Graduation Rates: HCSD and Elsewhere

The commencement speaker at Hudson High School graduation last week was former superintendent of schools Maria Suttmeier. In introducing Suttmeier, Phillip Campbell, associate principal at Hudson High, noted that during her tenure as superintendent (2012 to 2022) the graduation rate rose from 58 percent to 89 percent. It was not revealed in what year 89 percent was achieved, but since then things seem not to be going as well.

Screen capture: Hudson High School Graduation 2026 | Lance Wheeler

The Register-Star today published an overview of school performance in the region, as measured by graduation rate: "Capital Region graduation rates are a tale of two realities." The article focuses on Gloversville, which of all the districts in the region had the highest dropout rate in 2025: 21 percent. 

Hudson, which is characterized in the article as one of the "former Rust Belt cities," is also mentioned:

. . . the economically challenged Hudson City School District in the upper Hudson Valley has seen its numbers generally worsen over the past decade--from a graduation rate of 77% and a dropout rate of 11% in 2015 to a lowly 67% grad rate and a 16% dropout rate in 2025, according to state data.

The article does indicate there are schools in "economically challenged urban districts" where graduation rates have improved in the past ten years:

In Albany, the grad rate improved from 57% in 2025 to 75% last year, according to state records. At the same time, the dropout rate was cut in half, from 20% in 2015 to 10% in 2025. Similarly, Schenectady's graduation rate jumped from 59% to 73% while its dropout rate dropped from 20% to 10%--an especially encouraging development for officials in a district that grappled with a dropout rate of over 30% as recently as 2011.

Data for 2026 is not yet available. 

Observing the Nation's 250th in Newburgh

The juxtaposition of these events seems bitterly ironic and somehow emblematic of the larger context in which our country observes its 25oth anniversary.

Washington's Headquarters State Historic Site is located Newburgh. It is the house where Washington lived and worked during the final sixteen months of the Revolutionary War. Washington's Headquarters is also the country's first publicly owned historic site, acquired by the State of New York in 1850 and opened to the public on July 4 of that year.

It is for good reason then that Washington's Headquarters is the focal point of Newburgh's Fourth of July celebration for the Semiquincentennial, the details of which are described by Secret NYC: "Less than 2 hours from NYC: this historic Hudson Valley small town is transforming its waterfront into a sprawling Revolutionary craft beverage trail for the July 4th weekend."

Photo: Michael Goldin | Secret NYC

In sad contrast to the plans for Washington's Headquarters and the Newburgh waterfront for the upcoming weekend, Hudson Valley Post reported this morning that in the wee hours of Saturday morning "gunfire erupted . . . right across from George Washington's historic headquarters": "Historic Area in Hudson Valley Now a Huge Crime Scene." 

Photo: Rockland Video | Hudson Valley Post

We trust the yellow police tape and evidence markers will be gone before Saturday.
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News of Sidewalks

Under the new Sidewalk Improvement District legislation, the City will collect about $315,000 annually in sidewalk fees from property owners. That money is earmarked to be spent on sidewalk repairs and replacement. At the Public Works Board meeting last Monday, Tyler Kritzman, Commission of Public Works, shared the list of parcels that have been identified for sidewalk replacement this year. 

• Two parcels on the west side of North Fifth Street between Warren and Columbia streets
• One parcel on the east side of North Fifth Street between Columbia Street and Long Alley
• Two parcels on the east side of South Third Street between Warren and Union streets
• Four parcels on both sides of North Fifth Street between State and Columbia streets
• Two parcels on the west side of North Sixth Street between State and Prospect streets

In addition to these eleven spots, Kritzman identified two alternative sites: the west side of South Fifth Street between Warren and Union; and the west side of South Third Street between Union and Partition. 

There are still several steps before any work can commence. First, a map showing the parcels in question must be created and submitted to the Common Council for approval. Next, the City needs to issue an RFP (request for proposal) for the work. Then, a contractor must be chosen to do the work. Finally, the work needs to be carried out before the temperatures fall below the optimal range for pouring concrete--50 to 80 degrees.

At this rate, it seems it will take many years before Hudson's sidewalks are universally ADA compliant.

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The Bear Is Still Out There

The bear that appeared yesterday on North Fifth Street and was guided into the woods by the police is still hanging out in the city. This morning the bear was sighted in the area of Paddock Place and Oakwood Boulevard. The picture below was posted on the "Unfiltered Hudson" Facebook page just minutes ago.

Photo: Theresa Nicholson | Facebook

Meetings and Events in the Week Ahead

In this week, which sees the end of June and the beginning of July and culminates in Independence Day, not much is happening in Hudson--either in terms of meetings or the observance of the country's semiquincentennial. 

• On Wednesday, July 1, Hudson Community Development and Planning Agency 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. 
• On Thursday, July 2, the Common Council Services Committee (Youth Department and Senior Center) 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.
• Saturday is the Fourth of July. As is usual for Hudson, there are no observances of the holiday planned, but if you seek fireworks, Chronogram has published a comprehensive list of all the places where there will be fireworks: "Where to Watch Fireworks in the Hudson Valley This 4th of July."   

Fireworks in Poughkeepsie. Photo: Mid-Hudson Discovery Museum | Facebook

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Beware. There's a Bear in Town

Shortly before 9:00 p.m., the Hudson Police Department reported on Facebook they had successfully guided a bear seen on North Fifth Street into a wooded area near Underhill Pond.

If you live in the part of the city, keep your eye out for a bear.

Galvan Hotel Back Before the HPC

Over the course of several months in 2022 and 2023, Walter Chatham, representing the Galvan Foundation, appeared before the Historic Preservation Commission with the plans to convert the buildings at the corner of Warren and North Fourth streets into a hotel. During the course of the review, the design for hotel evolved from something rather fanciful to something more respectful of the buildings' original architectural design.

The buildings and the future hotel are some of the few properties Galvan is not giving to Bard College.

Yesterday, Joshua Moon, representing Galvan, was back before the HPC seeking a certificate of appropriateness to install awnings on the building. The awnings over the entrances would be fixed; the awnings over the windows would be retractable. These mocked-up photographs were presented to illustrate what was being proposed.

Moon told the HPC that the fixed awnings over the entrances would project six feet from the building. When the retractable awnings over the windows were extended, they would protect eight feet from the building, which means they would extend beyond the sidewalk.

In the discussion of the awnings, HPC member Miranda Barry reminded her colleagues, "Generally, we have approved awnings on the theory they are removable." 

In the end, the HPC decided they needed more information and visuals that showed what the building would look like with the awnings extended.  

Awnings on buildings were common in the 19th and early 20th centuries . . . 

but somehow the awnings proposed for the future Hudson Public Hotel seem inappropriately modern-looking.

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Abandoned on Warren Street

Built between 1867 and 1869 as the Universalist Church and housing the United Methodist Church for much of the 20th century, the church building at 448 Warren Street was the subject today of a Facebook post by The Hudson Valley Explorer, who speculates of the building, "It might just be one big birdhouse at this point."

The building is owned by a limited liability corporation called Otera. Many of us know the human behind that LLC is the artist David Hammons. The building was purchased in March 2014, and, in September 2014, what was described as a "complete and accurate restoration" of the building commenced. The brick was repointed by an award-winning masonry contractor who had also done work at Olana. Brownstone needed for repairs was imported from England because it was most like the brownstone available in this country in the 1860s. The restoration was promised to be "absolutely in kind."

The last work done on the building happened in 2016, when the missing steeple, which had been purposely removed in 1971 out of concern about liability should the steeple topple in a storm, as others in the city had, was replaced with a simple cap.

For the past ten years, the building was been abandoned and neglected. Currently, $359,763.89 is owed in back taxes and penalties. The building is on the delinquent tax list and scheduled for foreclosure.

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Moving On From Disaster

We all remember the devastating fire at Wunderbar that happened last year on the morning of Saturday, August 23. 

Photo: Peter Meyer

In February, Wunderbar reopened in Rhinebeck. Earlier this week, a "For Sale" sign appeared on the building at 744 Warren Street.

Photo: Virginia Martin

The current state of the building, constructed circa 1908 and known as the Bellwether Building, is described in this way: "Structurally sound and now at a complete reset, the building stands ready for its next chapter: historic facade intact, original staircase preserved, and every square foot open to whatever its next owner envisions. . . . Following a fire in 2025 and subsequent gut renovation, the ground floor is an open canvas."

Photo: This Old Hudson Real Estate

Photo: This Old Hudson Real Estate

Photo: This Old Hudson Real Estate

The building is listed with This Old Hudson Real Estate. The asking price is $675,000. According to This Old Hudson's website today, there is currently an accepted offer.

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This Evening in Kinderhook

Today, Friday, June 26, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., there is an opening reception for Rolling Hills and Gracious Fields: Columbia County Painters of the Hudson River School at the Columbia County Historical Society Museum and Library, 5 Albany Avenue, Kinderhook.

John Bunyan Bristol (1826-1909), The Range, c. 1860, CCHS Collection

The exhibition presents a collection of 19th-century artists from Columbia County, including John Bunyan Bristol, George Augustus McKinstry, Cuyler Williams, Calvin Van Deusen, the Parton brothers, and Robert Fulton Ludlow, and explores the relationship between artistic identity and regional transformation at a pivotal moment in American history. The artists in the exhibition contributed to the Hudson River School movement, painting the landscapes they knew intimately.

The exhibition will be on view from June 27 through January 8, 2027. For more information, click here.

Job Opening at CEDC

Two months ago, Chris Brown left his job as housing development coordinator for Columbia Economic Development Corporation (CEDC) to become senior research planner for Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress and program manager for Hudson Valley Alliance for Housing & Conservation. CEDC is now looking for a new housing development coordinator. The information about the job and its requirements and information about applying can be found here.

This Weekend in Kinderhook

On Saturday, June 27, OK Pride celebrates its fifth annual Pride event in the Village Green in Kinderhook.

The Pride March departs at 3:00 p.m. from Kinderhook Memorial Library, after Drag Queen Story Hour, and proceeds to the Village Green for speeches, dancing, and celebrating. Addressing the crowd will be Grand Marshal Camille Massey, Sheriff Jackie Salvatore, State Senator Michelle Hinchey, Assemblymember Didi Barrett, and Junior Grand Marshal Asher Holland.

In the evening, The Aviary hosts the "Birds of a Feather" dance party from 8:30 p.m. to midnight. DJ Michael V will be spinning favorite pride party anthems. For added fun, there will be a free photobooth and drag performances. Tickets can be purchased here.

Before the Mayor Weighed In

On Tuesday, Gossips published a statement from Mayor Joseph Ferris which was received before there was time to report on the Common Council meeting that provoked the mayor's response. Today, we catch up and report on the meeting. But first, some history.

In January 2023, the Common Council passed a resolution approving the sale of two parcels owned by the City of Hudson to Kearney Realty & Development. The two parcels were the vacant lot at State and North Fourth streets, currently being used as a parking lot by Columbia County, and the land on Mill Street that had been and still is a playing field and was generally considered to be part of Charles Williams Park. The resolution was accompanied by an agreement of sale, but the actual agreement of sale was not executed until May 2023.

The actual agreement of sale, which is essentially the same as the one attached to the resolution presented to the Common Council, was signed by Mayor Kamal Johnson for the City of Hudson and Sean Kearney for Kearney Realty & Development and dated May 3, 2023. That agreement, like the agreement attached to the resolution, set the closing "on or before the date which is two years after the full execution of this Agreement." The agreement stipulated that the purchaser could postpone the closing for up to two six-month periods. The two years and the two six-month extensions were over on May 3, 2026.

At the informal Common Council meeting on Monday, June 15, residents of Mill Street urged the Council to act on the contract, which they believed had expired on May 3. What was not known at the time was that, unbeknownst to the Common Council, the agreement of sale had been amended by Mayor Joseph Ferris on May 20, 2026, to alter the closing date. Between the informal Council meeting on June 15 and the regular meeting on June 23, Council president Margaret Morris researched the issue, and at the regular meeting read aloud the amendment to the agreement, which had been signed by Ferris and Kenneth Kearney. The amendment changed the date of closing from a fixed date to an open-ended one: "thirty (30) days after the Seller has discontinued all pending actions/proceedings relating to the ability of the Seller to convey title to the Property." In other words, thirty days after there has been a determination favorable to the City in the current Article 78 proceeding.

The question was raised but not answered if the mayor had the authority to amend the agreement without the knowledge and the approval of the Common Council.

Councilmember Henry Haddad (First Ward) brought up another issue: the selling price. Haddad cited $450,000 as the price; it is actually $420,000 for both parcels--Mill Street and State Street. Haddad called the deal "bad for us and bad for Mill Street" and asserted "to continue this is a slap in the face to taxpayers." Councilmember Jennifer Belton (Fourth Ward) mused, making reference to the three projects the City had chosen Kearney to pursue, "If two of them aren't happening, and the worst one might happen. . . ."

It was in response to this that Ferris issued this statement:

The contract closing date was not extended. The amendment simply clarified the current state of the contract and provided the closing will occur pending the Court's Article 78 determination.

The City of Hudson cannot unilaterally cancel the contract. If we were to do so, Kearney Group would have a breach of contract claim against the City and could seek damages for the City's termination.

Corporation Counsel [City Attorney] advised me that since the City was already in contract with Kearney Group, is a named party in the Article 78 proceeding, and has a legal obligation to perform under the contract until such time as a Court rules otherwise, it was necessary to execute the amendment to maintain the status quo.

Much of this was discussed at a March 6 meeting attended by myself, Council President Morris, Mill Street petitioners, and the respective legal representatives.

The Council can debate prior resolutions of support but as this city's mayor, my responsibility is to protect the city and at this point in the Article 78 process, that means doing everything in my power to avoid unnecessary and expensive legal actions whose cost will be borne by the taxpayers.

It will be recalled that last year, before he was elected, Ferris called on the Planning Board to deny approval to the Mill Street Lofts project. Ferris said at that time, "There is no such thing as a good project in a floodplain. Let's build a future that's safe, equitable, and forward-thinking. Approve the Bliss Towers redevelopment and reject the Mill Street Lofts as it stands." Despite significant opposition from elected officials, neighborhood residents, and the public in general, the Planning Board granted site plan approval to the project in May 2025.

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Happening on Thursday

Tomorrow, Thursday, June 25, at 6:00 p.m., as part of the 2026 OutHudson observance of Pride Month, the Hudson Area Library celebrates the library's oral histories of local people who identify as LGBTQ+. The event is part of the 2026 OurHudson observance of Pride Month. The celebration, curated by oral history interviewer and History Room volunteer Jasper Francis, features clips from new oral histories and commentary from community members on the featured clips. LGBTQ+ themed items from the library's collection will also be on view. A reception will follow the program.

  

The evening celebrates the progress of the LGBTQ+ theme in this archive and also informs people of next steps to build the collection. The library is looking for donations (or loans to digitize) of photographs, video, art, documents, ephemera, and memorabilia on Hudson’s vital queer history. Staff will be on hand to answer questions about how the archive will be developed and how items donated or loaned will be handled. All are welcome to attend, learn more, and engage as a community.

Interviews for the library's LGBTQ+ portion of the Hudson Area Library Oral History Project (oralhistory.hudsonarealibrary.org) were recorded in collaboration with OutHudson and with support from John Schobel and the Poke the Bear Foundation in honor of Rich "Trixie" Volo.

Bear Sighting in Hudson

The following information was just received:

HPD wants to advise residents that a bear has recently been sighted in the area of the rear of JLE/Mill Street. While bear encounters are uncommon, residents are encouraged to remain alert and take precautions.

IF YOU SEE A BEAR:

• remain calm and keep a safe distance
• do not approach, feed, or attempt to photograph the bear at a close range
• secure garbage, pet food, bird feeders and other potential food sources
• keep pets on a leash and supervise children when outdoors

DO NOT

• approach the bear
• leave food or trash outside
• attempt to scare the bear if it is moving away

Most bears will avoid people if given space. If a bear appears aggressive or poses an immediate threat to public safety, contact 911 immediately. You may also contact the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Region 4 Wildlife Office at 518 367-2355 during business hours or 1 844 DEC-ECOS (1 844 332-3267) after hours.

Council Appoints Daskaloudi to IDA

Last night, the Common Council appointed former Fifth Ward councilmember Vicky Daskaloudi as the community member on the Industrial Development Agency (IDA). The vote was 9 to 2, with Jason Foster (Third Ward) and Claire Cousin (Fifth Ward) being the only councilmembers to vote against the appointment. 

Although Mayor Joseph Ferris announced last Thursday, June 18, that Michael Chameides was withdrawing his name from consideration and hence he, Ferris, was withdrawing his recommendation, Foster asked before the vote what happened to Chameides. Council president Margaret Morris had to explain that Chaimeides had withdrawn from consideration.

It will be remembered that in March 2025, at the public hearing held by the IDA on the tax abatements sought by the Galvan Foundation for the building proposed for 75 North Seventh Street, a 75-unit building that would have been primarily market rate, Daskaloudi spoke out against granting a PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes), citing longtime homeowners struggling to pay their property taxes and warning that granting a PILOT to a project that was primarily market rate would set a bad precedent. 

The IDA, of course, never got a chance to make a decision about the PILOT for 75 North Seventh Street. A few weeks later, in early May 2025, Galvan withdrew its application and announced the project had been put on pause "due to macroeconomic uncertainties." Two months after that, in early July 2025, Galvan announced it was giving most of its real estate holdings in Hudson to Bard College.

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