The Council Votes on the PILOT Resolution

Last night, in the part of the meeting devoted to "New Business," the Common Council voted on a resolution in support of a PILOT for the building proposed for 75 North Seventh Street by the Galvan Foundation. The resolution was a red-lined version of this resolution, but exactly what the revisions were was not known to at least some of the aldermen. I won't keep you in suspense. The resolution failed to get the six affirmative votes needed to pass. Four aldermen--Tiffany Garriga, Shershah Mizan, Dewan Sarowar, Rebecca Wolff--and Council president Tom DePietro voted in favor of the resolution; four aldermen--Dominic Merante, John Rosenthal, Jane Trombley, Malachi Walker--voted against it; Eileen Halloran abstained because she had not seen the red-lined resolution; and Calvin Lewis had to recluse himself because he is employed by the Galvan Foundation.

The consideration of the resolution began with Mayor Kamal Johnson addressing the Council about the Galvan proposal and the PILOT. He told the aldermen the plan was "straight out of the Strategic Housing Action Plan" and that Galvan and the State of New York were key partners in the plan. He reminded the aldermen of the fire on Allen Street in May. saying there had been no way to rehouse the six households displaced by the fire. He said the City had the Historic Preservation Commission to protect the history of buildings in Hudson but there was nothing to protect "the history of families in Hudson." He said the City needed more volunteer firefighters and mentors for youth and urged the Council to "move forward to accomplish affordable housing."

Alderman John Rosenthal (Fourth Ward), who it seemed earlier had been tasked by Council president Tom DePietro to examine the proposal and the PILOT agreement, introduced his comments about the project by saying, "My skepticism is rooted in real information." He noted that anticipated construction costs were "on the cheap side" (Rosenthal had said in an earlier meeting they were less than $200 per square foot), that $500,000 is all Galvan is putting into the project (the rest of the $22 million is coming from federal and state government funding), the city needs elderly and workforce housing but this project doesn't provide enough of either, and the Strategic Housing Action Plan recommends scattered site housing, something not achieved by this proposal which puts households of different income levels all in the same building. On the topic of scattered site housing, Rosenthal posited, "Galvan can achieve that by rehabbing what they already have."

When Johnson reminded Rosenthal that they had all run on the promise of providing more affordable housing and said, "We've been in office seven months now," Rosenthal replied, "I don't want to have substandard housing." Dan Kent, vice president of initiatives for Galvan, told Rosenthal that NYS Homes and Community Renewal has "extensive guidelines for quality and durability," but Rosenthal insisted "locking in a low cost is a red flag to me" and reiterated, "Apartments [in buildings Galvan already owns] could be renovated faster than constructing this building." 

Jeff Baker, counsel to the Council, told Rosenthal that his concerns were premature. "You are not committing to it. You are only showing general support." He advised that it was "wrong to require an applicant to provide final planning documents at this point." Rosenthal persisted, saying, "This is the most significant thing we're going to do here in a long time." When Rosenthal suggested the Council needed to get another opinion on the significance of supporting the resolution, Baker told him, "I don't know who you are going to get another opinion from," indicating that Chris Chale, the City's legal counsel in matters having to do with PILOTs, had prepared the red-lined resolution.

At this point, Tiffany Garriga (Second Ward) called the question. She argued that Galvan had "made accommodations." "Everything we requested has been accommodated," she contended. She challenged Rosenthal, "You can't give your constituents housing now. Where do you send your constituents?" Presumably referring to Rosenthal's resistance, she declared, "This is the reason we don't have developers come here." Johnson reiterated, "The immediate problem is housing," and promised he would "continue to go to the people until there is none left."

Eileen Halloran (Fifth Ward) called for a return to order. She declared the proceedings were a "most contentious Council meeting" and asserted it was "not the right atmosphere to vote" on the resolution. But vote they did. All four of the aldermen who voted against the resolution prefaced their votes with comments. Dominic Merante (Fifth Ward) said he would not be here in thirty years but wanted a commitment from Galvan that the building would not be taken off the tax rolls when the PILOT agreement was up. Rosenthal repeated his concerns that the City was "rushing forward" and his opinion that this was "an unwise move"; Jane Trombley (First Ward) commended Johnson for being "forceful" before casting her no vote; Malachi Walker (Fourth Ward) truly struggled. Initially, he said he wanted to table the resolution because he "sensed tension and hostility" and didn't want to make a decision. When told it was too late to table the resolution, they were in the middle of a vote, he talked about "the right housing, at the right time, for all of the taxpayers." He said he wanted more input and "due diligence for the whole community." After Walker had cast his no note, Vernon Cross told him, "You let the people down."

At some point during the "tension and hostility" of the Zoom meeting, a voice was heard making a disparaging remark about Mayor Kamal Johnson. It was former mayor Rick Rector, who reacted not realizing he was unmuted. Claire Cousin demanded to know which participant had made the comment. (There were about fifty at the time.) Johnson called for an apology from Rector, which he provided. He explained he had shouted at the computer thinking he was muted and offered a "huge apology." "It was stupid," he said. "I regret it." Rector subsequently posted this apology on several community Facebook pages.

Hello Hudson,

I did something incredibly stupid this evening and am deeply sorry and apologetic for the inexcusable behavior.

I humbly apologize to Mayor Johnson, the Common Council, the viewing public and our entire city.

I have a bad habit of yelling at the television, at drivers while behind closed windows, etc. This is not right and certainly does not justify what happened.

My personal frustrations from the meeting will never excuse the idiotic and stupid comment made. I have no idea as to how I was unmuted.

I have always had respect for Mayor Johnson and was reacting to a vote that I had mixed feelings about.

I will forever be sorry for this.

Mayor Johnson and Hudson, I humbly ask for your forgiveness.

After Rector apologized, Vern Cross, who had previously reprimanded Rosenthal and Wolff for addressing the current mayor as Kamal instead of Mayor Johnson, asked Rector, "Your girl on here?" His subsequent comment made it clear that by "your girl" Cross meant me: "If Mayor Johnson had said it, it would be all over Gossips," implying that Gossips would not report Rector's humiliating and regrettable faux pas. 

The meeting ended with Matt McGhee sharing this thought: "If we want to elevate the dignity of the poor, we should also retain our dignity."

The application for funding from NYS Homes and Community Development is due on August 28. It is the intention to bring the resolution back for another vote at the Council's next regular meeting, will takes place on Tuesday, August 18.
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