Sept 5, 2024 Mari (M) by Maria (R) and a little Tim
R: So this is Mari, at Antonio’s Pizza.
M: Business is good. And I’m doing really, really good.
R: That’s great.
M: I’m doing good. Everything is great. I love people. They’re coming over. That’s what matters to me. Now, the fall, people come for apple picking, pumpkin, all kind of stuff. Summer is great, a lot of people come in.
R: So the agritourism brings people here. And you benefit from that.
M: And more, I think the nature, too, when they come to see one of the best places to visit, to begin with that.
R: It is. Do you ever take hikes around or go to the trestle?
M:Yeah, I go to Mohonk a lot. I go a few places. I mean, in this place, around here, I think some interests should be more to bring more young people in.
R:Yeah.
M: And to bring more young people to around here is, you’ve got to build more apartments. People can have places where to stay. Well, things can change.
R: What else? Any other ideas to bring young people?
M: Well, we have colleges all over around here. If we get them places to stay, maybe instead of paying $3,000 in New Paltz, they could pay here $2,000, save $1,000.
R: Affordable housing, yeah.
M: Yeah. Something like that, you know, will happen.
R:And any other ideas that you have, any thoughts about Route 32?
M: If you go and, if you come in from New Paltz as soon as you pass the bridge, you know, it should be a sign there, big sign.
R: And what should it say?
M: Yeah, you know, like High Falls, it’s in the left. Stone Ridge is in the left, 3-4 miles that way. That way, there’s some kind of, you know.
R:And that’s right before the bridge?
M: And as soon as you pass the bridge, that’s where the town starts. Because when you come in Tillson, it says welcome to Tillson. But, you know, someone who comes for the first time around here has no idea what is Tillson . You know, if you have a sign there, it says, you know, like if you go in some, if you go south, it says 3 miles to the left, it’s, I’m just saying, High Falls, whatever.
R: More specific. How long have you had a business here?
M: 18, over 18 years. I live in Poughkeepsie.
R: Oh, OK.
M: I have my kids in the school there, and he’s almost done. When he’s down, I’m thinking to buy a house run here. Because I want to, you know, try to kind of cut my mileage.
R: Yeah, Poughkeepsie’s a long drive.
M: 24 miles each way.
R: And any changes that you’ve seen over your 18 years for the better or the worse?
M: You know, guaranteed, hands down, this town got changed for better.
R: That’s great.
M: A lot of people move in time. A lot of businesses are open. You know, there’s a lot of opportunities around here. You know, and you know what this town needs more? And one more thing, a sports center. You know, like in the winter, where are kids going to go? You know, why are kids just playing video games in the winter? Should we go to sports? It’s raining, snowing, ice, everything? But you could drive your kids to the sport.
R: That’s a great idea.
M: Indoor sports? Done! That’s a great thing for, if that, you know, if that ever happened in this town, we’ll bring million dollar benefits in this town. Because I see them sometimes. They have the, you know, like a lot of domes inside. When the kids go, so it’s been, it’s, you know. It’s a good idea, right?
R: Winter sports, I never would have thought about it, because I’m not a sporty person.
M: No, but I’m saying you could have indoor sports.
R: You could have climbing walls.
M: You could climb into walls, you could play soccer indoor, you could play field hockey, you could play all kinds of sports. Track, you could do track, all your own.
R: Well, you know, there is a municipal building that is right up above High Falls. I believe it’s technically in Rosendale, then there’s a big basketball court. It’s the old school, and now it’s the municipal building.
M:Yeah. But, you know, but that’s the things, you know, like, people got a pushing more to the use of things. Instead of collecting dust. And we have to clean it every 10 years, clean money.
R: Well, that’s the idea of this project, is to really, like, talk to everybody. All of these interviews that we’re doing and we have these postcards that we distribute. We’ve gotten hundreds of these from people. We put that online and share what people share with us. And these ideas are burbling up.
M: Yeah, but that’s the best thing to talk to the people. You know, I hate when people go and they do things behind the desk. If you don’t put your feet in the field.
R:That’s right.
M: You know what’s going on there. I like the way you put that. You know, this is fact. I can’t control this business from my house. I have to be here. You know, and the same thing is for people who runs the towns, pretty much. Instead, you know, controlling the towns from behind the desk. I’m not saying they’re doing a bad job, but sometimes you got to leave the desk and go out there. You don’t have to ask people. Well, and even if you guys can see what’s going on, and you figure out, wow, I think we’re doing good or not. We’re doing worse.
R: Well, see, that’s why we’re asking everybody. I used to work at a pizza place when I was a teenager.
M: It’s the best thing ever, right?
R: I loved it. I really loved it.
M: I raised three kids in here, Nothing wrong with it. They’re still alive. They still work.
R: It’s true. Well, this is a great conversation.
M: Thank you. Appreciate it. You know, I wish a lot of people could come like you and say something because, you know, like.
R:Well, we’re going to be here.
M: Our kids, they suffer. You know, right now, mental health, drugs, painkillers. I mean, let’s be honest we are family people. We all have kids. So grandkids, anything. You know, our kids are just going through hell.
R:I know., And even our older family members, I lost my younger brother to opioids two years ago. And it sucks.
M: I just lost my cousin, 38 years old. And he has no idea what he was doing. He worked for central hudson. When he tried, that was his first time in his life. He was at a party with his friends. And his friend, I mean, he didn’t do it right. But it happens. And they give him weed. He was his first time in his life. But weed has a fentanyl. And it got him right in.
R:That’s heartbreaking.
M: Yeah, 38 years old.
R: Oh, I’m sorry. Yeah.
M: Well, you know, sometimes that’s where, you know, things, I break through my heart when I say things like. You know, things has to change. It’s better, not for worse. I say it all the time. I say, I tell people, you don’t like it. This is the truth with it. You know, like this, the places like this needs more attention to mental health. People under drugs, people under family pressure. We have families that are screwed up. Let me just say it that way.
You know, I have kids that come up here and sometimes they smell of weed. And I’m looking at saying, wow, I’m a smell. You know, you got the [book bag?] You know, like you’re smell like weed.
Why? “Because parents smoke weed in the car!” Come on.
R: Oh. Well, that is bad.
M: Go somewhere else, please. Do something. Ooh. Let the kids, you know.
R: Where did you grow up?
M: I grew up in Albania. I moved here in 2000.
R: Wow. Do you ever make Albanian food?
M: I do, at home.
R: Is it like a middle east kind of food?
M: Like Turkish cuisine.
R: Oh, I love that.
M: Yeah, it’s a great food.
R: Oh, neat.
M: Yeah, me and my wife, I moved 2000.
R: But we could use a variety of food here, too, if you ever think about making Albanian food.
M: You know, my wife, she’s a great cook. You know, I mean, everything she does is top-notch. But you know, like, it’s so hard, you know, it’s not hard for us to make a food. But a restaurant. It’s hard to work. Today, it’s just like “holy hell!” I mean, I can’t bring two people in the same day to work.
R: That’s what we’re hearing from other restaurants, too, that the staffing is really hard right. Well, the housing is a piece of that, too, I think.
M: But sometimes, you know, I have three kids, two already, you know, one is 25. I got 25, 23, and 14, you know, 25 if you graduate from Pace Manhattan, and I don’t know if you
ever hear college.
R: Yep. I used to live in Manhattan.
M: He works for Hudson Valley, [Durham/}, and Poughkeepsie. He wants to be a doctor. He’s waiting for med school to call.
I got my daughter. She’s 23. She goes in South Carolina, Spartanburg. She’s for chiropractic, she wants to be a doctor. And I got a 14 year old at home.
Now I look at it like this. And I say, our kids, instead of asking too much, they better go and taste it. You can’t have a bowl of soup, ask, and you’re not going to like it. You got to taste it first.
You know, like, and sometimes when the kids come and look for a job, they ask for a job. They ask too much. First thing show yourself, calm down for a second. Show who you are. Who you give it to. There’s no problem with that. We’re going to show them how good you are.
R: I think kids don’t understand that today.
M: All right. You can’t build a house without a foundation. You know, you can’t go and ask for a job. You know, it’s a stairs. You got to climb it. You start them from bottom because you got people there 20 years. You can’t get paid same like those people 20 years. They invest in that place themselves. Now, you’re going to go there and ask them for this much.
No way. You’re not going to get it. Sorry. You’re not going to get it.
The kids. If they don’t get what they want it, they give up.
R:Yeah, negotiating and working your way up.
M: School should be more tougher and tell them, “listen!”. Teach them how to ask for a job first. Because they don’t even know how to ask for a job. They go and says, “can I get your phone number?” and I say, yeah, no problem. “I’m going to text you.” No, no, no, no, don’t text me. Call me. Texting, it shouldn’t be involved in asking for a job.
R: Tim’s been an employer. That’s why he’s laughing.
