NEW YORK STATE — All while trying to maintain social distancing during the COVID-19 crisis, residents across New York state have turned to the great outdoors to stay active as they wait for the pandemic to end — and to get relief from cabin fever. However, even in their attempts to practice responsible recreation, many have called into question whether golf courses should be operating. There’s been some back and forth from the state on the issue.
In his Facebook Live Town Hall on Wednesday, April 8, Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro addressed the concerns by explaining that under the state’s order, a request to close golf courses needs to be made to the New York State Department of Health. Under state law, he said golf courses can remain open, though he emphasized the necessity of social distancing. Molinaro said at that time that golfers should ride individually in golf carts and should not share carts with anyone other than a spouse or an immediate family member living in the same household as them.
“It’s OK to be on the course, it’s OK to play independent of one another, it’s OK to play 6, 7, 10 feet from one another — it is not OK to play together as a group,” Molinaro said.
But after much consideration, New York state issued revised mandates on Thursday, April 9, declaring golf courses as non-essential businesses. All of the state’s golf courses were ordered to close until Wednesday, April 29.
Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the decision to deem golf courses as non-essential businesses during his daily press conference, held in Albany on Friday, April 10.
“Can you walk on a course with clubs if you don’t hit a ball? That’s a good question,” said Cuomo with some humor. “We’re going to have to litigate.”
Secretary to the Governor Melissa DeRosa stated the rules more sternly moments later.
“There’s no golfing, no basketball, no tennis,” she said. “We’re encouraging people to stay home and get their exercise. We don’t want a situation with the caddies — it’s a group activity. There are not just people golfing, there are people running the golf course and it’s counter to other measures we’re [instituting].”
Since the pandemic broke out last month, golf courses like Undermountain Golf Course in Copake have been urged to adhere to the state’s restrictions — first by practicing social distancing on the course, then by closing for business. Undermountain Golf Course owner and President Trish MacArthur said the course originally closed on Saturday, March 21, under the New York State on PAUSE Executive Order that shut down all non-essential businesses statewide. The course reopened for business on Friday, March 27, under the mandated guidelines issued by the state and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Opening in a limited capacity, MacArthur said the golf course implemented regulations for social distancing and remained open until Thursday, April 9, when golf courses were again deemed non-essential.
“I think, honestly, even though we were at a limited capacity… I was concerned that people weren’t following the right social distancing guidelines,” MacArthur said, “and I think Gov. Cuomo made the right decision in closing us down, even if it saves one single life.
“As much as people are trying, I think we’re all human and this is all new behavior for us,” she continued. “It’s been a tough time for everyone.”
Yet just when they feared golf courses would stay closed indefinitely, golfers in the state were surprised by a reversal of the closure mandate, as New York announced it would reopen courses with social distancing guidelines on Saturday, April 18. As written on the New York State Golf Association website at www.nysga.org, guidelines for reopening golf courses mandate that all golfers maintain social distancing at all times; no access is permitted to club facilities; and there can be no employees working at the golf course’s recreational component with the exception of security personnel. Additionally, the guidelines mandate that there will be no caddies or golf carts, except pull carts, utilized on golf courses.
In response to the latest news from the state, MacArthur said she was pleased and “cautiously optimistic.” As of this time, Undermountain Golf Course is conducting its business transactions either online or over the phone, and is not interfacing with customers, with the exception of selling takeout beverages.
“We have security here that’s been enforcing the rules of social distancing,” MacArthur said, “so I’m delighted to have the doors back open — as long as everyone behaves.”
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.
