At the last meeting of the Common Council ad hoc committee focused on City-owned property, Council president Tom DePietro announced that a new location for the Code Enforcement Office had been found, but he did not reveal where that new location was. Last night, at the informal Common Council meeting, it was revealed that Code Enforcement will be moving to 751 Warren Street, into the office suite formerly occupied by Assemblymember Didi Barrett, the availability of which was advertised here on Gossips. (I'm not claiming that's how the City decision makers found out about it, but you never know.)
The lease at 751 Warren Street begins on July 1, 2021. Once the Code Enforcement Office is relocated, the way is clear for the City to sell 429 Warren Street, the building that is the current location of Code Enforcement.
And like all rents in Hudson nowadays, it will double after the year's lease is done.
ReplyDeleteIt's astounding to think that a modular unit in a dirt parking lot for Craig Haigh and his men was a possibility. It's got to be a joke, right? Would they have been at least provided port-a-johns to pee and poop? Rob Perry, with an office in City Hall and traveling around in his city vehicle all day, makes nearly twice as much in salary as Craig does. And Craig almost ended up in a dirt lot! You wonder why Code Enforcement is underfunded and understaffed and we have a code enforcement problem in Hudson (just look at all the garbage in the alleys). It's because Rob Perry is hoarding all the money! B HUSTON
ReplyDeleteI don't know, selling city assets for a quick influx of cash might bring in some money now, but in the long term is it a good idea? A better idea than setting up a city office in a 24K rental, which as BB says will definitely go up over time, may be to keep the office right where it is and rent out the storefront and the upper floors at market rate. Then you have income coming in over years, rather than being paid out in rent. Maybe someone ran the numbers and it works out, but if they did shouldn't that be presented to the public, before selling a city owned property?
ReplyDeleteThe City is a very poor landlord. The plan all along was to sell 429 Warren Street as soon as the police and city court moved to Union Street, but that plan was thwarted by the Code Enforcement Office, which was located there and had no place else to go.
DeleteFor the Code Enforcement Office, 751 Warren Street is just a temporary location, but unfortunately its temporary nature may be dependent on the City buying in to the Galvan plan to move City Hall to 400 State Street. That scheme includes a place for the Code Enforcement Office in the building. The plan current city government is pursuing to make 520 Warren Street ADA compliant does not create a place for the Code Enforcement Office there. Were the powers that be to opt for Plan 4 for 520 Warren Street, which would actually cost less than rehabbing 400 State Street, there would be a place for the Code Enforcement Office at 520 Warren street. https://gossipsofrivertown.blogspot.com/2019/10/considering-city-hall.html
Anything would be less expensive than rehabbing 400 State — thanks to Galvan’s studious disregard for its physical state, it now seeks to push this pile of masonry under a new roof (paid for by the library) on the City’s taxpayers. Unfortunately the Council has no collective intellectual capacity to grasp or care about that — they just do what Tommy tells them and he hasn’t the ability or backbone to actually lead nor the intellectual grasp of what’s involved. Typical tin pot dictatorial Trumpist.
DeleteThat building is in need of a major renovation or at least substantial repairs, and the actual offices where Craig works are incredibly small for the tasks he has to deal with. He has to fold architectural plans like someone reading the NY Times on the subway. There isn't enough room to lay them out properly for review. And I agree the pay is far too little for the major headache of that job. Plus, I don't thing the City should be in the rental business. Who is managing the rental of the storefront and apartment units? Who is fixing them? 3rd floor apartments mean sprinklers added to stairwells. Who's figuring all that out and paying for it? I agree a 1 year lease seems too short though.
DeleteHas 400 State been surveyed by a structural engineer? Looks like a minimum of $5-10 million in renovations to me.
ReplyDeleteCraigs present offices have become too small. Has anyone noticed the mountains of paperwork he has accumulated ? Hard to imaging him moving into a temporary location only to be uprooted yet again !
ReplyDeleteAs money pours into Hudson for renovation and revival, Code Enforcement is more important than ever. They need more resources which is staff, space and money.
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