The Gossips of Rivertown

Friday, August 7, 2026

LWRP Redux

On July 28, the Common Council passed a resolution authorizing the mayor to submit an application to the New York State Department of State Environmental Protection Fund for a Local Waterfront Revitalization Program (LWRP) grant. The resolution explains the purpose of the grant in this way:

[T]he goal is to revise the City’s existing LWRP, incorporating new developments in parks and public access points in the past decade, while also addressing climate concerns and resilience features, pollution, and waterfront development pressures. The City is in need of a new plan to guide thoughtful and sustainable development along the waterfront that is cohesive and allows public uses and access while also increasing economic development activity and resiliency methods. What will come out of this process is a locally appropriate, climate resilient zoning and land use plan that will connect residents and tourists to the waterfront while increasing jobs, business activity, and unify varying plans across the waterfront boundary. The City of Hudson's Hudson River waterfront boundary extends approximately 1.5 miles from the Greenport Conservation Area wetlands south to Greenport, NY. . . .

If the City is successful in getting the grant and embarks on revising the existing LWRP, it will be Hudson's third try at getting a properly adopted LWRP. This post, published in June 2013, provides some background about the fate of Hudson's first two attempts: "Our Foundering and Bewildering LWRP." That post and all its comments are recommended for anyone who wants to understand the history of Hudson's LWRP.

In 2013, when the post was written, there was uncertainty about two things: (1) if the LWRP had actually been submitted to the Department of State (DOS); (2) if the transfer of ownership of a parcel of land south of the dock from Holcim to the City of Hudson was in fact a condition for the DOS to review the document. In 2016, when Mayor Tiffany Martin re-created the Waterfront Advisory Steering Committee in an effort to revise the LWRP and get the DOS to review it, it was confirmed by the DOS that the document had never been submitted for review.

In 2016, something was also revealed about the land transfer. Probably beginning in early 2012, Cheryl Roberts, then the city attorney, was negotiating the transfer of land with Holcim's attorneys in Switzerland. Periodically, she would report at Common Council meetings on the progress of those negotiations. At some point, she reported that the negotiations had broken down, and the lawyers were no longer responding. In 2016, it was revealed that Colarusso, at the same time negotiating to buy Holcim's holdings in Greenport and Hudson, wanted that land to use as a staging area. The breakdown of Roberts' negotiations was concurrent with Colarusso's negotiations to buy the Holcim property. It is not unreasonable to believe that Colarusso's interests were in large part the reason the 2011 LWRP has never submitted and never approved by the DOS, although no one realized it at the time.

There is no doubt that something needs to be done about the LWRP. The LWRP adopted by the Common Council in 2011 makes it very clear that the use of the dock is a nonconforming conditional use, and there should be no expansion or intensification of the dock operations beyond what existed in November 2011, three years before Colarusso acquired the property. Yet last year, when the Planning Board was considering the conditional use permit for Colarusso's dock operations, they were advised by their attorney, Victoria Polidoro, that the LWRP was not legally binding because a map of the city's Local Waterfront Revitalization Area was not on file with the Department of State.

The current and ongoing effort to amend the code to define the level of activity that existed in 2011 when the code was adopted--the level that, to quote the code, "shall not be enlarged, extended, or placed in a different portion of the lot or parcel of land occupied by such use on the effective date of this chapter, nor shall any external evidence of such use be increased by any means whatsoever"--is meeting with reluctance and downright resistance both from members of the Planning Board and from members of the Common Council. Interestingly, every meeting of the Planning Board and the Common Council at which there is a chance the amendment might be discussed is attended by one of Colarusso's team of lawyers.

If the City does get the grant and work begins on a revising and updating the LWRP, it is not clear what we can expect. The zeal to protect the waterfront and the environment from industrial uses, the zeal that sustained a seven-year-long battle against St. Lawrence Cement and informed the language of the LWRP, seems, inexplicably, to have waned. One thing is for certain, though. An attorney representing Colarusso will be present at every LWRP meeting and work session to ensure the interests of Colarusso take priority over the interests of the residents of Hudson and of other businesses and enterprises at the waterfront.

Thursday, August 6, 2026

Ear to the Ground

Gossips has received word that Lloyd Koedding's vehicles, one of which allegedly serves as his residence, have been moved from the municipal parking lot behind City Hall and are now in the parking lot at Fairview Plaza in Greenport, near Planet Fitness.

This was not Gossips' source, but the news of the relocation was reported this morning by Columbia County Morning News.

Does this mean that Koedding, who ran for Hudson mayor in 2025 and challenged Sonja Okun to be the Democratic candidate for Third Ward supervisor earlier this year, is now a Greenport resident?

Wednesday, August 5, 2026

An Account of the Closing

Steve Barnes reports in the Times Union today about the closing of Hudson Valley Fisheries: "Steelhead farm Hudson Valley Fisheries abruptly closes." In the article, the closing is attributed to "financial instability." The following is quoted from the article:

A statement from Hudson Valley Fisheries to the Times Union on Monday said multiple factors contributed to the closure decision, including inadequate water supply and higher prices from fuel costs and tariffs that made it financially unsustainable to continue doing business.

Update from City Hall

After this morning's outage, City Hall just made the following announcement:

Please be advised that City Hall's internet and phones are now fully functional after Mid-Hudson Fiber's outage reported earlier this morning.

Of Interest

Hudson Common Sense has published a new editorial which is worthy attention: "The Fourth Quadrant of Waste."

Expanding the Crusade for Literacy

From 2016 to 2024, Peter Meyer ran an in-school journalism program in the Hudson City School District called School Life News. The program showed measurable results in improving students' literacy skills, but in 2024, former HCSD superintendent Juliette Pennyman put an end to the program.

"Mr. Peter" bidding farewell to fifth-graders at Montgomery C. Smith in March 2024

Now, Meyer has launched a "Race to Literacy" campaign. offering his School Life News program to other area school districts. The press release that follows explains.

School Life Media (SLM), the 15-year-old non-profit dedicated to school improvement, and its popular and successful in-school literacy program, School Life News (SLN) have launched a “race to literacy” postcard campaign, offering school districts within a 40-mile radius of SLM’s home in Hudson, NY, a chance to help boost their students’ State English Language Arts (ELA) grade level proficiency scores. The campaign reached out to 40 schools with grade-level proficiency levels of 40 percent and below, says Sarah Nolan, SLM’s Director of Social Media, who compiled the list using State education data.

“We reached out to the schools with drawings by local artist Bobby Atwell, who creates his own literacy lessons for his grandkids,” says SLM Board president and Hudson native John Cody, who has been on the board since its inception in 2012. “For our postcards he has a racecar made of #2 pencils speeding across the Higher Test Scores finish line.”

Both SLM and SLN are the brainchild of Peter Meyer, a former News Editor of Time and Life magazines, reporter and Manuscript Editor at Harvard’s Education Next, and a former member of Hudson’s Board of Education.

“I tried to merge the best of our curricular thinkers, like content guru E.D. Hirsch (“the more you know, the more you can know”),” says Meyer, with what he thought were the best practices for hands-on learning: journalism. “With much new research and interest in how young minds work,” concludes Meyer, “it turns out that journalism is one of the best classroom exercises to build working memory, which is the engine of all learning.”

SLN, which trains teachers in using its unique program, has been especially successful at making students “better readers,” with over 3,000 students–third through ninth grades–taking some or part of SLN’s comprehensive and detailed 20+ lesson program since 2016. “One fifth grade class (150 students) raised its ELA scores by 11 points,” boasts Meyer.

“We saw real growth in the students’ ability to write non-fiction text,” says Mark Brenneman, principal of MC Smith Elementary School in Hudson. “SLN staff’s dedication and caring for our students made this program a complete success.” Says former fifth grade teacher Megan Sullivan, "My students were more eager to write and more attentive to details around them and in texts. Teaching students to be journalists is incredibly valuable as they grow as writers and imaginative learners."

“The global reach of journalism’s interests and applications,” says Meyer, “has allowed us to access our children’s insatiable curiosity about, and interest in, anyone or thing. Popular assignments for these junior journalists include `an interview with my shoe,’ a press conference with Tate the barber, and a close reading of a New York Times story about making robotic stick bugs.”

“SLM delivers evidence-based instruction on gathering, assessing, creating, and presenting news and information,” concludes recently retired Hudson superintendent Maria Suttmeier. “The program gained strong support and respect from our teachers.”

Words to Learn By

“Learn to read, you will be forever free." —Frederick Douglass

"The best education for the best is the best education for us all."

—Robert M. Hutchins, President, University of Chicago (1929-1945)

“Excellence does not happen by accident.” —Aristotle

A Message from City Hall

City Hall has made the following announcement:

Mid-Hudson Fiber is experiencing a widespread internet outage, which they've been working to remedy since 6 a.m. City Hall is open, but able to offer only limited services as all computer systems and phones are down. We will provide updates from Mid-Hudson Fiber as they become available.

Tuesday, August 4, 2026

Depot Lofts Update

The marketing of the apartments at Hudson Depot Lofts, 76 North Seventh Street, started in May 2025. A year later, Jacob Meglio, senior head of operations at Galvan, told the IDA (Industrial Development Agency) that "upwards of 50 percent" of the apartments had been leased.

For the past few months, there's been a sign on State Street announcing the availability of "luxury apartments" in the building.

At the IDA meeting on Monday, Jonathan Spampinato reported that the building was now 62.5 percent leased--that is, 40 of the 64 units are occupied, 24 are still available.

According to Zillow, 20 of the 24 available units are one-bedroom, with monthly rents ranging from $1,975 to $2,600. There are also three two-bedroom units renting for $2,750, $2,800, and $2,825, and one three-bedroom unit with a monthly rent of $3,500.

An Appeal to the State

It has caused people to call the police to report shots fired. It interferes with restoration work on the Dr. Oliver Bronson House. It limits public access to a National Historic Landmark and its green space. It's the firing range at the Hudson Correctional Facility.

Photo: Starr Whitehouse

Yesterday, Mayor Joseph Ferris sent the following letter to the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision asking that the firing range to closed.

Commissioner Daniel F. Martuscello III

New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision

1220 Washington Street

Albany, New York 12226-2050

Dear Commissioner Martuscello,

Hudson is unique among New York communities when it comes to green space. Our city's shoreline meets the river we are named after. Across the Hudson is the Catskill Mountain range. And neighboring Greenport is home to Frederic Church's Olana Estate. And yet, in our city of 2.2 square miles, publicly accessible green space is at a premium.

It is for that reason that I ask the State of New York to close the target range at the New York State Hudson Correctional Facility which is also home to a National Historic Landmark--the Oliver Bronson House, four additional outbuildings, and 55 surrounding acres.

Built three decades after Hudson's founding in 1785 during the height of the city's first whaling boom by Samuel Plumb, the Oliver Bronson House is a rare Hudson Valley example of Romantic-Picturesque landscaping.

Access to the Bronson House today is severely limited by the presence of the shooting range which neighbors the Bronson House. The proximity's impact can be seen first-hand in the gunshot that pierced a second-floor window.

The limited access also impacts the ability to schedule restoration work at the Bronson House.

The shooting range is open three days a week for six months of the year. These are the same six months when much-needed restoration work can be done. The shooting range's irregular schedule hampers the ability to bring workers on site, accelerating the property's continued deterioration.

Closing the target range and increasing access to the Bronson House would be a critical first step in aligning this green space with New York State's 2020 Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan.

The City of Hudson believes the time is now to close the range. We have a skilled partner in Historic Hudson, a nonprofit advocacy group that holds a 30-year renewable lease on the house and 1.2 acres. They share my belief in the importance of reimagining this crucial green space in our city.

When I think of the Bronson House's potential once the shooting range is closed, I am reminded of an October 1, 1859, Hudson Daily Star article that read, "A more charming spot could not have been found.…"

The "spot" remains charming. All that is needed [is] for the community to have greater access to the "spot." Closing the shooting range will make that a reality.

Sincerely,

Joseph Ferris

Mayor, City of Hudson

Monday, August 3, 2026

The Fate of Hudson House

Early in 2020, David Kessler presented his plan to develop the McKinstry Mansion at the corner of Seventh and Union streets, which had been the Home for the Aged from 1895 to 2014, as a 50-room boutique hotel to be called Hudson House. The plan involved constructing an addition to the building and included magnificent landscaping designed by Wagner Hodgson.

Over the next year, the plan was reviewed by the Planning Board for site plan approval, by the Historic Preservation Commission for a certificate of appropriateness, and the Industrial Development Agency (IDA) for a PILOT agreement and other tax abatements. Approved by the Planning Board and the HPC, the project entered into an agreement with the IDA on March 1, 2021. Among the terms of that agreement was that the project would be completed in three years, by March 1, 2024.

All of this was happening during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the fear and uncertainty engendered by the pandemic caused Kessler's lenders to decide investing in a hotel might not be a good idea and withdraw. As a consequence, work on the project did not proceed as expected, and on March 1, 2024, the project was not completed. Indeed, it hadn't even begun. It was regularly reported that Kessler was seeking other investors. In February 2024, just days before the deadline for completing the project written into the contract with the IDA, Kessler appeared before the HPC seeking a new certificate of appropriateness, which was granted, because the design had not changed since the HPC had granted the original C of A in February 2021.

In the two years since the deadline passed, IDA staff kept in touch with Kessler. In his reports to the IDA, Mike Tucker regularly included 620 Union Street, indicating there was no change in the status of the project and noting that, if the project were to proceed, it would require an entirely new application.

At the IDA meeting today, Jonathan Spampinato, who took over as administrative director of the IDA on June 15, said he had met with Kessler and asked him to schedule a meeting with the IDA, with his lawyers and lenders present, to explain his intentions. Because no such meeting was scheduled, Spampinato sent a letter to Kessler on June 29, which he emailed on July 30, explaining that the IDA would, at today's meeting, be considering a resolution to authorize a recapture process to the recoup the $25,000 of exempted mortgage recording tax received by the project. That resolution can be found here. (Scroll down twelve pages to find it.) At today's meeting, the resolution was approved.

There are also taxes owed on 620 Union Street, and city treasurer Heather Campbell, who serves on the IDA, wondered if 62o Union Street might belong on the foreclosure list. "If he doesn't come current with the taxes," Campbell asked, "what happens to the property?" Christine Chale, legal counsel to the IDA, advised, "Foreclosure would be a separate process. The City would have to follow up." Meanwhile, the missed payments are in default of the agreement with the IDA.

Gossips followed this project closely in 2o2o and 2o21, during its review by the Planning Board, the HPC, and the IDA. Gossips will follow it closely through this process as well.

Food News

Since 2018, many of us have purchased at the Hudson Farmers' Market and enjoyed in Hudson restaurants the steelhead trout grown by Hudson Valley Fisheries in Greenport. In recent days, Hudson Valley Fisheries has announced it will be ceasing operations.

How or if this development relates in any way to the scandal surrounding Greenport Town Supervisor Kathy Eldridge is not known.

Sunday, August 2, 2026

Meetings and Events in the Week Ahead

Here we are in the first week of August. After last week's downpour, more rain is expected at various times throughout the coming week. In the meantime, here is what's happening.

On Monday, August 3, the Hudson Industrial Development Agency (IDA) meets at 2:00 p.m. This will be the first IDA since Mike Tucker retired and Jonathan Spampinato took his place. Last month's meeting was canceled because there was no business to be considered, so it will be interesting to see what business is now before the IDA. The meeting is a hybrid, taking place in person at 1 City Centre, Suite 301, and on Zoom. Click here to join the meeting remotely.
At 5:30 p.m., on Monday, August 3, the Common Council Safety Committee holds its monthly meeting. The meeting is a hybrid, taking place in person at City Hall and on Teams. Click here to join the meeting remotely.
On Tuesday, August 4, from 5:00 to 8:oo p.m., Hudson observes National Night Out in Henry Hudson Riverfront Park. The purpose of this community event is "to foster and celebrate police-community partnerships by bringing people closer together."

Also on Tuesday, August 4, the Conservation Advisory Council meets at 6:00 p.m. The meeting is a hybrid, taking place in person at City Hall and on Teams. Click here for the link to join the meeting remotely.

Update: The meeting of the Conservation Advisory Council will be rescheduled for later this month.

On Wednesday, August 5, Chronogram brings its pop-up photo studio to Waterfront Wednesdays from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. Show up and document yourself for posterity.

On Thursday, August 6, the Common Council Services Committee meets at 5:30 p.m. The meeting is a hybrid, taking place in person at City Hall and on Teams. Click here to join the meeting remotely.

Friday, July 31, 2026

Where Hudson Ends and Greenport Begins

Tassilo von Parseval, Greenport resident and frequent commenter on Gossips, has launched his own brand of local journalism, The Greenport Perimeter. With a focus on investigative reporting, his first offering deals with the current maelstrom surrounding Greenport Town Supervisor Kathy Eldridge: "The Greenport Uprising."

If Greenport's proximity to Hudson and the shared ZIP code were not enough to pique the curiosity of Hudson readers, two of the major players in this drama are former Hudsonians. Eldridge has been the domestic partner of former Hudson mayor Dick Tracy (2006-2007) for more than two decades. Jim Dolan, the primary source of much of the information, was at one time the chief of police in Hudson and has a long history in Hudson politics, recounted here by Sam Pratt. Also figuring in the drama, John Porreca, the Greenport Democrats' choice to replace Eldridge, lived in Hudson up until 2011 and was active in Hudson politics.

For any number of reasons, "The Greenport Uprising" is recommended reading.

News of the Charter Revision Commission

This post might better be titled "Nothing Is Ever Easy," but that title was already used once this week.

If you are going to revise the city charter, who would you want crafting the proposed changes? The task promises to be an arduous and tedious one. The charter is not a simple document. It is the framework for how a municipality governs itself. Given that, it would seem reasonable to want people assigned to the task who can think analytically, are willing to do the hard work, are familiar with the charter as it exists now, and have knowledge of how government functions. Not everyone fits the criteria.

At the Common Council meeting on Tuesday, Council president Margaret Morris presented for discussion a proposed local law establishing a charter revision commission. She explained that there were basically three ways to approach charter revision: the mayor can appoint a charter commission; the Common Council can appoint a charter commission; a citizens' group can form to propose revision. "At the end of the day," Morris told the Council, "everything ends up on the ballot for referendum."

According to the proposed law, the commission would consist of seven members. Six would be community members appointed by the Council president, and the Council president would serve ex officio as the seventh member. At the meeting, Morris amended the suggested makeup of the commission to include the Council majority leader as an ex officio member. She explained that, since announcing her intention to create a charter revision commission, members of the public had approached her and expressed interest in serving on the commission. She had five people in mind who might serve. She did not, however, disclose who those five people were.

Jennifer Belton (Fourth Ward) was the first councilmember to comment, saying she wanted the selection process to be "more open and inclusive." She objected that she didn't know who the five people were. Morris responded, "These are people who raised their hands and said they are willing to do the work."

Claire Cousin (Fifth Ward) said she agreed with Belton, and Gary Purnhagen opined, "It's hard to fully reflect Hudson with seven people." Belton suggested that each ward should be represented on the commission. She noted there was a problem with the citizens' group that proposed a charter amendment last year "because they all looked alike."

Ken Dow, counsel to the Council, explained that, once a commission is established, "a lot of what they do is dictated by New York State law."

During the public comment period, Ron Kopnicki pointed out that the Common Council could constitute itself as a charter revision commission. Matt McGhee called for a public hearing on starting a commission. Lloyd Koedding wanted the five people Morris had chosen identified, suggesting they "might have an agenda." He went on to allege that last year's Citizens' Initiative for Charter Change "had it out for the mayor."

Morris invited councilmembers (and presumably also the public) to send their comments about the proposed law to her, indicating that she wanted to bring a revised version of the law before the Council at its August meeting. She also made the point that meetings of the charter revision commission would be open meetings.