AMENIA — Customers seeking their next great read are welcome to drop by Yellow Submarine Used Books in Amenia, where they can satisfy their search by leafing through the sundry of titles on display.
For Mary Thompson, a resident of nearby Sharon, Conn., owning a bookstore has been always been a dream of hers, one that never seemed financially possible until now. When asked whether she dreamed specifically about owning a used bookstore or an independent bookstore, Thompson replied, “I would have done either, but I have a particular love of used bookstores and I love the idea of giving books a second life, so I think it was natural for me.”
As for her store’s namesake, Thompson said she wanted something fun for her customers, a name that would bring back feelings of being younger, having fun and not worrying about the troubles of the world.
Currently employed as an English teacher at Oliver Wolcott Technical High School in Torrington, Conn., Thompson said the bookstore is her retirement plan and that she wanted to get her plan off the ground now. Ready to channel her passion for the printed word into her own bookstore, her original plans to open this past April were derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and then by the storm-driven power outages when she again tried to open in July.
Located at 3306 Route 343, Yellow Submarine Used Books finally opened in August, inviting readers of all ages to come inside and peruse the shelves for a story to take home.
Thumbing through the titles that currently line the shelves, customers are bound to find a title or two to pique their curiosity among the fiction, non-fiction, mystery, young adult, children’s, cooking, crafts, gardening, woodworking and other categories of books. In addition to visiting estate sales and library sales, Thompson mentioned that she also takes donations of books in good shape, meaning books with no stains, marks or damages and nothing smelly, moldy or wet.
“I hate to see them thrown aside or forgotten,” Thompson said. “There are a lot of great authors that are older that people don’t pay attention to anymore, so I thought it would be good to get people to notice them.”
Additionally, she said that if there’s a book a customer is looking for, she’ll search for it. So far, she’s received a couple of requests for self-improvement and science fiction books.
Given how closely Yellow Submarine Used Books sits in proximity to the Amenia Free Library (located just across the street), Thompson acknowledged she’s been asked if she’s in competition with the library. She then revealed that Amenia Free Library Director Victoria Herow happens to be her niece. And while Thompson hopes to host events in her store in the future, she said she and Herow will have to coordinate between the two of them to avoid any conflicts.
Though excited to carry out her future plans for community events, Thompson is willing to wait until life calms down a bit. In the meantime, she intends to continue selling books and DVDs and hopes to bring local art into the bookstore as well as cards, bookmarks, pens, socks and other small gifts.
Reflecting on seeing her dreams realized, Thompson said, “It means a lot to me — a lot of people say the book is dead and the book is not dead. People love books and people love to browse, and there are a lot of bibliophiles like me and the bookstore gives me a chance to explore the world of books.”
Now that school is back in session, Thompson plans to balance her teaching career with her work as a bookstore owner; once she retires, she plans to focus solely on running the bookstore.
Yellow Submarine Used Books is open on Thursdays and Fridays from 4 to 8 p.m., on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Sundays from noon to 5 p.m.
Capacity is limited to between four to six people at time due to COVID-19 restrictions. Customers are required to wear masks and use hand sanitizer when they in the store.
Yellow Submarine Used Books can be reached at 845-789-1888.
AMENIA — The first day of school on Thursday, Sept. 4, at Webutuck Elementary School went smoothly, with teachers enthusiastically greeting the eager young students disembarking from buses. Excitement was measurable, with only a few tears from parents, but school began anyway.
Ready for her first day of school on Thursday, Sept. 4, at Webutuck Elementary School, Liliana Cawley, 7, would soon join her second grade class, but first she posed for a photo to mark the occasion.Photo by Leila Hawken
Millerton Police Chief Joseph Olenik shows off the new gear. Brand new police cruisers arrived last week.
MILLERTON — The Millerton Police Department has received two new patrol cars to replace vehicles destroyed in the February 2025 fire at the Village Water and Highway Department.
The new Ford Interceptors are custom-built for law enforcement. “They’re more rugged than a Ford Explorer,” said Millerton Police Chief Joseph Olenik, noting the all-wheel drive, heavy-duty suspension and larger tires and engine. “They call it the ‘Police Package.’”
Olenik worked with The Cruiser’s Division in Mamaroneck, New York, to design the vehicles.
“We really want to thank the Pine Plains Police Department for their tremendous support,” Olenik said. After the fire, “they were the first ones to come forward and offer help.”
The new police cruisers are outfitted with lights with automatically adjusting brightness to best perform in ambient conditions.Photo by Aly Morrissey
Since February, Millerton officers have been borrowing a patrol car from Pine Plains. With the new vehicles now in service, Olenik said he plans to thank Pine Plains officers by treating them to dinner at Four Brothers in Amenia and having their car detailed
The main entrance to Kent Hollow Mine at 341 South Amenia Road in Amenia.
AMENIA — Amenia residents and a Wassaic business have filed suit against the Town Board and Kent Hollow Inc., alleging a settlement between the town and the mine amounts to illegal contract zoning that allows the circumvention of environmental review.
Petitioners Laurence Levin, Theodore Schiffman and Clark Hill LLC filed the suit on Aug. 22. Town officials were served with documents for the case last week and took first steps in organizing a response to the suit at the Town Board meeting on Thursday, Sept. 4.
The lawsuit is the latest in a multi-year long legal battle surrounding the mine on South Amenia Road. After Kent Hollow Inc. — a subsidiary of Bethel, Connecticut, based homebuilder Steiner Inc. — applied for a state mining permit in 2017, the Amenia code enforcement officer issued the business a notice of violation.
At the time, Kent Hollow Inc. did not possess a special permit to conduct mining operations as required by Amenia zoning code, and the property did not reside in the Special Mining Overlay district established as part of rezoning efforts coinciding with the 2007 adoption of the town’s comprehensive plan.
Kent Hollow Inc. appealed the violation, claiming the use of the property as a mine predates amendments to town and state regulations. The Zoning Board of Appeals denied the appeal citing insufficient evidence in 2019. That spurred Kent Hollow to file two lawsuits — one in the New York State Supreme Court and a federal civil rights lawsuit — challenging the town’s order.
In July 2025, those lawsuits were brought to a close when the Town Board voted at a special meeting to accept a settlement agreement allowing Kent Hollow to continue mining operations under limited hours and quantities.
The most recent suit alleges the 2025 settlement amounts to contract zoning that allows Kent Hollow Inc. to skirt environmental review and the scrutiny of the permitting and rezoning process. Court documents allege Kent Hollow did not adequately prove a continuous, legal nonconforming use.
Supporting the argument, petitioners have submitted the court documents and decision from the 2019 New York Supreme Court case against the town Zoning Board of Appeals, and the documents from the preceding ZBA appeals process including receipts and tax returns from Kent Hollow Inc. purporting to establish the nonconforming use.
Kent Hollow Inc. formed as a subsidiary of housing developer Steiner Inc. and purchased the property in 1971, according to state and county real estate records.
Millerton News reporting from 1971 Amenia planning board meetings detail Kent Hollow’s pursuit of a four-section, 40-unit apartment complex on the property.
The News reported Kent Hollow was granted tentative approval on July 6, 1971, to build eight units on the site with the expectation that more would be built later.
The additional units never came to fruition and Kent Hollow apparently abandoned the housing project, opting to use the property as a gravel mine.
Attorneys for the Town of Amenia or Kent Hollow Inc. have not filed responses to the lawsuit as of press time.
AMENIA — While the courage and perseverance of Revolutionary era patriots is well understood and celebrated, the stories of the fate of British loyalists in New York are not as clear.
Seen as the initial event in observance of the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, the Amenia Historical Society will present a talk titled, “The Plight of a Loyalist in Revolutionary New York,” examining the journal of Cadwallader Colden, Jr., spanning the period of 1777-1779. The speaker will be noted author, genealogist and historian Jay Campbell.
The talk is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 27, at 2 p.m. at the Smithfield Presbyterian Church in Amenia. The handicapped-accessible church is located at 656 Smithfield Valley Road. Refreshments will be served.
Colden was the son of a New York Lieutenant Governor. He was a surveyor, farmer and mercantilist, serving as a judge in Ulster County. His fortunes changed dramatically with the dawn of the Revolutionary War when he remained loyal to the British Crown. His arrest came in 1776, just before the start of his journal.
Campbell is a historian specializing in Hudson Valley history, and the regional stories of Revolutionary era families.
