Serving Rhinebeck and Neighboring Towns
Issue 162 | May 21, 2024
|
|
This Week
In today’s newsletter:
- Middle School Students Tackle Shakespeare for New Drama Program
- Locals Gather to Rally for Support of ERA on NYS Ballot in November
- Bard Students Occupy Hall in Support of Gaza and Reach an Agreement with Administration
- Getting Those Vegetable Starts Outside and in the Ground
- And More
Eric Steinman
Executive Editor
|
|
To keep the Pilot soaring this spring...
We need $20,000 in member support.
As of May 20, we had $5,500.
Make your investment in a strong, well-informed community.
All contributions are tax-deductible.
|
|
Locals Gather in Support of State ERA Proposition
On Saturday afternoon a few dozen locals came together in Rhinebeck to show support for an amendment to the state constitution that would protect against discrimination for gender and other classifications.
|
|
Middle School Students Tackle Shakespeare to Launch New Drama Program
Bulkeley Middle School Students take to the stage to perform A Midsummer Night’s Dream and start a new tradition of a middle school drama program.
|
|
Weed it and Reap: Outdoor Planting
It is finally warm! If you have been following this column and your vegetable starts have been patiently growing indoors, it is now time to bring them outside and plant them. Don't worry, we will walk you through it.
|
|
Bard Students for Justice in Palestine Take Over Campus Building //
Student protests on college campuses hit an apex this past week. These corresponded with commencement weekend on a lot of college campuses. Earlier in the week, students at the University of California, Berkeley negotiated with the university chancellor to agree to support a cease-fire in Gaza. Two weeks ago, Rutgers University students got the administration to agree to fund scholarships for 10 Palestinian students displaced by war and at the end of April, Brown University pledged to divest from Israel. Locally, at Bard College, things became significantly heated early Friday morning when student activists took over a campus administration building, Ludlow Hall, demanding that the school reevaluate its investments in Israel. The building houses offices for Bard’s president and several administrative departments, and was occupied for the majority of the weekend. The demonstration was peaceful and there were no reports of violence or damage to property.
Representing themselves as Students for Justice in Palestine (Bard SJP), the Bard protestors took over Ludlow hall on Friday and into the weekend, renaming it Shaima’s Hall, in honor of Shaima Refaat Alareer, daughter of poet Refaat Alareer. He was killed in an Israeli airstrike on December 6, 2023 in Gaza. Shaima was subsequently killed, also in an airstrike, in Gaza this past April. Bard SJP had gathered initially earlier in the month on the lawn of Hegeman Hall prior to the occupation of Ludlow Hall on Friday and made demands that the college “divest financially, academically, culturally and intellectually” from Israel, according to posts on their social media account.
By yesterday, according to a Bard SJP social media posting, the group had disbanded, as they stated that “all of their demands were met” by the administration. In a statement Bard spokesman Mark Primoff told the Times Union that “Administrators have been speaking and meeting with the students and will continue to do so forthrightly and with respect for the importance of these issues.” Bard SJP wrote on Instagram, “With this accomplishment in mind, we want to make clear that there is no such thing as 'winning' in the midst of a genocide, nor during ongoing apartheid and occupation. What matters from our experiences in our Popular University for Gaza and seizure of our administrative building is that we can recognize our power as students, our collective power.”
Hang on Sloopy //
Back in 1966, local folk music legend and environmental activist Pete Seeger, in deep despair over the pollution of the Hudson, announced plans to “build a boat to save the river.” Seeger, along with many others, believed that if the public could experience the river’s beauty they might be moved to preserve it and Seeger and friends set about the construction of a majestic replica of the sloops that sailed the Hudson in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Nearly 55 years on, the inspiration that Seeger had turned into The Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, a nonprofit organization that has provided numerous educational opportunities for locals and students alike, has hit rough waters. Earlier this month the organization made public its mounting financial troubles and announced that if it cannot raise $250,000 in the next two months, it will become insolvent and have to shut down. The Clearwater was the first environmental group to focus on an entire river and its ecosystem, the first wooden sailing ship with a mission to preserve and protect the environment, and the first onboard environmental classroom accessible to children of all ages, races, and backgrounds. The threat of its loss would be significant to the estimated 5,000 students who receive educational opportunities from the program each season. “This is as disastrous a position as an organization can be in,” Samantha Hicks, Clearwater’s board president, told the Albany Times Union. Hicks explained that the Clearwater is in a dire position for several reasons, including historic difficulties with how the organization has been run, as well issues that were out of their control. A former sloop captain herself, Hicks described the situation as an “error chain,” a nautical term referring to a sequence of interconnected mistakes that may not be fatal on their own, but collectively can endanger a vessel.
The nonprofit has yet to announce a timeline nor specific fundraising efforts to aid the organization through this difficult financial terrain, but donations to Hudson River Sloop Clearwater can be made at clearwater.org/support.
|
|
Looking Backward
Do you happen to have old or archival photos of places, people or events in the area from over the years? We are putting out a call to the community for scans of photos from over the last 100 or so years to help us look back at the people and times that made this community what it is. Please contact editor@hvpilot.com.
|
|
|
|
"The Back Room"
Liora Rez is the Founder and Executive Director of Stop Antisemitism, a national watchdog organization working to expose the hate, threats, and outright violence Jews in America are facing each day.
Andy and Liora discuss the rise in antisemitism in America in the wake of the October 7th massacre; the volatile protests on college campuses; and what her organization is doing to address antisemitic rhetoric.
|
|
This Week
Climate discussion, bird songs, and garage sale – a perfect week
|
|
Ticket price goes up tonight at midnight! Tickets are now available for the June 7 CultureConnect fundraiser, “Baila Conmigo! Come Dance with Me!” The festivities begin at 7PM. Purchase tickets ($60; $85 after midnight tonight) and inquire about sponsorships at cultureconnect.kindful.com. At Hudson Hollow Barn, 192 Schultz Hill Rd., Staatsburg.
|
|
Tuesday, May 21st, 2:00-5:30PM
Poughkeepsie Waterfront Market, featuring farm fresh vegetables, fruits, meat, baked goods, and more. Tuesday afternoon market continues through October. At the Mid-Hudson Discovery Museum, 75 North Water St., Poughkeepsie.
|
|
Tuesday, May 21st, 5:30PM
Climate Discussion Group: “share experiences and see what emerges.” Organized by Morton Library. Registration requested. At the library, 82 Kelly St., Rhinecliff.
|
|
Tuesday, May 21st, 6:30PM - 8:00PM
Memoir Writing Workshop, with Starr Program Director Michelle Montalbano. WAITING LIST. At Starr, 68 West Market St., Rhinebeck.
|
|
Wednesday, May 22nd, 10:00AM
“Songs of Our Birds,” presentation by Alan Peterson of the Waterman Bird Club. Please bring a folding chair. FREE. Visitors welcome. In case of rain, call Hannah at 914-263-5298. Sponsored by the Rhinebeck Garden Club. At the pavilion behind Starr Library, 68 West Market St., Rhinebeck.
|
|
Saturday, May 25th, 9:00AM - 3:00PM
Clinton Community Garage Sale. Bring your own table. Call 845-418-8293 to reserve a spot. At Fran Mark Park, 337 Clinton Hollow Rd., Salt Point.
|
|
Monday, May 27th
Memorial Day
|
|
May 27th - 31st is the first annual Water Operators Appreciation Week, sponsored by the Hudson River Water Intermunicipal Council (Hudson 7). In celebration, the group has organized a FREE tour of the Poughkeepsie Water Treatment Facility, the largest drinking-water plant in the Hudson 7 watershed, to be held on Friday, May 31, from 10AM-Noon. For info, contact hudson7info@gmail.com. On the campus of Marist College, Poughkeepsie.
|
|
Thursday, May 30th, 6:30PM
“Trash the Incinerator; Clean Air for Dutchess County. Did you know Dutchess County burns its waste?,” a presentation by Mothers Out Front, with Q&A. Learn more and explore sustainable alternatives. At Morton Library, 82 Kelly St., Rhinecliff.
|
|
Thursday, May 30th, 7:00PM
Red Hook Community Conversation: Traditions and Innovations Sustaining Agriculture, with author David Sokol; Sam Phelan, chair, Town of Red Hook Planning Committee; Ken Migliorelli of Migliorelli Farm; Sam Rose of Cultivar Community Farm; and Pieter Estersohn, author of “Back to the Land: A New Way of Life in the Country.” At the historic Elmendorph Inn, 7562 N. Broadway, Red Hook.
|
|
Saturday, June 1, 11:00AM - 4:00PM (Rain date, June 2)
Historic Red Hook Then & Now Festival: Farms, Food & Families. Displays, family activities, food, music, driving tour and scavenger hunt. For details and map, go to historicredhook.org. At the Elmendorph Inn and Green, 7562 N. Broadway, Red Hook
|
|
Saturday, June 1, 2:00PM
Morton Community Chorus Summer Concert, singing Georgian, Balkan, Serbian and Roma songs. At Morton Library, 82 Kelly St., Rhinecliff.
|
|
Saturday, June 1, 4:00PM
Open House and Annual Historic Preservation & Awards Celebration presented by the Dutchess County Historical Society. Tickets are $100. For a complete list of honorees and to purchase tickets and sponsorships, go to dchsny.org. At the Hill family’s octagonally-inspired home, The Grove, 6484 Montgomery St., (Rte. 9), Rhinebeck.
|
|
Tickets are now on sale for the June 8, 15, and 22 Hudson Valley Chamber Music Circle Concert Series, with music by Haydn, Schubert, Beethoven, Vaughan Williams, Karim Al-Zand, Joan Tower, and others. Tickets $5 for students; $44.50 each, or $110 for all three. At the Fisher Center, Bard College.
|
|
Are you interested in becoming a volunteer tour guide at Blithewood, the historic house and Beaux Arts garden on the Bard College campus? Bard will provide training. Contact Amy Parrella at horticulture@bard.edu.
|
|
Now through May 26th
“Changin’ Times; Photography by Harvey Silver,” featuring images of the music, streets, protests & counterculture in NYC and beyond.” At the Arts Society of Kingston, 97 Broadway.
|
|
Now through May 31st
Rhinebeck Central School District Group Art Exhibition, featuring the work of K-12 students. At Starr Library 68 West Market St., Rhinebeck.
|
|
Now through May 31st
Food Drive – also including pet food, personal hygiene items, toilet paper, and cleaning products — organized by Dutchess County Town Clerks. Donations accepted during business hours at Rhinebeck Town Hall, 80 East Market St., Rhinebeck.
|
|
Now through June 2nd
“Making a Life in Photography: Rollie McKenna,” the first survey of the prolific career of an American photographer. Co-curated by Rhinebeck’s own Mary-Kay Lombino, Deputy Director and Emily Hargroves Fisher ‘57 and Richard B. Fisher Curator at the Art Center. The show is accompanied by an extensive catalog and runs through June 2. At Vassar’s Lehman Loeb Art Center, 124 Raymond Ave., Poughkeepsie.
|
|
Now through June 28th
Opening reception for “Two Perspectives,” selected “photographs and memories” by Lynn Alaimo and Cheryl Frey. Exhibit runs through June 28. At the upstairs gallery at Montgomery Row, 6422 Montgomery St. (Rte. 9), Rhinebeck.
|
|
The bridge on White Schoolhouse Road has been closed by order of NYS DOT. See Town website.
|
|
|
|
Tuesday, May 21, 2-9PM – Community-wide vote on the RCSD 2024-2025 budget. See RCSD website. At Bulkeley School cafeteria, 45 North Rd., Rhinebeck.
|
|
|
|
Tuesday, May 21st
Rhinebeck Village Planning Board
Village Hall
7:00PM
Agenda not yet available. See Village website. At Village Hall, 76 East Market St., Rhinebeck.
|
|
|
|
Tuesday, May 28th
Rhinebeck Village Board of Trustees
Village Hall
3:30PM
NOTE TIME. Agenda not yet available. See Village website. At Village Hall, 76 East Market St., Rhinebeck.
|
|
|
|
Tuesday, May 28th
Rhinebeck Town Board of Trustees
Town Hall
6:00PM
Agenda includes presentation on Locust Hill Workforce Housing project; and announcement of the first award of the new annual award for excellence in historic preservation. See Town website. At Town Hall, 80 East Market St., Rhinebeck.
|
|
|
|
Tuesday, May 28th
Rhinebeck Central School District Board Meeting
Bulkeley School Cafeteria
7:00PM
Agenda not yet available. See RCSD website. At Bulkeley School Cafeteria, 45 North Rd., Rhinebeck.
|
|
|
|
Beginning Monday, April 1 – Rhinebeck Village brush and yard waste removal pickup. See Village website for guidelines and detailed schedule.
|
|
|
|
Town of Rhinebeck is seeking applicants for positions on the Planning Board, Conservation Advisory Board, and Board of Assessment Review. Applicants are asked to submit a letter of intent and resume to townclerk@rhinebeckny.gov. Applications are also available on the Town website.
|
|
|
|
The following item was recently posted on the Town of Rhinebeck website: information about the proposed Community Preservation Fund.
|
|
|
|
The following item was recently posted on the Rhinebeck Town website: cover letter from the project principal listing enclosed extensive materials, some of which have been revised in response to comments received from the Town and in coordination with the Village of Rhinebeck, relevant to the SEQR review of the Locust Hill Project.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The corner of Schatzel Avenue and Charles Street in Rhinecliff
A postcard photo of the corner that currently houses The Epicurean, and Radio Free Rhinecliff, in Rhinecliff. Photo is undated, but presumed to be from the early 1920s.
Image courtesy of Rhinebeck Historical Society
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
