Monday Night at City Hall: Part 3

During the informal meeting of the Common Council on Monday, the two resolutions that originated in the Housing and Transportation Committee were introduced: the resolution to sell the lot at the corner of Fourth and State streets, and the resolution authorizing a vacancy study to establish the criteria for adopting rent stabilization legislation.

Before the resolution authorizing the sale of the lot was introduced, Alderman Tiffany Garriga (Second Ward) said she wanted to change the language in the resolution. Alderman Rebecca Wolff (First Ward) then provided the specifics of the change. The undefined term affordable housing was to be replaced with "30 percent of the AMI." It was clarified that AMI meant "adjusted median income," presumably not "area median income." According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the adjusted median income (AMI) in 2019 was $75,500. HUD describes incomes of 0 to 30 percent of the AMI as "extremely low income." 

Alderman Dominic Merante (Fifth Ward) advised against selling the parcel. He told his colleagues, "To use this parcel right now is unwise. We know we need a parcel for a new youth center." He suggested approaching a developer to repurpose St. Mary's Academy for housing or approaching the Firemen's Home for land to develop housing. "This location," he urged, "should be held on to."

Garriga argued, "We have a housing crisis. We have people being pushed out of the city. If we have the opportunity to sell this lot, we should do so to show we hear the cry of the people, to keep people in the city or bring them back."

Alderman Eileen Halloran maintained, "This is a big project to propose without more information." She suggested that the "housing crisis" had not be defined. She noted that the Strategic Housing Action Plan had determined that the vacancy rate was 7 percent and later noted that "a housing emergency is defined as less than a 5 percent vacancy in the county." She cautioned, "We need to define what is meant by a housing emergency."

Responding to Halloran's objections, Council president Tom DePietro advised, "There are plenty of contingencies. We don't even know if this [lot] is buildable," alluding to the unverified accounts that the Fourth Street School had been demolished in 1994 by bulldozing the building into its cellar and an undrained fuel oil tank had been left in the ground.

On the subject of the vacancy study, Merante wanted more detail to determine how many properties would be affected. The criteria for a municipality adopting rent stabilization is a 5 percent or less vacancy rate in buildings built before 1974 that have six units or more. The purpose of the study would be to determine the vacancy rate in those buildings. Merante pointed out that the landlords would have to be willing to participate and provide information. 

When Halloran suggested there needed to be more public engagement, DePietro responded, "There's been a lot of time to think about this. . . . You say we should compile data, and now you're saying we shouldn't collect data."

Audience member Peter Meyer called affordable housing a "permanent crisis" and asked rhetorically, "What is the primary cause of lack of affordable housing?" He suggested that assessments should be part of the discussion and asked, "Why not put it back on the tax rolls and bring in more money?" DePietro talked about PILOTs, and Meyer suggested, "Let's do the research on that, too." In the past, Gossips has provided some information about PILOTs for housing. Hudson Terrace has a PILOT that was initiated in 2010. In 2018, the full property tax on the apartment complex would have been $228,248. What was actually paid that year was about 73 percent of that amount: $167,404. Hudson Housing Authority also has a PILOT. The annual tax payment for Bliss Towers and the low-rise buildings is, according to HHA executive director, "$30,000 and something." These PILOT payments include county and the school district property taxes not just taxes paid to the City of Hudson.

Hudson Terrace under construction, 1973

Audience member Kristal Heinz advised, "Land decisions should not be made on an ad hoc basis. We need a comprehensive plan." 

Meyer and former First Ward alderman Rob Bujan both spoke of the need for a housing commissioner or housing coordinator, a position recommended in the Strategic Housing Action Plan (page 12):

The success of the SHAP would drastically be improved with the creation of a Housing Coordinator (HC) position. In order for a fully integrated approach to address the housing needs of the City of Hudson and Columbia County, a full time coordinator is needed. The HC would have the responsibility of managing, tracking, and providing technical assistance and coordination of housing services among community based organizations in Hudson to ensure implementation of the SHAP. The HC would also act as a single point of contact and facilitate applications for state and federal grant opportunities. The HC would also monitor housing conditions and act as a liaison between the City of Hudson, Columbia County and community based agencies. The role of the HC may also include the responsibilities of the Fair Housing Officer.

At the Hudson Community Development and Planning Agency (HCDPA) meeting yesterday, DePietro, who is not actually a member of the HCDPA board, said there was a plan to make Joe Czajka, of Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress, who guided the task force that created Hudson's SHAP, the housing commissioner for Hudson. Presumably the role of housing commissioner would be significantly pared down from what is described in the SHAP. Wolff, who as minority leader of the Common Council is on the HCDPA board, objected, saying, "Czajka takes a very market-oriented approach." DePietro responded, "It needs someone who understands the balance. You can't create all low-income housing. It just doesn't work."
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