10 July 2026
Beacon City Administrator Sworn In Hat Works redevelopment Cable franchise Historic district
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Also, updates on creekside zoning, cable franchises
Ben Swanson was sworn in on Monday (July 6) by Mayor Lee Kyriacou as Beacon's city administrator, completing a seven-month ascension that included a few unexpected steps along the way.
After being named the city's first deputy administrator in December, Swanson, 32, learned three months later he would become interim administrator following the retirement of Chris White, planned for June. Three weeks later, on April 6, the council voted to name Swanson the administrator (removing the interim designation) when White retired.
White took a leave of absence in mid-April and did not return, speeding up the transition. Monday's swearing-in finally made everything official.
Swanson was hired in 2021 as assistant to the mayor. As city administrator, he will manage Beacon's day-to-day operations and oversee a workforce of about 130 employees. The city intends to hire a deputy to assist Swanson and has received 85 applications.
The council was briefed Monday on a proposal to develop 555 South Ave., an 11-acre former industrial site on the banks of Fishkill Creek. The property was the home of the Tioronda Hat Works Factory from 1878 to 1919.
According to the state Department of Environmental Conservation, "hat works-related activities" continued until at least 1946, after which the Atlas Fiber Co., Chemical Rubber Products Inc. and BASF Colors and Chemicals occupied the eight-building site. It has been vacant since 1995 and was sold in 2016 to Rodney Weber, a developer who owns the Edgewater complex and several properties on Creek Drive, among others in Beacon.
The Hat Factory property was contaminated by at least a dozen chemicals "of concern" but has been remediated through the DEC's Brownfield Cleanup Program. The agency said the site is suitable for "restricted-residential" uses such as multi-family housing, condominiums and apartment buildings, but not single-family homes.
On Monday, City Attorney Nick Ward-Willis told the council that Weber intends to submit an application to construct a hotel on the property. Hotels are not allowed in the Fishkill Creek Development District, although bed-and-breakfasts and inns (defined by the city as a hotel with 10 or fewer guest rooms) are permitted.
The council could amend the code to allow a hotel, a move Kyriacou said could have positive ripple effects.
"We're at the stage now where we want" hotels, he said, noting that changes to creekside zoning regulations would give him "more comfort in saying, 'Let's look at our short-term rentals and start to reduce them.'" If there are alternatives, "we want those short-term rentals to go to long-term apartments," he said.
Council Member Paloma Wake said she believes the city should be "looking at this holistically," because hotels are often used as backup sites for emergency housing, which Beacon lacks.
The council held a public hearing on Monday on Verizon New York's application for a franchise agreement to provide TV service through its fiber-optic network. The company already provides internet service in the city.
The council approved a 10-year renewal of a similar, non-exclusive agreement with Optimum, aka Cablevision of Wappingers Falls, in December. If the Verizon pact is approved, there would be competing cable providers in Beacon for the first time in 40 years, said Pamela Goldstein, a company representative.
The agreement would encompass all of Beacon, although Verizon's network only covers about 55 percent of the city. There are no plans to expand, Goldstein said. Federal law allows the city to collect 5 percent of franchisees' gross revenues. In 2024, Optimum paid the city $172,393.
One person spoke during the hearing but did not express an opinion on the franchise agreement.
The council approved three resolutions Monday regarding the city's historic district. The first added two properties whose owners agreed to the designation: 22 South Ave. and the Elks Lodge at 900 Wolcott Ave. Th...
Ben Swanson was sworn in on Monday (July 6) by Mayor Lee Kyriacou as Beacon's city administrator, completing a seven-month ascension that included a few unexpected steps along the way.
After being named the city's first deputy administrator in December, Swanson, 32, learned three months later he would become interim administrator following the retirement of Chris White, planned for June. Three weeks later, on April 6, the council voted to name Swanson the administrator (removing the interim designation) when White retired.
White took a leave of absence in mid-April and did not return, speeding up the transition. Monday's swearing-in finally made everything official.
Swanson was hired in 2021 as assistant to the mayor. As city administrator, he will manage Beacon's day-to-day operations and oversee a workforce of about 130 employees. The city intends to hire a deputy to assist Swanson and has received 85 applications.
The council was briefed Monday on a proposal to develop 555 South Ave., an 11-acre former industrial site on the banks of Fishkill Creek. The property was the home of the Tioronda Hat Works Factory from 1878 to 1919.
According to the state Department of Environmental Conservation, "hat works-related activities" continued until at least 1946, after which the Atlas Fiber Co., Chemical Rubber Products Inc. and BASF Colors and Chemicals occupied the eight-building site. It has been vacant since 1995 and was sold in 2016 to Rodney Weber, a developer who owns the Edgewater complex and several properties on Creek Drive, among others in Beacon.
The Hat Factory property was contaminated by at least a dozen chemicals "of concern" but has been remediated through the DEC's Brownfield Cleanup Program. The agency said the site is suitable for "restricted-residential" uses such as multi-family housing, condominiums and apartment buildings, but not single-family homes.
On Monday, City Attorney Nick Ward-Willis told the council that Weber intends to submit an application to construct a hotel on the property. Hotels are not allowed in the Fishkill Creek Development District, although bed-and-breakfasts and inns (defined by the city as a hotel with 10 or fewer guest rooms) are permitted.
The council could amend the code to allow a hotel, a move Kyriacou said could have positive ripple effects.
"We're at the stage now where we want" hotels, he said, noting that changes to creekside zoning regulations would give him "more comfort in saying, 'Let's look at our short-term rentals and start to reduce them.'" If there are alternatives, "we want those short-term rentals to go to long-term apartments," he said.
Council Member Paloma Wake said she believes the city should be "looking at this holistically," because hotels are often used as backup sites for emergency housing, which Beacon lacks.
The council held a public hearing on Monday on Verizon New York's application for a franchise agreement to provide TV service through its fiber-optic network. The company already provides internet service in the city.
The council approved a 10-year renewal of a similar, non-exclusive agreement with Optimum, aka Cablevision of Wappingers Falls, in December. If the Verizon pact is approved, there would be competing cable providers in Beacon for the first time in 40 years, said Pamela Goldstein, a company representative.
The agreement would encompass all of Beacon, although Verizon's network only covers about 55 percent of the city. There are no plans to expand, Goldstein said. Federal law allows the city to collect 5 percent of franchisees' gross revenues. In 2024, Optimum paid the city $172,393.
One person spoke during the hearing but did not express an opinion on the franchise agreement.
The council approved three resolutions Monday regarding the city's historic district. The first added two properties whose owners agreed to the designation: 22 South Ave. and the Elks Lodge at 900 Wolcott Ave. Th...