The Search Continues
Transitional housing, homeless shelter, emergency housing--the terminology varies, but the search for a location--usually in Hudson--continues. The word is that Rick Scalera, former mayor of Hudson and now special advisor to the Galvan Initiatives Foundation and supervisor from the Fifth Ward, is advocating for this location: the former HAVE building at the west end of Power Avenue.
 |
| Existing Zoning |
 |
| LWRP Zoning |
Power Avenue, which goes from Route 9G to the entrance to the Hudson Correctional Facility and connects with the south end of East Court Street, is currently zoned industrial, and, in the zoning proposed in the LWRP, it continues to be designated industrial. It is not clear if the idea is to retrofit the existing building as housing units or to demolish the existing building and construct a new facility on the site.
Here's an idea - How about putting this service somewhere else? I know that Hudson is the County Seat and all, but how many of these types of services to we have to concentrate into this 2 and a half square miles? Already, we've got the jail, DSS, Twin County Recovery Services, two mental health services, COARC, The Red Door drug and alcohol halfway house, and that's just the stuff that I know about from walking around town for four years, to say nothing of the two housing projects and the fact that a considerable percentage of available housing here is considered "Section 8". How much is enough? According to the paper, the locations being considered were 834 Warren (scrapped because that was such a ludicrous and obviously awful idea) and a place out in Livingston. What's wrong with Livingston? I know that I sound very "NIMBY" right now, but look what's already "IMBY" for Pete's sake. They say that a center such as this needs to be near services. Well, okay. We've got services in Hudson. We don't have things like grocery stores, or places where a person might find meaningful work, but we've got services. But, guess what? Chatham has services AND a grocery store. How many rehabs do they have? Kinderhook, Valatie, and Ghent have services. Is there a halfway house or a homeless shelter in any of those places? The point is, this county is big enough to spread these things around. If you put this center in Hudson, the county is still driving people out to Greenport to go shopping, so the "in Hudson is close to things" argument just doesn't hold any water, and a non-profit doesn't add anything to the city's tax base, so if you ask me doing this here is a net loss for the city any way you slice it, and no matter where you put it. There is an obvious a civic need for a center such as the one being presented, I'd just like to see a project like this placed somewhere else for a change.
ReplyDeleteBRAVO !!!
ReplyDeleteThis kind of facility will never be sited in Kinderhook. Pat Grattan would not be reelected and he would not like that.
ReplyDelete-- Jock Spivy
Matthew, that is exactly right.
ReplyDeleteWell put."IMBY" as you say,
Deleteis plentiful