Hyde Park
Voters Reject Electric Bus Proposal
Hyde Park school district voters last month defeated a proposition to purchase 17 electric school buses, 846-689.
The buses and chargers would cost about $8 million, but the district said that, after state and federal grants and tax breaks, it expected to contribute $522,000. New York State has mandated that districts transition to electric buses by 2035.
Poughkeepsie
City Gets Funds to Remove Lead
New York State announced last month that the City of Poughkeepsie will receive $12 million to identify and replace lead service lines.
The funding is part of $340 million in state and federal money to remove lead pipes from water systems statewide. Rep. Pat Ryan said the city is also eligible to receive $3.2 million from the federal government.
Peekskill
Police Post Call Log
The police department has started posting a weekly log of calls made by its officers, although it does not provide details beyond the time and location.
The Peekskill Herald noted the log shows nearly 800 calls during the week of Nov. 24, with most of them listed as “special checks” of an area following a complaint of illegal activity. Many calls were to Main Street, Highland Avenue and North Division Street.
On Nov. 27, officers were asked five times to deliver paperwork after hours to City Council members to prepare for the following Monday’s meetings, the Herald reported.
Kingston
Finance Chief Did Not Pilfer Money
A former Ulster County finance commissioner did not steal money from the county, according to a 19-month investigation by the state comptroller.
The comptroller’s office found no evidence that Burt Gulnick mishandled county funds or committed financial crimes, according to The Daily Freeman. But it did suggest several ways the county could better secure its accounts.
The county executive asked for the investigation after Gulnick was accused of embezzling nearly $100,000 from a nonprofit organization where he was treasurer. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced in February to two years in state prison.
Annandale
Simon’s Rock Moving to Bard
A private high school and “early college” associated with Bard College will move from Massachusetts to the school’s Barrytown, New York, campus in 2025-26.
Bard College at Simon’s Rock and Bard Academy will take over the former Unification Theological Seminary, which Bard purchased in 2023.
Bard operates 10 public early college campuses in six states. Students enroll in Bard College at Simon’s Rock after 10th or 11th grade, while Bard Academy accepts students in ninth or 10th grade.
Montgomery
Food Distribution Center Opens
The Regional Food Bank on Dec. 4 opened a $23.5 million, 50,000-square-foot distribution center to serve food pantries in six Hudson Valley counties, including Dutchess and Putnam.
The facility, which increases the capacity to obtain, store and distribute donations, was funded with $10.7 million from the state and $3.7 million from Empire State Development, as well as donations from foundations, corporations and individuals.
Peekskill
Phase 2 of Cleanup Completed
The fence at Peekskill Landing has come down as Con Edison last month completed the second phase of its environmental remediation project at a former gas plant on the waterfront.
The company told the Peekskill Herald it had dredged 10,000 cubic yards of impacted sediments and removed debris, including old piles and barge remnants, from the site. It will now add clean backfill as a cap.
The biggest concern at the site was coal tar, a byproduct of the plant, which made gas in the 1940s for home lighting and cooking.
During the first phase of the cleanup, completed in 2022, the company removed impacted soil on properties along Water Street.
Kingston
State Creates Sojourner Truth Day
Gov. Kathy Hochul enacted a law that established Nov. 26 as Sojourner Truth Day beginning next year. The Ulster County abolitionist and former slave died on that day in 1883.
A historical marker unveiled at the Ulster County Courthouse reads: “At this courthouse in 1828, the orator and anti-slavery activist successfully sued to free her son Peter from enslavement.”
Wappingers Falls
Attorney General Opens Investigation
The state attorney general announced on Dec. 5 it has opened an investigation into the death of Luis Morocho, who died on Aug. 8, 2023, after he was struck by a vehicle driven by an off-duty state trooper.
The trooper was driving his personal vehicle north on Route 9 when he struck Morocho at New Hackensack Road. Morocho died later at a hospital.
Under state law, the Office of Special Investigation examines every incident in which a police officer or corrections officer may have caused a death.
Peekskill
Landscaper Asks to Withdraw Plea
A Peekskill landscaper who admitted to federal charges of bribery and wire fraud in a case of illegal dumping has asked a judge to withdraw his guilty plea.
Glenn Griffin, 55, of Griffin’s Landscaping, faces up to 10 years in prison. According to the Peekskill Herald, he argued in court papers that the Town of Cortlandt allowed municipalities and contractors to dump construction debris and other material at the Arlo Lane facility over many years.
Griffin said in the new filing that he had no reason to bribe anyone since the town allowed the dumping. “What’s in the dump right now is 5 or 7 percent mine and 93 percent other people, and I get blamed for the entire thing,” he had told the judge in August before entering his plea.
Poughkeepsie
Marist to Become University
Marist College announced on Dec. 11 that it will become Marist University on Jan. 29.
The Board of Trustees voted unanimously to make the change, which was approved by the New York State Board of Regents. Founded in 1929, the school has about 5,000 undergraduate and 1,000 graduate students.
In New York, a university must offer graduate programs in at least three disciplines that include agriculture, biological sciences, business, education, engineering, fine arts, health professions, humanities, physical sciences and social sciences. Before 2022, the rules required universities to offer doctorates.
Other schools in New York that have recently changed from colleges to universities include Dominican, Utica, St. Joseph’s, SUNY New Paltz, Manhattan and Buffalo State.
