A crowd of about 70 aficionados gathered at The Moviehouse in Millerton on Saturday, Nov. 18, for a screening marking the start of the new Orkin/Engel exhibit at Mad Rose Gallery.
Gallery owner Neal Rosenthal thanked audience members and The Moviehouse for the opportunity to recognize the significance of Ruth Orkin’s contribution to both filmmaking and photography, and to enhance the meanings and references in the photographs in the gallery show. He then introduced filmmaker Mary Engel, the daughter of Ruth Orkin and Morris Engel, whose 18-minute Sundance Film Festival-accepted documentary was shown first.
“Ruth Orkin: Frames of Life” is a tribute to the younger Engel’s mother, by all accounts an extraordinary woman from a remarkable family. In 1939, 17-year-old Ruth bicycled across the United States, using her 2 1/4-inch Pilot 6 camera to document street life along the way and to form her unique style. The trip, and a handsome catalogue of those photos, is currently featured at the Cartier-Bresson Foundation in Paris. The documentary features luminaries Mary Ellen Mark and Cornell Capa, among others, extolling Orkin’s eye and discussing what makes photography art or not.
The original 80-minute “Little Fugitive,” available on Kanopy and other streaming services, is compelling for its story of a small boy on the loose in New York City subways and at Coney Island, and visually rich with its black and white compositions that are clearly, as Rosenthal pointed out, the work of a consummate photographer. Orkin was responsible for the editing and other uncredited work on the film, and present in some cameos.
In a post-film Q&A, Mary Engel addressed “questions people always ask” and others. Though casting was done in the usual way by approaching professionals and schools, the young hero Joey was played by 7-year-old Richie Andrusco, who was discovered on the carousel in Coney Island. Andrusco’s mother permitted her child to take part, with the proviso that she would not pay for it. “We’ll pay you, and take him off your hands for a month”, she was told by the producers. Now 77, Andrusco never acted again, but did buy his family a house in Queens.
As to who directed the film, the astonishing answer was the young Andrusco himself, who was plied with treats and allowed to follow his wishes. One of the pleasures of the film is the perspective of the shots as seen through the eyes of someone not yet 4 feet tall. A sea of naked legs and hips with the more modest swimwear of the 1950s is almost everywhere he turns in the crowded beach scenes.
The nostalgia value was high for the audience of both films and photos, and differences between mores of the 1950s and now, were instructive. The "child alone in public" concept was one; also, as physician Neil Hoffman of Millerton pointed out, obesity was nearly absent in the crowd scenes. We are now “slightly taller, and much heavier,” according to the CDC.
Other astounding facts were the film’s budget — a paltry $35,000 — and the fact that its entire sound track was recorded in post-production, from its raucous carnies to its haunting harmonica riffs and boisterous child bickering.
At Mad Rose Gallery, Morris Engel’s photos taken in Harlem are particularly riveting, and seeing Orkin’s famed “American Girl in Italy, Florence,” with model Jinx striding chin up through a crowd of leering men, is a treat. The 33 images on view range in price according to whether they are Vintage or Lifetime, Signed or Stamped, by either Orkin or Engel. The Gallery show extends until Sunday, Dec. 31.
A collision between a red Suzuki Forenza and a flatbed truck disrupted the morning commute on Main Street in Millerton on Tuesday, May 13. State Trooper Krystal Paolicelli of Troop K said the Suzuki made a wide right turn onto Route 44 from Dutchess Avenue, causing a crash at the hairpin turn. The disabled Peterbilt flatbed truck was carrying a Fontaine trailer and blocked two-way traffic. Police responded to the call at approximately 8 a.m. No injuries were reported.
Photo by Aly Morrissey
Mickey Stringer of of North East, left, checks in with Chris Virtuoso, volunteering on Saturday, May 12 at the Old Town Garage on South Center Street as a Climate Smart Task Force member. Stringer’s loaded pickup was part of a long line of vehicles along South Center as residents used the opportunity to dispose of air conditioners, mattresses, lumber, and other bulk items. Town Supervisor Christopher Kennan said he didn’t recall seeing such a long line of vehicles in past years.
Elm Drive Elementary School in Millbrook.
MILLBROOK — Preparing for the village-wide vote on the proposed 2025-26 school budget scheduled for Tuesday, May 20, the Millbrook Central School District held a public hearing on Tuesday, May 6, to review the budget and hear residents’ comments.
The CSD proposed 2025-26 budget to be voted upon as Proposition 1, showed total expenditures of $35,649,651, an increase of $1,074,576 (3.11%) over the current year.
“We’re trying to trim as much as we can,” said Elliott Garcia, Assistant Superintendent for Business, during his budget summary.
Two additional propositions are included on the ballot, both anticipating a bond issue to fund repairs, renovations and improvements to school buildings.
Proposition 2 would bring repair to the Middle and High School buildings, with more work at the middle school estimated to cost $37,381,383. Work would include HVAC, electrical, window replacement, roof and ceiling repair, elevator service and doorway improvements.
The high school work would include HVAC at a total estimated cost of $1,883,099.
The total amount would, however, be reduced by $12 million in currently available funding, so that a bond issue would be needed to cover a total of $27,264,482, to be repaid over a number of years. Taxpayers would need to pay the annual interest on the bonds during the life of the bonds.
Separate funding of energy efficiency improvements at the middle school and high school would carry at total estimated cost of $3 million that would also need to be bond-financed, but that funding would return to the school budget in the form of energy cost savings.
Proposition 3 would bring HVAC, electrical and window replacement at the elementary schools at an estimated cost of $21,779,259, also to be financed by bond issue.
Students from the Middle School Student Council presented a report on a recent survey they conducted and analyzed. Their report was titled, “Repair Our School.”
For their building conditions study, the nine students conducted an in-school survey of students, teachers and staff, receiving 228 responses.
Interpreting the responses as percentages, the students reported that 90% indicated that the middle school does not look as good as it could; more than 80% said they were concerned about the state of the building; 67% had classes interrupted by roof leaks; 75% said it was difficult to learn because of the roof leaks; and 94% said that if the school were their home, they would not stay.
“Our student government never stops working,” said Principal Steven Cabello, adding that the students’ efforts have been invigorating.
School superintendent Caroline Hernandez-Pidala praised the students’ project, the time and care invested in their survey study and their reporting of the results.
“I’m super impressed,” Hernandez-Pidala told the students.
The May 20 polling location is at the Middle School, in the Band room adjacent to the auditorium. Polls will be open between noon and 9 p.m.
The proposed budget, details of the propositions and a copy of the ballot are posted on the CSD website at www.millbrookcsd.org.
Voters in two other school districts will decide on higher spending plans for the coming school year on Tuesday, May 20.
Webutuck Central School District and Pine Plains Central School District propose higher K-12 budgets for the 2025-2026 school year.
The proposed budget for Webutuck, with an enrollment of 637 students from K-12, shows a 5.96% increase from the previous year to $28,665,850. Pine Plains proposes spending $38,712,336, an increase of 2.71%.
Ray Nelson, Earthwise Architecture, requested two variances for 7-9 Main St., one to allow a 9-unit floorplan and another to waive the parking requirements for the building, at a public hearing held by the village Zoning Board of Appeals on Tuesday, May 6.
MILLERTON — Ray Nelson of Millerton presented two possible updated floorplans for the apartment building at 7-9 Main St. to the Zoning Board of Appeals at a public hearing on Tuesday, May 6.
Nelson, on behalf of the building’s owner, is seeking two variances for the property: one allowing a density increase and another waiving the parking requirements for the property.
Village code requires at least 5,000 square feet of lot space per unit for multi-unit properties and 1.5 parking spaces per unit.
The building was configured with 12 units under previous ownership, a non-conforming use.
Nelson submitted a 9-unit plan and a 6-unit plan. He argues the 9-unit plan, which would house one fewer total bedroom than the 6-unit layout, would not require additional parking because the smaller units attract tenants that use fewer parking spaces — young couples, single people and very small families.
“There’s a need for apartments that are in the village,” Nelson said.
The submitted 9-unit floorplan is a reduction from a previously declined 12-unit plan that sought to maintain the current number of units in the property.
Zoning board members concluded the public hearing after brief discussion with the three Millerton residents that attended the meeting.
Zoning board members could not reach a final decision on the variances that night, citing required further deliberation, but they indicated a positive attitude to Nelson’s new plans.
