Highlands Current Audio Stories

Beacon brothers cut their first album

The wait is over. Zohar Cabo graduated from high school in June, and now he and his older brother, Adam, are embarking on a music career, with help from influential friends.

Under the no-nonsense moniker Zohar & Adam, they recorded their first album, Osmosis, at The Loft Recording Studios in Bronxville, owned by Philipstown resident Al Hemberger, who has worked with Rihanna, Britney Spears and Kelly Clarkson.

"He gave us the keys to the place and a room to figure it out," says Adam, 21. "We learned how to engineer, produce and mix. Two-and-a-half years later, it's ready."

Another advisor is bass player Christian McBride, who appears on the album and met the brothers at his Jazz House Kids educational ensembles in Montclair, New Jersey, and Trinity Church in Manhattan.

As they hang around Beacon and take on a long-term view, the duo's management team (which discovered Rihanna) and record label (Mack Avenue Music Group) are strategizing the act's trajectory.

Osmosis is scheduled for release in March, and a tour is likely to follow. For now, they're hosting an improvised Everything Jam at Beacon's Savage Wonder twice a month, beginning Sunday (Oct. 19).

The disc's title is apt because the brothers have played together since grade school. Marketing copy describes their interplay as "telepathic synchronicity." Improvisation and free-form exploration fuel their genre-busting, unbound sound, which is rooted in jazz but meanders. On keyboards, Zohar, 18, drives the bus as Adam lays down the percolating percussion.

"A lot of people are skeptical that we can be sonically interesting with two instruments, but so far, so good," says Adam. "If anything, we call it 'post-jazz.' "

Zohar plays bass parts with his left hand and coaxes ethereal sounds from his electronic keyboard. Sometimes he twiddles the dials more than he presses the keys. There is some singing on the new album, but their bread and butter consists of experimental instrumental compositions that stretch boundaries while remaining accessible.

One signature approach is to accentuate the ebb and flow between spacey interludes and parts with a solid groove where Adam hits hard. Segues are seamless as they shift the dynamics and tempos - often several times per tune.

"The fat part means so much more when we do that tension and release," says Adam. In the video of "Drones in the Sky/Dying Hands," an audition tape for National Public Radio's Tiny Desk series filmed at the Howland Cultural Center in Beacon, "we keep pulling back and letting go; it's not completely settled, yet it keeps people listening because they have no idea what's going to happen next."

After being offered a scholarship to study acting at SUNY Purchase, Adam decided to take the drumming tack, which follows the family pattern: Father Richard led a Latin jazz band, mother Dassi Rosenkrantz plays bass (and will perform Oct. 11 at Beacon Flow) and sister Noga, 23, is a singer-songwriter.

Growing up, the siblings played covers and originals all over town and recorded with Hemberger. While waiting for their future, Zohar & Adam can pop up on the streets of Beacon anytime and anywhere, including a recent impromptu jam behind the Mobil gas station on Main Street.

The Everything Jam traces to last summer, when the brothers winged it for hours busking in the former open space at the corner of Main and Cross streets.

"Everyone from babies to elderly people would turn their heads," says Adam. "Not to be too ambitious, but we're trying to foster a newfound appreciation for instrumental music."

They hosted the free-form jam at Lyonshare and, one night, 85 people showed up. "Despite all the crazy changes in our songs, part of our approach is to provide an entry point to make improvisational instrumental music that anyone can enjoy and create a sound that is universally understood," he says.

Savage Wonder is located at 139 Main St. in Beacon. For more on Zohar & Adam, including digital d...

Report details utility charges for clean-energy programs

Under the state's landmark Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, residents and businesses, through bill surcharges, share the costs of clean-energy programs implemented by utility providers.

Passed in 2019, the law set goals for reducing the greenhouse gases that fuel climate change by transitioning the state's electricity grid to at least 70 percent renewable sources by 2030 and 100 percent by 2040.

About 8 percent of monthly electricity charges billed in 2024 to a typical Central Hudson residential customer went toward those goals, according to data from the state Department of Public Service. From 10 percent to 13 percent of electric bills incurred by commercial and industrial customers subsidized clean energy.

Central Hudson's gas customers also share in the costs of the energy transition. Last year, they were billed from 91 cents per month for a typical residential bill to $378.35 for the largest industrial users, according to state data.

Just over $60 million of the $80 million in electricity revenue collected by Central Hudson was spent on commercial renewable projects and solar power. Central Hudson also collected $15.8 million for heat-pump installations and other programs and $3.1 million in compensation for energy generated by renewable projects.

Would require permits, ban parties

Philipstown's Town Board received draft regulations on Thursday (Oct. 2) for short-term rentals such as Airbnb and Vrbo that require annual permits, along with a ban on parties, limits on stays and requirements for off-site parking.

Judy Farrell, a member of the Town Board and of the Short-Term Rental Committee it created to come up with a code governing STRs, said during the board's meeting that the group reviewed guidelines from Cold Spring and other towns but crafted regulations "specific to Philipstown."

Their goals, according to the draft of a local law amending the town code, included ensuring that STRs meet fire and safety standards and avoid harming neighbors with nuisances such as noise and trash, while allowing property owners to earn income from their rentals.

"It does ensure that there are safe places for people, for tourists, to stay," said Farrell who, along with the rest of the board, scheduled a workshop for Oct. 29.

As drafted, the rules establish five categories of STRs, whose owners must apply annually for permits: (1) rentals in which the owner remains on the property, (2) unhosted rentals, (3) one-time rentals for up to 14 consecutive nights once a year, (4) second homes and (5) tourist homes owned by corporations.

Those STRs would be confined to three zoning districts: R-1 and I-1, where owners must provide on-site parking or a designated parking area, and the B-1 district. Except for one-time lodgings, stays would be set at between two and 29 consecutive nights. Unhosted lodgings would be limited to 90 nights a year and prohibit parties and "other gatherings or events."

Owners with buildings having more than one residence could only rent one as an STR but would be allowed to rent accessory buildings. They would also have to carry at least $500,000 in liability insurance and pass an annual code-enforcement inspection. Fines for violating the regulations would be $1,000 for the first offense; $2,000 for the second, with forfeiture of the permit for the remainder of the year; and $3,000 for the third, with a four-year ban on an STR permit.

In other business…

The board voted to extend for another six months a moratorium on the approval of oil tanks holding more than 10,000 gallons. Town attorney Stephen Gaba said newly drafted regulations governing tanks should be ready for review next month.

With Gaba retiring at the end of the year, the board approved a resolution to solicit bids for the town and the Planning Board, which he also advises. The town hoped to find a replacement from Gaba's firm, Drake Loeb, "but that is not working out," said Van Tassel. Retaining the firm for the Planning Board means "moving their meeting to a different night," he said. "I have spoken with [Planning Board Chair] Neil Zuckerman about it. He's polling his board to make sure that they're OK with it."

The board approved an agreement to provide ice and snow removal to Nelsonville for the upcoming winter. Van Tassel said the village received bids for road maintenance whose prices "they could not cover."

The board approved a permit for a film company called Doc in a Box Corp. to shoot at the Manitou School on Route 9D. Filming will take place on Oct. 10 for a project titled Best Medicine. According to IMDB, there is an upcoming Netflix series by that name in which "a brilliant surgeon leaves Boston to become a small-town doctor where he spent childhood summers. Despite his medical skills, his rude manner alienates locals as he battles hidden phobias and struggles with personal connections."

Continues through Oct. 15

The state Department of Environmental Conservation implemented a statewide burn ban on Thursday (Oct. 2) because of dry conditions that increase the risk of wildfires. It will continue at least through Oct. 15.

The ban prohibits outdoor fires to burn brush and debris, as well as all uncontained fires, including campfires, and open fires used for cooking.

Backyard fire pits and contained campfires less than 3 feet in height and 4 feet in length, width or diameter are allowed, along with small, contained cooking fires. Burning garbage or leaves is prohibited year-round in New York State.

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.