The Gossips of Rivertown

More Than Bingo

2012-02-15T17:01:00.000-05:00

At the informal Common Council meeting on Monday, First Ward supervisor Sarah Sterling took issue with the notion that programming for seniors consisted of nothing but Bingo. So did a Gossips reader, who called to correct that false impression. According to these sources, Bingo represents only one hour in four hours of activities now offered for seniors every Tuesday and Thursday.

The day begins at 9 o'clock with a continental breakfast--coffee and bagels. Breakfast is followed by an hour of Bingo, after which seniors play cards or socialize for the remainder of the morning. Happening simultaneously with these more sedentary activities is an aerobics class at 9:30 and the staunchly defended yoga class at 10:45. A fee of $2 is charged for each of these classes to help pay the instructors. At noon, lunch is provided to the seniors by the Salvation Army Friendly Kitchen, located just down the street. Sterling noted that people usually leave after lunch and just about everyone is gone by 1:00 p.m. She also reported that a representative from Cornell Cooperative Extension has been coming to the Youth Center when the seniors are there to talk about nutrition and exercise.

More Ado About 25 Railroad Avenue

2012-02-15T08:03:00.000-05:00

Although the results of the Phrase II Environmental Study may not have been received yet, Anthony Concra and the City of Hudson are trying to clear title to the property so that Concra can sell it.

Concra bought the land on which 25 Railroad Avenue was built from the Hudson Development Corporation in 1990. When the building was constructed in 1991, he was granted a PILOT by the City of Hudson and a lease. Now, since the records cannot be located, it is unclear whether or not Concra made all the required payments to the City over the past two decades. Tom Casey has the story in today's Register-Star: "Does Concra owe city $15K?"

Unfortunately, Casey identified the group gathered at City Hall on Tuesday incorrectly. It was not the Finance Committee but the Hudson Industrial Development Agency. Because there was no quorum, Mayor William Hallenbeck described the confab as a "work session" rather than a meeting. Hallenbeck, Treasurer Eileen Halloran, and Sole Assessor Garth Slocum were present, along with HIDA attorney Christine Chale, but--like the records--Common Council Majority Leader Cappy Pierro, Minority Leader Ohrine Stewart, and Planning Commission chair Don Tillson were missing.

Gossips Is Two Years Old!

2012-02-14T15:01:00.002-05:00

Actually, it's two years and twenty-four days old, but on January 20, the actual date that the blog began in 2010, Gossips was still struggling back from a long hiatus, and there didn't seem much cause for celebration.

Now, on Valentine's Day, with its 1,421st post, Gossips invites you to celebrate its second anniversary and show that you value this source of hyperlocal Hudson news by setting your own subscription rate and becoming a voluntary paid subscriber. In 2011, 120 readers showed their appreciation with contributions that ranged anywhere from $10 to $250. Gossips is deeply and humbly grateful for the support--in any amount--and the good wishes of all its valued readers.

The cupcakes in our second anniversary photograph--chocolate with butter cream frosting--are from the Chocolate Bar, 4-8 Front Street.

The Enterprising People of Hudson

2012-02-14T12:53:00.001-05:00

The Albany Business Review reports today that Hudson has the most self-employed workers in New York State. The national average for self employment is 6.5 percent. Hudson's self-employment rate is 9.96 percent.

The two major metropolitan areas that rival Hudson in self employment are San Francisco, where 9.3 percent of the local workforce run their own unincorporated businesses, and Los Angeles, where 9.0 percent of the workforce are self employed.

Of Interest

2012-02-14T11:16:00.000-05:00

Tom Casey reports in today's Register-Star that the building at the north end of Second Street, which once housed Emsig Button Factory and more recently Hudson Fabrics, may soon have a new owner: "Premier Brands plans 25 jobs in Hudson." Premier Brands of America, which "manufactures, packages, and markets health and beauty products" for such store brands as CVS, Rite Aid, and ShopRite, is headquartered in Mount Vernon, NY. Steve Corsun, the company's president and owner, has a farm in Ghent and currently serves on the board of the Hudson Opera House.

Hudson at the Grammy Awards

2012-02-14T09:50:00.004-05:00

Frequent visitor to Hudson, new owner of a Hudson property, and loyal Gossips reader Debbi Calton Roberts was at the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday night--in fact, she was onstage (that's her at the far right). Roberts was part of the project that won a Grammy for Best Children's Album. For the gala occasion, Roberts wore what she described as "a fabulous pair of '50s era floaty black chiffon I Love Lucy-style pants" that she got at the vintage clothing store Sideshow, in the 700 block of Warren Street.

Hudson and a Game Changer

2012-02-13T15:52:00.002-05:00

The January 2012 issue of Metropolis, the international magazine of architecture and design, includes a Game Changers feature about Etsy founder Rob Kalin and his newest venture: Parachutes, which is described as "a Hudson, New York-based nonprofit whose mission is to help people 'make a living doing what they love.'"

Ubiquitous Bingo

2012-02-13T15:38:00.003-05:00

When people talk about the senior center proposed for Hudson, it is often pointed out that there is currently no programming for seniors except Bingo. I was reminded of that recently while watching the British sitcom Keeping Up Appearances on DVD. In an episode entitled "Problems with Relatives," Hyacinth's father, a geriatric Lothario suffering from dementia, goes missing, and his daughters (Hyacinth and Daisy) are convinced that he has run off to marry "some unscrupulous woman" he met the previous night at the Senior Citizens' Club. When informed of the situation, Richard, Hyacinth's long-suffering husband, asks, "Should he be proposing at the Senior Citizens’ Club? I thought all they did was play Bingo."

The Publisher of Hudson's Earliest Newspaper

2012-02-13T09:36:00.000-05:00

In early March, this pair of portraits by the 19th-century itinerant artist Ammi Phillips will be coming up for sale at Stair Galleries. The portraits, painted in 1812-1813, are of Ashbel Stoddard and his wife, Patience Bolles Stoddard. Stoddard was an early settler in Hudson and started Hudson's first newspaper in April 1785, the same year the City of Hudson was incorporated. As part of the background information about the portraits, Walter Ritchie researched and wrote a comprehensive biography of Stoddard and his family in Hudson, which is recommended reading for all who are interested in Hudson history.

Contemplating Our Final Resting Place

2012-02-12T14:24:00.009-05:00

Last week, a reader alerted Gossips to devastation in the cemetery. It appeared that a wholesale cutting and pruning of trees was going on in the Cedar Park portion of the cemetery, particularly along the entrance from Columbia Turnpike and around the cemetery house.

When asked about the activity in the cemetery, DPW Superintendent Rob Perry explained that the lack of snow this winter was giving DPW workers the chance to address tree maintenance issues in the cemetery. Many of the trees being cut had been damaged in the ice storm that occurred in December 2008. At that time, many damaged trees had been pruned and left standing to see if they would recover. Some did, but those that did not were now being removed. Perry also pointed out that the area along Columbia Turnpike beyond the entrance to Cedar Park would eventually have to be cleared to make room for new graves, since this was "and forever will be" a cemetery.

The current situation raises the issue of stewardship of our cemetery. The original part of the cemetery--Hudson City Cemetery--was determined in 1983 to be eligible for listing in the State and National Registers of Historic Places for its "noteworthy collection of funerary art, ranging from typically late 18th-century stones executed by a master carver--and embellished with winged effigies and other typical design vocabulary--to tombs, such as the Egyptian Revival-style tomb which is an outstanding reflection of American romanticism in the antebellum period and the interest in that period of utilizing Egyptian design motifs in cemetery design." William Krattinger, historic preservation specialist with the New York State Historic Preservation Office, has called the Hudson City Cemetery "a virtual treasure trove for historians and enthusiasts of American funerary art, offering as it does a wealth of markers and crypts that illustrate various themes and styles within this genre."

Many of the tombstones and crypts in the Hudson City Cemetery are now in disrepair. In the past couple years, Peter Jung has spearheaded a privately funded project to restore the family grave site of Hudson River School painter Sanford Robinson Gifford, but there are many more graves, significant for their design or the personages laid to rest there, that require and deserve remedial care and attention.

Cedar Park, the newer part of the cemetery, was developed in 1896. This part of the cemetery, consisting primarily of 20th-century grave sites and tombstones, is significant not so much for its funerary art as for its design. The entrance to Cedar Park was landscaped by local notable Dr. John Conover Smock, who engaged the help of America's foremost landscape designer, Frederick Law Olmsted, the designer of Central Park. Smock was a notable geologist, who during his career chaired the Department of Mining and Metallurgy at Rutgers University, served as New Jersey State Geologist, and was an assistant in charge of the New York State Museun in Albany. Ahead of his time, Smock deplored the mutilation of natural resources in the Catskills and the Berkshires and worked to protect natural resources in the Adirondacks. When he retired to the mansion in Hudson now known as Cavell House in 1897, Smock pursued his interest in horticulture. It was said that on the grounds of his home he planted a specimen of every tree and shrub that was indigenous to New York State, and people came from miles around to view the beautiful plantings.

Trees and shrubs were an essential element of the original design for Cedar Park, and the maintenance of the plantings should recognize and respect the original designers' intentions. Wouldn't it be grand if a public/private partnership could be created for the stewardship of Cedar Park? The mission of such a partnership would be to do historic research to understand the original landscape design of the cemetery and inform tree and shurb maintenace so that it respected and perpetuated that design while allowing the cemetery to expand as required.

The information about Dr. John Conover Smock comes from the Individual Historic Site application for Cavell House prepared in 2006 by Mary S. Hallenbeck.

White House Honors Hudson Poet

2012-02-10T18:59:00.001-05:00

The White House announced this evening that on Monday, February 13, at 1:45 p.m., President Obama will award the 2011 National Medal of Arts and National Humanities Medal. Among the recipients of the National Humanities Medal is Hudson's own John Ashbery. The event will be streamed live at www.WhiteHouse.gov/Live.

The Second Street Stairs

2012-02-10T16:42:00.000-05:00

A question from a reader, asked in a comment, inspired this post--a footnote really to "News of the Neighborhood." The reader asked if the Second Street stairs were public or private, and the answer is that they are public, on city-owned property, and maintained by the Department of Public Works. What's most interesting about the stairs is how long they have been there, providing a foot path from Allen Street to Cross Street and Tanners Lane.

The stairs can be seen in the foreground of this engraving of 59 Allen Street. (This is the east facade of the house; Allen Street is to the right.) The house was probably built in the 1840s. When this engraving was done, the house belonged to Charles Alger, who purchased it in 1858 and called it "The Hermitage." The houses to the east of the stairs did not yet exist. They were built in the last quarter of the 19th century.

Of Interest

2012-02-10T09:35:00.001-05:00

Tom Casey reports today in the Register-Star that the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court has made a decision in the legal battle between Heinrich von Ritter and the City of Hudson over the property at the end of Tanners Lane: "Von Ritter saga continues." The Appellate Court denied von Ritter's motion, effectively wiping out years of time and effort in the courts.

In the process of the legal battle, the property was appraised three times, for $50,000, $160,000, and $50,000 respectively. Von Ritter now has it on the market with an asking price of $4 million.

Also of Interest . . .

2012-02-10T02:26:00.001-05:00

in today's Register-Star:

More Street Food Coming to Warren Street

2012-02-09T21:47:00.000-05:00

At Wednesday night's meeting of the Hudson Planning Commission, Michael Davis, owner of 347 Warren Street, presented his plans for developing the property. Already the summer home of Tortillaville and the occasional site of a pizza truck, the lot will this spring, if Davis gets site plan approval, include three food trucks in a garden setting and a beer and wine bar at the back of the building with indoor and outdoor seating. The pizza truck will be back, along with a truck offering the cuisine of the Yum Yum Noodle Bar in Woodstock and another still to be determined.

Fifth Ward alderman and former mayor's aide Carmine Pierro, who is a member of the Planning Commission, spoke at length about vendors' permits, pointing out that the City of Hudson requires an annual fee from street vendors and prohibits them from operating within 100 feet of businesses that sell similar products. He expressed dissatisfaction that food trucks situated on private property were not subject to the City's vendor law and shared his opinion that the law needed to be changed.

Carl Whitbeck, attorney to the Planning Commission, pointed out that fees were charged to vendors who use city streets and the food trucks that were part of the proposal would be on private property, implying that the discussion of the current vendor law was not relevant to the matter before the commission. He made the point that the project needed to be judged by the standards applied in any site plan review, stressing that there was nothing currently in the city code to prohibit anything that was being proposed.

After considerable discussion and questions from various members of the Planning Commision, it was determined that Davis should refine his drawings of the site to indicate seating and lighting and return at the commission's March meeting.

Although the project has not yet received site plan approval, Wednesday night's discussion had one positive outcome: the 300 block of Warren Street will soon gain some additional parking spaces. The building at 347 Warren Street was originally a gas station, and for this reason the entire width of the property is a curb cut, "yellowed out" to prohibit parking. Davis indicated that he would like to retain one curb cut, wide enough to allow a vehicle to enter to make deliveries, but the rest of the space could revert back to curbing and be used for parallel parking. It was agreed that his amended drawing of the site would show the placement of the curb cut, the reinstated curbing, and the number of new parking spaces.

News of the Neighborhood

2012-02-09T08:14:00.001-05:00

Back in August 2010, a car driven by a septuagenarian plunged down the grassy hill at the south end of Second Street and crashed into the abandoned Kaz warehouse below. In recent days--eighteen months after the bizarre accident that claimed the driver's life--a barrier has been installed to prevent such things from happening again.

Although the owners of nearby properties might wish for something more attractive on their street, the barrier serves the purpose of warning drivers traveling south on Second Street that the roadway does not continue on the far side of Allen Street.

Yesterday, another barrier--this one temporary--appeared beside the first one. The new barrier blocked access to the stairs leading down to Cross Street and Tanners Lane.

Was the second barrier erected to inconvenience and discourage the volunteers who feed the feral cats at the Animalkind feeding station located a few steps down from the top of the stairs? Happily, this was discovered not to be the case.

Further investigation revealed that the stairs had been cordoned off at the top and the bottom because repairs were being made to some crumbling concrete steps.

The End of a Grand Tradition?

2012-02-08T12:12:00.007-05:00

At the January meeting of the Common Council Fire Committee, First Assistant Fire Chief Craig Haigh announced that the Fire Department was considering discontinuing the Inspection Day parade. This would mark the end of a tradition that began in 1856, celebrating Hudson's volunteer fire department, which was established in 1794.

J. W. Hoysradt Hose & Chemical Company drum line in the 2009 Inspection Day parade.

Not that long ago, when there were still six fire companies headquartered in six historic firehouses, Inspection Day offered residents and visitors the opportunity to stroll along Warren Street--from the Washington Hose firehouse at Front Street to the Phoenix and Edmonds firehouses on Park Place--touring each firehouse to view historic photographs and artifacts, as well as the gleaming fire fighting equipment housed there. A favorite object on the tour for many was the ornately carved fireplace surround on the second floor of the firehouse occupied by the C. H. Evans Hook & Ladder Company.

In recent years, with only four fire companies, three which reside in the consolidated fire station on North Sixth Street, Inspection Day has become a very different experience, but the Inspection Day parade has continued virtually unchanged. The fire companies of Hudson and volunteer fire companies from around the county, smartly attired in their dress uniforms, march down Warren Street, accompanied by their gleaming fire engines--both modern and historic--passing in review before local and state elected officials and the people they serve. Awards are given to the fire company that presents itself most impressively.

C. H. Evans Hook & Ladder and Rogers Hose companies in the 2009 Inspection Day Parade.

Now it appears that the Inspection Day parade may be a thing of the past. According to Haigh, poor attendance is the reason for contemplating abandoning the tradition. Poor attendance could easily be countered by more publicity and hype for this event, which is unique to Hudson and a tradition of long standing. The Inspection Day parade is an opportunity for the residents of Hudson to connect with and show their appreciation for the volunteer fire fighters who protect our city--its residents and its historic buildings. The alternative suggested by Haigh--a family day for members of the department--may address the issue of fire fighter morale, but it fails to bring the fire fighters and the community together--something that is needed even more now that most of our volunteer fire fighters, with the exception of the members of the Hoysradt company, are headquartered in a part of the city where most people rarely go.

Questioning the Proposed Senior Center

2012-02-07T09:12:00.001-05:00

Some have pondered the need for a senior center when the only programs now offered for seniors are Bingo and yoga. Some have objected to the possibility of a tax hike to support a project that was supposed to be funded with grant money. Now the wisdom of attaching a new building to a deteriorating building is being questioned.

If memory serves, more than $800,000 in grant money has been spent on rehabilitating the Youth Center building in the past decade, yet, according to Karen Smith, whose house stands cheek by jowl with the rear wall of the Youth Center, the building still has structural problems that are putting her house and its value in jeopardy.

You can read the details in today's Register-Star: "Senior addition has homeowner worried." Smith shared her photographic documentation of the building's problems with Gossips. Those photographs can be viewed here.

Hudson's Romance with the Parking Meter

2012-02-06T11:11:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago, the Register-Star reported that in 2011 the City of Hudson realized half a million dollars in revenue from parking meters and parking fees and fines. As luck would have it, half a million is just enough to pay the City's annual contribution to the police pension fund.

Recently, I stumbled on this little item in the Hudson Evening Register for July 31, 1941. It reports the "take" from the parking meters in the early days of their residency on the commercial streets of Hudson.

99 PARKING METER BOXES

CONTRIBUTE TOTAL OF $164.98

The parking meter collection has been increased by $164.98 as the result of another "take" from the 99 boxes on Warren street. City Treasurer William H. Clapp announced today.

The money represents the deposits made in the Warren street boxes from July 25 to July 30 and is the first collection for the second month of the meter operations.

Mr. Clapp said $120.45 was collected in nickels and $44.53 represented the number of pennies taken in.

Tomorrow, the police will pick up the boxes from the 67 meters located on Seventh street, Park place and Columbia street.

"I Don't Like Mondays"

2012-02-06T10:27:00.000-05:00

Someone delivering a child to school this morning crashed through the wall of the new HCSD junior high school building and into the faculty lounge. The brakes reportedly failed. Fortunately, no one was injured. The Register-Star has the story and pictures: "Car crashes into school."

Of Water and St. Winifred

2012-02-05T09:28:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I made the comment that St. Winifred on Promenade Hill had once been a fountain. That is not quite true. St. Winifred was originally surrounded by water that flowed out of the statue's base. The water created a pool around the statue, and in the pool there were goldfish. The following article, published in 1898--two years after St. Winifred was installed--makes mention of the pool and also demonstrates that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

HE HAS TROUBLES

The Duties of the Policeman on Promenade Hill

Are Many and Arduous

Acting on the REGISTER'S suggestion an officer has been stationed on Promenade Hill to keep order there evenings. The duty he has to perform there is arduous, and is much augmented by the carelessness of parents who allow their children to trample down the grass and to throw gravel at the gold fish, in the pool about St. Winifred, unrebuked. People also go there with their dogs and allow them to run loose to damage the flowers and dig up the beds. The Public Works Commission should make a regulation prohibiting people from taking dogs on the hill unless they are led in leash. Such an order is in force in other cities having public gathering places ornamented with flowers, and such an order should be speedily put in force in Hudson.

Officer Sullivan is stationed on the Hill in the early evening and the service he renders is commendable.

A fine school of gold fish has been put in St. Winifred's pool on Promenade Hill. The fish are there for the pleasure of the people who frequent the Hill and are not intended as targets for the practice of the young Davids, who scatter in a cowardly manner when Goliath Sullivan puts in an appearance.

The Fall of '"Venus Rising from the Sea"

2012-02-04T10:12:00.009-05:00

In response to Gossips' inquiry about the statue of Venus that once stood atop the fountain in Seventh Street Park, City Historian Pat Fenoff provided copies of Register-Star articles from the 1970s--the decade during which Venus suffered the greatest indignities. Using this material, Gossips presents a photographic chronology of the fate of Venus.

In March 1975, DPW workers removed earth from around the statue of Venus in preparation for creating "Inspiration Fountain." It appears that at this point the original fountain had already been eliminated, and Venus was standing at ground level in the middle of what seems to have been a flower bed. (Something similar was done with St. Winifred on Promenade Hill, which was also originally a fountain.) Venus would soon be moved to the northwest corner of the park, near the intersection of Seventh and Columbia streets.

In July 1978, two vandals went on a rampage in the wee hours of a Sunday morning. They knocked down barricades, ripped out parking meters, and overturned trash barrels in the 500 block of Warren Street, and they bashed the statue of Venus to pieces. Samuel T. Wheeler, then Police Commissioner, called the action "despicable."

The statue was repaired by Robert Allen of Philmont for $800. In the repair process, Allen removed layers of paint from the statue to reveal many of the statue's intricate details and reinforced the statue with cement.

The vandals responsible for the damage--Harry Allen, Jr., and Donald L. Miller--were sentenced to weekend jail terms--three weekends for Allen, five for Miller--and were each required to pay half the cost of repairing the statue.

In November 1978, the repaired Venus was returned to its place in Seventh Street Park, only to be hit by a car eleven months later.

In October 1979, James E. Moore, Jr., nicknamed "Jigger," who was drunk and reportedly "upset over family trouble," crashed into the statue with his car and then proceeded to drive his car into the store at the corner of Park Place and Warren streets--then Bollinger's Paint Store, now Photographics Solutions. Moore's estranged wife and his children lived in an apartment over the store.

This time, the statue was more severely damaged. Robert Allen was once again engaged to do the repairs. To prevent future damage, he reinforced the statue, "filling all internal cavities with cement, plaster and epoxy and welding in heavy reinforcing rods."

The statue was again returned to the park, where it remained until 1998, when it was removed and put into storage.

Bye Bye Walmart

2012-02-04T06:29:00.000-05:00

With the option to buy expiring tomorrow, it seems that the county Board of Supervisors has decided to pass on buying the old Walmart building in Greenport, even though it appears that this decision was not made by a vote of the entire board in an officially noticed public meeting. The news is reported in today's Register-Star, complete with extensive quotes from BOS chair Pat Grattan, former BOS chair Roy Brown, Clermont supervisor Ray Staats, and Hudson Fifth Ward supervisor Rick Scalera: "No time left for Walmart option."

A Shameful Incident in the Public Square

2012-02-03T22:48:00.002-05:00

A Gossips reader, curious about Silas W. Tobey, did some research on the veteran artist who put the finishing touches on the fountain in 1883 and discovered this story. In 1859, Silas W. Tobey was one of the defendants in a lawsuit brought by William Mower and heard in the Circuit Court of the Supreme Court in New York City. Tobey and his fellow defendants--Peter Bogardus, Abraham Bogardus, William H. Hunt, Myron Van Dusen, Charles S. Winchell, and Abraham V. V. Elting--were accused of standing by and making no effort to protect Mower from an angry mob intent on doing him bodily harm. Testimony recounted in the New York Evening Express for September 22, 1859, provides the details of the incident.

In July 1856, Mower, an African American barber, was accused of "ravishing an innocent white girl." Curiously, the girl's father, Abraham Elting, was one of the defendants in the case and testified in court that he had known Mower for fifteen years. One evening, on a signal from a patron who was "getting his hair dressed," Mower was taken from his barber shop by three men, two of whom beat him as they led him to the public square. Once there, an angry crowd formed a ring around Mower. He was made to strip, and tar was applied to his body with a barrel stave. According to one witness, there wasn't enough tar to cover Mower's entire body, so "when they got near the bottom of the pot," they poured what remained of the tar over Mower's head. When the deed was accomplished, Mower, tarred and feathered, was permitted to leave. One witness at the trial, who had been one of the conspirators in the vengeance against Mower, testified that he had enlisted the help of "a clan known as the North Whopping Boys."

Gossips research has not yet discovered the outcome of the lawsuit, but Silas W. Tobey was involved in more litigation at the end of his life. Tobey died as a result of slipping on an icy sidewalk, and in 1888 his heirs sued the City of Hudson for $2,000.

The public square where Mower was tarred and feathered may have been the area now known as Seventh Street Park, but it could also have been the courtyard in front of what is now the Register-Star building at Warren and Fourth streets. In the 1850s, this too was known as the "Public Square." The building was then the jail, and the courtyard in front of it had been the location of the pillory and the scene of a public hanging. It seems more likely, however, that the lynch law action taken against Mower would have been staged someplace away from the seat of official law enforcement, but you never know.

More About Venus and the Fountain

2012-02-02T11:25:00.001-05:00

My interest in Venus and the original fountain piqued, I contacted City Historian Pat Fenoff to find out more and to correct any misinformation I might be sharing. Fenoff graciously sent me the text of this article from the Hudson Daily Evening Register for September 11, 1883.

HUDSON PUBLIC FOUNTAIN

An ornament to the City and a monument to

Public Spirited Citizens. A Description of the Work of Art,

and who were Instrumental in Preparing it.

Now that the beautiful fountain in Public Park is nearly completed and our citizens have enjoyed the sight of "Venus Rising from the Sea," exhibiting in the most effective manner the power of our water supply, and proving that it can be put to ornamental as well as useful purposes, it is proper to speak in detail of this work of art, and award credit to those who were chiefly instrumental in procuring it.

The total height of the fountain, including the foundation, is eighteen feet. The pan is a gurgoyle octagon, eight feet five inches above the base: diameter of pan, eight feet eleven inches. The ground basin is twenty five feet in diameter. The foundation is of Coral Marble, handsomely cut, from the quarries of Supervisor Fred. W. Jones, and was donated by the energetic and public spirited gentleman.

The foundation is capped by a fine slab of Vermont marble, which was generously donated by Patrick Hoctor, of the Hudson Granite and Marble Works. From this rises the base surmounted by the figures, all in graceful proportion and artistic design. But to be fully appreciated, it must be seen when the water in full force is playing through its numerous jets and rising and falling in fantastic forms.

Mr. D. Martin Haviland is entitled to much credit for his persevering efforts in securing to the city not only this beautiful fountain, but the handsome park in which it is located. One of the most unsightly spots in the city has within a few years been converted into one of the most attractive. In this enterprise Mr. Haviland's efforts have been generously seconded by the Boston & Albany Railroad Company, the the action of our Common Council, by the contributions of citizens, and by the local press.

At the outset we said the fountain was nearly completed. It only lacks the finishing touches of the artist's brush. This, we understand, Mr. Silas W. Tobey, the veteran artist, has volunteered to do, and this assurance is sufficient guarantee that the work will be well done and in keeping with the fountain and its surroundings.

Fenoff also provided these notes about the fate of Venus in the 20th century, which correct a misconception of mine. I always believed, despite evidence to the contrary engraved on a plaque, that "Inspiration Fountain" commemorated the City of Hudson's bicentennial in 1985. In fact, it anticipated the bicentennial of the United States in 1976.

In March of 1975 Hudson DPW workers removed the statue to the corner of 7th and Columbia Street. At that time a new fountain was planned for the park. The fountain was named Inspiration Fountain, lighted, with circulating water. This project was part of the Kiwanis Club beautification program.

The National Commercial Bank and Trust Company, and Hudson City Savings Institution each donated $500 toward the $2,500 cost of the fountain, as well as other local businesses. The work being done by the Hudson Department of Public Works. The fountain was dedicated May 3, 1975.

In July of 1978 the statue of Venus was knocked down and broken into pieces by vandals. Robert Allen of Philmont repaired the statue at a cost of $800. According to a letter from Roderic H. Blackburn, assistant director of the Albany Institute of History and Art, the statue was worth $3,000 to $3,500.

According to Blackburn, the statue appeared to be a late 19th-century sculpture of the Beaux Arts style. It is well modeled in the academic manner of the Beaux Arts tradition and is of high quality as a small public fountains go. According to Blackburn . . . the statue was worth preserving but properly restoring. At that time he wrote he was recently in one of the leading shops in New York which sells metal and marble garden statuary and found almost nothing that matches this piece in artistic quality.

In November of 1978 the statue was placed back in the park.

Two years later a car ran into the statue again damaging it. This time the damage was more severe. Robert Allen of Ghent was once again called upon for the task of repairing it.

In 1998 the statue was removed by DPW because of the condition the statue was in.

Where's Venus?

2012-02-02T00:21:00.002-05:00

On Tuesday night, a group interested in improving the area of Warren and Columbia streets east of Seventh Street gathered in the back room of Wunderbar to share ideas. The meeting had been organized and was chaired by Third Ward alderman John Friedman. Among the issues discussed were street lighting, sidewalks, trash receptacles, the truck route, the St. Charles Hotel, but what inspired the group most was the notion of restoring and improving Seventh Street Park. Marshall Trachtenberg, who owns the pair of firehouses on Park Place (originally Edmonds and Phoenix) introduced the issue, saying that a "big catalyst [for businesses in the area] would be to develop the park."

Just as the park is the focal point of the neighborhood, the fountain is the focal point of the park. Any discussion of restoring the park invariably comes around to talking about the fate of the original fountain and the desire to restore it, and last night's discussion was no exception.

As is usual when the current fountain (pun intended) is discussed, disparaging remarks were made about the "Danger: High Voltage" warning signs in the fountain and the "lion cage" fence that surrounds it. Comparing what once was there with what is there now, one wonders when and why the original fountain was replaced.

The plaques affixed to the fence inform us that the fountain is called "Inspiration Fountain" and was given to the City of Hudson by the Greater Hudson Kiwanis Club, the same folks who gave us the Olympic Torch Memorial at the intersection of Columbia, Green, and State streets. The fountain is dedicated to Seth Jenkins, the first mayor of Hudson, to commemorate the bicentennial of Hudson in 1985.

On Tuesday night, a question has asked that is often asked when the original fountain is discussed: "Where is it now?" Here's the answer--to the best of my knowledge.

When the original fountain was removed, the statue of Venus was filled with cement so that it could be displayed independently and installed in the northwest corner of the park. In that spot, it was hit more than once by cars careening out of control from the intersection of Columbia and Seventh streets, so, in 1994 or 1995, Venus was removed from the park. After its disappearance, it was rumored that the statue was being stored in a garage behind 444 Warren Street, which at the time was owned by Hudson Development Corporation. This, however, was not confirmed--at least not by me--until 2006, when HDC sold the building and the contents of the garage were being removed by DPW workers. There, tucked away in a corner and covered with what appeared to be an old bedspread, was Venus, waiting to be transported to her new home.

That new home was a DPW garage on North Second Street, but the question was asked on Tuesday night, by Common Council President Don Moore, if the statue was still there. So Gossips contacted DPW Superintendent Rob Perry to inquire about the statue's whereabouts. Perry confirmed that Venus was still in the DPW garage where it had been placed in 2006 and provided these pictures as evidence.

The fate of the fountain's pedestal is another story. It was reportedly hauled off to Gold's Scrap Yard, then located in the 300 block of Columbia Street, where it was pulverized.

Of Interest

2012-02-01T06:05:00.001-05:00

The Register-Star reports today that Cheryl Roberts, who was appointed Hudson's city attorney by Bill Hallenbeck, has resigned her position as judge for the Town of Austerlitz. According to the report, holding the two positions constitutes an "apparent conflict of interest"--something that seems not to have occurred to Roberts until it was pointed out to her.

Not to Be Missed

2012-02-01T05:59:00.000-05:00

The Register-Star reports this morning that Rick's Point will have a sign to identify it. There's even a picture of the proposed sign, which will replicate the Henry Hudson Riverfront Park signs, designed by Tom Mabley, that were installed when the park was dedicated during the Quadricentennical.

Folly or Vision?

2012-01-31T12:51:00.002-05:00

A reader alerted Gossips to the fact that there is listing on the Coldwell Banker Prime Properties site for 221-228 Tanners Lane. Asking price: $4 million. This parcel of vacant land, at the end of Tanners Lane, belongs to Heinrich von Ritter, who has for many years been in a legal dispute with the City of Hudson over the property, blaming the City for the flooding that regularly occurs there. During the legal process, the property has been appraised twice: once for $50,000; a second time for $145,000.

The listing describes the property in this way:

Unique property, Railroad Frontage, In the River revitalization Area. Appx. 1,800 feet from the Hudson River. Zoned Industrial/Commercial/Warehousing. Walk to Hudson Train Station, Hudson River, Riverfront Park, Boat Club, and State Boat Launch Site. Currently under review for rezoning to allow for High rise condo's. Unlimited possibilities.

Rick's Point

2012-01-31T07:57:00.000-05:00

Over the weekend, there was an "honorary retirement celebration" for Rick Scalera, perennial mayor of Hudson for the past two decades, at the Elks Lodge. Reporter Jeff Alexander was there and tells about the event in today's Register-Star: "Scalera receives official send-off."

It seems the rumor that has been making the rounds is true. New mayor William Hallenbeck has named the southernmost part of Henry Hudson Riverfront Park--the area that affords the best view of the activity at the Holcim dock--"Rick's Point."

What to Do, What to Do?

2012-01-31T07:29:00.000-05:00

An article in today's Register-Star reminds us that, while the county Board of Supervisors is waiting for the results of the Phase II environmental study on 25 Railroad Avenue, they still have an option to buy the old Walmart building in Greenport to house the Department of Social Services and other county offices: "Deadline nears for Walmart decision."

Let's see. How long has the Board of Supervisors been contemplating relocating DSS? Seems that it was back in 2007 when the BOS Capital Building Search Committee began its investigations, which resulted in the acquisition of the old Ockawamick School in Claverack for $1.5 million. The county, it seems, has still not found any use for the building that would justify the purchase price. Then, in November 2010, the Columbia County Capital Resource Corporation came up with the idea of purchasing the abandoned Walmart building and relocating there not only DSS but all county offices not required by law to be situated in the county seat. In August 2011, the Board of Supervisors decided to hold off on the Walmart acquisition, but apparently they still have an option to buy the building, which will expire on February 5--before the Phase II environment study is expected to be complete.

Meanwhile, if our information is still valid, the county has been paying $30,000 a month, since June 2011 when the original twenty-year lease on the building expired, to rent 25 Railroad Avenue.

Over the River . . . and Back

2012-01-28T15:37:00.003-05:00

Starting Monday, January 30, if you venture across the river, it will cost you more to get home. The New York State Bridge Authority is raising the tolls on Hudson River bridges, including our own Rip Van Winkle Bridge. Instead of $1, the toll for drivers paying cash will be $1.50, while the toll for E-Z Pass users will be $1.25. You can read all about it in the Kingston Daily Freeman.

For Gossips, the news is sufficient excuse to share this vintage picture of the western approach to the Rip Van Winkle Bridge.

Of Interest

2012-01-28T10:03:00.001-05:00

In today's Register-Star, Jeff Alexander reports that the Phase II environmental study of 25 Railroad Avenue is expected to be completed in two weeks: "DSS study done soon." This is the building that has housed the Columbia County Department of Social Services since 1991. For the past twenty years, the County has leased the building from its owner, Anthony Concra, and is now contemplating buying the building. The City of Hudson, in the person of former mayor Rick Scalera, has also been interested in purchasing the building to relocate the police department and city court. Alexander's comprehensive article summarizes the building site's past uses, its history as a landfill, and prior concerns about the quality of the environment inside the building.

A Message from WIlliam

2012-01-27T16:20:00.000-05:00

It's a sure sign that our life is almost back to normal: my human is walking me herself again! So it's high time that I thanked all the people who took care of me when my human couldn't.

My thanks to Rick Rector who let me stay at his house for a while (with Lucy--my heartthrob), and Norman Posner and Graham Farrell who took me in for the rest of the long time the human and I were apart. Thank you to Peter Pehrson and Rick Rector for walking me every day since I've been back home--Peter in the morning, Rick in the evening--in the rain and the cold and the snow, and thanks to Peter Meyer who took me for a walk with my buddy Gus on a bitterly cold afternoon. Thanks to Carole Clark and Timothy Dunleavy for bringing food to the human when she couldn't cook, and thanks to everyone who wished us well during our ordeal.

Most of all I'm grateful to Ellen Thurston who arranged for my care, looked after Fred the cat (who stayed home alone), and did all kinds of things to help my human when she was sick.

Of Interest

2012-01-27T07:32:00.000-05:00

In today's Register-Star, Tom Casey reports on how state redistricting will affect Columbia County: "Which side are you on after lines are redrawn?"

The Origins of Seventh Street Park

2012-01-25T12:10:00.006-05:00

In yesterday's post, we quoted Anna Bradbury's account of the beautification of what she called the Public Square. Here's what Bradbury, quoting the minutes of the Common Council, reports about how the space originally came to be set aside for a park.

1785, July 25th. It was voted "that one house lot on Main street should be given to Ezekiel Gilbert, as a free donation, for his essential services done the proprietors, in bringing about the incorporation of this city."

Whether Mr. Gilbert built on this lot is uncertain, but in the year 1800, he occupied a pleasant country residence standing on or near the site of the St. Charles Hotel, and gave to the city a portion of the ground for the upper Public Square, with the intention of having it laid out as a park.

Bradbury tells us that, despite Gilbert's intention, "for some inscrutable reason it was denuded of its fine old forest trees, and paved with cobblestones." This picture gives an idea of what the area that is now Seventh Street Park looked like before the efforts in 1878 to turn it into a park.

Not to Be Missed

2012-01-24T17:12:00.001-05:00

Sam Pratt reports on "Hudson Real Estate Rumblings"--some that offer the promise of new eateries and watering holes.

Seventh Street Park

2012-01-24T16:59:00.000-05:00

For decades, the eastern end of Warren Street has gotten short shrift. The stretch of Hudson's main street above Seventh Street Park never got new sidewalks or fancy lamp posts--either during Urban Renewal or more recently. Now, with new businesses and enterprises springing up around the park and a new restaurant soon to open in what was Keystone Antiques, there is growing community interest in improving this part of the city and its focal point: Seventh Street Park. A meeting is being organized by Third Ward Alderman John Friedman to discuss ways to achieve this goal. The meeting will take place on Tuesday, January 31, at 6:30, in the back room at Wunderbar. Business owners and property owners interested in helping with this initiative are invited to attend.

Restoring Seventh Street Park, originally known as the Public Square, is an idea whose time has come, but it won't be the first time citizens of Hudson have taken it upon themselves to improve this open space. Anna Bradbury in her History of the City of Hudson, New York tells about the effort in 1878 to beautify the park then known as the Public Square.

[The Public Square] as we have seen was intended for a public park by the donor, but for some inscrutable reason it was denuded of its fine old forest trees, and paved with cobblestones. To complete the devastation, the Hudson and Berkshire Railroad was allowed to cross it, and thus it remained until 1878, when the matter was taken up by a resident on the upper side of the Square. Subscriptions were solicited and a sufficient sum was raised, together with the gifts of the coping and trees from individuals, to transform the treeless desert into a refreshing little oasis. The Boston and Albany Railroad Company atoned in a measure for its presence, by generously furnishing sufficient gravel to fill in the whole surface of the Park.

These picture post cards show what the park looked like after these 1878 improvements.

About the Senior Center

2012-01-23T14:00:00.004-05:00

It was back in August 2010 when we first got a glimpse of what the senior center to be appended to the Youth Center, once the Methodist Episcopal Church, might look like. This engineer's drawing, submitted with the City's grant application, inspired many to worry and wonder.

Matthew Frederick, on his blog Hudson Urbanism, used the drawing to generate a three-dimensional image of what the new building, sitting beside the rather brutally altered former church building, might look like.

We were assured then that the drawing had been created for the grant and did not represent what the actual building would look like. In August 2011, it was announced that Jane Smith, principal of the architectural firm Spacesmith and architect member of the Hudson Historic Preservation Commission, would be collaborating with Crawford & Associates to create the design for the building.

Last week, the Register-Star reported that the Common Council is contemplating exceeding the $550,000 the City has in hand for the building, all of which has come from grant money, by $268,000, which the City would have to raise by borrowing and other means not clearly defined. The original $550,000 would build a single story addition; $818,00 would buy an addition with a partial second story. But what will these two alternatives look like? The conceptual sketches below provide some idea.

The Youth Center is situated in a locally designated historic district and on a principal gateway to Hudson. Being in a historic district requires that new construction be compatible with the existing architecture. The test of compatibility involves three elements: mass--the proportions of new structure, especially height and width, should be similar to those of existing buildings; texture--the surface quality of the new structure's material should be harmonious with the predominant surface quality of the existing buildings; and continuity--which involves the placement of the new structure and its spatial relationship to the street and neighboring buildings, the relationship of solid and void (walls and windows) in the new structure and existing structures, the continuation in the new structure of the predominant lines found in existing structures, and roof shapes, window shapes, projections, and architectural details.

It's a challenge to imagine how the proposed building--either the one story or the partial two story version--can meet the test of compatibility, but perhaps that's not even a consideration. The challenge of meeting the program requirements for the building while keeping the project within budget may be so great that concerns about compatibility and the integrity of the streetscape have been set aside. The City, after all, is building the addition, and the City can flout its own laws, if it chooses to, particularly when it comes to historic preservation. Let us hope that is not the case.

What's Happening with the Eleanor?

2012-01-17T14:32:00.000-05:00

Last we heard, the City of Hudson had agreed to lease a piece of land on Broad Street, near Henry Hudson Riverfront Park, to the Hudson River Historic Boat Restoration & Sailing Society. There the Society planned to construct a pole barn--some said with transparent walls--where the restoration of the historic Hudson River sloop Eleanor would be carried out and the project's progress could be viewed by the residents of Hudson as well as visitors arriving by train, yacht, or kayak.

Everyone curious to know the current status of the project is invited to attend an event that is being called "Charting the Course for 2012." It will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, January 26, at the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce, located in the former Washington Hose Company firehouse at the entrance to Promenade Hill. The informational evening will include a book signing by Captain Stanley Wilcox, author of The Hudson: From the Battery to Troy, and a reading "with remembrances" from "The Voyage to the New York Harbor Fest 1979" from the log book of the Eleanor.

Refreshments will be served. For additional information call (518) 828-7884.

Thomas Cole in Paris

2012-01-17T13:49:00.000-05:00

A reader alerted Gossips to an article from the San Francisco Chronicle about an exhibition of Hudson River School paintings, focusing on the works of Thomas Cole, that opened recently at the Louvre in Paris. The exhibition is called "New Frontier: l'art americain entre au Louvre," or "American Art Enters the Louvre."

"Our Town" Hudson

2012-01-14T10:03:00.000-05:00

In 1940, United Artists released a film adaptation of Thornton Wilder's play Our Town. On the day the film was to be shown at the Community Theatre in Hudson, this article appeared in the Hudson Daily Star, proclaiming Hudson to be one of thousands of "Our Towns" scattered through the nation. Thanks to a Gossips reader for bringing this to our attention.

From the Hudson Daily Star for July 13, 1940.

Hudson is typical of the thousands of "Our Towns" scattered across these United States and because of its antiquity it is numbered among the early "Our Towns."

The showing of the screen version of Thornton Wilder's Pulitzer Prize play "Our Town" at the Community Theatre here today is a reminder that communities such as Hudson have ever been and will continue to be the spiritual, social and material background of America.

"Our Town"--has always been a busy trading place--one that early attracted national attention. From an issue of the New York Journal published in 1786 we quote--"The increase in population and business importance of the city has been unparalleled. It contains several fine wharves, a covered rope-walk, spermacetiworks, one hundred and fifty dwelling houses, shops, barns and one of the best distilleries in America, and fifteen hundred souls; and upwards of twelve hundred sleighs loaded with grains of various kinds, boards, shingles, staves, hoops, ironware, stone for building, firewood and sundry articles of provisions for the market, entered the city daily for several days together in the month of January this year."

And, remarks Captain Ellis in his history, "This account makes no mention of the twenty-five seagoing vessels then hailing from Hudson, or the ship yards from which had been turned out at least one ship (the "Hudson," three hundred tons, Captain Robert Folger) then ready for sea while others were on the stocks in process of construction."

In this, "Our Town" of today, the people maintain the honorable traditions of the past and, guided by the energetic spirit of the Proprietors, strive to keep "Our Town" in the pattern of commerce, culture and spiritual grace which they planned and achieved. In the 155 years from 1785 to 1940 "Our Town" has travelled a long way in population, industry, education and many other activities.

"Our Town" now has a population of about 12,000, covers some three square miles, ranging from sea level to 300 feet above. The automobile and modern means of communication have extended the influence and service of "Our Town" over a wide area of the rural countryside. More than ever before it is the focal point of Columbia County of which it is the county seat.

"Our Town" has a core of manufacturing plants, employing approximately 2,000 people, engaged in producing cement, in two of the largest plants in their line, machinery, tools and presses, woolen knit goods, an internationally known brand of ginger ale, matches, dresses, ladies handbags, paper boxes, canned mushrooms, strip fly paper. All of which give a payroll of about $2,500,000.

The shopping district of "Our Town" serves a trading population of nearly 50,000 consumers.

The early days of "Our Town" emphasized schools and educational advantages and the modern town has six public schools and one parochial school. "Our Town's" new half million dollar Montgomery C. Smith High School in a magnificent setting with its fine Chancellor Livingston Athletic Field is undoubtedly the finest of any city of our size in this state.

"Our Town" boasts of six acres of well kept parks. Four banks serve its financial needs. Two daily newspapers, whose roots go deep into the past, have wide circulation. Modern theatres bring the best obtainable movie entertainment to "Our Town."

Its fine motorized volunteer fire department is without peer in the State. It has an energetic Chamber of Commerce working for the best interests of the community.

"Our Town's" Hospital, its Home for the Aged, its Orphanage, its churches, fraternal and social groups, all bespeak a friendly and neighborly community.

We who call ourselves Hudsonians and dwell within its confines, surrounded and blest as we are by the scenic beauty, created by the hand of the Almighty, are indeed privileged to call it "Our Town."

One Person, One Vote: Hughes Prevails

2012-01-12T03:37:00.000-05:00

Jeff Alexander reports in today's Register-Star that the Board of Supervisors Democratic caucus, voting one person, one vote, has elected Hudson Fourth Ward Supervisor Bill Hughes its minority leader: "Hughes will be BOS minority leader." Clermont Supervisor Ray Staats, who had been the minority leader, was less than gracious about the outcome, maintaining that the Hudson supervisors had "bullied the group and steamrolled the caucus.” The Hudson supervisors--Democrats all--are Sarah Sterling (First Ward), Ed Cross (Second Ward), Ellen Thurston (Third Ward), Bill Hughes (Fourth Ward), and Rick Scalera (Fifth Ward).

Minority Leaders

2012-01-11T01:04:00.001-05:00

It seems that the Board of Supervisors Democratic caucus still hasn't resolved its disagreement about how to cast their votes for minority leader. The way the votes are cast will affect the outcome. If it's one man-one vote, Hudson Fourth Ward Supervisor Bill Hughes is likely to become the minority leader. If caucus members vote by weighted voted, Clermont Supervisor Raymond Staats will be the minority leader again.

The Common Council has a different problem when it comes to choosing a minority leader: no minority. Everyone on the current Common Council was elected as a Democratic. The only alderman who might conceivably be considered a "minority" is First Ward Alderman David Marston, who, although he ran as a Democrat, is registered as an NOP, "No Official Party." Of course, there is no precedent for considering someone who ran as a Democrat but is not a registered Democrat as something other than a Democrat. In 2007, rookie Second Ward Alderman Wanda Pertilla became the majority leader, in a rather contentious election within the Democratic caucus, even though she was not at the time a registered Democrat.

The "State of the City"

2012-01-11T00:38:00.001-05:00

At the organizational meeting of the Common Council, Council President Don Moore delivered what has been called his "State of the City" address. A fair synopsis of the presentation appeared in Tuesday's Register-Star: "Council maps out 2012 goals." The text of the entire message can be viewed here.

Problem Solving Scalera Style

2012-01-08T20:01:00.000-05:00

While Gossips was on hiatus, Sam Pratt published a post on his blog responding to Doc Donahue's declaration that selling the land surrounding Hudson's secondary water supply to Colarusso to pay for the new water treatment plant was Rick Scalera's legacy as mayor of Hudson. Pratt maintained, however, that Scalera's true legacy was job loss. For Gossips, that post recalled one particular effort by Scalera to retain jobs, which reveals a great deal about how Scalera goes about trying to solve problems.

Back in 1997, McGuire Overhead Door, located at the end of Hudson Street off Union below Sixth, was threatening to shut down. To prevent this, Scalera came up with an incentive to keep McGuire's open and in Hudson: a building site for a new factory. The site was seven acres, bordering Worth Avenue, of the landscape surrounding the Dr. Oliver Bronson House, on the grounds of the Hudson Correctional Facility.

In New York, if there is unused state property within the boundaries of a municipality, the municipality can request the use of that property. What's required is enabling legislation and the consent of the state agency in possesssion of the land. Since Scalera spent his working life employed at the Hudson Correctional Facility, he naturally looked to the Department of Correctional Services for help in achieving his goal. Frighteningly, his plan to carve out seven acres of the Bronson House grounds and turn it over to McGuire was almost a reality before anyone knew the first thing about it. With Steve Saland's sponsorship, the enabling legislation had already been approved in the state senate and was scheduled to be voted on in the state assembly the following week when, on a Friday night, Timothy Dunleavy, president of Historic Hudson, ran into Herb McLaughlin, then superintendent of the Hudson Correctional Facility, in the bar at the St. Charles Hotel. McLaughlin, who had worked with Historic Hudson to organize a "field trip" to the Bronson House a few months earlier, mentioned in passing the status of the plan, fully expecting that Dunleavy already knew all about it. Not so.

Upon learning what was afoot, the fledging Historic Hudson--then less than a year old--went into urgent advocacy mode. In no time, they cranked out a flier raising the alarm, which was widely distributed on Warren Street, and initiated a letter writing and faxing campaign focused on Pat Manning, who was then our representative in the state assembly. Manning responded by withdrawing his support, which earned him Scalera's ire, and the enabling legislation never reached the assembly floor, putting an end to the plan to build a factory smack dab in front of the Dr. Oliver Bronson House.

After the threat of closure, McGuire's fortunes seem to improve, and for a brief period it thrived at its old location but under new management. Unfortunately, in 2006, the Texas-based parent company sold the operation to a Wisconsin-based company which decided to shut it down, leaving seventy-two people out of work. The closure of McGuire's happened during one of the two terms in the past two decades when Scalera was out of office, and he criticized Dick Tracy, who was the mayor at that time, for not trying to prevent the factory from closing.

Since 1997, substantial evidence has been discovered to link the grounds of the Bronson House with noted 19th-century landscape designer A. J. Downing. In 2003, thanks to the initiative of Historic Hudson and the efforts of the State Historic Preservation Office, in the person of William Krattinger, the Dr. Oliver Bronson House and the thirty-two acres immediately surrounding it were designated a National Historic Landmark. In the past year, the restoration of the historic house has begun in earnest, with Historic Hudson as its legal steward. Still Scalera likes to treat the historic grounds, which remain part of the Hudson Correctional Facility, as an ace up his sleeve. When Sarah Sterling was looking recently for a large space to site a dog park, Scalera suggested using a portion of the Bronson House grounds.

Not to Be Missed

2012-01-08T13:23:00.001-05:00

The Times Union catches up on Hudson as a music town: "Hudson grows as a musician-friendly town." This picture of Tommy Stinson is from the article.

Of Interest

2012-01-07T06:18:00.000-05:00

Hudson supervisors--Democrats all--are in conflict with the rest of the Democrats on the Board of Supervisors over how the vote for minority leader should be conducted. The Hudson supervisors are advocating for one-man one-vote, while Democrats from elsewhere in the county want to continue the traditional practice of using the weighted vote to determine who will be minority leader. Jeff Alexander has the story in today's Register-Star: "Dems clash over minority position."

Gossips Is Back!

2012-01-06T07:39:00.000-05:00

After spending a full month at Columbia Memorial Hospital, where I seem, as a patient, to have proved the truth of Murphy's Law, I'm back at home, at my computer, poised once again to resume Gossips news and commentary about Hudson. Anecdotes from my extended stay at the hospital may find their way into Gossips posts over the next few weeks, but for now I have nothing but good things to say about the nursing staff who took care of me during those endless days and nights of being a patient.

It will take a while for Gossips to get back up to speed, but in the meantime, this morning's recommended reading is Sam Pratt's post about the notorious history of the Girls' Training School--now the site of the Hudson Correctional Facility--which appeared on his blog yesterday: "Cigar stumps, careless tongues, secret cemeteries, slave labor & South Bay."

Of Interest

2011-12-06T08:20:00.000-05:00

The Register-Star's coverage of the demolition of the Colored Citizens' Club, with quotes, some apparently recycled, from leaders of the African-American community: "Historic club goes down."

Moore Responds

2011-12-06T08:08:00.000-05:00

In a letter to the editor in today's Register-Star, Common Council President Don Moore responds to Timothy O'Connor's assertion that the Common Council voted on the zoning revisions without an adequate map that defined the zoning districts: "Map does exist." According to Moore, Figure 27 in the LWRP (reproduced here) is that map.

The map in question has serious shortcomings as it pertains to the extension of the Core Riverfront District to include the "causeway." It does not define the width of this extension; it does not accurately represent how the "causeway" connects back to the larger Core Riverfront District. Both considerations should have been serious concerns for the Common Council in approving this zoning, but apparently they weren't.

CC Club Leveled

2011-12-05T16:13:00.001-05:00

The former Colored Citizens Club at the North Third and Columbia streets was demolished this afternoon. It's been reported that it was supposed to be demolished over the weekend, but the work was postponed until today because of Winter Walk. Residents in close proximity to the structure complained that they had not been warned that the demolition was to take place.

Scott Baldinger provided these photographs and a video of the demolition.

Click here to view the video.

So Long, Ritter's

2011-12-03T16:53:00.000-05:00

At 2 p.m. this afternoon, Ritter's Grocery closed forever--a neighborhood institution that will be sorely missed.

Photograph by Peter Meyer.

Gossips Missed It . . .

2011-12-03T11:44:00.000-05:00

but Wenonah Webster didn't. On Thursday night, Annie Leibovitz shot an ad for McClelland's Scotch at our own Red Dot.

Not to Be Missed

2011-12-03T05:55:00.000-05:00

A My View about Hudson's architectural heritage in general and 211 Union Street in particular by David Marston, alderman elect for the First Ward. This piece appeared in the print version of the Register-Star yesterday and online today.

Ear to the Ground

2011-12-03T05:35:00.000-05:00

Scott Baldinger reports the latest Hudson rumor on his blog: "Eye on Ian." Can it be that Ian Schrager, creator of the original boutique hotel, has purchased the Warren Inn, the first and only movie theater turned motel in the country?

More About the Dog Attack

2011-12-02T23:26:00.000-05:00

In today's Register-Star, Audra Jornov reports on a dog attack that took place yesterday in the Hudson City Cemetery: "Dogs bite city woman." Gossips has since received more information about the incident.

The woman attacked was a 79-year-old peace activist from Claverack who is a regular at the Saturday vigil in Seventh Street Park. Yesterday, she decided to take a walk in the cemetery after attending a meeting of the Interfaith Council in Hudson.

When the two dogs attacked, the woman turned her back on them and could feel the dogs' paws on her shoulders. During the attack, she fell and broke her wrist. She managed to drive herself to her doctor's office at Columbia Memorial Hospital. There she was admitted to the emergency room, where they set her wrist and released her.

The owners of the dogs have been described as being "very soliticious." The victim was told that one of the dogs could be aggressive with people who had hoods covering their heads. Yesterday was a cold day, and the victim had put the hood of her sweatshirt up.

Getting the Stone Off Hudson's Streets

2011-12-02T09:27:00.001-05:00

The Common Council recently approved zoning amendments that extend the Core Riverfront District the length of the "causeway," an action requested by Holcim/O&G in its "public comments," to protect their right to use and develop this path through South Bay as a route for moving gravel from the quarry to the river. Since July, O&G has been using this route to haul gravel to the river, but empty trucks leaving the dock continue to travel on city streets. According to Common Council President Don Moore, the Common Council will soon take up again the local law that would require O&G to use the causeway in both directions and prohibit gravel trucks on Columbia Street below Third and on Front Street.

Our 21st-century Common Council is dealing with the same problem a 19th-century Common Council faced 140 years ago--and making virtually the same decisions. This timetable, created a decade ago by Don Christensen for the exhibition Seeing South Bay, reminds us how the railroad that became the berm that became the "causeway" came to be in the first place and poignantly demonstrates how history repeats itself.

1872--Frederick W. Jones forms a company to quarry stone and marble from Becraft Mountain. Mule-pulled wagons begin transporting stone and marble from the mountain down Worth Avenue to Union Street to West Court Street to Allen Street to the river for shipment.

August 6, 1872--Samuel T. B. Heermance, owner of a tract of land on the east shore of South Bay, receives a "grant of land under water" from the State of New York to develop underwater lands through South Bay to the river for "beneficial use."

October 1873--Heermance sells Jones a right of way through his property and through the "land under water" to the river's edge the width of one road (about 16 feet) to build a railroad. No public announcement is made of this plan at the time.

January 29, 1874--Application made to Hudson Common Council to build a horse-drawn railroad from the quarry on Becraft Mountain through Green Street to State Street, down the center of State Street to Front Street and to the river.

February 23, 1874--Residents and business owners along Green and State streets submit a petition to the Common Council against the railroad application, claiming, "such a track would seriously lessen the value of real estate along its line."

February 29, 1874--Common Council rejects application for State Street railroad.

March 19, 1874--Public annoucement of plan by Frederick Jones to build an alterative railroad from the quarry through South Bay.

March 26, 1874--Common Council approves right of way across Bay Road for the Jones railroad.

May 4, 1874--Groundbreaking ceremonies for railroad construction. Engineering contractors promise to have road "constructed, fully equipped with locomotive and cars, and in perfect running order by july 15." Construction is halted shortly afterward.

April 16, 1884--Heermance sells Jones the one-rod wide strip of land through South Bay to be used as a railroad from the river to the mountain.

March 1889--After a delay of 15 years due to "vicissitudes of fortune," work on the railroad resumes.

March 14, 1889--Final rail line to river completed.

Last Night at City Hall

2011-12-01T08:04:00.000-05:00

It was predictable. It was inevitable. Everyone knew the votes were there. Still when it happened, it was sobering and stunning.

Last night, the Common Council passed four pieces of supporting legislation for the LWRP: the zoning amendments, the amendments to the zoning code and the city charter to create a local Coastal Consistency Review Board, and the charter amendment to create the position of a Harbor Master. These actions are being hailed in today's Register-Star headline as "passing the LWRP": "Common Council passes LWRP." Only Third Ward Alderman Ellen Thurston voted against adopting the zoning amendments. Third Ward Alderman Chris Wagoner was absent, so his vote too was effectively a no vote.

According to reports, the action was cause for celebration by members of the Common Council as well as members of the audience--Linda Mussmann and Rick Scalera. Common Council President Don Moore is quoted as saying, somewhat incomprehensibly, "This is a plan with specific projects and it's not something that you run up and down Warren Street proclaiming, but it's a very substaintial [sic] tool for people in the city that want to see the waterfront developed." Similarly, Scalera claimed the plan “brightens the future for our children and unshackles our waterfront for development.”

By contrast, we're reminded of Nick Haddad's warning during the mayoral debate that it will be "very difficult to get necessary investment in place if it has to coexist with heavy industry," and his prediction that "what we want will not happen so long as the industry is in place."

Where's the Map?

2011-11-30T04:15:00.000-05:00

In a letter to the editor in today's Register-Star, Timothy O'Conner questions how the Common Council can move ahead with a vote on the zoning amendments proposed by the LWRP without having before them a map that accurately defines the boundaries of the districts--in particular, the Core Riverfront District which now extends the length of the "causeway."

Tonight at 6:15, the Common Council will hold a special meeting to vote on the following legislation:

The Last Word from the Board of Elections

2011-11-29T18:09:00.000-05:00

The ballot counting is effectively over, and Hallenbeck has emerged the winner. Read the details on Sam Pratt's blog.

More News from the Board of Elections

2011-11-29T14:23:00.002-05:00

Sam Pratt reports that Haddad's gain in the First Ward was lost in the Second Ward: "Mayoral margin back up to 29."

News from the Board of Elections

2011-11-29T13:28:00.000-05:00

Sam Pratt reports that the First Ward really came through for Nick Haddad: "Haddad gains a lot of ground in the lst." Of the 18 absentee and affidavit ballots from the First Ward counted this morning, 17 were for Haddad and only 1 for Hallenbeck, reducing Hallenbeck's lead to 11.

Today at the Board of Elections

2011-11-28T17:10:00.000-05:00

Sam Pratt reports on the hand count of ballots cast on Election Day, which seems to have reduced Hallenbeck's lead by an as yet undetermined number of votes: "22, 23, 24, or 25."

This Morning in Court

2011-11-28T12:07:00.000-05:00

Sam Pratt reports that Judge McGrath has ruled that Article 16 of New State York Election Law "does not permit him to provide the remedy sought by the Haddad campaign": "Round #1 to Hallenbeck."

Hudson Ballot Count Today

2011-11-28T10:56:00.000-05:00

Today is the day the ballot count begins that will tell us who will be the next mayor of Hudson. Gossips is still sidelined, but Sam Pratt is a pollwatcher for the Haddad campaign and will be reporting any major developments on sampratt.com. Gossips will be checking Sam's blog periodically for the latest news, and we suggest you do the same.

Not to Be Missed

2011-11-27T10:36:00.001-05:00

"Hudson, the Business-Friendly City" on SamPratt.com.

A House's Changing Fortunes

2011-11-27T09:35:00.003-05:00

Back in 1996 or 1997, this little house on Allen Street was rehabbed by Columbia County Habitat for Humanity. It was Habitat's first project in Hudson, and initially there was a lot of enthusiasm for the project. Preservation advocate Judy Meyer, who joined the board of Habitat for Humanity at about this time, persuaded the organization to agree to retain the original interior details of the house--baseboards and moldings, fireplace surrounds, lighting fixtures. The house was gutted by volunteers, who painstakingly removed all the details, believing that they would be stripped, restored, and reinstalled in the house. Habitat, however, reneged on the agreement and sold everything salvaged from the house at a fundraising auction. Meyer resigned from the board in protest.

Eventually, the rehabbed house was sold to a qualifying family, who lived in the house for more than a decade. Earlier this year, they put it on the market. Asking price: $169,000. Apparently, after ten years, an owner's only obligation to Habitat for Humanity is to pay off the mortgage.

The house's new owner is now undertaking another extensive rehabilitation. The two-story front porch has been removed, and its elements are being stored in the side yard. Although the project has yet to come before the Historic Preservation Commission for a certificate of appropriateness, word has it that the porch was removed because it was rotting and the plan is to rebuild it exactly as it was.

The reason for telling this story is only to make the point that genuinely historic houses retain their appeal and their potential to appreciate in value, as the last two decades in this little house's history attest.

Of Interest

2011-11-26T13:18:00.000-05:00

Tom Casey reports on last Monday's Public Works Committee meeting in today's Register-Star: "Auction helps city pay for field use." The final item in Casey's report sent Gossips to Promenade Hill to see what changes had been wrought: "DPW supplied topsoil to volunteers from BeLow3rd [sic] who installed the soil as well as ground cover and pavers at Promenade Hill. The volunteers requested to also remove worn down bushes with topsoil and grass."

Promenade Hill is Hudson's oldest park. Established in 1795, it has the distinction of being the first public space in the country set aside for the purpose of viewing the landscape. Many have believed for a long time that the park should be the subject of a historic landscape study, which would inform a master plan for its restoration. For various reasons, this has not yet happened, and in the absence of a master plan, well-intentioned piecemeal improvements to Promenade Hill make purists a little nervous.

Gossips' reconnaissance yielded the information that the raised bed surrounding the flagpole has been planted with a ground cover and three pieces of bluestone have been laid as a path to the flagpole for the person who lowers the flag to halfmast during periods of public mourning. Nicely done, BeLo3rd!

Not to Be Missed

2011-11-25T10:05:00.000-05:00

Hungry in Hudson reports on the state of food shopping in Hudson now that the Farmers' Market has closed for the season.

Hudson Lunatic Asylum

2011-11-25T09:44:00.000-05:00

From 1830 to 1850, Dr. Samuel White, a pioneer in the humane care of the mentally ill, operated the Hudson Lunatic Asylum at 400 State Street, assisted by his son Dr. George H. White. On February 11, 1840, this report of the asylum's work during the previous year appeared in the Columbia Republican.

HUDSON LUNATIC ASYLUM--During the year 1839, 84 patients have been under the care of Drs. S. & G. H. White, the proprietors of this institution--to wit:
Recent cases . . . . . . . . . 23
Chronic do. . . . . . . . . . . 58
Intemperate . . . . . . . . . 3

Of the recent cases that were removed during the year, 15 recovered, 3 improved, 2 died. Of the chronic cases removed, 9 recovered, 11 much improved, 9 improved, 1 died. Of the intemperate removed, 2 reformed. Remaining under treatment, Jan. 1st, 1840, 32. 451 cases have enjoyed the benefit of this institution since it was opened, a period of nine and a half [years] ago. The quiet patients continue to enjoy family worship, as heretofore.

Of Interest

2011-11-25T09:11:00.000-05:00

Who knew that the native nine-spotted ladybug was the official New York State insect? Who knew that its last recorded sighting was 29 years ago? The good news is that the ladybug is coming back. Read about it in today's New York Times.

Unscrupulous Partisans in Hudson?

2011-11-24T06:08:00.005-05:00

The Register-Star reports today that Hudson Democrats and Republicans will be in court on Monday morning to hear a ruling on whether the handling of thirty-two permanent absentee ballots violated state election: "Ballot delivery brings parties to court."

There are in Hudson a number of permanent absentee voters whose ballots are "carried" by people who are not relatives or neighbors or caregivers but people whose contact with these voters may be limited to hand-delivering their absentee ballots and returning the ballots to the Board of Elections. In the article, John Friedman, attorney for the Haddad campaign, cites the case of one such voter who "requested a new absentee ballot after feeling pressured after a ballot was hand-delivered to her." Commenting on the practice, Friedman is quoted as saying, “The people who are doing this carrying, they don’t check the people’s mail, take them to get groceries, sweep their front porch, these people are only interested in those voters for one reason and one reason only. [The voters] are easily influenced or pressured . . . and the one woman requesting a new ballot speaks volumes.”

Mayoral candidate Nick Haddad explained that the Democrats have taken the action to enforce the law that protects vulnerable voters from “undue influence, coercion, or outright fraud by what the highest court in New York called ‘unscrupulous partisans.’”

Political Life After Hudson

2011-11-23T19:10:00.001-05:00

Sam Pratt reports on this blog that John Porreca, one-time Third Ward alderman who lost to Don Moore in the race for Hudson Common Council President in 2009 and since sold his house in Hudson and moved to Greenport, appears to have ousted incumbent Greenport Supervisor Ed Nabozny by only six votes. Porreca was ahead by six votes on election night and, after the absentee ballots were counted, remains ahead by six.

Of Interest

2011-11-23T08:44:00.001-05:00

Marc Molinaro was successful in his bid to become Dutchess County Executive, which, come January 1, leaves the 103rd Assembly District unrepresented. The Kingston Daily Freeman reports today that, owing to a number of factors, among them redistricting and the federal Military Overseas Voting Act, filling the vacancy turns out to be a complicated task, and our part of the Hudson Valley may be left with no voice in the State Assembly for as long as six months.

Thanks to a Gossips reader for bringing this to our attention.

Indoor Market Returns

2011-11-23T08:14:00.000-05:00

The Hudson Farmers' Market has closed for the winter, but the Indoor Market at Christ Church Episcopal opens this Saturday for a four-week run, until the third Saturday in December. From 10 a.m. until 1 p.m., vendors at the Indoor Market will be offering winter vegetables, as well as micro greens, eggs, breads, wine, beer, pies, prepared foods, nuts, humus, pasture-raised meats, mushrooms, sauces, apples, cider, doughnuts, teas, herbs, flowers, and many items suitable for holiday gifts.

The vendors participating in the Indoor Market include Blue Star Farm, Flowering Heart Farm, Cheese!, Berkshire Mountain Bakery, Loaf, Hudson Chatham Winery, Chatham Brewing, Cedar Farm Flowers, Tierra Farm, Northern Star Farm, Pigasso Farm, Red Oak Farm, The Red Barn, Dale Baker Farm, Samascotts, Freddie's Rockin' Humus, Hudson Valley Holmstead, Omi Lavender, Good Fight Herbs, Fog and Thistle, and Running Creek Farm.

The Indoor Market will take a hiatus during the bleak midwinter (January and February) but will return to Christ Church for eight weeks in March and April.

Photograph from The Red Barn website.

255-257 Columbia Street: Addendum

2011-11-23T07:12:00.000-05:00

After publishing the post yesterday about the transfer of funds, Gossips received the following clarification. The $1,400 that was transferred was needed to pay for an engineering assessment of the building in preparation for demolition. Bids for the demolition are now being received, and it is expected that the Common Council will consider a resolution at its December meeting to attach the full cost of the demolition as a lien against the property.

The Demolition Marches On

2011-11-22T10:00:00.000-05:00

Gossips has learned that at its regular meeting on November 15, the Common Council passed a resolution to transfer $1,400 from the Contingency Fund to the "Demolition of 255-257 Columbia Street account." Third Ward Alderman Chris Wagoner was the only council member to vote against the resolution. Second Ward Alderman Abdus Miah and First Ward Alderman Sarah Sterling were absent from the meeting. The remainder of the Common Council voted in favor of transferring funds to finance the demolition.

Workshop on Tax Credits

2011-11-22T08:44:00.004-05:00

On Monday, November 28, Erin Tobin from the Preservation League of New York State will conduct a workshop on the NYS Historic Homeowner Tax Credit Program. The workshop, which is sponsored by First Ward Neighbors, will take place at 6 p.m. at the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce, One North Front Street.

The tax credit program covers 20 percent of qualified rehabilitation costs for owner-occupied historic houses that are individually listed or part of a historic district listed in the State or National Register of Historic Places and located in a qualifying census tract.

The workshop is open to everyone. The National Register listed Hudson Historic District includes both sides of Warren Street and most of the south side of the city. To find out if your house is eligible, check the NYS Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation website.

Calling All Foodies!

2011-11-22T07:24:00.000-05:00

Acres Co-op Market is planning to be part of the festivities at Winter Walk on December 3, and they're looking for volunteers to be part of the effort. They've issued this appealing appeal for help:

Artists, crafters, and others are needed to help make flamboyant food-themed hats for Acres volunteers who will be distributing free food treats and information about Acres. Foodie (in the best sense) volunteers are also needed to help with the food as well as the distribution. The effort itself will be a party for fun-loving volunteers, with lots of exciting, easy, tasty tasks to choose from.

If you want to be part of the fun, contact Acres Volunteer Coordinator, Mona Coade-Wingate, or Acres Co-op Market.

More About the Judge

2011-11-21T23:04:00.001-05:00

It seems it took a while for City Hall to parse how a vacancy is filled when the elected city judge resigns the position. At first, it seemed to be a question of whether it was the mayor or the Common Council that appointed a new judge, but tonight Common Council President Don Moore informed Gossips that the New York State Uniform City Court Act supersedes the city charter in this matter. According to Section 2104, the appointed acting part-time judge--the person who fills in when the elected judge isn't available--has the option of filling the vacancy until a new election is held. If for some reason that person declines the position, the mayor appoints someone to fill the vacancy until there can be an election. The appointed acting part-time judge for the city court in Hudson is Mark Portin.

Here Come da Judge

2011-11-21T14:54:00.000-05:00

As a consequence of Richard Koweek's celebrated victory over Beth Cozzolino for Columbia County Court judge, come January 1, Hudson City Court will be without a judge. It has been determined that the city charter assigns the responsibility of appointing a new judge to the Common Council. The person appointed will serve as interim judge until a special election can be held in 2012. Tonight the process of determining candidates for the position and making a final decision will be a major topic of discussion at the Common Council Legal Committee meeting, which takes place at 6:45 p.m. at City Hall.

Library Names New Director

2011-11-21T13:24:00.001-05:00

The Trustees of the Hudson Area Library announced today that they have named a new library director: Emily Bennison Chameides. What follows is the press release announcing the appointment issued by the library this morning.

The Board of Trustees of Hudson Area Library is pleased to announce the appointment of Emily Bennison Chameides as our new Library Director. She has been working at the library for the last year as Library Assistant and since August as the Library Manager. In this role she has carried out many of the day-to-day responsibilities of the Director's position since the departure of the previous Library Director.

Previously, Ms. Chameides was the Youth Services and Program Coordinator at the Roeliff Jansen Community Library in Hillsdale, NY and Director of Media Education and Exhibitions at the Children's Media Project in Poughkeepsie, NY. She holds a BA from Vassar College. Ms. Chameides will begin work on her Master's in Library Science degree in the Fall of 2012.

Ms. Chameides is also an active member of the Hudson community. Besides her earlier volunteer work at the library, she has been active with the Friends of the Hudson Area Library. She is the Youth Programs Coordinator & Workshop Facilitator at WGXC: Hands-On Radio. She and her husband Michael Chameides live in Hudson.

The Board looks forward to Ms. Chameides continuing the energetic and creative leadership she has shown over the last few months in her role as Library Manager. As the Library moves forward with work on the new library facility at the Armory on North Fifth Street, we expect to continue to improve the services we provide at 400 State St. We are confident that Ms. Chameides will be a driving force, with the Library's staff and volunteers, in bringing both of these challenges to fruition.

Become a Friend of Music

2011-11-21T09:20:00.000-05:00

It's not something we like to hear, but our $40 million school district doesn't have enough money to fund adequately its music program. The biggest issue seems to be that there's no money for new instruments. To address the problem, the HCSD Music Department is looking for help from the community.

Tonight--Monday, November 21--is the first meeting of the Hudson Friends of Music. At the meeting, which takes place at 7 p.m. in the band room at Montgomery C. Smith Intermediate School, the group will be discussing upcoming concerts, fundraising ideas, and community outreach opportunities.

Of Interest

2011-11-21T08:51:00.003-05:00

Olde Mohawk Masonry & Historic Restoration touts its role in the "restoration" of General Worth's birthplace on its website. In addition to misspelling irreparable, the text assigns a date to the house (ca. 1810) that would make it impossible for it to have been the birthplace of General Worth, who was born in 1794. Of course, the website doesn't say it was General Worth's birthplace; it calls the house "his childhood home." If the house wasn't built until around 1810, William Jenkins Worth couldn't have lived there for very long. By 1812, both of his parents had died, he had gone to Albany to pursue a mercantile career, and in June 1812 he embarked on his illustrious military career by joining the army at the beginning of the War of 1812.

CC Club Revisited

2011-11-20T11:25:00.002-05:00

More than a month has passed since Chris Gilbert's offer to buy the old CC Club was scuttled because he couldn't produce, in twenty-four hours, an engineering plan to stabilize the building. Back around Columbus Day, Mayor Scalera gave the impression that the building was such a threat to health and safety that it had to come down immediately, yet here we are, approaching Thanksgiving Day, and the building is still standing. Scalera and Code Enforcement Officer Peter Wurster have both, when asked about the building, talked about the possible presence of nonfriable asbestos and other toxins delaying the demolition. If eliminating this building and delivering the site to some developer is to be part of Scalera's legacy, time is running out.

Meanwhile, a Gossips reader has provided more information about St. John's Methodist Episcopal Church and its transformation into the Colored Citizens' Club. This article appeared in the Hudson Daily Star for May 9, 1940.

CLUB PURCHASES FORMER CHURCH BLDG.
A building here, which for approximately 70 years was used for a church, was sold yesterday to the Colored Citizens' Club of Hudson, N.Y., Inc.

The property, located at 255 Columbia street, just below North Third street, on the southerly side of Columbia street, was sold by the Delaware Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Philadelphia.

Formerly known as the St. John's Methodist Episcopal church, the building for 70 years was used as a place of worship, until about five years ago.

The Colored Citizens' Club, which recently incorporated, will use the building for a meeting place.

The sale of the property, title to which has passed, was handled by the Wheeler Realty Service.

Lincoln in Hudson

2011-11-19T09:45:00.000-05:00

In February 1861, Abraham Lincoln made his inaugural journey by train from Springfield, Illinois, to Washington, D.C. The route of the journey passed through Hudson.

On February 9, 1940, shortly after the publication of the second volume of Carl Sandburg's biography of Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln: The War Years, this bizarre little item appeared on the front page of the Hudson Daily Star, demonstrating how much sensibilities have changed. Thanks to a Gossips reader for bringing this to our attention.

Lincoln "Bussed" Girls Here in '61
And They Liked It
In Carl Sandburg's life of Abraham Lincoln recently published, he referred to the stop of Lincoln's train at Hudson on his way from Springfield, Ill., to Washington, on February 19th, 1861, and goes on to say: "A pleasing incident occurred at Hudson. Several young ladies came into the car and the President folded them rapturously to his throbbing bosom. They said: 'Don't,' which induced the President to believe that they liked it."

Who Will Be Our Next Mayor?

2011-11-19T08:03:00.003-05:00

Today's Register-Star reports on the progress in counting absentee and affidavit ballots at the Columbia County Board of Elections: "Copake votes out police force." Jason Nastke, Republican Commissioner of Elections, is predicting that will be after Thanksgiving before Hudson knows who the next mayor will be. A judge ruled on Wednesday, in a meeting in court to discuss the ground rules for ballot counting, that Hudson ballots will be counted last.

South Bay Zoning: 2009 and 2011

2011-11-18T07:40:00.001-05:00

At the public hearing on November 10, Timothy O'Connor, representing the South Bay Task Force, argued that the zoning proposed in the 2009 version of the LWRP was on the way to providing greater protection for South Bay than the zoning that the Common Council is about to adopt. In the zoning proposed in 2009, all of South Bay became a Recreation-Conservation Zone and the roadway fondly known as the "causeway" was a nonconforming use.

In January 2010, Holcim/O&G submitted their comments during the public comment period. The zoning of South Bay was of particular concern to them, and here's what they had to say (boldface added): "The Plan proposes to rezone a significant portion of the Industrial (1-1) Zone to Core Riverfront Zone (CR) along the immediate waterfront and Conservation-Recreation Zone (R-C) for South and North Bays. The text is unclear as to the status of the causeway within the R-C district at the South Bay, although we interpret the intent to be that the use of the causeway for industrial transportation purposes will be considered a non-conforming use since the R-C zone will no longer allow industrial uses and it further implies that the use and related upgrading will require local permits. Holcim and O&G oppose this zoning proposal to treat the transport of materials by vehicle across the causeway as a nonconforming use of land. Nonconforming use status would greatly limit our ability to expand or change the use, e.g. transport by means of a conveyor system, and may even limit our ability to maintain a particular use given the onus placed on the property owner. Our suggestion is that either: (1) the CR district be extended to encompass the right-of-way of the causeway; or (2) the private transport of goods/public access across the causeway be added as a use as-of-right in the R-C district. . . ."

As a consequence of this suggestion from H/OG, we have the South Bay zoning currently being proposed. The Core Riverfront Zone has been extended, as requested, to encompass the length of the causeway, bisecting South Bay, which should be treated as a single ecological entity.

No official map has thus far been provided to show the width of the "causeway corridor" or to clarify what happens when the haul road takes a turn to the north and strays into other zoning districts on its way to the Broad Street railroad crossing, but the South Bay Task Force has created this visual.

The South Bay Task Force stated its position in a My View that appeared in the Register-Star on November 10--the day of the public hearing. Few, if any, on the Common Council seem to have read it or heeded it, but even though the public hearing is over and it looks likely that the Council will adopt the zoning changes at a special meeting on November 30, SBTF's My View is still recommended reading for people who want to understand what's been going on with the LWRP in the past two years, without community involvement or public consensus.

The LWRP Marches On

2011-11-17T15:45:00.001-05:00

Today's Register-Star finally has coverage of the public hearing on the zoning amendments that are part of the LWRP--a hearing that took place a week ago: "Nearing final vote, waterfront plan still divisive."

At the hearing, Timothy O'Connor, representing the South Bay Task Force, and Mark Wildonger, representing Scenic Hudson, both criticized the proposed zoning amendments for not doing enough to protect South Bay or "promote the creation of a vibrant waterfront." Speaking in support of the zoning amendments, according to the article, were the usual suspects: Linda Mussmann, Bill Hughes, and Rick Scalera.

It's pretty obvious to most that the LWRP is being railroaded through so it can be Scalera's legacy. What's interesting is that he seems already to be engaging in some revisionist history. He's quoted in the article as saying, “There was never this divide. Bring the cooperation back, bring the community back, build up your waterfront . . . take the plan that was originally in the spirit of cooperation that people wanted to see down there and once again we could be proud of.” When was this fabled time of cooperation and community of which the mayor speaks? Was it back in 1994-1995 when the community met regularly to envision what Hudson and its waterfront could be--a vital and energizing process, remembered fondly by those who participated, which produced the 1996 Vision Plan, still embraced as a kind of blueprint for waterfront development, and was shut down by Rick Scalera in the fall of 1995 when he perceived a comment by the chair of the Vision Plan Task Force, published in the group's monthly newsletter, to be an endorsement of his opponent in the 1995 mayoral race?

Meanwhile, the process of adopting the LWRP marches on. At the Common Council meeting on Tuesday, four proposed new local laws were placed on the aldermen's desks. The first contains all the LWRP zoning amendments, which affect the Waterfront Revitalization Area; the second is a zoning amendment creating a local Coastal Consistency Review Board; the third is the charter amendment required to create a local Coastal Consistency Review Board; and the fourth is a charter amendment creating the position of harbor master.

According to the proposed legislation, the Coastal Consistency Review Board, also called the Local Waterfront Revitalization Program (LWRP) Consistency Review Board, "shall be responsible for coordinating review of actions in the City's coastal area for consistency with the LWRP, and will advise, assist and make consistency recommendations to other City agencies in the implementation of the LWRP, its policies and projects, including physical, legislative, regulatory, administrative and other actions included in the program." The board will be made up of three members appointed by the mayor, one of whom can hold another public office in the City of Hudson. One wonders who the mayor has in mind for this board, for surely he will make the appointments before he leaves office on December 31.

Absent a clear harbor management plan in the LWRP, the creation of the position of harbor master seems both unexpected and unnecessary, but the duties of the harbor master as described in the proposed law seem to be the same duties assigned to Guy Falkenheimer when he was made "dock master" a few months ago, so this may just be a title change.

The Common Council will vote on these four proposed local laws in a special meeting on Wednesday, November 30, at 6:15 p.m.

Hudson Mayoral Election

2011-11-16T08:03:00.001-05:00

Tom Casey reports in today's Register-Star that Hudson Democrats have requested that Republicans "meet in court tomorrow to discuss ground rules" for counting absentee ballots and recanvassing votes: "Hudson Dems serve papers on GOP."

The action is not sitting well with Republican mayoral candidate Bill Hallenbeck, who is quoted in the article as saying, "Trying to have lawyers and judges decide this race, not the people who voted, it’s a real act of desperation as far as I’m concerned. I’m real dissatisfied with what is going on here with these absentee ballots.” Unless Gossips has missed something--which is entirely possible--nothing is "going on here with these absentee ballots" except that the Democrats thwarted in court the Republicans' attempt to have the ballots turned over to the care and keeping of the Columbia County Sheriff's Department, which endorsed Hallenbeck.

More News from HCSD

2011-11-16T07:35:00.001-05:00

Once upon a time, Steven Spicer was the principal of Hudson High School. Then, when the Alternative Learning Program at HCSD was discontinued and a place was needed for Thomas Gavin, the director of that program, district administration came up with the bizarre solution--doomed to fail--of making Spicer and Gavin "co-principals" of the high school--two salaries for one job. Predictably, that solution didn't work out very well. Spicer and Gavin didn't get along. A year ago, Spicer charged Gavin with second degree aggravated harrassment for an incident that took place in the hallway while a Board of Education meeting was going on. Eventually, the charges were dropped, and some degree of peace was restored. As luck would have it, Carol Gans, principal of John L. Edwards Primary School, had retired at the end of the previous school year, and although she was still doing her job for $1,000 a week over and above her pension, her job could be and was given to Spicer.

Now the fragile peace is disrupted once more. Spicer has filed a complaint alleging that "the Hudson City School District and the Board of Education have racially discriminated against him on several occasions." You can read all about it in today's Register-Star: "Principal files racial complaint against district."

Photo from the Hudson City School District website.

Community Meeting Tonight

2011-11-16T06:17:00.000-05:00

The eagerly awaited Acres Co-op Market holds its monthly community meeting tonight at 6:30 p.m. The meeting takes place at 704 Columbia Street--the space that Acres hopes will be its future home.

Capital Region Strategic Plan

2011-11-15T10:56:00.000-05:00

W. T. Eckert reports in today's Register-Star that the Capital Region Economic Development Council presented its five-year strategic plan for the Capital Region on Monday: "Regional council unveils 5-year strategic plan."

The key goals of the plan for Warren, Washington, Saratoga, Schenectady, Rensselaer, Albany, Greene, and Columbia counties seem innocuous enough: "to leverage and collaborate, open new doors, prepare for tomorrow, build a superhighway, bring cities to life, celebrate and optimize surroundings, showcase regional beauty, and spotlight strengths." We're assuming, of course, that the superhighway mentioned is an "information superhighway" and has to do with the Internet, and that there are no plans to destroy farmland, habitat, and scenic vistas to create an actual superhighway.

The strategic plan includes a specific project for Columbia County: a "transloading facility." As described in the article, the project will "allow businesses to transfer products from trucks to rail cars for outgoing purposes and to move incoming products from rail cars to trucks." Oddly, the first thing that came to mind when reading about this project was "Lone Star Industrial Park," the old Cycletech plant purchased back in April 2009 by Paul Colarusso, Scott Patzwahl, Michael Bucci, and "other investors." If there's any validity to Gossips' kneejerk reaction, it would mean a lot more activity on the ADM spur through Hudson, moving goods through Seventh Street Park and down behind Allen Street to the main tracks along the river. And then there's the question of how trucks would access the site on Route 23B.

District in Need of Improvement

2011-11-15T05:10:00.000-05:00

Over the weekend, Lynn Sloneker reported on her blog, Unmuffled, that the Hudson City School District has now been officially designated a "District in Need of Improvement" by the New York State Department of Education. On the same day, Sloneker published some statistics about the salaries that were paid in the 2010-2011 school year to administrators, teachers, and business staff who, one would imagine, have to accept some responsibility for the dismal academic performance of the students at HCSD. In the 2010-2011 school year, forty-five employees were paid more than $85,000 and eighteen were paid more than $90,000. By contrast, the median income for 2009 in Columbia County was $49,795 and in Hudson $36,241.

The discrepancy between what we get and what we pay for in public education seems only to get more staggering, but the statistic that may be most grating to people struggling to pay the property taxes that finance our expensive and underachieving district is that 83 percent of the people receiving salaries from HCSD don't live here. The profligate budget decisions made by the district impact them only positively, and they suffer none of the consequences of their own failures.

So let's recall a simpler time--more than a half century ago--in the good old days when public education, according to all reports, accomplished what it set out to do. This is from Alan Sugarman's memoir, Jewels of Moments, quoted here before.

In September of 1958, there were about seven-hundred students enrolled in the high school. The teaching staff numbered thirty-four and together with all non-teaching members, forty-eight adults were employed. The curriculum was basic and my biggest advantage was that I had taught or knew most of the student body. . . . The office staff was as slim as it could possibly be for a school the size of Hudson High. There was no administrative assistance of any kind. . . . Further, there were no department heads, so administratively and curricularly the principal was it. So far as guidance was concerned, there was one full-time counselor who was assisted by a part-time member of the English Department.

I had a secretary assigned to my office and a second person reported to the guidance area--and that was the merry little band what would meet the needs and requirements of the seven-hundred-pupil high school and the thirty-four teachers who composed the faculty.

In 1956, the principal of Hudson High School earned $6,500. In 2010-2011, the salary for the high school principal Thomas Gavin was $118,002.

Hudson in J. Jill

2011-11-14T17:04:00.001-05:00

The current J. Jill catalog, which hit mailboxes sometime last week, contains photographs taken right here in Hudson--in front of the Hudson Opera House and Ca Mea. If you're looking at the catalog online, see pages 13, 49, 52, and 61. If you've got the actual catalog in front of you (assuming you received the same version that was delivered to Gossips Central), look at pages 37, 51, 56, and 65. There may be more photographs with Hudson settings that we've missed, so look carefully.

Mayoral Results

2011-11-08T23:20:00.003-05:00

Sam Pratt has an analysis of the results thus far in the Hudson mayoral race on his blog: "Dead heat in Hudson mayoral race." Keep checking sampratt.com for updates.

The Return of Gossips

2011-11-06T14:40:00.000-05:00

There's every indication that Gossips will be back tomorrow--in time for Election Day! I'll be happy to leave my vantage point here at the top of the city and be back where I belong, down by the river and South Bay, in the First Ward. I appreciate so very much all your expressions of concern and good wishes.

Gossips on Hiatus

2011-11-03T04:10:00.002-04:00

Much is going on in Rivertown, and not everything is good.

It appears that the original Orphan Asylum in Hudson at State and Seventh streets is being dismantled. A portion of the building--an addition--was demolished in February. Now the building is surrounded by scaffolding, and the roof is gone. The building is owned by Eric Galloway, and it is located in a locally designated historic district.
The public hearing on the proposed Local Waterfront Revitalization Program and its proposed implementing laws, which include the zoning amendments, will be held on November 10, 2001, at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall.
Another meeting about the dog park will take place this Saturday, November 5, at 10 a.m. at the Hudson Area Library.
New Bradford pear trees have been planted to replace the missing ones in Thurston Park. The trees were planted thanks to the efforts of First Ward Alderman Sarah Sterling and paid for by a newly established beautification fund at HDC. Ben Eaton of the Secret Gardener, who planted the trees and agreed to tend them through their first year, also mulched the existing trees as his gift to Thurston Park.

Sadly, with all this to report on and much more, Gossips must take an unexpected and involuntary hiatus. We hope to be back soon.

Of Interest

2011-11-02T07:36:00.000-04:00

The Register-Star finally gets around to publishing Tom Casey's account of last Thursday's special Common Council meeting at which the Council voted to accept the GEIS findings statement: "Waterfront plan advances, with controversy."