Thank you!
Your support is sustaining the future of local news in our communities.

Amenia Town Board delays action on affordable housing at Spruce Hill

AMENIA — Based on opposition voiced by neighboring residents, the Amenia Town Board, at its meeting Thursday, Dec. 7, declined to move forward on a zone change request for the Spruce Hill neighborhood.

The zone change is being requested by Hudson River Housing (HRH) of Poughkeepsie in connection with an affordable housing project they have proposed for their 16-acre parcel at Spruce Hill; on Thursday, the Town Board declined to move the zone change request to the Planning Board for its consideration, effectively pausing the zone change until “more information” could be gathered.

Mary Linge, HRH vice president for real estate development and home ownership, presented a brief overview of the project that HRH is proposing. The zone  change would permit the multifamily units being proposed: preliminary plans for the Spruce Hill site include the building of seven affordable duplex units and one affordable seven-apartment building.

Attorney Ian MacDonald of Mackey, Butts and Whalen in Poughkeepsie, representing HRH, said that the affordable housing project would be “good for Amenia and all of Dutchess County.”

One of the adjacent neighbors, Salvatore La Rosa, voiced comments to the proposed zone change, indicating that he and his wife bought their home in 2022, expecting a quiet retirement in a scenic country setting.

La Rosa speculated that the recreational trail proposed by the developers would endanger the public because it would pass a former quarry that now contains a deep lake; that the entrance to the affordable housing complex, situated on a curve along Route 22, was dangerously sighted; that the common driveway to access Spruce Hill, which, according to current plans, would skirt La Rosa’s property, would create traffic flow problems; that a decision to accommodate HRH’s plan would lead to “spot zoning” because there are no contiguous parcels with the zoning designation being requested; that the septic system on the parcel would be uphill from neighbors’ properties; and that the 14 new housing units would require 42 additional post boxes at the Amenia post office, putting stress on available parking.

La Rosa’s comments were representative of other neighbors’ positions on the Spruce Hill project.

Charlie Miller, chairman of the Housing Board, spoke in support of the HRH plans for the property. 

HRH, a 40-year-old nonprofit, first proposed the development at a public forum on affordable housing in October 2022, at which residents met to discuss the need for affordable housing in Amenia.

Amenia currently has no affordable housing. The Housing Board is currently working with the town, hoping to develop what would become the town’s first unit of affordable housing, a single family home on Lake Amenia Road being considered for purchase by the town. The Wastewater Committee also hopes to locate a modern wastewater facility on land adjacent to that site.

Leila Hawken

Latest News

The Millerton News - September 3, 2026

The Millerton News - September 3, 2026

Download directly

At Peggy Mercury, prep meets punk in ‘Imaginary Concerts’

At Peggy Mercury, prep meets punk in ‘Imaginary Concerts’
Greg Fricke and James Boehmer, co-owners of Peggy Mercury in Kent, recently launched their first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts.”
Provided

Last month, James Boehmer and Greg Fricke of Peggy Mercury launched their first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts,” wearable art sold exclusively at their store in the Kent Barns section of Kent, Connecticut.

The two fashion industry veterans opened Peggy Mercury more than two years ago, and a quick visit will tell you that people are finding what they’re looking for at the beauty and lifestyle store. But what they’re looking for is never standard.

Keep ReadingShow less
fashion

“Girlbomb” at 20

“Girlbomb” at 20
Photo by Jessica YurkoMillerton author Janice Erlbaum will celebrate the 20th anniversary of her memoir “Girlbomb” at Black Rabbit Dispensary on Sept. 5.
Photo by Jessica YurkoMillerton author Janice Erlbaum will celebrate the 20th anniversary of her memoir “Girlbomb” at Black Rabbit Dispensary on Sept. 5.
With memoir...the character only knows what the character knows.
—Janice Erlbaum

In “Girlbomb: A Halfway Homeless Memoir,” published in 2006, author Janice Erlbaum wrote about the years after she left her family’s Brooklyn apartment at 15, moving through shelters, group homes, squats, clubs and the streets of 1980s New York while somehow continuing to attend high school. The book has sold more than 75,000 copies, stayed in print for two decades and continues to find new readers.

Now Erlbaum, 57, lives in Millerton and on Saturday, Sept. 5, at 7:30 p.m., she will celebrate the 20th anniversary of “Girlbomb” with a reading at Black Rabbit Dispensary. The event is open to the public and will be livestreamed on Instagram.

Keep ReadingShow less
our community
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

Spencertown’s 21st Festival Of Books

Spencertown’s 21st Festival Of Books
Joshua Jelly-Schapiro, author of “Daylight Come: Harry Belafonte and the World He Made” is one of thefeatured authors at the Spencertown Academy Festival of Books on Saturday, Sept. 5.
Mirissa Neff

On Saturday, Sept. 5, the Spencertown Academy Arts Center in Spencertown, New York, will host its 21st annual Book Festival.

With over 20,000 gently used books, CDs, DVDs and vinyl donated by the community, it took volunteers 45 days — and an estimated 750 hours —to set the whole thing up. Most of that time was spent sorting through the vast troves of donations and organizing them by category.

Keep ReadingShow less
community

Paul Newman racing doc to screen in North Canaan on Sunday

Paul Newman racing doc to screen in North Canaan on Sunday
“Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman,”will be screened Sunday, Sept. 6, at the Colonial Theatre in North Canaan.
Provided

On Sunday, Sept. 6, Lime Rock Park will host a screening of the documentary “Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman” at the Colonial Theatre in North Canaan at 7 p.m.

Newman was one of the most celebrated actors of the 20th century, known for films including “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” “Hud” and “Cool Hand Luke.” His 1969 film “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” also began a decades-long friendship with co-star Robert Redford.

Keep ReadingShow less
film

Community to take center stage at Dive Barn

Community to take center stage at Dive Barn

A scene from last year’s Dance Barn.

Steven Tayler

On Sunday, Sept. 6, PS21 in Chatham, New York, will host a celebration of community through dance at its second annual Dive Barn performance at the organization’s Dance Barn.

Dive Barn is the brainchild of dancer, teacher and choreographer Sayer Mansfield, who has dedicated her life to contemporary and experimental dance. She studied in the Department of Dance at NYU Tisch School of the Arts and at the Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance. She’s performed with companies including Pilobolus, Compagnie Marie Chouinardand Mark Morris Dance Group. Her work has been featured in films including “Little Women,” “Maestro” and “Sproutland.” She has served on the faculties of Jacob’s Pillow, Phillips Academy Andover, as well as Harvard and Yale Universities.

Keep ReadingShow less
dance
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.