$1.6 Million for an Outdoor Classroom

Didi Barrett announced it yesterday on Facebook:

Today, the story was reported in the Register-Star: "Barrett, Heastie announce $1.6 million for outdoor classroom in Hudson." The article describes what is to be created in this way:

The proposal divides the entire area into four parts: a covered space with a chalkboard, tables and chairs that will serve as an outdoor classroom; a garden area; an amphitheater-type presentation space for science and agricultural classes; and a storage area that will also serve as an additional workspace for students. . . . The area will be surrounded by plants native to the area.

The outdoor classroom will be situated along Paddock Place, on the lawn beside the historic 1937 school building.   

The purpose of the project is to give students more time outside connecting with nature and learning how to grow food. Hannah Black, who with Christy Asbee spearheaded the project, cited a possible additional benefit. The following is quoted from the article: 

Creating a classroom in full view of whoever might be driving by could also serve as an advertisement for wealthier newcomers to the area to consider sending their children to Hudson public schools, Black said.

Black is also quoted in the article as saying:

"I think that's, optically, why we want it outside, because there's people with money that are moving here buying expensive homes, and for whatever reason, through the rumor mill, they feel like the school isn't right for their kids without even trying it. I feel like we've been working really hard to kind of combat that rumor and that feeling, because once you're in here, the kids are amazing."

That Sound You Hear

Gossips has learned that on Saturday, before and after the Flag Day Parade, Revolutionary War reenactors will be on the waterfront, with muskets and a cannon. 

There will be no need to wait until dusk for the fireworks to begin.

Another Kvetch About 11 Warren Street

Last December, Gossips reported that a mature tree was being removed by county workers at the site of 11 Warren Street. 

Photo: Rachel Careau

At the time, the reason given for the tree's removal was that its branches were encroaching on an adjacent property.

Today, it was brought to Gossips' attention that the site of the ill-fated tree is now occupied by what appears to be a generator of some sort.

 

This, of course, raises the question: What was the real reason that tree had to be removed?

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Last Night with the Planning Board

Last night's Planning Board meeting may have set a record for brevity, lasting just thirty-nine minutes. The only project on the agenda was the adaptive reuse of the former John L. Edwards School. The applicant, Pennrose Bricks & Mortar, requested that the Planning Board schedule a public hearing, and the request was granted. A public hearing on the proposal will take place at the Planning Board's next regular meeting, which is scheduled for Tuesday, July 14.

What consumed the lion's share of the thirty-nine minutes was a discussion of the amendment to Chapter 325-17.1 of the city code. It was decided at the informal Common Council meeting on May 18 that the proposed amendment needed to go to both the City and County planning boards for a recommendation before the Council can act on it. As Ron Bogle, chair of the Planning Board, explained, the Planning Board has three options: they can support or not support the proposed amendment, or they can do neither.

Andrew Clark, legal counsel to the Planning Board, described the amendment as "the Council's effort to simplify and provide explicit direction." Bogle advised that they not decide on a course of action immediately but rather "digest" what is being proposed and make a decision at their July meeting. It was finally decided that the Planning Board would hold a special workshop meeting, possibly a videoconference, for the Common Council to explain the intent of the amendment. Bogle commented, "Because of the history, I think we want to be supersmart about this." '

It was not announced when this special meeting would take place or if the special meeting would be accessible to the public.

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Also Happening This Weekend

This Saturday promises to be a busy day in Hudson with folks from near and far gathering to celebrate Flag Day, which is actually the following day on June 14. In addition to the music and the carnival rides and the parade and the fireworks, something else is happening on that day. The nine days of early voting prior to the primary on June 23 begin this Saturday, June 13. Here is the complete schedule:

• Saturday, June 13--9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• Sunday, June 14--9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• Monday, June 15--9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• Tuesday, June 16--12:00 noon to 8:00 p.m.
• Wednesday, June 17--12:00 noon to 8:00 p.m.
• Thursday, June 18--9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• Friday, June 19--9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• Saturday, June 20--9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• Sunday, June 21--9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

The early voting locations are, as always:

• Hudson--Columbia County Office Building, 401 State Street
• Valatie--Martin H. Glynn Municipal Building, 3211 Church Street

HPD Seeking Help from Community

The following press release was received this morning from the Hudson Police Department:

The Hudson Police Department is asking for the public's help in identifying the individual shown in the attached photograph and surveillance video. [Both shown below.]

On June 9, 2026, police received a report at approximately 9:14 p.m. of an assault that occurred earlier that evening at Chef Ritchie's Deli in the City of Hudson. The incident is believed to have occurred approximately 90 minutes before it was reported to police. During the incident, a store clerk was punched by an individual who subsequently left the area.

Anyone who recognizes the individual or has information regarding this incident is asked to contact the Hudson Police Department at (518) 828-3388. Information may also be provided through the department's anonymous tip reporting options.

The investigation remains active and ongoing.

UPDATE: The HPD has released the following statement:

The subject has been identified and we are removing the photo and video at this time.

The investigation remains active. Preliminary information indicates that the incident may have occurred following comments that were allegedly made to a female and juvenile prior to the altercation. Detectives are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident and will review all available information before determining any further action.

We ask that anyone with additional information contact the Hudson Police Department.

Perpetuating the Sins of the Past

It was an out-of-character eyesore when it was built in 1975, and thanks to the current leadership of Columbia County, it's likely to remain so. 

This afternoon, Ray Jurkowski, Commissioner of Public Works for Columbia County, and the team from LaBella presented three options for improvements to the facade at 11 Warren Street, soon be home to the Board of Elections, the Probation Department, the Public Defender's Office, and the Conflict Defender's Office. The three options presented are shown below, in order, from least expensive to most expensive, as if that clarification were needed.

Sadly, the options range from strip mall to economy motel to something that resembles a Stewart's. None of the proposed designs is, by any stretch of the imagination, compatible with the historic district in which the building is located. The idioms "lipstick on a pig" and "silk purse from a sow's ear" spring to mind.

Gossips was present for the first forty-five minutes of this evening's public input workshop session. After being put off once and almost dismissed a second time, I persisted to ask Jurkowski this question: Will the proposed "facade improvements" be presented to the Historic Preservation Commission for a certificate of appropriateness? Although 11 Warren Street is notably not a historic building, it is located in a locally designated historic district, and hence its alterations should go before the HPC. Jurkowski responded by saying they were soliciting public input, and members of the HPC were welcome to offer their comments. He also maintained that county projects were exempt from Hudson's laws and regulations. 

In response, I pointed out that his predecessor, David Robinson, presented the plans for the expansion and renovation of the Columbia County courthouse not only to the HPC but also to the Planning Board, and I suggested that, given the controversy surrounding this project, he might show the same courtesy. I went on to express the opinion that having people indicate with sticky notes what they liked and disliked about the options presented would not result in a good outcome. I did not, although I might have, cite the adage that a camel is a horse designed by a committee. Jurkowski told me I could share my opinions in the survey.

The survey in question was available in print form to be filled out on the spot. There was also a QR code for the survey provided on a poster displayed at this evening's event.

The survey can also be accessed here. Readers are urged to use the survey to share their thoughts.

Just as a reminder, this is what the first block of Warren Street looked like at some point in the late 19th or early 20th century, before most the block was demolished in the zeal of Urban Renewal.

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A Documentary of Interest

The Catskill Game Farm, which closed in 2006 after 73 years of operation, is the subject of a new documentary, American Zoo.  

The British filmmaker Tim Travers Hawkins, who directed American Zoo, had this to say about the film on Instagram:

Four years ago me and my girlfriend (now mother of my son!) explored the ruins of an abandoned zoo on a camping trip in the Catskills. Inside the old gift shop I found some old 16mm films, which set in motion one of the strangest and most beautiful adventures of my life. The final result, my latest feature AMERICAN ZOO will premiere first at Tribeca Film Festival (June 4) and then days later at SXSW in London (June 6). Two awesome festivals in the two best cities on Earth.

The film is reviewed today in the Times Union: "'American Zoo' reveals Nazi-linked animal breeding program at Catskill Game Farm." It was previously reviewed in The Overlook: "New Documentary Unearths Dark Side of Catskill Game Farm."

The trailer for the documentary can be viewed on YouTube. According to Netflix Junkie, which described the film as a "true crime horror story," "Industry viewers expect the film to land a streaming or digital deal after its festival run, as interest in the project continues to build."

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Another One Lost

At last evening's Code and Infrastructure Committee meeting, Rob Perry, superintendent of Public Works, reported that Shack 7 at the former Furgary Boat Club had slipped into North Bay.

Perry went on to explain that Shack 7 was one of the buildings scheduled to be razed last year, but the demolition of that building alone was expected to cost $50,000, exceeding the amount available for the project, so, with the consent of the Department of State, it was decided to let nature take its course.

In the map above, the shacks in red were demolished in 2024, the shacks in white were demolished in 2025 (except for Shack 7), the shacks in yellow are to be rehabilitated; the shack in blue is to be mothballed.

Last year, when the majority of the shacks were demolished, Shack 7 had already started slipping into the water. The picture below was taken on April 14, 2025, just before the demolition of the shacks began.

Photo: Theresa Nicholson

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Parades in Hudson Without The Hudson

For as long as most of us can remember, there hasn't been a parade in Hudson that did not include The Hudson, the replica of the first ship built in Hudson. The original Hudson was completed in 1785, the same year the City of Hudson was incorporated. The replica Hudson, a parade float, was built in 1985 by the Department of Public Works (DPW) for the City's bicentennial celebration. It seems, however, that parades in Hudson will have to do without the replica ship in this year of the nation's semiquincentennial.

Last month, Gossips reported that vandals had broken into the Dunn warehouse where the replica ship was stored and snapped off the dolphins that adorn its base.

At this evening's Common Council Code and Infrastructure Committee meeting, Rob Perry, DPW superintendent, reported that when the replica ship was removed from storage recently, in preparation for repairing the broken dolphins and getting The Hudson shipshape for parade season, it was discovered the float was unstable and listing to one side. Further investigation identified a problem with the frame, which was likely not caused by vandalism but rather was simply a consequence of time. Perry explained that the replica ship had been built on an old farm wagon donated for the purpose back in 1985. Perry indicated that The Hudson would be back but not in time for this year's parade season.

The replica ship typically carries members of the Common Council in the Flag Day parade. It is unclear what conveyance, if any, will carry the Council down Warren Street to the reviewing stand at Front Street in the Flag Day parade this Saturday.

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Prepare for the Weekend

Flag Day, the event that disrupts the lives of Hudsonians more than any other, is coming up this weekend. The routine of road closures, temporarily designated one-way streets, and no on-street parking has been pretty much the same for the past twenty or more years, but just in case you don't know the drill, below is the information distributed by the Hudson Police Department to help you plan your Saturday and avoid having your car towed. (Click on the image to enlarge.)

Meetings and Events in the Week Ahead

June is parade month in Hudson, and the week ahead culminates in the Flag Day parade and fireworks extravaganza. But before all that happens, here's what else is going on.

• On Monday, June 8, 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 Tuesday, June 9, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., there is a workshop session about the facade improvements for 11 Warren Street. The meeting will include a brief presentation by the project team, followed by an opportunity to provide input on three proposed exterior renovation options for the building and take a community survey. The meeting takes place in person only at 401 State Street.

• Also on Tuesday, June 9, the Planning Board meets at 6:00 p.m. In the agenda for the meeting is the adaptive reuse proposal for the former John L. Edwards school building. The meeting is a hybrid, taking place in person at City Hall and in Teams. Click here for the link to join the meeting remotely. 

• At 6:30 on Tuesday, June 9, Mayor Joe Ferris holds a town hall meeting for the Fifth Ward at the Central Fire Station, 77 North Seventh Street. The meeting is expected to go on until 8:00 p.m.
• On Wednesday, June 10, the Housing Trust Fund Board meets at 5:30 p.m.  This will be the first meeting since new members--Tray Tepper, Kelly Crimmins, and Serria McGriff--have joined the board. 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.
• Also at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 10, Mayor Joe Ferris holds a town hall meeting for the Second Ward at Bliss Towers, 41 North Second Street. The meeting is expected to do on until 7:00 p.m.

Update: The Housing Trust Fund Board meeting has been canceled.

• On Thursday, June 11, the Common Council Legal Committee meets at 6:00 p.m. The meeting is a hybrid, taking place in person at City Hall and on Teams. Click here to join the meeting remotely.  

Update: The Legal Committee meeting has been rescheduled for Thursday, June 18, at 6:00 p.m.

• On Friday, June 12, the Historic Preservation Commission meets at 10:00 a.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 Saturday, June 13, Flag Day in observed in Hudson. The parade down Warren Street begins at 4:00 p.m. Fireworks start at dusk.

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Celebrating Church's 200th Birthday

As we in Hudson are all well aware, this year marks the 200th anniversary of Frederic Church's birth. The epicenter of the celebration, of course, is Olana, Church's home and his final masterpiece, but the observance of Church's bicentennial is taking place in other locations as well. You can explore all the events and exhibitions, happening at Olana and elsewhere, by clicking here.

It came to Gossips' attention recently that one of the museum's celebrating Church's bicentennial is the Detroit Institute of Arts. 

To mark the 200th anniversary of Frederic Church's birth, the Detroit Institute of Arts presents Guests of Honor: Frederic Church's Cotopaxi, an exhibition highlighting the artist's dramatic 1862 painting of an erupting South American volcano. One of the DIA's most beloved American paintings, Cotopaxi appears together with three of Church's oil studies of the volcano and a related landscape by his contemporary, Louis Remy Mignot.

Cotopaxi is one of two Frederic Church paintings in the collections of the Detroit Institute of Arts. The other is Syria by the Sea, the painting whose completion for James Frederick Joy of Detroit was reported in the Hudson Weekly Star on January 1, 1874. 

Syria by the Sea was given to the Detroit Institute of Arts by Joy's widow in 1910.

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Food News

Brian Mahoney reviews one of Hudson's newest restaurants in Chronogram: "Mr. Cat Brasserie Reimagines Kitty's in Hudson." The following is quoted from the review:

On a recent evening, the dining room hummed with the kind of energy restaurateurs spend years trying to manufacture. During the course of dinner, I spotted artists, musicians, writers, and assorted members of Hudson's cultural ecosystem. Some lingered at the bar, others clustered around tables. The atmosphere felt lively but never scene-y, stylish but never self-conscious. People seemed genuinely happy to be there.

More of the Semiquincentennial Exhibition

Patriots of Hudson in the Revolutionary War, the exhibition commemorating the 250th anniversary of the founding of our country, continues at the Hudson Area Library until the end of the month. In the meantime, Gossips will continue to share samples from the exhibition. Today, we share the panels that tell about Alexander Coffin, Jr., the son of one of the founders of Hudson, and the artist John Trumbull. (Click on the images to enlarge. The main text of each panel is transcribed below the image.)

Alexander Coffin, Jr.

In His Father's Footsteps: A Life of Adventure,

Heroism, and Patriotism

In 1781 Alexander Coffin, Jr., began serving as a midshipman on an American Navy frigate, the South Carolina, which captured several British ships while sailing to Havana. He was captured by the British in 1782 and was held on the notorious prison ship Jersey in Wallabout Bay, Brooklyn. Conditions on prison ships were horrendous and death from starvation and disease so common that General George Washington wrote letters to British commanders imploring them to afford the prisoners better treatment. Coffin described the horrid conditions in a narrative published in American Prisoners of The Revolution by Danske Dandridge:

When I reflect how many hundreds of my brave and intrepid countrymen I have seen, in all the bloom of health, brought on board of that ship, and in a few days numbered with the dead, in consequence of the savage treatment they there received, I can but adore my Creator that He suffered me to escape; but I did not escape, Sir, without being brought to the very verge of the grave.

When Coffin and the other men on board were given a choice of being released and serving in the British Army or staying prisoner, they stayed on the prison ship. Coffin writes:

And I must mention...to the everlasting honor of those unfortunate Americans who were on board the Jersey, that notwithstanding the savage treatment they received, and death staring them in the face, every attempt which was made by the British to persuade them to enter their ships of war or in their army, was treated with the utmost contempt...and if there be no monument raised with hands to commemorate the virtue of those men, it is stamped in capitals on the heart of every American acquainted with their merit and sufferings, and will there remain as long as the blood flows from its fountains.

After the war Alexander, Jr., continued in maritime trade and, quite unfortunately, was again captured while on a merchant ship during the War of 1812. After the war, he worked as a whaling master on several voyages; out of New Bedford, 1820 and 1822, and then three voyages out of Hudson, 1832-1836 (on the Meteor, the James Munroe, and the Edward). 

 

Letters to James Madison

In 1805, Alexander Coffin, Jr., wrote four letters to then Secretary of State James Madison to protest the seizure and condemnation of his ship Penman by British naval authorities during a lawful commercial voyage. In these letters he details a complex trading journey that began in New York in 1803, carrying legally imported tea and European goods, with the ultimate intention of trading in Asia and returning profitably to the United States. He asserts that the seizure was arbitrary, unlawful, and damaging not only to himself and his co-owners but also to the U.S. government, which lost substantial customs revenue of $73,000. Coffin appeals to Madison for diplomatic support. The Department of State returns the papers concerning the ship Penman as requested, however explains that providing financial assistance to support an appeal would violate established executive practice.

After the War of 1812, Coffin again writes the President Madison requesting an appointment as U.S. Marshal for the District of New York. He is in urgent financial need, with a wife and seven children to support. Coffin recounts the earlier British seizure and condemnation of his ship Penman and the severe personal losses he suffered under British actions. However, he does not refer directly to his time as a prisoner of war on the ship Jersey. He professes he would "be serviceable to my beloved Country, which I had the honour of serving as an officer in the Revolutionary war & to which, & the present Government of which I am & have been devotedly attach'd."

John Trumbull (June 6, 1756--November 10, 1843) was a veteran of the American Revolution, who later became an artist. His historical renderings of the American Revolutionary War are displayed in the Rotunda of the U. S. Capitol. Trumbull served in Boston and witnessed the Battle of Bunker Hill. He was appointed second aide-de-camp to George Washington, and in June 1776, deputy adjutant general to General Horatio Gates.

Trumbull was a prominent New Englander who was well-connected to the Founding Fathers and other Revolutionary War veterans. Trumbull knew Alexander Coffin, Jr., as a Midshipman on the frigate South Carolina, the largest warship under American command during the war. In 1832, Trumbull signed and testified in Coffin’s pension application to Congress, a common practice for veterans to receive pensions due to the lack of record keeping in the colonies at the time of the American Revolution.

Panels from the exhibition previously published on Gossips can be found here, here, here, here, and here.

Tennis v. Pickleball

Last month. at the school district election and budget vote, there was an exit poll to solicit public opinion on whether or not the historic tennis courts at Montgomery C. Smith should be striped for pickleball. When the results of the election were shared, the outcome of the exit poll was not. The only information offered in response to an inquiry was that the Board of Education would be discussing the data from the election at its June 16 meeting.

This morning, Gossips received an email from former mayor's aide Justin Weaver, an avid and accomplished tennis player who regularly plays at the M.C. Smith courts. With Weaver's permission, that email is quoted below:

I was out playing tennis on those very courts at Montgomery C. Smith School yesterday, and the contractors who will be performing the renovation showed up, alongside of the Hudson City School District facilities crew. They were carrying plans and clipboards and going from court to court, taking notes. I asked them if the courts were going to remain tennis courts, and they told me two of the courts will also be suited for pickleball. I found out later . . . that the two courts that will become suited for pickleball are the two courts closest to the bleachers. Surprising that this is happening without any known disclosure to the public about the results of the survey voters filled out on the day of the budget vote. I'm thinking that the survey was just something to ameliorate the masses and this was the plan all along. I also find it surprising that the two courts that will become suited for pickleball are considered the show courts as they are closest to the bleachers. Whenever there was a tournament there, the bleachers would be filled with spectators watching the matches. The best matches were featured on those two courts and usually had the best players playing on those two courts. Apparently now, spectators can bask in the glory of pickleball players. Alas, change is inevitable. Tennis players will now be fighting for the tennis court furthest away from those pickleball courts and closest to Paddock Place or, like myself, will be searching for a new place to play tennis.

Tournaments may not be a consideration in the future. I seem to recall Ken Sheffer, whose knowledge of all things tennis and of the history of these tennis courts is boundless, saying that sanctioned tournaments cannot be played on tennis courts that have been striped for pickleball.

I do wonder if the public will ever learn the results of that exit poll.

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