Petition to Save the Furgary Boat Club
Tiffany Martin Hamilton has created an online petition calling on the City of Hudson to withdraw its 30-day eviction demand and grant the Furgary Boat Club (a.k.a. the North Dock Tin Boat Association), which the petition calls "an integral part of Hudson's history and a unique living example of fishing villages of the past," a one-year lease so that the citizens of Hudson can "actively participate in discussions regarding the future of the North Bay and the importance of including and preserving the Furgary." To read and sign the petition, click here.
Furgary's history wasn't that of any old "fishing village."
ReplyDeleteFor proper context and an appreciation of the Hudson River's once extensive shad fishery (today's Furgarians recall details from their childhoods which would be useful to the historian), the best reference is John Mcphee's book on shad and American history, "The Founding Fish."
Scroll down at Google Books for links to the individual chapters:
http://books.google.com/books/about/The_Founding_Fish.html?id=-yK9s3l6Ty8C
I don't understand the support to save the boat club, it seems to make no sense to me. Shouldn't the waterfront be a recreational/nature facility owned by and open to the entire community, not controlled and restricted by a small group of people? There are lots of things that used to be, it's good to acknowledge and record them for history, but I don't see how this is a good reason for keeping the club in control of what could be open public park land. Can someone explain what the logic is here?
ReplyDeleteI tend to agree with the last comment.
ReplyDeleteMy understanding is that this group didn't have title to the land, didn't pay rent, didn't pay taxes and didn't have insurance, year after year after year.
Why would any town let them continue under those circumstances, no matter how interesting the idea ( as opposed to the reality) of them might be?
--Jock Spivy
SlowArt there are 2 realities to consider here, a present one and a reality that's now entirely passed.
ReplyDeleteThe first, the historical point which you acknowledge, is at bottom what's being discussed; the second about "control" of the waterfront is now academic or moot.
Because The North Dock Tin Boat Association - the "Furgarians" - lost their court case, the dispute about "control" is now solved. No one is discussing anything but a delay of their eviction and the value, if any, of the site.
A delay of eviction will help with the remaining task, which is to "acknowledge and record" Furgary for history, and to document as much about it as possible.
Certain politicians and unelected officials who in my opinion basically own the City of Hudson are desperate for this documentation not to occur.
Some people actually resent and even hate history. At bottom, that's what's left to discuss; the controversy is between those who believe it's best to have the time to discuss it and those who'd prefer there was little or even no time left.
The obvious issue at hand is that Hudsons Waterfront has TWO private boat clubs.
ReplyDeleteWhy go after the Fugary, located in an obscure corner next to the sewage treatment plant, while leaving the big club located in the middle of the waterfront with a huge asphalt parking lot ... business as usual ?
Vincent, the Hudson powerboat assoc owns the land where it is located and pays taxes on it. The members there do many great things for the community in a variety of ways. Anyone is able to submit an application to join the club and take advantage of it's benefits. Would you prefer that land being owned by a corporation or it being owned by many members of the community?
ReplyDeleteI know the answer, I know!!!!
ReplyDeleteA: because Furgary smells and the Powerboat Association doesn't.
(Just wait until people realize that it's the treatment plant that smells, and that it will always smell.)
Of course the city does want to move the Powerboat Association along with the state boat launch. But since the idea is ill-advised from an ecological point of view (the DEC concurs but may have no power in this), don't be surprised to someday find yourself in agreement with our local yacht club.
Seems to me someone with a camera and interest in the history could document the whole place in one or two weekend afternoons,right now, if they wanted to.
ReplyDeleteSlowArt, that's being done.
ReplyDeleteI'm very glad to see you've joined the history brigade, that business about the "control" of the waterfront having been resolved.
But if "the city" now controls the waterfront, don't suppose that necessarily means that citizens will control it. Far from it!
So many decisions are made behind closed doors in Hudson, often closed against the prying eyes of our elected representatives.
The last SEQR review was a case in point, but the examples go on and on and on. It's really sad for some, but very fortunate for a handful of others.