Highlands Current Audio Stories

The Highlands Current is a nonprofit weekly newspaper and daily website that covers Beacon, Cold Spring, Garrison, Nelsonville and Philipstown, New York, in the Hudson Highlands. This podcast includes select stories read aloud.

Highlands Current Audio Stories is a news podcast hosted by Highlands Current, with 60 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Highlands Current hosts Highlands Current Audio Stories, a news show with 60 episodes published.

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  Episode #60

  Residents Assess Philipstown Airbnb Law

  Oct 3, 20266 min

  Public hearing extended to next month Nathaniel Salerno and his husband have used income from two short-term rentals at their Philipstown home to pay for paving and other maintenance costs on the private road they share with three other property owners. Christina O'Neill said she lives next to an STR that has "disrupted my life for a couple of years." Once, the occupants had a fire going in the backyard when the weather turned windy, raising the risk of a wildfire that could have spread to her property. O'Neill said she spent nearly an hour trying to reach the property's owners, who couldn't get to Philipstown but tried to reach the tenant. "They couldn't reach them as well," she said. "It was pretty scary." The property's owner or a representative would have to be able to respond within 20 minutes under proposed regulations Philipstown's Town Board is crafting for short-term rentals. O'Neill and Salerno were two of the five residents who commented Thursday (Oct. 1) during a public hearing, which will continue at the board's next monthly meeting on Nov. 5. Those comments illustrated the balancing act Philipstown is seeking: ensuring STR owners provide safe units for renters who respect neighbors while preserving their ability to generate income. Thursday's hearing drew both praise and criticism of the draft regulations. "We want to be really good community stewards, and we welcome these safety standards," said Tyler Isaacson, who operates an STR. "We deserve that as residents — as people operating a short-term rental — and the visitors that are coming to our community deserve that as well." Under the proposed rules, STRs would be limited to zones where single-family homes are permitted, and solely in single- and two-family dwellings or accessory apartments with a certificate of occupancy. Operators would need a permit, renewable every two years. The draft law sets the initial fees at $90 for the application and $100 for an inspection by the town's Building Department. Philipstown would allow owners permits for up to three properties if one is used as a primary residence for at least 260 days a year. Properties owned by corporations, limited liability companies, trusts or other entities would count as owner-occupied if one of the owners or a tenant is a primary resident. Property owners living outside Philipstown would be limited to two permits. Among the criteria for a permit would be bedrooms, or "sleeping" rooms such as a living room with a futon or sofa bed, that are at least 70 square feet and have access to a bathroom and no less than two exits, one of which must be a door or window that can be exited safely. Ceilings must be at least 7 feet high and walls at least 7 feet wide. Philipstown would ban renting more than one unit per property at a time and limit guests to two per room, except when the additional person is a child age 5 or younger. Hosts offering books to more than four people would need Planning Board approval for a minor site plan, and all hosts have to purchase at least $500,000 in liability insurance. Owners could only book one party at a time, preventing STRs from operating like inns or hotels, and must provide off-street parking at their property or another location. They or a designated agent must also be available to respond within 20 minutes to problems with "the condition, operation or conduct of guests." According to the proposal, STR hosts "shall use best efforts" to ensure that their guests "do not create unreasonable noise or disturbance, engage in disorderly conduct, violate any provisions of the Philipstown code or violate any law pertaining to disorderly conduct, the consumption of alcohol or the use of illegal drugs." Violating the regulations would carry a fine of $1,000 for the first offense, $2,000 and a ban on renting for the rest of the year for the second offense and $5,000 and a four-year ban for a third offense. Ilka Marquardt said she believes the regulations would place an "unnec...

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  Episode #59

  Judge Orders Byrne Campaign to Return Funds

  Oct 3, 20263 min

  Rules that candidate violated finance law A state judge on Friday (Oct. 2) ordered County Executive Kevin Byrne's campaign to refund more than $21,000 in contributions that five voters in a lawsuit said exceeded the legal limit. The Republican incumbent is seeking re-election on Nov. 3 against Democrat Brett Yarris and Conservative Tatiana Brahimi. The state Board of Elections said it verified that contributions exceeded the $3,639.80 limit allowed for the general election per individual or entity since Nov. 9, 2022, when the campaign cycle began for the four-year position. The lawsuit, filed on Sept. 17, claimed the Byrne campaign received contributions over the limit from 10 contributors, with totals ranging from $4,850 to $7,800. According to the legal filing, three of the contributors have ties to Philipstown: Paul Guillaro, the owner of Unicorn Contracting in Cold Spring, which built the Butterfield complex; Ken Kearney, a developer who owns the former Marathon Battery site in Cold Spring; and George Whipple, a lawyer and preservationist who lives in Garrison and whose foundation owns The Putnam County Times and The Putnam County Press. The others were the Taxpayer Action Network; the Albany law firm Roemer Wallens Gold & Mineaux; the New York State Laborers' PAC; Minuta Architecture in New Windsor; Laborers Local 60 PAC Fund; Teamster Local Union No. 456; and ELQ Industries of New Rochelle. Candidates can collect more contributions if they face a primary challenge, but the plaintiffs noted that Byrne did not. On Sept. 29, Byrne's campaign treasurer said she had mailed refund checks to the 10 supporters and fixed an error on the website that gave the wrong contribution limits. A report submitted to the state Board of Elections on Oct. 2 shows $21,476 in refunds to the 10 contributors. In a statement sent to reporters, Alex Mathis, Byrne's campaign manager, called the lawsuit "a politically motivated attack and misuse of the courts by Brett Yarris and his allies targeting County Executive Byrne, his supporters, labor organizations and respected community philanthropists." Mathis said the campaign "received updated guidance from the State Board of Elections and complied with it. It proactively returned certain contributions, as reflected in its most recent filing, rendering the practical issues raised in the lawsuit moot. There was no need to manufacture a courtroom spectacle." In his own statement, Yarris said: "Today the judge found that Kevin Byrne violated the law, and attempted to wield undue influence over our local elections. I first called this out in July and, at that time, Kevin Byrne chose, seemingly, to mislead the people of Putnam County. But there is no escaping accountability before the law."

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  Episode #58

  Should State Require Mental Health Courts?

  Oct 3, 202616 min

  This story originally appeared in New York Focus, a nonprofit news publication investigating power in New York. Sign up for its newsletter here. Many counties, including Putnam and Dutchess, don't have them On a recent July morning, a defendant appeared in a New York courtroom in a loose-fitting white dress shirt, his wrists handcuffed at his back. "The DA's fed up, they say you belong in prison," Judge Matthew D'Emic told the man. "I'm not saying that. I'm trying to help you." D'Emic runs the Brooklyn Mental Health Court. Instead of sending the man back to jail, he was releasing him to a residential treatment facility. Colorful decorations softened the courtroom. A banner on D'Emic's bench read, "Hello summer," and images of tropical fruit adorned the walls. "The question is," D'Emic said, "How do we give you a foundation for the rest of your life that is built on bedrock and not on sand?" The defendants on D'Emic's docket typically live with serious mental illnesses like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Most arrive in his courtroom facing felony charges related to assault, robbery or burglary. In exchange for a guilty plea, they can access community-based mental health treatment, supportive housing and other services. If they complete the court-supervised program, their charges are generally reduced or dismissed. For many participants, it pays off. Recent graduation rates from the program have ranged from 73 to 87 percent, according to data from the Center for Justice Innovation, which runs the court in partnership with the state judicial system. An evaluation of the court found that participants tend to see significant reductions in re-arrest. More than 40 mental health courts like D'Emic's have sprung up across New York state since the early 2000s, part of a growing effort to provide alternatives to incarceration. Their goal, proponents say, is to stabilize vulnerable New Yorkers, interrupt cycles of hospitalization and incarceration, and create safer communities. Research, though limited, suggests that they can be effective at reducing recidivism and driving increased use of mental health services. But while New York state's network of mental health courts has expanded in recent years, its reach remains modest. Roughly 1,700 people were active, compliant participants in mental health courts statewide last year, according to data from the Office of Court Administration for the New York State Unified Court System obtained through a FOIL request. About half of New York's 62 counties still don't have a mental health court, including Dutchess and Putnam. Unlike drug courts, which serve people with substance use issues, mental health courts aren't required by state law. "You walk over an invisible line that divides two counties, and the legal outcomes are completely different," said Leanne Lapp, the public defender in Ontario County, near Rochester. (A law signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul in December provides a stopgap, allowing a case to be transferred from a county that doesn't have a mental health court to a neighboring one that does.) Graphic: Eliza Fawcett / New York Focus At the Brooklyn Mental Health Court, widely seen as a model for judicial diversion, a total of 1,560 people have graduated from the program from when it opened in 2002 to the end of last year. Meanwhile, about 1,600 people with a serious mental illness were incarcerated in New York City jails in December alone. Judicial diversion can be powerfully effective, participants and advocates say, but it's a path that's open to very few New Yorkers who might benefit from it. In a statement, Al Baker, spokesperson for the Office of Court Administration, said that the court system "relies on deep, differentiated assessments of every individual" to determine eligibility for mental health courts. Many incarcerated people who have been diagnosed with a mental illness don't meet the criteria for diversion, he noted, and some who would be eligible for diversion choose...

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  Episode #57

  Putnam Seeks Board of Ethics Members

  Oct 3, 20261 min

  Deadline is Oct. 31 to request nomination Putnam County is soliciting applications for its five-member Board of Ethics, whose members are volunteers who serve two-year terms. The county Legislature recently passed a resolution remaking the board, which was enacted last week without the signature of County Executive Kevin Byrne, who objected to some of its provisions. In the past, the county executive nominated all five members for approval by the Legislature. Under the new law, the county executive nominates two members and the chair of the Legislature, the full Legislature and the leader of the minority party each propose one. Nominees must live in Putnam County. The new law also added other restrictions. Members may not be an appointed officer or employee of the county; hold office in a political party; be employed or act as a lobbyist; or hold elected office in the county. To apply, send a letter of interest, resume and any optional supporting material to putcoleg@putnamcountyny.gov or by mail to the Office of the Clerk, Putnam County Legislature, 40 Gleneida Ave., Carmel, NY 10512. All applications will be available for public inspection.

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  Episode #60

  Lawler Attacks Conley on Data Centers

  Oct 2, 20266 min

  But tiptoes around the issue himself This story originally appeared in New York Focus, a nonprofit news publication investigating power in New York. Sign up for its newsletter here. Rep. Mike Lawler is seizing a new wedge against his Democratic challenger Cait Conley in their closely watched race for the House seat that includes Philipstown: data centers. The GOP incumbent's new seven-figure ad campaign, launched last month, cites Conley's consulting work for two defense tech firms as an indication that she "wants to build data centers in the Hudson Valley." An accompanying press release asks, "Does she support Gov. [Kathy] Hochul's moratorium on new large data centers, yes or no?" There's just one catch: Conley has already said she backs Hochul's one-year pause on data center construction, while Lawler has criticized the pause as reflecting a broader anti-business climate in New York. "When you look at the situation, and Kathy Hochul implements a statewide moratorium, what she is saying is, 'Don't come here, go do your business elsewhere,' which is why New York state leads the nation in outmigration," Lawler told Fox Business in August. Conley, meanwhile, has championed Hochul's moratorium, saying in July that, if elected, she would "push at the federal level for similar responsible regulation and legislation to ensure that data center companies are not exploiting our communities." Lawler's new ad campaign disregards this record; the 30-second spot replays — three times — a clip of Conley saying, during an April candidate forum, "We need data centers." It leaves out what she said just beforehand: "Local officials who are approving these projects need to understand the harm that they are going to bring. … Communities [are] unwittingly agreeing to terms where these data centers are literally profiting off the backs of our communities." "We need data centers. We're not going to get rid of them," she continued, but added, "We can mandate things to make sure they are better going forward than what we are seeing play out." As of July, Conley still worked with one of the two firms at the center of Lawler's ad campaign, according to an interview with the Rockland County Business Journal. But she said that hasn't influenced her views on data centers. Lawler's campaign did not answer New York Focus's questions about his position on Hochul's moratorium or a number of controversial data center projects in the district. "Congressman Lawler believes local residents should decide what gets built in their community," wrote Lawler's campaign manager Ciro Riccardi in an emailed statement. "Municipalities should use every tool available to protect residents' quality of life and keep the cost off ratepayers, who already pay a third more for electricity than New Jersey and Pennsylvania because of Albany's energy policies." Lawler is cosponsoring a bill, called the Ratepayer Protection Act, aimed at making data centers pay the full cost of any infrastructure upgrades needed to meet their voracious energy demands. The bipartisan bill has drawn opposition from an industry trade group, the Data Center Coalition, which says it unfairly singles out the computing facilities. The bill passed the U.S. House on Sept. 16 with almost unanimous support. But Lawler has steered clear of local fights. He has not taken a position — either publicly or in response to New York Focus's questions — on the expansion of a Rockland County data center operated by the Texas-based company Databank. The project is one of several in the area that have received large tax breaks from local authorities, and it has generated significant local backlash over concerns that it could raise power bills and contaminate the local water supply. (Databank has said the facility will use a closed-loop water system that poses no risk to the adjacent reservoir.) Conley announced her opposition to the center in July. "Let's be clear — Cait Conley supports a data center moratorium. Mike Lawle...

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