Beacon Dispatch

Springsteen pays tribute to Seeger

If you missed last week's brilliant New Yorker profile on long-time Beacon resident Pete Seeger (only available in the magazine), or even if you didn't, it's worth checking out this piece by Edward J. Renehan. It's a great reminder of how important a figure Pete Seeger has been in modern American history. From civil rights to anti-war protests to environmental activism, Renehan notes that Seeger has been "a veteran fighter for virtually every sane, thoughtful, and reasonable cause that has loomed on the planet since World War II."

On Tuesday Bruce Springsteen will release We Shall Overcome, an album of Pete Seeger covers. At 87 years old, it's about time that Seeger got popular recognition for living a life devoted to the common good. Apparently there are still people who question Seeger's patriotism. I've heard stories of the Clearwater being stoned when it sailed into Cold Spring years ago. So it's good to see an album like this come out and give everyone a chance to get to know Pete Seeger -- a man who has never been afraid to stand his ground and fight for the things most people take for granted, whether it be clean drinking water, free speech, or a park on the Hudson River front.

New York Post discovers Beacon

The New York Post jumps on the Beacon bandwagon with this piece in the Real Estate section of Thursday's paper. My favorite quote:

"Beacon is different things to different people: small-town America, a green-minded oasis, a blue dot on Dutchess County's red map. What everyone can agree upon is that Beacon, dramatically situated at the base of Mount Beacon., is changing for the better."

(Note: free registration is required to view the Post site.)

Correction: Building torn down on Verplanck and Main

Roving photographer John Fasulo took this shot of the renovated building being pulled down on Verplanck and Main Street. The building did not collapse, as was first reported here. Reports are coming in that the City ordered the building be torn down because the frame was starting to shift. Anyone with more information is welcome to comment below...

Letter to the Editor: BPD Discriminates Against Women

Dear Editor:

On March 6^th the Beacon City Council, reaffirmed their irresponsibility by passing a resolution “…that the City will aggressively recruit female and minority officers to fill [two vacant police officer] positions.”    While I applaud the ideal of such recruitment, it is appalling that the City Council would recruit female officers to subject them to the hostile, discriminatory, un-equal opportunity employment existing within the Police Department that in the past 3 years has compelled 75% of the female officers to leave. 

Editorial: On the Waterfront

Scenic Hudson has been a champion of the Hudson River, guaranteeing that the River that Flows Both Ways will remain alive, thriving, and flowing for years to come. Over the last several years this commitment to the River has also resulted in a more specific commitment to the City of Beacon and it’s waterfront.

This month’s focus on Beacon —via The Great River Sweep—is just one of literally dozens of initiatives that Scenic Hudson has made to help recreate Beacon and its waterfront as a destination point for outdoor enthusiasts from throughout the state, the country, and, quite possibly, the world. But Scenic Hudson’s focus on Beacon’s riverside assets also highlights one of this City’s major weaknesses.

Online Update: Progess on Water Pressure

City of Beacon’s council recently approved fourth ward councilperson Steve Gold’s request for a new proposal by the City’s engineers on installing 12-inch water lines halfway up Mountain Road. Gold requested the proposal after discovering from Chief Joseph that installing a fire hydrant connected to a 12-inch water main running halfway up the mountain would eliminate the need for mutual aid during a neighborhood house fire. If approved, the new plan could save some $500,000 on the cost of the project, while ensuring a timely response to area fires, Gold said.

~ Karen Maserjian Shan

Highland Wanderer: Sweep the River Clean

Scenic Hudson’s 9^th Annual River Sweep Sets its Sights on Beacon and Beyond

On April 22^nd, Scenic Hudson will kick off their 9^th annual Great River Sweep, a nine-day event that brings thousands of people together—from Manhattan to the Hudson headwaters in the Adirondacks—in an effort to clean up the Hudson River and its tributaries. This year, the first day of cleaning will end with an event at the Beacon waterfront, featuring food, live music, and the celebration of a cleaner River.

In 1998, when the River Sweep first began, Scenic Hudson was making plans to set up a volunteer program, when they received a letter from six-year-old Josh Taubes, who wrote to Scenic Hudson, asking if the environmental group could clean it up. “At the time,” says Scenic Hudson’s director of Education and Volunteers, Andy Bicking, “we were looking for a way to mobilize volunteers to have them work with our organization and to support the environmental issues in the Hudson Valley. We wrote back to Josh and told him that we could only have a small impact by ourselves, but we could help to organize Josh and other people to clean up portions of the waterfront.” That year one thousand volunteers came together to cleanup thirty-seven sites up and down the Hudson.

Beacon Police Blotter

edited by Michael Daecher

 
This month’s police blotter covers the period of February 15 to March 24. During the month the Beacon Police Department responded to 1317 total calls, 352 of which were traffic stops. A total of 67 arrests were made.

What’s the difference between larceny, burglary, and robbery?

According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, larceny is the unlawful taking of personal property with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it permanently; burglary is the act of breaking and entering a dwelling at night to commit a felony (as theft); and robbery is larceny from the person or presence of another by violence or threat.

DATE        LOCATION        CALL TYPE      
2/15/06    Church St        Fight      
2/16/06    101 Matteawan Rd    Fight      
2/16/06    Melio Bettina Pl    Disorderly Group      
2/16/06    S. Cedar St    Disorderly Group      
2/17/06    Main St    Criminal Mischief      
2/17/06    Rt 9D    Assault      
2/18/06    Beekman St    Attempted Burglary      
2/18/06    Robert Cahill Dr    Burglary      
2/19/06    Cross St    Disorderly Group      
2/19/06    North St    Burglary    

Beacon Voices: Abdullah Wajid, Imam

by Michael Daecher

Sitting on Main Street, across from the post office, is Beacon’s Masjid Ar Rasheed Islamic Teaching Center. The building serves as a community center and mosque for about 200 Muslim families in town. You may not have noticed the mosque itself on Main Street, but you may have heard the distinctive call to prayer reminding all Muslims to bow towards Mecca and pray.

When I moved to Beacon four years ago, the call to prayer was one of the first things I heard. Along with the bells of St. John’s church, it was a reminder of how important faith is to so many people living in Beacon. Since then I’ve heard sporadic reports of vandalism and harassment at the mosque. But after speaking with Imam Abdullah Wajid, I found that those incidents have done nothing to shake his faith in Islam or in his non-Muslim neighbors.

Mountain Lane Hydrant Pressure Still An Issue

City pursues options for upgrading water lines

by Karen Maserjian Shan

Low water pressure in Beacon’s Mountain Lane area may be mildly bothersome for people living there, but a recent house fire in the neighborhood has given rise to serious concerns about the area’s availability of adequate water and water pressure to deal with fires.

Late last summer a house fire on the corner of East Main Street and Mountain Lane had firefighters accessing two fire hydrants as they combated the blaze; one located across the street from the house and another, .25 miles down the road at the DePuyster/Howland/East Main intersection. The second hydrant, which was tapped as a precautionary measure, per City of Beacon’s fire chief, Tim Joseph, is connected to a 12-inch water main, providing the firefighters with a greater volume of water at a higher pressure than was available through the first hydrant, which is situated at a higher elevation and feeds off 6-inch water pipes.

Comprehensive Planning Update

by Sara Pasti

On March 15^th, David Stolman and Chris Holme of Frederick P. Clark Associates presented to the Comprehensive Planning Committee the second in a series of two presentations related to the Basic Studies document that will used as the basis for Beacon’s planning efforts.

The March presentation included a summary of land use, demographic, housing and community service findings originally presented in November 2005, as well as new information related to Beacon’s infrastructure. Because the earlier findings were published in the February issue of the
Beacon Dispatch, they will not be presented here. A copy of the entirety of the Beacon Basic Studies Document described below is available for viewing and printing at www.cityofbeacon.org.

Wee Play Children’s Park: A dream becomes a reality

by Jack Sine

All parents have experienced it when their children were toddlers – the terrifying moment when you take your eye off the little one for just a second and the child puts him or herself in danger. One of my more vivid memories is of my then two-year old daughter jumping into the deep end of a swimming pool and sinking straight to the bottom with me in close pursuit. The little imps are way too curious and way too quick for their own good.

That’s why Julian Cobb started taking her little son to the toddler’s park in Cold Spring instead of the local Beacon parks. “There just weren’t any parks closer that were designed for children under six,” she said. “The parks that were available had dangers for little ones if the parent took their eyes off of them.” That was what inspired Julian to come up with the idea for a park designed for children six years old and under. That story of her dream for Beacon was detailed  a little over a year ago in the Dispatch. But now more has happened. Now, thanks to Julian and her team, Beacon has its very own toddlers playground, aptly named Wee Play Children’s Park.