^{Serving Rhinebeck and Neighboring Towns}

Issue 168 | June 11, 2024

NYS Making Regents Exams Optional //

For high school students, June means prom and graduation, but beyond the celebratory milestones there are also finals and Regents exams, which are statewide standardized exams in core subjects like math, science and history. Regents exams, which can typically run three hours or more, have been a compulsory part of high school life in New York State since the 19th century – a requirement for advancing to the next grade as well as for high school graduation. As of yesterday, all of that is now in question with the New York State Education Department declaring that Regents exams will soon be optional for all students. 

While the Board of Regents still needs to vote to ratify this proposal, with implementation probably not occurring until next year, the news comes at an ironic time, as many high school students in the state are currently studying for or taking Regents exams this week and next. The current graduation requirement is that students have to pass no less than five Regents exams.

High school graduation tests have fallen out of favor across the country over concerns that the mandates hurt disadvantaged teenagers. New York State is one of the last remaining states to require such exit exams for high school students. 

If and when the change occurs, students will still have to prove their proficiency in various 21st-century skills. That proof could still be an exam, and the Regents tests will still be offered. And students will also still have to pass required high school classes.

According to Rhinebeck Central School District Superintendent Albert Cousins, the Board of Regents still has a lot of work to do before local districts/regions can make decisions about what the local requirements might be. Cousins told the PIlot that the district has already removed the exams from calculation of final averages, but, “It’s still way way way too early to comment on it, other than to say that I have been following the work of the commission closely and I watched the webinar today that included the formal presentation.” Cousins also said the details of how such a change will be rolled out “will be interesting.” 

Coverage of Rhinebeck schools and educational issues is supported by the Fraleigh and Rakow Insurance Agency in Rhinebeck.

Upstate Films Gets Some Dough //

Upstate Films, with outposts in Rhinebeck and Saugerties, was the recipient yesterday of a New York State Operational Funding Grant of $25,000. The local arts institution, which has been in operation since 1972, was nominated for the grant by Assemblymember Sarahana Shrestha (D-103). “There’s a lot of important work happening on the ground that can always use a little boost, and this year we’ve nominated different recipients from last year’s so that more people can feel the effects of these grants,” Shrestha said in a statement yesterday. 

Other organizations who were recipients of the state’s generosity were Opus 40 in Saugerties ($25,000) and the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater ($35,000) which has been having fundraising difficulties, as we reported last month. Last year, the Village of Rhinebeck received a similar $25,000 operational funding grant from the state.

"Upstate Films is committed to using our spaces to help bring people together to find joy, meaning and connection. Support from New York State, under the recommendation of Assemblymember Sarahana Shresthra, will help us expand our programming, which is all offered at a low cost, and increase our impact in Saugerties and in Ulster County,” wrote Jason Silverman, co-director of Upstate Films. 

Mandy at the Mall //

The ever-shrinking brick and mortar retail landscape is really no joke, as shopping areas from San Francisco to New York have shown a significant decline in what were once thriving retail markets. Actor Mandy Patinkin, a Hudson Valley resident known for his prodigious work in television as well as movies like “The Princess Bride,” recently accompanied his son Gideon for an exploratory outing to the relatively barren Hudson Valley Mall in Kingston and they filmed it for TikTok. In the video, the Patinkins walk around dazed in a state of disbelief that the mall, once filled with a myriad of retail options, including Macy’s and Old Navy, is now a 765,704 square foot shell, with a few random stores here and there, like Unisex Hair Palace and a Boy Scouts of America outlet. As the senior Patinkin put it, “It is a mall that has been unmalled.” 

The three-minute video shows the father and son turning corners along long stretches of hallway where only vacant retail spaces now exist. Gideon at one point says, “There is just nothing going on in this place,” and then asks his father how this largely vacant labyrinth should be repurposed, to which his father responds, “potato sack races or maybe dirt bike races.” 

The Hudson Valley Mall opened in 1981 and was in trouble prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, and that disruption hastened its decline. One of its anchor stores, Best Buy, turned into a Covid-19 vaccine center in 2021 then shut down within the year. While Target is still open, Dick’s Sporting Goods is rumored to be vacating their space this year. 

What do you think should be done with this once popular retail spot? Could it be repurposed for something to serve the larger community? Housing? An educational institution? If you have ideas, please write to us.

An Update to the Red Lobster Tale //

Last week we reported on the closing of the Red Lobster restaurant in the Town of Ulster, part of a larger sell-off after a bankruptcy filing last month by the Lobster’s owner, private equity firm Golden Gate Capital. At the sell-off auction John Oliver, host of HBO weekly satirical news show “Last Week Tonight,” swooped in and purchased that whole Town of Ulster Lobster with a winning auction bid and resurrected the family restaurant in the NYC studio where the show is taped. We also reported on the perhaps peripheral news story that Eric Deising, owner of Deising’s Bakery & Restaurant in Kingston, was disappointed to have Oliver beat him out of purchasing a 36-inch flat grill/oven and “eat his lunch.” 

Now it seems that Oliver, a host with a strong sense of the absurd, has offered Deising the equipment he so desired (purchased new, as it was not part of the auction winnings) if Deising will bake and sell in his bakery/restaurant a popular cake treat there called the “cake bear” IF he puts Oliver’s likeness on it. As of yesterday, it seems that Deising’s has taken up the challenge and, according to the Daily Freeman, has produced multiple versions of the “John Oliver Bear Cake” for his customers’ enjoyment. Deising told the Freeman that the cakes featuring the comedian’s face, at $8, have been selling at a fast pace. A Facebook post on Monday morning noted the bakery had sold 80 in the first hour. A person behind the counter on Monday afternoon said the bakery was sold out for the day and urged people to order for Tuesday.

Do you love walking at Blithewood Garden at Bard College? You can support the restoration of this historic garden by buying tickets to a July 7 concert at Bard’s Spiegeltent: Choro Das 3, a sister-trio from Sao Paolo, creates innovative interpretations of choro, bossa nova, and other styles of Brazilian music. The concert begins at 3PM. Tickets are $29.50-$69.50. Proceeds benefit the Blithewood Garden Rehabilitation Project. At the Spiegeltent, Bard.

Tickets are now on sale for the June 15 and 22 Hudson Valley Chamber Music Circle Concert Series, with music by Haydn, Schubert, Beethoven, Vaughan Williams, Karim Al-Zand, Joan Tower, and others. Tickets $5 for students; $44.50 each, or $110 for all three. At Olin Hall, Bard College.

Saturday, June 15th, 11:00AM - Noon

Bee and Pollinator Ecology on the Hudson,” talk by Chris Layman, Cornell Master Beekeeper. Bring a blanket or chair and a picnic. Sponsored by the Beatrix Farrand Garden Association. At the garden at the FDR National Historic Site, Hyde Park.

Saturday, June 15th, 3:00PM - 6:00PM

Opening reception for “The Gift,” exhibit of photographs by Han Feng. The show will run through July 28. At the Mad Rose Gallery, 5916 North Elm Ave., Millerton.

Saturday, June 15, 6:00PM

Upstate Films 2024 Jubilee fundraiser, with cocktails, performances, live auction and dinner. Tickets $250-$1,000. At the Spiegeltent, Bard College.

Wednesday, June 19th

Juneteenth National Independence Day, commemorating the ending of slavery in the US.

Saturday, June 20th, 9:00AM

Birding Expedition and Walking Tour with Alan Peterson of the Ralph T. Waterman Bird Club. Wear hiking boots and bring binoculars. Tickets $12. At Wilderstein Historic Site, 330 Morton Rd., Rhinebeck.

Saturday, June 22nd, 4:30PM

Hudson Organ Trio plays jazz. FREE. The second of four concerts in the Roger Phillips Concert Series. Sponsored by Arts Mid-Hudson. Bring a chair or blanket, but the concert will be indoors if the weather doesn’t cooperate. At Starr Library, 68 West Market St., Rhinebeck.

Sunday, June 23rd, 1:00 - 2:00PM

Little Free Pride Library Opening and Tie-Dye Party, sponsored by Beckhook Pride. All welcome. At Starr Library, 68 West Market St., Rhinebeck.

Friday, June 28th, 3:00 - 6:00PM

Community Photo Shoot, with photographer Mike Lawrie. FREE. Get a portrait taken with your family, your partner, your dog, or even by yourself. Plus Mighty Donuts, music and games. Registration requested. At Starr Library, 68 West Market St., Rhinebeck.

Now through August 31st

"An Artist’s Alphabet,” an exhibit of the late artist Tom Blackwell, a painter in the photorealist genre. At Starr Library, 68 West Market St., Rhinebeck.