Some Things Never Change

Over the years, Gossips has reported many times about Galvan projects flouting the rules and skirting the regulations. The practice continues.

At the Common Council Safety Committee meeting tonight, Code Enforcement Director Nick Fox reported discovering workers grinding lead paint off the side of the building at 16 North Fourth Street. This is one of the two houses that are to be the annex to the Galvan hotel project at Warren and Fourth streets--a project that has been subject to a stop-work order since August for violations to the certificate of appropriateness granted by the Historic Preservation Commission.

None of the workers was certified to do lead paint removal. The technique they were using allowed the paint dust to become airborne, endangering the workers themselves and creating a threat to public safety.

The incident has been reported to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Fox is monitoring the site to ensure when work resumes it is done properly.

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It's Happening on Friday the 13th

This past weekend saw the return of standard time. Weekend after next will see the return of alternate side of the street rules for overnight parking. The summer suspension of the rules on weekends ends on Friday the 13th.

Meetings and Events in the Week Ahead

Here we are--in the month of November and back in standard time. As we are engulfed in early darkness, here is what's happening.

• On Monday, November 2, the Board of Estimate and Apportionment (BEA) meets at 2:30 p.m. to continue its review of the proposed budget for 2027. Time is running out to find a way to balance revenues and expenditures. The charter indicates that the budget must be presented to the Common Council on or before November 10, and a special meeting of the Council for that purpose has been scheduled for November 9. The BEA workshop is a hybrid, taking place in person at City Hall and on Teams. Click here to join the meeting remotely. 
• At 5:30 p.m. on Monday, November 2, 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. 
• Tuesday, November 3, is Election Day. The polls are open from 6:00 a.m. until 9:oo p.m. In Hudson, Wards 1, 2, and 3 vote at 11 Warren Street, and Wards 4 and 5 vote at the Central Fire Station, 77 North Seventh Street.

• Also on Tuesday, November 3, 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.
• On Wednesday, November 4, the Board of Estimate and Apportionment (BEA) meets at 2:30 p.m. to continue its efforts to balance the budget proposed for 2027. The meeting is a hybrid, taking place in person at City Hall and on Teams. Click here to join the meeting remotely.  
• On Thursday, November 5, 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. 
• Also at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, November 5, Friends of Second Street (FoSS) and Project7Hudson hold a community forum on the proposed redevelopment of Bliss Towers and its potential consequences for the city as a whole. The forum takes place at Time & Space Limited (TSL), 434 Columbia Street.

• On Friday, November 6, at 10:00 a.m., the Historic Preservation Commission holds a special meeting to consider the application for a new certificate of appropriateness for Hudson Public Hotel, the project at 402-406 Warren Street which is now subject to a stop-work order for violations of its original certificate of appropriateness. 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.

• At 2:30 p.m., on Friday, November 6, the Board of Estimate and Apportionment (BEA) holds its final workshop before the proposed 2027 budget is presented to the Common Council on November 9. The meeting is a hybrid, taking place in person at City Hall and on Teams. Click here to join the meeting remotely.
• On Sunday, November 8, at 1:00 p.m., Modern Witness: The Future of Hudson's First Presbyterian Church, a new documentary by Karl Frederick Mattson, premieres at Time & Space Limited (TSL), 434 Columbia Street. The trailer for the film can be viewed here.

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Hudson's St. Winifred(s)

Because today is All Saints Day, the timing of this post, inspired by something that happened yesterday, seems appropriate.

Yesterday, for Hudson Halloween, the very creative and inventive Lisa Durfee of Five and Diamond took her St. Winifred costume out of storage. At some point in the afternoon, she posed with the statue of St. Winifred on Promenade Hill, and Rich Volo of Trixie's List took these amazing pictures of the two Winifreds together.

Photo: Rich Volo

Photo: Rich Volo

Durfee created the costume in 2002 for a Halloween party at Hudson River Theater, once upon a time located on the second floor of 521 Warren Street. The costume made another appearance in Fourth Down fashion show--Fourth Down being an organization dedicated, in the early years of the 21st century, to promoting the area of Warren Street before Fourth Street. 

The costume got its greatest exposure in 2005, when Durfee as St. Winifred was featured on the Friends of Hudson float in the Flag Day Parade. That appearance was documented in the film Two Square Miles. You can watch the film here. St. Winifred appears briefly at 1:26:43 and again, for a bit longer, at 1:27:26.

Attention to St. Winifred usually raises the questions of who is St. Winifred and why there is a statue of her on Promenade Hill. The story of St. Winifred, a 7th-century Welsh saint who was beheaded when she refused the advances of a suitor and whose head was miraculously reattached, can be found here. The story of how the statue came to be situated on Promenade Hill was told by Mrs. Marion C. Smith in her book, The Hudson Valley Sketchbook, self-published in 1964.

In 1795 when the city was young and a source of pride to its citizens, this section, then called the Parade, was granted to the Common Council, forever, as a public walk or mall, and for no other purpose whatever. About 100 years later, still recognizing it as a spectacularly attractive park, Hudsonians decided it should be beautified. By July 1896, eight flower beds had been laid out in the form of stars, crosses, crescents and four leaf clovers. Coleus and bright, blossoming flowers painted the hill with patches of gorgeous color. Still one thing was lacking. Such a charming garden was not complete without a fountain.

Consequently, C. H. Van Deusen was named to take subscriptions to provide something suitable. Although the response was good, those accountable for the welfare of the city's population were uneasy with the idea. The "Register" worried editorially because "engines at the pumping house are working night and day, seven days in the week" trying to supply barely enough of that important commodity, water. Planning to use it in such a frivolous manner was disconcerting. But a solution seemed imminent for "it is proposed," continued this article, "to put meters into public houses and manufactories and to charge for the water allowed to escape needlessly."

So the fountain project progressed unimpeded. A local architect, Michael O'Connor, was a personal friend of General John Watts de Peyster, a renowned philanthropist living in Tivoli. Knowing of his penchant for donating fine sculpture, Mr. O'Connor made known the yearning of the local people for a fountain. By a lucky coincidence, the general just happened to have one on hand. It had been intended for the Watts de Peyster Hospital and Invalid Children's Home, operated by the Women's Board of Domestic Missions of the Methodist Church near Verhank [sic], N.Y. Those good ladies, faced with the same problem that was plaguing the Hudsonians, refused to provide the water supply.

General de Peyster was more than glad to come to Hudson with his friend and inspect the possible site for his fountain. He found it most desirable, but wanted the approval of the sculptor, George E. Bissell of Poughkeepsie, before making his decision. Bissell, who also executed the statue of Abraham de Peyster, first mayor of New York City, which stands in Bowling Green, was "enraptured with the location," declaring that it overlooked some of the finest scenery he had ever witnessed. The general is said to have remarked facetiously that although Hudson had many saints, he thought they would use one more.

St. Winifred was not a fountain in the same way Venus which once graced the Public Square was. Rather the statue was surrounded by water that flowed out of the statue's base. The water created a pool around the statue that was stocked with goldfish. The image below shows St. Winifred in the early days, before the pool surrounding the statue was filled with soil to create a bed for planting.

 

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Tonight Is the Night for Falling Back

The sun set today at 5:52 p.m. Tomorrow, it will set at 4:51 p.m.

The early darkness of standard time returns in the wee hours of the morning. Don't forget to turn your clocks back an hour before retiring tonight.

Scaling Things Back

Plans for the renovation of 537 Warren Street, formerly the location of Mexican Radio, were presented to the Historic Preservation Commission in March 2025. At that time, they included an elaborate configuration of windows and doors on the east side of the building, opening onto the pocket park and outdoor seating.

On Friday, October 23, the project was back before the HPC, this time seeking approval to utilize window openings in the wall discovered during renovation work. 

HPC member John Schobel asked of the new proposal, "Does this proscribe you from ever doing that ambitious but beautiful project that you had in the beginning?" He was told by the architect presenting the project that the client doesn't want to do that anymore. He explained, "The client would have loved for the park to have been a more beautiful park and a more beautiful space to try to utilize and have the ability to put chairs out there, and it's just too much of a risk that they wouldn't be able to do that." 

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HCDPA and HHA: The Second Parcel

The Hudson Community Development and Planning Agency (HCDPA) meeting on Wednesday provided a reminder that HCDPA has an agreement to sell two properties to the Hudson Housing Authority: the lot at the corner of Second and Columbia streets, which is currently used as a community garden, and the lot at the corner of Warren and Front streets, an Urban Renewal-era park fondly dubbed in recent years "Promenade Prospect Park."  

In October 2024, HCDPA agreed to sell the two parcels to HHA for 50 percent of their fair market value. The fair market value was established by appraisals that determined the value of the Columbia Street parcel to be $170,000 and the Warren Street parcel to be $200,000. Hence, HHA will pay $85,000 for the Columbia Street parcel and $100,000 for the Warren Street parcel. HHA's plan was to build townhouses on both parcels.

At one point, it seemed the construction of townhouses on both site was part of Phase 1 of HHA's redevelopment plan, but it seems only the plan for townhouses on Columbia Street is part of Phase 1. This is what is proposed for that site: a block of four three-story townhouses.

Although rarely mentioned anymore, it seems HHA is still interested in acquiring the lot at the end of Warren Street. Perhaps constructing something on that parcel is part of HHA's plan for Phase 2, along with demolishing Bliss Towers and Columbia Apartments and constructing another apartment building with a hundred or more apartments on the current Bliss Towers site.

Back in 2020, Betsy Gramkow, who was then chair of the Planning Board and served ex officio on the HCDPA board, suggested that low-income housing at Warren and Front streets would not be "the highest and best use" of the lot and that a mixed-use building on the site, with market-rate rental units, would increase the city's tax base. Many in Hudson would agree with Gramkow. It is worth noting that when the agreement with HHA was made, Theresa Joyner chaired the Planning Board and served ex officio on the HCDPA board. 

If HHA were to build townhouses on the site, it would complete the streetwall and return that corner to something resembling what it was before Urban Renewal.

Also, because this location is in a locally designated historic district, the design for the building(s) would require a certificate of appropriateness from the Historic Preservation Commission.

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HPD Seeks Assistance

The Hudson Police Department is asking for the public's assistance in identifying the individual pictured above in connection with a graffiti complaint that occurred on Warren Street sometime early this morning.

Anyone who recognizes this individual or has information that may assist with the investigation is asked to contact HPD at 518-828-3388.

News for Budget Watchers

Today's meeting of the Board of Estimate and Apportionment has been canceled. The mayor is out of town, and the treasurer is ill.

Wondering About Winter Walk?

There's a reel on Instagram today meant to pique your interest. Click here to view it.

Winter Walk 2026 is happening on Saturday, December 5.

Sad Loss for Greenport

The Register-Star reported the news this morning: "Greenport's Dolan dies at 72 after suffering cardiac arrest."

The State of the 2027 Budget

Tomorrow's meeting of the Board of Estimate and Apportionment will begin at 2:00 p.m. instead of 2:30 p.m. to allow more time to try to bring expenditures in line with revenues. At last report, projected expenditures for 2027 exceeded anticipated revenues by significantly more than $1.5 million. At Wednesday's BEA meeting, Council president Margaret Morris expressed her desire to avoid closing the gap by raising property taxes and made this critique of the BEA process, "We try to figure out how to cover our expenses instead of asking are we spending wisely."

Morris's statements at the BEA meeting echoed what she had told the Common Council at its meeting the previous night. In her update to the Council on the status of the budget process, Morris said she would prefer not to see property taxes increasing, because tax increases contribute to displacement for both renters and home owners and also impact businesses in the city. She said, if an increase is necessary, it should not exceed last year's tax increase but asserted that, before any tax increase is considered, departments should identify any areas where reductions can be made.

At the Council meeting, Morris also outlined the Council's process of reviewing and approving the budget. The budget will be presented to the Council on Monday, November 9. The Council then has twenty days to act on the budget. It can only reduce items in the budget. A special meeting of the Council will be convened after the presentation to consider any modifications to the budget. Morris directed councilmembers to review Section C16-3 through C16-5 of the city charter, which lays out the process for the Council's consideration of the budget. She concluded by saying, "All of that process got lost last year."

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The Mysterious Fate of a Famous Graffito

This photograph, which accompanied Andrea Elliott's New York Times article, "When the Weed Wars Came to Warren Street," made the question scrawled on 330 Warren Street something of an iconic image for Hudson.

Today, Mark Allen reports on Instagram that, as part of the renovation of the building, the sign was removed but rescued by someone unknown.

According to the workers at 330 Warren Street when I asked today, Hudson's now semi-iconic "WHAT DO U HARBOR THAT ROTS?" graffiti panel was acquired last week by "a quick-thinking person" when renovations to the front of the building began (otherwise it would have ended up in the dump). They don't know who it was, but they do know it wasn't the new building or business owner, and the person wanted only that. Who was it? Where is the sign now? Where will it end up?

Site Plan Approval Is Not the Last Word

Yesterday, this post card was delivered to mailboxes throughout Hudson, announcing an event taking place next week.

On Thursday, November 5, at 5:30 p.m., Friends of Second Street and Project7Hudson are holding a Town Forum at Time & Space Limited, 434 Columbia Street. The forum will explain the proposed redevelopment of Bliss Towers and its potential consequences for the city as a whole. Two central topics of the forum will be the implications for local taxpayers and the future of Bliss Towers and Columbia Apartments if Phase 2 of the project is delayed or never proceeds, including questions about demolition funding and responsibility for the vacant buildings.

The program will include a timeline video and a history of the Hudson Housing Authority's redevelopment efforts, tracing how proposals have evolved since 2010 into the plan now being pursued. The forum will also look at Hudson's long-term population decline since 1970, providing context for a discussion about housing needs, public services, and the city's future. The proposed development's scale, construction, parking, and neighborhood impact will considered. "Bliss Gardens," the alternative concept being developed by Project7Hudson will also be introduced.

The goal of the forum is to help residents understand both the need for safe, dignified replacement housing for current Bliss residents and the broader decisions that will affect Hudson for years to come. In addition to the presentation, there will be time for community questions and discussion.

Update on Jim Dolan

The Register-Star just published an update on James Dolan, who remains in critical condition at Albany Med: "Greenport's Dolan 'fighting' for life after cardiac arrest."

On the Path to Charter Revision

At its meeting last night, the Common Council passed a resolution enacting a local law that established a Charter Revision Commission. The law describes the number and method of appointing members in this way:

The Commission shall consist of nine members and a quorum shall consist of five members. Seven community members shall be appointed by the President of the City of Hudson Common Council in consultation with the Common Council. At least one resident from each Ward shall serve on the Commission. The Common Council President and the Majority Leader shall serve, ex officio, as the eighth and ninth members. 

Today, Gossips reveals the identity of the nine members of the Charter Revision Commission, along with the wards in which they reside:

1. Steven Wilson (First Ward)
2. Bill Hughes (Second Ward)
3. John Friedman (Third Ward)
4. Kevin Turner (Third Ward)
5. Rob Perry (Third Ward)
6. Linda Fenoff (Fourth Ward)
7. Caitie Hilverman (Fifth Ward)
8. Margaret Morris (Council President--First Ward)
9. Dominic Merante (Majority Leader--Fifth Ward)

These are the people who were discussed and agreed to in the Council's executive session last night--the people who are willing to put in the time and tedious hard work involved in reviewing the city charter and recommending revisions. The revisions recommended by the commission will be subject to referendum.

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A Legal Decision in the Weed Wars

The Register-Star reports today that Riverbend Dispensary's lawsuit has been dismissed: "Judge dismisses Riverbend suit against planned Hudson dispensary." 

Riverbend had sued the Cannabis Control Board for granting a waiver to Blaze NY, Bill Hughes' dispensary proposed for 519 Columbia Street. State regulations require that cannabis shops be at least 2,000 feet apart in municipalities with fewer then 20,000 residents. The location of Blaze NY is just a block away from Riverbend, which is located at 531 Warren Street. 

The Register-Star article reports:

Riverbend had to prove the board's decision to greenlight the [Blaze NY] dispensary actually harmed its business, and economic harm resulting from foreseen market saturation or economic competition is not a high enough threshold, Albany Supreme Court Justice William Little said in his ruling.

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Difference of Opinion

At its September 29 meeting, the Common Council passed a resolution expressing the opinion that the Mill Street parcel, the proposed site of Mill Street Lofts, was municipal parkland and conveyance of the land may constitute alienation of parkland requiring authorization by the New York State Legislature. Two days later, Mayor Joseph Ferris vetoed that resoluition.

Ferris's veto statement was on the agenda for last night's Common Council meeting as a communication. In introducing the veto statement, Council president Margaret Morris cited Section C6-2 of the City Charter before making this statement:

As you know, this resolution was not legislative. It did not authorize the City to take any action. As such, the veto I consider to be irrelevant. There will not be a vote to override the veto. We have expressed our opinion, and there's nothing further to say on the matter, as far as I'm concerned.

When the Council voted on the resolution in September, nine of the eleven members voted in support of the resolution, and two--Mohammed Rony (Second Ward) and Claire Cousin (Fifth Ward)--abstained.

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An Unexpected Development

At its meeting tonight, the Common Council unanimously passed a resolution enacting a local law establishing a charter revision commission.

The same resolution and local law were tabled in August. As Gossips reported at the time, the greatest objection to what was proposed came from C0uncilmember Claire Cousin (Fifth Ward), who took issue with the process for appointing members of the commission described in the law:

Seven community members shall be appointed by the President of the City of Hudson Common Council in consultation with the Common Council. At least one resident from each Ward shall serve on the Commission.  

In August, Cousin argued that the law as written placed too much appointment power in the hands of the Council president Margaret Morris. At tonight's meeting, Cousin thanked Morris for her hard work on this initiative and acknowledged she had reached out to people in her ward but found none who wanted to put in the time required to serve on the charter revision commission.

At the end of tonight's meeting, the Council went into executive session to discuss the people Morris is proposing to serve on the commission, all of whom volunteered to step up and do the hard work of revising the charter.

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An Announcement from Hudson Hall

This is a hugely significant milestone in a journey that's been going on for more than three decades.   

Hudson Hall at the historic Hudson Opera House today announced the successful completion of its Rise Up! campaign and the full retirement of the debt on its home at 327 Warren Street. Launched in 2021 and sparked by a $500,000 matching grant from the Reinhart Foundation, Rise Up! reduced the loan from $3 million in 2017 to under $1 million. An extraordinary gift from the Reinhart Foundation in early 2026 retired the remaining debt in full.

Built in 1855 as Hudson's City Hall, the building fell into disrepair after city offices were relocated in 1962. In 1992, a group of local citizens banded together to save it and establish the arts nonprofit, Hudson Opera House. Their efforts culminated in a comprehensive $9.5 million restoration, completed in 2017, that made the building fully ADA accessible for the first time in its history and returned New York State's oldest surviving theater to the public. Hudson Hall took out a $3 million loan to complete the project.

Ending principal and interest payments on this loan--more than $60,000 a year in interest alone--lets Hudson Hall redirect those resources to sustaining community programming and to building an operating reserve. The milestone comes as Hudson Hall approaches the tenth anniversary of its 2017 restoration and reopening.

"Hudson Hall exists today because people in this community believed this building was worth saving," said Paul Barrett, President of Hudson Hall's Board of Directors. "That commitment has carried us through more than three decades of restoration, reopening, and rebuilding. The Rise Up! campaign is another example of what people can accomplish together, and we're enormously grateful to everyone who contributed, especially the Reinhart Foundation, for helping us reach this milestone."

"For the first time since our theater reopened in 2017, we can plan for the future without the burden of this debt," said Adam Weinert, Executive Director of Hudson Hall. "That means more of our resources can go toward the work we're here to do: bringing artists and audiences together, supporting young people, and making Hudson Hall a place where the whole community feels welcome. It's an exciting moment to be thinking about what's next."

The Next Chapter: Securing Hudson Hall's Future

With this debt behind us, more of Hudson Hall's resources can go directly toward the artists, performances, educational programs, and community gatherings that bring the building to life. Last week, the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) announced awarding Hudson Hall $45,000 to seed its first-ever Reserve Fund--an important first step toward financial resiliency. The fund will help the organization navigate unexpected challenges and safeguard its programs and its historic building. The award is made possible by NYSCA with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

Since reopening in 2017, Hudson Hall has grown into a year-round destination for the performing arts and a vital community gathering place, serving approximately 40,000 people annually through more than 800 programs. Its acclaimed Hudson Jazz Festival and the Handel on the Hudson opera series bring internationally recognized artists to the region, alongside free arts education, community partnerships, and accessible programming for people of all ages.

Shocking News from Greenport

Tassilo von Parvesal reports on The Greenport Perimeter that Jimmy Dolan, who will be remembered by Hudsonians who have been here for a while, suffered an apparent heart attack last night: "Councilman Dolan collapses during Greenport special town board meeting."

Update: The Register-Star just reported on Dolan's current condition: "Greenport's Dolan in critical condition after mid-meeting collapse."