Ben York, operational coordinator, and Mark Clizbe, program director, of NEDIS discussing the program at the Millbrook Library Volunteer Day Oct. 14, 2023.
MILLBROOK — Grace Episcopal Church began its Grace Latino Outreach (GLO) program in 2005 under the auspices of Rev. Dr. Douglas J. Fisher and members of the church, who undertook to start the program in response to an access problem: many people in the immigrant community did not know what resources were available to them or how to access what was available.
Lack of transportation and a language barrier added to the feelings of isolation that came from being in a new country, far from home and family.
GLO began by offering two programs: English as a Second Language (ESL), and instruction in basic banking, such as opening checking accounts and obtaining and using debit cards.
By 2008, Evelyn Garzetta was named coordinator of GLO; in 2011, she was named executive director.
The program became an important interface with the local immigrant population. GLO coordinated with other area programs such as Community Action Partnership, MESA Episcopal Mission in Dover, and especially with St. Thomas Church in Amenia Union, which has a food pantry and community garden among other services. They’ve also partnered with Literacy Connection, Somos la Llave del Futro, Eastern Dutchess Rural Health Network, Hudson/Sun River Health, Northeast Community Center, and Cornell Cooperative Extension.
In a region that is underserved in health, transportation and other critical services, the partnerships have been invaluable.
But often the brunt of the coordination and work fell on GLO and Garzetta. In 2018, GLO became Grace Immigrant Outreach (GIO), with the intention of broadening their support beyond the Latino immigrant community.
As services expanded, so did the need for grants and manpower; in 2022, Garzetta initiated the transformation of the church’s outreach program into a 501(c)(3), Northeast Dutchess Immigrant Service (NEDIS).
Among its charges was getting together a panel of board members. Chosen were people who were known in the community for helping others; for being committed to community; for expertise in areas of medicine, law and education; those who can and will help clientele to navigate the often complicated aspects of starting life over again in a new environment, a new language and a new culture.
The first meeting of the board of directors, required for a 501(c)(3), took place Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024, at the Millerton Inn.
Present were Garzetta, and staff members Mark Clizbe, program director, and Freddie Gonzalez, and seven board members. Each of them is clear in their belief that this population deserves full membership in the community, a sense of ownership and belonging. What they give back to the community deserves no less.
Some of the areas people need help in are actually what other populations need assistance with as well, such as affordable housing and transportation. NEDIS distributes food bags from Food of Life Pantry to Mision Episcopal Santiago Apostol in Dover Plains; provides evening ESL classes in Dover, Millbrook and Pawling, and materials for students in tutoring programs; a social worker is available to help clients obtain physical and mental health services; and consultants are available to help navigate the legal system, particularly with regards to status change and asylum papers, visas, applications and other paperwork, and referrals to immigration attorneys; offers transportation to appointments at immigration court.
NEDIS’ Academic Mentoring Program provides academic instruction and educational advocacy, as well as teaching clients, among other skills, to organize their work and finances, communicate with school systems in which children are enrolled, and supports school-age clients in planning for the future, for example by making career goals or in applying to college.
NEDIS, which operates out of two offices — 12 Rymer Street in Dover, and at Grace Church, 3328 Franklin Ave., Millbrook — has been fortunate in acquiring generous donations from the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, Episcopal Charities, the Northeast Dutchess Fund and many others. But becoming a 501(c)(3) allows it to operate without being under the auspices of a religious order, and enables the group to apply for government grants and funding.
What will remain constant, from the first days of its start in 2008, is the caring and respect that is given, along with the expertise, to enable an immigrant population to become independent members of the community, working in partnership with a long-term population, to make this part of Dutchess County vibrant, alive, and prosperous.
The Town of North East’s Boulevard District — a stretch of Route 44 between Millerton and the New York State border — is the town’s largest commercial zone. The proposed zoning rewrite would allow mixed-use buildings with residential apartments above ground-floor retail.
MILLERTON — The zoning code changes that will be the focus of a public hearing on Thursday, Jan. 8, represent a major overhaul of the code since it was adopted in the 1970s, placing a strong focus on promoting housing options in the town’s commercial district.
The hearing is scheduled for Jan. 8 at 7 p.m. at Town Hall and the draft of the amendments can be found online at townofnortheastny.gov/zoning-review-committee/ or in person at Town Hall or at the NorthEast-Millerton Library.
Zoning regulations, which date to the early 20th century, govern how residents and businesses can use their homes and buildings, and their land. Town officials say their goal in modernizing the code aims to support local business and create new housing options.
While there have been some updates over the years to address specific issues, the changes before the public this time are an ambitious attempt to align with the town’s Comprehensive Plan, which was adopted six years ago. In this first go-round, the focus is on the town’s commercial districts, such as the so-called Boulevard District that runs along Route 44 to the Connecticut border.
Residential and land conservation districts have been included to varying degrees in this proposed update, but largely are to be considered in a second phase of zoning review that soon will be initiated.
The 2019 Comprehensive Plan sought “to promote a variety of housing alternatives” and update zoning laws to allow for higher density development in the Town and Village, noting that fewer than one in five housing types were multi-family dwellings and most of them offered fewer than four units.
The predominant single-family housing stock in the Town and Village dated to the mid-twentieth century; 37% of the housing in the Town and 80% of the housing in the Village was built before 1950.
“This is a sea change but it depends on getting sewers in the Boulevard District,” said Edith Greenwood, who headed the six-member volunteer Zoning Review Committee that worked on all the amendments over years. The committee engaged professional consultants with a goal to make the town’s code more accessible, and streamline approval processes, as well as update language and definitions.
The zoning overhaul, however, addresses more than just housing. The revised code is laid out in extensive detail, and its comprehensive approach requires many pages of documentation — 181 pages to be exact. However, many provisions, regulations and procedures remain unchanged even though they are included in the complete document up for review at the Jan. 8 hearing.
Here are some of the changes proposed in the new code:
Existing code doesn’t contain a section about multifamily dwellings, but the amended code applies standards.
“Multifamily dwellings may be located on upper floors of commercial buildings and/or within standalone buildings,” the amendment provides. “No less than three (3) and no more than twelve (12) individual dwelling units shall be contained in a single building,” according to the draft regulation.
Floor areas are defined to conform to New York State codes.
This so-called mixed-use development allows for rental apartments above commercial spaces.
“The intent is to permit mixed use development under carefully regulated conditions to facilitate reinvestment in and the renovation of existing commercial buildings, as well as encourage the development of new mixed-use facilities, resulting in positive economic impacts to those properties and the town at large, while imposing minimal burden on town services and municipal infrastructure,” the draft proposal states.
The current code is amended to include general standards for affordable housing units, including specifics related to the cost and ownership of such units, among others. Such housing provides homes priced below market rate allowing for housing opportunities to low- to moderate-income families with eligibility based on income.
Proposed affordable housing regulations in North East will limit the cost of affordable rental housing to 30% of 60% of the area median income for Dutchess County.
The regulations will limit the cost of so-called “ownership” units to 30% of 80% of the county’s area median income.
Affordable housing regulations provide a benefit to developers, allowing additional commercial space on second and third stories in exchange for placing affordable housing units in the remaining floor area above a commercial space.
Commercial buildings are allowed to host additional commercial uses on second and third floors as long as it does not exceed 50% of the floor area of those stories. All remaining floor space must be dedicated to affordable housing.
A section of the current code refers to ‘Accessory Apartments’ but that category is amended to regulate ‘Accessory Dwelling Units,’ which is the current terminology. “An ADU shall be clearly incidental and subordinate to the principal one-family dwelling use and shall not change the one-family residential character of the neighborhood,” the amended code reads.
The amended zoning regulations also seek to regulate a wide variety of businesses and activities.
Mobile food vendors will need permits to operate. Electric vehicle charging stations, which didn’t exist in the 1970s, will come under the regulations, including charging stations at residences. Outdoor vehicle storage will have requirements spelled out as well as outdoor dining at restaurants.
EV charging stations are allowed at all residences, but regulations require a zoning permit. Residential chargers are allowed inside garages, on an exterior wall or as a freestanding structure adjacent to a driveway.
Chargers are also permitted in parking lots for commercial buildings, subject to site plan approval by the North East Planning Board.
Parking regulations get extensive coverage in the amended regulations. They also include amended regulations for roadside farm stands, cell towers and self-storage warehousing, among many others.
The amended regulations call for the creation of a zoning enforcement officer to receive, review applications for a zoning permit, sign permit and certificate of use, among other duties that include inspections to ensure compliance. The town currently contracts a zoning officer, whose services are shared with the Village and with other municipalities.
The amendments update design standards and site-plan expectations for off-street parking, signage, landscaping and exterior lighting, a category that takes up several pages and even includes illustrations.
Motel provisions are deleted and replaced with hotel requirements, and include a requirement prohibiting “the establishment of a tenant/landlord relationship or legal residence by any such occupant.”
A section on cannabis regulates the location and operation of retail cannabis dispensaries “to ensure any such use will be in harmony with and will not have a detrimental effect upon the surrounding area and, that both the location and operation are protective of public health and welfare and preserve quality of life.”
Cannabis dispensaries will be permitted within the town as long as they are at least 200 feet “from a private or public school, park, playground, library, adult or child day care, or a place of worship.”
Consumption of cannabis on the premises of a dispensary is prohibited, and an onlooker outside the building must be unable to see or smell the products inside. Regulations also require a detailed operational plan as part of the site plan approval process that would contain information about hours of operation, loitering mitigation, lighting and signage among other details of the business.
Public workshops that have been held with the Town Board to review the proposed changes have for the most part been sparsely attended by the public, as they dragged out for hours while board members quizzed the planning experts as well as the town attorney, Warren Replansky, about detail on any number of zoning matters and how North East’s requirements would align with those of New York State and Dutchess County. The amended zoning regulations have been reviewed by the Dutchess County Department of Planning and Development.
Supervisor Kris Kennan said additional public hearings will be scheduled as necessary. In August, Kennan remarked that the adoption of the updated zoning code amendments could stand as the most significant accomplishment of the current board.
This month, the village Zoning Board of Appeals met to begin laying groundwork for an update to its zoning code — a process officials say is necessary to replace regulations they repeatedly describe as “outdated.”
Max Amsterdam reaches out to pet a red panda at the Trevor-Lovejoy Zoo on Millbrook School’s campus on Wednesday, Dec. 17. Amsterdam is a senior at Millbrook School and serves as the zoo’s head student curator.
MILLBROOK — The Trevor-Lovejoy Zoo announced this month that it has received a $5 million donation — the largest in the organization’s history and made anonymously — that will primarily fund a state-of-the-art animal hospital, a key feature of the zoo’s current master plan for expansion. The zoo, which is located at the Millbrook School, currently houses 180 exotic animals from all over the world.
“It’s very exciting,” said Nancy Stahl, who oversees fundraising for the zoo. “This gift is going to enhance everything we already do and enable us to increase opportunities for science, our community and support the well-being of our animals.”
Stahl said the zoo has been engaged in a long-range master planning process for several years as part of preparing for its next Association of Zoos and Aquariums accreditation review in 2027. “We knew we had to make a plan and look toward the future,” Stahl said. “We had to think about what more we could be doing for the animals, for students and for the community.”
Construction is nearing completion on a new animal holding barn, the first step toward housing off-exhibit animals. Funded by philanthropist Barbara Tober — whom Stahl described as the project’s “catalyst” — the facility is required under AZA accreditation standards. The holding barn will serve as a first stop for new animals required to quarantine before entering an exhibit. It will also safely house animals when enclosures are being repaired or when they need rehabilitation.
The new animal hospital, which zoo staff are referring to as an animal wellness center, is poised to be four times larger than the existing space. Stahl said the team is looking forward to dramatically expanding the zoo’s ability to treat animals on campus, eliminating the need to transport them off-site for procedures like X-rays or ultrasounds.
Max Amsterdam feeds a red panda at the Trevor-Lovejoy Zoo on the Millbrook School campus on Wednesday, Dec. 17. Amsterdam said he became interested in the school's zoo in his freshman year when he watched an older student perform a biopsy on a wolf that had passed away at the zoo.Photo by Aly Morrissey
Stahl said a primary goal of the master plan and the animal wellness center is to “bring the outside in.” The public will be allowed to watch certain procedures and operations to learn more about the veterinary work that goes on behind the scenes.
In addition to the zoo’s around-the-clock staff, rotating veterinarians visit the zoo each week to check on the animals and perform routine procedures. The current space is limited, and zoo staff are eager to have an expanded footprint.
“Right now we’re very limited space-wise,” Stahl said. “This new facility will let us have more space, more vets and more learning happening.”
Max Amsterdam has lived at the Millbrook School as a boarding student for four years and has held a working role at the zoo throughout that time. Today, in his senior year, he serves as the zoo’s head student curator — a coveted leadership role that requires a formal application and selection process.
When Amsterdam first applied to Millbrook School, the zoo was not front-of-mind. Although he wanted to become a veterinarian as a young child, the desire dissipated until he set foot in the Trevor-Lovejoy Zoo as a freshman.
“I watched a senior perform a biopsy on a red wolf that had passed away from a uterine tumor,” Amsterdam said. “I didn’t even know that students could do that. I realized right then how incredible this place was and the zoo became my thing.”
Over his four years at Millbrook, Amsterdam has assisted veterinarians, shadowed medical procedures, conducted necropsies and even traveled with staff to national AZA conferences. “As you grow, you gain a relationship with the staff and vets, and when they know you can handle it, they let you do more,” he said.
With graduation on the horizon and plans to study biology at Bucknell, Amsterdam admits he’s a little jealous of the future students that will benefit from the new zoo facilities.
At the end of the day, he is grateful for the hands-on experience he has received in his leadership roles at the zoo. Millbrook School is the only high school in the country with an AZA-accredited zoo on its campus.
“I’m jealous, but I’m also so grateful that the zoo got that donation because it’s needed,” Amsterdam smiled. “We deserve it, too. It’s a lot of hard work by the staff and students — it’s 200% effort seven days a week, and not many people see that.”
AMENIA — Residents can now take advantage of a local recycling program that offers convenient home pickup for textiles and other household items. The program, approved by Dutchess County, was outlined by Town Board member and Town Supervisor-elect Rosanna Hamm.
The service, operated by Helpsy, accepts unwanted clothing, footwear, textiles, accessories and linens, along with items such as luggage and stuffed animals. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, only about 17% of recyclable textiles are currently reclaimed, with the rest ending up in landfills or municipal incinerators.
By providing free home pickup, the program is expected to reduce disposal tonnage and tipping fees, saving the town money while also conserving resources and saving residents time.
Items should be placed in plastic bags on front steps for pickup on collection day. All items must be clean, dry and odor-free.
Accepted items include all types of footwear — from slippers and sneakers to dress shoes, boots and cleats — as well as clothing such as outerwear, tops, dresses, pajamas, underwear and baby clothes. Accessories include hats, purses, bathrobes and jewelry. Linens include bed linens, curtains, drapes, table linens, quilts, blankets and comforters. Miscellaneous items such as luggage, sports jerseys and stuffed animals are also accepted.
Founded in 2017, Helpsy now operates in 10 states, managing more than 1,200 collection points and providing home pickup for millions of residents. The organization has diverted more than 75,000 tons of textiles from the waste stream, saving municipalities millions of dollars in disposal costs while generating funding for charitable organizations and thrift stores.
For residents who would prefer to deliver items to a drop-off bin, the closest bin is in Wingdale at Drop and Lock, 1371 Route 22. For more information, go to www.helpsy.com/ameniany or phone (800) 244-6350.
Erich McEnroe standing in front of McEnroe Farms’ organic composting piles on the farm’s grounds at 194 Coleman Station Road in the Town of North East.
MILLERTON — Farming has been in Erich McEnroe’s family for generations, dating back to a time when his great-grandfather could buy and sell land at the local tavern. Though Erich never met him, he and his four brothers grew up on stories of his grit, like how he got his start hauling iron ore with horses and carts and later bought farmland for his three sons.
The McEnroe family began dairy farming in 1953 — a chapter Erich still looks back on fondly — which lasted four decades until they transitioned to cattle and organic farming. Today, McEnroe’s is certified with the Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) in the state of New York, which requires the farm to comply with stringent federal standards related to soil quality and the humane treatment of animals, to name a few. With more than 1,200 acres of fields, pastures and greenhouses, McEnroe’s is one of the state’s oldest and most diverse certified organic farms and, today, produces premium soil and compost blends, as well as produce and livestock.
Despite a difficult period marked by the passing of Erich’s father, Ray, and the closing of the farm market on Route 44 near Coleman Station Road, McEnroe’s is poised to enter a new era, bolstered by a renewed sense of optimism and a recent $335,000 grant awarded by the New York Business Food Waste Mitigation Program. The grant will fund a new screener, a sifting machine that separates plastic, metals or other objects from organic matter. Erich said the machine will enhance composting operations and allow the farm to take in more food waste from across the region.
“It was definitely a year of change,” Erich said. “But I’m optimistic. Sometimes when you think something is bad at the moment, you take a step back and realize it might be the best thing.”
Erich grew up as a dairy farmer. His earliest responsibilities were feeding calves, hauling milk pails up the hill after school and traveling to fairs to show Holsteins with his father.
“Dairy farming is the most addictive thing when you’re in it,” Erich said. “You have to milk the cows twice a day and you’re always trying to progress on your genetics and production and facility. It’s really intense work — seven days a week.”
When his father decided to sell the cows in 1994, it was heartbreaking for the boys, but ultimately transformative. “We were in tears, but my dad said, ‘Someday you’ll thank me.’ And I do,” Erich reflected.
Today, McEnroe’s Organic Farm has a DEC permit allowing it to recycle up to 55,000 cubic yards of organic material each year, including 15,000 yards of food waste. But getting there wasn’t easy.
“In the ‘90s, we were often in the Millerton News headlines,” Erich said with a laugh. “There was a group of neighbors who didn’t want to see the compost put in.” He said concerns ranged from fears of a smell to truck traffic.
Over time, as the environmental and agricultural benefits became clear, attitudes toward composting shifted. “This is now a highly important regional site from an environmental aspect,” Erich said.
The farm accepts food scraps from transfer stations in Queens and Brooklyn, along with leaves from Westchester County, horse bedding, and manure from its own livestock. Local residents can also donate their personal food waste. The farm receives an estimated 50 to 70 tons of food waste each week.
Those scraps are composted and blended into potting and field mixes using “recipes that haven’t changed much in 40 years,” Erich said. The technology, however, has.
In 2015, McEnroe’s switched to a covered windrow system that allowed the farm to go “more vertical” with compost piles. Sheets cover the long rows of composting matter, providing structure to the piles that allow for taller stacking.
The latest upgrade, funded partly by the state grant, is a German-built screener Erich calls “a game changer.” It uses vacuums to remove plastic such as produce stickers and features magnets to pull out metal.
The farm currently produces around 8,000 yards of compost annually but is permitted for nearly double that. “The more product we can screen, the more we can bring in, which is good for everyone,” Erich said.
McEnroe’s also functions as a working classroom. An educational arm of the business was created in 2007 to inspire the next generation of organic farmers and inform the public. It includes an apprenticeship program, offering annual placements in vegetables, livestock and compost.
Olivia Skeen, who oversees the farm’s educational programs, said apprentices are exposed to all areas of farm operations. “All of our practices are integral and related — manure from the livestock comes up to compost and becomes soil. Any waste from vegetables goes into the soil. And the soil goes back into vegetables and into the livestock crops.”
Over the years, the program has drawn close to 100 apprentices from across the country and beyond. The farm also hosts frequent tours, from elementary school groups to Cornell University’s waste management program, which is partnering with McEnroe’s on several studies, including peat moss alternatives and greenhouse production.
Despite the closure of the farm market, both Erich and Skeen emphasized that McEnroe’s remains very much in operation. “We’re looking to get the market open again,” Erich said. “Compost and cattle and our land base are our big driving forces.”
For Erich, there’s no real separation between work and life.
“I don’t know what life is without the farm, really,” he said. “It’s seven days a week and it’s just … it’s not even work. It’s life.”
