Telephone Building in Limbo
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Telephone Building in Limbo
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About this listen
A vote on a proposal to construct a three-story addition onto the historic Telephone Building at 291 Main St. in Beacon will not come for at least another month.
The attorney for the applicant requested an adjournment during the Planning Board's Jan. 13 meeting after a straw poll showed, once again, that the project lacked sufficient support for approval.
Three of five members (with two absent) said in November that they would not approve the application. In December, with six of seven members present, the board gave architect Aryeh Siegel the go-ahead to proceed with a symmetrical facade on the addition and voted, 4-2, to authorize the city attorney to draft documents approving the project.
That brought the application, first introduced in November 2024, to the Jan. 13 meeting. With one abstention, five board members voted to complete the environmental review of the project and certify that it would not have significant adverse effects.
From there, Board Chair John Gunn called for a straw poll on approving the proposal. Three members said they would not approve, two said they would, and a sixth board member (with one absent) was undecided.
"I'm curious, what changed?" Gunn asked, noting the December vote to move forward.
David Jensen, one of the "no" votes, said that Beacon requires additions to historic buildings to "not damage or obscure the character and defining features" of a structure "to the maximum extent possible." As proposed, he said, the addition "will almost entirely obscure the view" of the Telephone Building's gold-leaf cornice, a feature that is "singularly unique within our city," from the west.
Taylor Palmer, the project attorney, said the applicant would appeal in court if denied. "We have met the full letter of all the laws — the zoning law, the [central Main Street] regulations, the [historic district] regulations," he said. "All of your consultants have characterized it in such a fashion." It would be a shame, he said, "to have to litigate an issue that was already resolved, and for an application that fully satisfies your code's criteria."
The Planning Board also began its review on Jan. 13 of a proposal to construct a 49-space parking lot and add five parking spaces to the employee lot east of Dia Beacon. In addition, a storage building would be constructed along the south end of the employee parking lot.
The additions would be visible from the roadway and nearby houses, so "screening is going to be key," Planning Consultant Natalie Quinn said. Board members questioned the design of the storage building. "This seems wildly out of context to that, almost like a blemish, a pimple, in an otherwise really well maintained and really nicely curated grounds," Gunn said.
Sidewalk repair
Beacon anticipates receiving $1 million to $1.5 million in Community Development Block Grants in 2026. The funds have been spent in recent years upgrading sidewalks, including, last year, along Wolcott Avenue near the Beacon Housing Authority. The city said this year's allocation will be used to repair sidewalks in front of South Avenue Elementary. The council has scheduled a public hearing for Feb. 17.
Appointments
The City Council on Jan. 20 approved Mayor Lee Kyriacou's appointments of Marisa Lomonaco and Holly O'Grady to the Conservation Advisory Committee, Andrew Kurtiak to the Tree Advisory Committee and Samuel Schmitz to the Traffic Safety Committee.
Kyriacou named Phillip Stamatis to chair the Conservation Advisory Committee, replacing Sergei Krasikov, who now represents Ward 3 on the City Council.
Intermunicipal agreement
The council on Monday renewed, through Sept. 30, 2031, an agreement to share assessor services with the Town of East Fishkill. Kathy Martin was reappointed in October to the position for a six-year term. Beacon pays 30 percent of her salary, benefits and training.
Hotel tax
The City Council approved a resolution asking state legislators to extend th...
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