letters to the editor

Letters to the editor: Thursday, Feb. 13

Against building housing on Amenia farmland

Hudson River Housing is proposing to build 28 houses on farmland across from Freshtown Plaza. We should not be building housing on farmland in Amenia. Loss of farmland reduces wildlife habitat and air and water quality. Loss of farmland causes erosion, compaction, nutrient imbalance, pollution, acidification, water logging and loss of soil biodiversity. Loss of farmland challenges economic security, raises food prices, and moves us in the direction of being unable to feed the world’s populations, including our own. Since 2023 the United States has become a net importer of food, including foods that could be grown in New York State. (1) Worldwide a third of arable land has been lost in the last 40 years. (2) In the United States 11 million acres of farmland were lost between 2001 and 2016. 4.4 million acres being among the best agricultural land in the United States. (3)New York lost 9% of its farmland from 2012 to 2022, losing farmland faster than the U.S. average. (4) Between 1974 and 2017, 25% of Dutchess county farmland has been lost. (5) The land chosen by Hudson River Housing to build on is prime bottom land, farmed for over 100 years, with 11.5 acres of the prized and relatively rare Wappinger Soil Type, a soil of recent alluvial deposits usually prone to winter flooding. (6)
The best place to build affordable housing is in metropolitan areas with bustling job markets, steady growth and existing infrastructure. Amenia is not a hub of industry and is losing population. However, the Taconic Developmental Disabilities School Campus has buildings that can be rehabbed, infrastructure, and is close to the commuter rail. That is where affordable housing should be built — not on farmland.
(1) (3) USDA, (2) Thomas Reuters Foundation, (4) New York Farm Bureau (5) US Census of Agriculture (6) “Soil Survey of Dutchess County, USDA
George Bistransin
Amenia

Appreciation for Auschwitz remembrance

Thank you to the Millerton News and to Natalia Zukerman for a profoundly moving article on the importance of remembering, honoring, and bearing witness at Auschwitz. In a time when historical memory is often challenged or diminished, this piece served as a poignant and necessary reminder of our collective responsibility to preserve the truth.
Through eloquent storytelling and heartfelt reflection, Ms. Zukerman not only honored her family’s legacy, the victims and survivors of the Holocaust, she also underscored the moral duty we all share to confront history with honesty and vigilance. The emphasis on remembrance as a means of ensuring that such horrors are never repeated resonated deeply with me.
I hope that more pieces like this will continue to be published, fostering awareness, education, and, most importantly compassion. Sincere gratitude to Natalia Zukerman for her thoughtful and beautifully written piece.
Nina Peek
Amenia

letters to the editor
The views expressed here are not necessarily those of The Millerton News and The News does not support or oppose candidates for public office.

Latest News

Employment Opportunities

Employment Opportunities

LJMN Media, publisher of The Lakeville Journal (first published in 1897) and The Millerton News (first published in 1932) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit news organization.

We seek to help readers make more informed decisions through comprehensive news coverage of communities in Northwest Connecticut and Eastern Dutchess County in New York.

Keep ReadingShow less
about us

Pine Plains Bombers defeated at Section IX Regional

Pine Plains Bombers defeated at Section IX Regional

Giana Dormi, no. 3 of Pine Plains, and Michelle Blackburn, no. 12 of Pine Plains, put the pressure on Juliana Manginelli, no. 11 of Tuckahoe, as she tries to find a pass during the second round of the regional tournament at Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, N.Y. on Tuesday, March 11.

Photo by Nathan Miller

NEWBURGH, N.Y. — The Pine Plains Bombers were knocked out in second round of the Section IX regional tournament after a hard fought game against the Tuckahoe Tigers on Tuesday, March 11.

The Bombers won the tip and got off to an early lead, but the Tuckahoe Tigers outpaced them quickly and finished the game 59-25.

Keep ReadingShow less
basketball

County comptroller releases special report on federal funding

County comptroller releases special report on federal funding

Dan Aymar-Blair

Photo provided

POUGHKEEPSIE — Dutchess comptroller Dan Aymar-Blair released a special report early last week on federal monies and how they move through the county level, including the disbursement process in the county; how federal funding benefits Dutchess residents and whether any fiscal distribution issues have surfaced locally as a result of actions taken on behalf of the Trump administration.

According to Aymar-Blair’s report, federal programming represents roughly 10% of Dutchess expenditures, not including any COVID-19 assistance. As an illustration of federal- to county-level distribution and spending, in 2023, under the Biden administration, the county received approximately $65 million from the U.S. government with $25 million going toward direct aid in support of such programs as home energy assistance and food stamps. Federal monies were also disbursed — and continue to be directed — toward county-level agencies, programming and supports such as adoption, foster care and child care needs, emergency/disaster assistance, infrastructure development and maintenance, and workforce initiatives.

Keep ReadingShow less
government

‘Selected Shorts’ comes to Stissing Center

‘Selected Shorts’ comes to Stissing Center

The Stissing Center was bustling just before the show on Sunday, March 9.

Photo by Alec Linden

PINE PLAINS — The Stissing Center was packed on Sunday for an afternoon performance of podcast and NPR series “Selected Shorts.” The sold-out show, which was recorded for national broadcast at a later date, brought a lineup of four accomplished actors and storytellers to the Pine Plains stage to recite a selection of short stories from award-winning authors.

“Selected Shorts,” a product of Manhattan-based performing arts powerhouse Symphony Space, features prominent actors who recite works of short fiction. The full program usually revolves around a theme; Sunday afternoon’s focus was “transformations.”
Comedian, writer and actress Ophira Eisenberg — or “renaissance woman of storytelling,” as Stissing Center Executive Director Patrick Trettenero introduced her — assumed hosting duties, warming up the crowd with jokes about Brooklyn egg prices and doctors with self-esteem issues — “I want a megalomaniac with a god complex and no hobbies.”

Keep ReadingShow less
events