Beaconites!
113 episodes - English - Latest episode: 2 months ago - ★★★★★ - 31 ratingsBeaconites! is a podcast about Beacon, New York and the people who live here. Interviews with artists, business owners, educators, students and other local figures provide a window on Beacon and a point of entry for listeners to get involved.
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Episodes
Ruth Danon, Poet and Literary Instigator
February 22, 2024 13:42 - 42 minutes - 57.8 MBRuth Danon grew up on the grounds of a mental hospital where her mother was a psychiatrist and many neighbors were European immigrants fleeing the devastation of World War 2. She forged a winding literary path, publishing four poetry collections and developing a style of teaching that treats writing as a studio art. She moved to Beacon in 2020 and now teaches privately and curates literary events such as the Spring Street Reading Series at Atlas Studios in Newburh and the Beacon Lit Fest, ...
Should we build vertically or protect the view? With council member Pam Wetherbee
February 06, 2024 14:08 - 26 minutes - 36.9 MBPam Wetherbee grew up in Newburgh and moved to Beacon in 1986 for an almost unfathomable reason: affordability. In this episode, she talks about changes to Beacon in the 38 years since she moved here and her hopes for the city now. In this episode... Affordability. Pam also shares her perspective on housing affordability, including a recent study that found the city needs more of both lower income and luxury homes, but not necessarily middle-income homes. Can this be believed? Views. A...
Confronting Beacon's housing crunch, with Ward 1 council member Molly Rhodes
January 12, 2024 16:28 - 41 minutes - 57 MBAs she kicks off her second term, Molly Rhodes comes on the podcast to discuss the major issues facing Beacon and her Ward. Molly grew up in New York City, the child of UK immigrants. Her first exposure to the Hudson Valley came when she was young and her family rented a house in Cornwall. This episode includes a lengthy discussion of the Fishkill Avenue Corridor zoning process, which could have a huge impact on Beacon's future building stock.
Confronting Beacon's housing crunch, with Ward 1 councilmember Molly Rhodes
January 12, 2024 16:28 - 41 minutes - 57 MBAs she kicks off her second term, Molly Rhodes comes on the podcast to discuss the major issues facing Beacon and her Ward. Molly grew up in New York City, the child of UK immigrants. Her first exposure to the Hudson Valley came when she was young and her family rented a house in Cornwall. This episode includes a lengthy discussion of the Fishkill Avenue Corridor zoning process, which could have a huge impact on Beacon's future building stock.
Art, archeology, and the 'neolithic package,' with Greg Slick
December 06, 2023 19:48 - 41 minutes - 56.6 MBGreg Slick is an artist whose work reflects a fascination with late stone age art. In this interview he shares childhood memories of neolithic ruins and how their “muteness” provided fodder for his creative practice. Greg also shares memories of Beacon’s gallery scene in the years after Dia:Beacon opened and assesses the Hudson Valley art scene today. Greg was the co-owner of a celebrated gallery, Go North (2006-2009), and his wife Karlyn Benson operated her own gallery, Matteawan (2013-2018...
Zandy Mangold, ultrarunner and coach
October 28, 2023 12:40 - 37 minutes - 51.2 MBZandy Mangold is an ultramarathon runner, running coach and high-spirited guy who has completed — and in some cases won — some of the world's toughest endurance races. Zandy shares experiences running the Spartathlon (153 miles), Western States (100 miles), Badwater (135 miles) and the Atacama Crossing (155 miles). In his coaching life, Zandy works with people of all ability levels at any stage of their running journey. On the side, he has a business baking plant-based cookies. Even if you...
Episode 100! With Beacon High School principal Corey Dwyer
October 04, 2023 13:22 - 39 minutes - 54.4 MBCorey Dwyer has just started his second full school year as principal at Beacon High School. Corey attended BHS himself and has an interesting story to tell about his journey as an educator and administrator. In this interview he talks about many facets of the high school experience - including academics, clubs & extra-curriculars, mental health support, college advisory services and more. Corey has a hearing impairment and has worn hearing aids most of his life, and I think this makes hi...
Soon Is Now, with Eve Morgenstern and Gary Hilderbrand
September 20, 2023 12:51 - 41 minutes - 56.3 MBEve Morgenstern is the founder of the Soon Is Now festival, taking place Saturday September 23 at Scenic Hudson’s Long Dock Park. Gary Hilderbrand is a renowned landscape architect and founding partner of Reed Hilderbrand, which oversaw the design and construction of the park. In this episode, Gary, who grew up in Wappingers Falls and whose dad worked at the Nabisco box plant, shares memories of Beacon's waterfront from the 1960s and 1970s. And Eve and Gary talk about how artists, landsca...
George Mansfield moves on from Dogwood and city council
September 07, 2023 20:16 - 32 minutes - 44.6 MBGeorge talks about his decision to sell Dogwood to Brendan McAlpine nearly 11 years after opening the bar. Going forward, George plans to spend more time making art and focus on his other two ventures: Quinns and Untouchable (a new bar set to open in Newburgh), both in partnership with Tom and Yukie Schmitz. He also discusses his seven terms on city council, his proudest achievements and the work that remains to be done. Dogwood's closing weekend (September 16-17) will feature upwards of ...
Twenty years of change, with Beacon beat reporter Jeff Simms
August 22, 2023 14:42 - 40 minutes - 56.3 MBThe Highlands Current recently published a series of features on the profound changes to Beacon, including demographic shifts, surging tax revenues, crime and policing, spiraling housing costs and other aspects of civic life. The package culminated in a conversation between Beacon's four living mayors: Clara Lou Gould (Beacon's Moses), Steve Gold (the recession mayor), Randy Casale (our first ever guest on this podcast) and current mayor Lee Kyriacou. To recap that coverage and share his ...
A passion for movement, with Calli Rothberg
July 31, 2023 20:37 - 38 minutes - 53.5 MBCalli Rothberg is the owner of Passion - The Adult Dance Studio on Main Street. Calli grew up in Beacon as part of a big family. When the pandemic hit, she and all her siblings moved home to Beacon, living again in the house where they all grew up (which happens to be the second oldest home in Beacon, after the Madam Brett homestead). This disruption of her life led to a period of soul searching that in turn inspired her to open her studio in early 2022.
Singer-songwriter Noga Cabo
June 27, 2023 21:08 - 30 minutes - 41.3 MBNoga Cabo is a talented songwriter and guitarist who grew up in a family of dedicated musicians. She has been writing songs since she was a young child, and still collaborates musically with her brothers Adam and Zohar and her mother Dassi. Her music straddles the line between folk and jazz. Noga released her first single “Catch Me,” in June and will release her debut EP “Lady Sun” in July. Her upcoming performances include an EP release show on Sunday June 30 at the Howland Cultural Cent...
Building a pollinator highway through Beacon, with One Nature’s Blair Patterson
June 21, 2023 12:08 - 39 minutes - 53.6 MBOn the surface, One Nature is a landscape design business and nursery, but that doesn’t fully describe it. Its real work, as you’ll hear in this interview with Blair Patterson, is the engineering of outdoor spaces that build community and biodiversity. Blair started working at One Nature in 2016 as a temporary nursery hand after deciding that her career in metal fabrication was not worth the physical toll. In the years since she joined, One Nature has designed more than 100 gardens in Bea...
Building a climate movement in Beacon, with Thomas Wright and Erin Ashoka
May 30, 2023 12:18 - 41 minutes - 57.2 MBIn March, Beacon's city council passed an electrification law that will eliminate the use of gas hookups in new construction. Thomas Wright and Erin Ashoka, two founders of Beacon Climate Action Now, discuss how this legislation came to pass and what it will mean for the city. They also share BCAN’s mission and talk about which sustainability issues theroup plans to tackle next. After recording this interview, NY state passed similar legislation taking effect in 2026 so this interview offer...
George Atkinson, 96-year-old lifelong Beaconite
May 03, 2023 21:45 - 32 minutes - 44.5 MBGeorge Atkinson still lives in the same house on Locust Place where he was born in 1927. In this episode he shares memories and historical anecdotes spanning nine decades, recounting the city’s changes through the Great Depression, World War 2, the economic doldrums of the 70s and 80s, and eventual renaissance. George talks about the factories that employed his father and brothers, two plane crashes on Mt. Beacon that shocked city residents, how it felt to ride the old incline railway and mo...
Chocolatier Håkan Mårtensson (Interviewed by Alana Semuels)
April 04, 2023 11:34 - 35 minutes - 49.4 MBHåkan Mårtensson is a Sweden-born confectioner and pastry chef who opened his Beacon storefront Håkan in 2021. At age 15, Håkan (pronounced Ho-kan) enrolled in the Culinary Institute in Kristianstad, Sweden. At 22, he was recruited as a sculptor on the Swedish National Culinary Team. Despite competing against chefs with decades of experience, Håkan brought home gold medals from the World Cup in Luxembourg, and the Culinary Olympics in Erfurt. He moved to Beacon by way of New York City, where...
The life of Harry Van Tine, with Diane Lapis
March 21, 2023 14:29 - 38 minutes - 53.5 MBDiane Lapis, former president and current trustee at the Beacon Historical Society, comes on the podcast to discuss the life of a notable native son of Beacon. In the process she offers a deep-dive on the importance of postcards to the study of Beacon's history. Harry Van Tine grew up in Beacon, the son of Robert Van Tine, who founded and operated the Van Tine stationery store. His early photographs were printed on hundreds of souvenir postcards and sold by the thousands at the family bus...
Helping queer youth and other people, with Kk Naimool
February 21, 2023 19:46 - 48 minutes - 66.7 MBKk Naimool was born in Trinidad and Tobago and followed a winding path to Beacon. Kk, who uses all pronouns, has worked closely with Newburgh's LGBTQ Center and the Cornwall school district to support gay and trans people. She is also on Beacon's Human Rights Commission and helped found a consulting group called Collective Justice that works with mutual aid pods and other community nonprofits. “Wherever you start is a good place to start,” Kk says in this surprisingly hilarious interview.
Barnaby! With Mimi Sun Longo and Mike Rasimas
February 04, 2023 13:25 - 34 minutes - 47.8 MBMimi and Mike, two members of rock trio Barnaby!, talk about the band’s formation, how its sound has evolved and what it means to live a life dedicated to music. Sadly missing from this interview is bassist Harrison Cannon, who was out of town on the day we recorded. Follow and listen to Barnaby!: Instagram, Spotify and Bandcamp. Live show: Catch Barbaby! at Boughton Place in New Paltz on Saturday, February 11. Tickets. Thanks for listening. Please share this episode with someone...
Beacon in 2023, With Mayor Lee Kyriacou
January 19, 2023 12:50 - 42 minutes - 58.7 MBIn this "state of the city" episode, Beacon's senior-most elected official offers a preview of key issues that are bubbling up this year. The interview is broadly grouped into four areas: affordability, sustainability, infrastructure and community. Additionally, Lee discusses the house fire at George Washington's head; his interactions with a younger, more progressive city council; proposals to ban or restrict gas hook-ups; a major roads project that will replace Teller Ave and Route 52 al...
Donna Minkowitz, Queer Activist and Multiple Memoirist
January 10, 2023 12:36 - 41 minutes - 57.4 MBDonna Minkowitz is a journalist, activist and memoirist who has written extensively about LGBTQ politics and culture. She covered gay issues and AIDS activism for The Village Voice from the late 1980s through the mid-1990s. In her book “Ferocious Romance: What My Encounters With the Right Taught Me About Sex, God, and Fury,” she describes how she went undercover as a 16 year old christian evangelical boy to investigate Focus on the Family and other anti-gay groups on the Christian Right and ...
Emily Murnane Channels Eliza Howland
December 07, 2022 17:15 - 39 minutes - 54.1 MBEliza Woolsey Howland was a Civil War nurse, philanthropist and historical writer who was a member of the upper crust in Beacon during the middle of the 19th century. Among other contributions to the city, she co-founded the Howland Library, which celebrated its 150th anniversary this year. In honor of that anniversary, historian Emily Murnane comes on the podcast to talk about Eliza’s life and legacy in this community. Emily is a lifelong Beaconite who has worked as a teacher, gardener a...
The Beacon Bonfire Festival, With Jeremy Schonfeld
October 26, 2022 13:45 - 36 minutes - 50.4 MBThe Beacon Bonfire music & arts festival is coming up on Friday Nov 4 & Saturday Nov 5. This is a citywide event featuring upwards of 100 performers at venues across the city. This week's episode features Jeremy Schonfeld, one of the festival’s organizers and an accomplished musician and composer. Jeremy grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, the child and grandchild of holocaust survivors, and made his way to NYC as a young man before moving to Beacon with his family. To learn more and buy yo...
Documentary Filmmaker Anne Alvergue
October 13, 2022 11:39 - 36 minutes - 49.6 MBAnne Alvergue’s film The Martha Mitchell Effect, now streaming on Netflix, a funny and fascinating documentary centered on the wife of Nixon attorney general John Mitchell. In this episode Anne describes how she got into non-fiction TV and film and how Nixon-era politics connects to our current discourse. Plus: Craig House anecdotes, Beacon's filmmaking community.
Julie Shiroishi Wants More Than Your Vote
September 03, 2022 20:38 - 32 minutes - 44.9 MBJulie Shiroishi is running to represent New York’s newly created 39th Senate District. Dismayed by the 2016 election outcome, Julie began attending meetings of the Beacon Democrats and quickly rose through the ranks in Dutchess County progressive politics, volunteering her time to help elect Democrats up and down the ballot. In this episode she tells her story and makes an appeal for more community involvement in the electoral process.
Mountain Running, With Greg Buzulencia
August 18, 2022 11:36 - 32 minutes - 45.2 MBGreg Buzulencia is a backcountry skier and trail runner who has explored wild places around the world. He’s also a startup founder who runs a travel company called ViaHero. In this episode, Greg tells the story of an alpine skiing expedition outside Tehran and offers advice for those curious about the trail running experience in the Hudson Highlands.
Interdisciplinary Artist Steve Rossi
July 23, 2022 15:38 - 36 minutes - 50.5 MBSteve Rossi is an interdisciplinary artist and the sculpture program head at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia. Among other topics, we talk about Steve’s time at the Tallix art foundry in Beacon, a fine art metal fabrication business that was one of this city’s last connections to its industrial past before it merged with Polich Art Works and moved away in 2006. Steve established the scuplture program at St. Joseph's with the goal of building hooks into other departments. And St...
Talking Trash (And Composting) With Amber Grant
June 30, 2022 20:40 - 32 minutes - 45 MBAmber Grant is a two-term former city council person and an advocate for local sustainability initiatives. We talk about Beacon's trash and waste streams, and we learn more about a new citywide composting pilot program that's giving Beaconites access to subsidized compost bins and new dropoff sites that will accept things you probably don’t want to throw in your backyard - including bones, dairy and meat.
Zakiyah Maynard Is Looking For A Home
June 02, 2022 15:40 - 36 minutes - 50 MBZakiyah Maynard moved to Beacon in 2014 and lived here until last summer when she was forced to move and wound up living in a shelter. Nine months later, she's still in search of permanent housing. Special guest interviewer Kara Dean-Assael talks with Zakiyah about her often frustrating journey, including minimally useful Section 8 vouchers, social workers who sometimes have little to offer and harrowing stays at a series of temporary residences.
Understanding Beacon’s Good Cause Eviction Law, With Councilman Dan Aymar-Blair
May 03, 2022 14:15 - 42 minutes - 58.7 MBIn March, Beacon’s city council passed “good cause eviction” legislation, written to protect renters in an increasingly vicious housing market. Councilman Dan Aymar Blair, who authored the law, joins us this week to talk about what it does and doesn’t do and what may come next in the high stakes battle over housing affordability in this city.
Understanding Beacon’s Good Cause Eviction Law, With Councilman Day Aymar-Blair
May 03, 2022 14:15 - 42 minutes - 58.7 MBIn March, Beacon’s city council passed “good cause eviction” legislation, written to protect renters in an increasingly vicious housing market. Councilman Dan Aymar Blair, who authored the law, joins us this week to talk about what it does and doesn’t do and what may come next in the high stakes battle over housing affordability in this city.
Into The Woods, With Beacon Players Officers Jonah And Shep
April 15, 2022 00:41 - 18 minutes - 25.3 MBThe Beacon Players are about to stage their spring show, Into The Woods, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Cast members Jonah Mensch and Shep Rodgers talk about what went into the production.
Asher Pacht, Program Director at the Beacon Institute
April 08, 2022 23:15 - 36 minutes - 50.4 MBTest your knowledge of our river's (ahem estuary's) natural and human history, and learn about upcoming community outreach programs at Clarkson University's campus at Dennings Point.
Melissa McGill's Sweeping Public Art Projects
March 21, 2022 19:43 - 39 minutes - 54.7 MBMelissa McGill is an artist who creates large and collaborative site-specific artworks. Her Constellation project created a new LED constellation in the airspace over Bannerman’s Island from 2015-2017. And her Red Regatta project staged four regattas in the waters of Venice, featuring 52 boats with red-painted sails.
New Beaconites Jaime Levitt Corry And Benjamin Lieber
February 28, 2022 23:51 - 20 minutes - 27.7 MBThe pandemic washed a wave of refugees up the Hudson River. We hear from two people who moved to Beacon during Covid times.
Laura Leigh & Sam Abby
February 10, 2022 23:16 - 28 minutes - 39.4 MBLaura Leigh and Sam Abby are co-owners of The Studio @ Beacon, a spinning and boxing fitness studio on Main St. They describe how they met and married after pledging the same sorority, and why they decided to start a gym in Beacon.
Vicki Vergolina
January 28, 2022 02:25 - 32 minutes - 44.2 MBVicki is a radio professional who co-founded a Beacon-focused internet radio station called The Ground, which aired from 2015 to 2020. She talks about that experience as well as her years making radio for WBAI, Air America and SiriusXM.
What Is The Foundation For Beacon Schools? With Anna Sullivan
January 12, 2022 14:26 - 29 minutes - 40.4 MBA new nonprofit that was founded during the dark days of the pandemic will direct funds toward innovative curriculum in the school district.
Air Nonken Rhodes
December 16, 2021 16:24 - 38 minutes - 52.3 MBAir Nonken Rhodes is wrapping up their time as Beacon’s city council person representing Ward 2. Ahead of a planned move to Maine, Air discusses the council’s role in Beacon’s affairs and key challenges facing the city in 2022.
A Centuries-Old Tanning Tradition, With Pergamena Owner Jesse Meyer
November 19, 2021 01:18 - 41 minutes - 57.3 MBJesse Meyer traces his family's history of leather tanning back to Renaissance Europe. He worked in his father's tannery as a teenager before heading off to study fine art at SUNY New Paltz. He later returned to run the business, introducing new ideas and processes including a method of parchment making from animal skins that dates back thousands of years.
Compass Arts Founder Gina Samardge
November 04, 2021 15:14 - 47 minutes - 64.6 MBGina Samardge is a performer, music educator and the founder of Compass Arts, a nonprofit music and arts school. As you'll hear in this interview, Gina radiates positivity and total dedication to Compass's mission of collaborative learning.
Feeding Beacon’s Students, With BCSD Food Services Director Karen Pagano
October 21, 2021 23:25 - 31 minutes - 43.6 MBThe school district serves 2,000 meals a day across its six cafeterias. But this fall, supply chain bottlenecks are plaguing the big food suppliers it has traditionally relied on. Food services director Karen Pagano has responded by building stronger connections to local food growers.
Imam Abdullah Wajid Of Beacon's Islamic Teaching Center
October 14, 2021 00:21 - 32 minutes - 45 MBImam Abdullah talks about his path to Islam, the Muslim community in Beacon and the evolving place of Islam in American culture.
Rachel Saunders, Candidate For Dutchess County Family Court
October 06, 2021 18:08 - 40 minutes - 55.6 MBWe're back! Beaconites returns to regular episodes with this interview with Rachel Saunders, who is running for Dutchess County Family Court Judge. Rachel describes how her local upbringing and legal career have prepared her for the often wrenching cases that come before our county's family court system.
Obsidian Soundsystem, With Jonny Taylor And J Brooks Marcus
August 04, 2021 22:35 - 47 minutes - 65.6 MBJonny Taylor and J Brooks Marcus compose and record music together under the name Obsidian Soundsystem. Among their music creations is the Beaconites podcast theme - a tune called Heliographs. On August 6, they are releasing Heliographs along with a bunch of other new music.
Nerds With Knives
July 22, 2021 12:46 - 47 minutes - 65.7 MBMatt and Emily Clifton are home cooks and life partners who publish original recipes, give food advice and write cookbooks – including a new one on dutch oven cooking. A funny episode about life, work and scotch eggs.
Singer, Songwriter & Fiddler Sara Milonovich
July 07, 2021 22:14 - 41 minutes - 57.3 MBSara MIlonovich had her professional debut at the age of 12. Along with her band Daisycutter, she's just released her seventh album, "Northeast." The songs are sad, yet instrumentally textured and uptempo “That’s the bluegrass formula. You play horrifically sad stuff, but if you do it really fast nobody notices.”
Singing In Church Choirs And In Pete Seeger's Folk Group, With Sharlene Stout
June 29, 2021 20:32 - 47 minutes - 64.6 MBA gifted singer in church choirs, Sharlene Stout was recognized by Pete Seeger who recruited her to join his folk group. She toured with him for more than six years, from the age of 14 into her 20s. Later she formed the Southern Dutchess Coalition mass choir, an interfaith vocal group drawing from churches across the city. Sharlene shares memories of Beacon from the 1960s to the present.
Singing In Church Choirs And Pete Seeger's Folk Group, With Sharlene Stout
June 29, 2021 20:32 - 47 minutes - 64.6 MBA gifted singer in church choirs, Sharlene Stout was recognized by Pete Seeger who recruited her to join his folk group. She toured with him for more than six years, from the age of 14 into her 20s. Later she formed the Southern Dutchess Coalition mass choir, an interfaith vocal group drawing from churches across the city. Sharlene shares memories of Beacon from the 1960s to the present.
Judge For Yourself
June 15, 2021 13:16 - 43 minutes - 59.9 MBThis week on Beaconites, we hear from the two candidates running for Beacon city court judge in the upcoming primary: Tim Pagones, the three-term judge and lifelong Beaconite, and Greg Johnston, a public defender with 17 years’ experience who has been endorsed by the Beacon Democrats. The primary takes place on Tuesday June 22. Vote!