MILLBROOK — At the beginning of 2020, the Millbrook Business Association (MBA) was looking forward to a good, if ordinary, year. With a new president, Millbrook village Trustee Kevin McGrane, new vice president, David Gruning, and a new website (still being designed), the future held promise. But by spring 2020, the coronavirus pandemic had changed everything, including the Millbrook economy and how local businesses were faring.
Governor Andrew Cuomo ordered non-essential businesses to shut down temporarily in mid-March due to the virus. Some were able to simply change their hours and offer curb-side service or delivery, like restaurants; others, later on, could open at a limited capacity by enforcing safety protocols like requiring face masks and offering hand sanitizer. Now, roughly one year later, the MBA gave an update on how local businesses are faring.
Jennifer Moriarty, who owns the gift shop, Juniper, on Franklin Avenue, said she is grateful her business is doing well. She credits her customers shop online and in person, understanding how important it is to shop local. Juniper has adjusted its hours and days.
“Our customers care and stand by us,” said Moriarty. “To survive these trying times we need this to continue.”
Gruning said that the home décor business he’s involved with, Millbrook House, located at 3300 Franklin Ave., which also sells unique gift items and offers interior design services, has a clientele that comes mostly from the city, by appointment. That, he said, has made a difference in maintaining a steady customer base that’s not reliant on walk-in business.
Millbrook House follows all COVID-19 safety measures, and is looking forward to seeing things return to normal, said Gruning. The business is currently updating its website.
Irene Wing, who manages St. Joseph’s Church’s thrift store, Uncle Al’s Attic, said it’s being very careful to observe all safety measures, and continues to only allow a few customers in the shop at once. It’s still managing to maintain a steady business, she said.
The pandemic has brought city residents and others to Millbrook, said Wing. She spoke of three young ladies who were in the Hudson Valley hiking before winter arrived, who stopped in the village to investigate. They told Wing that they were surprised at how careful everyone was about wearing masks, social distancing, while still being friendly and inviting. Wing said she hopes that will bode well for future business in Millbrook.
Alicia Adams Alpaca reported an uptick in online sales during the pandemic, said employee Heather Loveland, who feels the Franklin Avenue store is lucky it can sell online. The popular shop is open, sanitizing, requiring masks and following all CDC guidelines for keeping shoppers safe.
A number of village businesses made good use of the warmer weather before the colder weather arrived, with sidewalk sales and outdoor dining.
The Antiques Mall and Millbrook Antiques both capitalized on the idea, and business was steady throughout much of the spring and summer, according to those who worked there. Black Friday and Small Business Saturday saw active sales, reported the two longtime businesses. They hope January and the rest of winter will keep the trend going.
But there have been changes in the Millbrook business community, according to the MBA. The Painted Peach, which was located on Front Street next to the Post Office, has closed. Its owner and one of the vendors who sold out of the store now sell their wares out of the Antiques Mall. It seemed like a good fit, said Gruning, who added the women fortunately have a loyal following.
J. McLaughlin manager Ann Barton reported the upscale clothing store is holding its own, as it has many steady customers.
“We’ve been busy,” said Barton after the holidays. “[Customers] feel safe, because we limit the amount [who can shop at once]. We sanitize continuously; clothes are left for 24 hours after they’ve been tried on before they are brought back out.”
Barton said the store also has new customers from the city, who want to escape to the “country” for a break.
The new Cordially Corinne’s has been open for a few months now. Its owner, Corinne Tardio, said her paper specialty shop did better than expected during the summer, but did not report on holiday sales. She’s taking every safety precaution to protect her customers.
Marona’s Market manager Jan Smith said business has picked up during the pandemic. The community-minded supermarket is sanitizing regularly and following all safety protocols. Smith said she sees new faces all the time as well as her “steadies.”
Two other businesses that closed include the Blue Barn B’nB. Proprietor Joan LaCasse retired after six years in Millbrook, announcing she wanted to relax.
“I’ll have fond memories, and I’ve made good friends,” she said. “But it’s time for a new chapter, to turn to a new page.”
Samantha’s Sweet Shop on Church Street also closed, due to owner Samantha Martin getting ill, though no word if it was with COVID-19. The sweet shop was open for only two summers as well as for 2020. Martin said she was “sad” about closing, and thanked everyone who helped her along the way. She added the sweet shop wasn’t her primary business and that all proceeds supported the community.
“It is hard to keep a business open in Millbrook — support for all of the small businesses is imperative for them to stay open,” she said. “This is their livelihood and saying you’ll support them and buying [their goods] are two different things.”
And that’s the bottom line, agree Millbrook merchants, who hope locals and visitors will do exactly that in 2021, to help them survive the current health crisis and beyond.
AMENIA — The first day of school on Thursday, Sept. 4, at Webutuck Elementary School went smoothly, with teachers enthusiastically greeting the eager young students disembarking from buses. Excitement was measurable, with only a few tears from parents, but school began anyway.
Ready for her first day of school on Thursday, Sept. 4, at Webutuck Elementary School, Liliana Cawley, 7, would soon join her second grade class, but first she posed for a photo to mark the occasion.Photo by Leila Hawken
The main entrance to Kent Hollow Mine at 341 South Amenia Road in Amenia.
AMENIA — Amenia residents and a Wassaic business have filed suit against the Town Board and Kent Hollow Inc., alleging a settlement between the town and the mine amounts to illegal contract zoning that allows the circumvention of environmental review.
Petitioners Laurence Levin, Theodore Schiffman and Clark Hill LLC filed the suit on Aug. 22. Town officials were served with documents for the case last week and took first steps in organizing a response to the suit at the Town Board meeting on Thursday, Sept. 4.
The lawsuit is the latest in a multi-year long legal battle surrounding the mine on South Amenia Road. After Kent Hollow Inc. — a subsidiary of Bethel, Connecticut, based homebuilder Steiner Inc. — applied for a state mining permit in 2017, the Amenia code enforcement officer issued the business a notice of violation.
At the time, Kent Hollow Inc. did not possess a special permit to conduct mining operations as required by Amenia zoning code, and the property did not reside in the Special Mining Overlay district established as part of rezoning efforts coinciding with the 2007 adoption of the town’s comprehensive plan.
Kent Hollow Inc. appealed the violation, claiming the use of the property as a mine predates amendments to town and state regulations. The Zoning Board of Appeals denied the appeal citing insufficient evidence in 2019. That spurred Kent Hollow to file two lawsuits — one in the New York State Supreme Court and a federal civil rights lawsuit — challenging the town’s order.
In July 2025, those lawsuits were brought to a close when the Town Board voted at a special meeting to accept a settlement agreement allowing Kent Hollow to continue mining operations under limited hours and quantities.
The most recent suit alleges the 2025 settlement amounts to contract zoning that allows Kent Hollow Inc. to skirt environmental review and the scrutiny of the permitting and rezoning process. Court documents allege Kent Hollow did not adequately prove a continuous, legal nonconforming use.
Supporting the argument, petitioners have submitted the court documents and decision from the 2019 New York Supreme Court case against the town Zoning Board of Appeals, and the documents from the preceding ZBA appeals process including receipts and tax returns from Kent Hollow Inc. purporting to establish the nonconforming use.
Kent Hollow Inc. formed as a subsidiary of housing developer Steiner Inc. and purchased the property in 1971, according to state and county real estate records.
Millerton News reporting from 1971 Amenia planning board meetings detail Kent Hollow’s pursuit of a four-section, 40-unit apartment complex on the property.
The News reported Kent Hollow was granted tentative approval on July 6, 1971, to build eight units on the site with the expectation that more would be built later.
The additional units never came to fruition and Kent Hollow apparently abandoned the housing project, opting to use the property as a gravel mine.
Attorneys for the Town of Amenia or Kent Hollow Inc. have not filed responses to the lawsuit as of press time.
AMENIA — While the courage and perseverance of Revolutionary era patriots is well understood and celebrated, the stories of the fate of British loyalists in New York are not as clear.
Seen as the initial event in observance of the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, the Amenia Historical Society will present a talk titled, “The Plight of a Loyalist in Revolutionary New York,” examining the journal of Cadwallader Colden, Jr., spanning the period of 1777-1779. The speaker will be noted author, genealogist and historian Jay Campbell.
The talk is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 27, at 2 p.m. at the Smithfield Presbyterian Church in Amenia. The handicapped-accessible church is located at 656 Smithfield Valley Road. Refreshments will be served.
Colden was the son of a New York Lieutenant Governor. He was a surveyor, farmer and mercantilist, serving as a judge in Ulster County. His fortunes changed dramatically with the dawn of the Revolutionary War when he remained loyal to the British Crown. His arrest came in 1776, just before the start of his journal.
Campbell is a historian specializing in Hudson Valley history, and the regional stories of Revolutionary era families.
Erin Rollins of Millbrook in the Fashion Feed booth, open year round, at the Millbrook Antiques Mall. All proceeds from Fashion Feeds go to the Food of Life Pantry. As an interior designer by trade, Rollins designed this booth to evoke a high-end department store to align with the designer brands she carries.
MILLERTON — The Townscape 50/50 raffle drawing has collected a pot of more than $7,000.
That raffle drawing will take place this Saturday at 2 p.m. in Veteran’s Park. The moment is not just about picking a winner, but also about reflecting on how far Townscape has come since its humble beginnings in 1998, when founder Catherine Fenn — alongside Renee Vollen and Jan Gilmor — first set out to beautify her beloved village.
Fenn’s connection to Millerton runs deep. “I moved here from the Bronx when I was eight years old and fell in love with the place, even as a child,” she recalled, remembering camping trips at Rudd Pond and enjoying the quiet pace of life.
At 15, her family relocated to southern Connecticut. “My dad didn’t think there was much here for us, so we moved. I left kicking and screaming, literally, and I said, ‘Someday I’m coming back.’”
Years later, after marrying, divorcing, and raising children, Fenn kept that promise. She returned to Millerton and married a childhood friend who was very involved in the fire department. After his passing, Fenn threw herself into her own way of giving back.
“I care about this village deeply. Townscape is my way of helping Millerton be the best it can be,” she said.
What began as an informal effort to gather volunteers and plant flowers eventually blossomed into something larger. “We started with flowers up and down Main Street — barrels of them everywhere. Then it grew into benches, tables, trees and even events. It was such a fun world, a really wonderful organization with so many people involved.”
Fenn’s service to the community extends beyond beautification. She spent roughly two decades on the Planning Board, served as Town Supervisor and worked with the county housing authority. Still, her passion for flowers, trees and landscapes has left the most visible mark on Millerton — shaping not only how the village looks, but how it feels.
In 2006, Townscape became a nonprofit organization. But beautification, Fenn admits, isn’t always the easiest cause to fund. “We’re just putting flowers out — and I shouldn’t say ‘just,’ because to me it’s really important. The trees, the benches, all of it matters. But it’s not high on most people’s list when they think about charitable donations. Still, people have been wonderfully generous over the years.”
This Saturday’s raffle drawing is one way neighbors can show their support. The winner does not have to be present to claim the prize, but those who stop by can enjoy cookies, lemonade and artwork by local creators on display in the park.
