behind the condos at 1 East Main St.

The property under and adjacent to the tracks was seized in February 2024 under the National Trails System Act, which allows abandoned railroad lines to be converted to parks. A feasibility study commissioned by Dutchess County and released in August recommended tearing out the unused tracks between Beacon and Hopewell for $46 million to $56 million rather than installing a path alongside them.

Landowners adjoining the corridor can claim swaths of land likely lost in the 19th century, when railroads that needed the corridors purchased or condemned the land or acquired easements, according to Steve Wald of Stewart, Wald & Smith, another St. Louis law firm specializing in rail-trail property cases. The firms argue that modern owners are "predecessors in title" who "have the same rights as the original landowners."

The plaintiffs in this case and similar ones elsewhere in the country say that, in the event of a conversion of use to something other than rail access, they should receive "full possession and control" or be compensated. If a court agrees, appraisers determine the amount of land lost, as well as any damages related to loss of privacy and/or security from the trail construction.

More than 80 abandoned railroad lines in New York state have been converted to trails, including the 13-mile Dutchess Rail Trail that stretches from Hopewell Junction to the Walkway Over the Hudson and the 12-mile Putnam County Trailway between Baldwin Place and Brewster.

More lawsuits are pending. Stewart, Wald & Smith has at least three outstanding cases that name 260 landowners. In Beacon, their clients include the Elks, Lank's Automotive, Lori Joseph Builders, Levi Reavey Sr. and Whitefield Properties. On Aug. 21, Lewis Rice filed a lawsuit on behalf of G.P. Beacon LLC at 578 Main St. and property owners in Fishkill and Pawling. On Sept. 17, Stewart, Wald & Smith filed a claim for owners in Fishkill, Hopewell Junction, Pawling and Poughquag.

Italian artist created wry, but serious, works

Piero Manzoni, who became famous in Italy before his death in 1963 at age 29, challenged conceptions of art as Marshall Plan funds flowed in after World War II and his nation shifted from agrarian to industrial.

He also lampooned celebrity and consumer culture, worked with non-traditional materials and believed that the creator alone determined what is art.

As chronicled in a video on display at a new exhibit, Total Space, at Magazzino Italian Art in Philipstown, Manzoni dipped his thumb in ink, imprinted hard-boiled eggs and placed them in small boxes. He blew up balloons for his Artist's Breath series but really grabbed attention with 90 tins of Artist's Shit. No one knows what's inside the cans; even before Warhol, Manzoni made a bold statement about the art world and its pretenses.

"Many a truth is told in jest," says Greg Slick, the museum's chief docent. "He lets us into his art with a smile, but he was dead serious about it."

Several examples of Manzoni's iconoclastic approach are on view at Magazzino, which specializes in the Arte Povera movement that emerged in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Manzoni exerted a major influence on the loosely affiliated group of artists who expanded his ideas into new frontiers.

In a cavernous gallery with booming echo and the statement "Stand Here You Are Art" in bold black on the back wall, Manzoni's "Magical Base" (a wood pedestal) offers visitors the chance to play statue and get a good photo op.

Also included are six works from the artist's Achrome series, a word he concocted that translates to "anti-color." All the work is whiteish, but the focus is on texture. They are differentiated by dates. A folded canvas created in 1958-59 looks like undulating water. Another, made in 1958 from plaster and kaolin on canvas, resembles a slab of stone; a 1960 piece frames a stack of eight polystyrene squares.

Two significant works on display are the roughly 10-foot cubic spaces commissioned by the artist's family foundation in conjunction with the gallery Hauser & Wirth, based on a concept briefly mentioned in a letter the artist wrote to a friend in 1961.

In the Lower Gallery

Three decanters visible as visitors descend the stairs into Magazzino's lower gallery provide a harbinger of the heart-stopping works in the exhibition Yoichi Ohira: Japan in Murano.

Ohira studied in Venice and designed elaborate vessels after becoming artistic director of de Majo glassworks on the island of Murano in 1987. Drawings outlining his intentions hang on the wall. Italian craftsmen executed the details with precision, and Ohira credited the glassblowers and the carvers, as well.

The work, primarily executed by maestro Livio Serena, evokes a wide range of textures, some of which resemble wood or ceramics. Several vessels present optical illusions: In the Pasta vitrea series, some of the shapes appear to rise from the surface. Others are specked with colorful chips that seem to be recessed, but everything is flat. For fans of the glassblower's art, run, don't walk.

The museum owns the rooms, designed by architect Stephanie Goto. During a preview opening, RAI, the Italian public broadcast outlet, interviewed curator Nicola Lucchi, who is the museum's director of research and education.

The patterns in "Hairy Room," whose interior consists of faux white fur, are almost psychedelic. In the also-trippy "Phosphorescent Room," the light switches on and off every 30 seconds. In one mode, the walls and ceiling are fluorescent neon green; the other flips the tint to beige-yellow as the light emanates from the floor.

Manzoni may have equated art with excrement to pull people in but, for better or worse, his provocations helped push the philosophical boundaries of conceptual creativity to its extremes during his lifetime.

Magazzino, at 2700 Route 9, is open Friday to Monday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $20 ($10 seniors, students, disabled visitors; $5 ages 5 to 10...