Sometime during the various Roosevelt administrations the First Lady came to what would be known as the Valatie Colony to christen two large buildings which have been used for various semi-public purposes throughout the years. Apparently it was a women's prison at some point. As kids we called it the insane asylum because anybody brave enough to go back there was confronted by some sort of anomalous human being under some type of special care. Frightening stuff for silly over stimulated young minds. Of course as I get older and longer in the tooth, the possibility of my own demise or loss of faculties concerns me slightly more then it ever did then. 
The photo is the former First Lady with former Cuban dictator Batista during the initiation of the Good Neighbor Policy.
Apparently the good folks from the State have 'given' these buildings to the locality. Tonight I'm off to a Niverville Neighborhood Watch Meeting there. Yesterday I received a notice from Town Hall indicating that such a meeting was even occurring. Apparently neighbors are forming to report 'identifiable young people' engaging in unacceptable activities. Despite a survey that indicates an overwhelming majority of people feel there is no problem, the Committee will continue to meet based on concerns about ATV's, crime etc. I'm sure some people will be surprised when I express my opposition to the group (after all I have young children . . ) more so than the teens, but we'll see. Here's letter I whipped up to be submitted to the minutes of the next Town Board meeting.
Kinderhook Town Board
PO Box P
Niverville, NY, 12130
Re: Please submit to Board minutes
To Whom It May Concern:
With the exception of a few times during college I have lived in ‘Niverville’ since the age of nine. So to has my wife experienced life with relation to the village of Kinderhook. Having settled to marry and raise our kids, we now live directly across from the fire department in Rose Allen’s former house.
I am opposed to the statutory or official designation of the Niverville Neighborhood Watch Committee. If we do not have sufficient law to protect life and property I would ask to what purpose this committee in fact serves. While not standing in opposition to good neighborly relations, I cannot support the new formation of a quasi-regulatory regime referred to as ‘neighborhood watchers’. I firmly believe that the sole function of government is to protect individuals from the initiation of force and fraud. While I recognize the difficulties of so many legislative and administrative bodies to do this, I feel no need for this reaction to a small group by an unchecked or unlawful group.
If a citizen or person would be reported based on certain perceptions of behavior, certainly no limit to what local or state agencies could enforce is beyond certain imaginations. The provisions of the Patriot Act, Alcohol & Tobacco and local property regulation could very easily find a neighbor pursing an errant suspicion where none might have been previously taken. I enjoy life in Niverville, precisely because it is not like the ‘village’ of Kinderhook in regards to ‘historic’ property regulation or otherwise.
Niverville is more than a simple ‘neighborhood’. It extends through the Hawley Road area as well as places like West Shore Drive and even extends out to Bonnie Lea and Quail Run Estates. Indeed, because there is no political boundary one could even assume the entire ‘784’ telephone exchange presumes Niverville. Thus even the area extending down Rt. 203 into the Town of Chatham might be considered ‘Niverville’.
Until specific boundaries are set or specific regulatory standards established, I would urge my fellow aggrieved citizens to simply talk to the ‘identified young people’ who seem to bearing the ire this formation. Last year at this time I observed to two vehicles from the County Sheriff’s Department speed through Niverville early one Saturday morning. As a citizen I have very little recourse other than to seek public office in order to remedy these types of actions. Having attempted that last year in order to remedy the destruction of neighborhoods in Baghdad, I find the task of asking my neighbor to refrain from behavior that concerns me at home far easier.
Sincerely,
Eric Sundwall
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