Carmel's Care-Package Season Has One More Month on Gleneida Avenue

There's a short stretch of Gleneida Avenue in Carmel Hamlet that carries a lot of the town's veteran and military life. At 32 Gleneida is VFW Memorial Hall. At 40 Gleneida is the Putnam County Office Building, which has a donation drop-off in its lobby. Between them, at 34 Gleneida, is a county-owned building that sits directly in front of the Putnam County Courthouse, in the Lake Gleneida area of the county seat. For the past ten years it has been where United for the Troops packs care packages for service members stationed overseas.

This month is the charity's last holiday season in that building. The Putnam County Legislature has also voted to authorize tearing the building down. Both stories are happening at the same address in the same few weeks. If you live in Carmel or Mahopac, that gives you two ways to take part this season: help fill the boxes, and pay attention when the county asks the public what should replace the building.

A Decade at 34 Gleneida, and One More Shipping Rush

United for the Troops began in 2007. Jim Rathschmidt and Pat Rathschmidt's son Luke had deployed to Iraq, and they mailed him socks, toiletries and his favorite snacks. Luke told them many soldiers in his unit had no family sending packages, so his parents set up an organization to send them. Within weeks it was collecting donations wherever it could find them. Mahopac News reported in October that the all-volunteer group has shipped more than 40,000 care packages worldwide over the past 20 years.

The group's lease at 34 Gleneida ends at the end of November. Jim Rathschmidt told Mahopac News that United for the Troops will do most of its holiday shipping, the busiest stretch of its year, at the Gleneida location before it moves. The group expects to ship about 2,000 boxes in that time. He also made clear the charity is not being pushed out: "We are grateful to Putnam County for our space on Gleneida Avenue for the past 10 years."

United for the Troops calls its holiday push Operation Defend the Holidays. Its holiday page describes the boxes as "gifts that say, 'we care.'"

The Building's Next Chapter Is Now a Public Question

The county has argued about 34 Gleneida for a long time. The building used to house Putnam Motors, Putnam SCORE and the Putnam Economic Development Corp., and United for the Troops rented its main floor. In June the Legislature turned down a private offer to buy it.

Mid Hudson News covered the Physical Services Committee meeting in August. Committee members talked about demolishing the building and turning the lot into a park and recreation area, or converting the building into a youth or community center. One speaker told the committee the issue "has been debated for 22 years." A county architect who inspected the building reported that it isn't accessible to people with disabilities and doesn't meet current construction or energy standards. He estimated demolition, plus grading and landscaping the lot as green space, at about $200,000. The committee talked for 75 minutes and didn't make a decision.

The full Legislature took it up on October 6. According to Citizen Portal's account of the meeting, legislators voted to authorize demolishing the building. They amended the resolution so the county's commissioner of general services must issue a request for proposals within 30 days of the county executive's signature. The request is for a consultant to run a community survey and public outreach. Legislators also discussed what demolition would mean for United for the Troops and whether the building should come down before or after the planning is done. At a committee discussion the next day, legislators talked about how to keep control of a proposed $200,000 for planning and consultant work, according to a follow-up report.

The building is now authorized for demolition, and a community survey is required. It sits in the heart of the county seat, directly in front of the courthouse, so what replaces it will shape how that block feels for years. Neighbors who pack boxes there this month may get asked about its future soon after.

How to Pitch In While the Boxes Are Still Going Out

United for the Troops lists several ways to help this season on its holiday page. Some cost nothing but time, and some can be done from your kitchen table:

• Banker-style boxes with lids. The group needs large numbers of these office-supply cartons to sort donated items and carry them to its packing site.
• Wish list items. United for the Troops accepts only the items on its current wish list, so check the list before you shop.
• Cards and letters. The charity calls handwritten notes of thanks and good wishes "the heart of a UFT gift box."
• Project Soil kits. You can pick up kits from the red bin at 16 Boniello Drive in Mahopac. You put a spoonful of soil from your own yard into a small 2-by-3-inch zipper bag, add an American Soil label, and staple the bag to a card with a message. The group asks for yard soil only, with no potting or commercial soil.
• Sponsor an American Hero. A $15 donation through the Venmo account on the holiday page pays the shipping on one package. Your message goes on a custom card inside the box.
• Recommend a deployed service member. The contact page has a form for the person's name and address, how long the deployment is, and the size of the unit. Service members receive the boxes free.
• General donations. The donation page takes online payments. It also takes checks or money orders made out to "United for the Troops," mailed to PO Box 242, Shrub Oak, NY 10588.

Project Soil is the program people tend to remember. On its holiday page, the group quotes a service member who said some of his unit carried the soil bags in their medical pouches on missions. If one of them was badly wounded, the soil meant he could die on American soil.

For bigger drops, the charity's list of drop-off locations includes the side door at 34 Gleneida Avenue, 16 Bonniello Drive in Mahopac, and the lobby of the Putnam County Office Building at 40 Gleneida Avenue. The group can also schedule a pickup for large donations. Hours aren't posted, so call 845-729-4239 or email [email protected] before you drive over.

The Dates That Shape This November and December

Veterans Day falls in the middle of the packing rush, and one of Carmel's ceremonies is next door to the building. The Putnam County Veterans Service Agency newsletter lists the confirmed ceremonies around town. If you're sending a box to someone overseas yourself, USPS's 2026 holiday mailing deadlines for military APO/FPO/DPO addresses set the rest of the calendar.

USPS's recommended Ground Advantage deadline for military mail was November 4, so it has already passed. USPS sets all of these dates for expected delivery by December 25 and says actual delivery can vary.

After November, the Packing Moves to Croton Falls Road

United for the Troops had a hard time finding a new space. Jim Rathschmidt told Mahopac News that the places they looked at were too big, too small, or "out of our price range." The Carmel Town Board offered a solution: a one-year lease at a nominal monthly rent for the first floor of the former Mahopac School District offices on Croton Falls Road. The town bought that property from the school district about two years ago. Councilman Rob Kearns said the lease has an opt-out clause, so either side can end it at any time.

Kearns said the town will eventually use that building itself. For now, other projects come first, including Swan Cove and the Route 6 sewer plan. So the charity's Mahopac space is also temporary, and town officials are still deciding the property's long-term use.

That leaves two public buildings in the Town of Carmel with undecided futures: the county's building at 34 Gleneida Avenue and the town's former school offices on Croton Falls Road. The packing work moves from the first to the second when the Gleneida lease ends at the close of November.

I've worked with Hudson Valley families for more than two decades, and I care about the volunteer efforts that hold places like Carmel together. If you have questions about how changes on Gleneida Avenue or Croton Falls Road could affect your corner of Putnam County, I'm glad to talk them through with you. Let's Connect with Isabel R. Alves.