MILLBROOK — Deputy Mayor Stan Morse brought to the board’s attention two complaints from residents regarding speeding in Millbrook at the Village Board meeting on Thursday, July 12. One resident inquired of Morse whether speed bumps might be appropriate on 9 Partners Lane, while another resident suggested speed bumps for Reservoir Drive. Morse brought the issue to the attention of the board hoping to find a suitable solution. He explained to the board that the village worked with the Department of Transportation (DOT) four years ago and much of the work done focused on speeding, traffic control and signage. “They were very helpful to us and we got a lot done,” said Morse. “Speed bumps on 9 Partners Lane came up about four years ago. The DOT discouraged us from doing just that. There were several reasons such as standards for the state highway construction. Apparently, according to New York state law, you do not put speed bumps on through streets or public roadways.”Speed bumps are only allowed on private roadways; New York state law does not allow them on public roads.“The DOT recommends that speed bumps not be put on public roadways because they may cause people damage,” said Morse. “Local governments have been found liable for injuries to motorists resulting from unreasonable speed bumps.” Morse suggested the board try a potential traffic blitz for a period of time in areas around the village with fast traffic.“I am not an advocate for a heavy traffic blitz — the concentrated police officer on every corner for a short period of time,” said Trustee Edward Cox. “I would prefer to see a consistent application of the laws that we have on the books. You put on these traffic blitzes and everyone knows it’s going to end in a week and it doesn’t change anything.”Cox also said that if Millbrook chooses to enforce its laws it must support the police officers who will be on the street enforcing them. Traffic calming is a concept that Cox discussed to the board. The term is used when choosing methods to calm traffic. This includes narrowing roadways and applying road stripping and speed bumps.“The drawback to road stripping is that as far as aesthetics, the residents don’t like it,” said Cox. “So I am not going to advocate for anything that the residents don’t like; they live there. What I would advocate is an enforcement of the laws.”Mayor Laura Hurley said that when there is heavy patrol in areas most people who are stopped are the same residents who complain about the speeding, since the residents are the ones who are using the road the majority of the time.“To be consistent we would be putting someone up in a location for six hours or more a day, but it’s just not practical,” said Justin Scribner, Millbrook’s officer-in-charge. “It’s tough to come up with a definite answer for this.”Scribner said that the police would do their best to monitor the traffic in these trouble spots.“The reality is, I don’t think you are going to catch everybody,” said Cox. “Speaking from a law enforcement point of view, the goal is you would like to see the people police themselves and drive within the speed limits. But there is always somebody who is not going to do that. We all live on a street somewhere where we see someone who speeds. It’s not right, but we are not going to be able to catch them all.”
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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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