Over the Border

Related to the issue of lack of enforcement or selective enforcement of Hudson's historic preservation law is this story, brought to Gossips' attention by a reader. 

The Town of Greenport, which surrounds Hudson on three sides, has the distinction of being the only municipality in Columbia County with no zoning laws. That does not mean, however, that it is a town without rules and regulations or a Planning Board and a building inspector tasked with making sure that standards are met. 

On Route 9G, near the border with Hudson and at a principal gateway to the city, there is an automobile junkyard, which is generally known to be owned and operated by the chair of the Greenport Planning Board. Curiously, the junkyard does not conform with the requirements for such a facility found in Chapter 48 of the Greenport Town Code. The code specifies that an automobile junkyard must be "completely surrounded with a fence at least eight feet in height which substantially screens and with a suitable gate which shall be closed and locked except during the working hours of such junkyard or when the applicant or his agent shall be within." The casual observer can see that, although there is a gate, there is no fence of any height around the facility. What the casual observer cannot know, however, is that, although junkyards in Greenport are required by the town code (Section 48-12) to have a license which must be renewed annually, a reliable source reports that no licenses have been issued for this junkyard or for the other four junkyards that exist in Greenport. 

The reader who brought this story to Gossips' attention also brought it to the attention of Greenport Supervisor John Porreca. Earlier today, the same reader reported to Gossips that he had been told the Town was in the process of sending letters to the owners of the junkyards notifying them of the code requirements for automobile junkyards.