It’s hard to find the correct word to use when describing Otto Penzler’s relation to America’s greatest mystery novels and thrillers.
The first expression that pops into my mind is “the god of …” but that would probably make him roll his eyes. So maybe “impresario” works better, even if it doesn’t fully capture his importance and the reverence with which his name is treated, especially among voracious fans of crime fiction, and especially among such fans who have lived in New York City and shopped at Penzler’s Mysterious Bookshop in SoHo.
To continue the religious theme, the bookstore is the temple over which Penzler presides. From it (and his love of and encyclopedic knowledge of the genre) grew the Mysterious Press, which publishes detective fiction (including 20th-century American icons such as Donald Westlake, James Ellroy and Ed McBain).
Anyone looking for the perfect holiday gift for a mystery fan need only search for Otto Penzler anthologies online; there is even a collection called, “The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries.” I know, because I own a copy.
Although he mostly lives in New York City, Penzler is also frequently up here at the house in Kent, Conn., that he built in the 1980s (with a giant library that at one point housed 60,000 books — he auctioned most of them off a year ago).
Sadly, when he is up here in Litchfield County, Penzler says he is usually at home, reading manuscripts and sifting through wonderful tales that are worthy of inclusion in an anthology.
So you’re unlikely to fulfill your dream (well, my personal dream) of finding him alone at a coffee shop and plonking down to discuss your favorite mystery tales.
However, a rare opportunity to meet Penzler in person is coming up this weekend when he interviews mystery author Gregory Galloway in a live and Zoom event on Saturday, Nov. 13, at 6 p.m.
Galloway, a resident of Cornwall, Conn., is a relative newcomer to crime fiction, with three novels including the brand new “Just Thieves,” which starts off with the memorable line: “We didn’t know how it happened, but when we woke up there was a dead horse in the street in front of the hotel.” And, as they say, from there you’re off to the races (but no, this is not a racehorse-themed Dick Francis tale).
Galloway’s writing has been described as a combination of George V. Higgins, Patricia Highsmith and David Mamet. I found “Just Thieves” to have a strong feeling of Georges Simenon and especially his Inspector Maigret police procedurals. These are stories that are less about explosions and chase scenes and more about psychology and worldview — told in this novel by the two thieves for whom the book is named.
Does Otto Penzler think Galloway is destined to join the ranks of America’s greatest mystery writers? I guess I’ll find out when I join the Zoom on Saturday.
For those who want to come in person, this will be the final opportunity to spend time in the cozy little boutique that has been home to the House of Books on Main Street in Kent for the past couple years, while extensive renovations were done to the (actual) home of House of Books. The date of the Grand Opening and Big Reveal for the return to 10 North Main in Kent was just announced: It will be Saturday, Nov. 27, just in time for holiday book shopping.
To reserve a space for the in-person conversation between OttoPenzler and Gregory Galloway, or to sign up for the Zoom (and to get details on the return to 10 North Main), go to https://houseofbooksct.com.
Joseph Brennan
George Bistransin points out a headstone marking the final resting place of Ephraim Paine in the Old Amenia Burying Ground.
AMENIA — When Amenia resident George Bistransin stumbled across a century-old newspaper account describing the arrest of a Revolutionary War spy in his hometown, he couldn’t stop thinking about it. That discovery inspired Amenia’s Spycatcher, an original historical play that will debut Aug. 21-23 at the Amenia Town Hall Theater as part of the nation’s 250th anniversary celebration.
The play tells the story of Ephraim Paine and his wife, Mary, who are buried today in the Old Amenia Burying Ground on Mygatt Road. Bistransin wrote, directed and produced the play, hoping to transport audiences back to the late 18th century through historically accurate language, characters and settings.
“It was my hope that when people enter that theater that they are back in the 18th Century,” Bistransin said. “No anachronisms, only old-fashioned language.”
The inspiration struck after Bistransin, 70, read an article from a 1900 edition of the Amenia Times recounting the arrest of a Revolutionary War spy.
History has shaped much of Bistransin’s life. Before writing Amenia’s Spycatcher, he translated plays by Roman playwright Plautus for schools.
Bistransin said the play has occupied months of his life and is the latest expression of his lifelong fascination with history.
He said he wants Amenia to understand Paine and the conflicts in his life. “I think it is an examination of relationships,” Bistransin said. “Romantic love versus familial love, duty, the sacrifice you have to make for other people.”
Paine fled Connecticut to avoid paying taxes to a state church and went to sea as a whaler to avoid debtor’s prison. Bistransin based much of his tale on the account offered by Paine’s descendant, Martha Bockee Flint, who wrote the article recounting the story of her great-great-great stepmother, who risked her life for colonial freedom.
The playwright also drew on the journal of the wife of a German general who fought for the British at Saratoga and passed through Amenia as a prisoner of war.
Bistransin described the play as his gift to the town. He spearheaded the production with the help of a $15,000 Dutchess County grant secured by Betsy Strauss and the Amenia Historical Society. Bistransin took on writing, directing, producing and casting the play largely by himself.
Bistransin acknowledged a few key helpers along the way. Anna Bonelli illustrated the posters that now advertise the show across town. Town Hall custodian John Nowak found the scenery and lighting from local resident David Palmieri. Town librarian Victoria Herow helped research the obscure historical figure.
Long before this play, Bistransin started his professional career as a park ranger in Boston overseeing burial grounds. After a stint teaching Latin, he founded Theater Ludicrum, where he learned from Roman drama how playwriting works.
Eventually he grew tired of city life and sought broader pastures, bringing him to Amenia in 2016. While working as a security guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, he remembers saying to himself, “I don’t want to die in a railroad apartment in Queens.”
He rode the train to the end of the line and found a place to raise goats like his sister did in Ohio. Since then, Bistransin has volunteered with the Amenia Historical Society. He also helps maintain the Old Amenia Burying Ground, where Paine and other Revolution-era Amenia residents are buried.
Bistransin jokes that he has been as stubborn as his billy goat, Ferdinand, in seeing the production through. He also knows that taking on nearly every aspect of the play leaves little room to blame anyone else if it falls short.
“An actor does a good job in a well-made play,” he said. “I made all the decisions. Not only am I comfortable with that, but I don’t want any interference. If it’s bad, it’s my fault.”
Despite the pressure, Bistransin said he feels fortunate to have had the opportunity to tell an overlooked chapter of Amenia’s history and hopes residents will come out to experience it. “I feel so lucky to have this opportunity,” he said.
Nathan Miller
MILLERTON — A local boarding school’s efforts to receive current formal approval for its buildings received support from neighbors and faculty of the institution at the first public hearing in the Planning Board approval process.
Olivet Academy, which took over the former Kildonan School campus in 2020, is seeking a special use permit, certificates of occupancy for all campus buildings, and approval of its existing septic systems to satisfy current state Department of Education requirements for private boarding schools.
Architect Ray Nelson, representing the school, told the Planning Board on Wednesday, July 22, that the state now requires schools to provide current certificates of occupancy for all campus buildings under the operating institution’s name. Because the campus predates modern permitting requirements, many of its buildings were never issued formal permits or certificates of occupancy.
The campus has operated as a school since it was built in 1940, first as the Barlow School and later as the Kildonan School from 1980 until the institution closed in 2019. Nelson said the current application is intended to formally document and legalize longstanding uses of the property rather than expand or substantially alter the campus.
Wednesday night’s meeting marked the first public hearing on the application, marking a step toward approval that will bring the historic school into formal legal compliance for the first time since its construction over 80 years ago.
Betsy Strauss, a longtime neighbor of the property, and her husband, Julian, spoke in support of the school and its efforts to obtain formal approval. She said Olivet has been a good neighbor and she’s delighted to live in a neighborhood surrounded by schools on both sides.
Strauss’s property is bordered on the west by Olivet Academy and on the east by the Webutuck Central School District campus.
“It’s very nice to know that we’ve got people who are serious about their work and are good neighbors,” Strauss said.
Milo Tsukroff — a Pleasant Valley, New York, resident and math instructor at the school — said he has taught at the school for five years and loves the community.
He said Olivet students excel in and out of school, and that the presence of the boarding school and Webutuck’s campus in such close proximity qualifies that section of town around Morse Hill Road and Haight Road as a de facto education district.
“Graduates return to this school and tell us they’re college math classes are too easy because they learned math at Olivet,” Tsukroff said.
Planning Board members opted to keep the public hearing open pending approvals from outside agencies for outstanding issues such as approval of an existing septic system and building department certification. The next public hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 12, at 7:35 p.m. at the North East Town Hall on Maple Avenue.
Madi Long
Ariel Grald rides Adagio’s Nobility around the showjumping ring at the 41st annual Millbrook Horse Trials on Sunday, July 26. The Millbrook Horse Trials is an annual event that combines dressage, showjumping and cross-country.
Ariel Grald rides Adagio’s Nobility around the showjumping ring at the 41st annual Millbrook Horse Trials on Sunday, July 26. The Millbrook Horse Trials is an annual event that combines dressage, showjumping and cross-country.
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Leila Hawken
AMENIA — Months of deliberation over the environmental impacts of a proposed workforce housing subdivision concluded Thursday, July 23, when Planning Board members voted to move the project forward to site plan approval.
The environmental impact analysis phase in connection with the Cascade Creek subdivision application was completed following the Planning Board’s unanimous vote for a “negative declaration” as part of the State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) process.
The proposal, submitted by the Hudson River Housing of Poughkeepsie, calls for a 28-home workforce housing development on a 24.13-acre parcel between Cascade Road and Route 22. The developers also aim to preserve open space and environmentally sensitive land.
The negative declaration means the Planning Board found the proposed workforce housing development is not expected to have significant adverse environmental impacts, allowing the application to move forward to the site plan review stage without requiring a full Environmental Impact Statement.
That action allows the developer to proceed to the site plan phase of the application process where actual plans for the subdivision are submitted for consideration by the Planning Board. Public hearings will be included in that site plan process.
A significant issue within the SEQR process had been the board’s concern about the volume of water storage that would support firefighting efforts within the planned subdivision.
Attorney Alec Gladd, of Cuddy & Feder LLP out of Fishkill, New York, representing the developer, stated that the fire department is asking for water storage capacity data that could only be answered within the site plan phase. Currently, the developer is offering on-site fire suppression and home sprinklers in each housing unit.
“We have met the requirement for now,” Gladd said, noting that the SEQR analysis is an environmental review.
The issue of firefighting capacity can be raised again later in the process once the site can be tested for water availability, advised Planning Board attorney Cassandra Britton.
“Sprinklers are for evacuation of people from their homes, but you still need water to fight the fires,” said Planning Board Engineer John Andrews. Water storage to support home sprinklers is separate from water storage to fight fires.
Peter Deister, chairman of the local Board of Fire Commissioners, attended the meeting and expressed his concern about the issue of adequate water storage capability. The fire department has scheduled a second meeting with architect Richard Rennia, who designed the project, on Monday, Aug. 10.
Leila Hawken
Paula Pelosi
AMENIA — Friends and community members are invited to celebrate the life of local art curator Paula Pelosi at the Smithfield Church.
A significant loss to the contemporary art world, as well as to her many local and area friends, the life of Pelosi will be celebrated at a memorial service set for the Smithfield Church on Saturday, Aug. 1. The service will begin at 2 p.m.
Pelosi died this year in April after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer.
The memorial service will be led by the Rev. Douglas Grandgeorge, Pastor of The Smithfield Church.
Pelosi’s career brought her close to luminaries in the art world including years as an executive assistant and curator for artist Frank Stella, an association that led her to divide her time between her home in Amenia and her Brooklyn home. She looked after all details of curating and hanging Stella’s exhibitions world-wide and assisted in the management of his local horse farm. In addition to art-related travel, Pelosi enjoyed traveling for pleasure to experience remote regions.
Community service was an important aspect of Pelosi’s life as she served 10 years as a member of the Amenia Zoning Board of Appeals.
“I knew Paula as a friend and a colleague,” said Judy Westfall on Friday, July 24, remembering Pelosi’s service on the ZBA, when Westfall served as ZBA Secretary. “She loved Amenia and always looked to the future with great pride and enthusiasm.”
“She was a kind and gentle woman with a great heart. She cared greatly about her work and the many friendships she had in Amenia. Her presence is missed,” Westfall said, noting that Pelosi’s smile brightened the mood at every ZBA meeting.
“I always referred to her as the ‘Queen of the ZBA’ because she was the only woman member,” Westfall said.
“She was a wonderful woman,” said Town Supervisor Rosanna Hamm on Friday, July 24, adding that she regretted not having had an opportunity to work with Pelosi longer to know her better. Hamm began her term in office in January 2026.
Tributes offered by Town Hall staff and ZBA members carried effusive praise and genuine appreciation for Pelosi’s service to the town.
“Paula led a very interesting life,” Hamm said.
Jacquelyn Drain
NorthEast-Millerton’s new “tower garden” in the center of the library will grow lettuce and other leafy greens.
MILLERTON — The NorthEast-Millerton library is cultivating a new program to address food access in the community through its new “Tower Garden,” an indoor growing system that allows the library to produce and distribute vegetables, herbs and flowers year-round.
The tower garden, described as an aeroponic vertical growing system, came to the library through a grant issued by The Library of Local. That initiative stems from a partnership between the Mid-Hudson Library System and The Understory, an organization that promotes ecological resilience in the Hudson Valley.
The kit provides the tower, made out of plastic tubing, as well as a starter pack with seeds and instructions. The tubing inside carries water from a tank on the bottom to rain down on the seedlings. There are also four lights attached that mimic sunlight necessary for growth. The librarians have also added googly eyes on the contraption giving it an abstract face. Currently they are growing kale, rainbow chard, basil, dill, lettuces and snapdragons.
Library Director Rhiannon Leo-Jameson is spearheading this project and has strong hopes for the garden despite its unusual look.
“During the downpour the other day it started to water itself and I think the person in the library thought we had sprung a leak and panicked for a second,” Leo-Jameson said. “As they really start growing, people are gonna be noticing it more and more.”
The Library hopes that this addition will produce enough yield to distribute to the community. They have previously put on programs to assist with providing food to community members, such as opening a small food pantry during the COVID-19 pandemic and adding garden beds in the backyard. They are hoping to provide more once the Tower produces significant growth.
“We’ve struggled with food access in our community,” Leo-Jameson said. “We thought ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if we could do something more.’”
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