What's Happening at the Depot
There is construction activity going on at the old Hudson Upper Depot, which now is owned by the Galvan Foundation. Because no plans for the building, which is in a locally designated historic district, have come before the Historic Preservation Commission, many are curious about what's going on. At the HPC meeting on Friday, Craig Haigh, code enforcement officer, explained.
There was a hole in the roof, and the owner was given an "emergency repair" permit to patch the roof. An emergency repair permit can be granted without HPC review. But instead of patching the roof, the owner set about replacing the whole thing--an action that requires a certificate of appropriateness. So, Haigh issued a stop work order, which was lifted only when the owner agreed that the asphalt shingle roof now being installed was only temporary and would be replaced when a use for the building had been determined and plans for its restoration were presented to the HPC.
Given the demolition that has gone on in Hudson in recent weeks, there is good reason to worry about the fate of this building. Haigh offered this assessment of its condition: "That building is really in bad, bad shape."
COPYRIGHT 2014 CAROLE OSTERINK
As we know.... in Hudson, a building being in "bad, bad shape" is code for doing whatever the owner wants, including tearing the thing down. Grand Central was in "bad, bad shape" as was Penn Station. Olana was in "bad, bad shape." Most of Hudson was in "bad, bad shape" when I got here. Thanks to some intrepid preservationists and some "smart, smart people" we saved a lot. (Olana was saved!) This is not an easy fight. But we must resist the "bad, bad shape" people and preserve our history -- which happens to be our future!
ReplyDeletehttp://gossipsofrivertown.blogspot.com/2013/11/history-threatened.html
ReplyDeleteThe Opera House was condemned by Hudsons code official.
ReplyDelete