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Judge expected to rule on legal challenge

A title expert hired by the City of Beacon testified in court last week that the municipality has owned the Beacon Engine Co. firehouse at 57 East Main St. since 1889, the year it was built.

Earlier this month, a group of retired volunteer firefighters asked state Judge Maria Rosa to pause an order by the city for them to vacate the former firehouse by March 31 because Beacon intends to sell the building. The firefighters challenged the city's ownership, saying it relied on "aged, handwritten deeds" and "incomplete searches and conclusory assertions." They asked Rosa to stop any sale until she determined their rights.

Paul Conrad, the president of Real Property Abstract & Title Services, a Poughkeepsie firm, testified on March 21 that, after surveying the site and conducting an "extensive, thorough review" of deeds dating from 1860 to 1921, "the city's ownership of the property is clear." Conrad said the volunteer Beacon Engine Co. "never came into ownership of such reserved land."

The 2½-story brick firehouse was conveyed to the Village of Matteawan, he said, which merged with Fishkill Landing in 1913 to become the City of Beacon. Property owned by the village was assumed by Beacon.

Rosa denied the firefighters' request for a pause on March 14. She is expected to rule on the ownership dispute next month.

The city intends to sell the empty Beacon Engine and Mase Hook & Ladder stations to offset the $14.7 million it spent on a central fire station that opened near City Hall last fall. According to an agreement filed with the court, Gate House Compass Realty will list Beacon Engine in May for $1.75 million and Mase, at 425 Main St., for $1.95 million.

Gate House will receive a commission of 2 percent of the sales - or $35,000 and $39,000, respectively, if the buildings sell for the asking prices. The agency's agreement with the city gives it exclusive listing rights until Nov. 1.

Any delay in marketing the properties could prevent the city from obtaining the highest price, City Attorney Nick Ward-Willis wrote in a memo to the judge. He argued that the retired firefighters have failed to produce any title reports, recorded deeds or certified surveys showing ownership.

The City Council voted in February 2020 to close Beacon Engine, one of two stations in the city that had been headquarters for volunteer fire companies for more than a century. At the time, it was believed that the volunteer company owned the 1889 station, with the city holding an engine bay that was added in 1924.

The city's plan was to modernize Mase and the Lewis Tompkins Hose Co. building, a third volunteer station. But by 2023, two things had changed: Beacon officials conducted a title search that they said showed municipal ownership of Beacon Engine. In addition, the city pivoted, opting to tear down Tompkins Hose and build the central station at the site. When it opened, the Beacon Engine and Mase buildings became surplus.

According to testimony by Mayor Lee Kyriacou, the retired volunteers offered in 2023 to lease or purchase Beacon Engine. The city rejected that offer but the mayor said he told the volunteers they could use the station rent-free as a social hub and to coordinate charitable campaigns. When the central fire station was completed, they were welcome to meet there, he said.

Demand surges at libraries, but they are expensive

A trip to the library used to mean driving into town, searching the shelves for the latest bestselling novel and taking the book to the circulation desk.

These days, more residents are opening their smartphones or tablets, scrolling through digital shelves and tapping "borrow."

Librarians in the Highlands report dramatic increases in apps like Libby and Hoopla that allow patrons to borrow e-books, audiobooks and digital magazines.

"You can bring a piece of the library with you on the road," said Johanna Reinhardt, director of the Butterfield library in Cold Spring. Reinhardt said the library circulated nearly 20,000 e-books, audiobooks and other electronic material last year, compared to 2,200 in 2015.

The demand is similar at the Howland library in Beacon and the Desmond-Fish library in Garrison. In January alone, nearly 80,000 e-books, audiobooks and other digital materials were circulated through the Mid-Hudson Library System to patrons using Libby. Ten years ago, it was 16,000.

Librarians Scramble as Trump Targets Agency

Gillian Murphy, director at the Howland, said that digital loans will soon be dominant. "We're still lending more print books, but it's going to flip in the next couple of years," she said. Dede Farabaugh, the director at Desmond-Fish, added: "We have patrons who never see us because they're just doing things electronically."

The growth of digital lending brings financial challenges because libraries must purchase licenses that are sometimes more expensive than the physical copy. For example, a digital copy of a bestseller may cost $15 on Amazon, but libraries often must pay $50 or more and are limited in how many times it can be lent. With print books, libraries may pay $30 for a bestseller and lend it out until it falls apart.

Last year, Butterfield reduced the e-books and other items that patrons can check out on the Hoopla platform from 10 to five per month because of a surge in usage that raised costs.

Public libraries have lobbied for legislation to reduce e-book prices, but Gov. Kathy Hochul vetoed a bill that would have compelled publishers to lower digital prices for libraries. She said the legislation would violate federal copyright laws that give publishers and authors the right to determine what to charge.

Neighbors seek to reclaim view and privacy

When the Rosenberg family bought a house in 2013 on a hill rising from Route 9 in Philipstown, the views to the south and north were "1,000 percent blocked with trees," said Beth Rosenberg.

To the south sat Cockburn Farms, which had been dormant for two decades. To the north was a single-family home at 201 Old West Point Road.

"We didn't hear anything and didn't see anything," she said.

Three years later, in 2016, Sean Barton and Joshua Maddocks bought and reopened Cockburn Farms to sell Christmas trees. Five years after that, Barton bought the home to the north, cut down trees and began operating, without town approval, a landscaping business.

"I would have never bought the property if it was sandwiched between two commercial properties," said Mark Rosenberg.

Now, some trees will be returning, courtesy of the Philipstown Planning Board, which is reviewing a request by Barton and his company, KPB Properties, to legalize its commercial use of 201 Old West Point Road.

KPB wants to construct a 7,400-square-foot, two-story building with an office and storage for landscaping equipment and materials. It will have eight parking spaces and an access road from Route 9 that runs along the south side of the Garrison Garage. The residence will remain.

A planting plan reviewed during a public hearing in February shows young trees along the front of the structure to screen it from Route 9 but no screening along the border with the Rosenberg property. "He absolutely needs to find not just one level of depth [of trees] but a couple of levels for Beth's side because that just seems like an unnecessary burden for a homeowner," said board Chair Neal Zuckerman.

When the hearing continued March 20, project engineer Margaret McManus opened with a revised proposal reflecting changes based on the board's criticisms. Chief among them: Two rows of evergreens - up to 8 feet when planted, and as high as 50 feet when mature - to replace weathered stockade fencing.

Between the hearings, Beth Rosenberg said she and Barton discussed her family's concerns while walking the property together. "Since we were able to talk, it ironed out some things," she said. "It's just the privacy."

Both properties are in the Highway Commercial zone, which allows single-family homes to coexist with businesses ranging from art galleries and bed-and-breakfasts to light-industry, retail and service businesses.

Cockburn Farms had not grown trees since the mid-1990s when Barton and Maddocks, both from Garrison, purchased the property. In 2018, KPB bought 201 and 203 Old West Point Road.

According to Ron Gainer, the town's engineer, Barton moved his landscaping business to 201 Old West Point Road "without benefit of any permits or town approvals," resulting in multiple violations and a stop-work order.

When Barton introduced the project to the Planning Board in January 2024, his appearance "had been mandated by the court," which required that he get a site plan approved by the board, said Gainer.

Last month, Beth Rosenberg told the Planning Board that she and her husband and three children were sometimes awakened as early as 6 a.m. by the sounds of mowers and other equipment, along with workers yelling and playing music. Those concerns spurred a discussion this month about ways to mitigate the impact on the family, including adjusting operating hours.

Barton told the board that when snowstorms occur, his employees arrive early to warm up the trucks and attach plows. Warming up a diesel truck can take up to 20 minutes, but "Route 9 traffic is louder than my trucks," he said.

Beth Rosenberg said she understands that trucks need to idle but that the yelling and laughing from employees while they're getting set up is a problem. "I'm not trying to stop them from doing business," she said. "It's just being more cognizant of what you're doing at what hours."

Judge rejects request to delay eviction

A Dutchess County judge last week rejected a request by retired volunteer firefighters to pause a city order to vacate a 136-year-old station on East Main Street. The firefighters argue it is not clear that Beacon owns the property.

City officials plan to sell the Beacon Engine Co. and Mase Hook and Ladder stations and apply the proceeds to a $14.7 million central station that opened in October near City Hall. Gate House Compass Realty was selected to facilitate the sales, and the buildings should go on the market next month.

The Beacon Engine Co. station was built in 1889 at 57 East Main St. by the Village of Matteawan, which merged in 1913 with Fishkill Landing to become the City of Beacon. The 2½-story brick structure was constructed in the Second Empire style of 19th-century France. The Mase firehouse is a 113-year-old, three-story brick building at 425 Main St.

Together with the Lewis Tompkins Hose Co. station, which was on the site of the new firehouse, the buildings were the headquarters for generations of volunteers. Beacon Engine closed in 2020 and Mase was vacated when the new station opened, but retired volunteers have continued to use Beacon Engine for social and charitable events.

On March 12, a group of those volunteers asked Judge Maria Rosa to set aside a city order that they vacate the building by March 31. The volunteers also asked Rosa to stop any sale until she determined their rights to the station.

After Rosa denied the petition two days later, Beacon Engine Co. trustees said they are preparing to move out, although they dispute city ownership.

When the City Council voted in February 2020, just weeks before the pandemic shutdown, to close Beacon Engine, both the retired volunteers and city officials believed the fire company owned two-thirds of the building - the original structure, which is believed to have housed the first motorized fire engine in Dutchess County - with the city holding a larger bay added in 1924.

Since that time, the firefighters say, Beacon officials conducted a title search that showed municipal ownership of the entire building. In their petition, the volunteers disputed that, saying ownership is unclear because of "aged, handwritten deeds" and "incomplete searches and conclusory assertions" by the city.

City Attorney Nick Ward-Willis said Tuesday (March 18) that Beacon provided the volunteer trustees with documentation of its sole ownership two years ago and would file supporting evidence with the court today (March 21). The volunteer company offered to lease or purchase the building but was turned down, he said.

"While the city recognizes and appreciates the years of contribution from the volunteer firefighters," the company has provided no evidence of ownership, Ward-Willis said.

Since the city closed the station in 2020, volunteers say they have paid for its maintenance, including roof, floor and window repairs and insurance, despite the unclear title. It continued to be the headquarters for charitable efforts such as the annual Toys for Tots drive and fundraising for a campus in Hudson for volunteer firefighters who can no longer care for themselves.

The building is a social hub for retired volunteers and could attract more members if the city halted or paused plans to sell, said Joe Green, a Beacon Engine Co. trustee. "There's a lot of guys who would use this firehouse if they could," he said, estimating that as many as 250 retirees from the three companies live in the area.

Mike Angeloni, the company treasurer, said the volunteers approached the Beacon Historical Society about creating a City of Beacon Firefighters Museum at the site and, if given the green light, would have pursued grants to continue rehabbing the building. The company had a good working relationship with the city "until the dollar signs came out," he said.

The Beacon Engine firehouse was listed in 2004 on the National Register of Historic Places, which limits what...

Agency says PCB monitoring and mitigation will continue

For many people, much of the news coming out of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the second Trump administration has been disheartening.

Lee Zeldin, the former New York State legislator who was recently appointed to lead the agency, has said he intends to roll back dozens of regulations, slash the agency budget by 65 percent and eliminate its scientific research department.

"We are driving a dagger straight into the heart of the climate-change religion," he said in a news release on March 12. Zeldin described regulations targeting greenhouse-gas emissions, the primary driver of climate change, as "hidden 'taxes' on U.S. families."

But announcements from the EPA's Albany office, which oversees the Hudson River PCBs Superfund Site, have a different tone.

"We are full speed ahead with our full team," said Project Director Gary Klawinksi, an EPA veteran, earlier this week.

He said that includes the continuing monitoring and clean-up of pollutants called polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) that General Electric dumped into the river from two manufacturing plants over a 40-year period that ended in 1977. The pollution ended commercial fishing in the river and kicked off decades of legal battles.

The EPA will continue to work with the Army Corps of Engineers to clean the river, Klawinski said. He noted that, as part of a settlement agreement with the agency, GE has to reimburse his office for the work.

"It's all set up under different, various legal agreements, and those legal agreements are important," he said. Klawinski said Superfund programs appear to be off the table from funding cuts and freezes that are taking place elsewhere. The agency also receives some of its funding from outside the federal government. "It's my understanding that the Superfund program remains an important part of both the EPA and this administration's work, regardless of who is reimbursing the projects," he said.

At EPA headquarters in Washington, D.C., a representative said "work continues apace at Superfund sites" because "the president's priorities and Administrator Zeldin's first pillar of Powering the Great American Comeback is providing every American with clean air, land and water."

In the last days of the Biden administration, Klawinski's office released a final version of its latest five-year review of the cleanup. It confirmed the findings of a draft released in July 2024 that determined the EPA doesn't have enough information to determine if GE needs to continue to dredge sediment from the Upper Hudson to remove PCBs. Klawinski said that the agency plans to release an addendum by 2027 - and possibly as soon as this year - which will make that determination.

Local environmental groups, banding together under the name Friends of a Clean Hudson, released their own report in November 2023, analyzing the data that the EPA used and concluding that it has enough to rule the cleanup hasn't worked. For more than a decade, the groups have warned that the clean-up was doomed to fail because initial measurements of the contamination were flawed and GE wasn't targeting PCB "hot spots."

Last week, 15 members of Congress from New York and New Jersey, including Rep. Pat Ryan, a Democrat whose district includes Beacon, and Rep. Mike Lawler, a Republican whose district includes Philipstown, signed a letter to Zeldin urging him to declare that the cleanup has not worked, based on 2023 and 2024 data.

But in Albany, Klawinski said "we just don't scientifically have enough years of data in order to be able to, with enough confidence, make a decision" about the effectiveness of the cleanup. While the data shows that the level of PCBs in fish and sediment are declining, "are they going down in a way that meets the expectations of the record of decision in those legal agreements?" he asked.

Klawinski said his office is analyzing the most recent data, which wasn't included in the five-year report. It...

Philipstown resident sees program frozen

If things had gone as planned, Sophia Ptacek would be making the final arrangements for her Fulbright fellowship, a nine-month stint working on industrial decarbonization and air pollution reduction for a Colombian government ministry.

But because the Trump administration paused funding for her program, the 28-year-old is living with her parents in Philipstown and checking her email.

"I'm holding on to hope that it could still happen," said Ptacek, who grew up in Garrison and Cold Spring and attended the Poughkeepsie Day School. "But I am in limbo. It's sad."

Ptacek last year completed a dual master's program at Yale University in environmental management and public health. She also was selected for a Fulbright Public Policy Fellowship, part of a U.S. State Department international exchange and education program suspended by the White House in February. Founded in 1946, the Fulbright program typically awards 9,000 scholarships each year to promote international cooperation and an exchange of ideas.

"The freeze on State Department grant programs threatens the survival of study abroad and international exchange programs that are essential to U.S. economic and national security," said Fanta Aw, executive director and CEO of NAFSA: Association of International Educators, based in Washington, D.C. "Halting inbound and outbound exchanges shuts the United States off from a vital flow of ideas, innovation and global understanding and influence, creating a vacuum that could easily be filled by competing nations."

Ptacek wants to help reduce air pollution in Colombia. "There's quite a lot of manufacturing and heavy industry, and as a result, a lot of air pollution that has public health impacts for communities near these plants," she said.

The details of her fellowship were still being confirmed, but Ptacek was scheduled to travel to Bogotá to work for the ministry of health, environment or energy and mines. Last month she received an email telling her to "pause making travel arrangements" because of "ongoing administrative issues affecting the transfer of funds from the U.S. State Department to Fulbright implementing partners."

Last week she received a second email informing her of layoffs at the Institute for International Education, the organization that administers her program.

As to what happens next, "I have no clue," said Ptacek.

Because of the uncertainty, she has taken a job with Turner Construction helping clients figure out how they can implement energy-efficiency measures, electrification and building decarbonization, she said. She'd also like to work in maritime decarbonization, moving ships and ports away from fossil fuels to mitigate climate change and reduce air pollution.

Designs would 'calm' traffic, protect pedestrians

Rutgers University has released a traffic study of Cold Spring that includes recommendations to improve safety at four busy village locations.

The study was conducted by the Voorhees Transportation Center at the university and funded by the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council (NYMTC). It outlines measures to reduce and "calm" traffic and improve pedestrian safety.

NYMTC, created in 1982, is the metropolitan planning organization for Putnam, Westchester and Rockland counties, New York City and Long Island.

The report, posted at dub.sh/CS-traffic-study, makes recommendations for Main Street at the Visitors' Center; Fair Street; Lunn Terrace at Market Street; and Main at Route 9D. It also considers the trolley operated by Putnam County.

During its research, Voorhees conducted a resident survey and hosted a workshop. Its 39-page report was also reviewed by Putnam County and state agencies.

Main Street at Visitors' Center

The report notes this is the only Main Street location where legal U-turns can be made and is a busy area with frequent encounters between drivers and pedestrians. It recommended adding high-visibility paint and patterns to crosswalks; adding a crosswalk across Main; and installing signage and pedestrian lighting. It also suggested the village consider a mini roundabout.

Fair Street

The street is a challenge because it's narrow, frequently used by delivery trucks and congested with hikers on busy weekends. Inconsistent parking rules and one-way traffic on weekends create confusion, the report said. It recommends adding sidewalks to both sides between Main Street and Mayor's Park, installing pedestrian lighting, restricting on-street parking and encouraging drivers to use the municipal parking lot.

Lunn Terrace at Market

The area is described as "the most challenging" of those examined for the study because it provides the only vehicle access to the Metro-North parking lot and the lower village, and it's busy. It suggested a crosswalk across Market and better signage, road markings and striping to direct pedestrians and drivers. It also said the village could consider a small roundabout with splitter islands and a flashing sign at the crosswalk.

Cold Spring trolley

The researchers observed what most residents already knew - people don't know how to find it and can't get real-time data about its schedule. The recommendations included payment options besides cash; route modifications to encourage ridership; updated signage with timetables; and shelters at popular stops.

Main Street at Route 9D

The researchers found that, between 2019 and 2022, there were 68 vehicle crashes in the village, and that 44 percent were on Route 9D and 20 percent at its intersection with Main Street. Its recommendations included reflective crosswalk markings; the removal of obstacles that interfere with driver sightlines ("daylighting"); no parking within 25 feet of the intersection; increasing the interval on pedestrian crossing signals; and streetscaping to slow traffic. It also suggested examining the addition of left-turn lanes on Route 9D.

In response to the report, Mayor Kathleen Foley said there is a perception that the village is so overrun with visitors, that it can't do much on its own. But she said the report "emphasizes steps that are common sense and simple, and that we can do ourselves to improve traffic and pedestrian movement for residents and visitors alike."

She noted that the report could help the village make the case for grants to address the issues it identifies.

Foley said eliminating parking on Fair Street has made driveways safer, reduced driver confusion and created a wider roadway for trucks, buses and emergency vehicles. "Shifting Fair to one-way northbound during the busy season, as we did in the fall, provided an alternate loop for vehicles to move around the village and eliminated tangle-causing left turns onto Main Street," she said.

Stronger vi...

County receives about $65 million annually

About 10 percent of Dutchess County's funding - $65 million - comes from federal funding through eight agencies, according to a newly released report by Dan Aymar-Blair, a Beacon resident who is the county comptroller.

The report also calculated that Dutchess residents receive $1.9 billion annually in direct federal assistance through programs such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and military medical insurance.

Aymar-Blair released the report, which is posted at dub.sh/dutchess-federal, following a freeze on Jan. 27 by President Donald Trump of all federal funding, causing confusion for municipal governments and nonprofits. Although a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order a few days later and ordered the money restored, the funding has been inconsistent and unpredictable.

At the same time, cuts driven by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an ad hoc agency created by the administration and led by carmaker Elon Musk, have caused further uncertainty.

"We were getting a lot of questions," said Aymar-Blair. "People had concerns about how much federal funding the county had, what it was used for, and whether it had been touched by the feds."

In Putnam, the finance department and clerk did not respond to inquiries about how much of the county's funding comes from the federal government. Putnam does not have a comptroller's office.

Aymar-Blair said he had expected that the investigation would reveal sources of federal funding that the county could do without, but "every single program struck me as vital to the county's functioning and to supporting the vulnerable people in our county."

The county's largest source of federal funding in 2024 was $43.6 million from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which funds programs such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (aka "welfare"); the Home Energy Assistance Program; adoption and foster care; and the enforcement of child support.

The county also received $2.95 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (aka "food stamps") and $12.9 million from the Department of Transportation, among other federal expenditures.

The report said that, as of Feb. 20, the county had not seen delays in federal disbursements, but Aymar-Blair said this week that's no longer accurate. "Everything's changing all the time," he said.

At a March 6 meeting of the county Legislature's Public Works and Capital Projects Committee, Bob Balakind of the Department of Public Works reported that a federal grant the county had received to study the feasibility of electrifying the county bus fleet had been frozen. A consultant hired to produce the study was already a month into the work; if the funds aren't forthcoming, the county will have to pick up the tab.

A grant to install new cameras at Dutchess County Airport also was paused, although "that may have since wiggled loose again," Balakind said. He noted that 90 percent of the airport's capital funding comes from the federal government, with the remainder split between the state and county.

"We're usually only stuck with paying that last 5 percent, which is great," he said. "But that federal funding is now much more volatile."

There is confusion about the status of some of the $3.2 million that the Department of Housing and Urban Development pays the county after the nonprofit Hudson River Housing reported that it had been told its contract with HUD would not be renewed as of March 31. That could leave dozens of Poughkeepsie families homeless, it said. Hudson River Housing did not respond to a request for comment.

Meanwhile, the future of the Social Security Administration office in Poughkeepsie, the only one in the county, has been in doubt. The office, which had been closed for renovations, appeared on a list of government sites that DOGE expected to close.

Earlier this week, Aymar-Blair said that the office's staff weren'...

But planned drive-thru may not be allowed

The Beacon Planning Board on Tuesday (March 11) approved a developer's proposal to convert a building at 420 Fishkill Ave. to a Dunkin' coffeehouse with a drive-thru, although the City Council is considering a law that would ban drive-thrus.

The project, which will include other retail and apartments, has for months intersected with an ongoing city study of Fishkill Avenue.

In early 2024, Mayor Lee Kyriacou appointed a citizen committee to study a mile-long stretch of the corridor and make recommendations regarding zoning, streetscapes and accessibility, among other questions.

In November, Jay Healey, a member of the committee, brought an application to the Planning Board to transform the site of his family's former Ford dealership to the Dunkin' building. Two weeks later, the council asked the Fishkill Avenue committee for its early zoning recommendations. To move away from auto-related uses, it suggested that the council ban any new self-storage facilities, drive-thrus, gas stations, car washes, auto lots and repair shops.

J.C. Calderon, the committee chair, said that its members had not all agreed but that the recommendations were informed by public feedback, including a survey.

On Jan. 27, City Attorney Nick Ward-Willis told the council that the Dunkin' project would be regulated by whatever zoning is in place when a foundation is poured and "something substantial has come out of the ground."

After approving the application on Tuesday, Planning Board members discussed the council's draft law, which would only ban new self-storage and drive-thrus. They said that drive-thrus could work in the Fishkill Avenue corridor but they would need more time to thoroughly review the idea. They did not favor "categorical prohibition" of the two uses.

45 Beekman St.

The Planning Board continued a public hearing Tuesday on an application to construct two 4-story buildings with 64 one- and two-bedroom apartments on Beekman Street at its intersection with Route 9D.

The project, which has been reviewed for more than a year, would include 15,000 square feet of commercial space and 91 off-street parking spaces.

The feedback provided by neighbors was critical, with several people asking the Planning Board to send the developer "back to the drawing board."

A Cliff Street resident said she was committed to Beacon's continued growth but "strenuously opposed" to the Beekman proposal. "It is simply too much construction for too little space," she said, noting that many cities "would love to have the character and personality that we have," but "this project is out of keeping with the unique historic character and look and feel" of Beacon.

The board will continue the public hearing next month.

291 Main St.

The Planning Board also held a public hearing on plans to construct a three-story addition in the alley adjacent to the two-story Telephone Building at 291 Main St. The third story would be set back from the second-story facade, and the addition would feature commercial space on the ground floor with three apartments on the second and third floors.

Planning Board members cited "self-imposed" issues with the design, with Kevin Byrne suggesting that the Main Street frontage on the addition be reduced to one story. He said he is "very skeptical about [the project] unless some major changes are made." Karen Quiana said the plans call for too much construction on the South Brett Street side of the building. "It feels like there's a little too much stuffing for the taco there," she said.

Several residents made similar statements. A South Brett Street neighbor lamented former owner Deborah Bigelow's yearslong restoration of the historic building, saying, "I hope she doesn't know what's going on. That's my secret hope."

The hearing will continue next month.

Boscobel launches $2 million-plus restoration

Jennifer Carlquist will never forget the evening of April 16, when she learned a ceiling in the historic mansion at Boscobel House and Gardens had collapsed.

Carlquist, its executive director and curator, has been in the museum business for 30 years, including the past 10 at Boscobel. She is used to making nighttime runs from her home to deal with routine problems such as false security alarms.

This call was different. "It was beyond my worst nightmare," she said. "I could never have imagined what I saw."

The collapse left the floor covered with plaster, broken period furniture, damaged antiques and debris. An investigation revealed a 1950s reconstruction flaw: The ceilings were made of concrete and, after more than 65 years (the early 19th-century mansion was moved from Montrose to Philipstown in 1955 to escape the wrecking ball), the shank nails could no longer handle the weight.

The force of the collapse was so great it impacted rooms throughout the mansion. Nineteen of its 24 ceilings now need replacement, Carlquist said.

And it could have been worse. "Hours before, we had a school group in that room," Carlquist said. "And their teacher, who used to work at Boscobel, was pregnant."

Carlquist recalled the outpouring of support that followed. M&T Bank, Antipodean Books, Yannitelli Wine and Spirits and Foodtown provided boxes, the Appalachian Market lent a dumpster, the Desmond-Fish library shared air scrubbers and the Greater Hudson Heritage Network arranged for vacuums, supplies and volunteers.

Resources were also made available by the Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative, Metropolitan Museum of Art's American Wing, Greenwich Historical Society, Stair Galleries and Caramoor, she said.

Reconstruction is now well underway. Carlquist estimates Phase 1 will cost about $2 million, but "that doesn't include replacing carpets, window treatments or wallpapers that were ruined. That's Phase 2," she said.

A public fundraising campaign has begun and the National Trust for Historic Preservation has been approached for money. Representatives from the Department of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation will visit soon to advise about state grants, Carlquist said.

"We have a federal grant from the National Endowment for the Arts for an exhibition that's supposed to open this fall," she said. "We're on pins and needles, hoping there isn't a disruption to funding" because of Trump administration cuts.

Carlquist said the restoration is a chance to rethink the mansion, making it more accessible in part by removing some of the red ropes. For example, a second-floor room once served as living quarters for Sarah Wilkinson, an enslaved woman known as "Sill." Removing ropes there would allow visitors to enjoy views overlooking the expansive gardens.

The Boscobel mansion was built by States Dyckman, a Loyalist who returned to the U.S. after fleeing during the America Revolution. He began construction in Montrose, 15 miles south, in 1806 but died that same year. Two years later his widow, Elizabeth, completed the Federal-style house, which was inspired by the symmetry of ancient Greek and Roman architecture.

By the early 20th century, the home was in disrepair. In 1955, it was sold at auction for $35 (about $400 today). Just before it was to be razed, historian Benjamin West Frazier purchased the house for $10,000 ($118,000), had it dismantled and stored the pieces. Lila Acheson Wallace, a philanthropist who had co-founded Reader's Digest, financed the reconstruction in Philipstown overlooking the Hudson River, and the house opened for tours in 1961.

Boscobel is located at 1601 Route 9D. The mansion is closed but the grounds are open Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission is $14 ($7 for ages 4 to 18). Sunday will be added by April 6, Friday by April 25 and Monday by Memorial Day. Some exhibits from the house have been moved to the Visitor Center.