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

Eight apartments proposed on Route 44 tests North East’s new zoning code

Eight apartments proposed on Route 44 tests North East’s new zoning code

Lilly Simons and Lauren Simons are proposing to turn the building at 185 Route 44 into an eight-unit apartment building. The structure once served as a restaurant and then as office space but has been vacant for several years, Lauren Simons said.

Photo by Nathan Miller

MILLERTON — Eight apartments could become the first homes built under North East’s new Route 44 zoning regulations, marking the start of a development strategy designed to bring housing to the town’s commercial corridor.

Local petroleum distributor GRJH Inc. presented plans to the Planning Board on Wednesday, June 24, to convert a two-story office building located across Route 44 from North East Ford that it has owned since 1997 into an eight-unit apartment building.

Lauren Simons and her daughter, Lilly, presented the plans that would include five one-bedroom apartments, two two-bedroom units and one studio. One of the units would be designated as “affordable.”

The proposal is the first residential project made possible by the town’s recent zoning overhaul. Volunteers spent more than four years drafting a new commercial zoning code with a central focus of bringing housing opportunities to a part of town that has long been seen as underdeveloped. Lauren Simons said she expects to finish the project by spring 2027 pending approval from town officials.

With the project now before the Planning Board, Lauren Simons said the building’s exterior, parking lot and roadside sign would remain unchanged.

Planning Board members requested additional information after noting the plans did not show the existing site conditions, including the parking lot and other exterior features.

“If we approve the site plan and it’s there then we can’t bother you later,” said Dale Culver, chair of the Planning Board. “I would rather see a little more detail now rather than any problems for you later.”

Discussion later turned to sewage capacity and sidewalk requirements.

Planning Board member Bill Kish questioned whether the property’s septic system could accommodate eight apartments, noting that the proposed municipal wastewater system would likely not serve the building and that sewage demands for eight residential units would be substantial.

Simons responded that the building was originally constructed as a high-volume restaurant in the 1980s, with parking and a septic system designed to handle significantly greater demand. She said septic consultants have evaluated the system and determined it can support the proposed eight apartments.

The proposal also prompted a broader discussion about ambiguities in the town’s new zoning code.

Board members questioned a provision requiring developers along Route 44 to build sidewalks, noting there are no sidewalks adjoining the property and raising concerns about how future sections would connect.

Board member Leslie Farhangi said applicants have previously addressed similar situations by granting sidewalk easements and constructing sidewalks later as neighboring properties develop.

Board member Charles Sternberg called attention to two seemingly unrelated and conflicting code sections outlining regulations for multi-family dwellings.

The board ended the discussion with requests for additional details on the site’s existing conditions including septic system, exterior lighting, landscaping, interior floorplan details and information on options for a sidewalk. The application is expected to come before the board for a second round of discussion in July.

Latest News

No injuries in Amenia apartment fire

No injuries in Amenia apartment fire

Volunteer firefighters work to extinguish the last remnants of a blaze that destroyed a third-story porch atop a four-unit apartment building located at 5 Broadway St. in Amenia near Fudgy's Ice Cream Shop on Monday, July 13, at about 4 p.m.

Photo by Nathan Miller

AMENIA — A house fire erupted on the third floor of an apartment building at 5 Broadway St. near Fudgy's Ice Cream shop just after 3 p.m. on Monday, July 13.

No one was injured and no one was taken to the hospital in the blaze that erupted on the third floor of a four-unit apartment building.

Keep ReadingShow less

Legal Notices - July 9, 2026

Legal Notices - July 9, 2026

Legal Notice

Notice of Formation of Kaits Kleaning LLC. Art. Of Org. filed with SSNY on 05-22-2026. Office Lo-cation: Dutchess county. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 24 Attlebury Hill Road, Standfordville NY 12581.

Keep ReadingShow less
google preferred source

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

Tenmile Distillery is making history the old-fashioned way

Cheers! The Revolutionary Whisky Series at Ten Mile Distillery, each named for a significant battle of the American Revolution, celebrates America at 250.

D.H. Callahan

In December 2024, the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau officially established the Standard of Identity for American Single Malt Whisky. It was the first new classification in more than half a century, creating new possibilities for American distillers. One of the distilleries taking advantage of this new landscape is Wassaic’s Tenmile Distillery. It is well positioned to make history because Tenmile has always honored traditional whiskey-making practices.

Single malts are often associated with Scotch whisky. Perhaps that’s why, years before the new standard was adopted, Tenmile hired Shane Fraser, a Scottish master distiller with 30 years of experience at some of Scotland’s most prestigious distilleries. Fraser began designing the distillery from the ground up. Alongside owner and general manager Joel LeVangia, he emphasized time-honored traditions, favoring hands-on craftsmanship over the increasingly automated methods used by larger producers. When it comes to making the best whisky possible, Tenmile believes in learning from the past. That philosophy extends beyond the distilling process.

Keep ReadingShow less

The magic of Belinda Sinclair

The magic of Belinda Sinclair

Belinda Sinclair

Dean Chamberlain
Sinclair’s show explores the ways women have been practicing forms of magic for centuries, and there is plenty of history to tell.

Belinda Sinclair is the kind of magician who impresses people who don’t like magic. Her tricks are mind-boggling. Her stories are captivating. And if she picks you to write your name on a card, get ready to be wowed. Repeat attendees of her shows, of which there are many, take almost as much delight in watching new jaws drop as they do in seeing an illusion reach its astonishing conclusion.

Since the summer of 2025, Sinclair has been baffling local audiences at the Hughes Memorial Library in West Cornwall, but her magical run comes to a close at the end of August.

Keep ReadingShow less

“Nixon in China” comes to Tanglewood

“Nixon in China” comes to Tanglewood

Renée Fleming, Andris Nelsons and Thomas Hampson.

Hilary Scott

On Friday, July 17 at 8 p.m. in the Koussevitzky Music Shed at Tanglewood, two of the greatest American voices of their generation, soprano Renée Fleming and baritone Thomas Hampson, join Music Director Andris Nelsons and the Boston Symphony Orchestra in a performance of excerpts from John Adams’ groundbreaking opera “Nixon in China.” The piece, performed earlier this year in Boston and at Carnegie Hall in New York City, is a highlight of a program that also includes “Meditations on Grace” (2024) by BSO Composer Chair Carlos Simon, and the melodic and technically demanding Violin Concerto by Samuel Barber.

Fleming is internationally celebrated for her vocal and dramatic artistry, as well as for her advocacy for the powerful impact of the creative arts in health. Hampson has long been recognized as one of the most innovative musicians of our time and has received countless international honors for his singular artistry and cultural leadership. Both performed in “Nixon in China” earlier this year at the Paris Opera under the baton of Kent Nagano.

Keep ReadingShow less
google preferred source

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

google preferred source

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