Secor Site Not Suitable for Tower, Critics
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[FREE] Serving Philipstown and Beacon See Page 10 NOVEMBER 17, 2017 161 MAIN ST., COLD SPRING, N.Y. | highlandscurrent.com Secor Site Not Suitable for Tower, Critics Say As clock ticks on one site, the near two historic grave- alternative meets objections yards as well as the Haldane By Liz Schevtchuk Armstrong Central School District campus. he possible installation of a cell Hiking paths and phone tower along Secor Street in Back Brook, which Tthe woods near the Haldane school ends in the Hudson campus elicited fierce opposition on Nov. River near the Cold 8, forcing the Nelsonville Village Board to Spring waterfront, wind through or close debate its own constituents as well as crit- to the site. ics from elsewhere in Philipstown. Under village code, installation of a Board members convened the forum, cell tower typically requires a special-use held at the Haldane auditorium rather permit. The Zoning Board of Appeals and than the Village Hall annex because of the Planning Board have been studying the expected turnout, to solicit input on the Rockledge Drive application and held a SUBLIME — Narek Hakhnazaryan, a native of Armenia who at age 22 was the proposed Secor Street tower. joint public hearing, on Nov. 15. gold medal winner in cello at the 2011 International Tchaikovsky Competition, In October, the board suggested the 4-acre At the Nov. 8 meeting, Mayor Bill O’Neill performed at the Howland Cultural Center on Nov. 12. He was accompanied by site as an alternative to the site proposed for stressed that FCC regulations require Nel- pianist Noreen Polera. Photo by Ross Corsair a 110-foot tower proposed for private land on sonville to take action on the Rockledge Rockledge Drive, overlooking the Cold Spring application within 150 days, which will be Cemetery. Negotiations ensued between the Dec. 17, or the village can be sued by the Village Board and Homeland Towers, which wireless companies. “Our sovereignty can Beacon Progress Report oversees projects for corporations such as Ve- be overridden by the Federal Communica- • Edgewater hearing continued again rizon and AT&T. tions Commission,” he said. “We see it as a suitable alternative” to Under FCC rules, a municipality can • 59-unit building proposed for Fishkill Avenue the Rockledge site, Mayor Bill O’Neill told only deny a cell tower application for a • More parking at Mount Beacon attendees on Nov. 8. “You may disagree.” strong, well-documented legal reason, By Jeff Simms be the largest development ever in Bea- Many did. such as a negative impact on the environ- con. It would sit on 12 acres northeast of Roughly hexagonal in shape, the Secor ment (including ecological, aesthetic, his- he six-month-long public hearing the Metro-North train station. Street tract lies behind the American toric, social and cumulative effects) or risk on the environmental impacts of a Now, however, project planners and Legion and Philipstown Volunteer Am- to an endangered species. The Telecommu- Tproposed 307-unit development in Beacon City School District officials are bulance Corps buildings on Cedar Street, nications Act of (Continued on Page 5) Beacon will continue for another month, gridlocked over how many students, and following a spirited debate at the Nov. 14 at what cost, the development would add Planning Board meeting. to the system. Edgewater consultants say The environmental hearing is the first the development will produce fewer than in a number of hurdles the Edgewater de- 50 new students, with increased tax rev- velopment near the riverfront must clear enue more than balancing out the cost of before it can be approved. Future hear- educating them. ings will address the project’s subdivision The district contends that projection is plans, variances and a special use permit. based on metrics that underestimate pop- With apartments ranging in size from ulation trends and the cost of education. studios to three bedrooms and spread The dispute was hardly resolved after across seven buildings, Edgewater would the hearing Tues- (Continued on Page 7) Off the Wall at Grey Printing Decades of customer photos What began as a fun project for Ruth Eisenhower, who worked at the shop from coming down its founding in 1993 on Main Street in Cold Spring as Copycats through her re- By Alison Rooney tirement in January 2016, grew and grew as the images traveled up practically every t’s going to look minimalist at Grey inch of wall. Printing in a few weeks’ time, as the In the beginning, when the print shop Grey Printing, which for years has been hanging photos of its customers (including thousands of photos — many of them Pete Seeger, right) on the walls and from strings overhead, will begin removing them I was on a second floor near the Pig Hill dusty, with edges curled by time — are Inn, Eisenhower lined a staircase. The after Thanksgiving. Photo by Ross Corsair coming down. shop moved (Continued on Page 20) 2 NOVEMBER 17, 2017 The Highlands Current highlandscurrent.com Langley is New Putnam Sheriff Five Questions: LISA KNAUS After absentee count, challenger defeats Smith by 341 votes By Alison Rooney y the thinnest of margins, Robert 5 Langley Jr. on Nov. 14 became Put- Bnam County’s 54th sheriff. After absentee votes were counted late into the night by the Putnam County Board of Elections, Langley had defeated four- term incumbent Don Smith by 341 votes of nearly 25,000 cast for the office. He led by 355 votes after all 172 precincts reported their machine results on Nov. 7. The tally remains unofficial until certified by the Robert Langley Jr. county’s two election commissioners. The count released by the Board of Elec- tions on Nov. 14 showed 12,308 votes (49.7 davits are paper ballots used when a voter percent) for Langley, who lives in Garrison does not show up in the rolls.) and ran on the Democratic and Women’s There were also 483 write-in votes, most Equality lines, and 11,967 for Smith (48.3 of which were presumably cast for Andrew percent), who ran on the Republican, Con- DeStefano, who hoped to challenge Smith servative, Independence and Reform lines. in the Republican primary but whose In a statement on Nov. 15, Langley thanked nomination petition was invalidated. That those who voted for him and said he was “ea- means DeStefano may have played the ger to earn the support of those who did not.” spoiler, taking enough votes from Smith to Lisa Knaus Photo by A. Rooney He promised to “serve with integrity and ac- swing the election for the Democrat. countability to the public” and “return integ- isa Knaus manages the pottery stu- likes the mug. You’ve been drinking from rity to the Office of Sheriff.” dio at the Garrison Art Center. Its it for 12 years, so it’s time to give it away He added: “To the men and women of the Lannual pottery sale begins Nov. 17. and get a new one. Sheriff’s Department, I am eager to work How much clay does the studio go Is imperfection sometimes the best alongside you and serve the public with through? result? you. In the coming weeks, I will be plan- About 500 pounds a week. I’m always It’s not that you want to make junk, but ning my transition into office and consid- like, “You guys need to slow down!” We with all the technology, it’s a relief to see a ering appointments that I believe will best buy it from Canada. You can dig it up, but spot sometimes. It relaxes the eye. We have serve our communities and our team.” local clays tend to melt at low tempera- an expression, “the kiss of the kiln,” which In a statement on Nov. 15, Smith wrote: tures because they have a lot of iron. In means to accept and trust that when you “Mr. Langley will be the next sheriff of Put- places like the Carolinas and Georgia are putting something into 2,000-degree nam County and I congratulate him and you can use it straight out of the ground. heat, you have to say goodbye and then wish him well. I am very proud of the posi- My father would go to a swimming hole, hello, however it emerges. You have to un- tive, clean campaign that we conducted and, dive down and dig it up, kind of for the derstand that probably half your attempts I believe, our campaign upheld the honor and romance of it. aren’t going to work. As I’ve gotten older integrity of the Office of Sheriff.” my success ratio has gone up, but I’ve also Smith would have needed to win about What do beginners find most learned when to give up. My students are 65 percent of the 1,286 absentee and af- frustrating? always trying to repair things. fidavit ballots to overtake Langley. (Affi- Centering a pot on the wheel as its spins. It’s an old skill, going back to the invention At the end of the 10-day pottery of the wheel and fire. It brings together a sale, do you question your sanity? primal need to work with your hands and Yes. That happens pretty much all year, If you are looking forPruning a “natural fi nish” is and ando not artwant to see your to express something about form. actually. The sale is intense, but it’s good ornamentals cut back severely to dead wood, choose artful pruning. discipline for someone like me who is Artful Pruning allows your ornamentals to keep looking good.