Word Gets Around

Today, two days after it was reported by The Gossips of Rivertown, the Register-Star has the news that there will be no Filli's Fresh Market at 449 Warren Street: "Filli's out of Hudson Arcade Project plan." 

The Register-Star article, written by Joe Gentile, has quotes from Daniel Kent, executive director of the Galvan Initiatives Foundation, and Rick Scalera, special adviser to Galvan. Gentile attributes to Kent the statement that "the Galvan Foundation is not interested in operating a grocery store" and intends to lease the space. Scalera, after reportedly saying, "We're keenly interested to open up a market at that location," opines that the building's front patio would make a "picturesque cafe." Inspired by Scalera's "vision," Kent is reported to have added, "Diners . . . could attract passersby, and transform Hudson's 'food desert' into a 'food destination,'" betraying that he doesn't know the definition of "food desert" and is unaware that Hudson is already a "food destination."

The article also reports Scalera's claim that "the foundation received the support of the city's Historical Preservation Commission. . . ." The Historic Preservation Commission did approve the design for the building but it was a grueling process, which included the HPC's very first workshop and subjected the HPC to bullying from Scalera, belligerence from Galvan attorney Mark Greenberg, and criticism from members of the public who thought a much needed grocery store on Warren Street shouldn't have to be subjected to the "nonsense" of a review by the HPC. Thank goodness the members of the HPC stood their ground. If they hadn't, Hudson would have ended up with no grocery store and an inappropriate building in a prominent location on our main street.