Cold Spring Might Say No to Fast Food Planning Board Slogs
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Check out Desmond-Fish book and media sale beginning this weekend | The Calendar FRIDAY, AUG. 17, 2012 69 MAIN ST., COLD SPRING, N.Y. | www.philipstown.info Cold Spring Might Say No to Fast Food New firehouse plans on the Sept. agenda By Liz Schevtchuk Armstrong old Spring’s Village Board on Tues- day (Aug. 14) agreed to explore the Cpossibility of limiting formulaic businesses — establishments, typically fast-food outlets, that use a set menu, identical building design, staff uniform, and similar standard formats in opera- tions in diverse locations. Mayor Seth Gallagher introduced “the concept of a law that would limit formula restaurants in the village,” and the board put the topic on its calendar for Sept. 18. Gallagher noted that any restrictions adopted would not affect a pending ap- Village Garage has view that might serve other purposes. Story on page 3 Photo by L.S. Armstrong plication — such as the current bid to turn the Elmesco car repair shop into a Dunkin’ Donuts franchise. “Looking into the future, most likely there will be Planning Board Slogs Through Elmesco Proposal other types of restaurants applying to do SEQR review long and detailed but required business,” Gallagher said. “Do we want to consider limiting that in order to pre- By Kevin E. Foley other agencies have 30 days to respond serve the uniqueness of Cold Spring?” before the Planning Board can proceed. State Open Gov’t According to the mayor, a law could he Cold Spring Planning Board be- This procedure, which can appear time- be tailored to cover various types of gan the process of declaring itself consuming and obstructionist to the un- Chief Opines establishments, but laws in other com- Tthe lead agency on the Elmesco initiated, is part of the New York State munities focus on restaurants. As he ex- application for a Dunkin’ Donuts fran- Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) Boards should show plained it, such legislation would not ban chise and convenience store operation law. franchises or “big box” chain stores per at 33 Chestnut St. at a workshop meet- The tedium and detail of SEQR under- restraint on executive se. “It’s not saying you can’t have a cer- ing at the VFW Hall last Tuesday (Aug. scores the multiplicity of laws and regu- session, fire cos. come under tain type of ownership,” but stipulating 14) night. As lead agency the Planning lations that can influence an application that an acceptable business “wouldn’t fit Board would supersede other govern- to change the use of a property whether Open Meetings Law into a formula,” he said. mental agencies in determining the out- in a large metropolis or a small village. By Liz Schevtchuk Armstrong “I think fast-food restaurants are the come of the proposal and the disposition Although Kenny Elmes filed his appli- biggest exposure,” Trustee Matt Fran- of various issues that might arise during cation some months ago, it is only now ew York’s top expert on govern- cisco concurred, pointing out that de- the examination of the project. that the Planning Board believes it has ment transparency declared velopment of the Butterfield property on The process for lead agency designa- sufficient information to reassure other NWednesday that the state’s open- Route 9D could draw such enterprises. tion involves informing other agencies agencies — in this case, the Town of Phil- ness-in-government laws apply to vol- of the intention and asking them if they ipstown, the Putnam County Health and unteer fire departments and that such Firehouse and Boat Club matters have any objection or concerns. The Planning (Continued on page 2) governing bodies as village boards of A formulaic-business law was only one trustees cannot broadly invoke “person- of several weighty topics the board de- nel” issues as an excuse for holding exec- cided to take up next month. utive sessions — discussions from which For Sept. 4, it scheduled a presentation the public is barred. on a potential new firehouse. Trustee J. Robert J. Freeman, executive direc- Ralph Falloon, the board’s liaison to Cold tor of the New York State Committee on Spring Fire Company No. 1, said that for Open Government, led an audience of ap- six years he had been involved in efforts proximately 45 through the ins and outs to consider the possibilities. “We believe of the state Open Meetings and Freedom we have come up with a fiscally respon- of Information Laws. Sponsored by Citi- sible conceptual plan,” he said. Wednes- zens of Philipstown, the forum occurred day (Aug. 15), Falloon confirmed that the on a stormy night at the North High- idea involves use of the existing site, at lands Fire District firehouse. Main and Church Streets. “It is just a At the event, part lecture and part ques- presentation of a concept that I hope the tion-and-answer period, Freeman fielded rest of the board finds acceptable enough queries touching upon local concern. to consider serious enough to move for- The question of whether volunteer ward,” he added. fire companies must comply with open On Sept. 25, the board intends to re- government demands came up twice: visit the issue of coal-tar pollution at the once in regard to an unnamed volunteer Cold Spring Boat Club, underground con- fire company, which the questioner de- Present Cold Spring firehouse Photo by L.S. Armstrong tamination left (Continued on page 5) scribed as “not (Continued on page 5) Fine Crafts Fair August 18 & 19 23 Garrison’s Landing 845-424-3960 garrisonartcenter.org [email protected] 2 Aug. 17, 2012 The Paper www.philipstown.info | Philipstown.info Mouths to Feed Pasta with sautéed zucchini and basil You can use a mixture of summer squash and zucchini. And feel free to substitute a cup of canned tomatoes for the fresh Zucchini for the tomatoes. Next Generation 3 pounds small zucchini 2 tablespoons butter By Celia Barbour 2 tablespoons olive oil here is no zucchini hotline. There is 1 pound pasta a turkey hotline, however, manned 4 cloves garlic, chopped every November by patient souls salt & pepper T 4-5 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped willing to talk America’s freaked-out poultry roasters through their various 1 cup basil leaves crises. The reason for this disparity is 1/3 cup grated parmesan simple: A well-known corporation pro- 1. Start a pot of water to boil for the cesses a large proportion of America’s pasta. turkeys, and its hotline generates tons 2. Slice the zucchini into thin rounds. of press coverage, a.k.a. free advertis- Heat the largest skillet you have over ing. Zucchinis, meanwhile, may gener- medium-high heat for one minute, then ate equivalent anxiety but completely add the butter and oil. When they sizzle, lack corporate sponsorship. The upshot add the zucchini in a single layer; you is that I am on my own when it comes to will probably have to cook it in batches. working through my zucchini issues. When the zucchini is starting to brown, And yes, I have a few. transfer it to a plate and do another As a child, I loathed them. Of course Ingredients standing by Photo by C. Barbour batch. I did. Didn’t we all? They were allowed 3. When the pasta waster is boiling, to stay on the vine until they were so big nal in this endeavor: pasta, cheese, but- fritters, which of course are delicious salt it (it should taste as salty as the you could club a turkey with them, not ter, bacon, garlic, broth and batter. It because they are, hello, fried, and tem- ocean) and add the pasta. that anyone would do that. Bloated with worked. My kids love vegetables. pura zucchini, ditto. I’ve made zucchini 4. Once all the zucchini is cooked, water and filled with seeds and stringy I didn’t hold out much hope for zuc- soup, eh, and brushed spears of zucchini reduce the heat under the skillet, add fibers, they were completely beyond cu- chini, however, despite the fact that the with oil and herbs and roasted them on the garlic, and sauté it for 1-2 minutes, linary rescue. Nonetheless, my mother, squash has come a long way since my the grill. But at least once a summer I re- until just golden. Return all the cooked otherwise a wise and wonderful cook, own childhood. Zucchinis are now typi- turn to the original dish, which I use as zucchini to the pan, add salt and pep- saw fit to boil them. Boiling is seldom the cally harvested when they are not much a pasta sauce. It constitutes dinner on a per and the tomatoes. Simmer together best technique for any vegetable, and in bigger than hotdogs, which is nice. But hot night, with a green salad on the side. until the vegetables are meltingly soft, this case it was disastrous. their flavor and texture, though vastly My daughter, 8, is the pickiest eater about 5 minutes. When the pasta is near- With my own kids, I decided early improved, remain somewhat ho-hum. among my three kids, yet she adores zuc- ly cooked, add a cup of the pasta water on that my number-one goal as a cook Imagine my surprise, then, when my chini with a simple, pure affection that to the zucchini mixture, then drain the should be to do everything in my power early efforts at zucchini promotion were baffles me. The other day she said, “Mom- pasta and add it to the zucchini to fin- to make vegetables delicious, since eat- met with raging success.