Serving Rhinebeck and Neighboring Towns
Issue 22 | January 13, 2023
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Feedback
So people have been asking (and I am not making this up) when we might start publishing letters from readers and facilitating comments on our website. I want to assure everyone reading this (as well as those who are possibly hearing this secondhand) that we absolutely love hearing from readers, regardless of whether it comes in the form of queries, praise or jeers. We have received numerous letters asking for everything from help in retrieving our newsletter out of people’s junk mail folders to requests prompting us to investigate local business ventures. We do what we can when we are able. We very much appreciate everyone who takes the time and energy to write to us to let us know that what we are doing is meaningful enough to encourage us or even take us to task.
For instance, this week we had possibly a first. We received our first postage letter from someone who did not sign their name and took the time to write a single-page, hand written missive and sent it from Florida. The gist of the letter was far from praise and stated that, upon reading our newsletter, they found that it is “identical to 95% of national and local media…once again one-sided!” I guess this puts us squarely in the majority? They went on to inquire whether we were intending on bullying the “other side to think as we do” and gave us, a small independent news start-up, the designation of being the reason society was disintegrating. While we do not relish alienating anyone, nor upsetting a reader to the point where they walk away utterly dismissive, we do appreciate such passionate responses and hope that we will have the opportunity to be something (not everything) to everyone.
This being said, while we are not yet ready to turn on comments on the HV Pilot website, as it would likely require too much moderation for such a modest staff, we are getting ready to roll out a bunch of new features on the website (as well as the newsletter) in the coming weeks - including a section where we will be publishing letters and comments sent our way. We view this as very much a two-way street and feel that communication between publication and community is crucial to our role here. We hope you continue to write to us, advise us and criticize us (if you are so moved) and we will be publishing some of what you share in the near future.
In this issue of the newsletter we are thrilled to share with you “Always Present, Never Seen” from our neighbors to the south, The Highlands Current. This is an excellent five-part series about the history and experience of Black Americans in the Hudson Valley prior to abolition. We also take a practical and critical approach to the tradition of new year’s resolutions, in our new series "Local Knowledge."
As always, thank you for your continued interest and engagement. We look forward to keeping the conversation going strong in the coming year.
Eric Steinman
Executive Editor
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We Reached Our Goal!
With your support, the Pilot has taken the first steps toward bringing back independent news to our area. Your generosity has helped make this happen and ensured that our startup efforts will continue to grow into an essential resource for our community.
We hit our launch goal of $25,000!
Thank you to all who have contributed--local news will succeed only if we all work together.
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Always Present, Never Seen
The Hudson Valley Pilot is honored to share with our readers an ambitious and excellent series titled "Always Present, Never Seen." This lengthy story documenting the contributions of Black people in Dutchess County and the Hudson Valley, most of whom were enslaved during the 200 years before the institution was abolished in New York in 1827.
This five-part series is designed as an introduction to the Black history of the area and comes courtesy from the Highlands Current, a non-profit and independent news source in Cold Spring. The title of the article is borrowed from social historian Erica Armstrong Dunbar, who was referring to Black people during the time of the Revolutionary War, when Americans fought for white freedom: “They were always present, but never seen.”
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Local Knowledge: Rethinking the Whole Resolution Thing
At this point in the month, many of us have filled our heads and our calendars with goals and intentions, full of the promise of new habits. The great majority of these will be fueled by a desire to be more healthy – a new diet or exercise regime, a desire to cut back or give up an unhealthy behavior or toxic substance, or a wish to connect more with others either personally, professionally or charitably.
Research shows that although more than 55% of people make some type of New Year’s resolution, less than 10% will be successful in making the desired change a habit. What drives this desire for change at the beginning of a new year, and how do we turn the desire for a new behavior into regular action that doesn’t require so much tiresome conscious thought?
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A Feather in Her Cap: BKMC Revisits Hats
Brooklyn Millinery Company — also known as BKMC — debuted in Rhinebeck as a pop-up shop upstairs at 12 East Market Street in the fall of 2021. A year later, Estelle, who grew up in nearby Staatsburg, welcomed the opportunity to open a retail store and studio when a yarn shop vacated the small space at 71 East Market Street. The light-filled space is perfect for a showroom, with a big front window, plenty of wall space for displaying hats and a dedicated area for her hat-making studio.
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Thank You for Signing Up
The response to our twice-weekly newsletter has been overwhelming and the engagement is beyond encouraging. We are proud to announce that we have crossed the 1300 newsletter subscriber mark! We encourage you to spread the word and tell your friends, family, neighbors and strangers alike to sign up here to expand our reach. The more people we have reading and engaging, the more of an active community we are.
Local news for local good.
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Have Ideas for the HV Pilot?
If you have suggestions for the HV Pilot, as far as coverage or stories, or would be interested in being a contributor, please contact editor@hvpilot.com
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"Talk to Allison"
The teachers of The Sadhana Yoga Project (previously covered in the HV Pilot) joined Allison on Radio Free Rhinecliff to share their journey of taking yoga out of the studio and into rehabilitation centers, prisons, and other facilities to provide healing and wellness for those in recovery, rehabilitation and incarceration.
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Thank You For Shopping // Well, I am not going to say “I told you so,” but I did kind of predict it when I forecasted, in our first Newsletter of the year, that the coming year would reveal the closing of a long established business in Rhinebeck.
The Rhinebeck Department Store (One East Market Street on the corner of Market and Montgomery) which was established in 1992 and has served the community for three decades with everything from nightgowns to Pendletons is bowing out of the local retail scene and handing the keys over to Kenna Hawco and Lorrie Kruger, daughters of Lila and Steven Pague of Winter Sun and Summer Moon (just across the street).
The new venture, taking over the Department Store space, will be called Rhinebeck Mercantile and is seemingly already in a transition phase to the new owners. In a joint press release that went out earlier this week, it states that “Barbara and Dick Schreiber former owners of the department store have decided to write new chapters in their lives” and it goes on to state that a ribbon cutting and grand opening will be planned for the new retail store in Spring 2023. In addition the press release teases a 31st anniversary sale for the venerable Department Store through Monday January 16th. No word yet on the retail offerings of Rhinebeck Mercantile or whether it will be a continuation of, or a deviation from, the departing Department Store.
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Don't Tread on Me! // Update on the new soccer field at Thompson-Mazzarella Park. Artificial turf was laid down in the park late last year, making way for the newest soccer field in the Rhinebeck area. According to Town Board Trustee Josh Pulver, Clark Construction made such swift work of the installation that an unforeseen problem, albeit minor, has arisen. It seems that the combination of excitement over the new civic addition as well as the bountiful rain we have been having lately, has yielded a fair share of muddy footprints and the occasional dog excrement on the new, and recently pristine, field.
The plan was to seed the perimeter upon completion of the field, but the turf was completed and now, according to Pulver, “We have this beautiful and pristine field with goals and a big muddy pit around it.” So sod will be installed around the field as soon as the ground is dry enough to take it, and in the meantime the town has placed about a dozen signs asking people to stay off the field for the time being. Eventually, the sod will take root and fences will be erected around the field in the coming weeks, but Pulver was emphatic that the field will be open to the public but they just want to do what they can to keep the field from getting “trashed” before the first game is played. Eventually signs will be positioned letting visitors know the do's and don'ts of the new field, but Pulver acknowledges that they will probably have to get onto the field before that and do some cleaning.
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Spice World // This past week rumors were being spread on Nextdoor about Rhinebeck’s beloved and sole Indian restaurant Cinnamon charting a move across the river to Woodstock. The reception by Nextdoor’s Woodstock users was nothing short of ecstatic, as they were potentially inheriting an award winning eatery, whereas Nextdoor’s Rhinebeck denizens remained silent, likely in shock and disbelief that they may be losing such a mainstay. Well, this is one of those stories where both sides of the river have something to celebrate.
Not to worry, Cinnamon Rhinebeck is remaining in place on East Market Street and will continue to dish out dosas and chicken tikka masala to the hungry masses. In addition, the old Mountain Gate Indian restaurant (4 Deming Street in Woodstock) which closed this past December, will be taken over by the Cinnamon team and will, we would imagine, provide the same food and service that got them all the recognition they deserve. Gene, a bartender at Cinnamon, confirmed the expansion of the Cinnamon eatery to Woodstock, but anticipated that it would not be until the spring before the Woodstock eatery was up and running. Until then, we will continue to enjoy Cinnamon in Rhinebeck, knowing we will not be abandoned.
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Tuesdays and Thursdays:
THE SENIOR VAN IS BACK!! Rides will be available to Tops, Starr Library, or elsewhere in the Village. Pre-registration is required and those wishing to ride must be able to get on the van without assistance, must live in Rhinebeck, and must be a senior. For more information call Joan Winne, Town Clerk, at 845-876-3409, or download the application from the Town website at https://rhinebeckny.gov/over-60-and-thriving-in-rhinebeck.
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Need support with substance abuse? Alcoholics Anonymous of Northeast New York sponsors several regular face-to-face and virtual meetings in our area – including in Rhinebeck and Red Hook – at various times of the day. For more information https://nenyaa.org/meetings.
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Amtrak has closed the Rhinecliff Station building for renovations. Ticket sales, restrooms, and waiting rooms will be relocated onsite. All train services will continue as before.
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Starting Wednesday, January 4 through Wednesday, June 21, 7:30PM – 10:00PM:
Recreational volleyball. Drop in on the 11th for a free trial run; if you like it, you can register at Rhinebeckrec.com: create an account, register for volleyball. At Chancellor Livingston Elementary School, 48 Knollwood Rd., Rhinebeck.
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Saturday, Jan. 14th, 10:00AM - 11:15AM
Free webinar, “Gardening for Nature’s Intricate Web,” hosted by Tannersville, NY’s Mountaintop Arboretum. Author, photographer and landscape designer Carolyn Summers reviews current research about the many ways native plants form the basis of the food web that supports a healthy, pollinator-rich landscape. Pre-registration required at mtarboretum.org.
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Sunday, Jan. 15th 4:00PM
Wassail Celebration at Rose Hill Farm in Red Hook: inviting you to “get witchy, weird, and a little pagan” to bless the trees and ask for a good harvest in 2023. Bring bread, pots, pans, drums or other instruments and “your inner (or actual) child” and wear warm clothes and sturdy boots. RoseHillFarm.com.
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Monday, Jan. 16th
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Schools closed, banks closed and post office closed. A day of observance and commemoration.
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Any time through January 15: The Rhinebeck Village Comprehensive Plan Committee wants to hear from you! Fill out the online Community Survey and tell the committee what’s most important to you and what you think our future might look like. Survey at https://bit.ly/VORsurvey. En Espanol at https://bit.ly/VORsurveyES.
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Tuesday, Jan. 17th, 1:00PM
Online presentation on “Trails and Invasive Species” with Sarah Travalio, Invasive Species Project Coordinator at the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Sponsored by the Winnakee Land Trust. Free. RSVP to contact@winnakee.org.
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Now through Jan. 19th
“Off the Market: Gift Economies and Art,” exhibition exploring gift exchanges and gifts of art from the point of view of an economist; Tuesdays through Sundays 10:00AM – 5:00PM and Thursdays 10:00AM – 9:00PM. Admission is free. At the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College, 124 Raymond Ave., Poughkeepsie, 845-437-5632.
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Now through January 24: Applications for Absentee Ballots for the Rhinebeck Village Democratic Primary must be received by the Rhinebeck Democratic Committee, P.O. Box 635, Rhinebeck 12572. The ballot itself must be received at the same address by January 31 or dropped off at Rhinebeck Village Hall during the hours polls are open (Noon – 9:00PM) on Primary Election Day, January 31, 2023. More info here.
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Thursday, Jan. 26th, 6:00PM - 7:00PM
Seed Swap. Bring seeds to contribute if you can; a contribution is not necessary since there will be seeds for all. “A handful of seeds reaches many people.” Refreshments and homemade snacks will be served. At Morton Library & Community House, 82 Kelly St., Rhinecliff.
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Now through Feb. 4th
Call for artists! Rhinecliff’s Morton Library Talent Show and Art Opening is seeking visual artists’ work to accompany this year’s talent show. Contact Sandy@mortonrhinecliff by February 4th if interested in participating.
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Tuesday, Jan. 17th
Rhinebeck Town Planning Board Meeting
Town Hall
6:00PM
Twice-monthly meeting of the Town of Rhinebeck Planning Board. Agenda not yet available.
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Tuesday, Jan. 17th
Village Planning Board Meeting
Rhinebeck Village Hall
7:00PM
Twice-monthly meeting of the Rhinebeck Village Planning Board. Agenda not yet available.
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"Hudson"
Hudson is living his best life in Rhinebeck and is a rescue adopted from AnimalKind in Hudson, hence the name.
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