Beacon is the Best - 3/17/2022

Forget the negative reviews of Beacon. Those are old and the city has changed so much. Beacon is quaint, friendly, and growing so much. There's so much to see and do here. Hike Mt Beacon, walk along the Hudson at Dennings Point, watch the sunset from Long Dock Park, pop in and out of cute shops on Main Street, be mesmerized by the waterfalling by Roundhouse and under the bridge over Fishkill Creek or just sit outside by Trax coffee shop and people watch. Tourist stuff that the locals do every day. Beacon is a great place to live and visit.

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Tasteless and disorganized - 11/10/2019

Great shopping they said, cute town, great art, lots of culture, amazing antique stores, fashionable and chic, a home away from home for Brooklyn and NYC denizens. No stores here seem to be able to figure out what exactly they are. Except of course the seemingly endless bridal shops of questionable quality. Not that quality is the biggest issue when the 1980s is your wedding theme, which is pretty much what they offer. There were puffed sleeves. There's a falafel taqueria, because even the food is confused. They have a hot sauce store with what appears to be used boots and hats. At the women's boutiques, nestled in between shapeless overpriced beige and orange they have things like the town children's book which is about a cat that runs away. You root for the cat's escape. The most fun store in town is an "antique" shop that's 90% made in China most definitely not antiques. In the front of that store they sell cheap beanie hats with Nazi eagles embroidered on and under the eagle "boy". In the store windows on proud display are sweaters that actually made me appreciate both my grandmother and the 1990s because of how impossibly bad they were. Pepto pink and yellow wool in shapeless sack like clothing is apparently a bit hit there. Half the stores offer wine. That's probably because you have to be pretty drunk to buy small bowls the size of a thumb meant for salt from the same store selling high waisted orange pants in shag carpet material. The crowning glory is a gallery of rocks with phallic looking rocks that look frankly diseased. The brewery has kinda gross beers that are all IPA sours that taste like straight vinegar. It appears to be 95% women in their late 30s that need diets and definitely all have cats. It's basically hipster hell.

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Bought a condo - 11/5/2017

So this town had a lot of potential and I decided to visit ultimately buying a condo. It was a town in transition 7 yrs ago.....now it is growing into a hipster arts community. Great artisan shops, galleries and restaurants. 85 mins to NYC into grand central. Needless to say I am very happy it went that way. I currently rent it but will move up in a few yrs.

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All that glitters... - 8/8/2010

The person that called Beacon a jewel yet to be polished,got it somewhat right. There is A LOT of polishing that needs to be done however! In addition to the drug addicts and drug dealers,there is a problem with bums hanging out on Main Street and backward citizens living in the town.Beacon wants to be this little artist's enclave on the banks of the Hudson,but it has a long way to go. They think that if they decorate the old abandoned factories with artwork and have "river celebrations" people will think they are the upstate answer to what SoHo used to be or Brooklyn. Not exactly. They make a big deal of the DIA being here,but DIA has absolutely no involvement with the town! They have a number of galleries and shops at both ends of Main Street,but the middle is a forgotten "no-man's land" where the bums hang out. All the places in town are geared to the people that come up for the weekend from Manhattan and are barely open during the early part of the week.The one supermarket in town is very low-rent. You have to drive to Fishkill and go to ShopRite to find a decent selection of anything. Unless of course,you want to shop at the ridiculously over-priced health food store. Oh yeah,about those "river celebrations": They have these festivals on Main Street or sometimes down by the river where they drag Pete Seeger out(he's the big Beacon celebrity) and have the school kids sing folk songs with him. Nothing against Pete,but they need to start coming up with something new. A lot of the people that live here have trailer park mentality and really backward ideas about the way the world works.A lot of the others are old hippies that never left the 70's. The school district has to be one of the worst in the state,with a severe bullying problem and some teachers that shouldn't be teaching at all. This is truly a case of all that glitters not being gold.

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Not All It's Cracked Up to Be - 8/8/2010

The person that called this place a jewel that needs to be polished got it somewhat right. It could be a jewel if not for the drug addicts,drug dealers, and bums hanging around Main Street,and small-minded backward citizens. Don't get me wrong,the galleries and restaurants are quite nice,but cater mostly to people coming up from Manhattan because they heard "what a cute,quaint little town Beacon is!" Most of these same galleries and shops are closed except on the weekends,and the middle of Main Street is a no-man's land with empty buildings and the aforementioned undesirables hanging out.Beacon makes a big deal of the fact that the DIA is here,but -newsflash!-DIA has no involvement with the town at all. The school district is pretty low-rent as well,with people that shouldn't be teaching in the classrooms and a severe bullying problem in the schools.There are some decent folks here,but there are a lot of "trailer trash" types that take the shine off the apple,so to speak. This place is a lesson in all that glitters not being gold. They can decorate all the old abandoned factories with artwork and have all the "river celebrations"(where they drag Pete Seeger out and make the kids sing folk songs)but that doesn't change what this place really is--FAKE!

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Don't Believe the Hype - 6/14/2010

Beacon has put a lot of effort into promoting itself as this quaint little artist's enclave on the banks of the Hudson River. Partly(and not that big a part)true.Another poster touched on some of what plagues Beacon, and actually stops it from being what it claims to be. Yes,there are drugs,crack and meth. Yes,there is some crime,though actually not that much, considering other towns roughly the same size have much more. No,it's not Newburgh,but I'll get to my thoughts on THAT hype,later. What really keeps Beacon from being who they want to be are the attitudes and the overall provincialism of the residents and the politcians they elect. Beacon suffers from a distinct lack of the ability to look forward and see the big picture. Everything that's done is done in an offhanded,half-assed way that wouldn't cut it in other places.For instance,every year they have some "festival" on Main Street that the call Beacon Day. It's supposed to commemorate the founding of the town. If you'd go to this event,you would swear that the citizens of Beacon hate their town,the festival is so poorly organized. The school district is very bad. The district superintendant is trying,but she is saddled with teachers and principals that are just marking time until they can retire and get their pensions. There is a major bullying problem in the elementary schools,which no one seems to want to deal with and the curriculum is haphazard, at best. Most of the art galleries and cute little shops on Main Street are actually closed most of the week. They are generally open only Fri.-Sun. presumably to take advantage of the tourists from Manhattan. Contrast that with other areas like New Hope,PA or some of the Connecticut towns which cater to the "antiques and arts" crowds that are open all week and Beacon isn't making itself competitive at all.I can actually see where staying open all week during the winter months might not be such a hot idea,but even in the summer,the hours remain the same. There are also pretty prevalent streaks of both racism and homophobia up here in "adorable little Beacon."Add to that, the idea that if you aren't revving your motor cycle at all hours,or running around looking like a feature story on "Cops"(white wife-beater and flip flops)you are looked at like you don't belong. I've attended events where normal people would dress decently and been amazed at what I've seen. If they can't wear ragged jeans,flip flops and t-shirts to something,I guess they stay home. As for Newburgh being so awful. Again,don't believe everything you read. There is a crime problem there and a gang problem. But those are contained in the very poorest sections of the city and the cops are dealing with it. Newburgh also has a beautiful historic section and several lovely middle -class neighborhoods that of course,don't make the papers because nothing is going on there that's newsworthy.

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A jewel that has yet to be polished.. - 3/14/2010

Beacon for all it's charms can't seem to shake it's less than glorious days of poverty, crime and ghetto mentality. Don't get me wrong, the town has made huge strides with it's businesses, annual fairs and the DIA, but one can't ignore the crackheads peeking around the corners or hard menacing looks one gets in certain parts of town or that uncomfortable feeling one gets when they park and leave their car. I see through the fluff and transparent glitter that the town officials set up to promote tourism, I've seen much moving around Brooklyn years ago, and I know what I see. This area needs more attractions, destinations and a project clean-up crew to clear out bad elements. Larger investments into the future will make this area a dream. I suppose I could be nit-picking though and it could be worse.. I could be living in Newburgh (over the Hudson nextdoor) nightmare.

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Banging doors to get out, a lost childhood memory! - 2/5/2010

Beacon can be a nice city, but it's crazy (crime rate isn't tidy), and you have to be one of THEM to be part of the community! I have Autism and Social Anxiety Disorder, and when I was younger those people just didn't care to know why I was suffering or so angry, they never will, and when I finally got a grip of myself, NONE OF THEM CARE! Not even 10 (literally) tried to be friends with me out of the DOZENS I went to school with! THEY DON'T CARE! I'm not an adult, I'm talking about childhood here, and Beacon and the community completely ruined mine! PLEASE DON'T MOVE HERE IF YOU HAVE A KID WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS, THEY'LL EAT YOU UP AND SPIT YOU OUT WITHOUT SAYING A WORD, AND FORGET EDUCATION AND UNDERSTAND! If you're "normal" enough, it's a pretty good community. Oh forbid you love or even like Poughkeepsie, that's just wrong! For artists, and many other, Beacon can appeal to many, it's been cleaned up since the 90s when all smart people were "door banging" to get out (see review about beating doors, I AGREE!), like I wish my family would have, but sadly I still live in this City, it's not for me, and I plan to bang doors to get out very soon, boy! Beacon is sure a crazy little spec-size of a city (the thing is 1/7 the size of Poughkeepsie, literally!) Be careful about moving here, I had almost no childhood because of the neglect I got from the community, thankfully I have family outside of Beacon to claim I even had a childhood at all!

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H.S. - 12/20/2009

Worried about education.

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A decent little city - 3/2/2009

I really do love beacon. It's a nice place to live if you're single or if you have a family. I've lived here now for approx.7 years. I love the serenity of beacon. I also love watching the deers hanging around in mating season. I admit some uncoasha people are moving up here from N.Y.C(I don't know what's that all about), but all in all we'll keep the beaconites up here and the city people stay in new york. I am a true Hudson Valley Fan!Thank you.

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Soho in the Suburbs - 5/9/2007

Beacon is a wonderful place to live. The population is made up of artists, musicians, teachers, professionals,and people from all walks of life. Many commute to NYC on Metro North. Our Main Street which is within walking distance of the railroad station has several antique shops,a book store, a few specialty clothing shops, art galleries, an art supply store, a wine shop, many diverse restaurants and a great new ice cream shoppe. It also boasts 2 coffee houses that feature live music on weekends, and art exhibitions. We also have the Howland Cultural Center where musical events, poetry readings, art exhibitions and events for children take place. Our post office features WPA paintings. Beacon is also home to Incline railroad, the Madam Brett Homestead, and the Dia Museum which features Andy Warhol and his contemporaries. We are surrounded by natural beauty, by mountains, notably Mt. Beacon and the Hudson River. Many homes have mountain or river views. The houses are a mix of stately Victorians, old farm houses, and houses from every era including a few brand new developments . We are minutes from the Beacon-Newburgh Bridge, the Galleria shopping Center in Poughkeepsie, a Home Depot IN Fishkill, many movie houses. Homes are relatively inexpensive compared to neighboring towns. The mix is country meets urban.There is truly something for everyone in Beacon.

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I absolutely hated it - 5/14/2006

My best friend and I moved here in 1995 and were beating down the doors to get back out as fast as we could. Perhaps things have since changed, but there was NOTHING there. I just hated the whole feel of the place, everything about it grated on me. I'm very adaptable and can usually find something to like about everywhere, but I despised Beacon, as did my friend. We both fled in 1997 and haven't set foot back in the place since.

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Beacon, NY - 7/11/2005

Beacon is a revitalized city. It is home to DIA and a place where many artists are calling home. There is a wide variety of restaurants from vegetarian, Italian, Asian, Jamaican and the list goes on. There are many different stores from antiques, beautiful glass sculptures all the way through to world markets. You can basically find any type of store you desire. There are many outdoor activities at the parks that offer a wide variety of activities for the family and where local vendors and artists sell there products. Second Saturday is when all the shop owners stay open late so that tourists and locals can explore the galleries and restaurants at a leisurely pace. Many people from New York City chose to make Beacon, NY there second home so that they can escape the fast pace of the city on the weekends, other residents are commuters who chose to work in the city and at the end of the day settle down in their house where they can have a garden and a nice backyard. There are many people moving to Beacon from California and various other cities due to the very affordable homes as well as the proximity to NYC. All in all, Beacon is a wonderful town to explore with lots to see and do. DH

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