Also, council member protests Trump policies
The Philipstown Town Board agreed on April 3 to form a committee to draft a permitting system and operating standards for short-term rentals such as those booked through Airbnb and Vrbo.
The regulations would apply outside of Cold Spring, which approved its own code in 2021 that has yet to be enforced. The Village Board is revising the rules, saying they would have been too cumbersome.
Philipstown discussed restrictions as recently as 2022, when residents complained at a Town Hall workshop about a long-running rental in Garrison. On April 3, Van Tassel also referenced a recent fire at an Airbnb in Dutchess County that killed a Cape Cod woman and her infant daughter. According to prosecutors, the rental in Salt Point did not have smoke detectors, although the listing said it did, and the hosts did not have a town permit for short-term rentals.
Pledge protest
Council Member Jason Angell remained seated during the Pledge of Allegiance at the start of the meeting. He said he was protesting actions by the administration of President Donald Trump that he considers unconstitutional.
Reading a 2½-minute statement after the pledge, Angell said he “didn’t recognize my country” when masked immigration agents arrested Rumeysa Öztürk, a Tufts University student from Turkey, on March 25. Öztürk is accused of violating her student visa. The administration has not provided a reason for the detention, but she co-authored an opinion piece in the student newspaper demanding that Tufts “acknowledge the Palestinian genocide” and divest from companies with ties to Israel.
Angell also cited the Trump administration’s decisions to cut funding and programs approved by Congress. Those decisions are being challenged in lawsuits.
“When an elected official takes office, they take an oath to uphold the Constitution,” said Angell. “What happens if a person believes their federal government is violating the Constitution? Should they pledge allegiance to their government or to upholding the Constitution?”
Van Tassel said he agreed with much of what Angell said, but not with sitting during the Pledge of Allegiance. “But I appreciate your courage,” he said. Angell, whose term ends Dec. 31, is not running for re-election.
Town justice to resign
The town approved a letter of intent to appoint Cold Spring attorney Luke Hilpert to replace Camille Linson, who plans to resign from her town justice seat in June, according to Van Tassel.
Linson ran unopposed on the Democratic and Conservative lines in winning a third, 4-year term in November. She joined the court after defeating Hilpert in a Democratic primary in 2016 and Republican Faye Thorpe in the general election. She ran unopposed in 2020.
Both Linson and Philipstown’s other justice, Angela Thompson-Tinsley, recommended Hilpert to fill the vacancy until the November election. Under state law, the winner will serve for a full term, rather than the 3½ years remaining in Linson’s term, according to town attorney Steve Gaba.
Oil moratorium
The board scheduled a May 1 public hearing on a law that would extend for another six months a moratorium on projects with oil tanks exceeding 10,000 gallons.
Philipstown enacted the moratorium in December 2023 to give an advisory committee time to revise zoning regulations that allow tanks with a capacity of up to 399,999 gallons. Allowing tanks that large puts drinking-water sources like the Clove Creek Aquifer at risk from leaks, spills and damage from natural disasters or extreme weather, according to the town.
While the draft law allows for two more six-month extensions, the committee is expected to finalize its recommendations soon, said Gaba.
Depot Theatre
A site near the water tower at the Recreation Department’s property off Route 9D is still the optimal location for a facility the Philipstown Depot Theatre initially proposed for a town-owned parcel off Route 403, said Council Member Judy Farrell.
The Depot wants to consolidate “scattered operations,” including costumes and prop storage, set construction, rehearsals and theater classes for high school students, board President Stephen Ives said in December.
The costumes are “wedged into a room” at the Recreation Center; props are kept in “moldy, mildew-infested” outdoor containers; and the scene shop is “jammed into a garage” at Winter Hill, he said. Larger props are stored at the town dump on Lane Gate Road.
