Serving Rhinebeck and Neighboring Towns
Issue 121 | January 2, 2024
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What Will the New Year Bring?
First off, Happy New Year everyone. I hope everyone had an opportunity to decompress, lick their wounds and recharge during the brief moment that was the winter break.
I recently wished someone the requisite “Happy New Year” and she responded that she was definitely and categorically done with 2023 and ready for 2024, which felt both dismissive of the past, but oddly optimistic about the future. Maybe this is just the cycle we are locked into, where we wear out the year, like a pair of poorly made fast-fashion jeans, and wilfully discard them on January 1st, never to look back, and project our hopes into the now immediate future.
Last year, we had a little fun with some local predictions for the future, and we solicited you, our readers, for some of yours. I seem to remember I correctly predicted the closing of Stickles in Rhinebeck (a bit of dumb luck on my part) and some of you wrote about possible new restaurants and happenings that didn’t quite see the light of day in 2023. So, I would like to continue with the tradition and ask you all – what are your local predictions for 2024? Do you think the Rhinecliff Amtrak station will be completed? Do you predict a harsh and merciless winter ahead, or are you making the bold prediction that Eveready Diner will reopen as a culinary phoenix to great fanfare? Please write directly to me here with your predictions and I will be more than happy to share them with our readers. I will start us out with this one: this year will see a Hatfields vs. McCoys-like feud between either Rhinebeck and Red Hook or between the Town of Rhinebeck and the Village of Rhinebeck over something controversial but ultimately easily addressed.
Thank you all for all of your support. We look forward to covering your local news in 2024.
Eric Steinman
Executive Editor
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The Ongoing Immigrant Crisis Extends into Dutchess with Several Aid Agencies Willing to Assist
New York, and the entire country, have experienced an immigration crisis for decades, with thousands of people from all over the world looking to gain entry and employment in the U.S. The recently increasing waves of immigration, since spring 2023, have overwhelmed an arguably broken federal immigration system.
Recently, the Dutchess County Supreme Court ruled that the international asylum seekers, currently housed by New York City government at the Red Roof Inn in Poughkeepsie, must vacate within 180 days.
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Looking Backward
Do you happen to have old or archival photos of places, people or events in the area from over the years? We are putting out a call to the community for scans of photos from over the last 100 or so years to help us look back at the people and times that made this community what it is. Please contact editor@hvpilot.com.
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LOCAL EVENTS!
The HV Pilot continues to grow and serve the community. Check out our events page with local happenings updated continuously.
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Ringing in the New Year and New Laws // While many people associate New Year’s Day with resolutions, the state of New York, along with most other states, meets the dawn of the new year with an assortment of new laws that take effect on the first of January. Here are a few of those new NY laws:
– The state has two new public school holidays to celebrate: the Lunar New Year, which occurs in early February, and Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, celebrated in November;
– On a somewhat similar note, incarcerated individuals previously convicted of a felony now must be notified, both verbally and in writing, before they are released from a state correctional facility, that their voting rights will be restored once they get out;
– LGBTQ residents of nursing homes and long-term care facilities now have a “bill of rights” that includes examples of actions that might infringe on their rights, such as denying a person admission to a facility, evicting a resident, denying a request by a resident to share a room and intentionally failing to use a resident’s preferred name or pronouns;
– New York State’s minimum wage will increase to $16 per hour in New York City, Long Island and Westchester County and to $15 an hour in the Hudson Valley and everywhere else in the state. Both rates will increase by an additional 50 cents in 2025 and 2026, with future increases statewide pegged to inflation. This means that a person working in a minimum wage job as a full-time employee will be paid an extra $32 per week.
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"Correct Me If I'm Norm"
Norm sits down with local biomimicry expert Dorna Schroeter to chat about local and global environmental concerns.
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This Week
Happy New Year!
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Wednesday, January 3rd
Indoor sports begin. Sponsored by Rhinebeck Rec. Adult Men’s and Women’s Soccer and Recreational Volleyball. For dates, times, locations, genders and fees, see rhinebeckny.myrec.com.
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Friday, January 5th, 5:00PM - 7:00PM
Opening Reception for “Rhinecliff Train Station: A Celebration”; community artists salute the venerable depot. At Morton Library, 82 Kelly St., Rhinecliff.
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Saturday, January 6th, 2:00PM
Rally for Democracy, sponsored by Hudson Valley Strong. Meet at intersection of Rte. 9 and East Market St., Rhinebeck.
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Saturday, January 6th, 1:30PM -3:00PM
Workshop on kakizome, Japanese “first writing” for the new year, expressing hopes and aspirations. FREE. At Arts Mid-Hudson, 696 Dutchess Turnpike, Poughkeepsie.
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Tuesday, January 9th, 6:00PM
Rhinecliff Climate Conversation on “Food Forests,” low-maintenance, sustainable systems based on woodlands. At Morton Library, 82 Kelly St., Rhinecliff.
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Thursday, January 11th, 7:00PM
Ice Boating on the Hudson – Past and Future, presented by the Hudson River Ice Yacht Preservation Trust. At Morton Library, 82 Kelly St., Rhinecliff.
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Saturday, January 13th, 5:30PM
15th Annual Town of Clinton Bonfire Night. Hot cocoa, S’Mores, Fun! Bring your Christmas tree to the Highway Garage by Jan.12. Sponsored by Clinton Rec, East Clinton Volunteer Fire Dept., and East Clinton Auxiliary. At Fran Mark Park, 337 Clinton Hollow Rd., Salt Point.
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Now through April 1 – No parking on Rhinebeck roads from midnight to 8AM. Violators are subject to a fine.
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New artists’ residencies available through Kaatsbaan Cultural Park Weekend Retreat Residency Program, for artists of all genres “to create, live, and collaborate in the idyllic Hudson Valley countryside.” Weekends in mid-January, mid-February, and mid-March, 2024. See Kaatsbaan.org for more information. At Kaatsbaan, Tivoli.
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Call for volunteers to provide free tax assistance
”Help your neighbors get the (tax) credit they deserve” through the AARP Foundation Tax-Aide program. Many volunteer positions available, including tax preparers and technical and administrative support. FREE training. For details, call Linda Eddy at 845-475-7500.
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Mondays, 5:30 - 7PM – Rockin’ Rooks Youth Chess.
NO SESSIONS DURING SCHOOL VACATION. Students grades K-12 are welcome to join for fun, learning, and tournament competition. If school is closed there is no club meeting. For details see MortonRhinecliff.lib.ny.us. At Morton, 82 Kelly St., Rhinecliff.
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Now through January 28th, 2024
“Silver Linings; Celebrating the Spelman Collection,” a selection of nearly 40 works from the permanent collection of Spelman College, the historically Black liberal arts college for women. AND “Interwoven Histories: Prints by the Gee’s Bend Quilting Collective.” Exhibit of large-scale, colorful prints of the intricate and unique quilt-making designs of the acclaimed Alabama quilters. FREE. At Vassar’s Lehman Loeb Art Center, Poughkeepsie.
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Town of Clinton Food Drive, to restock the food pantry at Pleasant Plains Presbyterian Church. Drop off canned goods and non-perishables at the Town of Clinton Clerk’s office, 1215 Centre Rd., Town of Clinton, Mondays-Thursdays, 9AM - 4PM, or at the Church, 2 Fiddlers Bridge Rd., Staatsburg.
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Tuesday, Jan. 2nd
Rhinebeck Town Board Meeting
Town Hall
6:00PM
Reorganizational meeting agenda includes schedules and appointments to various boards and committees. Regular meeting agenda includes amendment of agreement with Rhinebeck Village to adjust the price of salt brine; discussion of the Town “To-Do List,” re various pending projects; and a list of lawsuits pending vs. the Town. See Town website. At Town Hall, 80 East Market St., Rhinebeck.
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Tuesday, Jan. 2nd
Rhinebeck Town Planning Board Meeting
Town Hall
7:30PM
NOTE CHANGE OF TIME – Agenda includes application of Rock Ledge Development at 492 Ackert Hook Rd. See Town website. At Town Hall, 80 East Market St., Rhinebeck.
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Tuesday, Jan. 9th
Rhinebeck Village Board Meeting
Village Hall
6:00PM
Agenda not yet available. See Village website. At Village Hall, 76 East Market St., Rhinebeck.
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Tuesday, Jan. 9th
Rhinebeck Central School Board Meeting
BMS Cafeteria
7:00PM
Tuesday, Jan. 9, 7PM – Rhinebeck Central School Board. Agenda not yet available. See RCSD website. At Bulkeley School cafeteria, 45 North Rd., Rhinebeck.
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There are new items posted on the 6 Mulberry St. page of the Rhinebeck Village website, under Committees & Projects/6 Mulberry. These include the environmental assessment prepared by Partridge Venture Engineering for the developer, dated Dec. 19, 2019; parameters regarding construction noise, traffic, and lighting; a revised site plan; plans and elevations for four one-family homes on the site; and draft environmental assessment forms.
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The Village of Rhinebeck is seeking applicants for membership on the Tree Commission. See Village website.
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The Town of Rhinebeck is seeking applicants for positions as Town Trustee and members of Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals, Conservation Advisory Board, and Board of Assessment Review. Applicants are asked to submit a letter of intent and resume to townclerk@rhinebeckny.gov.
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Violet Greenhouses on Burger Hill
These images come courtesy of Nancy Couse, whose family owned a collection of greenhouses around Burger Hill.
Couse's grandfather, Frank Rion, along with his brother Ira Rion, owned greenhouses dedicated to the growing of violets, which was a significant industry in the area at the beginning of the 20th century, hence the name Violet Hill.
Image courtesy of Nancy Couse
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