Unintended Consequences

At a special meeting of the Common Council last week Monday, the Council voted 6 to 5 to authorize Mayor Kamal Johnson to enter into a license agreement with Hudson Cruises for the use of the docks in Henry Hudson Riverfront Park. 

Three hours later, at the end of the informal meeting which followed immediately after the special meeting, Alderman Rebecca Wolff brought up the issue of the dock license again, arguing that the Council had not been given adequate to consider the issue and that the Council not the mayor's office should have made the decision. It was decided that authorization of the license agreement would be suspended until the Council had had more time to assess the two proposals received: one from Hudson Cruises, the other from the Hudson Sloop Club.

Last night at the Tourism Board meeting, there was a participant whose screen identified her/him only as "Citizen 001." When Council president Tom DePietro asked those participants whose identities he did not know to identify themselves, Citizen 001 said he was a member of the public who wanted to observe the meeting anonymously. At the end of the meeting, when Tourism Board chair Calvin Lewis invited public comment, Citizen 001 identified himself and explained his interest in the meeting. He was getting married on June 5. He and his fiancee were planning a ceremony St. Mary's Church, followed by a cruise on the Marika, one of the Hudson Cruises boats. He wanted to know if the issue of the dock had been settled, and if the boat would be there so their wedding could happen as planned. DePietro told him the issue of the dock and its usage would be settled tonight at the regular meeting of the Common Council.  

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