A Vision Realized

It's been eighteen years since the Hudson Islamic Center announced its plan to build a mosque at the northwest corner of Columbia and Third streets, eleven years since the Zoning Board of Appeals granted the project its needed area variances, clearing the way for construction, and eight years since the groundbreaking happened with much celebration and ceremony.

Rendering 2015

Rendering 2018

Groundbreaking on April 29. 2018

After nearly two decades of aspiration and planning, fundraising and construction, the mosque is finally completed. The grand opening of the mosque takes place this Sunday, October 18, at 11:00 a.m. 

Mark Your Calendars

On Sunday, November 8, a new documentary by Karl Frederick Mattson about an iconic Hudson landmark premieres at Time & Space Limited. 

Modern Witness: The Future of Hudson’s First Presbyterian Church, a new documentary by Karl Frederick Mattson about one of the city’s most recognizable landmarks, will premiere Sunday, November 8, at 1 p.m. at TSL (Time & Space Limited), 434 Columbia Street, Hudson. Admission is free. The screening is sponsored by the Friends of First Presbyterian Church of Hudson, which also produced the film.

The 34-minute film follows the historic church as it bears witness to the challenges of preserving its past while remaining present. It shows how the future of a community space depends on the people willing to see it and carry it forward. 

The present First Presbyterian Church building has stood at the corner of Warren and Fourth streets since 1837. Its twin towers and Gothic facade, including a rose window designed by architect John A. Woods, were added in 1877, and its east tower houses the official City of Hudson clock. 

The church has long been a gathering place for important community conversations, including the abolition movement. It continues to provide a home to groups that serve community needs, as well as concerts, plays, and gatherings such as Melting Pot, which combine music and food. 

Modern Witness asks what the building needs to remain a living, working place. “For nearly two centuries, the 1837 First Presbyterian Church has served spiritual needs as a place of worship, a space to host Hudson’s social welfare needs, a forum for the great questions of its day, and a home for neighbors working to realize community aspirations,” said Gary Sheffer, president of the Friends of First Presbyterian Church. “Karl’s film could not be timelier. As we work to ensure the church continues to serve Hudson for generations to come, Modern Witness reminds us of what this building has meant to our city, and what it can still be.”

Filmmaker Karl Frederick Mattson said, “Creating this film began as an exploration of a historic building in response to its needs in early 2025, but the process of making it revealed that there was a great deal of story in the people who continued to give the building life. As I followed them, the church clock and its piano stood out as metaphors for the building itself: things that endure not simply because they were built to last, but because someone keeps showing up to care for them. One of the challenges of making this film was finding a way to tell that story of a building in need of care without actually saying it.” 

Modern Witness was shot, directed, and edited by Karl Frederick Mattson of 542films. It features Reid Bielenberg, Stephen Bluhm, Alfa Demmellash, Alex Forrester, Grant Gulla, Chad Lindberg, Adolfo Lopez, Gary Sheffer, and David William Voorhees, with narration by John Craig. Black & white photography is by Grant Gulla, and music is by Stephen Bluhm, Katharine Petkovski, and The Birdhouse Babes. The premiere event will also feature music by pianist Stephen Bluhm and a brief discussion about the church’s future. Admission is free and refreshments will be served.

The documentary trailer can be viewed here.

Another Night with the Planning Board

The main event at Tuesday night's Planning Board meeting was deliberation in preparation for making a decision on the Hudson Housing Authority's redevelopment proposal. A decision was not formally made at Tuesday's meeting, which went on for two and a half hours. Instead the Planning Board agreed to hold a special meeting at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, October 19, to vote on the proposal, after the Planning Board and the public has had a chance to see and study the proposed resolution and its conditions.

Not surprisingly, the alternative "Bliss Gardens" plan submitted by Project7Hudson was not mentioned at the meeting, although the letter from Carla Sadoff, introducing the plan, and a letter from Friends of Second Street, both submitted on Monday, October 12, now appear in the Planning Board portal. The letter from FoSS specifies eleven conditions that should be imposed should the Planning Board decide to grant site plan approval.

Before the Planning Board began its discussion and deliberation, HHA executive director Jeffrey Dodson, who stormed out of the previous Planning Board meeting in a fit of pique, said the site plan review process "has tested our character," but he assured the board, "We are determined to make a better use of the space we have."

When members of the Planning Board had the opportunity to question the applicant, Peter Spear returned to the issue of the number of entrances to the buildings. The issue is based in this statement made in a document submitted to the Planning Board by the applicant in May:

Residents access the buildings directly from public sidewalks, pedestrian paths, and landscaped open spaces, with multiple street-level entrances distributed across each building. Rather than concentrating circulation into a single centralized lobby, entrances are organized to serve smaller residential groupings, so each entry supports a limited number of units. The approach reinforces a neighborhood-scaled residential character and allows residents to enter their homes close to the street or open space, much like traditional walk-up and small shared-entry buildings throughout Hudson.

Alex Gorlin of Alexander Gorlin Architects, who presumably wrote the statement since it was made in response to questions addressed to the architect, maintained that "at no point did we ever have more than one entrance" and stated, "Whatever I said previously was incorrect."

Before the Planning Board began its deliberations on the proposal, Andrew Clark, legal counsel to the Planning Board, read Chapter 325-35 H (2) of the city code, which outlines the grounds for making a decision in the site plan review.

In considering whether to approve a site plan or site plan amendment, the Planning Board shall take into consideration the public health, safety, and general welfare, the general purpose and intent of this chapter, the comfort and convenience of the public in general and the residents of the immediate neighborhood in particular, and shall base such decision upon the following grounds:

(a)  Maximum safety of pedestrian and vehicular traffic access and egress.

(b)  Site layout (including location, power, direction and time of any outdoor lighting of the site) which would have no significant adverse impact upon any adjoining or nearby properties by impairing the established character or the potential use of properties in such districts. Any adverse impacts must be mitigated to the maximum extent practicable.

(c)  The reasonable screening, at all seasons of the year, of all playgrounds, parking and service areas from view of the adjacent residential properties and streets.

(d)  Conformance of the proposed site development plan with the City of Hudson Comprehensive Plan and, where applicable, the Local Waterfront Revitalization Program, including any applicable policies contained in the LWRP.

(e)  In applicable cases, a drainage system and layout which would afford the best solution to any drainage problem.

(f)  All water bodies, wetlands, steep slopes, and other areas of scenic, ecological and historic value shall be preserved insofar as possible. All site preparation activities shall be conducted with the goal of retaining stormwater on the site.

(g)  Landscape treatment should be provided to enhance architectural features, strengthen vistas and visual corridors and provide shade.

(h)  No material or equipment, other than as shown on an approved site plan, shall be stored in the open if it would be substantially visible from adjoining properties and public roads. Storage of equipment and materials should be within wholly enclosed structures approved for such use or should be screened from view by fencing or landscaping, or a combination of fencing and landscaping, as determined by the Planning Board.

(i)  Without restricting the permissible limits of the applicable zoning district, the height, location, design and signage of each building should be compatible with its site and the existing and historic character of the surrounding neighborhood. Adaptive reuse of existing structures is strongly encouraged.

Conformance with the comprehensive plan being one of the criteria for making a decision, the idea that the project should correct the harm done by Urban Renewal in Hudson, an idea based on a statement found on page 51 of the current comprehensive plan, Hudson 2035, inspired a spirited exchange between board members Sara Black and Spear. In the exchange, Black called the project "a generational lift that the city has been working towards ever since Bliss Towers was known to be structurally compromised," while Spear maintained the project as proposed "is a repeat of the institutional-scale development of Bliss Towers. It is Bliss Towers laid on its side." The entire exchange is worth listening to and can be heard here, beginning at 1:40:07 and ending at 1:47:39.

Regarding the comprehensive plan and its influence on the Planning Board's decision making, Clark pointed 0ut that "conforming to the comprehensive plan is only one of eight conditions, where no one is controlling." Ron Bogle, who chairs the Planning Board, said that he had asked the city attorney, presumably that was Andy Howard, about the legal status of the comprehensive plan. Bogle reported that he was told the comprehensive plan is "an aspirational document designed to inform future zoning, and it has no power of law."

During the meeting, the idea of requiring a performance bond for the demolition of Bliss Towers was discussed at some length. The demolition is now part of Phase 2 and, accordingly to the construction timeline for the project, is likely to happen in December 2029. Regarding the possibility of making the demolition part of Phase 1, John Madeo of Mountco said, "This project is financially stressed now. Adding demolition would make the project infeasible." He added they had tried to get a preliminary letter of commitment from the state about funding for Phase 2, but the state would not do that.

Clark advised that a demolition bond would exceed the Planning Board's authority because demolition is not part of the application currently before them. Black pooh-poohed the concern that Bliss Towers, which she described as a "nine-story collapsing building full of asbestos," would be allowed to "just sit there," saying, "It's in nobody's interest to have Bliss remain, so why are we wasting time on it?"

In lieu of a demolition bond, it was decided that the resolution would contain the condition that HHA shall apply for site plan approval for Phase 2 within twenty-four months or return to the Planning Board to revisit the SEQR (State Environmental Quality Review) approval. Madeo commented, "In twenty-four months, Phase 1 will be in construction, and the state will see we can deliver."

At one point, Kali Michael voiced a concern about the impact an increase in population density might have on the city. Revonda Smith, who chairs the HHA Board of Commissioners, rose to respond, claiming that Hudson has lost 80 percent of its Black population and saying, "We just want to being our people back."  

After the meeting had gone on for close to two hours, Bogle, explaining that he wanted to speak as a member of the Planning Board and not the chair, said, "There are two main topics here: one is a home for our neighbors; and the other is a piece of architecture that significantly participates in the fabric of our community and in some ways really defines the fabric of our community." Saying he wanted to set aside the housing issue, which he said he agreed with 100 percent, Bogle went on to make this statement:

I spent thirty years in the architectural world, working with architects, planners and urban planners and landscape architects and developers, mayors, education leaders, creating designs for cities, neighborhoods, schools, waterfronts, and affordable housing communities. So, I've come away from that with two powerful perspectives. One is I believe deeply in the power of design to transform communities and to improve quality of life. It's sort of one of my central beliefs that design matters and we should care deeply about the fabric that we create in our communities and our neighborhoods. I also have a pretty strong perspective on good urban design. . . . 

When we talk about design, I'm accustomed to it being a creative process, where there's give and take and back and forth. That's not how the Planning Board works. This is not a creative process. In fact, it's pretty dry and procedural. . . . 

What we do is not about discussing design excellence. The zoning code does give us an architectural role, and it is to do with compatibility, but frankly the compatibility bar is set pretty low. . . . The City of Hudson does not have a written commitment to design excellence. . . . And we need to think about that as a community, because, as I said before, design excellence elevates life. It inspires people. It gives worth. It gives value. It gives dignity. Compatibility is not the same thing as architectural excellence. . . . 

Compatibility is complicated in this particular situation because, in the '70s, the civic leaders at the time changed the nature of the environment around Bliss Tower and created a challenge around what are we trying to be compatible with exactly. Where do we compare ourselves?

I think HHA wisely looked to Hudson more broadly rather than saying we want to be compatible with the people across the street, we're going to step back and look at Hudson writ large and see how do we design a compatibility result that fits with Hudson. 

This is their view. This is what they present. So they recognized, unlike Bliss Tower, which could be Anywhere USA--it was built with materials that don't belong here, the scale was out of scale, it doesn't address the street.

There's so many things about Bliss Tower that are being addressed, and whether or not they're addressed in a way that makes us happy is sort of beside the point, because that's not what we're asked to do. We're asking: Show us how you demonstrate the fact that this is architecturally compatible.  

Bogle then proceeded to enumerate how the project as proposed improves upon what exists--Bliss Towers--to achieve compatibility with the architecture of Hudson.  

• Instead of one nine-story building, there are two (three when Phase 2 is complete) four- or five-story buildings.
• Instead of blond brick, the color of the brick proposed is warmer and more in keeping with the color of the brick of Hudson's historic buildings.
• Instead of a tower in the field, the buildings are actually lining the street. 

Bogle concluded, "I recognize the effort. Whether I agree with the solution is outside of my role as a Planning Board member."

At the special meeting on Monday, October 19, the Planning Board all vote on whether to grant or deny site plan approval. The meeting takes place at 8:30 in the morning, so it's clear the vote will be the only thing that happens at that meeting. 

Before the meeting takes place, the resolution granting site plan approval, with its conditions, will be made available to the Planning Board and the public. In addition to the condition that Phase 2 be presented to the Planning Board within twenty-four months, there are a number of conditions specified by the Planning Board's engineering consultant, enumerated in this document, and two more agreed to by the board: that all the trees used in the landscaping be chosen from the Conservation Advisory Council's list of approved species (suggested Nathan Woodhull); and that all HVAA equipment installed on the roofs of the buildings be shielded from view by the buildings' parapets (suggested by Bogle).

Monday morning's meeting is a hybrid, taking place in person at City Hall and on Teams. Click here for the link to join the meeting remotely. 

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Breaking a Decades' Long Tradition

It is not known (not known by Gossips at least) when or why the practice of suspending all parking fees for the month of December was initiated in Hudson, but it seems likely that it may have started in the 1970s as a means to lure holiday shoppers back to Warren Street from the strip malls of Greenport. 

Whenever it started and for whatever reason, the tradition has been slavishly observed by every mayor in living memory, until now. The following announcement was just issued by Mayor Joseph Ferris:

My office has decided that there will be no parking holiday for the month of December.

With the transition from quarters to ParkMobile, Text2Pay, and T2 kiosks, we would continue to pay both monthly fees to these companies in December as well as paying Parking Enforcement staff who would be working the month in a limited capacity--parking holiday or no holiday.

Between staff and technology fees, this would cost taxpayers $11,601.42.

As the Board of Estimate and Apportionment has begun the process of creating the FY2027 budget for the City, it has become clear we need to make sure we are making policy decisions that do not leave taxpayers paying for services that we are not using.

Parking fees will be suspended on December 25/Christmas per City code.

Of Interest

Readers know that our hospital, Columbia Memorial, is part of the Albany Medical Health System and probably also know that the CEO of Albany Med, Daniel Pickett III, is now on paid leave from that position, after being accused of sexual assault by a former partner.

Yesterday, on WAMC's Northeast Notebook, Sam Dingman explored a new development in the story, brought to his attention by an ER nurse at Columbia Memorial. Albany Med has hired an outside firm to investigate the allegations, and that firm is Kroll, "a global financial and risk advisory firm" headquartered in New York City. What is revealed is that Kroll is the same firm that was hired by Harvey Weinstein to investigate his victims. 

The episode of Northeast Notebook can be heard here: "Albany Med Health System nurse concerned about hospital working with firm tied to Weinstein."

An October Surprise Unique to Hudson

This October surprise has nothing to do with the midterm elections. Instead it relates to tomorrow's Planning Board meeting.

The Hudson Housing Authority (HHA) and Mountco, its development partner, are expecting the Planning Board to vote tomorrow night on granting site plan approval to the proposal to redevelop the HHA property.

Today, a group of Hudson residents, calling themselves Project7Hudson, submitted an alternative plan for redeveloping the HHA properties, which they are calling "Bliss Gardens." The plan, along with explanations of the rationale for creating it and presenting it, can be found here.  

A letter to the Planning Board introducing the plan, signed by Carla Sadoff, who is running unopposed to succeed Linda Mussmann as Fourth Ward Supervisor, explains:

Project7Hudson is a group of Hudson residents working with experts in architecture, construction, financing, landscape design, and project delivery. We are frustrated with the Hudson Housing Authority’s (HHA) current Bliss Redevelopment plan, and we are developing Bliss Gardens as an alternative. Bliss Gardens would provide affordable housing on the existing Bliss site, without extending development to 41 North Second Street. It is designed to reduce the complications, costs, and uncertainty tied to the brownfield cleanup and geotechnical challenges of Bliss Phase I. Our vision combines new homes, shared gardens, and a neighborhood park while keeping the Bliss community rooted in Hudson. The proposal is still taking shape, and we are seeking reputable developers and credible financing. We welcome residents and neighbors to help shape it.

This paragraph should have said "without extending development beyond 41 North Second Street" instead of "to 41 North Second Street," but that seems to be just an unfortunate error. 

In addition to introducing an alternative plan for redevelopment, the letter makes two requests. The first request is that the Planning Board not approve the application. The letter cites the following reasons for making this request:

• Phase II, which includes demolishing Bliss Towers, is not part of the application. HHA states that “Phase II is not part of the Site Plan application presently before the Planning Board.”
• HHA lists Phase II financing only as a “Potential Phase II Construction Loan Closing,” set for December 2029, more than three years away.
• If Phase I is built and Bliss Towers is not demolished, the site will hold about 301 units, while the environmental review assumed the tower would come down.
• Brownfield cleanup on the site still awaits final NYSDEC decisions.

If the Planning Board should decide to grant site plan approval, the letter from Project7Hudson requests that approval be given with the following "strong conditions":

1. Demolition security: Before any Phase I building permit is issued, the applicant posts a letter of credit or cash escrow, in a form approved by the City Attorney, sized to an independent estimate of the full cost of demolition and hazardous materials abatement.
2. Date certain: Demolition of Bliss Towers and Columbia Apartments begins within [12] months after the City issues the final certificate of occupancy for Phase I, regardless of whether Phase II financing has closed.
3. Deed restriction: Before the subdivision map (plat) is signed, the applicant records a restrictive covenant on the Phase II parcel, in a form approved by the City Attorney, barring residential occupancy of Bliss Towers once Phase I residents relocate. The covenant runs with the land and binds all successors and assigns.
4. Reporting: Until demolition is complete, the applicant reports Phase II financing and demolition status to the Planning Board every [six] months.

The letter concludes with this statement:

Beyond what the Board can require, we urge HHA and Mountco to make three further commitments voluntarily, as a matter of good conduct toward Bliss residents and the City: first, that the owner (41 North Second Street HDFC), HHA, and Mountco each accept full responsibility for the obligations above, binding on any successors; second, that every current Bliss and Columbia household receives a unit in Phase I at comparable rent, with no interim off-site moves; and third, that HHA and Mountco report to the Hudson Common Council on Phase II financing and demolition progress every quarter until demolition is complete.

If the applicant objects to these conditions, or the Board finds it cannot impose them, the Phase II commitment cannot be relied upon, and the environmental review’s assumption that Bliss Towers comes down has no support in the record.

Given that the Planning Board closed the public hearing on the project on September 8, it will be interesting to see if this communication is accepted into the record and if the requests made therein are discussed and considered at tomorrow night's Planning Board meeting. Whatever action the Planning Board takes, the alternative proposal has now been made public.

The Planning Board meeting, which begins at 6:00 p.m. tomorrow, Tuesday, October 13, is a hybrid, taking place in person at City Hall and on Teams. Click here for the link to join the meeting remotely.

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Need a New Friend?

Now may be the perfect time to bring a companion animal into your life. The Columbia-Greene Humane Society shared this news today:

The Columbia-Greene Humane Society is pleased to announce a Free Adoption Event, starting Monday, October 19, and ending on Saturday, October 31. During this period, all cats, dogs, and small animals will be available for adoption at no cost.

This special event has been made possible through the generous support of Subaru, as part of its nationwide Subaru Loves Pets® initiative, which aims to support animal welfare organizations and help shelter pets find loving homes.

In preparation for the event, potential adopters are strongly encouraged to submit adoption applications in advance, as same-day approvals are not guaranteed. Early submission helps ensure a smoother process and allows more time for application review.

For more information about animals available for adoption, to submit an adoption application, or learn more about upcoming events, visit www.cghs.org or call (518) 828-6044.

CGHS/SPCA Animal Care Technicians Kim Wolfe (left) with adoptable kittens and Connie Corey (right) with adoptable dog Rubble 

Remembrance of Things Past

For those who remember 336 Warren Street as the VFW Hall . . .

The late Wilson "Harpie" Shea in front of 336 Warren Street in a 2001 ad for the New York Lottery, "If I Had a Million Dollars"

The last vestige of that time remaining on the exterior of the building--the front door--is soon to disappear.

At the Historic Preservation Commission meeting on Friday, the HPC granted a certificate of appropriateness for the removal of the front door, which probably dates from the time the building was the VFW Hall, and its replacement with something more in keeping with the building's new use as an art gallery.

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Meetings and Events in the Week Ahead

In the week that starts out with a holiday--once known as Columbus Day, now known as Indigenous Peoples' Day--here is what's happening.

• On Tuesday, October 13, Hudson Industrial Development Agency (IDA) meets at 2:00 p.m. The agenda for the meeting includes updates on Depot Lofts, Pocketbook Hudson, Crescent Building, Providence Hall/Schuyler Court preservation, and 620 Union Street. The meeting is a hybrid, taking place in person at One City Centre, Suite 301, and on Zoom. Click here to join the meeting remotely.

• At 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 13, Mayor Joseph Ferris holds a public hearing on proposed amendments to the code regarding vacant buildings and the demolition of buildings and on increasing the penalties for parking violations. The hearing takes place in person only at City Hall.
• Also on Tuesday, October 13, the Planning Board meets at 6:00 p.m. The meeting includes a public meeting on the proposal to construct three more three-unit buildings at Mount Ray Estates. Perhaps of greater interest is the discussion and deliberation on the Hudson Housing Authority's proposed redevelopment. The "final, organized application package" requested by Planning Board chair Ron Bogle at the special meeting on September 30 was submitted last Wednesday and can be found here. 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, October 14, the Board of Estimate and Apportionment (BEA) resumes its initial review of budget requests for 2027. The workshops are hybrid, taking place in person at City Hall and on Teams. Click on the department name in the schedule below to join remotely.
• 2:45 p.m.--Treasurer's Office
• 3:00 p.m.--Senior Center
• 3:15 p.m.--Police Department and Parking Bureau
• On Thursday, October 15, the Common Council Code and Infrastructure 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.
• On Friday, October 16, the BEA continues its review of budget requests for 2027. The workshops are hybrid, taking place in person at City Hall and on Teams. Click on the department name in the list below to join remotely.
• 2:30 p.m.--Cemetery, Water and Sewer
• 3:30 p.m.--Sidewalk Improvement District

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Parking: A Reminder

Columbus Day, a.k.a. Indigenous Peoples' Day, is not one of the eight holidays on the eve of which alternate side of the street rules for overnight parking are suspended. Tonight cars should be parked on the even side of the street.

For reference, these are the eight holidays on which the overnight parking rules are suspended:

• Thanksgiving Day
• Christmas Day
• New Year's Day
• Presidents' Day
• Martin Luther King Day
• Memorial Day
• Independence Day
• Labor Day

Sidewalk Replacement This Week

On Friday, the City issued the following announcement:

Sidewalk replacement on the west side of S 5th Street between Warren and Union streets will begin next week. To allow the crew ample room for work and equipment, and to avoid ticketing and towing, please heed the No Parking signs that have been placed. Thank you for your patience and cooperation.

At this point, "will begin next week" probably means work will start on Tuesday.

Public Hearing on Hudson Public Hotel Project

On Friday, the Historic Preservation Commission held a public hearing about the buildings at the corner of Warren and Fourth Streets, being renovated to become a hotel called the Hudson Public. A stop-work order has been in place since August for violations of the project's certificate of appropriateness. The HPC is now considering a new application for the project that reflects the work that has already been done.

Before the public hearing started, Walter Chatham, the project's advising architect, acknowledged they had failed to return to the HPC for approval of specific materials. He also spoke of the three pieces of original marble that, according to the certificate of appropriateness granted in 2023, were supposed to remain in place. He explained that one of the marble columns is still there, now encapsulated in new material. The other two pieces--a column and a lintel--have been preserved, and the intention is to use them somewhere in the building, as ornament, possibly in the bar.

The only person to speak at the public hearing was Matt McGhee, who delivered a lengthy critique of the building in its present state. His statement follows.

Thanks to the historic examples we have at hand to guide the outcome of restoring this importantly placed and widely visible building on Warren Street, 402 Warren St. can be as noble as it once was and a valuable asset for the people of Hudson.

The end wall (facing the alley) of the historic row houses has an installation of electrical feeds on the brickwork, destroying the former beauty of that wall. These feeds could have just as easily been placed on new alley building’s large blank wall. The original historic moldings on the roof end were replaced with plain squared-off lumber.

The three historic buildings should have period-appropriate 6-over-6 windows. The 2-over-2 windows in the new infill buildings should remain, in order to distinguish the new from the historic construction.

The historic houses on North 4th Street had a white coating at the attic level, down to and including the relief brick molding only. The area above the second floor windows was free of any coating and should remain so. Therefore the new, bright white pointing in that area needs to match the existing pointing. This also is the case for areas of the west facade of 402 Warren St. Two windows on the North 4th Street (west) side of 402 are missing their marble sills; it would be nice if they could be replaced.

The west facade at present does not conform with the original west elevation drawing as far as the corner treatment is concerned. It comes across as a heavy-handed interpretation of the west side of 701 Warren Street. The 260 Warren St. building’s east side would be a better prototype for the west side of 402 Warren Street.

There were three original marble pillars on the main facade of 402 Warren; two were removed from the doorway and one was covered over at the far right-hand (east) side, adjacent to the new building on Warren Street. These pillars were all 14 inches wide and made of hard marble. There are similar 14-inchwide pillars on two buildings in Hudson at 260 Warren and 701 Warren Street.

701 also has a doorway with an opening 3 feet 4 inches wide, with one surviving marble pillar. This is very similar to the original doorway (now removed) as shown on the granite arcade elevation drawing as having an opening of 3 feet 3¾ inches. The over-door transom original to the building, also shown in the drawing, has been eliminated; and the replacement doorway opening is 46.5 inches (3 feet 9.5 inches) wide. This interferes with the harmony of the four openings on the left of the doorway; in the granite arcade elevation drawing all of the openings on either side of the doorway are the same, at 5 feet each, and the outer pillars were 20 inches wide; the remaining pillars are 1 foot 2 inches (14 inches) wide. The newly proposed division of the marble lintel is too short and should be much longer, and the original marble molding across the top of the lintel should be replaced to be more like 402 was and as 701 Warren St. currently is. The removal of original historic material is very unfortunate and justly should be restored to match in appearance and size the transom, door, and paneled side walls of the recessed entryway with a stone flooring of white marble, which was in place, and like the doorway at 701 Warren. The marble pillars should be restored in size and type. The end pillar, now covered over, and the pillars from the door opening demonstrate that all the pillars were 14 inches wide (the same as 260 and 702 Warren Streets). This can and should follow the original historic evidence we have.

The old (2023?) south elevation drawing appears the same as the earlier granite elevation drawing and conforms to a greater degree to the historic examples we have to guide us in this endeavor. Yet what we see on Warren and North 4th Streets now has a lack of uniformity in the size and placement of the pillars and openings of the colonnades, historic and new, and thus fails to conform to the previous proposals.

There is none of the refinement of the historical, pre-modernist, understated interpretation of Classical design.  

When McGhee completed his statement, Phil Forman, who chairs the HPC, asked McGhee to submit his statement in writing so the HPC could deliberate on what he said before making a judgment about the project. McGhee agreed. It was also announced that the HPC would accept written comments on the project until its next meeting, which will take place on October 24. Written comments should be submitted to hpcclerk@cityofhudson.org.  

Charles Gottlieb, attorney for the Galvan Foundation, requested that the stop-work order be lifted for interior work, noting the installation of an elevator was in progress when the stop-work order was issued and citing the urgency of continuing the interior work. (It was earlier revealed thar Galvan hoped to open the hotel before the holidays.) Forman responded, "We are here because your team did not follow what was approved in the certificate of appropriateness." Nick Fox, director of code enforcement, agreed to review the case to see if the statute allowed for interior work to resume while the violations that had to do with the exterior remained unresolved.

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Progress at Charles Williams Park

Work on the connecting trails from the north end of Third Street to Charles Williams Park is underway. A reader sent these pictures of the status of the project yesterday.

Photo: Win Jackson

Photo: Win Jackson

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Happening This Weekend

A rare opportunity presents itself this weekend. Historic Hudson is celebrating its 30th anniversary with an open house at the Dr. Oliver Bronson House, Hudson's only National Historic Landmark. On Saturday, October 10, from 11:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m., you can visit this remarkable house, hidden on the grounds of the Hudson Correctional Facility, and see for yourself this amazing elliptical staircase.

To RSVP for the event, contact information@historichudson.org. Enter the site at 53 Worth Avenue.

Also this weekend, on Saturday, October 10, and Sunday, October 11, from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., it is Hudson Open Studios. This year's self-guided tour features fifty-one local artists opening their studios to the public, offering an intimate look at the vibrant and diverse creative community that thrives in Hudson.

Over the course of the weekend, you will have the opportunity to step inside working studios, meet artists in person, and experience a wide range of work, including painting, sculpture, photography, ceramics, textiles, mixed media, and more. In addition to open studios, local artists' work will be on display at the Dr. Oliver Bronson House, during Historic Hudson's open house at the architectural landmark. A map of the locations and participating artists is available here.

Inside the Northern Empire

Back in the day when it was easy to find a cheap apartment in Hudson, many of those apartments were located in buildings owned and managed by Phil Gellert, who called his real estate holdings in Columbia County "Northern Empire." Over the years, Gossips has done a few posts about Gellert's properties in Hudson. "Gellert Gallery" inventoried the twenty buildings he owned in Hudson in 2010. In 2016, in 2018, and again in 2023, Gossips revisited some of the Gellert properties that then had new owners.  

In 2023, it was announced that The Spark of Hudson had purchased what was described in the press as "the last of the properties" that made up Gellert's Northern Empire in Hudson. One of those properties was this one: 7-9 South Seventh Street.

Not long after its acquisition by The Spark of Hudson was announced, the building was back on the market. It was recently purchased by Billy Shannon, who was once a reporter for the Register-Star, for a time wrote a blog called Hudson River Zeitgeist, and now publishes what he calls Middle Sphere on Substack. Because the building used to be owned by Gellert, Shannon sought Gellert out to speak with him. Yesterday, Shannon published their conversation, which can be found here. It makes fascinating reading.

At one point in the conversation, Gellert makes reference to a building he owned on Allen Street, where there was a fire in May 2020.

Photo: Julie Metz

In his conversation with Shannon, Gellert says of the building:

We had a fire about maybe six years ago on Allen Street, and the building was completely renovated. It was a nice building. As I said, I had over 30 buildings in Hudson. This one was probably as nice as any building around.

Gellert's statement makes it sound like he was responsible for the renovation of the building. That is not true. He sold the fire-damaged building, and it was the new owners who salvaged it and restored it. The following pictures show the building when Gellert owned it, the building today, and the building in 2022 when its restoration was getting underway.

Back in 2011, Gellert ran afoul of the Historic Preservation Commission when he removed (and discarded) doors and sidelights from the entrances. Although the doors were probably not original to the house, which dates to 1835, they were at least a hundred years old, and sidelights may well have been original detail. The doors were replaced with mismatched metal doors, and the area around the doors filled in to make the smaller doors fit. This, of course, was done without a certificate of appropriateness from the HPC.

The HPC required him to replicate the doors and the sidelights as they had been.

Again, Shannon's "A conservation with Phil Gellert" makes interesting reading.

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