Village Planning Board chair quits, citing frustration
Lance Middlebrook, center, chair of the Village Planning Board, announced his resignation at a regular meeting Wednesday, March 12, surprising other Board members.
Photo by John Coston
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Millerton volunteer firefighter Shane Watson sprays water and firefighting foam on brush at 375 Schultz Hill Road after a brush fire broke out on Friday afternoon, June 5.
Photo by Nathan Miller
The fire was largely doused by 2:15 p.m., with crews continuing to spray water and firefighting foam on the brush to suppress any latent flames. No injuries were reported.
Trevor Slater, who rents the house on the property, said he didn't notice the flames until a neighbor drove by on the road and alerted him and emergency responders.
"I was on the back side of the house and the smoke was all going the other way," Slater said.
Fire crews from Pine Plains, Millerton and Milan, New York, responded to the mutual aid call.Photo by Nathan Miller
Walsh said the exact cause of the fire was unknown at the scene, but he said the blaze was not intentionally set.
Slater said he believed the fire was a reignition from embers. He said his landlords had informed him several days before that they would be burning brush. A similar incident had happened before, Slater said, causing a brush fire that spread to within feet of his home.
"It burned all the way up to the side of my house," Slater said. "That took a couple days to reignite as well."
Walsh confirmed Pine Plains firefighters have responded to blazes at the property before.
"We've been here multiple times," Walsh said.
The Millerton Square Plaza on Route 44 in the Town of North East currently sits vacant as owners Kim and Chris Choe work to finish renovations. The Choes first purchased the property in December 2024 with plans to open a grocery store there by June 2025, but faced signficant delays.
Photo by Nathan Miller
The couple, who bought the store from Joseph Trotta, plan to stock locally-sourced produce, meat, and seafood from Boston and New York City. Originally planned to open by June 2025, the Choes pushed back their estimated opening last summer to October 2025 and eventually said the timeline was unclear last fall.
The recent announcement comes amid mounting questions about the fate of both the Millerton supermarket and the Sharon Farm Market in Sharon, Connecticut, which the Choes also own and operate.
Their Millerton plans received approval from planning and building officials in the Town of North East in June 2025. Chris Choe said interior renovations at the store are nearing completion.
A new business partner is joining the project, although Choe declined to identify the individual citing ongoing negotiations.
Completed renovations include a new roof and HVAC upgrades. Remaining work includes new flooring, a replacement ceiling, parking lot reconfiguration and storefront upgrades, Choe said.
Choe attributed much of the delay to the demands of another grocery venture in New Haven, Connecticut, which he said the family plans to sell in the coming weeks.
“Driving, I lose three hours every day,” Choe said, adding that selling the business will allow him to focus on completing the Millerton supermarket and planned upgrades at Sharon Farm Market.
Construction debris and old freezers still litter the site of the Millerton supermarket.Photo by Nathan Miller
Owners address questions about supermarket project, Sharon Farm Market
The Millerton supermarket is highly anticipated around town. Delays have sparked rumors that the Choes had abandoned the venture, which Choe denies.Rumors also called into question the fate of the Sharon Farm Market.
Jam Food Shop, a business that serves prepared foods and sandwiches that operates a space within the Sharon Farm Market, will be leaving the market at the end of September.
That move — coupled with sparse inventory on shelves — has fueled speculation about Sharon Farm Market’s future.
“We’re going to fix the store,” Choe said, describing plans to renovate the Sharon Farm Market’s interior and introduce a coffee shop and juice bar. He insisted the grocery store will not be closing, and renovations will begin after Jam’s departure at the end of September.
Choe said Jam Food Shop’s departure presents an opportunity to reconfigure the market’s prepared-food operation.
A new focus going forward will be cutting prices on prepared foods, improving and expanding available organic produce and making a foray into delivery with services such as Instacart and DoorDash.
Residents, businesses welcome timeline
News that the Millerton supermarket may finally open this year was met with cautious optimism by residents Sunday, May 31.
A.J. Day, a Millerton resident who said he moved to the village in 2008 with his parents, said his family has been anxiously awaiting a new supermarket in town.
Day said the family travels to Danbury to shop for groceries at Trader Joe’s for most of their needs, but often makes quick trips to LaBonne’s Market in Salisbury, Connecticut, or the Sharon Farm Market for immediate needs.
“My parents [and I] both want to see a place there,” Day said. “My parents were a little uneasy not having a place there for a while.”
Shannon Tyree-Brown and her daughters, Cassidy and Addison Brown, said they were encouraged by the latest timeline while acknowledging frustration over the prolonged vacancy.
“It’s kind of been depressing just sitting vacant for so long,” Tyree-Brown said. “Unfortunately, the other options didn’t stick.”
Despite the dismay, Tyree-Brown and her daughters are supportive of the effort and hopeful it will serve the community soon.
Nearby business owners are also eager to see the supermarket open.
The owners of Pasture Kitchen, a restaurant that occupies the former McDonald’s building on Route 44 adjacent to the supermarket plaza, are also looking forward to the Millerton market’s eventual opening.
Austin Cornell, who founded Pasture Kitchen, expects his restaurant to see a boost once the supermarket opens. He described the supermarket as a potential bridge between the Village of Millerton and businesses farther down Route 44 beyond the village boundary.
“I feel like we’re removed from the village,” Cornell said.
While locals are largely supportive of the venture, some residents are skeptical that the Millerton store will open in the fall of 2026.
“Chris has said that for years now,” said longtime Sharon resident Mike Rand. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”
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