New Partner For Binnacle Books - Laura Bellizzi - Longtime Employee Turns Partner

Laura Bellizzi is the woman you’ve seen behind the counter at Binnacle Books quite often. You can tell she loves to read, and loves to be surrounded by books. When you try to special order your book from Binnacle Books through her, however, she will side-eye you, and tell you to talk to Binnacle’s website. Which you then do that night, to order your copy of “Secrets of Divine Love” by A. Helwa. When you come back a week later to pick it up, she hands it to you with a smile, saying “Enjoy!” with her classic eyebrow raise.

Laura was determined to work at Binnacle Books. It took her 6 times of coming into the shop, asking for a job. Finally, there was an opportunity to hire her. That was in 2016. She told ALBB: “It’s always been my dream to work in a bookstore, own a bookstore. This bookstore in particular has always been one of my greatest loves. Years later, my business partners offered me the partnership, and it’s a dream come true. I dropped everything else I was doing to come in and do this.” Laura remains committed and pleased to be there as ever, as she regularly styles herself comfortably in her keffiyeh.

Beacon as community supports Binnacle. Laura said: “As an independent bookstore, people want to see them thrive. There was a period of time when there was the fear that Amazon and all of these other forces were going to destroy the bookshop. I think a lot of people, in Beacon in particular, really rallied behind them.”

Tourists come from all over just to come to Binnacle Books in Beacon. “We have a lot of local support. A lot of regulars who pop in all the time.” Anyone can order just about any book from Binnacle’s website, and then enjoy a walk or ride down to pick it up.

“It’s not just a bookshop,” Laura told ALBB. “This is a community resource.” One of Laura’s favorite programs is the Prison Books Project, where incarcerated people write what books they want, and “sponsors” aka regular people, buy the books, and Binnacle Books ships the books to them. Binnacle Books works through the mail system, as opposed to working with the facilities. The Prison Books Project is all volunteer based. Binnacle Books just established a separate 501-C3 status just for this project. Other bookstores are also now involved with the project.

The food pantry at Binnacle Books continues, with Fareground and Beacon 4 Black Lives. It’s one of the only food pantry locations that has a refrigerator and a cupboard.

How LaStar Gorton Followed The Process And Was Still Denied The Ballot For Ward 1 In 2023

When The Write-In Candidate happened for Beacon's 2023 Mayoral race, it exposed the question of why it can be so hard for some people to get onto the ballot. LaStar Gorton is one such Beaconite who was denied getting onto the ballot by Dutchess County Board of Elections, despite getting all of her homework in on time to run as an Independent. She was also questioned in an uncomfortable way, she says, by the Beacon Democrats Chair, Lisa Jessop, an hour after she submitted her paperwork to the Dutchess County Board of Elections.

LaStar was born and raised in Beacon, and currently lives in Tompkins Terrace with her children. Very important to her is being able to stay in Beacon to raise her children in Beacon. While her income is not nothing, it qualifies her to live in Tompkins Terrace, but makes it difficult to buy a home that fits her family. As Beacon considers the size of new apartments, single and double apartment units, and property in general, it clear in their planning of as many small units as possible it is not thinking of families who are growing out of their tiny apartments.

When Tompkins Terrace was going through the "temporary" re-housing of residents to renovate most of the apartments after the City of Beacon granted it a 40 year tax break to the luxury community managers of the low-income community in Beacon, LaStar joined residents there in being vocal at community meetings about the re-housing, to ensure that residents could return without qualification challenges by Tompkins Terrace management.

When another shooting happened at Tompkins Terrace in May of 2023, LaStar decided to turn it up a notch and run for City Council for Ward 1 as an Independent. She said that she missed the deadline to run as a Democrat, but could run as an Independent. After doing all of her work and hitting all of her deadlines, LaStar was denied by the Dutchess County Board of Elections. She was also questioned in what she felt was an uncomfortable approach by the Chair of the Beacon Democrats, Lisa Jessop, as to why she didn't come to the Beacon Democrats first to ask to be considered by them.

This situation is not the first that A Little Beacon Blog has heard of this happening. The details in this particular situation are the most simple to relay, however. ALBB tried reporting last election on when former Beacon City Councilmember Ali T. Muhammed, a Muslim Black man, was trying to run for Mayor in Newburgh against Torrence Harvey, a Black man. Ali acquired the signatures he needed, but was challenged.

Ali told ALBB: "Someone has to challenge your petitions, then Board of Elections rules on the signatures...This is a tactic to keep candidates off the ballot. If not voter suppression, it's lack of democracy. My signatures were challenged from the Democrat line. They started weaponizing that tactic/tool against me since 2016. I’ve won a couple court cases to reverse the ruling. I’ve been disqualified in a couple races because of the rulings, with no resources to fix."

LaStar's story is part of why Reuben Simmons threw his hat into the ring for Mayor in the final hours before election day. Before ALBB’s interview with LaStar, Reuben shared his light-bulb moment of when he started questioning the process of getting onto the ballot. Reuben’s reaction happened after Coucilperson Justice McCray proposed increasing the small salary the councilmembers currently get, in the name of increasing accessibility to people who want to serve, but may need more money. This is not a new proposal. Paying Beacon City Councilmembers is suggested every now and then within different administrations.

Said Reuben to ALBB: “When you want to serve, public service, it is a service, not to supplement your income, when you have workers who can't afford to live here...Maybe this increase in Council dollars will entice people to run. It just made me think, LaStar wanted to run for her ward. She seeked out the signatures and she went through the process. I witnessed her party actively work against her and become a barrier. So it made me question the hypocrisy of 'what is the raises really for?' Star is here and she can share the process she went through. When she initially was running...we share similar support groups so to speak. I was aware and kept my ear in to what was going on; just given my little education on it. If people who want to run can't even get on because a certain party has us in handcuffs so to speak, and has a lock on the election process, I'm not exactly sure the contradiction of these stories.”

As for the Republican party in Beacon, and why there were no contenders in Beacon, ALBB cannot speak to why there were no candidates put forward. The Republican party in Beacon was quite stained after Trump, making wins for Democrats easier. If a member of the Republican party wants to speak to ALBB about their issues, they can do so.

ALBB asked LaStar to tell us the entire process for her to do try to get onto the ballot. This is what she said, which you can also here in this interview, and has been transcribed in full below:

"I originally did not know what the entire process was. I live down in Tompkins Terrace, and a shooting had happened [in May 2023]. I went to our rehab meeting because they are about to redo the entire complex. I went to speak on it. Our Councilwoman Molly [Rhodes] was sitting in the back not really saying anything. All of my friends were like 'Instead of you just going to a City Council meeting and voicing your opinion, why don't you go run for this election.' I'm like 'Ok, cool!' I went onto the Board of Elections website, and found out I was too late to run as a Democrat, but I was still in time to run for the Independent. So I came up with a whole party name for myself; I wrote up my ballots; I sent them to the County as well as our city Board of Elections to ensure that my ballots were correct before I got them signed. My petitions: I got the signatures that I needed. I handed them in on the last day, the 30th of May. I went there, and I handed them in.

"About an hour after I handed in my petitions, I got a text or email from Lisa Jessup, the head of our Beacon Democrats here, saying that she would like to speak to me. We had a very long phone call. She asked me why I didn't run as a Democrat. I said at the time I did not know, and this issue just came up, and I was passionate about trying to save my part of the city, and make it batter for the people that live there.

"There were a couple of odd things said, like 'We could back you off the ballot if we wanted to...I'm not sure your petitions are all correct.' I said I know that every signature is not correct, but I have more than enough to be put on the ballot. But none the lease, in order to accept it, I received a letter in the mail on June 3, that said I needed to accept the position by June 2. But the letter was not mailed until June 1 [letter was postmarked June 1].

"But Lisa received this phone call on May 30 when my ballots were handed in stating that I handed in my ballots. I did call the County Board of Education and went there myself personally and spoke with the Dutchess County head there, and she told me that Lisa had FOILed for my petitions in order to see them.

"I said 'well how did she know to FOIL for them if I just handed them in? Who informed her that I handed in my petitions on the very last day at 12pm in the afternoon? Someone had to let her know that they were there in order to FOIL them. For her to get them so quickly, and be able to call me so quickly within the hour and to ask for a phone conversation. But you mail me out my letter on June 1 so that I don't received it until June 3, and I had to accept it by June 2.'

"I went there [to the Board of Elections] in person on June 5 to ask if there was any way I could accept it. She said 'well hold on, let me ask the Republican side. We have to be in agreeance in order for you to be able to accept.' She went away for 2 seconds, came back and said that they said no. So that was it.

"I did email the Enforcement Agency in Albany but I have not received an email back regarding it because I believe it was done on purpose and maliciously [it is November 5th as of this interview, and LaStar emailed the Enforcement Agency in May].

"Lisa and Molly both still reach out to me wanting to talk. They had a very long conversation asking me my ideas. Afterwards, I was like 'Oh, you dummy, you just gave them all of your ideas that they probably didn't know of the issues actually going on in Ward 1.'

"Molly actually knocked on my door Friday. Saying 'I just want to make sure you knew we are voting, since this is closed down. I still want to meet up with you and talk to discuss this whole Council process.'

LaStar's response: "I'll see you in 2 years. And I'll be starting from the top."

ALBB emailed Lisa Jessop on November 9th for comment on these events, and did not receive a response. On that same day, ALBB shared an election results article, “Beacon Election Results: The Significance Of The Unopposed Party, And A Few Other Races,” which pointed out that the Write-In Candidate for Mayor won 16% of the vote, when other Write-In results for other seats were 1%. A representative from the Beacon Democrats’ Instagram commented in that thread: “This post is misleading. Anyone can run for office, but NY state and Dutchess County have filing requirements. If you go to elections.dutchessny.gov, you’ll find all the requirements spelled out in great detail—gathering of signatures (which are sometimes challenged), financial statements, etc. It’s not like someone wakes up on Nov 6 and says, ‘I think I’ll tun for City Council, vote for me tomorrow’. Is it a perfect system? No. Could it be better? Yes. Anyone who wants to get involved with how elections are tun should contact the Board of Elections—they’re slways looking gor more help.”

The Beacon Democrats IG representative than posted a correction Comment: “Apologies for misspelled words in last paragraph—it posted before final edits. It should say: Anyone who wants to get involved with how elections are run should contact the board of elections – they’re always looking for more help.”

Over 150 Jewish, Palestinian and Allies Protested Outside Congressman Pat Ryan's Office in Poughkeepsie On Oct 25th Demanding Ceasefire

A group of Jewish, Palestinian and Allies protested outside of Congressman pat Ryan’s office in Poughkeepsie demanding a ceasefire, near the Vassar Campus. Despite the large “Space For Rent” sign, Pat Ryan’s office is apparently inside.

“This is not justice. Justice doesn’t mean vengeance, it means dignity and freedom for all, including Palestinians. MHVDSA condemns violence against civilians, whether by Hamas or Israeli forces, and we also firmly believe that Israel cannot bomb its way to peace.”

— Andrew Hiller, with MHVDSA

On Wednesday, October 25, 2023, more than 150 Hudson Valley residents rallied outside Congressman Pat Ryan’s Poughkeepsie office, “calling on him to support Rep. Cori Bush’s CEASEFIRE NOW resolution, pressure Israel to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, and end U.S. funding of Israel’s war crimes,” according to a press release by the organizers. Led by Beacon resident and Beacon Hebrew Alliance member Dara Silverman, a delegation of Hudson Valley-based Jewish and Palestinian leaders met with Ryan’s staff and delivered a petition that had 523 signatures as of October 25th.

”We are filled with both sadness and anger. Sadness and anger that our beautiful country has come down on the side of genocide. Anger that our government pretends it is being done in the name of the Jewish people,” said Felice Gelman of Jewish Voice for Peace-Hudson Valley.

The group organized to reach Congressman Pat Ryan (representing New York’s 18th District) by marching to protest outside of his office, resulting in a meeting inside with Jewish and Palestinian representatives.

Congressman Ryan made his opinion known weeks prior, on X, formerly Twitter, when he reacted to the October 8th pro-Palestinian protest held in New York City the day after Hamas broke out of Gaza and attacked and killed 1,400 Israelis citizens, and took over 200 hostage. Congressman Ryan Tweeted on October 8: “Let’s be clear what happened yesterday: Hamas terrorists massacred hundreds of Israeli civilians, including women and children. They took dozens more hostage, including Holocaust survivors and American citizens. Jewish families around the world are still awaiting answers, wondering if their loved ones are alive. To know all this, and choose to hold a protest in New York City, home to the largest Jewish population in the United States, is blatant antisemitism.”

While for many in the world, this may have been an unexpected attack, there have been escalations on both sides occurring for decades, one most recent in May 2021 with the attempted eviction of Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah. While murder of anyone is not justified, context is necessary in the occupation by Israel of Palestinians.

When the DailyFreeman reported that a Kingston family’s relatives were killed with children kidnapped in the October 7 Hamas attack, Congressman Pat Ryan Tweeted: “We are grieving alongside the entire Ulster County community for the Shnaider family. This is a devastating reminder that the atrocities committed by Hamas are being felt by communities not just in Israel, but across the United States. I’m receiving regular updates from the Defense Department on ongoing hostage recovery operations, and will not rest until all Americans get home safely.”

It has been 29 days since the 200+ Israeli hostages were taken by Hamas. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not secured their release. Instead, he, with the support of the United States, has bombed Palestinian civilian buildings, hospitals, ambulances, mosques, a church and other locations in search of Hamas. The Washington Post reports that as of November 2, at least 3,700 Palestinian children have been killed by Israeli air strikes, in the newspaper’s article titled: “Gaza becomes ‘a graveyard for children’ as Israel intensifies airstrikes” Today, some Israeli citizens protested at Netanyahu’s home, calling him a “murderer” and expressed frustration at not knowing where the Israeli hostages were or what condition they were in, as Gaza is being reduced to rubble.

Pro-Palestinian Supporters outside of Congressman Pat Ryan’s office in Poughkeepsie near Vasser College Campus.

Back to the local protest in Poughkeepsie at Congressman Pat Ryan’s office on October 25th, the organizers stated in a press release: “1,400 Israelis and 5,000 Palestinians are estimated to have been killed since October 7th—how many more is enough?,” said Andrew Hiller, whose grandparents survived the Holocaust, and who spoke on behalf of Mid-Hudson Valley DSA. “Of those killed in Gaza, 40% were children. This is not justice. Justice doesn’t mean vengeance, it means dignity and freedom for all, including Palestinians. MHVDSA condemns violence against civilians, whether by Hamas or Israeli forces, and we also firmly believe that Israel cannot bomb its way to peace. An unfathomable number of lives have already been lost—we need an immediate ceasefire, and ultimately an end to Israeli apartheid.”

In this video, hear the words of Palestinian leader Sereen Jamal, who has spoken at other pro-Palestinian rallies, like this one in Newburgh in 2021 that marched to then Rep. Sean Maloney’s office.

The organizer of the October 25th Hudson Valley protest continued: “Veterans For Peace is an international organization composed of veterans from every war and peacetime back to the second world war. We know the horror of war,” said Tarak Kauff, former national board member of Veterans for Peace. “We have sent delegations to the West Bank to see with our own eyes Israel’s occupation and apartheid. We condemn the genocide now happening on the innocent people in Gaza on children on women and families. There is no excuse for it. Absolutely no excuse.” Read what Tarak has written about Israel as an occupier, and its military the IDF

“The Zionist State of Israel has betrayed the very essence of everything good and decent about being Jewish. Instead of being kind, compassionate and empathetic to the oppressed and dedicated to truth, Israel has become a most vicious oppressor. I saw Palestine children brutalized. They are killed on almost a daily basis. Children! Many are languishing in Israel prisons for throwing rocks at occupying soldiers or for just being suspected of that. Israeli soldiers often break into Palestinian houses in the dead of night, terrorize the family and arrest children. And there is no such thing as a fair trial. If you are arrested, you are guilty. Palestinians are considered vermin.”

— Tarak Kauff, Jewish, and Former National Board Member of Veterans For Peace

“It is absurd that we need to call for something as basic as a ceasefire. This isn't about who's right and who's wrong, this is about protecting innocents from further death and injury,” said Talal Jabari, Palestinian journalist and documentary filmmaker. “We are asking our representative to sign onto the Ceasefire Now resolution and be on the right side of history.”

“The call for a ceasefire is not a fringe stance held by a loud minority. In fact, recent polling shows that across party lines, the majority of Americans support a ceasefire and a de-escalation of violence in Gaza; a view shared by an overwhelming majority of the United Nations Security Council. This widespread popularity is evident by the large turnout at today’s rally, by Palestinian and Jewish community members and others who stand for peace. Speakers of all backgrounds told personal stories, read poetry, and chanted “Ceasefire Now!”. When the group of representatives who met with Rep. Ryan’s staff finished the meeting, they shared that his office agreed to continue the conversation with the group. His office made no other commitments to ending this violence.”

As for other political leaders in the area, former Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro and current Congressman for the 19th District is staunchly supporting Israel and has made little acknowledgement for the loss of Palestinian lives, which as of today has passed 9,000 and consists of thousands of children. So far in his Instagrams, he refers only to Hamas, which is a dehumanizing tactic for Palestinians or Arabs and is Islamaphobic.

Assemblywoman Sarahana Shrestha called ‘to end Israeli occupation’ on Monday, while other Mid-Hudson Valley politicians stand behind Israel, as reported by the Daily Freeman.

In this video, Veekas Ashoka addresses the participants to update them on the meeting going on inside of Pat Ryan’s office with Jewish and Palestinian leaders.

In this video, Palestinian leader Raz Sadiq-Keyes (we are getting the confirmation of her name spelling) and Jewish leader Dara Silverman.

Podcast Episode With Tina Bernstein :: A Jewish Voice Wanting To Be Heard Regarding Palestine And Israel

After A Little Beacon Blog reposted a “Jewish Voices For Peace” post on Instagram, a few of our Jewish friends in Beacon reached out to ALBB. They wanted to contribute their voices. They wanted to feel safe, so ALBB agreed to meetings with them on and off the record.

Tina Bernstein agreed to an audio interview right away. Tina is an outspoken advocate for local housing issues here in Beacon, and immigration. She spoke to us as an individual, not affiliated with any group she participates with for other causes. “I felt I had to say something,” said Tina, “because there needs to be an alternate view... It's very hard to speak out and it's very hard to take a stance against this.”

It was important to Tina to make a distinguishment about "some Jews" on this or any subject. That there are many beliefs within the Jewish community on pieces of life. During the interview, she stated: “I don't think that Jewish lives matter any more than Palestinian lives...I am very concerned that the Israeli government will have their acts reverberate for many years…The Israeli government, and I'm not talking about the people, but the Israeli government. [What they are doing] goes against everything I believe in. I cannot be secure if everyone is not secure."

In describing the Jewish community, Tina expressed: “It is a very hard time if you are secular Jew who goes against the majority opinion. It's not easy. But I felt it very important to speak out.”

As the interview concluded, Tina forced back tears. There is much more in Tina’s interview that is only 17 minutes. She shares her personal experience, as well as that of her family from Poland. Please listen to the interview in its entirety. Click on it in the top of this article. Comments that are antisemetic or Islamaphobic will not be approved.

SOON IS NOW - A Festival Of Climate And Eco Art, Performance And Activism - Here In Beacon - September 23, 2023

SOON IS NOW is an afternoon of art and live performance about climate change and the ecological in Scenic Hudson’s Long Dock Park, a former industrial site and brownfield transformed by Reed Hilderbrand Landscape Architects, the Scenic Hudson Land Trust, and others, into a sustainable park on the Hudson River in Beacon, NY. This site is on the unceded land of the Wappinger, in a region with a vital history of environmentalism rooted in Scenic Hudson’s fight to save Storm King Mountain from industry and Pete Seeger’s fight for an unpolluted Hudson River.

Twinkle Burke, What We Give Back, by Madeline Sayet, photo by Lucas Millard 

Audience walking to the next performance, photo by Flynn Larsen

Part reverence for the River, part cry for what is lost to climate chaos, part response to the pollution and rejuvenation of the park's ecosystem, SOON IS NOW places art in conversation with the landscape and brings audiences into an immersive experience with original works. 

Actors, dancers, musicians, performance and visual artists are curated throughout the park (many of them Beacon-based): Edwin Torres, Alex Waterman, Raven Chacon, Bob Bellerue, Koyoltzintli, Elise Knudson, Elisa Santiago, Randy Burd, Cecilia Fontanesi, Tom King, Jim Fletcher, Jaanika Peerna, Twinkle Burke, Jojo Gonzalez, Camille Seaman, Andrew Brehm and Jean Brennan.

Edwin Torres, Water’s Way: A Poet’s Choir for the Hudson River with E.J. McDonald, LaTasha N. Nevada Diggs, Tamalyn Miller, Kristin Prevallet, Urayoán Noel, Jayden Featherstone. photo by Flynn Larsen  

The Resistance Revival Chorus will be performing a special concert at 5pm including a new song about climate change. 

The Resistance Revival Chorus, photo by Ginny Suss

On SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 23rd at 2pm the day starts at the River Center (the red barn) in Scenic Hudson's Long Dock Park with a visual arts exhibition. Meet activists including Beacon Climate Action Now, Climate Reality Hudson Valley & Catskills and Fareground, and learn what you can do. Sign up for an 80 minute tour of performances throughout the park that start at 2:30, 3pm and 3:30pm, first come, first served. Even if you don't get on a tour you will be able to experience performance, visual art in the River Center and the concert by The Resistance Revival Chorus at 5pm. Poppy's Farm 2 Trailer food truck will be at the event selling tacos. Parking at Long Dock Park is limited. Park at the Metro North Beacon Train Station where all parking spots are free on the weekends, a short walk to the event. Free and open to the public. Co-sponsored by Climate Reality Hudson Valley & Catskills and HV Climate Solutions Week. Part of Climate Change Theatre Action's 2023 season. Funded by Arts Mid-Hudson, the Clara Lou Gould Fund for the Arts administered by Beacon Arts, and many local businesses and individuals. 

Tom King, photo by Lucas Millard

Jaanika Peerna, Glacier Elegy, photo by Flynn Larsen

Liz Zito, Eric Magnus, Andrew Brehm, The Oysters, by Miranda Rose Hall, photo by Lucas Millard

Elise Knudson, Sentinels, photo by Flynn Larsen

For more information: soonisnow.org or contact evemorgenstern@gmail.com.

About Eve Morgenstern:

Eve Morgenstern, Director/Founder/Producer is a photographer and filmmaker. She has been awarded artist residencies at The Lower Manhattan Cultural Council Workspace and MacDowell, and grants for her work from The New York State Council on the Arts, Chicken and Egg Pictures, The George Gund Foundation, The Park Foundation and Arts Mid-Hudson. Her environmental film Cheshire, Ohio has screened in festivals in the US, Canada and Asia and is distributed by Bullfrog Films and ovid.tv . Her photographic project Facades of Crises had its solo Museum premiere at Bildmuseet in Umeå, Sweden. Eve is also co-chair of her Climate Reality Hudson Valley & Catskills chapter. She lives in Beacon, NY with her daughter Chloe and her beloved mutt Amber. “This started as an experiment to produce plays from Climate Change Theatre Action, a project that uses storytelling and live performance to foster dialogue about our global climate crisis. The project grew to include visual art and original live performance created in dialogue with the site. The idea to curate works throughout Scenic Hudson's Long Dock Park as a tour for audiences is intentional and meaningful as this site was once a brownfield, remediated and revisioned into a beautiful climate resilient public park on the Hudson River.”

CREDITS SOON IS NOW:

Eve Morgenstern, Founder, Director

Connie Hall, Producer

Brian Mendes, Producer

ALBB is a Media Sponsor of this event, and is proud to partner to help get the word out.