Red Hook's New Trustees Inherit a Broken Sewer and a Skeptical Public

Red Hook beat reporter Athan Yanos joins Emily Sachar to break down a closely watched village board election that brought two political newcomers to power. Perry Allen and Craig Rothstein unseated incumbent Anthony Maccarini, with Rothstein winning by just 17 votes after a recount. Yanos walks through what drove the results, from a meticulously run grassroots campaign to the outsized role of trustee Frances Uku's endorsement, and explains why the troubled wastewater treatment plant became the defining issue of the race. The conversation also covers the potential shift in board dynamics under Mayor Karen Smythe, the stakes of a planned fourfold expansion of the village sewer system, a new zoning study for the village's northeast quadrant, and the steep learning curve awaiting two trustees with just one-year terms and a full agenda.

Produced by Emily Sachar, Walter Mullin, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud at the Radio Free Rhinecilff studio