A reaction to my second COVID shot (Moderna) and a general dearth of news this holiday weekend has kept Gossips fairly silent for the past few days, but now we're back--with a pretty full schedule of meetings ahead and the promise of lots of stuff to write about.
- On Monday, April 5, the Common Council holds a special meeting at 5:00 p.m. to accept a bid from A. Colarusso & Sons for the construction of the redesigned entrance to Promenade Hill and the gift of $650,000 from the H. Van Ameringen Foundation, which will enable the City of afford to implement the redesign as planned. Click here to access the Zoom meeting.
- Also on Monday, April 5, the Tourism Board meets at 7:00 p.m. Click here to join the Zoom meeting.
- On Tuesday, April 6, the Hudson Industrial Development Agency (IDA) meets at 1:00 p.m. The IDA has been considering the PILOT request for the two apartment buildings proposed by the Galvan Initiatives Foundation for the "Depot District." That consideration is expected to continue at this meeting. Click here to access the Zoom meeting.
- Also on Tuesday, April 6, the Conservation Advisory Council meets at 6:00 p.m. The link to the Zoom meeting has not yet been made available.
- On Wednesday, April 7, the subcommittee of the Hudson Housing Authority meets at 6:00 p.m. It is not clear if they will be discussing policy, tenant outreach, or development. Click here to join the meeting.
- Also on Wednesday, April 7, at 6:00 p.m., the Common Council ad hoc committee pursuing inclusionary zoning in Hudson holds its first meeting. Aldermen Rebecca Wolff (First Ward) and John Rosenthal (Fourth Ward) have been working on researching this legislation. Inclusionary zoning would set aside a percentage of units in all apartment buildings over a specified size for affordable housing. Hudson already has inclusionary zoning in place for one section of the city--the Riverfront Gateway District, where Hudson Terrace is located. See Chapter 325-17.4 F of the city code. The link to the Zoom meeting should be posted on the City of Hudson website prior to the meeting. Scroll down to the calendar.
- On Friday, April 9, the Historic Preservation Commission holds its first meeting of the month at 10:00 a.m. Click here to join the Zoom meeting. When it comes to meetings of interest, the HPC meetings never disappoint.
I only met Henry a few times while he and Eric were out together. They seemed a loving and caring couple. Of the two, I'm told Henry was the one with a more naturally philanthropic bent, so a donation of this sort would certainly be a nice tribute to Henry's noblest intentions. However we might feel about Galvan, the Common Council should accept the money with no strings attached. Should it be the intention of Galvan to use this gift as a quid pro quo deal to get his housing development through the IDA or Planning Board, Mr. Galloway will have sullied his own gesture and may stew in a disappointment he created.
ReplyDeleteThere is the larger issue of how we got to this point, and frankly, the explanation that materials costs went up doesn't pass the smell test. Construction materials have been enjoying high costs for some time now, and there was ample opportunity to know and adjust the project plans before demolition made this a crisis in need of a savior. This is either ragingly incompetent project management on the part of the mayor's assistant who is running this process or an outright lie, and the timing paired with the presentation of the Galvan PILOT to the IDA is certainly an eyebrow-raising coincidence.
The Common Council should be preparing a resolution to force the DRI meetings to be held in the open going forward. Tom DePietro's smug condescension to repeated requests from the public that meetings be held openly are no longer sufficient to hold off oversight. Common Council members need to show some spine and integrity and force this issue to the fore.
Payola is still payola, no matter how many pretty bows are put on it.
DeleteRef: Historic Preservation Commission.
ReplyDeleteMay I recommend that the HPC consider Hudson City Historical Markers and/or plaques to be mounted on the many historical places within the Friendly City.
Like the site near 2nd and Warren where Harry Croswell, on September 9, 1802, published his fateful issue of "The Wasp"!
DeleteWith Hamilton defending, the Croswell case redefined the meaning of libel in America from the very low British standard, which didn't concern itself with the truth, to now consider the accuracy of what was written.
To your point, tmdonofrio, mightn't stollers on Warren Street like to know that?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People_v._Croswell