Healeys Ask City to Let Dunkin’ Proceed

Zoning amendments could nix Beacon drive-thru

The Healey family, which for 40 years operated auto dealerships along Fishkill Avenue in Beacon, says the City Council is unfairly targeting its effort to redevelop one of its lots, according to a letter addressed to Mayor Lee Kyriacou and council members. 

The letter, sent Monday (Feb. 10) on behalf of Dwight Healey and his sons, Jay and Dylan, accuses the mayor and council of expediting “incomplete recommendations” made by the Fishkill Avenue Concepts Committee, a citizen workgroup assembled by Kyriacou to study the corridor. (Jay Healey is a member of the committee.) The recommendations contradict Beacon’s comprehensive plan and lack analysis by traffic consultants and other experts contracted by the city, wrote Taylor Palmer, the Healeys’ attorney. 

Kyriacou said Wednesday that he had been away because of a family matter and had not had time to read the letter in full. 

After purchasing a Ford dealership on Route 9 in Poughkeepsie and constructing a Hyundai facility on Route 52 in Fishkill, the Healey family placed four substantial Fishkill Avenue parcels on the market in 2023. The Planning Board last year approved applications from Carvana, the used-car retailer, and Soka Gakkai International, a Buddhist organization, to occupy two of the parcels. 

In November, the family brought a proposal to the board to convert a building at 420 Fishkill Ave., its former Ford dealership, to a Dunkin’ coffeehouse with a drive-thru, three apartments and additional commercial space.

At the same time, the council in November asked the Fishkill Avenue committee to develop interim zoning recommendations for the corridor while continuing its work, which includes studying streetscapes and pedestrian accessibility. J.C. Calderon, the committee chair, delivered the recommendations during the council’s Jan. 27 workshop:

• Prohibit self-storage facilities.
• Prohibit drive-thrus.
• Reduce the minimum front-yard setback for new development and require parking behind, underneath or to the side of a building.
• Prohibit gas stations, car washes, auto lots and repair shops, but allow existing auto-related uses to remain as non-conformities.

Calderon noted that committee members had not unanimously agreed but said the proposals align with input received during three public “pop-ups” last summer and an online survey. Another public information session is scheduled for March 9 at Industrial Arts Brewing Co. 

Planning Board members also questioned the committee’s recommendations, Calderon said. During a work session before its Dec. 10 meeting, John Gunn, the board chair, said that auto-related uses and drive-thrus “could be considered appropriate” in the Fishkill Avenue corridor while emphasizing traffic-calming and the pedestrian experience “in context of some of these types of uses.”

The City Council on Monday agreed to send a draft law prohibiting self-storage facilities and drive-thrus to the city and county planning boards for review. Council members said they requested the “quick-fix” measures to preserve the city’s vision for a walkable corridor that would complement recreational uses such as biking and hiking before incompatible development is approved. 

The Planning Board held a public hearing the next night on the Dunkin’ proposal. Three residents, one of them the husband of Council Member Pam Wetherbee, opposed the plans. One person favored the project. Thirteen more (eight for, five against) submitted written comments. 

In the letter from Palmer, the Healeys asked the council members, if they decide to prohibit self-storage and drive-thrus, to exempt their project because it had been proposed beforehand.

Rose Hill Manor

The owner of Rose Hill Manor Day School, a preschool located for 40 years at 1064 Wolcott Ave., has proposed redeveloping the site as a three-story, 41-room hotel with a gym, spa and 56-seat restaurant. 

The hotel would be open year-round with the spa open Tuesday through Sunday. The restaurant would offer breakfast to hotel guests, dinner to guests and the public every night, and brunch to guests and the public on weekends. 

On Wednesday (Feb. 12), owner Mark DeFabio said he does not plan to close the preschool, which operates out of two homes, one of them a historic Victorian, at the site. Rose Hill will relocate, although he has not found a site, DeFabio said. The school is licensed to care for 120 children, but enrollment has dropped since the Beacon City School District began offering a pre-K program, he said. 

Planning Board members on Tuesday (Feb. 11) marveled at the scale of the proposal, which calls for constructing a 21/2-story addition linking the homes. “I can’t imagine this is going to get a lot of positive feedback unless it is severely scaled back,” said Board Member Kevin Byrne. 

The Rose Hill parcel is part of Beacon’s protected historic district, which requires a special-use permit for some commercial uses, including hotels. 

291 Main St.

This project returned to the Planning Board on Tuesday for the first time since November. Originally proposed as a three-story addition with four apartments to the historic Telephone Building, it now includes a setback so that only two stories are visible on Main Street, keeping the cornice intact. It would have three apartments (one was removed from the plans) over retail space on the first floor. There would be covered spaces for four cars on the ground floor of the addition, behind the Telephone Building.  

The board will hold a public hearing on the plans next month. 

45 Beekman St.

The Planning Board held a public hearing Tuesday on this proposal to construct two 4-story buildings with 64 one- and two-bedroom apartments along Beekman Street, up to its intersection with Route 9D. It would also include 15,000 square feet of commercial space. A building at the site would be demolished. 

An adaptive traffic signal system has been installed by the state Department of Transportation along 9D from Beekman to Interstate 84 that will soon be functional. DOT said it does not support adding a southbound right-turn lane onto Beekman for the project but said one could be considered if traffic increases.

A half-dozen residents spoke during Tuesday’s hearing, with all but one opposing the project. A High Street resident whose property borders the site said he fears construction will damage a retaining wall that supports his parcel, while another said the buildings would be incompatible with the colorful Victorian homes on High Street. 

A West Church Street resident said the project would “dwarf all buildings in the immediate area significantly.” The board kept the hearing open, so it will continue next month. 

Prophecy Hall

Project officials asked the Planning Board in December to amend their approved plans for a hotel, cafe and event center at the former Reformed Church of Beacon on Wolcott Avenue. Instead of the event venue — a contentious proposal that was scaled back several times — they said they hope to open a 150-seat restaurant.

The developers said Tuesday that the restaurant would remain, but the hotel, approved in 2023 for 30 rooms, would be reduced to 16. The site’s 33 parking spaces would expand to 39. 

The restaurant would offer brunch and dinner to the public and breakfast and snacks to hotel guests. Proposed hours are 4 to 10 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 1 to 10 p.m. on Friday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday. The developers anticipate hosting a “limited number” of weddings and other private events.

Plans to restore and maintain the historic cemetery behind the church, as well as noise-mitigating measures included in the initial approval, remain in place. The developers said they would return with renderings and more details.