tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723709701684173708.post1974030319632707602..comments2024-03-28T14:37:17.081-04:00Comments on The Gossips of Rivertown: The Battle for Gotham . . . and HudsonCarole Osterinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16010623982526286408noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723709701684173708.post-27575888090268193282010-06-18T10:13:12.178-04:002010-06-18T10:13:12.178-04:00I still think that we have to get a political syst...I still think that we have to get a political system that cultivates -- I'd settle for "allows" -- something imaginative. Am I being overly depressive or is the Hudson political climate as oppressive as ever?<br />--pmPeter Meyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12627451247693034161noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723709701684173708.post-55636984177226141672010-06-16T10:28:08.438-04:002010-06-16T10:28:08.438-04:00Great point, Sam. Speaking of bottom up planning,...Great point, Sam. Speaking of bottom up planning, wouldn't this be an appropriate time to seriously revisit the renderings David Deutsch had Teddy Cruz put together for the City of Hudson? Their was at least two design charrettes held in the planning stages of that process - and frankly Teddy Cruz is one of the most interesting architects/urbanists thinking about community housing right now. If we're attached to the idea of TNT'ing Bliss, perhaps we could at least come up with something elegant and intelligent to put in its place. The current designs are shockingly unimaginative. Insulting really.David Marstonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723709701684173708.post-84470885071501283852010-06-15T18:20:26.215-04:002010-06-15T18:20:26.215-04:00As I was listening to Roberta's talk, I was re...As I was listening to Roberta's talk, I was reminded less of Hudson's main street or housing debates and more of the current draft Waterfront plan, which is all too Moses-like.<br /><br />Robert Moses loved to try to slam highways and crosstown expressways and overpasses and the like through neighborhoods and habitats where such development had no business, all in the name of "progress."<br /><br />Putting a heavy haul road through the South Bay (and all but permanently ensconcing noisy, dusty, disruptive activity along the Waterfront) is very much in the Moses vein, and is being pushed with a lot of the same specious reasoning and top-down thinking as Westway et al.<br /><br />Jane Jacobs, on the other hand, was in favor of (and in some cases invented) principles which set a sound basis for organic, largely unplanned growth -- ones which protected neighborhoods, respected residents' preferences, and allowed diverse, responsive business and housing to flourish.<br /><br />The public meetings (and hundreds and hundreds of comments) that have been received about the LWRP are in the Jacobs mode. People have called for a framework which encourages a mix of compatible uses while protecting against discordant ones (e.g. gravel loading, massive barges and truck traffic) which detract from recreational, conservation, commercial, and other mutually-supportive activities. <br /><br />Yet the draft plan ignores that input and privileges the tenuous "rights" of Holcim over those of the thousands of people who have much stronger rights of access and enjoyment at the River. The City has all the tools it needs to enact a good plan that respects this community consensus, and leads to public acceptance and implementation of a better LWRP -- if it chooses to take up those tools, in the spirit of Jacobs not Moses.Sam Pratthttp://www.sampratt.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723709701684173708.post-52250470984929949782010-06-15T16:07:40.945-04:002010-06-15T16:07:40.945-04:00Traditionally that is what HUDson Government has d...Traditionally that is what HUDson Government has done, follwing the HUD money - and indeed it is evident in the gaping holes and projects from the 60's-90's. Sadly, in spite of all the effort, not much has changed.Jenniferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14147241257381928706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723709701684173708.post-54788632862093492082010-06-15T12:27:58.182-04:002010-06-15T12:27:58.182-04:00Gratz is an expert. The problem in Hudson, in my e...Gratz is an expert. The problem in Hudson, in my experience, is that we have politicians pretending to be experts; rather, they are expert at following the money. I am not very optimistic at the moment about our chances to "do good" with this Bliss Tower thing. --peterPeter Meyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12627451247693034161noreply@blogger.com