In Defense of Our Alleys
In today's Register-Star, there was an editorial about the proposed law that was the subject of a public hearing earlier this week. For most of the day, the editorial was only available in the print version of the newspaper, but as of this evening it can be read online. Most worthy of quoting, in Gossips' opinion, is this argument: "Transforming the city's historic garages and horse carriage houses is equally a dead end. The expense to convert these structures, which will likely have to be demolished and rebuilt, would be prohibitive. These projects would result in a considerable loss to Hudson's rich heritage, but they would not create affordable housing." The rest of the editorial can be read here: : "Try another approach to Hudson's affordable housing crisis."
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How can there be any "affordable" housing in Hudson when the school taxes adn city and county taxes are so sky high ? then add in the Hudson building code and building costs equal construction costs on Park Avenue in Mahattan. further land costs in Hudson are way over 1 million dollars an acre. Affordable ??? only to the well off -- Hudson priced itself out of the affordable years ago.
ReplyDeleteAs some of us have been saying for years, look at the property tax system and the properties taxed, not-taxed, and tax-rebated. We can't handle all these issues on the new Task Force on Affordable Housing (http://hudsondri.org/housing-task-force/), but I encourage folks like oboooa7a to weigh in. ---pm
ReplyDeleteThe reasons cited against the adaptive reuse of structures in the alleys are flawed, misleading, and constitute poor land use policy. With respect to health & safety, these structures can be made code-compliant. Regarding expsense, new construction or rehabilitation costs are fixed. Whether or not the resulting units can be "affordable" is a matter of creative financing and political will. As far as "dead ends" are concerned, the alleys are a woefully underutilized and neglected resource. A signficant portion of existing structures are severely compromised and unsuitable for their original, intended uses. To maintain these buildings in their current state is a disservice to Hudson's residents. Sensitive design and planning along with creative financing can transform Hudson's alleys & structures into vibrant, charming spaces that are as picturesque as historic mews in other cities. Moreover, these spaces would be compatible with Hudson's existing urban fabric. A helpful path forward is to develop viable solutions to facilitate rehabilitation and ensure a measure of affordability. With modicum of vision and political will there's no reason Hudson's alleys can't help bring the city into the 21st century while maintaing its historic character.
ReplyDeleteDown with funky?! Say it ain't so.
DeleteI reckon there's no accounting for taste.
Fire trucks grow ever wider but the alleys do not.
ReplyDeleteHow does one maintain Hudson’s alleys historic character when the proposals are to demolish the historic buildings and replace them with modern day interpretations? None of this makes sense to me.
ReplyDelete