DRI Update

The DRI (Downtown Revitalization Initiative) Committee met this past Tuesday. The committee was created by Mayor Rick Rector in 2018 to work with a consultant from the Chazen Companies to oversee the implementation of the municipal projects to be funded with DRI money: the restoration and renovation of Promenade Hill; the complete streets enhancements to the BRIDGE District and the Second Street stairs; the re-imagining of the historic fishing village, known as variously as "the Furgary Boat Club" and "the Shacks," as a city park; the stabilization of the Dunn Warehouse.

Mayor Kamal Johnson has altered the makeup of the DRI Committee somewhat, eliminating the chair of the Planning Board, and adding the Mayor's Aide and the Commissioner of Public Works. The committee is now made up of the following members, all of whom serve ex officio:

• Mayor Kamal Johnson
• Mayoral Aide Michael Chameides
• City Attorney Cheryl Roberts
• Common Council President Tom DePietro
• City Treasurer Heather Campbell
• Commissioner of Public Works Peter Bujanow
• DPW Superintendent Rob Perry

The city officials are working with Chris Round of the Chazen Companies, who is acting as DRI Project Manager.

Of particular interest at this meeting was the progress on the short-term winter repairs and long-term stabilization of the Dunn warehouse, which is being carried out not with DRI funds but with a Restore NY grant awarded in 2017. DPW Superintendent Rob Perry reported that an RFP for the short-term winter repairs had been issued and responses were due in on Monday, January 27. The proposals received will be opened on that day at 10:00 a.m. at City Hall. A bid package for long-term stabilization is still being developed.

Chris Round reminded the committee that the $1 million in DRI funds for the Dunn warehouse is coming from Empire State Development, and ESD wants a private entity to partner with the City in the building's restoration and wants whatever adaptive reuse is planned for the building to create jobs.

A second project of interest is Promenade Hill. In August, the DRI Committee selected Starr Whitehouse as the firm to undertake the re-imagining of the plaza at the entrance to the park and the restoration of the historic promenade. A draft contract with Starr Whitehouse has been prepared, but the City is reluctant to move forward because the DRI Master Agreement with the Department of State has not been finalized. Commenting on the delay, Round noted, "The Department of State is not an efficient entity when it comes to processing." He later observed, "There are Round 1 communities that have not yet executed projects, whereas Round 2 and 3 communities have." Hudson was a winner in Round 2 of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative program. 

On the subject of Promenade Hill, it is often wondered what the entrance to Promenade Hill looked like before the maze of retaining walls and red-tinted asphalt that exists today was introduced during Urban Renewal.

Recently, Peter Cipkowski clued Gossips in to a collection of Urban Renewal era photographs he had learned about from Ted Hilscher, an associate professor of history at Columbia-Greene Community College. The photographs were taken by Arthur Koweek, who chaired the Hudson Planning Commission during the days of urban renewal in Hudson, and they can be found in the New York Heritage digital collections. Among the photographs is this one, showing the entrance to Promenade Hill when Warren Street extended west of Front Street and there were buildings lining the street.

The "kickoff" for the Promenade Hill project, which will begin with community engagement and gathering public input, is expected to happen in February or March. In the meantime, the next DRI Committee meeting will take place on Wednesday, January 29, at 2:30 p.m. at City Hall. After that, the committee will meet regularly on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month.
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