Getting Hudson Back to Thriving

Yesterday, the board of the Hudson Development Corporation met in a special meeting on Zoom to discuss what board chair Bob Rasner described as "the most important thing we have ever done." He was talking about creating an emergency task force to come up with "forward thinking solutions" to help Hudson "emerge from this crisis better than when we entered." The virtual meeting involved 32 people--11 connected with HDC, and 21 audience members. 

In his opening remarks, Rasner acknowledged that the City of Hudson would be experiencing significant budget shortfalls as a result of the pandemic, in anticipated revenue from sales tax, lodging tax, and property tax. He also noted that the Hudson has more than 200 small businesses, many of which are now entirely shuttered, all of which are being negatively impacted by the pandemic.

The proposed strategy involves focusing on three areas: business, hospitality and lodging (there are 70 eating and drinking establishments and 178 lodging establishments in Hudson), and quality of life, which includes tenants and landlords, property owners, and arts and cultural venues. An HDC board member has been appointed to lead each group: Phil Forman for business; Kristan Keck for hospitality and lodging; Nick Haddad for quality of life. After Rasner's introduction, each of the three spoke briefly.

Forman talked about supporting the initiatives "happening right now": the relief funds established by the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation and Columbia Economic Development Corporation and the Paycheck Protection Program created by the federal government. He acknowledged that HDC had no money, "just a bunch of good-looking people with some talent." He asserted that, with the PAUSE order in place for just fifteen days, businesses "have already been damaged." Reiterating the HDC had funding, he made reference to the DRI money ($487,160) awarded to HDC for the development of the Kaz site and suggested seeking approval from Empire State Development to make those funds available to small businesses in Hudson.

Keck made the point that the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is all about bringing staff back. She noted that staff may return before businesses can reopen. She mentioned the staff lodging needs of the hospital. Keck, who is the only member of the reconstituted Tourism Board to have served on the original Tourism Board, also spoke of amending the lodging tax law to direct funds from the lodging tax back to the Tourism Board.

Gossips Note: The fate of Local Law No. B of 2020, the law that would have amended the lodging tax statute to defund the Tourism Board, is unclear. On March 30, Gossips contacted Mayor's Aide Michael Chameides to ask what action the mayor had taken on the legislation--had he signed it or vetoed it? The response received was "We'll get back to you." So far, that hasn't happened.

Haddad reported that "most landlords have made adjustments in rents." He said there were five or six major landlords on Warren Street, he being one of them, and all of them were cutting rents in half. He said a couple of landlords were foregoing rent entirely during this time. Rasner noted that Haddad "had set the standard," leading by example. "The first thing he did," said Rasner, "was talk to his tenants." Haddad spoke of "the hyper-inflated residential rents we saw pre-COVID" and said he was now talking to larger residential landlords.

When the meeting was opened to comment from members of the audience, Monica Byrne, co-owner of Home|Made Hudson, who had experience rebuilding small businesses in Red Hook, Brooklyn, after Hurricane Sandy urged, "The quicker we can get money to small businesses, the quicker the recovery for the community and the less it will cost. The longer it takes, the more it costs."

Rasner asked Mayor Kamal Johnson, an ex officio member of the board, about extending the deadline for making property tax payments. Johnson said it was being looked into, but the state constitution and the city charter prohibit it. Council president Tom DePietro, also an ex officio member of the HDC board, said the City was hindered by state law. He also mentioned the money already allocated to the Tourism Board and commented, "The City giving out money is prohibited by state law." 

Rasner invited HDC board members to "look at the task forces and see where you can be helpful." Today, he extended that invitation to the community at large.

Hudson needs the best skills, experience and talents it can muster to come through this crisis. It will not be easy. It will be difficult and time consuming and at times disheartening. But what choice do we have? None. . . .

Where can you contribute your skills and experience? This requires your time and availability now. It means being in constant contact with your team. It means prompt action . . . not tomorrow, not next week, but NOW.

You can sign up to lend your skills and support by clicking here. 
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