PINE PLAINS — Surrounded by a friendly staff and tasty menu options inside a brightly painted space, customers will instantly connect with the warm ambiance at Rosey’s, which opened for business at 2987 Church St., home of the former Pine Plains Platter, in January.
Since then, owner Jamie Gerber, who uses the pronoun they, has been busy preparing for this summer. They said the opening of Rosey’s marked their “most formal” venture into the restaurant industry. Little do customers know that Rosey’s actually started in a trailer in the parking lot of Chaseholm Farm at 115 Chase Road last summer, as Gerber said they wanted to give their dream a test run before getting it off the ground.
It was their love for the Chase family, who own and founded Chaseholm Farm, which inspired them to name their first restaurant venture after Rosemary Lyons, the Chase family’s matriarch and a longtime Pine Plains resident.
“I think Rosey’s is a love letter to the family and community,” Gerber said. “Rosey and her twin sister always said ‘It’s always good to see you,’ which is the feeling I want to cultivate inside and outside of Rosey’s.”
While Rosey’s was celebrating its lovely first summer in the countryside that borders the towns of Ancram and Pine Plains, it was the latter that was saying goodbye to a local favorite, the Pine Plains Platter, when it closed its doors last September.
Gerber was curious about what would go into the open space on Church Street to replace the popular eatery and community hub. Gerber recognized the Platter was an important part of the community and felt it was import to try to “maintain a space that was for Pine Plains from Pine Plains.”
In speaking with the building’s landlord, Jack Banning, Gerber said he was interested in having a business on Church Street that wouldn’t be too disruptive to the town landscape. Though Gerber took over the lease where the Platter had been last October. Gerber said the goal is to “be an intentional neighbor and visitor and guest in this space.”
Rosey’s officially opened for business on Jan. 28.
Hours of operation run from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Fridays through Mondays; it’s closed on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Breakfast is served from 8 a.m. to noon, and lunch is served from noon to 2 p.m.
Featured on the small, but scrumptious menu are dishes like Eggs a la Tony (a breakfast named after Rosey’s Chef Tony Bonades and comprised of two scrambled eggs, lightly dressed local greens and toast); ful medames (a Middle Eastern seasoned bean dip); torchi (Armenian pickled veggies); and the Chase Burger.
To the best of their ability, Gerber said the food is locally sourced, and as summer continues, she said the menu will see more additions as more items come into season.
To help keep Rosey’s running, the restaurant is staffed with two full-time cooks and four part-timers from the Pine Plains Central School District.
“They’re such important members of our team,” Gerber said of the teen staff, “and it feels like a real good connection to the community both to be providing jobs and a space where teens can feel ownership of and pride.”
In terms of becoming a central hub in town like The Platter had been, Gerber replied, “I think a lot of that honestly is responding to the community itself and seeing what is needed. I have my own ideas and attitudes about what Rosey’s could be, and I’m really excited for that to change in ways I maybe don’t even know.”
Looking ahead, Gerber said they’d like to continue having live music and to host more pop-ups events including bringing bakers, makers and cheesemakers to the café. Others have suggested hosting book clubs at Rosey’s. Given the popularity of their pickles, there’s been talk of holding pickling classes.
“I’m open to whatever Rosey’s needs to be,” Gerber said, adding that until then, “I think we need to be flexible and stay open.”
This article has been updated to correct the pronouns Jamie Gerber uses (they/them and not she/her).
Editor’s Note: The Millerton News would like to apologize to Jamie Gerber and anyone who was offended by the incorrect usage of she/her in this article on Rosey’s cafe in Pine Plains. We deeply regret the error and will strive to do better when reporting on all genders to represent a more inclusive society.
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
Millerton Police Chief Joseph Olenik shows off the new gear. Brand new police cruisers arrived last week.
MILLERTON — The Millerton Police Department has received two new patrol cars to replace vehicles destroyed in the February 2025 fire at the Village Water and Highway Department.
The new Ford Interceptors are custom-built for law enforcement. “They’re more rugged than a Ford Explorer,” said Millerton Police Chief Joseph Olenik, noting the all-wheel drive, heavy-duty suspension and larger tires and engine. “They call it the ‘Police Package.’”
Olenik worked with The Cruiser’s Division in Mamaroneck, New York, to design the vehicles.
“We really want to thank the Pine Plains Police Department for their tremendous support,” Olenik said. After the fire, “they were the first ones to come forward and offer help.”
The new police cruisers are outfitted with lights with automatically adjusting brightness to best perform in ambient conditions.Photo by Aly Morrissey
Since February, Millerton officers have been borrowing a patrol car from Pine Plains. With the new vehicles now in service, Olenik said he plans to thank Pine Plains officers by treating them to dinner at Four Brothers in Amenia and having their car detailed
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.
