The Vinyling of Emanuel Lutheran

At the end of last week, a petition reiterating Alderman Chris Wagoner's call for Hudson Code Enforcement Officer Peter Wurster's resignation went online, and there was talk of a demonstration in front of the Code Enforcement Office at high noon on Wednesday. To date, the petition has collected only about forty signatures. Many of the people who were passionate in their criticism of Wurster for allowing vinyl siding to be installed on a historic church have told Wagoner and others that they think it's unlikely Mayor Scalera can be persuaded to force the resignation of the man he put in that position close to a decade ago and fear retaliation if their names appear on the petition. As a result of the poor response to the petition, plans for a march on 429 Warren Street have been abandoned.

Gossips has received word that the mayor has had "extensive initial discussions" with Wurster about improving his working relationship with the Historic Preservation Commission and further discussions with Wurster and HPC chair Tom Swope are expected to take place later this week. As evidence of Wurster's poor working relationship with the HPC, Gossips has compiled this list of his more significant mistakes in the area of historic preservation. Rumor has it that Wurster may be reacting to requests to mend his ways by telling people who are applying for building permits to do the most straightforward repairs on buildings in historic districts--repairs that according to the preservation law do not require a certificate of appropriateness--that they must go before the Historic Preservation Commission before he can issue them a building permit.

Meanwhile, Emanuel Lutheran Church's unique shingled tower was covered in vinyl pseudo-shingles today.