Planning Board, in brief

AMENIA — There were a few more items than usual on the April 29 Planning Board agenda, most involving preliminary or ongoing discussions that are important to take note of.

• The board made a negative declaration for the Environmental Assessment Form and gave site plan approval to Turkey Hollow Forestry. The project involves culling trees on 30 acres near Tamarack Preserve on Route 44.

• The owners of a proposed new restaurant in town, to be housed in the former Amenia Day Care Center building on Route 343, came before the board to discuss parking issues. The restaurant will be a breakfast and lunch deli with a “historic Amenia� theme, and is working its way toward opening soon.

• A representative from the Hudson River Health Care expansion project presented the board with slightly amended plans from the project it proposed last year. Currently, there will be a building expansion of approximately 3,100 square feet, including more exam rooms. Town consultants will look at the project, which the applicant is hoping will be deemed a Type II action, excluding them from further SEQRA (State Environmental Quality Review Act) action.

• Representatives for George Patrides presented the board with continuing plans for a two-lot subdivision on Separate Road.

• Representing engineer Dan Wheeler came before the board for continued discussion on a building located on the corner of County Route 81 and Powder House Road. The former nine-unit apartment building was never issued health department permits and hasn’t been occupied in approximately 10 years. The owner of the building is working with the town to turn the building into affordable housing.

• Attorney to the Town Michael Hayes reported that the Depot Hill Road Keane Stud subdivision proposal is still in limbo. Jeffrey Stark, who owns the current horse stud farm, was partners in the project with Tarragon Corp., which is currently in bankruptcy proceedings. It remains to be seen who Stark’s new partner will be.

• The Amenia Hills subdivision is also in a sort of limbo. The applicant had gone through the full SEQRA review with the impression that the project would be able to link into the town’s water district. That’s no longer possible, and Planning Board Chairman Bill Flood said the applicant would probably be required to fill out a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) now that interest has been expressed for a private water district. There are also environmental concerns with new regulations regarding the buffer zones from bog turtle habitats, which have changed since the project was first presented.

Latest News

Mountaineers fall 3-0 to Wamogo

Anthony Foley caught Chase Ciccarelli in a rundown when HVRHS played Wamogo Wednesday, May 1.

Riley Klein

LITCHFIELD — Housatonic Valley Regional High School varsity baseball dropped a 3-0 decision to Wamogo Regional High School Wednesday, May 1.

The Warriors kept errors to a minimum and held the Mountaineers scoreless through seven innings. HVRHS freshman pitcher Chris Race started the game strong with no hits through the first three innings, but hiccups in the fourth gave Wamogo a lead that could not be caught.

Keep ReadingShow less
The artist called ransome

‘Migration Collage' by ransome

Alexander Wilburn

If you claim a single sobriquet as your artistic moniker, you’re already in a club with some big names, from Zendaya to Beyoncé to the mysterious Banksy. At Geary, the contemporary art gallery in Millerton founded by New Yorkers Jack Geary and Dolly Bross Geary, a new installation and painting exhibition titled “The Bitter and the Sweet” showcases the work of the artist known only as ransome — all lowercase, like the nom de plume of the late Black American social critic bell hooks.

Currently based in Rhinebeck, N.Y., ransome’s work looks farther South and farther back — to The Great Migration, when Jim Crow laws, racial segregation, and the public violence of lynching paved the way for over six million Black Americans to seek haven in northern cities, particularly New York urban areas, like Brooklyn and Baltimore. The Great Migration took place from the turn of the 20th century up through the 1970s, and ransome’s own life is a reflection of the final wave — born in North Carolina, he found a new home in his youth in New Jersey.

Keep ReadingShow less
Four Brothers ready for summer season

Hospitality, ease of living and just plain fun are rolled into one for those who are intrigued by the leisure-time Caravana experience at the family-owned Four Brothers Drive-in in Amenia. John Stefanopoulos, pictured above, highlights fun possibilities offered by Hotel Caravana.

Leila Hawken

The month-long process of unwrapping and preparing the various features at the Four Brothers Drive-In is nearing completion, and the imaginative recreational destination will be ready to open for the season on Friday, May 10.

The drive-in theater is already open, as is the Snack Shack, and the rest of the recreational features are activating one by one, soon to be offering maximum fun for the whole family.

Keep ReadingShow less