Friday, October 13, 2017

First DRI Meetings Announced

This morning, Mayor Tiffany Martin Hamilton announced the dates of two upcoming meetings of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) Local Planning Committee (LPC). 

The first meeting will take place on Thursday, October 19, at 6 p.m., in the auditorium at John L. Edwards Primary School. This meeting will include an overview of the DRI program, process, roles and responsibilities, and schedule. There will also be a review of Hudson's DRI application. This meeting is intended to be a working meeting for the twenty-three member LPC. There will, however, be opportunity for public comment at the end of the session.  

The second meeting, which will take place on Thursday, October 26, at 6 p.m., at John L. Edwards, will be a community meeting. At this meeting, the LPC "will being to fully engage with the public regarding process and projects."

There is now a page on the NYS Downtown Revitalization Initiative website devoted to Hudson, where information about the program will be maintained: www.ny.gov/downtown-revitalization-initiative/capital-region-hudson. There you will find this overview statement:
Hudson’s BRIDGE District has the look and feel of the post-industrial cityscape that millennials seek, yet retains a working historic waterfront along the Hudson River. Dense housing in the Downtown Revitalization Initiative area ranges from historically-designated single-family homes to townhouses and high-rise apartments, served by a variety of dining and shopping options in revitalized historic structures. Recent organic, entrepreneurial development has primed Hudson for the next phase of its revitalization: the increased development of mixed-use projects that incorporate affordable and market-rate housing and transportation oriented design; job incubation to create high quality, living-wage jobs; workforce development to prepare local workers for year-round local employment; and a re-imagining of the waterfront for expanded public use and enjoyment. DRI investment will drive the continued success of existing private and public ventures; emphasize job growth and the attractiveness of the district; and set the stage for economic and civic expansion in the district and across the Hudson.
COPYRIGHT 2017 CAROLE OSTERINK

3 comments:

  1. So the big challenge here is including the public in this discussion. Will the DRI commission actively seek out public opinion or will they simply call meetings and invite the public. The former process includes meetings at different locations, appearances on local radio stations, interviews with local media, etc. The latter means a meeting at a specific time and location. One method is real democracy; the other is top-down democracy. Good luck --peter meyer

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  2. I'm in agreement with Peter Meyer. Hudson residents should stand up and make sure that we are setting the agenda in this DRI grant process. We don't need the state or county or any "economic development" specialists driving the bus.

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  3. Thanks for the above comments. Agreed!

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