5/10/2020 Numbers: Beacon On This Day; Dutchess County Changes Reporting Data For Death Counts, Resulting In Increase

On May 7, 2020, Dutchess County announced that they are changing the way they report data for those who have died from COVID-19, as well as several other key data points that include total number of confirmed cases, and total number of tests completed, to be effective on May 8, 2020. They will be using New York State’s numbers. Results via Google’s search results consistently gave a higher count for Dutchess County.

Of the counties that A Little Beacon Blog tracks for these reports - Orange and Putnam - both matched Google results with the number of deceased. Dutchess County’s was always lower: say 36 in Dutchess County’s Tracker vs 70 in Google’s Tracker.

As explained by Dutchess County in their 5/7/2020 announcement of the change:

The New York State Department of Health has authority and oversight over many of the facilities reporting case data, including hospitals and nursing homes. These facilities are not required to report to local health departments, including the Dutchess County Department of Behavioral & Community Health (DBCH). While DBCH does communicate regularly with each of the individual facilities and has been getting some of the data from them, it is difficult to reconcile on a daily basis with the state data and creates confusion for the public. Additionally, State data can include presumed positive cases in fatality numbers, unlike the data reported by local health departments.

DBCH was recently provided access to the New York State Health Emergency Reporting Data System (HERDS), however, the data is reported in the aggregate and does not provide the necessary specificity for county reporting.

Active case data, which are the cases that DBCH are currently monitoring, will continue to be reported by DBCH as well as the breakdown by municipality and number of recoveries...Dutchess County’s COVID-19 Community Impact Data Dashboard will continue to be updated daily, following NYSDOH data updates.

Beacon’s number of Active COVID-19 cases was rising as of 5/10/2020. This last report on 5/10/2020 was at 146. The last time we recorded it in our spreadsheet was 5/4/2020 and the number of active cases was 137. Not a huge difference, but a consistent increase nonetheless.

One might argue: “Well, the number of people tested is going up, so that must be the reason.” And that may be. However, the daily percentage of those who test positive for COVID-19 for the day - of those tested - has remained consistent. We track that number also. The percentage of people who test positive from those tested per day has been at 8%-9% in the last few days. Additionally, the number of tests issued in Dutchess County, according to the tracker, has remained consistent, averaging in the 400s tests given per day.

While some “low-risk” business types can open state-wide in New York on Friday (drive-in movie theaters, landscaping/gardening, tennis) Dutchess County has 3 more criteria to hit before meeting the 7 state requirements to begin reopening, which are:

• 14-Day Decline in Hospital Deaths OR fewer than 5 deaths (3-day average).

• New Hospitalizations (under 2 per 100k residents - 3 day rolling average.

• At least 30 contact tracers per 100k residents.

County Executive Marcus Molinaro has announced, during his 5/11/2020 restarting video, that he will deliver live updates about the data in Dutchess County on Wednesdays and Fridays. This Wednesday, he will host a Town Hall at 5:30pm. Videos are at Facebook, or at at the Dutchess County channel at YouTube.

The last time we published reporting on these numbers was 5/1/2020. This gap of 11 days is for no other reason that Distance Learning started in our home, and while we get into that rhythm of that schooling, finishing articles got a little tricky. We have several unpublished drafts, though!

However, in that time, Dutchess County changed how they are reporting, and New York launched a new regional tracker for the re-opening. So, one must not delay!

Sources:
New York State Tracker: Updated daily.
Dutchess County Tracker: Updated daily, but there could be lags, according to their Source notes.
Orange County Tracker: Updated daily, with the exception of municipality information which is updated every 2-3 days, according to their Source notes.
Putnam County Tracker: Updated daily.
Google via Wikipedia
Testing is limited, which implies that people testing positive for COVID-19 is not total, as many people are not tested.

DUTCHESS COUNTY 5/10/2020

How Many People Tested In Dutchess County:
18,964 (last week 15,558 via New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested POSITIVE As Of This Day:
3,359 (last week, 3,049, via New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested This Day:
471 (last week 473, via New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested POSITIVE This Day:
47 (last week 48, via New York State Tracker)
Number Of People Hospitalized For COVID-19 As Of This Day:
56 (last week 69, via Dutchess County Tracker)
How Many COVID-19 Related Deaths As Of This Day:
101 (last week 38, via Dutchess County Tracker, but Google shows 84 (previous 73)

BEACON
Active COVID-19 Cases In Beacon On This Day:
146 (last week 134, via Dutchess County Tracker)

FISHKILL
Active COVID-19 Cases In Fishkill On This Day:
174 (last week 175, via Dutchess County Tracker)
Active COVID-19 Cases In East Fishkill On This Day:
153 (last week 151, via Dutchess County Tracker)

WAPPINGERS
Active COVID-19 Cases In Town of Wappingers On This Day:
136 (last week 163, via Dutchess County Tracker)
Active COVID-19 Cases In Wappingers Falls Village On This Day:
40 (last week 45, via Dutchess County Tracker)

ORANGE COUNTY 5/10/2020

How Many People Tested In Orange County:
34,404 (last week 28,848, via New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested POSITIVE In Total:
9,543 (last week 8,910, via New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested On This Day:
535 (last week 839, via New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested POSITIVE On This Day:
57 (last week 159, via New York State Tracker)
Number Of People Hospitalized For COVID-19 As Of This Day:
99 (last week 147) (via Orange County Tracker)
How Many COVID-19 Related Deaths As Of This Day:
367 (last week 329, via Orange County Tracker)

NEWBURGH
Active COVID-19 Cases In Newburgh On This Day:
645 (last week 587, via Orange County Tracker)
Active COVID-19 Cases In City of Newburgh On This Day:
1,314 (last week 1,165, via Orange County Tracker)

PUTNAM COUNTY 5/10/2020

Did not grab data in time for this report.

PHILIPSTOWN
Confirmed COVID-19 Cases In Total In Philipstown As Of This Day:

Did not grab data in time for this report.

Nursing Homes In Dutchess County Get COVID-19 Testing Focus - Pilot Program Launching In Beacon's Wingate As Testing Reveals Concern In Ulster

During a time when the press corps covering the daily pandemic briefings from Governor Cuomo pursues the governor with unrelenting questions on the COVID-19 status of nursing home residents and PPE supplies, the death toll of elderly residents mounts in New York City and surrounding counties. Dutchess County announced this week (4/28/2020) a new testing program to test residents living in the 13 nursing homes within Dutchess County.

Citing an uptick in reported COVID-19 cases as a result of recent testing in Ulster County, Dutchess County will begin testing every nursing home resident, beginning with Wingate in Beacon. According to the county’s press release, testing in Ulster County “has heightened concerns about potential spread of coronavirus, as 96 out of 330 residents at two Ulster County nursing homes tested positive for COVID-19 – with many of these cases exhibiting no symptoms (asymptomatic) and the individuals had only been in contact with healthy residents and staff members.”

The number of reported deaths in nursing homes in Dutchess County is 13 people as of yesterday (4/29/2020), as reported by New York State on this daily nursing home tracker. The number of deaths of people in nursing homes or adult care facilities in Orange County is 92 people, and in Putnam County it is 12 people. In Nassau County, it is 424 people, and in Kings County it is 447 people, and in Bronx County it is 570.

Dutchess County will begin releasing testing data from the nursing homes, said Communications Director Colleen Pillus. According to state data, there have been six deaths at the Ferncliff Nursing Home. Any home that has fewer than five deaths is not published at this time by New York State, citing privacy concerns.

The State Of Nursing Homes During The Pandemic

Publications like ProPublica have been covering the story for some time, and recently published this story of a daughter who removed her father from Queens Adult Care Center after he showed symptoms and was being neglected by fearful staff members, according to the article. Reporters at Governor Cuomo’s briefings have been asking for weeks for COVID-19 statistics at nursing homes, which New York State only recently starting releasing. Each day that the statistics had not been made public, Governor Cuomo cited delays from the nursing homes who were overwhelmed with caring for their residents. The total number of deceased people from nursing homes in New York State is 3,688, as of 4/29/2020.

To illustrate how quickly COVID-19 can spread through a nursing home, which Governor Cuomo has likened to a fire spreading through dry grass, Deadline.com has been publishing updates about elderly residents living in The Actor’s Fund Home in Englewood, N.J., a home for retired entertainers, from actors of stage and screen to screenwriters, dancers, producers and directors. The home has been forthcoming to its families with email updates, and to the media. The facilities administrator told NJ Advance Media that as of 4/14/2020, the facility had 12 residents test positive. As of 4/21/2020, 10 residents had died from COVID-19, as reported by Deadline.com, although the first reported death from COVID-19 was recorded on 4/10/2020, according to Deadline.com. About 35 to 40 staff had tested positive, though there have been no reported deaths of employees.

Dutchess County Testing and PPE

County Executive Marcus Molinaro has petitioned Governor Cuomo for 2,000 test kits for Dutchess County’s newly formed Nursing Homes Task Force, according to the county’s press release. “As the initial pilot gets underway,” the press release said, “and as tests are made available from New York State, Dutchess County’s Nursing Home Task Force will collaborate with each of the nursing home facilities’ infection control specialist to plan for each facilities’ specific needs, including providing adequate PPE supplies for staff to ensure there is no cross contamination during testing.”

Testing staff members at the nursing homes will not be included in this targeted testing, “as testing kits are limited,” confirmed Communications Director Colleen Pillus to A Little Beacon Blog when asked for clarification. Reports from outbreaks happening in nursing homes across the state, like this one in Hornell, include a focus on staff members who test positive, as reported by the New York Post.

Currently in Dutchess County, nursing home residents are only being tested when they present symptoms, said Dutchess County’s Communication Director Colleen. Moving forward in this new pilot program, elderly residents will be tested once as opposed to an ongoing way, as testing results take time to come back, said Colleen. Of the 13 nursing homes, one nursing home - Wingate in Beacon - will be the pilot location for this new program.

Who Oversees Nursing Homes?

As explained by Governor Cuomo repeatedly during briefings, nursing homes are generally private institutions that need to follow licensing requirements from New York State. According to The Leader, New York State will open an investigation into nursing homes, led by Attorney General Letitia James, “which will focus on whether nursing homes and adult-care facilities appropriately followed state law and regulation as the coronavirus went on its torrid spread in New York,” stated the article.

According to Dutchess County’s press release on its new testing program program: “Although nursing homes are under the authority and oversight of the New York State Department of Health, County Executive Molinaro established Dutchess County’s Nursing Home Task Force, under the direction of Dutchess Behavioral and Community Health (DBCH), to be in regular contact with nursing home leadership. The Task Force keeps open lines of communications, offers guidance where appropriate, and helps facilities address concerns and emerging issues, convening weekly conference calls with nursing homes.”

The announcement went on to address PPE needs: “Among the pressing needs has been the provision of PPE supplies to meet heightened New York State Department of Health mandates for nursing homes. Dutchess County has worked closely with the nursing homes, providing isolation suits and gowns, eye protection, N95 respirators, surgical masks, as well as hand sanitizer.”

Mental Health Assistance Provided For Nursing Home Staff, By Dutchess County

County Executive Molinaro has a strong track record on mental health for this region. Mental health assistance has been created for employees working in nursing homes. According to the press release: “Staffing has also been a concern for nursing homes. Stress levels and fear for all essential employees remain high and there is always a concern about lack of staff availability should there be large numbers of staff who need to be quarantined. News of deaths in nursing homes in other areas of the state and nation creates anxiety for staff, patients, as well as their families.

”To help combat the extreme amount of stress this pandemic has placed upon nursing home and residential facility staff, County Executive Molinaro and Deputy Commissioner of DBCH Dr. Jacqueline M. Johnson have mobilized the Dutchess County Trauma Team to provide mental health support. This collaborative team of mental health and substance abuse professionals respond to unpredictable and extreme events in Dutchess County. Led by Dr. Ellen Marx, the team will provide an in-service to nursing home staff to discuss the range of emotions the pandemic causes in general, work-related frustration and anxiety, dealing with grief, the importance of self-care, and much more. Individuals are helped to review their situation, encouraged to express the wide range of emotions traumatic events bring up, and identify strengths and ways to cope.”

Nursing Homes in Dutchess County 

This list has been provided by Dutchess County:

ArchCare at Ferncliff (formerly Ferncliff Nursing Home)
21 Ferncliff Road, Rhinebeck, NY 12572  (845) 876-2011    

The Baptist Home
46 Brookmeade Drive, Rhinebeck, NY 12572 (845) 876-2071    

Sapphire Wappingers Falls
37 S. Mesier Ave., Wappingers Falls, NY 12590 (800) 501-3936    

The Eleanor Nursing Care Center
419 North Quaker Lane, Hyde Park, NY 12538 (845) 229-9177    

Fishkill Center for Rehabilitation & Nursing
22 Robert R. Kasin Way, Beacon, NY 12508-1199 (800) 501-3936 

The Grand Nursing and Rehabilitation at Pawling
9 Reservoir Road, Pawling, NY 12564  (845) 855-5700  

The Grand Nursing and Rehabilitation at River Valley
140 Main St., Poughkeepsie, NY 12601 (845) 454-7600    

Lutheran Care Center at Concord Village
965 Dutchess Turnpike, Poughkeepsie, NY 12603 (845) 486-9494 x215    

Northern Dutchess Residential Healthcare Facility - The Thompson House
6525 Springbrook Ave., Rhinebeck, NY 12572  (845) 871-3760     

Renaissance Rehabilitation and Nursing Center
4975 Albany Post Road, Staatsburg, NY 12580 (845) 889-4500      

The Pines at Poughkeepsie
100 Franklin St., Poughkeepsie, NY 12601  (845) 454-4100

Wingate at Beacon
10 Hastings Drive, Beacon, NY 12508  (845) 440-1600    

Wingate at Dutchess
3 Summit Court, Fishkill, NY 12524  (845) 896-1500

(4/27/2020) COVID-19 Numbers for Beacon, Newburgh, Fishkill, Wappingers

Numbers for Dutchess County have decreased since yesterday’s report. The number of tests decreased, and the number of people from the testing group testing positive decreased. So far, the number of deaths remains at 36, and the number of hospitalized decreased to 77 (previously 79).

In Orange County, the number of deaths increased from 299 to 310, and the number of people hospitalized for COVID-19 in Orange County decreased by almost the same amount. The number of tests in Orange County increased yesterday.

Sources: New York State COVID-19 Tracker, Dutchess County COVID-19 Tracker, Orange County COVID-19 Tracker
Dutchess County Tracker: Updated daily, but there could be lags, according to their Source notes.
Orange County Tracker: Updated daily, with the exception of municipality information which is updated every 2 to 3 days, according to their Source notes.
New York State Tracker: Updated daily.
Testing is limited.

DUTCHESS COUNTY 4/27/2020

How Many People Tested In Dutchess County:
13,649 (New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested Positive So Far:
2,817 (New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested Today:
223 (previous day 389) (New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested POSITIVE Today:
24 (previous day 64) (New York State Tracker)
Number Of People Hospitalized For COVID-19 Right Now:
77 (yesterday 79) (Dutchess County Tracker)
How Many COVID-19 Related Deaths So Far:
36 (no change reported) (Dutchess County Tracker)

BEACON
Active COVID-19 Cases In Beacon As Of Today:
114 (yesterday 117) (Dutchess County Tracker)
Of the Positive Cases In Dutchess County, How Many In Beacon?
4.04%

FISHKILL
Active COVID-19 Cases In Fishkill As Of Today:
174 (yesterday 181) (Dutchess County Tracker)
Of the Positive Cases In Dutchess County, How Many In Fishkill?
6.18%
Active COVID-19 Cases In East Fishkill As Of Today:
155 (yesterday 163) (Dutchess County Tracker)
Of the Positive Cases In Dutchess County, How Many In East Fishkill?
5.5%

WAPPINGERS
Active COVID-19 Cases In Wappingers As Of Today:
155 (yesterday 157) (Dutchess County Tracker)
Of the Positive Cases In Dutchess County, How Many In Wappingers?
5.5%
Active COVID-19 Cases In Wappingers Falls Village As Of Today:
43 (yesterday 46) (Dutchess County Tracker)
Of the Positive Cases In Dutchess County, How Many In Wappingers Falls Village?
1.53%

ORANGE COUNTY 4/27/2020

How Many People Tested In Orange County:
25,740 (New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested Positive So Far:
8,374 (New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested Today:
645 (previously 587) (New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested POSITIVE Today:
136 (previously 132) (New York State Tracker
Number Of People Hospitalized For COVID-19 Right Now:
168 (yesterday 183) (Orange County Tracker)
How Many COVID-19 Related Deaths So Far:
310 (yesterday 299) (Orange County Tracker)

NEWBURGH
Active COVID-19 Cases In Newburgh As Of Today:
534 (no change reported) (Orange County Tracker)
Of the Positive Cases In Orange County, How Many In Newburgh?
6.48%
Active COVID-19 Cases In City of Newburgh As Of Today:
1,044 (no change reported) (Orange County Tracker)
Of the Positive Cases In Orange County, How Many In City of Newburgh?
12.67%

Dutchess County Ready With Additional COVID-19 Health Facility, Should It Be Needed

Back on March 23, 2020, Governor Andrew Cuomo was working to increase hospital capacity across the state by at least 50 percent, with a goal of 100 percent. In order to help do that, Dutchess County has retrofitted the Dutchess Community College’s Conklin Hall Dormitory as a Recovery Facility to house patients who are recovering from COVID-19 and are able to be discharged from a hospital, but still need care.

“While we hope we will never need to utilize the Recovery Center based on the current trend in hospitalization,” said County Executive Marcus Molinaro in a press release, “it is important to have this resource ready to care for people as we do not yet know when we will reach our apex with this virus.”

The Recovery Center has 176 rooms and 457 beds spread over four floors. The total capacity will vary based on the number of people who require a single room and/or access to a private bathroom, per their care plan. Staffing for the Recovery Center consists of approximately 50 medical and nonmedical professionals from multiple disciplines, primarily volunteers from Dutchess County Medical Reserve Corps (MRC). Housekeeping and security services are jointly provided by DCC staff and MRC volunteers.

Although staff is trained and prepared and the facility is ready for patient admission, it is not expected it will be necessary to open the facility this week as local hospital bed capacity has remained stable. However, during a presentation to volunteers about the Recovery Center (watch it below), Molinaro indicated that he thought it would eventually be used, and stated such in his speech to volunteers who would be running it: “We have spent the last month hoping that maybe we would not have to get together today… I can tell you first-hand that this is an ugly, ugly disease, and there are a lot of family members struggling really hard… We are hopeful that not one person has to walk through that door, but it is likely that someone will. You will be in one capacity or another, the lifeline that helps them to find recovery, to have hope, and to go back to their families and their homes. We are in a battle - a war - against an enemy that we do not understand, that outmaneuvers us, that attacks our weaknesses. The face of the front-line responder looks a lot different today: it’s health-care providers; it’s public health officials; it’s even grocery store clerks and cashiers; it’s the cleaners who are going to make sure this building stays clean. It’s just a new calling.”

Hospital capacity is evaluated daily, looking out three days, to determine whether it will be necessary to open the recovery center. According to New York State’s Coronavirus Tracker, there are 2,048 positive COVID-19 cases in Dutchess County today (4/15/2020) (Dutchess County Tracker has a slightly lower number), and 114 new positives recorded today. According to Dutchess County’s Tracker, there have been 18 deaths in total in Dutchess County as of today (4/20/2020).

Cathi Tegtmeier, Assistant Commissioner of Behavioral & Community Health for the county, indicated that the Recovery Center will be a relief valve available if needed: “[The Recovery Center] will reduce the stress on our local hospitals caring for COVID-19 patients. This facility, staffed by a dedicated contingent of medical professionals and trained volunteers, will provide a venue for those still recuperating from COVID-19 - but not needing hospitalization - to do so in a safe, contained building before being released home. Having this resource offers our healthcare community some peace of mind that there is a relief valve available to them if needed.”

2 Opportunities To Call Into Briefings With Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro Wednesday

On Wednesday morning at 8 am, Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro joins Dutchess County Chamber of Commerce in a telecall to answer questions.

Business TeleCall Breakfast:

The Chamber continues its tradition of a monthly Contact Breakfast by presenting a “virtual breakfast” on Wednesday, April 15, from 8 to 9 am. As previously scheduled, Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro will be the featured speaker, and he will provide an update for the business and nonprofit communities as well as taking questions from listeners and viewers. There are multiple ways to listen to and view the call:

Facebook pages: Dutchess County’s Facebook page, and Dutchess County Chamber of Commerce Facebook page. The County Executive encouraged people to write their questions into the livestream on the call.

Zoom: Click here.

Phone: Dial and listen, (845) 765-7121. Callers will be able to ask questions, according to Marc Molinaro’s COVID-19 update via YouTube.

Town Hall TeleCall

At 5:30 pm, the County Executive will host a 90-minute Town Hall with an update to assisting those in need via the Dutchess Responds Relief effort.

Phone: Call (845) 765-7121 to listen in. Questions will be taken via the call. Call in to ask questions.

Facebook: The Town Hall will be streamed on Dutchess County’s Facebook page. People can ask questions in the livestream.

Yes, There Are Positive COVID-19 Cases In Beacon, Dutchess County Confirms In This Statement

UPDATE 7:30 pm: Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro issued a video announcement that Dutchess County would be including this data on their website “soon.” Get details and watch the video here.

While this seems obvious to most people, there seem to be some people who are waiting for an official answer on whether there are confirmed COVID-19 cases in Beacon. If you have any friends at all, who have access to texts and emails, you will know that this answer is yes, there are confirmed COVID-19 cases in Beacon. But as for an official number on a website, you will not find that web page as of today, 3/30/20.

When the first email came into A Little Beacon Blog of a confirmed coronavirus case being exposed to a facility in Beacon, we emailed the mayor’s office for confirmation. The answer we got was that the City of Beacon was waiting on confirmation from Dutchess County. When a text arrived the next day of a friend who had tested positive for coronavirus, we did not pursue seeking confirmation, nor did we publish it, because it is not an official number.

When a reader wrote in yesterday, asking a similar question, A Little Beacon Blog pursued the question again. The reader asked: “Do you know if there is a town-by-town breakdown of COVID-19 cases in Dutchess County or how we find out that info?”

We reached out to Jean-Marie Niebuhr, coordinator of Prevention and Harm Reduction Services at Dutchess County Department of Behavioral and Community Health, who urged people to visit the New York State website for county-by-county breakdown and encouraged people to call the COVID-19 hotline at (845) 486-3555.

“There are several confirmed cases in Beacon. Every single town, village and city in Dutchess County has been impacted by cases of COVID-19. ”

— Colleen Pillus, communications director for Dutchess County Executive's Office

But that doesn’t answer questions about Beacon specifically. So we asked again. Because some people, who are believers and practicers of social distancing, like my own husband who fears the virus because of his age of 56 and his family history of diabetes, and my and our children’s history of asthma cough, said to me moments prior to me pursuing official confirmation that cases are in Beacon:

“I can’t believe it’s not here (Beacon). Until I hear it officially, I will believe that,” he said.

Jean-Marie connected me with Colleen Pillus, Communications Director of the Dutchess County Executive Office. I asked Colleen one more time:

“Can you do anything to give us these city numbers, as an official count?”

Colleen’s response:

“Not at this time, but I can tell you that the case count by town reflects population density – so there are several confirmed cases in Beacon. Every single town, village and city in Dutchess County has been impacted by cases of COVID-19. There are currently (as of 3/30/2020) no particular hot spots or clusters.”

Dutchess County’s Message In Full About Location Of Coronavirus

Said Colleen in an email to A Little Beacon Blog on 3/30/2020:

“We have been trying to get everyone to understand that coronavirus is everywhere and act accordingly – staying home to stop the spread.

“Too many people think that a given town or area is ‘safe,’ when in reality every single town, village and city in Dutchess County has been impacted by COVID-19.

“The current total confirmed case count for Dutchess County is reported daily on the NYS site here. We have that link on our www.dutchessny.gov/coronavirus website.

“Today’s (3/30/2020) current count of positive cases is 320. I actually had a woman ask about case count because she wanted to monitor it to determine ‘when it was no longer safe to go out’ – It is no longer safe to go out NOW!!

“The important thing to remember is that the case count reflects the known cases – those are the ones you should be least worried about, as those individuals are quarantined and being monitored.

“It is the ones who don’t realize they have it that we have to worry most about. Knowing that one town may have X cases while another town has Y cases makes no difference.

“The message to the public continues to be a very loud – Stay Home! Stay Safe! Stop the Spread! If you must go out, assume everyone has coronavirus or has been in direct contact with someone who has – and be very diligent about personal hygiene – handwashing, not touching your face, and serious social distancing of at least 6-foot radius around you.

”While we will not stray from this messaging – we are looking at reorganizing some data for the public to share later in the week or early next.”

Thank you, Colleen for sharing this information. Social distancing is very hard. Even if you are being strict with it. One constantly needs reminders like these. Myself included.

Confirmed Case In Cold Spring By Haldane Superintendent

According to the Highlands Current, “Haldane announced that a student in the district has a confirmed case of COVID-19. It said the student is resting at home and that the symptoms, which first appeared after schools had been closed, have been mild. “It is inevitable that we will continue to have cases,” said Superintendent Philip Benante in an email to the community. “I will not be able to inform you of each one during our closure; however, I felt it was important to bring this first known case to your attention. It reinforces that our children are vulnerable to this illness and that we must take the necessary precautions as a community to stop its spread.”

The Plastic Bag Ban Is Real - How's It Going?

Photo Credit: Brianne McDowell

Just last month, it used to be hipsterish to carry your tote bags to a grocery store. Forget about pulling them out at any other type of store, like a gas station, Rite Aid, or big-box store. You would just look plum “alternative” if you did (not that there’s anything wrong with that). Plenty of people carried the tote bags with pride, and showed off their tote bag collections from different magazines and brands they love, while others sometimes remembered to bring their totes stored in their cars. Now, thanks to the statewide ban on the single-use plastic bag (those plastic bags you see whipping around roads and catching on trees), everyone is carrying whatever bags they can remember into stores. Or maybe they are still carrying nothing at all.

“My husband came home the other night with groceries falling out of his arms,” recalled one Beacon resident. “Now he is trying to remember to bring the reusable bags in the car.” Common stories include people forgetting their reusable bags stashed in the car, only to dash out of the store to quickly grab them. Grocery stores like Key Food are making the paper and plastic reusable tote bags available at checkout. New York did not require stores to charge for the paper bags, as a deterrent to using any single-use bag, but many stores are charging 5 cents for the paper, and another rate for the reusable plastic tote. Key Food is charging 5 cents for their paper bags, and 99 cents for their reusable plastic bag, while Stop and Shop in Poughkeepsie is charging $2.50 for their reusable plastic bag. Beacon Natural is charging 5 cents for the paper bags, and does sell their cloth tote bag for $10, but has flash sales for $3.99 from time to time.

According to an article in the Poughkeepsie Journal, the cost of paper bags to a retail shop has increased. Nicole Wronga, owner of Simplicity, a consignment store, told the newspaper that the cost of 250 paper bags has increased from $42.50 to $47.50 (that equals 19 cents per paper bag, so even selling it at 5 cents is a loss for some who don’t order in huge bulk). It has caused Nicole to begin charging 5 cents for a paper bag, with 3 cents being donated to the state environmental budget, to encourage customers to bring their own bag.

Over here at A Little Beacon Blog, we sell tote bags, and now with the flooded market of totes (because we all need them), the price you might pay just plummeted. So, it costs us $7.50 to produce the bags locally in Newburgh, and we’re charging $10 right now.

BYO Bag - Bring Your Own Bag

New York State is branding this ban as BYO Bag (Bring Your Own Bag). Do you remember back in the 1990s, when the giant yellow plastic bags with blue handles were the rage? They were so giant, hardly anyone could really carry a full one. They equaled about three paper bags of groceries. Typically associated with Ikea bags, but sometimes sold by the Girl Scouts at grocery stores to encourage people not to use paper bags. The reusable bag has been tried before, but now it’s officially locked in. At least we know that paper bags are recyclable, but only if they are 100% dry, clean, and not wet with food.

Are Plastic Bags Of Any Kind The Answer?

Dutchess County uses about 100 million single-use plastic bags per year, according to the county legislature. In New York State, about 23 billion plastic bags are used each year. Year. That’s a lot of bags. Nick Wise, a shopper at Target who was quoted in the Poughkeepsie Journal, is from London, where the bag ban was phased in 10 years ago. From that ban, he experienced reusable plastic bags going to waste. With one of his reusable plastic bags already having a rip: “I know I can reuse them as much as I can, but they are going to end in the garbage at some point,” Nick told the Journal.

When word was coming down of the plastic bag ban, some retailers didn’t believe it would happen. And then Marc Molinaro, County Executive for Dutchess County, signed it into law in December 2018. Dutchess County’s ban went into effect January 1, 2020. Ulster County’s County Executive signed theirs into law in October 2018, while Suffolk County added a 5 cent charge to single-use plastic and paper bags in January 2018. And then New York State brought it all down with a state ban, set to go into effect in March 2020, which will eventually make it all less confusing. No single-use plastic bags anywhere in the state.

Plastic Bags In Trees, In Streets, In Recycling

Recycling executives have cited plastic bags as one of the most disruptive contaminants to their recycling production, which adds to the taxpayer cost of recycling in Beacon. During a 2018 presentation from Beacon’s recycling facility, ReCommunity (acquired by Republic Services), Steve Hastings explained to the City Council about how the single-use plastic bags are one of the biggest disruptors to their production, when they get loose and float up and get stuck in the machines.

A year after Suffolk County’s plastic bag ban, a study released revealed that 1.1 billion fewer plastic bags were used in the county since that ban, and the number of bags found polluting shorelines fell steeply compared with 2017, as reported by Newsday.

How The Plastic Ban Works For Retailers

You can read all about the plastic bag ban rules for Dutchess County here in this legislative resolution (aka law). Retailers or wholesalers who are engaged in the sale of personal, consumer, or household items must stop providing the single-use plastic bags. Paper bags that are provided must be 100% recyclable, be made from at least 40% recyclable material, and display the word “Recyclable” on the front.

Retailers could be fined $100 for their first violation, $250 for their second violation, and $500 for their third violation, and violations thereafter.

So how about getting more cloth tote bags? A Little Beacon Blog and Antalek & Moore have got some for you! :)

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Early Voting Starts Saturday, October 26 - And Includes Weekends - And Halloween!

The most surprising change to the election process this year takes effect this Saturday, October 26: early voting for New Yorkers. That’s right - the heavily anticipated Tuesday, November 5, Election Day just got a little lighter as New York passed a law letting registered voters cast their ballot early. Starting this year, registered New York voters have nine additional days - including two weekends - to cast their ballots.

Voters can still vote by absentee ballot or at their regular polling place (find those here) on Election Day, Tuesday, November 5, but can now also vote instead at one of their home county’s designated early voting sites from Saturday, October 26 to Sunday, November 3.

Assemblymember Jonathan Jacobson (D-Newburgh) co-sponsored the bill implementing early voting in New York State, and is a member of the Assembly’s Election Law Committee and Chair of the Sub-Committee on Election Day Operations. “Voting should be simple and easy,” Jacobson said in a press release. “Early voting will increase turnout and allow more voters to participate in our democratic process.”

How Does Voting Early Work?

Special locations are assigned for each county. Early voting locations vary by county, and you must cast your vote in the county where you live. You must be a registered voter, but you don’t need to sign up for anything special to be able to vote early. Anyone can do it. You just walk up to the designated area and vote.

We asked Julie Shiroishi, chief of staff for Assemblymember Jacobson, to provide a few more “how-to” details of this new voting process: “You just show up at any early voting site in Dutchess and they'll look up your name in an electronic poll book. These are new and will allow the poll worker to print on-demand a ballot (also new) for your specific election district. At the end of every day, the info will be uploaded to the County Board of Elections so voters can't vote more than once.”

So on Tuesday, November 5, you could just sit back and enjoy the day… Saturdays and Sundays are even included in the early voting schedule. And even Halloween! What does it mean for employers who give their employees paid leave to vote on Tuesday? According to Julie: “Employees can take three hours off to vote on Election Day only - not Early Voting days. Technically, employees are supposed to give their employers two days notice prior to Election Day that they are going to vote, and employers are supposed to post the policy notifying them of their right to vote on Election Day 10 days before Election Day.”

Early Voting Locations For Dutchess County

Residents of the City of Beacon can vote at any of Dutchess County’s five early polling sites:

• Fishkill Town Hall, 807 Route 52, Fishkill

• Dutchess County Board of Elections, 47 Cannon St., Poughkeepsie

• Rhinebeck Town Hall, 80 East Market St., Rhinebeck

• Millbrook Fire House, 20 Front St., Millbrook

• Unionvale Town Hall, 249 Duncan Road, Lagrangeville

If you have kids and plan on bringing them to vote, you could check out the Fishkill Rec Center’s activity schedule to drop in for an activity session. A Little Beacon Blog does include the Fishkill Recreation Center activities in our Kids Classes Guide.

When A Stranger Walks Through Your Door - Who Needs Mental Health Help - And The Concert Is Saturday

Last Friday, while in the midst of our weekly deadline for getting out the Happening This Weekend newsletter, a woman walked into A Little Beacon Blog's office, looking for help. She thought it was the substance abuse center, Lexington Center for Recovery (though she couldn’t remember the name and had contact information for a totally different organization), that had been located down Main Street, that is now becoming an apartment building. She saw the Rock Out 4 Mental Health flyer on our door, and the logos of mental health agencies who are helping make it happen, and thought she was in the right place.

She hadn't slept for days. Her accent was unfamiliar. The urgent problem she was trying to get help for - keeping her husband alive (he was currently in the hospital after almost dying of alcoholism, and she feared him coming home because she didn't know what to do with him to keep him safe) - made it so that she talked very fast, with hopelessness. Her sentences zig-zagged with what she needed, making it hard to find a thread to follow to work on a solution. She'd given up hope of finding help from Beacon and any other resource, and didn't know where to go.

Sometimes a situation happens, and you ask yourself: "Am I to be learning something from this? What is the message?" It became an opportunity for us to navigate the world of mental health resources, with a real person, really suffering. A Little Beacon Blog agreed to help with the Rock Out 4 Mental Health concert because it was an opportunity to meet the players, to talk to the people on the other side of the phone or email or website. To make them more real, and understand what they offer. That concert happens this Saturday (unless it rains, then it’ll be on Sunday) at Pete and Toshi Seeger Riverfront Park from 12 to 4 pm. It's free, and there will be mozzarella sticks (and other food like sausage), live music, and specialists in the areas of mental health.

Meanwhile, back in the office on a Friday afternoon of Memorial Weekend, we called the Dutchess County Help Line. They answered, but our questions quickly multiplied. When you're at the beginning of a research journey navigating hospitals, counseling, rehab centers, it's a lot. We called a personal friend who works deep in the world of mental health, and she quickly referred us to Family Services in Beacon on Henry Street, and to the MHA in the DMV Building on Main Street, and to Grace Smith House if the woman felt too afraid to be home, plus they may be able to give her guidance if she were to go there. Another friend recommended NAMI if she needed an advocate or counselor to help her navigate the medical areas where she was encountering hurdles, while trying to figure out what to do with her addicted husband who had just had a blood transfusion and was a hot potato in the hospital - she didn't want him released, yet they were done with their medical procedures.

In the end - for that hour - we encouraged her to walk to Family Services which is nearby, and see what they tell her next. In-person research is so important. We then highly encouraged her to go home and get some rest, because sleep deprivation causes its own problems. She first headed across the street to the grocery store to get cat food, and then to Family Services. Hopefully she felt a little more hope in her quest.

Come to the concert this weekend. You'll get to hear The Costellos, Noetic, Dilson Hernandez, Tony E., Charge the Mound, Russ St. George, Jerry Kitzrow, DJ Big Will, with sound by Tony ‘Pops’ DeMarco. You never know when you or someone you know or don't know needs these services. It's comforting to put faces to organizations.

"Your Loved Ones Need You, And So Do We" Annual Public Forum on Chemical Dependency Tonight

Photo Credit: The Dutchess County Department of Behavioral and Community Health Event Flyer

2019 Public Forum
Service Needs For Individuals With Chemical Dependency
When: Thursday, April 11. 2019
Time: 5:30 to 7:30 pm
Where: 230 North Road, Poughkeepsie, NY
DBCH Training Room (Entrance #1)
Host: Dutchess County Department of Behavioral & Community Health

From sitcoms and fashion to music and technology, the recent 2000s have not escaped the influence of the late ‘90s. It is hard to believe that the era that produced Joey Tribbiani is the same era that paved the way for today’s opioid crisis. In the late 1990s, giant pharmaceutical companies convinced healthcare providers that prescription opioid pain relievers were not highly addictive. Healthcare providers prescribed opioids at a super fast rate before realizing the intense addictive nature these drugs possess.

“As of January 2019, the National Institute on Drug Abuse estimates the death of 130 Americans per day from the overdose of opioids.”

As of January 2019, the National Institute on Drug Abuse estimates the death of 130 Americans per day from the overdose of opioids. People suffering from chemical dependency are not the only ones affected; babies are bearing the burden as well.

Babies Suffering From Opioid Withdrawal

About every 15 minutes, a baby is born undergoing the agony of opioid withdrawal, commonly referred to as Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome. Aside from the staggering death rates and effects on child mortality, the economy bears a dent from the opioid epidemic. A total of $78.5 billion a year is drained by prescription opioid misuse as estimated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Estimates include the costs of healthcare, lost productivity, addiction treatment, and criminal justice involvement.

The 2019 Public Forum On Chemical Dependency

The Dutchess County Department of Behavioral and Community Health is holding a public forum on Thursday, April 11, 2019 for individuals and families dealing with chemical dependency. Discussion chips away at the barriers of stigma, and the more questions people ask, the more answers will be heard. Representatives include Lexington Center for Recovery; Council on Addiction, Prevention, and Education (CAPE); Mid-Hudson Addiction Recovery Centers (MARC); Matt Herring Foundation and others.

Kelly Ramsey, M.D., a renowned expert on substance use disorders and medication-assisted treatment, will be there as a guest speaker. The event will be held on Thursday, April 11, 2019 from 5:30 to 7:30 pm at the DBCH Training Room (entrance #1) . At 5 pm, a free Narcan training will be held and refreshments will be provided. Narcan (brand name for naloxone) blocks the effects of an opioid overdose, and administering it is a useful skill to learn for those in the public health field or personally affected by chemical dependency. Representatives will inform the public on initiatives in effect and progress achieved in this field. An open discussion followed by an encouraged Q&A will be held in an effort to keep the community informed on this growing crisis.

Lights! Camera! Action! Locations Wanted for Filming in Dutchess County

This just in from Dutchess Tourism!

Film production has been picking up in the Hudson Valley, with a new film production facility going up in Newburgh (as we discovered through this commercial/retail Real Estate listing, thanks to the tip from Sarah Beckham Hooff). CineHub in Beacon has been a great resource for filmmakers over the years. Residents of Beacon have already experienced film production. Now a wider range of businesses can get in on that call for “Action!” by serving as an amazing backdrop location to films and television shows filming in Dutchess County.

You and your business can get in on the fun and benefit from the filming boom that has hit the area. Dutchess Tourism provides film location assistance to location scouts and producers, and they are working to expand their database so they can respond more quickly to requests. The types of locations they seek span from homes and local businesses, to farms and warehouses.

You can be added to the recommendation list by filling out this film location form. Hosting a film or photo shoot can increase your exposure as well as provide some economic benefit. The Hudson Valley Film Commission has estimated that in 2017, the direct regional film spending was over $30 million.

You can learn more about the benefits of being a part of filming in New York State, such as earning tax credits, by clicking here.

Advice About Being A Location For A Film

Hey - it’s Katie from A Little Beacon Blog here, taking over this part of the article. While the fame and glory of having your home or business be in a film or television may be appealing, there are a few items you’ll want to be aware of as you negotiate your way through an experience. Disclaimer: My husband is a Location Manager, and I have worked as a Production Assistant on jobs, where I carried around a walkie-talkie and basically relayed messages and told people where the bathroom was. (The film production life wasn’t for me… the way-too-long hours were a deal-breaker.)

• The filmed part that your house or business is in may end up on the cutting room floor. The film production may have spent a ton of money on it, but for whatever reason, it got cut out.

• A “Union Production” can be a different ballgame than a production who doesn’t need to be union. This means that everyone in the film crew is in a union. It’s a “union job.” Members have to follow certain rules, and had to achieve certain milestones to get into that union. Pay scales may be different, and budgets may be different. To work with a job not in a union is fine, and may help a low-budget film production do some big things. It also helps people who aren’t in a union to get valuable experience.

• Insurance: The film job should have it! Should something go wrong in your home or business, the production company may pay you directly to have it fixed, or their insurance company may pay. The job should have insurance in case this happens. Wishing for damage? Like, are you hoping for a new wall for your kitchen, and crossing your fingers that some piece of crew equipment would ding it pretty badly? Bad idea. You really don’t want to deal with the back and forth - it’s not worth it!

• Check in with your neighbors. A film production gathering is a big deal. Sometimes they park on the street, sometimes they close a street. If it’s a night shot, there will be lights at night. You’ll want to talk to your neighbors to let them know if something will be going on.

• Everything is negotiable. Usually in New York City, if someone’s apartment is getting filmed in, the owners of the apartment get paid, and the building itself gets paid. Not that a Producer or a Location Manager would like to pay everyone, but it’s good to know that for inconvenience, a price could maybe be negotiated for others.

• Speaking of negotiation, read the contract. Know your contract well, and ask for things to be included in it that are important to you. Did they go past a filming date? Or an hourly end time? That should cost extra (them paying you). So, think of scenarios that might call for additional compensation, and ask questions.

• You’ll be tight with Locations and the Art Departments. The Art Department will be the ones messing up your place, and cleaning it up again. They should return it to the state they found it in. Again, this should not be viewed as a free way to get a new paint job. The Locations Department will be with you from the beginning, and possibly after the Art Department has left. The Locations Department will be the ones giving you the check, delivering the contract, and working with the Art Department to make sure things are done right - as you want them.

Read more about Filming in Beacon:

• “Homeland” Films At Key Food In Beacon for Episode 8, Season 6

• Movie Filmed on Main Street is by British Romance Novelist Katie Fforde to Air in Germany

Application Opportunity: Home Repair and Renovation Programs from Rebuilding Together Dutchess County

Photo Credit: Rebuilding Together's website.

Homeowners who live in their homes (aka owner-occupied homes) in Dutchess County and who meet certain income requirements have the opportunity to apply for home repair and renovation projects from Rebuilding Together Dutchess County (RTDC). The deadline is Sunday, September 30, 2018 to be considered for 2019 Rebuilding Day Programs, so act fast! After applications are evaluated, decisions will be made after February 2019.

Making homes "warm, safe, dry and independent" are the main goals of the program. If you meet certain requirements and are considered for participation in the program, a staff member or volunteer from RTDC will come to your home to discuss the program with you and evaluate the repairs needed. That's just one step of the qualification process, however, and doesn't mean that you've been awarded the repairs.

You can find the application online here. We've screenshotted the income limits from the application to make those easy to see as well, as you consider the program. Good luck!

Photo Credit: Screenshot taken from the RTDC online application

The Storm Photos - Macrobursts and Tornadoes Everywhere Ripping Down Trees, Cutting Power

The fire in this picture is on 9D, near Stony Kill Farm. A transformer exploded on the road.
Photo Credit: A Little Beacon Blog - photos taken from various sources, noted below.

Turns out that a sick day, with three kids in quarantine after a diagnosis of strep throat, was a blessing in disguise. A major storm hit Beacon (and the Hudson Highlands, NYC, CT, PA, and NJ) at around 4 pm on Tuesday, May 15. Weather watchers were expecting rain, but when warnings of hail and high winds came across the TV, severe-weather veterans took to their yards to bring in potted plants and lower the basketball hoops. My neighbor is such a veteran weather watcher that he warned me of imminent hail before I embarked on a family walk to Key Food to fill up the fridge after my little ones ate through everything. An hour after returning, my phone vibrated its insistent SOS call, which we usually only hear for Amber Alerts. Only this time, it said "Tornado in your area. Take shelter."

"This was the storm rolling in! Hudson Valley Weather called this photo a gust front!"
Photo Credit: Sheila Lassen, Mountainville, NY (Part of Cornwall)

I gathered my brood, and we went straight to the basement. Thank goodness that for Mother's Day I treated myself to a bunch of new flashlights and lanterns. After a brief power outage from our winter blizzards, I realized I had no working flashlights anymore. Normally at this time of day, my husband would be working in New York City, but on Tuesday, he was headed home early (he'd been recovering from his own bout with strep) and was on 9D when the rains, macrobursts and tornadoes hit. The winds flattened trees around him and literally ripped through other trees.

At least three fatalities were blamed on the winds, which brought trees down, right onto people in cars (see details in this Highlands Current article). Three tornadoes went through Connecticut, and at least four hit New York (including one in Newburgh) bringing winds between 75 and 100 mph, spanning paths of several miles (see a photo here from Central Hudson). Some of the worst damage was caused by macrobursts that ripped through Dutchess County and other counties. Macrobursts possess wind speeds of 100 mph or more, and travel in straight lines for miles, unlike tornadoes, which have rotating, swirling, damaging winds. Central Hudson also confirmed that 1,000 lightning strikes happened per hour: “Storm with winds up to 78 MPH + 1,000 lightning strikes per hour has interrupted service to more than 72,000 customers.” Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro declared a State of Emergency, and Governor Andrew Cuomo declared a State of Emergency and deployed 125 National Guard members to help with the storm's effects.

On Wednesday, Central Hudson stated that many workers were on duty to clear trees (from street scenes like these) and restore power: “Approximately 185 line workers together with nearly 180 tree personnel are clearing roads and restoring power in our service territory today. Additionally, more than 270 mutual aid line workers are anticipated to arrive throughout the day.” See Central Hudson's trucks here restoring power.

By Thursday, that number grew: “A field force more than 1,000 strong is at work today clearing roads, responding to emergencies and restoring electric service.” They noted: “Mutual aid crews from as far as Niagara Falls, Michigan and Vermont have arrived.”

The Stony Kill wagon, a reliable sight on route 9D promoting the Open Barn, was turned over. Amazing that it did not get torn to smithereens! The wagon has since been righted back up.
Photo Credit: Katie Hellmuth Martin

In Wallkill, my assistant was working on a project with me via email, and the next minute she was MIA, as the wind had ripped open a tree in her yard, and it tore apart a newly completed shed at her neighbor's house.

Castle Point, which is located along the Hudson River just north of Beacon, is the home of many families as well as the VA Hudson Valley Health Care system. Macrobursts ripped through the area. My friend's wife works at the VA hospital, and he was waiting for her to come home, as it's a 10-minute drive. She did not get home for several hours, after being stuck in Castle Point as it dealt with trees and debris that had been tossed around by wind.

Beacon school teacher Brian Antalek, who lives in Castle Point, was quoted in the Poughkeepsie Journal as having to park his car at neighboring Stony Kill Foundation and walk two miles to his home in Castle Point. One man who I encountered at the grocery store told me about the huge oak tree in his yard that blew into the next yard. Shingles and pieces of housing landed in his yard, and he could only surmise that they were from Newburgh, as they didn't match anything nearby.

A map of a tornado path in Saugerties shows a tornado traveling across the Hudson River.
Photo Credit: National Weather Service via Hudson Valley Weather.

Newburgh received extensive damage, and is still recovering and still has areas without power. According to Eastern Dutchess Fire and Rescue: "Electrical substations which supplied power to the City of Newburgh sustained heavy damage requiring extensive repair. It is very possible that vast areas of the City may experience many days without electricity." Residents are boiling their water and those with gym memberships were using the facilities to shower. I got a call from a sales person living in Newburgh on Friday trying to set up a meeting, which she couldn't quite commit to, saying "I can't see anyone like this, I have to wait until the power comes back on."

Stony Kill Farm and Common Ground Farm in Fishkill suffered many trees down. A fire erupted on 9D near the farm (in the picture below with red bathroom barn). A transformer had exploded and caught fire on 9D. Stacey from Stony Kill Foundation reports that all of the farm's animals were unharmed and OK.

We had been to Stony Kill and Common Ground a week prior, on school field trips to see Common Ground Farm's pride and glory, the thriving tomatoes under the tarp greenhouses they built - which were destroyed by the winds.

An electrical fire blazing on 9D, in front of Stony Kill Farm. This view is of their bathroom facing 9D. The fire was not in any of Stony Kill's buildings and all of their farm animals are OK.
Photo Credit: Common Ground Farm

The greenhouse that protects the fledgling tomatoes at Common Ground Farm.
Photo Credit: Common Ground Farm

In Dutchess Junction, a tree fell on a power line. That caused an electrical fire for about 45 minutes until Central Hudson came and turned off the power, according to Maria Garcia Mojica, who submitted the picture below.

An electrical fire in Dutchess Junction.
Photo Credit: Maria Garcia Mojica 

The interior designer Ryan Samuelson experienced severe damage to his home on Washington Avenue in Beacon while he was in the basement. "I was just coincidentally down in the basement grabbing something. I didn’t even know about the storm warnings. Then I felt and heard a loud crunch and knew something pretty serious just happened."

Ryan Samuelson's home on Washington Avenue in Beacon.
Photo Credit: Ryan Samuelson

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In Fishkill, Route 52 was brought to a standstill, contributing to the traffic blockade that delayed people for hours trying to get into or out of Beacon. The CVS pictured below is the one on Route 52 near Love Nails. These photos were submitted by Kathy Harrison.

Many construction projects are in progress here in Beacon. The most recent are those on 9D which cleared parcels of trees to prepare for the construction of new apartment buildings. One of two trees left on one property blew over (doesn't seem to be dead yet, however). Fencing blocking the other construction project blew away. A reproduction of the children's book, The Lorax, which is about preserving trees, had been posted on the fence in a statement about the removal of the trees. That portion of the fence remained through the wind blast. The fencing destroyed in the storm has since been replaced.

In Beacon, many trees came down. This yellow house on Verplanck is a known abandoned house, which is rumored to be lost in bank foreclosure paperwork. Just who will haul away this tree may not be straightforward.

Abandoned house on Verplanck.
Photo Credit: Katie Hellmuth Martin

A tree blown down on Willow Street by the storm blocked this alternate backroads artery for two days after the storm. With 9D already limited by planned construction to finish NYSDOT ADA curb-cut ramps between Main Street and I-84, side streets like Willow, Orchard Place, Dutchess Terrace and others become back-road alternates. This made getting into or out of Beacon even more difficult. This tree below was cleared swiftly on Friday.

This Tree, down and blocking Willow Street, was Cleared away two days after the storm.
Photo Credit: Dana Devine O'Malley

The macrobursts took out bits and pieces of structures in their path, making some of the destruction seem random. A brick wall and bush were taken out at this house on Rombout Avenue.

A house on Rombout Avenue.
Photo Credit: Katie Hellmuth Martin

The small Fanny Fay Girl Scout House, at the end of Rombout Avenue, is surrounded by trees. We headed over to check out if any had fallen. This one did, but fell away from the house, further into the woods.

This Tree uprooted at the end of rombout avenue, at the Fanny Fay Girl Scout House.
Photo Credit: Katie Hellmuth Martin

Please note that most businesses in Beacon are now open! Several opened soon after the storm. Some parts of Main Street were without power, while others retained it. Main Street Beacon is back in business.

Statistics on a Few Tornadoes in New York

While the macrobursts, with winds of 100 mph and higher, caused major widespread damage, here are some statistics on the recorded tornadoes.

Ulster County
Saugerties, NY
Rating: EF1
Estimated Peak Winds: 90 mph
Path Length: 5 miles
Path Width: 528 feet (0.1 mile)
Start Time: 2:29 pm
Location: The tornado path started along Route 212 between Woodstock and Saugerties and moved east through the western and southern part of Saugerties before crossing the Hudson River and ending in Tivoli, NY, just south of Clermont State Historic Site.

Orange County
Newburgh, NY
Rating: EF0
Estimated Peak Winds: 75 mph
Path Length: 0.62 miles
Path Width: 50 yards
Start Time: 4:16 pm
Location: Originated near Albany Post Road, south of Bennett Road. The tornado lifted near the Hudson River behind Susan Drive.

Putnam County, NY Tornadoes
Kent, NY
Rating: EF2
Estimated Peak Winds: 115 mph
Path Length: 100 yards
Path Width: 1.14 miles
Start Time: 4:29 pm
Location: Originated near apartments on Route 52, continuing along Route 52 before lifting near Town Road

Patterson, NY
Rating: EF1
Estimated Peak Winds: 100 mph
Path Length: 75 yards
Path Width: 2.89 miles
Start Time: 4:32 pm
Location: Originated along Route 22 north of Haviland Hollow Road, lifting near the intersection of East Branch Road and Fairfield Drive.

What was your story during the storm? Please share it in the comments below.

Airbnb Paid Over $220K in Taxes to Dutchess County in 2017

Photo Credit: Screenshot from Airbnb listings, A Little Beacon Blog.

As the City of Beacon considers legislation for short-term rentals in residential houses, everyone involved is looking at their finances. During a public hearing for the legislation, homeowners who rent their homes out on a per-night, short-term basis, came out to speak in favor of continuing to allow short-term rentals in their homes. Many of the homeowners discussed financial implications they would face if Beacon legislated against short-term rentals or limited the amount of nightly rentals to 100 per year per house (the City Council has since scratched out that maximum from the draft legislation currently being discussed at City Council's Workshop meeting on 4/30/18), or imposing a New York State fire code law for Bed and Breakfasts that requires a sprinkler system or special windows installed in the home.

Other Areas of Economy Impacted by Airbnb

A Beacon resident and Airbnb user, Eileen O'Hare, shed light on another economic area that is impacted by Airbnb rentals, and that is the service industry. According to Eileen's presentation at the public hearing, Airbnb recommends for homeowners to pay for house cleaning and lawn care in order to attract good and consistent bookings. She then posed this question to the City Council at that meeting: "I pay my cleaning lady $25 per hour. What do you pay yours?"

Tax Revenue Going to Dutchess County Generated by Airbnb Bookings

People who make money from Airbnb bookings, like house cleaners, also attended the meeting to request that the short-term rentals be allowed to continue. This got us to thinking about the wider economic impact of short-term rentals on the area, and so we reached out to Dutchess County Legislator Nick Page to get some answers about any revenue generated by the Bed Tax. That tax, as well as sales tax, goes straight to Dutchess County and does not directly get paid to the City of Beacon. Here are some economic statistics derived from tax revenue raised for Dutchess County through Airbnb short-term bookings, according to Nick's understanding, from conversations with the Dutchess County Department of Finance:

• Airbnb paid a total of $221,918 of the 4% Bed Tax to Dutchess County for 2017. 

• Dutchess County began collecting the 4% Bed Tax from hosts using the Airbnb platform on March 1, 2017. 

• The payments to the county are not broken down by municipality (i.e. city, town, or village) and the county does not have access to the host addresses from Airbnb.

• Airbnb remits one payment to the county by the 20th of each month for the preceding month's activity.

• Dutchess County is about to begin tracking other short-term rental sites as well. Currently, Dutchess County only collects from Airbnb.

The discussion continues, as the City Council meets tonight to go over the latest changes to the draft legislation based on feedback from the community. On the public agenda for tonight, this topic is filed under "Short-Term Rentals" and is currently #4 out of 12 topics to discuss. Bring your coffee.

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New City Council Ward Members and Dutchess County Legislators Sworn In for 2018

Photo Credit: Screenshot of swearing-in ceremony from video produced by Peter Skorewicz.
Graphic Art Credit: A Little Beacon Blog

On the first day of the new year of 2018, Beacon held a swearing-in ceremony for the brand new City Council ward members and two Dutchess County Legislators - all Democrats - who swept local elections after a tumultuous year in politics nationally. As reported by Jeff Simms for the Highlands Current, all citizens running were "first-time candidates, each [winning] by wide margins." The two at-large council members were old hands at this: Lee Kyriacou has served nine terms, and George Mansfield has served five terms so far.

Former City Council member Pam Wetherbee presided over the ceremony. Several notable people attended, including Kenya Gadsden, board member for the Beacon City School District Board of Education, and former Beacon Mayor Steve Gold, who is currently the Chief of Staff for New York State Assemblyman Frank Skartados.

Kicking off the ceremony were Cub Scout Pack 1, Boy Scout Troop 1, and Boy Scout Troop 141 of Beacon. Next, the Beacon High School Chorus, led by teacher Susan Wright, sang "This Land Is Your Land" by Woody Guthrie, which was a "song special to Pete Seeger, who was someone important to Beacon," Susan stated. (See this stellar New Yorker profile on Pete Seeger by Beacon local David Rees).

The Swearing In

Terry Nelson, representing Ward 1, was sworn in by his daughter and wife, promising: "I will do the best job I possibly can to represent everyone in the City of Beacon." Terry is also a founder of the Beacon Independent Film Festival, and a board member for BeaconArts.

John Rembert, representing Ward 2, was sworn in by his wife, showing gratitude: "I thank the citizens of Ward 2 and the citizens of Beacon, NY, and I will do my best for the citizens of Beacon, NY."

Jodi McCredo, representing Ward 3, was sworn in by her children. Jodi was also one of the founders of the Advocates for Beacon Schools, a group of parents and community members who pushed for change and awareness of the politics and policies in public schools. They were active during the time of a resignation of a Beacon superintendent in 2016 and in the election of three new board members to the Board of Education. That group built a website for publishing information, advocates12508.com, and a similar website has been created for disseminating information about building development projects in Beacon, development12508.com. Said Jodi: "I'm looking forward to what we can do together for Beacon and for Dutchess County."

Photo Credit: Screenshot of Swearing In Ceremony from video produced by Peter Skorewicz.

For her swearing-in, Amber Grant, representing Ward 4, placed the Constitution on her small niece, who was held by Amber's sister. Amber said: "I look forward to getting to work. Hopefully I'll see a lot of you here tomorrow as well (for the next City Council meeting)."

After George Mansfield was sworn in for his at-large position, he reflected: "I was first here eight years ago, when I first ran for office, and it never gets any less exciting. The burden of responsibility is great."

Lee Kyriacou, the City Council's other at-large member, selected The Constitution as his object to be sworn in on. He thanked his family, "my spouse, my two lovely daughters who indulge my passion to indulge in community service., and to the voters who turned out in amazing numbers. Please keep doing that." Lee continued, reflecting on what he called Beacon's journey of renewal. "Beacon has probably done the biggest turnaround of the Hudson Valley, if not, almost anywhere. It's been a pretty important set of roles for us to undertake. I've said from Day 1 - my first Day 1 was 1994 - that Zoning and Enforcement are the most important things that we do." He added, "We aren't going downhill - which is where we were heading in those days. We are headed uphill, but we have to chart a journey that works for our entire community. I look forward to my colleagues on the Council and the County Legislature in charting that journey together."

Frits Zernike for Dutchess County Legislator, District 16. Frits stated: "District 16 extends into Fishkill. It was Beacon's energy that won us this election. I hope to take the energy we have in southern Dutchess County and infuse the entire county legislature with it... Democracy is not a spectator sport. It's nice to be participating this way. I hope and I trust that you all will continue to participate, show up, pester us, and get done what we need done."

Nick Page for Dutchess County Legislator, District 18, was eager to get started, stating: "The election effort in Beacon was truly astonishing."

The event concluded with a benediction by Reverend Perry from the Springfield Baptist Church.

The local paparazzi (aka friends and families showing support).
Photo Credit: Screenshot of Swearing In Ceremony from video produced by Peter Skorewicz.