PINE PLAINS — It was over in a matter of minutes — the foreclosure sale of the Pine Plains library building that took place at the Poughkeepsie courthouse on Wednesday, Jan. 9. There were no bidders other than the Bank of Millbrook, which was the plaintiff in the action. The reading of the notice of sale was waived. The opening bid was asked for, and given, at $1.45 million, after which no other bids followed. And then it was done, with the bank walking away as the new owner of the building that only opened its doors to the public in 2009.“It was very quick, with no surprises,” said Bank of Millbrook President George Whalen III. “We are the new owners.”Which doesn’t really change the situation, according to those involved. Although the Pine Plains Library and Community Center foreclosed on the building, the library will continue to operate until it is evicted, according to Library Board of Trustees President James Mara.“For us, nothing has changed,” he said. “It’s business as usual. The library is there and functioning, and until we’re told that it has to cease, it’s business as usual. I’m not sure how this transfer of ownership will affect us. The trustees are not a part of the process, so right now we’re just running a library, and that’s the extent of it.”The town, however, is hoping to continue negotiations with the bank and walk away owner of the library building — if the price is right.“Now we’ll sit down with them and negotiate,” said town Supervisor Brian Coons. “I’m hopeful. I would love to buy the building, and we’re weighing out what the town can afford and what kind of burden it would be on the taxpayer. It doesn’t matter what I believe, it’s up to the taxpayer. If we agree on a price it will still come up for public referendum, and the people will have to vote on it.”Coons said it’s a lot to ask of taxpayers, as the $1.5 million debt would cost $100,000 a year, on top of the $50,000 a year it costs to maintain the building, resulting in a $150,000 or 15 percent budget increase. That amounts to a $150 spike in taxes per $100,000 per assessed value of property.“That’s where it starts to burden the taxpayer,” Coons said. “But either way people will get to vote on it. It’s really up to the people of Pine Plains.”“I’m hopeful that they will put forth an offer,” Whalen said of the town. “But we’ve got to move ahead and be proactive in selling the property. We’re not allowed to hold real estate on a long-term basis unless we use it in the operations of the bank. I personally want to see this building remain the library and the town as the owner. That’s just my opinion. I hope they are able to put forth an offer, and I hope it’s a reasonable one that can be accepted and acted upon.”
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Greg Fricke and James Boehmer, co-owners of Peggy Mercury in Kent, recently launched their first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts.”
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Fricke and Boehmer are not there to stock their shelves with the same products customers find at standard makeup retailers. They’re there to help customers find what works for them. That usually means asking customers about themselves and learning about their beauty habits, skin, style and the way they like to present themselves. Fricke and Boehmer believe it’s their job to help customers bring out the qualities that suit them and determine what works best for their look.
So much of the Peggy Mercury world is about emboldening people to become more creative, and possibly bolder, versions of themselves. Some of this comes through the store’s creative collaborations with artists, designers and stylists.
It’s part of an ethos that encourages them and their friends to use the shop as a kind of laboratory, trying out new creative experiments without knowing how they might turn out. Whether in fashion, painting, fiber arts or photography, the projects almost always turn out marvelously.
A line of sterling silver charms they sell started as a small project by their friend Nolan Percival. In the beginning, the pieces were for close friends and loved ones. But Boehmer and Fricke encouraged Percival to get a little more serious about the project and create a whole line for the store. Today, it’s one of their top-selling collections.
Classic styles, bold colors, and creative concerts make up the “Imaginary Concerts” line at Peggy Mercury.Provided
“Imaginary Concerts” has the duo taking their own advice.
The project started as a way for Boehmer to connect with his mother, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Taking old concert shirts from his own collection, Boehmer and his mother began cutting out the graphics with the idea that they would make a quilt together. Unfortunately, she died before they could complete the project in 2025. The pieces, which were ready for production, were put on the back burner as Boehmer and Fricke dealt with their loss and the whirlwind of projects that never seemed to cease at Peggy Mercury.
But the harsh winter of 2026 presented an opportunity to take some time and focus on themselves. Part of that meant revisiting and redefining the concert T-shirt project. This time, instead of looking to the warmth and comfort of a quilt, they turned to another passion — fashion.
Taking a page from their own book, they wanted to create something that felt comfortable to them. They took two disparate loves — one rooted in simple preppy style, with clean lines and classic silhouettes, and the other in the nitty gritty worlds of punk rock and pop — and blended them together to create something entirely new. Pulling from the staples of vintage Brooks Brothers and Charvet collections, they applied the graphic elements with bold stitching reminiscent of punk jackets of the ‘70s and ‘80s, but with a much more sophisticated air.
But the remixing isn’t just the pairing of prep and punk. The pieces are not canon. They take liberties with the realities of concert tours, combining one band’s dates with another band’s logos, mixing them all up until the reality is lost and imagination is the only truth.
Shirts from Peggy Mercury’s first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts,” hang on display.Provided
Adding to the mix is an element of perpetual creativity. Art can be messy, both figuratively and literally, and many of Fricke and Boehmer’s artist friends carry evidence of their work on them at all times. As a nod to these tireless creatives, the duo added haphazard splashes of bright color, giving the line an even more distinctive feel.
For them, “Imaginary Concerts” passes the “Peggy Test.” The mythical Peggy Mercury is a fictional figurehead for the company, a character who thrives on creativity and change. The name, much like the clothing line, is a mixture of interests: Mercury is a planet, a deity and an elusive, transformative element, while Peggy is the wonderfully stylish and boundary-pushing Peggy Guggenheim.
Everything Fricke and Boehmer put in their store has to pass this test: Would Peggy Mercury approve? For their first collection, the answer is a resounding yes.
Peggy Mercury is at 9 Maple St., Unit 2, Kent.
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