PINE PLAINS — After the challenges they faced in their search for a new pantry space, Nelson and Lisa Zayas of Willow Roots wholeheartedly welcomed the community to join in the ribbon-cutting ceremony for their new space at 7730 South Main St. on Saturday, March 21, at 10 a.m.
The pantry co-founders were brought before the town’s Planning Board as they did not have the proper permits to operate in a residential neighborhood, out of their North Main Street home. Neighbors on the adjoining street, Carla Terrace, began complaining last September that traffic on Saturday morning distribution days was disrupting their quality of life (for more, go to www.tricornernews.com).
The Zayases are in litigation at the moment dealing with the matter; they are also in the midst of pursuing a major home occupation special-use permit. In the meantime, they’ve found a new home for their two-year-old pantry, thanks to the countless do-gooders in the community who contacted them with suggestions of where they could set up a new distribution site. The space that worked out is located on South Main Street.
And that’s where familiar faces in the community could be spotted, standing around the front of the new Willow Roots’ front entrance, waiting in hopeful anticipation.
“It’s a new beginning,” said Willow Roots Board Vice President Brett McCormack. “With winter, you see so many efforts happening behind the scene, roots if you will, and now that it’s spring, people are excited about positivity and change and new beginnings.”
The new set-up, McCormack said, will allow Willow Roots to grow and help more people, generating productive, rather than reactionary, change.
Walking out the front door, Lisa said she was touched to see so many people come out to watch the pantry take root in a new location. Nelson was soon spotted coming out the door with a ribbon in hand, which he pulled tautly across the entryway.
Meanwhile, longtime volunteer Ray Christiansen passed green ribbons out to onlookers to tie onto the willow tree McCormack crafted and painted for the lobby.
Thanking everyone for their presence and letting grateful tears fall, Lisa said, “I love you all and I’m really proud to be part of Willow Roots. I always said that Willow Roots doesn’t belong to us, it belongs to everyone, and you definitely showed that when you rallied together to help us.”
Telling the story of how Willow Roots first took root in Pine Plains, Lisa introduced the group to Bruce Silvernale, whom she described as the willow root that started their work. From that moment on, she said they realized they were “going to need a bigger boat” and their efforts flourished as they continued to feed, clothe and provide for more people in need of support.
Whether they’ve been a receiver or a giver of Willow Roots’ services, Lisa told the crowd that each and every one of them has become a part of the Willow Roots family.
“When we were asked to leave, or told we should leave… we had a hard time,” she admitted. “Nelson and I kept it quiet and then at one time we decided we were going to give up. We didn’t think we could go through with it anymore; we were tired and we thought that maybe the community didn’t really need us as much as we thought — and you guys all proved us wrong.”
It was with the community’s support, Lisa said, that she and Nelson realized Willow Roots didn’t belong to them at all and they had no right to make the decision to give up. Choosing instead to fight, they were able to secure the space that she said will be the pantry’s home for as long as the community still wants them. Previously occupied by the former thrift store, Pass It On, the Zayases learned of the space through its owner, Kyle Lougheed.
Once the pantry’s board members and volunteers had a chance to speak their peace, the Zayases invited Silvernale to stand beside them to tie on the willow tree’s first ribbon, and with a snip of the scissors in Lisa’s hand, the ribbon was cut and the pantry was officially opened for operation. A line soon formed up the walkway for visitors to tour the new space and tie on ribbons, and volunteers began arriving to distribute food at 11 a.m., for a rare Sunday morning distribution.
As they toured the new Willow Roots space at 7730 South Main St., community members were invited to tie a ribbon on the willow tree crafted by Willow Roots Board Vice President Brett McCormack that’s stationed in the lobby. Photo by Kaitlin Lyle
In 2025, the historic weigh station on South Main Street was approved for reuse as Pine Plains’ first retail cannabis dispensary.
Representatives from LaBella Associates, an architectural firm that frequently works with municipalities, presented draft drawings of the proposed Town Hall in October.
Eastern Region Vice President Pasquale Marchese led the presentation, sharing proposed floor plans and a conceptual sketch of the building’s exterior.
Marchese proposed a single-story structure with a basement for additional storage. Under the current concept, each department of town government would have its own office, arranged in a horseshoe-like configuration around a large central room that would serve as both a courtroom and a board meeting space.
The building and zoning departments would be clustered in one corner of the building, with a dedicated entrance designed to shorten the distance the public must walk to conduct business with those offices.
The proposed design encompasses approximately 6,000 square feet, significantly larger than the existing Town Hall, which contains 2,468 square feet of floor area. The current Town Hall, located at 3284 Route 199, was built in 1970 and houses town government offices, including the courthouse and police department.
LaBella Associates representative Pasquale Marchese said designers aimed to ensure the proposed new Town Hall would fit the character of downtown Pine Plains. Photo provided
The plans presented by LaBella AssociatesSource: The Town of Pine Plains
Town officials also undertook a sidewalk safety audit in 2025, which identified 385 hazards. In September, Town Board members indicated they would work with a grant writer to seek funding for repairs.
Meanwhile, the Pine Plains Planning Board spent much of the year reviewing two major development proposals: a 50,000-square-foot lumber mill proposed by The Hudson Company and the town’s first retail cannabis dispensary.
The Hudson Company has operated for years in a rented Pine Plains location, but representatives said the business had outgrown its current space and sought to build a new facility to accommodate construction operations, a showroom and office space.
After eight months of site plan review and public hearings, the Planning Board approved the mill at its December meeting. The new facility will be located at 2246 Route 83 along South Main Street, south of the Stewart’s Shops gas station.
And Upstate Pines — a dispensary based in Red Hook, New York — also received approval to open a cannabis shop at 7723 S. Main St.
The dispensary will be located at the site of the historic weigh station building, where farmers used to gather to weigh their crops and livestock for sale. The proposal includes tentative plans to adapt other aging buildings on the property for future uses, such as a grocery store or an ice cream parlor.
A grocery store may soon be sorely needed in Pine Plains, as Peck’s Market all but closed over the past year.
Shelves grew increasingly bare, hours became inconsistent and sparse, and the store quietly shuttered in late September, with no public comment from owners Don and Charlene Peck.
Concerns have since emerged about the impact the loss may have on nearby businesses.
Source: Dutchess County Board of Elections
Pine Plains also saw an exceptionally close race for town supervisor. Incumbent Republican Brian Walsh was re-elected after the contest triggered a recount.
The Dutchess County Board of Elections later certified the results, confirming that Walsh defeated Democratic challenger Kevin Walsh by a margin of eight votes.
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.
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.”
