An 1867 map of the town of North East. The boundaries of North East changed drastically in 1823 after Pine Plains left to form its own town.
MILLERTON — In a November lecture at the NorthEast-Millerton Library Annex, William Tatum III, emeritus of the Dutchess County Historical Society, described how the map lines of the Town of North East were drawn, redrawn, and redrawn again.
“2023 is a big year for Dutchess because it is the 200th anniversary of a major change,” began Tatum. “It is the 200th anniversary of Pine Plains being established as an independent town.”
Tatum said he likes to give the “other side of the story. What about the old town? What about communities from which these new towns came?”
He gave a timeline:
— In 1683, Dutchess County was established as a “paper entity.” It was one of New York’s original 12 counties, 10 of which survive. Two were “bartered away” said Tatum, to get another territory in 1731.
— 1737: North East is established as a precinct.
— 1788: North East is incorporated as a town.
— 1818: Milan splits from North East.
— 1823: Pine Plains becomes an independent town.
Precincts — a Colonial term used instead of “towns”— were formed in New York when a group of partners “formed a patent,” and then would seek out Indigenous tribal leaders to “buy” land from them.
Tatum said they would buy “a vaguely defined amount” of land. He gave an example of how what would become Rumbout (Rombout) was purchased: from the top of Mount Beacon, the partners declared, “We are purchasing all that we can see.”
After the purchase, this patent would have to be approved. First, the paperwork was sent to Manhattan, where it was looked over and approved or rejected by authorities there.
If approved, it went on to London (a six-week to three-month trip depending on “the time of year and prevailing winds”), where it needed approval from the Board of Trade.
Then it would go to the crown, where it needed to approved by the king’s ministers, and then finally to the king or queen.
If approved, it then went through all these steps in reverse, until it got back to the Colonies, where the land claimed in the patent became a precinct.
In 1706, eight investors plus one silent partner, all men “well placed and influential” in society, formed Little Nine Partners Patent for the area of North East; their patent was officially approved by Queen Anne in 1708.
In 1731, “The Oblong” was added to the territory by the Treaty of Dover. This is when two counties were “bartered” to Connecticut for the Oblong, and North East gained its panhandle.
In 1744, after 40 years, the Little Nine Partners Patent (consisting of Dutchess County) was finally divided into seven precincts (South, Rumbout, Beekman, Poughkeepsie, Crum Elbow, Rhinebeck and North East). “Lots were assigned by lottery with two young boys under the age of 16 drawing the assignments” said Tatum. “I like to imagine it was out of a hat, but out of some kind of container.”
Once the patent was divided, it could be sold or rented to the colonists.
To form a new town, colonists had to advocate with petitions and letters to the State Assembly, so that the state would pass a law establishing a town.
Milan split from North East in 1818 to form a new town, and North East lost one-third of its territory. Due to a fire at the state capital in 1911, many of the records of how and why Milan split from North East were lost.
Then in 1823, Pine Plains decided to form an independent town. This was a problem since it left North East with “a whole new series of boundaries, because to keep that community viable, you had to take roughly the northern third of Amenia,” said Tatum.
Tatum added, “And some people are still not OK with that secession of territory from one town to the next.”
Tatum continued, “To divide town A and B was somewhat simpler” but what “North East of 1823 faced was as complicated as it could be.”
The center of North East’s government had to be moved from its seat in what had become Pine Plains. Accounts and paperwork had to be divided between North East and Pine Plains, and then this had to be done again with the new territory gained from Amenia. New officials had to be appointed and elected.
After 1823, “Little was left of the old North East” and it had a “brand new civic identity,” concluded Tatum.
Nathan Miller
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 adopted zoning rewrite will allow mixed-use buildings with residential apartments above ground-floor retail.
MILLERTON — North East Town Board members unanimously approved an overhaul of the town's commercial zoning code, bringing a more than four-year process to close.
The Town Board voted to pass Local Law no. 1 of 2026 at its regular meeting on Thursday, April 9, officially adopting a 181-page zoning code rewrite that allows for mixed use development along Route 44, updates definitions across the town's code and creates new permitted land-use tables for improved readability.
Town Supervisor Chris Kennan, board members and attorney Warren Replansky praised the work and the volunteers on the town's Zoning Review Committee for their commitment to the years-long process. Kennan called out to two members of the review committee that attended Thursday's meeting — Chair Edie Greenwood and Bill Kish — to thank them and their fellow volunteers for years of work on the zoning rewrite.
"On behalf of the board, we want to say thank you," Kennan said. "We hope that you are pleased to see something come to a stopping point."
The approved zoning overhaul modernizes regulations that have remained largely unchanged since adoption in the '70s, aligning them with the town’s 2019 Comprehensive Plan and current economic and housing needs. The revisions place a strong emphasis on encouraging reinvestment in commercial districts, expanding housing options — including multifamily, mixed-use and affordable housing — and updating standards to reflect modern land uses and technologies.
Town officials have said the goal is to support local businesses, streamline approvals, and provide clearer, more predictable rules while preserving neighborhood character and quality of life.
The code also includes language for a Zoning Enforcement Officer, intended to provide more power for the town in enforcing and regulating land use in the town.
A full version of the adopted zoning code will be available online at townofnortheastny.gov.
The new code put an emphasis on housing options in the town's commercial center, encouraging developers to construct apartments above commercial spaces by allowing larger building footprints and lot coverage.
Since January, board members have revised the draft to allow additional retail uses in the Boulevard West district, which includes parcels from the eastern border of the village along Route 44 to Kelsey Brook, a tributary of Webatuck Creek. The additional retail uses will allow sales of pre-fabricated sheds and playground equipment after a request from property owner Rob Cooper.
Among the more substantive revisions was the decision to impose an overall size cap on accessory dwelling units. The board voted to limit ADUs to a maximum of 1,200 square feet and specified that they must be accessible from an existing driveway on the property. Board members also discussed adding language to clarify how ownership through an LLC or trust would comply with the requirement that the property owner reside in the principal dwelling.
Other adopted changes to the code include breaking up long sentences in some definitions to improve clarity. Board members also opted to require new parking lots to construct at least 10% of spaces with electric vehicle-ready equipment for later installation of EV chargers, and to require marked pedestrian infrastructure and lighting in all parking lots.
One proposal — which would have allowed retail businesses and restaurants in the so-called Irondale District, a small commercial area encompassing seven parcels along Route 22 near Winchell Mountain Road and Irondale Road — was withdrawn at the board's March 20 meeting after sharp criticism from the town’s Zoning Review Committee, residents and the Village of Millerton’s Board of Trustees.
That decision continued to draw debate into the final public hearing Thursday night, with North East resident Rob Cooper submitting a written comment to the board expressing his support of expanded commercial uses in Irondale. Cooper's comment was the sole comment provided at the final public hearing — which the board rejected.
Zoning Review Committee Chair Edie Greenwood expressed pride in her committee members in a brief comment following the Thursday night meeting. Bill Kish said he was glad the process had come to an end.
"I'm looking forward to doing the next one, if I get on the committee," Kish said.
Additional reporting from Aly Morrissey
Millerton News
The annual Millerton Fire Company Easter egg hunt returned to Eddie Collins Memorial Park on Saturday, April 4.
Tyler Dehoff discovers a piece of chocolate in a plastic egg at the zero to two-year-old egg hunt area.Nathan Miller
Families crowd into hay wagons for a parade down Main Street to the park before the egg hunt.Nathan Miller
Leila Hawken
AMENIA — The Town Board approved two resolutions by unanimous vote at its Wednesday, April 1, meeting, including one authorizing herbicide use at Troutbeck’s spa and hotel facility.
The second resolution awarded a contract to paint the stage area in the Town Hall auditorium.
The herbicide approval follows a recommendation from the Housatonic Valley Association, which advised allowing controlled spot spraying and removal of small patches of invasive plant growth within the property’s conservation easement area. The organization assists the town by monitoring activities within Troutbeck’s easement acreage.
Larry Weaner Landscape Associates, based in Glenside, Pennsylvania, will perform the spot spraying work.
The painting project, initially suggested by resident George Bistransin, will apply black paint to the walls and ceiling surrounding the auditorium stage, enhancing the flexibility of the space to accommodate the needs of stage productions or other performances. Invitations to bid resulted in one bidder, Jaybird Painting of Wassaic, providing an estimate of $1,685 to complete the work.
The project will cover approximately 1,264 square feet and includes surface preparation, patching, application of matte black paint, protective masking and final cleanup.
During public comment, resident Ken Topolsky said his research into fair housing laws suggests the legislation may allow municipalities to prioritize local families for future affordable housing opportunities. He cited several regulations governing priority selection systems and urged the Town Board to review those provisions.
Topolsky said families of local workers could qualify for priority status under certain guidelines.
“All code elements have provisions for a point system as long as the system is not discriminatory,” Topolsky said.
People eligible to receive points are local volunteers in fire departments or EMTs, municipal or school employees and families with children in the local public school system.
“Unless it’s codified, it cannot happen,” Topolsky told the town board, urging them to study the legal citations and continue active discussion.
In other business, the board continued discussing how to allocate revenue generated from leasing its tower space to communication service providers.
“It should be used for a specific purpose,” said resident Judy Moran, urging that the revenue not be deposited into general funds.
The board agreed to discuss the issue further at its next meeting, allowing time for more research into how it has been used in the past and any restrictions on its use.
Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.
Nathan Miller
MILLERTON — The Board of Trustees approved the coming year’s budget Monday, April 6, following no public comment.
The village’s expenses increased 15.8% over last year’s adopted budget. Board members attributed those increased costs to unavoidable spikes in health insurance rates and retirement payments.
Mayor Jenn Najdek said property assessments are slated to increase, which would provide the village with additional revenue. Najdek estimated tax increases of about $11.48 per $250,000 of assessed property value.
Tentative budget documents available on the village’s website reflect that wage increases and newly filled staffing positions further drove increases to the budget. Expenses for the Clerk and Treasurer’s office, along with the building department, each increased by more than 40% over last year. Deputy Mayor Matt Hartzog emphasized the board’s desire to provide raises to village staff.
“We have not given ourselves a raise,” Hartzog said. “But we would like to give all of our employees a raise, so that they can keep up with inflation.”
Hartzog called attention to rising medical insurance rates. Medical insurance expenses rose 15% to $38,300, representing roughly 4% of the total budget.
“Health insurance has just gone through the roof,” he said. “Nobody’s going to be happy about that.”
The Village Clerk budget increased by more than $21,000, driven by the separation of the Clerk and Treasurer line items, with both receiving hikes. The 15.9% rise, bringing the total to $70,240, represents the largest share of this year’s overall budget increase.
A similar additional line item in the Building Department expenses drove the 44% increase in that department’s budget. In addition to the “Building sec salary” line receiving a small increase, a “Building sec” line lists $11,700, contributing much of the total $11,852 increase to that department’s overall budget.
Police salaries increased by a total of $5,000. Highway crew salaries increased by $4,210 total.
Overall, the village expects to spend $975,156 this year, an increase of $132,836 over last year’s budgeted expenses.
Increases to expenses are partially offset by a $70,000 increase in expected non-tax revenue. That’s 22% higher than in 2025, but not quite enough to make up for the increased costs.
Millerton News
MILLERTON — The NorthEast-Millerton Library is set to host a free repair café on Saturday, April 25, in the library’s annex on Century Boulevard.
Fixers will offer free repairs for small electronics, clothing and textiles, and minor bicycle repairs among other things such as lamps and knife sharpening.
The event will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Repairs are limited to two items per person. Five knives count as one item.
The Millbrook Library will also be hosting a repair café on April 25 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. That event coincides with Millbrook’s community-wide yard sale.
Nathan Miller
MILLERTON — The North East Town Board will add a workshop meeting to its regular monthly schedule after members said an additional meeting could help advance projects more efficiently.
Councilwoman Rachele Grieco Cole first proposed holding two meetings per month at the board’s March meeting. The discussion was continued at a workshop meeting on Wednesday, April 1, with council members agreeing to regularly hold a workshop meeting on the first Wednesday of every month at 5:30 p.m.
The additional meeting will provide time for discussion and planning, while the regular business meeting will continue on the second Thursday of each month. Council members supported the change, citing major projects and grant opportunities that would benefit from additional discussion.
Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.
Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.
