Thursday, November 3, 2011

Gossips on Hiatus

Much is going on in Rivertown, and not everything is good.
  • It appears that the original Orphan Asylum in Hudson at State and Seventh streets is being dismantled. A portion of the building--an addition--was demolished in February. Now the building is surrounded by scaffolding, and the roof is gone. The building is owned by Eric Galloway, and it is located in a locally designated historic district.
  • The public hearing on the proposed Local Waterfront Revitalization Program and its proposed implementing laws, which include the zoning amendments, will be held on November 10, 2011, at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall.
  • Another meeting about the dog park will take place this Saturday, November 5, at 10 a.m. at the Hudson Area Library.
  • New Bradford pear trees have been planted to replace the missing ones in Thurston Park. The trees were planted thanks to the efforts of First Ward Alderman Sarah Sterling and paid for by a newly established beautification fund at HDC. Ben Eaton of the Secret Gardener, who planted the trees and agreed to tend them through their first year, also mulched the existing trees as his gift to Thurston Park. 
Sadly, with all this to report on and much more, Gossips must take an unexpected and involuntary hiatus. We hope to be back soon.

10 comments:

  1. Wishing you the best during your unexpected hiatus. You provide a valuable and informative perspective on the daily happenings in our wonderful town. Look forward to your return.

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  2. I trust you are well and will be back soon. I shall miss starting my day with your thoughts.
    Bob

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  3. Wishing you well, Carole. Theresa

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  4. Hope all is well, Carole. Look forward to your return.

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  5. Gossips, we will miss you, be well and come back soon.

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  6. Hope everything's okay. I'll miss your posts.

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  7. Dear Carole,I hope you are OK and you will be back safe and sound soon.This is like hearing the "Times" will be on hiatus,I, like many, rely on you as the "All the News that's fit to Print"around here..Besides ,just worrying that you are alright.
    I mistakenly posted my diatribe on Peter Wurster and the unpermitted demolition of old orphan asylum; and then I realized it was an article from Feb 2010,and he is still at it with Galloway.Wurster is appointed.He has been in power through many administrations.He is feared in this city and wields tremendous power here,by what he does and more so ,what he doesn't or how he can make anyone trying to get a permit for anything,by being at his complete mercy..Yet, he is tolerated.Galloway couldn't do the historic damage he has done without the collusion of the City of Hudson.No one person should have that power and not even be an elected official or apparently can not be ousted.People just complain.Where is the HPC?This is like Hunter, NY where bartenders,who are retired BMW salesmen,are Judges and have the power to put people in Jail.Upstate NY,is really scary.Haddad has made no commitment not to reappoint Wurster,even when asked point blank.Haddad is hand in hand with Donald Moore.
    This makes him very hard for me to vote for
    and yet I know the Republican who is a native son,will most definitely keep Wurster and a whole other slew of who knows?.What to do?
    Please come back soon Carole,hope all will be well with you.

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  8. Hope you're okay!!! We will must you. Take care!!

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  9. The Orphan Asylum is not being dismantled ... it is receiving a brand new roof, cornice, and critical masonry repairs. Original plan was to simply re-roof; the timber framed frame work was found to be rotted and unsalvageable. Work is being performed in a manner sympathetic to the historic fabric of the structure, with cornice profile replaced in kind.

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  10. Carole is quite the stoic, but I hope she will ask the community's help if and when she needs it. Get well soon!

    "Prison Alley" makes some good points, but keep in mind that Mr. Haddad is trying out new digs and an unfamiliar new party machinery. Thank goodness that that does not necessarily put him "hand in hand" with Mr. Moore!

    (Some people are vowing not to vote for Council President at all, which is always an option.)

    I would direct Prison Alley's attention to a second case of an unelected official apparently at liberty to squelch our interests, and this is a far more egregious example.

    Article IX, Section C9-1 of the City Charter entitles the Mayor of the City of Hudson to appoint an attorney to any position he fancies:

    "The Mayor shall, during the term of his office, have the authority to retain such legal counsel as he may deem necessary or expedient for the preservation of the rights or the protection of the interests of the City."

    A Register Star story on 10/17/07 asked a question which has been answered dozens of times over by now, and yet the more self-serving Council members continue to pretend that the distinctions are hazy:

    "The question is whether the city attorney serves strictly at the pleasure of the mayor, or is simply hired by the mayor and then serves not only the mayor but other city officials as well, such as the council, at their behest."

    If you want to see real hand-in-hand in action, have a look at what Mr. Moore has accomplished working closely with attorney Cheryl Roberts. Listen closely to the various WGXC audios, to hear how carefully choreographed dialogues between them were dressed up to sound casual, only to be followed by some fresh misinformation or carefully planned distraction.

    Well there's not a chance in hell that Mr. Haddad will have her back, so take heart Prison Alley, and prioritize a little.

    Mr. Haddad is in a tough spot right now having to grudgingly help keep up the appearance that most people don't resent the hell out of what a mostly clueless Mr. Moore has allegedly done on our behalves. The Democrats must keep a lid on his sheer bad governance, since there is a reasonable belief (sadly) that he will provide coattails.

    But the circumstances don't make for an easy hand-in-hand, and it's safe to say that Mr. Haddad will not want to continue lots of the entrenched habits of the broken Hudson. Moral questions aside, those habits and the faces that go with them are inefficient equations in most instances.

    See what a luxury attorney Roberts has been, and how much money it cost the City and NY state for her to run rampant over the public interest.

    We'll never know how much of our money (and who else's money?) went home with her to Spencertown. As long as she's gone come January I'll give up wondering.

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