Beekman: New State Forest in Dutchess
The state Department of Environmental Conservation and the Trust for Public Land on July 30 announced the creation of a 505-acre state forest in southern Dutchess County.
The Grape Hollow State Forest adjoins the Appalachian Trail Corridor through the Town of Beekman. The Trust for Public Land bought two parcels in Beekman and Pawling in 2023 and sold the land to the state for $1.3 million provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and private donors such as the Peter and Carmen Lucia Buck Foundation.
Newburgh: Art Supply Shop Faces Foreclosure
Newburgh Art Supply has launched an online fundraiser to help the shop pay its delinquent tax bill.
Michael Gabor, the co-founder of Newburgh Art Supply, Newburgh Open Studios and the Newburgh Lightbulb Project, said he fell behind on payments while caring for his business and life partner, Gerardo Castro, who died in March. The couple opened Newburgh Art Supply in 2008.
Gabor said that, although the taxes were being paid through an agreement with the city, foreclosure proceedings are underway. A campaign at gofund.me/aaff4761 hopes to raise $100,000.
Carmel: School Board Member Accused of Antisemitism
James Wise is facing calls for his removal from the school board after he participated in a rally by Putnam for Palestine where he said, “From the river to the sea, Palestine shall be free.” He also has called Israel a “colonist, white supremacist” government.
Wise, who is Jewish, has said he is being targeted by the far right. Rep. Mike Lawler, a Republican whose district includes Putnam County, and state Sen. Rob Rolison, a Republican whose district includes the Highlands, have both called for the state education commissioner to remove him for what Lawler described as “repeating the disgusting antisemitic lies of Hamas apologists.”
In response, Wise said it was “absurd to accuse a Jewish man of antisemitism for holding a position [supporting a ceasefire] shared by the majority of American Jews.” He said he “absolutely rejected” the idea that the phrase is antisemitic and said it instead reflects a desire for Palestinians and Jews to live together peacefully.
Storm King: Workers Approve First Contract
After eight months of negotiations, union workers at the Storm King Art Center approved their first contracts, according to Mid Hudson News.
The art center has two Civil Service Employee Association (CSEA) bargaining units organized in 2023 that represent about 75 workers.
Under the agreement, the average hourly wage will increase by 9 percent, union officials said. In addition, the contract includes a guaranteed employer contribution to retirement accounts, pay for shifts canceled with less than 24 hours’ notice and the addition of two days of paid time off.
Marbletown: Officials Looking for Aqueduct Leaks
Officials in this Ulster County town are asking nearly 600 property owners if they have been impacted by leaks from the Catskill Aqueduct, which supplies New York City with drinking water and also passes through the Highlands.
Supervisor Richard Parete told The Daily Freeman that residents have reported surface water, flooded basements and buckled driveways. “When New York City has done the shutdowns periodically to do some work, we have people’s wells drop 40, 60, 80, 90 feet,” he said. “Part of this project is possibly drilling deeper wells.”
Marbletown has signed a $1.25 million agreement with New York City to pay for studies and make repairs through 2027. The Daily Freeman noted that it wasn’t until after a 2016 interior inspection of the tunnel and a 2023 federal review that New York City agreed to pay for property damage.
Orangeburg: Audit Reveals Empty-Room Payments
Although it never housed any migrants, the Armoni Inn & Suites in Rockland County charged New York City $833,340 for hotel rooms, according to an audit.
After New York City made a deal with the Orangeburg hotel, a judge blocked the plan. But the hotel still billed for the empty rooms during May and June 2023, according to the New York City comptroller. DocGo, the company hired to book and oversee the hotel, kept $343,140 as its commission.
According to The Poughkeepsie Journal, New York City’s housing department said it had paid the bills because the hotels might be needed on short notice. The city eventually placed 2,200 migrants in 14 hotels in seven communities.
New York City also paid $569,500 for 335 empty rooms at the Crowne Plaza JFK and $96,900 for nine days of empty rooms at the Crossroads Hotel in the Town of Newburgh.
Rockland County: Legislators Approve Gun Warning Labels
The Rockland County Legislature voted unanimously to require a posted warning label wherever firearms are sold, according to Mid Hudson News.
The label notes that access to a firearm in the home significantly increases the risk of suicide, homicide and death during domestic disputes, as well as the risk of accidental deaths of children. It includes contact information for the National Suicide Hotline.
The warning also will be given to people who seek gun licenses. Westchester and Albany counties have similar laws.
White Plains: Man Pleads Guilty in Fentanyl Deaths
A 25-year-old man from Rockland County pleaded guilty earlier this month in federal court to selling fentanyl to three people who overdosed.
Justin Turnick, of Congers, faces up to 40 years in prison. Prosecutors say he packaged fentanyl into pills that killed Gustaf Olsen, Jonathan Shashoua and Ione Koenig and poisoned three other people. The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office assisted with the investigation.
Chappaqua: Couple Accused of Removing Trees
A veterinarian and his wife are on trial after the Town of New Castle accused them of illegally cutting down as many as 560 trees on their property.
Dr. Yossi Haroush and Rebecca Marshall allegedly had the trees removed in 2019 and 2022 without environmental permits. The trial resumes on Aug. 29, and the couple could face a fine of $500,000 or more.
The Saw Mill River Audubon is also suing the couple, alleging that 8-foot-high piles of tree trunks were dumped on protected land adjacent to the property.
Kingston: Group Says Straw Law Unenforced
Citizens Concerned About Plastic Pollution complained to the Ulster County Legislature on Aug. 6 that only a few restaurants were following local laws that ban plastic straws, plastic cutlery and single-serve condiment packets unless customers request them.
According to The Daily Freeman, Susan Murphy, the organization’s president, told legislators she routinely chastised servers who gave her plasticware, warning them they were breaking the law.
Brewster: Equestrian Wins Fifth Olympic Medal
McLain Ward, a Brewster resident who is a member of the U.S. equestrian jumping team, won his fifth Olympic medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The team won silver in the competition behind Great Britain and ahead of France. Ward has competed in six Olympics and won five medals, including golds in 2004 in Athens and 2008 in Beijing and silvers in 2016 in Rio de Janerio and 2020 in Tokyo.
