Highlands Current Audio Stories

Town Board also approves Glassbury sales price

The Philipstown Town Board agreed on Aug. 7 to poll residents about implementing a tax on property sales, with the proceeds to be used for protecting open spaces, wildlife habitats, and other natural resources through land purchases and conservation easements.

Ted Warren, the public policy manager for the Hudson Highlands Land Trust, informed the board that revenue for the Community Preservation Fund would be generated through a transfer tax of up to 2 percent paid by buyers on the portion of a property purchase exceeding the median price for home sales in Putnam County. That is, if the median price is $500,000, a house that sold for $700,000 would be taxed on $200,000. People buying homes for less than the median price would be exempt.

Philipstown took the initial step toward creating the fund in August 2023 by adopting a Community Conservation Plan. But Supervisor John Van Tassel said at the time that the idea of a new tax during the pandemic "did not settle well" with the board. In addition, said Warren, a survey of Philipstown residents conducted by the Trust for Public Land showed "a lot of ambivalence" about a fund.

On Aug. 7, Van Tassel said the "time is right" to revisit the idea, to have a referendum ready for the 2026 general election. "There have been several parcels that this fund could have really secured for conservation protection," he said.

Under the Hudson Valley Community Preservation Act, a state law that grants municipalities in Putnam and Westchester counties the authority to establish conservation funds, the money would be administered by a five- or seven-member advisory board composed of volunteer residents.

Proposals to create funds in other towns have faced opposition, typically from the New York State Association of Realtors, Warren said. He said the tax could be considered an "investment" for people buying property in Philipstown.

"It's a very small amount, compared to what they're probably paying for that home," said Warren. "It is a way of saying, 'You know, we're moving to this community and this is our little investment in allowing the town to have this flexibility.' "

Glassbury Court

At its Aug. 7 meeting, the Town Board approved a maximum sales price of $547,558 for one of the 10 Glassbury Court units set aside as affordable housing. It also agreed to waive a requirement that the buyer be approved by an "affordability consultant."

Under Philipstown's approval of the Quarry Pond Planned Development District for the construction of Glassbury Court, the maximum price at which only the affordable units can be sold is capped by a formula, and the consultant must approve buyers.

Because the town does not have an affordability consultant, it agreed to allow the owners of 11 Revolutionary Road to sell to any buyer.

State parks letter

A letter approved by the board will be sent to state parks and the Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail raising concerns about the safety of hikers who use Fair Street and Route 9D to walk from the Cold Spring Metro-North station to the trails in the Hudson Highlands State Park Preserve.

A draft written by Van Tassel initially accused HHFT of "directing the general public to walk along the shoulder of Route 9D." He agreed to change the wording after a board member, Jason Angell, noted that advisories to visitors about construction-related closures do not use those words, and that alternative routes are available.

According to the letter, titled "Dangerous Condition on Route 9D Caused by HHFT," the closure of the Breakneck train station and parking north of the tunnel, and limited parking at the Washburn trailhead lot, means more visitors catch Metro-North to Cold Spring and walk through the village to the trails. Van Tassel reiterated his proposal that the state and HHFT install sidewalks on Route 9D.

Nat Prentice, one of two candidates running unopposed for seats on the Town Board, said he and other volunteers at the Visitors Cent...

In Cold Spring, review board keeps an eye out for violations

A little-known board in Cold Spring keeps a watchful eye out for changes that threaten the traditional appearance of the village.

Since 1976, all changes to the exterior of buildings within Cold Spring's historic district, established that same year, have required approval from the five volunteer members of the Historic District Review Board.

The district includes most of the village from Parsonage Street to the riverfront. There is also a national historic district that lies within the local district, encompassing the village core on and near Main Street.

At its June 11 meeting, the Village Board reviewed a report from the HDRB outlining five recent violations, which were referred to the code enforcement officer that Cold Springs shares with Philipstown.

They included a sign for the Good Life Wellness spa at 143 Main St. that takes up more than 25 percent of the window space; a sign painted on a brick wall for Nobody's Deli at 72 Main St. that is too large; faux foliage and veneer flooring installed outside the Cozy Corner Cafe at 129-131 Main St.; an aluminum and glass entrance door installed at CS Apothecary, 40 Main St.; and faux foliage, a fence and windows added to the Foundry Rose Cafe at 55 Main St.

The owner of 72 Main St. and the Cozy Corner Cafe told The Current they are working to fix the violations. The owners of the Foundry Rose and 40 Main St. did not respond to an inquiry, and the phone number for Good Life Wellness is no longer in service. The village and town code enforcement officer, Greg Wunner, did not respond to requests for comment.

The code enforcement officer, in consultation with the village attorney, determines the penalty for violations, said Cold Spring Mayor Kathleen Foley. "The Village Board is only engaged when the village attorney recommends the board seek an injunction against a property owner," she added.

Foley said the Village Board hasn't received a monthly report from Wunner in more than a year. She said the town plans to hire a second, part-time enforcement officer, and that she hopes "communications and follow-up will improve."

Albert Zgolinski, an architect who chairs the HDRB, noted that many Cold Spring homes and businesses have changed hands since the pandemic. "Owners might know their property is located in the historic district, but they may not understand what that means on a practical level," he said.

The design standards are posted on the village website at coldspringny.gov. Last updated in 2022, they follow state and federal law and serve as a how-to manual for property owners contemplating exterior changes.

Zgolinski said it is a buyer's responsibility to explore land use, zoning and preservation restrictions. Although real-estate agents are not legally required to advise potential buyers that a property is within the historic district and subject to HDRB regulations, "we hope they do as a matter of ethics," he said.

People seldom like regulations, but Zgolinski said studies have shown that historic districts help to stabilize or increase property values.

He noted the HDRB doesn't regulate changes to the exterior color, a requirement he said would add a cumbersome layer to the permitting process for applicants and the board. Paint color "is a great way for property owners to express themselves or their business, as it gives people some creative flexibility while retaining historic fabric," he said.

Zgolinski said that, during the development of the 2012 comprehensive plan, residents expressed support for the historic district but asked that the HDRB make its process more user-friendly. He said that was a goal when the design standards were updated two years ago.

"Residents, contractors, architects and real estate agents were engaged in focus groups to contribute to the standards update," Zgolinski said. "We simplified and improved the application process and now regularly 'workshop' ideas."

Lauren Wallis Hall, ...

Updates from the City Council

The City of Beacon plans to install a bench and seating area with a plaque on Fishkill Avenue to honor Amalio Lombardi, the Goshen man who was struck by an excavator and killed on July 28 during work to replace water and sewer infrastructure beneath the roadway.

Chris White, the city administrator, did not make his normal report during the Monday (Aug. 4) meeting of the City Council but instead spoke about Lombardi, a foreman for Sun Up Construction of Wappingers Falls who had worked on capital projects in Beacon for decades.

Lombardi, 61, was described as a model employee by colleagues, White said, and as "a good guy. That's a compliment that you hear repeatedly from all who knew him. He was well-known to our staff and our engineer, and he was universally liked."

He was close to retirement, White said, "and had certainly considered it, but he had never filed for it because he enjoyed working and spending time with his co-workers."

Lombardi is survived by his wife, Juliann; his children, Amanda, Marissa and Michael; his mother, Lina; and his sister, Teresa Fini. Michael Lombardi is studying engineering at Clarkson University.

Lombardi came to work on a Saturday, two days before the accident, to make emergency repairs to the water main with city staff. Likewise, White praised the members of Lombardi's crew who stayed on-site to fill the trench in the road after the accident, "because that's what Amalio would have done."

"Residents of this city should be very proud of the response by our staff in the face of this tragic accident," White said. "It was handled with professionalism, skill and respect."

Following Lombardi's death, Mayor Lee Kyriacou ordered flags lowered to half-staff for the remainder of the week. The Beacon Police Department and the Dutchess County Medical Examiner's Office are investigating the accident, along with the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

248 Tioronda Ave.

The council will ask an "independent expert" to weigh in on The Arno, an apartment complex at 248 Tioronda Ave. where the developer has built two residential buildings but has been unable to find a tenant for a commercial structure that is yet to be built.

The commercial structure is required by Beacon's zoning laws. The City Council agreed in December to allow the building inspector to issue certificates of occupancy for 64 apartments. The developer, Bernard Kohn, constructed the apartments but did not build the commercial structure at the same time, a condition for projects within the Fishkill Creek development zone. After the December agreement, Kohn said he would return to the council regularly with updates on the tenant search.

On Monday, Jay Blumenfeld, a project representative, said the developer has still been unable to secure a renter. There have been 25 to 30 inquiries, he said, but "only a couple were substantial enough to even think about putting the financing together to build the building. We just feel like we've hit a dead end."

Council members last year discussed allowing a third apartment building if more than 10 percent of its units were offered at below-market rate rents. If a conversion to residential were allowed, Kohn would be willing to go beyond the city's 10 percent requirement, Blumenfeld said.

It was Kyriacou, then a council member, who in 2017 proposed the law to require that developments in the Fishkill Creek zone have a 25 percent commercial component, but "I do not believe in it anymore," he said Monday. "The market has changed dramatically. We have an extreme housing shortage in the area, and we have a commercial glut."

Kyriacou noted that a 2022 Dutchess County study recommended a "fair share" approach through which municipalities would address affordability on a per-capita basis. In Beacon, it suggested 100 "interventions" - roughly equivalent to the construction of a housing unit - at a rate of five per year for two decades.

Poughkeepsie and Beacon have the m...

Shigeko Kubota studio opens in Beacon

In a career that attracted interest from prestigious institutions around the globe during her lifetime, Shigeko Kubota peered into the future. As one of the first video-oriented artists in the 1960s, she understood society's obsession with moving images.

TikTok is the popular distillation of her vision, but even the Metropolitan Museum of Art is preserving and legitimizing "time-based media," which includes film, video, audio and software.

"She democratized the museum experience and was one of the first artists to go beyond figurative sculpture and paintings on a wall," says Reid Ballard, director of collections and exhibitions at the nonprofit Shigeko Kubota Video Art Foundation, which last month unveiled a new Beacon studio in the North Avenue space formerly occupied by Analog Diary.

Kubota, who was associated with the Fluxus movement, along with Yoko Ono and other Japanese artists, became ensconced in the SoHo art scene and married Nam June Paik, an artist who also specialized in video-centric pieces.

After Paik suffered a stroke in 1996, Kubota ceased creating, for the most part, until her death in 2015. The foundation's headquarters is the couple's former apartment at 110 Mercer St. in New York City. (Paik died in 2006.)

Because they had no children, Kubota chose a friend and collaborator, Norman Ballard (Reid's father), to oversee the estate and lead the nonprofit. The foundation has operated a workshop on West Main Street in Beacon since 2017.

Though an early adopter of word crawls, colorization and feedback effects, much of Kubota's content consists of travel footage and street shots in Manhattan and other locales, says Reid, who moved to Beacon in 2023. Her main achievement was in the display of the videos, altering what emanates from the monitors with mirror images and even water to create fascinating reflections.

The workshop (open for tours by appointment) houses two iconic works. "Three Mountains" represents a crucial moment in her career, according to the gallery notes, because it was the first piece to embed content in a "volumetric sculpture."

The bulky piece consists of three plywood structures, one of which is a chest-high pyramid with an opening at the top that makes it difficult for anyone less than 7 feet tall to see inside. There are visible scuff marks left by viewers who climbed the base or leaned on it while bracing themselves with their hands.

More compelling and mesmerizing, "River" suspends three downward-facing monitors above a metal trough filled with water. A splashing device sloshes the liquid around, altering the reflection of the cartoonish video content - created with a color synthesizer. The images also bleed down the vessel's sides.

At the new studio, Norman Ballard pays homage to Kubota's 1996 solo show at the Whitney Museum of American Art. The lush, atmospheric exhibit in Beacon is enhanced by a purplish, pixelated tableau projected onto the long wall opposite the entrance, which reflects the shadows of bodies and the subject's sculptures of trees made from bolts, screws, nails and scrap metal.

One colorful work at the exhibit chronicles Kubota and Paik's 1984 visit to South Korea, his home country. What looks like a tiny satellite is augmented with plexiglass extensions that distort the documentary's presentation with mirrored strips of acrylic.

"She had a vision about the artistic potential of video and experimented with content," says Norman Ballard. "But it's the sculptures, where the video is embedded into the structural element, that make her work stand out."

The Shigeko Kubota studio, at 1154 North Ave., is open weekends from noon to 5 p.m. into September. See shigekokubotavideoartfoundation.org or call 212-226-5007. The Kubota workshop is at 20 West Main St.

Bonnie Mead doesn't feel she has a story to tell. In fact, she could write a book.

Before moving to Cold Spring in November, the 82-year-old won a demolition derby championship, worked with positive thinker Norman Vincent Peale, survived tornado alley and was shocked when, within four months, two of her neighbors in Vermont were attacked and killed - prompting her move.

Mead was born in Danbury, Connecticut, and named after "Bonnie Blue," Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler's daughter in Gone with the Wind. Mead's first job was at age 13; she helped a Pawling lawyer and his wife with the office, childcare and housework.

"I got 35 cents an hour," Mead said, which would be $4 today. "Boy, I thought I was rich!"

Tracking her jobs and hometowns over eight decades with a reporter was a challenge. She always worked two jobs. She was a bartender, veterinarian's assistant, dispatcher, medical assistant and physician's secretary. She lived in towns and villages from Vermont to Iowa.

Married twice, she declined to say much about her first husband, whom she divorced. "He spent quite a bit of time in jail," she said, with a rueful smile.

In 1967, she was living in Rock Rapids, Iowa, and not working - or at least not being paid for her work, which was raising her young children while her second husband, Gary Mead, drove a long-haul truck.

It was there she experienced tornado alley; one "crossed right in front of my car while I was driving," she said.

Beginning in 1978, she spent 12 years as a travel agent in Pawling. She was able to take some nice trips, including to Alaska, but hated flying. It was Gary, who raced stock cars, who convinced her to try the demolition derby. "I thought he was crazy but, after a couple races, I kind of liked it," Mead recalled. She competed in derbies throughout the Northeast from 1982 to 1985, driving her "old junker" to a championship at Islip Speedway on Long Island.

She kept competing even after divorcing Gary. As it happened, "his new wife was also driving in derbies," Mead said. "I crashed into her, and she broke her nose!" She swears it was not intentional.

Mead lost all her derby photos and trophies in a fire 30 years ago.

In the early 1980s, she was hired as a secretary for Norman Vincent Peale at his Foundation for Christian Living in Pawling. A Protestant minister, Peale wrote The Power of Positive Thinking, which has sold more than 22 million copies in 42 languages. He was also the pastor at Marble Collegiate Church in Manhattan for 52 years and officiated at one of Donald Trump's three weddings.

Asked if working for Peale gave her a more positive outlook, Mead said, "I never read his book."

"He was all business, not overly friendly to his employees," she recalled, adding that her job was tedious. "I learned more ZIP codes than you can ever imagine."

It did produce one surprise: "Big 18-wheelers came up every week, just full of money," she said. "They took big baskets of checks out of those trucks; I was amazed."

At the same time, she also worked at the nearby YMCA Holiday Hills Conference Center, where actor James Earl Jones often performed in fundraisers. "I got to know him pretty well," she said. "He was one of the nicest people I've ever met." (Jones, who lived in Pawling, died last year at age 93.)

Mead also found time to serve with the Amenia Fire Department for 12 years, from 1980 to 1992, as a volunteer firefighter and member of its rescue squad.

She said her favorite job was driving a school bus for 11 years, from 2008 to 2019. "I loved it, loved the kids, even more so the special-needs kids," Mead said. But it wasn't easy for someone who stands less than 5 feet tall. "They always knew it was my bus because they couldn't see a driver."

She'll never forget the day she drove a school bus to Albany to take her commercial driver's license test. On the way, the bus hit a wild turkey in flight. "There was blood and feathers all over the windshield," Mead said. "I was hysterical."

She was still...

Young artists explore during annual Garrison institute

Over the last two weeks, the Garrison Art Center has hosted 16 teenagers for its Summer Art Institute. As they work, talk is at a minimum and phones are dormant - for the most part.

"I'll let them consult the internet if it's for the art," says Melissa Schlobohm, the printmaking teacher.

During five-hour sessions, the students prepared pieces that will be on display at the art center galleries on Saturday (Aug. 9) and Sunday, with a closing reception at 3:30 p.m.

The program dates to 1998 and requires participants to rotate between the pottery shop, the upstairs printmaking nook and the painting and drawing studio, located in the center's larger gallery space. They also hang the exhibit together.

"Even I get to learn a lot, so this is one of my favorite events of the year," says Kit Burke-Smith, the GAC education director. "It's so great to sit in on Dan [Graham Loxton]'s painting sessions and watch him mix colors and explain the theory and science behind it."

Under the tutelage of Lisa Knaus in the pottery studio, Poughkeepsie resident J.V. Ryan worked on the cover of a macabre clay coffin. Though he prefers sculpture, he says, "I like improving other skills." Liam Kemp, who lives in Cortlandt, showed off an elaborate Greek-inspired head with blue dots for eyes and intricate hair and eyebrows.

In the printmaking shop, located atop a steep set of stairs, the curriculum covers plenty of ground in an abbreviated time: history, methods, applications and tools. The artists also explore the question, "How is printmaking unique?" and Schlobohm teaches techniques like carving, inking, printing and cleaning up.

Turning the big printer's wheel is fun but the results may not turn out as intended. "You never know what the final product is going to look like," Schlobohm says. "Printmakers often take the best images from a series and offer them as limited editions. As with books, the first one is usually the most valuable."

Preparing battleship-gray tiles of linoleum before inking them up, some students manipulated gouges with blade shapes, like woodcarving tools. Others employed Dremels with various bits, akin to a handheld drill for art.

Haldane junior Rosie Herman leaned into an intricate pattern of leaves, jam jars and strawberries, an image she adapted from Pinterest. "I'm more of a painter, but I appreciate the opportunity to expand my ideas and find my own carving style and voice," she says.

Another student, a sculptor primarily, chafed at printing. "He kept making prints with airplanes on them, so we created some that he could fold into paper airplanes," says Schlobohm.

"Printmaking is disorienting because the image is backward and it's OK if you don't enjoy it," she says. "But when you stick to the things you're already good at, you don't flex all your creative muscles."

Savage Wonder hosts Saturday night absurdities

The ploy each Saturday evening at Savage Wonder in Beacon is simple: Wind the eight actors up by handing them a script, let them rehearse for about five hours and turn them loose.

The resulting staged-reading performances take place every Saturday night for a month at the Main Street venue, a former bank. "The last performance is the most polished, but the first one is the most fun," says Chris Meyer, its artistic director.

On Saturday (Aug. 9) and each week through Aug. 30, the company will present The Actor's Nightmare, by Christopher Durang and directed by Meyer, along with six 10-minute comedies. Absurdist scenes include a corpse in conversation and a wedding catering menu that offers hand-clubbed baby seal, carpaccio of spotted owl and sashimi from the waters around Fukushima.

As Savage Wonder builds out 139-141 Main St., the basement is the only area open to the public. Music and theater performances are held at The Parlor, accessible through the 4,000-square-foot art gallery Savage Wonderground.

Formerly known as Vet/Rep (short for veterans repertory theater), Savage Wonder moved from Cornwall last year and plans to open two performance spaces and another bar/cafe upstairs. "We've never produced a show in August before," says Meyer. "We always went dark. This year we figured, let's see what Beacon brings."

Next to the performance space is Grape Rebellion, a wine bar and eatery. Patrons can dine and drink while watching the performances.

In The Actor's Nightmare, Cian Genaro portrays a befuddled accountant mistaken for an actor (who may also be a thespian having a bad day). He is thrust into a production that shifts from Beckett to Hamlet and A Man for All Seasons. Beheaded at the end, like Sir Thomas More, the actor/accountant lies motionless on the floor during the curtain call.

A short, "The Big Dark," referencing hell, relates the fast-moving adventures of a mishmash of nymphs, satyrs and Greek gods as narrated by a hardboiled gumshoe (Dylan Crow). Kia Nicole Boyer laughed after gargling water to imitate a fountain. During a game of craps, a character rolled "Medusa eyes."

In "Monkey Do," the protagonist's younger brother died from being strangled by a sock puppet - or an actual monkey; it's ambiguous. Ana Anderson and Leeanne Hutchison heightened the hilarity, reflecting Meyer's mantra to have fun, mix things up and "eat the dessert first," he says.

The key to keeping a theater-like flow in the cozy Parlor space is the doorway to a utility room that fills in for backstage. Actors also enter and exit by walking through the house, which is filled with four couches, padded barstools and height-adjustable antique tables.

Three rows of lighting gear affixed to the ceiling add ambience to the performances. During "Hamlet in Hiding," they simulate the police raid on a trio of bank robbers with Irish accents holed up in a theater.

The room's mottled red, blue and yellow decor is adorned with portraits of Bob Ross, Shel Silverstein and Edgar Allan Poe. For readings this month, the action takes place along the far wall, but configurations are flexible, including in-the-round experiences where the stage stands mid-room, says Topher Kage, associate artistic director.

When hosting improv or standup comedy shows, the small stage is placed against one of the side walls. There are 25 chairs, and "pretty much everyone has a first- or second-row seat," he says.

Tickets are $25 at savagewonder.org. The play performed on Saturdays in September will be "The Elephant Delivery," by Bill Smith, along with six 10-minute comedies written by veterans. The Grape Rebellion is open from 5 to 10 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday and noon to 10 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Republicans say law prevents replacement

Putnam County Sheriff Kevin McConville will remain on November's general-election ballot as the Republican candidate despite abandoning his re-election campaign in June because of an undisclosed illness.

Andres Gil, chair of the county's Republican Committee, said on Wednesday (Aug. 6) that state election law prevents political parties from replacing a candidate on the ballot except if they die or are disqualified. A party would then have 10 days to file a certificate with the Board of Elections naming a new candidate. "We did have a lot of interest," said Gil of alternative candidates.

There is no Democratic candidate, but Larry Burke, a Cold Spring police officer, is running as an independent on the Serve & Protect party line.

Burke has worked in law enforcement for 37 years, including 26 years with the New York City Police Department. He joined the Cold Spring department in 2013 and served as officer-in-charge for seven years, until 2024. Burke has also been a volunteer firefighter with the North Highlands Fire Co. for 12 years.

If McConville outpolls Burke in November and cannot serve, he will be certified as the winner but can notify the Putnam County Board of Elections that he does not intend to take the oath of office, according to the state Board of Elections.

Alternatively, he could take the oath and resign. The undersheriff could lead the office until a new sheriff was chosen through a special election or in the 2026 general election.

McConville was elected in 2021, defeating Democratic incumbent Robert Langley Jr. with 57 percent of the vote. The sheriff, who lives in Philipstown, will appear on the Republican and Conservative party lines on the November ballot.

He began his career in law enforcement as a Cold Spring police officer and rose to become chief of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority police force. He ran unsuccessfully for Putnam sheriff in 2009 as a Democrat and in 2013 as a Republican.

Gil said in June that McConville's decision to end his campaign left him "heartbroken." In a letter sent to the committee members, he said the sheriff and his family were the primary concern.

"We are grateful for his leadership, his accomplishments and, most importantly, his friendship," Gil wrote. "Anyone who has ever met Sheriff McConville knows that he is truly a remarkable human being who will give you the shirt off his back when in need."

Post for Cold Spring firm promises 'sexy girls'

A spa that opened on Main Street in Cold Spring earlier this year and another in Beacon are promoted on adults-only websites with language that implies prostitution.

Good Life Wellness Spa, at 145 Main St. in Cold Spring, and Rose Eliza Spa Beacon at 4 Eliza St. in Beacon, are each advertised in posts on sites such as LoveEscort, Bedpage, Rubsguide and XEscortHub. The latter includes a typical legal disclaimer that escorts "do not necessarily involve sexual services."

The owners of Good Life Wellness told the Cold Spring Planning Board last year in an application for a change-of-use variance for its rented space that it would offer acupressure, reflexology, skin treatment and skin care.

Its phone number and Cold Spring address are promoted on sites with ads that promise "unique massage techniques with sexy girls bring you pleasure. Makes you happy quickly." A similar posting on Bedpage said "two new Asian girls" in "good shape" with a "desire to please you" had joined the Cold Spring location.

"Our alluring companions are available for engagements" and "open to all your desires and fantasies," it said.

The Rose Eliza Spa promised in an ad that it had "new sweet girls" who are "open-minded" and will "treat you specially." One post features a video clip of a woman making hand motions that suggest manual sex. The spa's website does not contain similar language or images and provides a price list for standard treatments and reflexology.

It was difficult to identify the owners of the businesses or to reach them. A woman who answered the phone at Good Life Wellness said she did not speak English well and declined to take a phone message for Yan Min Cao, listed on the Planning Board application as the manager. She said a request for information should be sent by text, which received no response.

The spa, which is on the second floor, says in the window it is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. No one answered the doorbell on a weekday morning.

A woman who answered the phone number given on the Planning Board application for Cheng Fisher, identified as a spa representative, said Fisher was not available and that Good Life Wellness had been sold. Fisher did not respond to a message sent to an email address provided to the Planning Board.

The building owner declined comment and did not respond to a request for contact information for the spa's owner. Good Life Wellness Spa Inc. was incorporated in June 2024, according to state records, with Yinghua Lui as its registered agent but no contact information beyond the Cold Spring address.

A woman who answered the phone at Rose Eliza said her English was not good and asked a reporter to send a text. Asked who posted the online ads, she wrote: "We don't know." She wrote that "the boss has returned to China" and "there are only workers here." She added: "We have a regular massage [business]" and sent photos of female customers whom she said were "frequent visitors."

Rose Eliza Spa Inc. was incorporated in October 2023, according to state records, with Lihua Li as its registered agent, but no contact information is provided beyond its Beacon address. A message left in person with an employee at the salon was not returned.

The owner of the building that includes 4 Eliza St. said in a phone call in April: "Thank you for bringing these ads to my attention. I had never seen these posts before and am appalled. It goes against our lease terms, and we will be taking immediate action." He did not respond to subsequent inquiries.

Soon after the Rose Eliza spa opened last summer, a user on AMP Reviews, a website in which men discuss their experiences at "Asian massage parlors," requested "any intel on [the new] Rose Spa in Beacon (Eliza St)? I see them advertising on Skip the Games," another escort directory.

A reviewer who posted in August 2024 said his experience at Rose Eliza had been "very mechanical" with "no engagement." A second user who posted in ...

Train complex to include housing, retail, parking

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Wednesday (July 30) announced that it has selected a developer to transform the Beacon Metro-North station with a complex containing 265 apartments, 15,000 square feet of retail space and a parking garage for 573 vehicles.

Jonathan Rose Companies, a real-estate firm that specializes in the development and management of environmentally sustainable, mixed-income communities, won the bid. It was founded in 1989 by Jonathan F.P. Rose, a Philipstown resident who is a co-founder of the Garrison Institute, a retreat and research center on the grounds of the former Glenclyffe Monastery.

The parking garage will replace 484 commuter and 89 MTA employee spaces on the station's 41/2-acre north lot. The apartment complex will have 270 spaces for tenants.

The contract will be finalized after the Beacon Planning Board completes an environmental review of the development. The MTA received eight proposals for the project, which was announced in November.

Beacon is "an amazingly vital, creative community" Rose said in a statement. "We are so pleased to have been selected."

The development will be owned by New York State and leased by the Jonathan Rose Companies. The parking structure, which will be built first and take about a year, will be funded by a $24 million grant from the state's Redevelopment of Underutilized Sites for Housing program.

Once the parking structure is complete, it will be turned over to the MTA to operate. The residential and retail components will be built next over about two years and be leased and operated by the Jonathan Rose Companies for an initial payment of $669,430 annually. The residential development must conform to Beacon's zoning by renting at least 10 percent of its units at below-market rates.

Mayor Lee Kyriacou, who attended an MTA Finance Committee meeting on Monday in New York City, called the project a "win-win-win" that would provide environmentally friendly housing, replace impermeable blacktop with shops and waterfront activity and contribute tax revenue to the city.

Without state funding, "it is very, very difficult" to complete transit-oriented developments at suburban stations, said Robair Reichenstein, the vice president of transactions for transit-oriented developments at the MTA. "It's very expensive to replace that [parking]. This was the reason it happened."

In 2023, to address an affordable housing crisis, Gov. Kathy Hochul directed agencies to repurpose underused, state-owned sites. The 2025-26 state budget includes $500 million to build up to 15,000 homes on state-owned property, including the Beacon development.

In a statement on Wednesday, Hochul said the Beacon project would revitalize the area surrounding the Metro-North station, "giving more New Yorkers the opportunity to live in a vibrant community with an express train to New York City just next door. This project is a model for how thoughtful development can strengthen communities and make our state more affordable and livable."

Kyriacou noted that Beacon has come a long way since 2007, when the MTA asked developers to submit "expressions of interest" for projects on 18 acres adjacent to the train station. The city received proposals that included as many as 600 apartments in buildings ranging from two to six stories, along with a parking garage. A citizens' group, Beacon Deserves Better, opposed the plans.

In the years since, zoning has been revised to open land around the station to residential and commercial development while preserving areas such as Dennings Point and Seeger Riverfront Park. A 2017 update to the comprehensive plan names the east side of the Metro-North station as one of four locations where the densest residential development should occur.

The MTA "had a lot of places it could go to, and they chose here," said Kyriacou. "That's a statement about how far Beacon has come and where it's headed."

Kyriacou added that...