2014: how the New York Times reports the Hudson Valley

Cultivating Hudson: Enter the Tastemakers

“Ann Marie Gardner has a buzzword for the ‘urban-rural confluence’ she sees fueling this town’s most recent boomlet as a cultural hub. ‘Rurbanism,’ as she describes it, is when urban expats bring their cultural touchstones and appetites with them when they move to a place like Hudson.”

Beacon, N.Y.: Quaint City Rediscovered

“When Dia bought the building in the ‘90s, said Timothy Dexter, the city’s building inspector, ‘nobody wanted the Beacon school district.’ The improvement in fortunes since then — a result of a ‘long, long transition,’ he said — is also a result of luck: ‘Dia found us; we didn’t find them.'”

Life Sentences for 2 Sex Traffickers Who Preyed on Mexican Immigrants

“Government filings show that brothels were operated at 350 First Street in Newburgh, N.Y.; in a second-floor apartment at 613 Seneca Avenue in Queens; on the second floor of a two-story yellow house at 20 Rose Street in Poughkeepsie; and in an apartment at 121 Elm Street in Yonkers.”

The Trial Ends, the Doubts Linger

“This disturbing film, by Kate Davis and David Heilbroner, traces the origins of the case, which came out of Newburgh, N.Y., a hard-luck town about 60 miles north of New York City.”

A Three-Sibling Rivalry Extends to the Pro Ranks

“Jeff Seager, an information technology manager at a bank, grew up in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and played second base well enough to attract scouts’ attention. He told them he was college-bound, though, and played third base for Fairleigh Dickinson.”

Dreamed-Of Music, Undreamed-Of Spaces

“Recently, I’ve taken note of a third camp, more site-specific and curatorial than either of the others. Basilica Soundscape, in a former factory in Hudson, N.Y., fits the bill.”

Commercial Real Estate: Daria P. Salusbury

“But I have a country house in Millbrook, N.Y., in Dutchess County, and I go up almost every weekend and I ride there.”

Preserving the Lighthouse, Not Just the Light

“Esopus Meadows is one of a number of New York-area lighthouses that sat abandoned for decades, though they continued to function as navigation aids.”

Immersive Sound Fills a Factory

“Basilica Soundscape, a two-day festival of sound, sight and taste in Hudson, N.Y., on Friday and Saturday, could one day be to New York City mavens of aggressive and immersive music what Glyndebourne, the opera festival 60 miles south of London, is to classical audiences.

Melissa Auf der Maur Hosts Musical Festivals and Flea Markets in the Hudson Valley

“The proposed Marina Abramovic Institute has helped burnish the ongoing, artistic renaissance of Hudson, New York, but Melissa Auf der Maur got there first.”

Leaving Home, but Not the Folks

“In towns like Lakeville, Washington Depot and Sharon, Conn.; Millbrook, N.Y.; Deerfield and North Andover, Mass.; and Newport and Middletown, R.I., some families are buying or renting houses and apartments to be close to their children, who are living in dorms.”

Dynamite With a Laser Beam

“‘My only experience was that I worked in a metal shop in high school,’ said Mr. DeBonis. They enlisted the help of Mr. DeBonis’s father and brother, traveling to a family-owned barn in Millbrook, N.Y., over three long weekends.”

Uncovering Hudson Valley Artists

“Compared with other regions where she has worked with artists and arts groups, though, ‘it’s much more undercover here,’ she said, adding, ‘There are world-famous artists happily working in big lofts right here in Poughkeepsie.'”