housing

Hillsdale addresses housing prices with accessory dwelling unit info

HILLSDALE — The Hillsdale Housing Committee, in conjunction with the Roe Jan Housing Task Force and the Towns of Copake and Ancram, is presenting an information session for those interested in creating an accessory dwelling unit on their property.
The session will take place from 10 a.m to 12 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 2 at the Roeliff Jansen Community Library, located at 9091 Route 22 in Hillsdale.

An Accessory Dwelling Unit is a separate apartment in a home or property that meets the basic building and zoning code requirements of the town. It can include an attached apartment within the home, such as a second floor or basement, or a detached unit, such as a garage or barn. It can help provide extra income on property as well as additional low cost rental housing for the community. It can provide housing for a caregiver or an elderly relative.

Columbia County is now offering grants up to $125,000 for homeowners to build accessory dwelling units if they meet the following criteria:

— Applicants must own and live in their own home as a primary residence.

— Applicant income must be at or below 100% of the County median income, which varies based on family size.

— Applicant must commit to maintain an affordable rental rate and not use the apartment for short term rentals for ten years.

RUPCO, a non-profit housing provider, will administer the program. In addition, it will assist program participants to find additional financing where needed, as well as with design, budgeting, contractor selection, permitting, rental screening and other tasks.

Applications are due by Dec. 13. For applications and further information, contact RUPCO at www.rupco.org/plusone/.

housing

Latest News

Kevin Kelly’s After Hours

Kevin Kelly’s After Hours

Kevin Kelly

Photo by Christopher Delarosa
“I was exposed to that cutthroat, ‘Yes, chef’ culture. It’s not for me. I don’t want anyone apologizing for who they are or what they love.”— Kevin Kelly

Kevin Kelly doesn’t call himself a chef; he prefers “cook.” His business, After Hours, based in Great Barrington, operates as what Kelly calls “a restaurant without a home,” a pop-up dining concept that prioritizes collaboration over competition, flexibility over permanence, and accessibility over exclusivity.

Kelly grew up in Great Barrington and has roots in the Southern Berkshires that go back ten generations. He began working in restaurants at age 14. “I started at Allium and was hooked right off the bat,” he said. He worked across the region from Cantina 229 in New Marlborough to The Old Inn on the Green at Jacob’s Pillow before heading to Babson College in Boston to study business. After a few years in Boston kitchens, he returned home to open a restaurant. But the math didn’t work. “The traditional model just didn’t feel financially sustainable,” he said. “So, I took a step back and asked, ‘If that doesn’t work, then what does?’”

Keep ReadingShow less
restaurants

Books & Blooms’ tenth anniversary

Books & Blooms’ tenth anniversary

Dee Salomon on what makes a garden a garden.

hoto by Ngoc Minh Ngo for Architectural Digest

On June 20 and 21, the Cornwall Library will celebrate its 10th anniversary of Books & Blooms, the two-day celebration of gardens, art, and the rural beauty of Cornwall. This beloved annual benefit features a talk, reception, art exhibit, and self-guided tours of four extraordinary local gardens.

The first Library sponsored garden tour was in June 2010 and featured a talk by Page Dickey, an avid gardener and author. This year’s Books & Blooms will coincide with Ellen Moon’s exhibit “Thinking About Gardens,” a collection of watercolors capturing the quiet spirit of Cornwall’s private gardens. Moon, a weekly storyteller to the first grade at Cornwall Consolidated School and art curator for The Cornwall Library, paints en plein air. Her work investigates what constitutes a garden. In the description of the show, she writes: “there are many sorts...formal, botanical, cottage, vegetable, herb...even a path through the woods is a kind of garden. My current working definition of a garden is a human intervention in the landscape to enhance human appreciation of the landscape.” Also on display are two of her hand-embroidered jackets. One depicts spring’s flowering trees and pollinators. The other, a kimono, was inspired by Yeats’s “The Song of the Wandering Aengus.”

Keep ReadingShow less
cornwall library