Beacon Dispatch

Beacon residents concerned about halfway house

The following was posted as a "comment" in a previous post, but I thought it would interest a larger audience, so I'm re-posting it here. It's a letter sent by Beacon resident Donna Francis to State Assemblyman Tom Kerwan, City Council members Shea and Thompson, and local property owners regarding a halfway house on Liberty street.

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January 23, 2006

Dear Mr. Kerwan,

A few weeks ago I discovered that a halfway house for drug addicts had open at 28 Liberty Street in Beacon. This was formerly a one family home. Homeowners in the area were not notified of the change in occupancy.  I would think that such a change in occupancy would require a zoning change or variance.

When you consider that we are notified if someone wishes to create a parking space on their front lawn. It seems incredulous that we would not be notified when such a serious change in occupancy occurs.

Petition seeks referendum on Hiddenbrooke

According to the Poughkeepsie Journal, a petition signed by more than 500 Beacon residents was delivered on January 10 seeking a public referendum before the city spends $1 million to preserve the 103-acre Hiddenbrooke property. The council is considering the petition and expects to take action next month.   

Snow day today for Beacon schools

According to the Beacon City Schools Web site. Weather forecast says up to 8 inches of show before the storm moves on...

Governor to Fund Rivers & Estuaries Center

The Poughkeepsie Journal reports today that Governor Pataki has proposed that $25 million of this year's budget go toward the construction of the Rivers & Estuaries Center in Beacon. Construction at the site is slated to begin sometime this week.

New movie theater to open in Beacon?

No, it's not the old theater space on Main Street that everyone keeps asking about (Mr. Ehrlich, any news?) According to today's Poughkeepsie Journal, the Beacon Cultural Foundation is raising money to renovate the 300-seat theater in Bulldog Studios, which was once Beacon High School. The foundation received a donated $250,000 digital projector last year, and is now working on  converting the space from an auditorium into a "cinema quality" digital movie theater. According to BCF President Sam Yanes, the renovation work includes installing a new sound system, refurbishing the seats, and installing a ground floor projection booth. About $150,000 needs to be raised to do the work, and the theater is expected to open within the next year. The theater will show independent film, much like the Film Forum theater in New York. Great idea -- one that will be good for the  whole Mid-Hudson Valley. Fingers crossed, no longer will we have to drive to Rheinbeck for a good independent movie theater.

Master plan meeting on Wednesday

The first meeting of 2006 to discuss the Beacon Master Plan will be held this Wednesday at 7:30pm in the downstairs meeting room at City Hall. Anyone interested is welcome to attend. The main agenda item will be planning the community survey to update the 2000 census data. The Master Planning committee has also been busy gathering data comparing Beacon's demogrpahics with other area towns. Stay tuned for more of that info here on the Dispatch site.