The New York Times Called My Town “Cool.” Here’s Why They’re Wrong.
I think we can all agree that it’s nice to be recognized; to feel “seen.”
Today, in a piece by Steven Kurutz of the New York Times, Millerton, New York is being seen. But Millerton isn’t cool because people have moved there from Brooklyn, or imported their hysterically overpriced retail stores to cater to their fellow weekenders and the many marooned- and perpetually benzo’d out country housewives. Nor is Millerton is cool just because it is close to Salisbury, Connecticut, one of the last great bastions of dynastic American Wealth.
The author of the piece in the Times has failed to grasp the essence of Millerton. To be fair, it’s a standard tourism piece for isolated New Yorkers whose idea of an adventure is spending $800/night to stay in a half-renovated Air Stream and take a photo of a single deer. It’s very exciting, I’m sure, for their readership to uncover another “hidden gem” of the Hudson Valley, and to take a fun day trip upstate where they can stroll along the town’s ~100 yard strip of commerce calling everything in sight “quaint.” But having an abundance of quaint looking things doesn’t make a town cool. It’s the vibe that makes a place cool, and on this note I’d like to expand on some of the author’s ideas.
If you want to know the vibe of Millerton, go stand quietly inside it’s epicenter, Cumberland Farms, for half an hour. I promise you will not be accosted. What you will find instead is the steady heartbeat of our town — its people, lots of whom labor for the many projects of wealth in this deeply affluent and immensely economically stratified area. (Also, the iced coffee at Cumby’s is at least better than Irving Farm where it somehow always tastes burnt(?)). These are the people of Millerton. The ones who landscape your new estate in Sharon, who serve you at 52 and the diner, who might think about yelling an obscenity at you when you ride your expensive bike in the middle of the road. The vibe is normal people going about their lives, and the vibe is good.
But there’s something else to it as well. The author was correct to point out that there is a sense of openness in the community in terms of receiving new people, however it is not without bounds. The people of Millerton welcome those who come to spend their money and explore the area. But at the same time there will always be a reserved and (mostly) unspoken enmity for these people, and especially for those who come to the area buying up huge tracts of land, building enormous mansions on top of the mountains, and otherwise fashioning their own private fiefdom. Millerton is cool because the locals will never lose this animus, and they can still politely cater to the needs of the new crowd of land- and business owners. “Sure, we’ll get that for you,” and “this weed costs $60/gram.” This is the vibe that makes it appealing for people from out of town, the absence of open hostility.
This balance between contempt and appreciation is predicated on the idea that, for now, the town itself is somewhat immune to further gentrification. There are certain lacking pieces of infrastructure that prevent large scale development in the town, and this has resulted in the locals having achieved some degree of stasis with the influx of new, moneyed people to the area i.e. things can’t swing too far in their favor. Millerton is cool because of this balance, and the vibes would be incredibly fucked up if people started building things all over town. One exception to this is that the town still does need a grocery store, so if you’re a modestly priced grocery brand, put in a bid — any brand marketing itself as “artisanal” need not apply.
To come clean, I don’t live in Millerton anymore. My family still does, and my parents have owned a house in town since 2005. Millerton is where I grew up and it means a lot to me. I’m glad it’s getting some recognition and I would encourage you to visit. It’s quite nice.
At the same time, I would wish any developers getting some bright ideas after the Times piece to kindly fuck off.
Here are my top reasons why Millerton is cool:
- Literally everyone who lives there hates the local police force
- The town lifts the open container law for Spring for Sound
- Spring for Sound
- Meeting some of the weirdest people in New York at the ore pond
- Relative proximity to Meryl Streep (sorry, Meryl)