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Citywide Automotive North has opened its wide doors in Amenia, ready to serve the community’s service needs. Owner Toby Kiernan, foreground, is ably assisted by his uncle, Peter Kiernan, in the full-service enterprise situated on Route 343.
Photo by Leila Hawken
AMENIA — A well-appointed automotive service establishment with accommodating staff is ready to serve the area’s automotive repair needs. Citywide Automotive North, located at 3387 Route 343, has been open for business since Feb. 1, following a few months of building renovation.
“I grew up around the automotive industry,” said owner and chief mechanic Toby Kiernan during a conversation on Wednesday, Feb. 26.
Getting the building ready to open included “a ton of cleaning,” Kiernan said, along with painting the interior, carpeting the offices and applying epoxy to the shop floor.
Services offered to the community include 24-hour towing service, all automotive mechanicals, body repair and auto sales, Kiernan said. Services also include oil changes, brake service and tires. The tow services offer a flatbed tow truck and a standard wrecker tow.
Citywide Automotive is equipped and experienced with all makes and models of vehicles, including high end luxury and classic cars. Electric vehicles, however, are not a specialty.
Kiernan’s uncle, Peter Kiernan, brings 45 years of auto repair experience to the business, delighting in serving as a personable volunteer assistant in the shop.
“We love it here,” Peter Kiernan said of the town. He divides his time between Amenia and his home in Florida.
Completing work on a car belonging to a veteran, Peter Kiernan set about giving the car a washing, a small, and yet appreciated, reward for that customer’s military service.
“It’s the least I could do,” he said.
While customers wait for their vehicles, there will be time to admire the classic cars Pete Kiernan has lovingly restored to their original glory.
“The cars are most certainly his pride and joy,” Toby Kiernan said of his uncle’s cars.
“My uncle Pete is my mentor in the automotive industry and business. What I am doing here I could not do without his knowledge and support,” Toby said.
Veterans and senior citizens receive a 10% discount on service.
“We come from a long line of veterans who served. We support our troops and first responders as much as possible in appreciation for their service,” Toby Kiernan said.
“My uncle loves to BBQ,” Kiernan said, and there is plenty of room. Once the weather gets warm, on Fridays at lunch time Citywide Automotive expects to have the grill going, welcoming all comers for a festive free lunch.
Toby Kiernan recognized the challenges in finding qualified shop workers today, He said that as the shop gets busier, they expect to contact the local BOCES training program to find help and to explore ways that they might help to mentor the next generation of expert mechanics.
Hours of operation are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturdays 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The business is closed on Sundays. Towing services are open 24 hours. To contact Citywide Automotive, phone 845-789-1300.
“We appreciate the people we’ve met from Amenia and surrounding towns. They have been kind, helpful and courteous. We are happy to be in business here,” Toby Kiernan said.
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POUGHKEEPSIE — In a letter directed to Lee Dudek, acting commissioner of the Social Security Administration, on Feb. 27, New York State attorney general Letitia James emphasized the consequences of downsizing services at their Poughkeepsie office.
On the heels of the news at the Poughkeepsie location, the social security office in White Plains is scheduled to close. Westchester officials have been weighing a plan to offer a county-owned location in a bid to preserve the office.
The Trump administration has recently made a series of cuts affecting funding for various agencies and programs, but James maintained social security must be enshrined.
“Social Security is a sacred promise that this country makes to its citizens,” James said. “Seniors and people with disabilities throughout the Hudson Valley rely on the White Plains and Poughkeepsie offices to ensure they receive the support they deserve. Protecting access to Social Security and the rights of vulnerable New Yorkers must transcend politics and be a principle that all those in public service support.”
James pointed out anyone in need of services past what is currently offered at the Poughkeepsie location would be faced with extended travel times. For seniors and individuals with challenges who reside in Northern Dutchess, the reduction of service at Poughkeepsie and the closure at White Plains means traveling to the Hudson, Middletown or Peekskill locations — or further. It is feasible additional locations could face funding cuts or closures in the future.
“Shuttering our Poughkeepsie Social Security office and the pending closure in White Plains puts an unconscionable burden on our neighbors, from seniors to wounded veterans, and individuals with disabilities, who rely on these vital benefits and the convenience of local services,” Sen. Michelle Hinchey, D-41, said. “It’s the federal government’s job to administer Social Security. That job includes making sure no one is left behind or subject to delays and roadblocks. We need clarity from the SSA on their plans and a commitment to ensuring these facilities remain available locally.”
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AMENIA — The Webutuck Board of Education discussed a potential new district cellphone policy at its meeting on Monday, March 3.
The potential policy, which is still in its early planning phases, would require students to place cellphones in a receptacle when they enter a classroom at the beginning of a period.
Cellphones would remain in that box until the end of the period unless teachers decide to allow the class to use the cellphones for instructional purposes.
Students would still be allowed to have and use their cellphones during passing periods and during lunch, but not during any class periods — including study halls.
The policy discussion at Webutuck coincides with discussions in Albany over statewide school cellphone regulations.
Governor Kathy Hochul announced in January a plan to curb school cellphone use by mandating phone storage boxes in classrooms and about $13 million in funding for the receptacles in the 2026 budget.
The Webutuck policy is still being discussed.
“Easy to speak about it, but I am telling you as sure as my name is Ray that this is going to be a nightmare,” Webutuck Superintendent Ray Castellani said. “But this is not something that’s unique to New York State or to Webutuck.”
Castellani emphasized the cellphone policy is only intended to improve educational quality at the Webutuck school district. He said cellphones get in the way of learning and access to social media causes friction between students.
“When your kids are at school they are safe,” Castellani said. “Cellphones are not meant for instruction unless a teacher needs it for instruction. It’s just that simple.”
Also on the agenda was a recap of the mid-year testing data for the elementary, intermediate and high schools.
Generally, students showed measured improvements from the beginning of the year across grade levels in reading and math assessments in the elementary and middle schools.
The high school data report by principals Robert Knuschke and Matthew Pascale included data on in-school suspension and office referrals.
The principals said they had implemented some new policies and strategies to reduce in-school suspensions and office referrals, and the data showed huge gains in both arenas in the high school and the intermediate school.
Since September, compared to the same period last school year, suspensions in the intermediate school were down more than 80% and in the high school around 50%.
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AMENIA — Two seats have opened on the Webutuck Board of Education with the departures of incumbents Nichole Reyes and Anthony Robustelli.
These seats are for a three-year term starting July 1, 2025, and will be filled via nominations and election.
Information packets containing nominating petitions are now available for pickup at the district offices located at Webutuck High School on Haight Road north of Amenia. Nominations are due no later than Monday, April 21, by 5 p.m. To secure a nomination, candidates must have obtained at least 25 signatures from qualified voters in the district.
To qualify for a seat on the Board, candidates must be able to read and write and be an eligible voter and a resident in the Webutuck district for at least one continuous year prior to the election.
Candidates are ineligible if they have been removed from any school district office one year prior to the election, a current employee of the district, or reside with another family member serving the same school board. To prevent conflicts of interest, candidates may not simultaneously hold another public office while serving as a board member.
Questions may be directed to school district clerk Therese Trotter at 845-373-4100, ext. 5506. Board member elections will be held on Tuesday, May 20, at the same time as the annual school budget vote.
The term for these two board seats will end on June 30, 2028.
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