Steve Gold, a native of Brooklyn, left and never looked back. He landed in Beacon in 1985; the city was in a slump, “But it was like a piece of heaven compared to Brooklyn,” said Gold, who quickly fell in love with the little river city and eventually got involved in its politics.
“Beacon is an exciting place to be, and after serving on the city council for five terms, I felt I was ready to give the mayor”™s seat a shot,” said Democrat Gold, who works for the Dutchess County Board of Elections in Poughkeepsie. In a hotly contested race for outgoing Mayor Clara Lou Gould”™s seat, Gold won by what he feels was a comfortable margin: 152 votes. (Gould did not seek re-election after 18 years as mayor.) Now, Gold picked up as of Jan. 1 where Gould left off. One of his last acts as city councilman was to vote with Gould on the city”™s comprehensive master plan. The council and Gould passed it unanimously.
Part of the city”™s comprehensive plan calls for linking the waterfront area and Main Street, with a special focus on what Gold calls Main Street”™s “transition zone. The city is made up of two villages. When they merged into a city in 1913, the buildings that connected the two villages”™ main streets were not historically in sync with either. We”™d like to see the owners of those ”˜transition”™ buildings reconstruct and blend in historically. We have addressed this in our comprehensive plan and hope we can make the idea attractive to them.”
The perks offered include allowing city planners to give tax credits to “transition zone” buildings, and also to permit owners to add an extra floor to existing properties. “Currently, three stories is the limit on building heights in the city, but in the transition zone, we would allow for a fourth floor,” said Gold. He hopes it will encourage building owners to consider the move, which would bring more people to Main Street, where they can shop, walk and work. Adding offices or apartments to floors above street-level stores would also generate income for the building”™s owners. The challenge, of course, “is to make this transition happen,” said Gold.
“We”™ll also work to improve transportation. Right now, we have a loop bus, but it only runs on the major roads. We have a trolley in the summer that runs from the waterfront to Main Street. We”™d like to see that run all year once the harbor revitalization plan is completed. Our transportation does not currently meet our citizens”™ needs, especially our seniors.”
Another goal for the new mayor is to see the Mt. Beacon incline railway back in service. Out of commission since 1976, Gold became chairman of the committee to restore it to service. “It will be a great addition to the community. People can hike to the top of Mt. Beacon and see clear down to Manhattan. Wouldn”™t it be great to restore the train for those who can”™t make that hike?”
Gold said Beacon is in discussion with Sloop Clearwater, hoping to lure the ship to the city”™s waterfront to make a permanent home. The 106-foot long wooden sloop was launched in 1969 as an educational tool for youngsters. To Gold, bringing Sloop Clearwater to Beacon would be another plus to its ambitious plans for the waterfront”™s redevelopment. Gold”™s got four years to bring his plans from discussion to fruition. Gold said Beacon”™s citizens are “concerned and aware ”“ and I think we”™ll get some terrific things accomplished.”
(This was the third of three articles on Beacon”™s changing fortunes.)
