On Election Day, a reader tagged us on Instagram in this photo they took of the corner of Main Street and Tioronda, just outside of the Howland Cultural Center. In their photo post, they wrote: “I think I’m ready to move to Beacon for this view… just kidding, or maybe not.” They went on to use the hashtags #smalltownvibes to describe a few of the emotions they were feeling about the scene.

I wanted to bring the photo to the surface for a few reasons:

1. It’s beautiful.

2. It’s a special thing to be included in someone’s thoughts of how they view Beacon and why they would move here, or have already moved here.

3. It reminds me of why I moved here.

4. It shows how someone who does move here and is brand new values the same things that those who currently live here also love and cherish. Sometimes there is a fear of people coming to a “new” great area. (Beacon is always new, it’s always changing, and thanks to the Beacon Historical Society for making it easy for us to follow the city’s living history, and to the neighbors who share their stories on a daily basis.)

Keeping this view seems consistent with the City Council’s rezoning work, that was especially heavy during the Building Moratorium of 2017, where several zoning requirements were tweaked and tightened after several buildings that had existed for a while in concept were built and actually presented themselves in the flesh of concrete.

In the December 18, 2017 City Council Meeting, legislation was passed for the Fishkill Creek Development that would limit the height of a building to three stories. After a new four-story building was constructed at 344 Main Street, the public pushed for limits to the heights of buildings. The new legislation caps new buildings at three stories and not more than 40 feet in height, as first reported by Jeff Simms for the Highlands Current.

When, or if, you see pictures of people who live in New York City getting fresh air, it is usually at Central Park, and many tree branches are in the frame. They want more tree branches in the frame. All of the numerous founding transformational people of Beacon, and there have been many over the generations (the Howlands, the Sauers, etc.) have come from far downstate in the city, to our lower “upstate” region in the south of the state, all looking for space and fresh air above and around them.