Friday, December 31, 2021

Prohibition in Hudson

New Year's Eve is celebrated by most with some kind of alcoholic beverage, traditionally something bubbly, but a hundred years ago. the Eighteenth Amendment had made the manufacture, transportation, and sale of alcohol illegal. The amendment was ratified on January 16, 1919, and went into effect on January 17, 1920. At this time a century ago, prohibition had been the law for almost two years.


In March 1922, the New York State Police raided Hudson and took over the Hudson Police Department. The Columbia Republican called it "one of the biggest prohibition raids ever staged in Hudson." Hudson's chief of police, John Cruise was suspended and later charged and convicted of dereliction of duty for his failure to enforce prohibition in Hudson. Before that happened, however, reports like the following appeared regularly in the local newspapers. The incident recounted here occurred on January 2, 1922, and was reported in the Columbia Republican the next day.


May you all celebrate New Year's Eve safely tonight, whether or not you intend to get "well corned."

An Idea to Be Seriously Considered

This morning on WAMC, Earth Wise featured a podcast called "Solar Canopies"--a subject that is very timely for us here in Hudson.

It argues that putting solar panels on parking lots "has the appeal that they are abundant, close to electricity customers, and are on land that already has been stripped of much of its biological value." There is also the benefit of providing shade and shelter for cars.

Granted Hudson doesn't have the seas of parking lots that are found at the shopping malls of Greenport, but surely there is enough space given over to parking lots (the city lot at the train station comes to mind) to allow us to avoid sacrificing the rare and precious undeveloped open space that exists in and around North Bay.


The podcast, which can be heard here, is recommended listening.

Thursday, December 30, 2021

A Story from a Century Ago

Over the years, Gossips has published a number of posts about the Giffords--the family descended from Elihu and Eliza Gifford. Elihu Gifford, who owned the Gifford Foundry, was one of the richest and most influential men of his generation. Elihu and Eliza had eleven children, one of whom was the Hudson River School painter Sanford Robinson Gifford. The business Elihu founded in 1863 continued to be a significant industry in Hudson well into the 20th century, and generations of Giffords continued to be important members of Hudson society. 

In the Columbia Republican for the week between Christmas and New Year's Day a hundred years ago, I discovered this item about Benedict Gifford, a great grandson of Elihu and Eliza.


Apperson automobiles were manufactured from 1901 to 1926 in Kokomo, Indiana. The following image is a 1920 advertisement for Apperson.

Benedict Gifford was the son of Malcolm Gifford, who with his brother Arthur had inherited the family business in 1889. Oddly, it was a younger brother who was his father's namesake. Gossips has told the story of Malcolm Gifford, Jr., elsewhere--how, when he was still in prep school, he was arrested and tried twice for the murder of a chauffeur (both trials ended in a hung jury); how in February 1917, before the United States had entered the Great War, he and some of his fellow students at Williams College enlisted in the Canadian Army; and how he was killed in action on November 8, 1917, in the Second Battle of Passchendaele.  

Benedict, who was seven years older than Malcolm, Jr., was a recently married man when the United States entered the war, and he spent the war years commanding the Hudson home depot unit of the National Guard.

There are a few things that seem curious about the account of the fiery demise of Benedict Gifford's Apperson sedan. If Gifford was in Greenport, why did he call the Hudson police--in fact, why did he call the police instead of the fire department--when his car was burning?

It is likely that the house called Faraway was not Benedict Gifford's primary residence but rather his country house. It wasn't uncommon at the time for people of means who lived in Hudson to have a second home somewhere out in the county. The 1920 census has Benedict Gifford living with his wife, their two-year-old daughter, and a servant at 349 Union Street. 

If Benedict was a resident of Hudson, he might have felt it perfectly appropriate to call upon the Hudson police for assistance, even if he happened to be in Greenport when he required it. Why the police instead of the fire department remains unclear, although the police of that era seemed adept at using their guns to solve all manner of problems. In this story, Officer Kennedy used his gun to shoot a hole in the gas tank, thus preventing the car from exploding. In another account from this era shared by Gossips, Officer Miller tried to apprehend a car thief by shooting out the tires of the stolen vehicle as it sped up Warren Street.

Perhaps the most intriguing question is this: Where was the house in Greenport, "just outside the city," known as Faraway?

Update: A reader has informed me that there was no fire department in Greenport in 1921, when this incident happened. The Greenport Fire Department, then just Greenport Pumper Company No. 1, was not organized until 1927, when Edmonds Hose in Hudson donated its old hose cart to help the Greenport company get started. That hose cart is now on display in the FASNY Museum of Firefighting.
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COVID-19 Update

The Columbia County Department of Health has released its numbers for today. Since yesterday, there have been 102 new cases of COVID-19, but fortunately, there has not been another death. The number of active cases being reported today is 70 more than yesterday, from which it can be inferred that, since yesterday, 32 county residents have recovered from the virus. There are 14 more county residents in mandatory quarantine today than yesterday, but the number hospitalized and in the ICU has not changed.

The New York Forward dashboard is reporting a positivity rate for Columbia County today of 16.4 percent and a seven-day average of 13.1 percent. By comparison, the daily positivity rate for the Capital Region is 15.4 percent and the seven-day average is 11.6 percent.

A year ago today, the CCDOH did not report the number of new cases, but it was possible to deduce that there had been 58 since the previous day. The total number of cases was 1,621, and the number of active cases was 215. There were 338 county residents in mandatory quarantine, 16 were hospitalized, and 1 was in the ICU. The total number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 at this time last year was 49.

Behind the COVID Numbers

The Register-Star published a story this morning about the spiking COVID numbers and the most recent deaths from the virus: "County reports two more COVID deaths." The two deaths cited in the headline are the ones reported yesterday and on Tuesday. 

In the article, it is noted that, so far in the month of December, there have been eight deaths from COVID-19. The two deaths reported most recently were a woman in her 50s and a woman in her 70s. The woman in her 50s had comorbidities; both women were unvaccinated. 

The article makes the point that of the 115 people in Columbia County who have died from COVID-19 since the pandemic began nearly two years ago, only three had been vaccinated, and those three suffered comorbidities. Of course, for the first year of the pandemic, during which 89 county residents died, very few people were vaccinated. For nine months of that year, the vaccines didn't exist, and for the remainder of the year, they were very hard to get.

Wednesday, December 29, 2021

COVID-19 Update

This is the third day in a row that the Columbia County Department of Health has reported a death from COVID-19. Since yesterday, there have also been 76 new cases of the virus. The number of active cases being reported today is 3 more than yesterday, from which it can be inferred that, since yesterday, 72 county residents have recovered from the virus. There are 70 more county residents in mandatory quarantine today than yesterday. The number hospitalized remains the same, but of those hospitalized, 3 more are in the ICU.  

The New York Forward dashboard is reporting a positivity rate for Columbia County today of 16.6 percent and a seven-day average of 11.8 percent. By comparison, the daily positivity rate for the Capital Region is 11.6 percent and the seven-day average is 10.4 percent.

A year ago today, the CCDOH did not report the number of new cases, but it was possible to deduce, from the information it did provide, that between December 24 and December 29 there were 142 new cases of COVID-19. The total number of cases was 1,563, and the number of active cases was 183. There were 356 county residents in mandatory quarantine, 13 were hospitalized, and 1 was in the ICU. The total number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 at this time last year was 49. 

A Hundred Years Ago in Hudson

Perusing the Columbia Republican for this week a hundred years ago, I found this account of the Charity Ball to benefit the Hudson City Hospital, which took place during the holiday season in 1921. 




The article was not accompanied by a picture (pictures were rare in newspapers of the time), but the image below provides a hint about the fashion of the day and how the "beautifully gowned ladies with their escorts" might have looked.

Dr. Henry Galster, who was the mayor of Hudson at the time and who, with his wife, led the promenade, has been the subject of a few Gossips posts--for example, when he was commissioned as a captain in June 1917, when it was rumored that he had died in France, when he returned from the war in February 1919, and when his service in World War I was celebrated in the Columbia Republican in March 1919. Galster lived and practiced medicine at 454 Warren Street, the house that is now the location of Nolita.

Photo: Walker Evans
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Ear to the Ground

The inauguration of city officials is to take place on Sunday, January 2, at 1:00 p.m. at the Central Fire Station. The event is by invitation only. (Gossips wasn't invited.) Seating is limited, and masks will be required.

Rumor has it that former Third Ward alderman Calvin Lewis was among the invitees and has RSVPed his intention to attend. This raises an interesting question: Does Lewis, who resigned from the Council in July to avoid conflict of interest, after taking a job with the City as assistant director of the Youth Department, intend to take the oath of office for a new term, or does he just want to be there to witness his friends and former colleagues being sworn in for new terms?   

Tuesday, December 28, 2021

COVID-19 Update

For the second day in a row, the Columbia County Department of Health is reporting a death from COVID-19, and a staggering 103 new cases of the virus. The number of active cases being reported today is 6 more than yesterday, from which it can be inferred that, since yesterday, 96 county residents have recovered from the virus. There are 30 fewer county residents in mandatory quarantine today than yesterday. The number hospitalized remains the same, but one more of those hospitalized is now in the ICU.

The New York Forward dashboard is reporting a positivity rate for Columbia County today of 26.1 percent and a seven-day average of 11.4 percent. By comparison, the daily positivity rate for the Capital Region is 17.4 percent and the seven-day average is 10.0 percent.

A year ago today, the CCDOH did not release its COVID numbers in the usual way. Instead, there was a press release from Board of Supervisors chair Matt Murell which reported: "Columbia County Department of Health Director Jack Mabb reported that since Christmas, 115 new positive cases have been recorded by the DOH. There were 49 new cases Christmas Day, 35 on Saturday [December 26], and 31 on Sunday [December 27]. Director Mabb noted that active cases among county residents is nearing 300, with more than 500 in mandatory quarantine. Thirteen individuals are hospitalized. One is in the ICU."

Who Says Windows Should Be Rectangular?

Almost eleven years ago, an effort to designate Robinson Street as a historic district went down in flames. Since then, development on this historic, once nearly intact working class enclave, a notable survivor of urban renewal in Hudson, which devastated most of the surrounding neighborhood in the 1970s, has proceeded untempered by the review of the Historic Preservation Commission. The latest example is this house, now under construction at the western end of the street, with fenestration that challenges some of the basic principles of compatibility.


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The Register-Star on the Colarusso Lawsuit

Last Thursday, Gossips spread the word that Colarusso had filed a lawsuit against the City of Hudson Planning Board. Later that day, an article about the lawsuit by Roger Hannigan Gilson was published in the Times Union: "Mining business Colarusso's sues Hudson over future of waterfront." Today, the Register-Star has its own article about the lawsuit: "Construction company alleges city exceeded its authority."

To read the text of the lawsuit for yourself, click here. Select "Search Records as Guest," enter "Colarusso" in the "Party 1" field, and click on "Search." Go to page 4 and scroll down to the bottom of the page. The link to the current lawsuit is the fifth item from the  bottom.

Monday, December 27, 2021

Another Piece of the History Puzzle

Since April 2020, when a metal deck was installed to halt the building's continuing deterioration, the Dunn warehouse has retreated to the back burner of the City's concerns. 

Yesterday, while perusing the Hudson Daily Star for December 26, 1871, I discovered this report of a fire that took place on Christmas Day 150 years ago, which may provide a snippet in the building's long history.

It's hard to imagine "the old brick building belonging to the Boston & Albany Railroad Company" being anything other than what we now know as the Dunn warehouse, although in 1871 it wouldn't have been more than about 20 years old. In the 1985 survey done for Hudson Historic District National Register nomination, the Dunn warehouse is identified as the "Hudson and Boston Railroad Shop," and its date of construction is given as c. 1850. 
On the maps below, the first from 1858 and the second from 1873, the "gas house" (the Hudson Gasification Works) is the round structure. What is now the Dunn warehouse is the smaller building at the corner of Broad and Water streets. 

Perhaps the larger building that appears on both maps, at the corner of Franklin and Broad streets, is the so-called "Mad House" where Captain J. T. Haviland stored his bales of hay. 

One thing did not change in Hudson from the 19th to the 20th century: the cause of the fire. "The mischievousness of boys" cited as the cause of the fire in 1871 was also the cause of the fires that destroyed the old St. Mary's Academy in 1973, Candy Lane in 1979, and Hudson Electrical Supply in 1994.
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COVID-19 Update

The Columbia County Department of Health has released its numbers for today. There has been another death from COVID-19 since yesterday and 44 new cases. The number of active cases being reported today is 47 more than yesterday, which suggests that yesterday's number for active cases may not have been accurate. There are 21 fewer county residents in mandatory quarantine today than yesterday, and one more is hospitalized. The number in the ICU remains the same.  

The New York Forward dashboard is reporting a positivity rate for Columbia County yesterday of 8.1 percent and a seven-day average of 9.8 percent. By comparison, the positivity rate for the Capital Region yesterday was 8.9 percent and the seven-day average was 9.2 percent.

A year ago today was a Sunday, and the CCDOH did not report any COVID numbers.

No Meetings of Interest in the Week Ahead

It has become Gossips' practice to provide an annotated list of the upcoming meetings and events at the beginning of each week. This week, the last week of the year, there are no meetings, so instead we'll take a look at who will make up the Common Council and the various boards and commissions in the new year.

Common Council 
Leaving
  • Jane Trombley (First Ward)
  • Rebecca Wolff (First Ward)
  • Tiffany Garriga (Second Ward)
  • Shershah Mizan (Third Ward)
  • John Rosenthal (Fourth Ward)
  • Eileen Halloran (Fifth Ward)
Returning
  • Tom DePietro (President)
  • Dewan Sarowar (Second Ward)
  • Ryan Wallace (Third Ward)
  • Malachi Walker (Fourth Ward)
  • Dominic Merante (Fifth Ward)
New to the Council
  • Art Frick (First Ward)
  • Margaret Morris (First Ward)
  • Mohammed Rony (Second Ward)
  • Theo Anthony (Fourth Ward)
  • Vicky Daskaloudi (Fifth Ward)
It has yet to be determined who will be the second alderman to represent the Third Ward. In November, Council president Tom DePietro invited residents of the Third Ward to apply for the position. To Gossips' knowledge, only Amber Harris, who garnered 84 votes as a write-in candidate in November, submitted a letter of interest

Planning Board
The terms of two members of the Planning Board expire at the end of 2021: Stephen Steim, who was appointed by Mayor Kamal Johnson in January 2020 and now serves as the chair, and Laura Margolis, who has been on the Planning Board for more than a decade. There is a Planning Board meeting scheduled for January 11. We will find out then, if not before, if Steim and Margolis have been reappointed.      

Zoning Board of Appeals
The ZBA already has two vacancies. At the end of the month, there will be a third when Mary Ellen Pierro's term is up. It will be interesting to see who gets appointed to the ZBA.

Historic Preservation Commission
The HPC has a full complement of members, with no one's term expiring until the end of 2022.

Industrial Development Agency
All but one of the positions on the IDA are ex officio, so there will be a new Common Council majority leader replacing Tiffany Garriga and a new minority leader replacing Rebecca Wolff. In February 2020, the Common Council passed a resolution appointing John Cody to represent the Planning Board in the IDA in place of the chair, who was then Betsy Gramkow. It is unclear if that substitution will continue in 2022. The Council also passed a resolution appointing Richard Wallace as the only community member of the IDA. Wallace's term expires at the end of January 2022.

Conservation Advisory Council
Of the eight members currently on the Conservation Advisory Council, the terms of four are up at the end of the year: Tom O'Dowd, David Konigsberg, Michael O'Hara, and Hilary Hillman. The law establishing the CAC specifies that it be made up of "not less than five nor more than nine members." It also specifies that members of the CAC be appointed by the Common Council, so it is up to the Council to make reappointments or new appointments.

Tourism Board
The terms of the entire Tourism Board expire at the end of the year. The law that created the Tourism Board specifies that the Tourism Board be chaired by the chair of the now defunct Economic Development Committee and that half of the eight members be appointed by the mayor and the other half be appointed by the Common Council. Of the six members currently on the Tourism Board (there are two vacancies), three (Chris McManus, Nea McKinney, and Nabila Akhter) were appointed by the mayor, and three (Hannah Black, Selha Graham, and Kate Treacy) were appointed by the Common Council. It is rumored that two of the current members do not wish to be reappointed, so we can expect at least four new faces on the Tourism Board.
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Sunday, December 26, 2021

COVID-19 Update

The Columbia County Department of Health has released its numbers for today. Since Friday, there have been 41 new cases of COVID-19. The number of active cases being reported today is 42 fewer than on Friday, from which it can be inferred that, since Friday, 83 county residents have recovered from the virus. There are 117 fewer county residents in mandatory quarantine today than on Friday, but 1 more is hospitalized. The number in the ICU remains the same. There has not been a death from COVID-19 in Columbia County since Wednesday, December 22. 

The New York Forward dashboard has not been updated since Friday, when the positivity rate for Columbia County was reported as 8.3 percent and the seven-day average was 9.1 percent. By comparison, the daily positivity rate on Friday for the Capital Region was 9.4 percent and the seven-day average was 8.6 percent.

A year ago today, which was a Saturday, the CCDOH published this notice: "The Columbia County Department of Health is working with a high volume of new cases through the weekend. We will be unable to provide accurate updates until Monday."

Christmas in Hudson 150 Years Ago

Yesterday's weather was wet and gloomy, but rain at Christmas is nothing new in Hudson, as evidenced by this report, which appeared in the Hudson Daily Star on Tuesday, December 23, 1871. It appears that many folks 150 years ago left their holiday shopping until the last possible day.


A Historic Preservation Story of Interest

The Register-Star reported yesterday that a building in Columbia County is the recipient of a 2021 State Historic Preservation Award from the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation: "Roe Jan Brewing wins State Historic Preservation Award." 

To learn the identity of the other nine awardees, click here.

Saturday, December 25, 2021

Friday, December 24, 2021

Just a Reminder

Tonight, you can leave your car (or sleigh) parked on either side of the street overnight.

Santa in Hudson 65 Years Ago

 

This photograph by Howard Gibson was taken at the Niagara Mohawk Christmas party in 1956. It can be found at PhotobyGibson.com. 

COVID-19 Update

The Columbia County Department of Health released its numbers at 12:30 p.m. today. Since yesterday at 3:00 p.m., there have been 41 new cases of COVID-19. The number of active cases being reported today is 39 more than yesterday, from which it can be inferred that, since yesterday, 2 county residents have recovered from the virus. There are 21 fewer county residents in mandatory quarantine today than yesterday, but the number hospitalized and in the ICU remains the same. There has not been a death from COVID-19 in Columbia County since Wednesday, December 22. 

The New York Forward dashboard has not been updated since yesterday.

A year ago today, the CCDOH reported 25 new cases of COVID-19. The total number of cases was 1,412, and the number of active cases was 129. There were 462 county residents in mandatory quarantine, 11 were hospitalized, and 0 were in the ICU. The total number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 at this time last year was 49.

Thursday, December 23, 2021

About that Colarusso Lawsuit

Roger Hannigan Gilson reports about the Colarusso lawsuit in the Times Union: "Mining business Colarusso's sues Hudson over future of waterfront."

Photo: Bill Huston

COVID-19 Update

The Columbia County Department of Health has released its numbers for today. Since yesterday, there have been 69 new cases of COVID-19. The number of active cases being reported today is 18 more than yesterday, from which it can be inferred that, since yesterday, 51 county residents have recovered from the virus. The number of county residents in mandatory quarantine yesterday was not reported, but the number today is 11 more than on Tuesday. The number of county residents hospitalized and in the ICU remains the same as yesterday. There has not been a death from COVID-19 in Columbia County since yesterday.  


The New York Forward dashboard is reporting a positivity rate for Columbia County today of 7.9 percent and a seven-day average of 9.7 percent. By comparison, the daily positivity rate for the Capital Region is 9.3 percent and the seven-day average is 8.3 percent.

A year ago today, the CCDOH reported 20 new cases of COVID-19. The total number of cases was 1,396, and the number of active cases was 127. There were 450 county residents in mandatory quarantine, 7 were hospitalized, and 0 were in the ICU. The total number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 at this time last year was 49.

About Last Week's ZBA Meeting

At the Common Council meeting on Tuesday, Rebecca Wolff complained about the Zoning Board of Appeals, alleging that the December 15 ZBA meeting had not complied with Open Meetings Law and reporting it had been held outside and people were not wearing masks. Wolff must have gotten her information about the meeting secondhand, because at the very time the ZBA meeting was taking place, she was attending a Zoom meeting of the Hudson Housing Authority Board of Commissioners.

It is true the ZBA meeting has held on the steps of City Hall, but there was good reason for that. The recently imposed rules limiting access to City Hall prevented the meeting from taking place inside, and there was no response to repeated requests from ZBA chair Lisa Kenneally for a Zoom link for the meeting. There were nine public hearings scheduled for the meeting, and Kenneally did not want to cancel the meeting and make the applicants wait another month, so she went ahead and held the meeting on the steps of City Hall.

The nature of the public hearings may have been the reason for Wolff's interest in the ZBA meeting. Eight of the nine public hearings regarded variances sought by people operating short-term rentals rendered illegal by Hudson's short-term rental law, a law Wolff had initiated and continues to advance. The one-year amortization period written into the law had ended in November. On November 8, Wolff posted the following notice on Facebook:
Hi there Hudson. Our local law allows only full-time residents of Hudson to operate one or more Short Term Rental (under 30 days) on the same property as their own dwelling. The exception is for second-home owners, who can operate 60 nights per year. There are no other exceptions, and if you would like to report what you think is an illegal short term rental anywhere in the city you can use the form linked to here. It's quick and easy! If for any reason you do not wish to fill the form out yourself, you may contact me and I will do it for you!
Yesterday, Gossips learned from Kenneally the outcome of the meeting. Every one of the eight applicants seeking a variance from Section 325-28.3 of the code was granted a three-year extension.
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Ear to the Ground

Gossips
has learned that A. Colarusso and Sons is suing the City of Hudson . . . again. The details of the lawsuit are not known, but it's likely the positive declaration made by the Planning Board in SEQR (State Environmental Quality Review) has something to do with it. 

Wednesday, December 22, 2021

COVID-19 Update

The Columbia County Department of Health released its numbers at 7:00 p.m. today. There has been another death from COVID-19 since yesterday and 47 new cases of the virus. The number of active cases being reported today is 10 fewer than yesterday, from which it can be inferred that, since yesterday, 56 county residents have recovered from the virus. There is no data provided today on the number of county residents in mandatory quarantine, but 5 fewer are hospitalized. The number in the ICU remains the same.

The New York Forward dashboard is reporting a positivity rate for Columbia County today of 15.2 percent, the highest of any county in the Capital Region, and a seven-day average of 9.3 percent. By comparison, the daily positivity rate for the Capital Region is 9.7 percent and the seven-day average is 7.5 percent.

A year ago today, the CCDOH reported 18 new cases of COVID-19. The total number of cases was 1,376, and the number of active cases was 133. There were 450 county residents in mandatory quarantine, 7 were hospitalized, and 0 were in the ICU. The total number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 at this time last year was 49.

More News from the Common Council Meeting

There was no presentation by Arterial about the final plans for Hudson Connects, but there was a presentation at last night's Common Council meeting. It was made by Victor Salerno of Adirondack Community Development, the group that plans to buy the former John L. Edwards school building to develop affordable housing.

The rendering above shows what was proposed back in June, when the group made a presentation to the Common Council. Since then, the project, now being called "Hudson Heights," has changed significantly. In June, Salerno said it would cost "millions and millions of dollars to demo [the building] and cart it away." Last night, he announced they had decided to demolish the existing building after all and construct a new building in its footprint.

The new building is to have 150 apartments for people 55 years of age and older, with a target household income of 60 percent of the AMI (area median income). Salerno indicated that 10 percent of the units could be market rate, but "more than that will impact the ability to get financing for the project." 

As the project is now being proposed, there will be 45 "efficiency" or studio apartments, 72 one-bedroom apartments, and 33 two-bedroom apartments. The building will be three stories at the front and six stories at the rear, where the land drops down sharply. There will also be a separate building on the site to house the Hudson Daycare Center.

Among the amenities promised for the building is a dog park, which suggests that, unlike many income-based housing projects, "Hudson Heights" plans to allow pets.

Salerno shared these preliminary renderings of what's being proposed.



He also reported on preliminary market research his group has done. The following is quoted from his presentation:
As part of preliminary community outreach, Adirondack, through its affiliate Mayfair Management Group LLC, has already initiated outreach to the community to gauge interest and process feedback. . . .
[T]he response has been overwhelmingly positive, where within only a few days and very limited online exposure to only a single portal, Adirondack almost immediately processed over 500 registrations from individuals who were interested in becoming residents, with the most frequent inquiry from prospects asking when the development would be complete and move-in ready.
The campaign was closed within one week, and we are fully confident that the community is responding in a very positive way to Hudson Heights. . . . 
In the past, it has been indicated that the project would not be seeking a PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes), but a zoning amendment and a zoning variance would be requested. The zoning amendment would change the zoning for the site from R1 "One-Family Residence" to R4 "Three-Story Multiple Residence"; the variance would allow the project to exceed the four-story limit in the back of the building.

When Salerno had completed his presentation, Council president Tom DePietro told the Council there was no time for discussion but assured them, "Victor will be back in January."
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New Superintendent for HCSD

At its meeting last night, the Hudson City School District Board of Education appointed a new superintendent to replace Maria Suttmeier, who is retiring at the end of this month. The new superintendent, who will be starting on February 1, 2022, is Lisamarie Spindler, Ed.D. 

Spindler is currently the Assistant Superintendent of Finance for the Newburgh Enlarged City School District. She was previously Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and a kindergarten through fifth grade principal in Newburgh. She also served as a middle school principal and high school assistant principal at Warwick Valley Central School District. She started her career as a sixth grade teacher at the Monroe-Woodbury Central School District.

For more information about the new superintendent, visit the HCSD website.