Beaconites!

George 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 crash...

Håkan 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 Lu...

Diane 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 photogra...

Kk 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. "Wh...

Mimi 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 Sat...

In 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 ba...

Donna 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 evang...

Eliza 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 l...

The 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...

Anne 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 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 communit...

Greg 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. 

Steve 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 scup...

Amber 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 a...

Zakiyah 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 ha...

In 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. 

The 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. 

Test 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 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.

The pandemic washed a wave of refugees up the Hudson River. We hear from two people who moved to Beacon during Covid times. 

Laura 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 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.

A 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 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.  

Jesse 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.