News from the Properties Committee

On Thursday night, the ad hoc committee dealing with City-owned properties met in the time slot which, according to the city calendar, was meant for the ad hoc committee pursuing the solar farm. A few things of interest were revealed at the meeting.

The vacant lot at the corner of Fourth and State streets, which Council president Tom DePietro erroneously referred to as 401 State Street (if it had an address, it would probably be 369 State Street, but it's referred to in the tax rolls only as "State & North Fourth Street"), was one of the properties discussed. The lot has a long history--one that Gossips has told several times before but will tell again. This was the site of the Fourth Street School, originally constructed as Hudson High School in 1894.

At the beginning of 1994, then newly elected mayor Rick Scalera ordered the building, which was then privately owned, demolished because it was vacant and in disrepair and was thought to present a public safety hazard. The cost of the demolition was charged to the owner. In 2003, the lot became the property of the City of Hudson. 

Since Columbia County opened its office building at 325 Columbia Street, the lot has been used as a parking lot for county vehicles and the vehicles of county workers. It is not clear if the City of Hudson is compensated in any way for this use.

In 2012, the Common Council agreed to sell this lot and the Dunn warehouse to close a gap in the 2013 budget. Neither property was sold in 2013. In February 2020, the Council passed a resolution calling for the sale of the lot for the purpose of developing affordable housing. Twenty months later, Alderman Rebecca Wolff (First Ward) discovered that resolution, and now an RFQ (request for qualifications) is being drafted for the purpose of identifying a developer of affordable housing on that lot. The RFQ will be drafted by Michelle Tullo, the City's Housing Justice Manager, using a template provided by Joe Czajka of Pattern for Progress, the group working on Hudson's Affordable Housing Development Plan. It is expected that the RFQ will be ready for the informal Common Council meeting scheduled for October 12.

On the topic of planning, Wolff suggested creating a "Community Planning Group," presumably of volunteers, to take the place of a professional planning department, which the city does not have. Alderman John Rosenthal (Fourth Ward) said such a plan would overlap the community planning initiative of a comprehensive plan. The City has reportedly applied for a grant to do a comprehensive plan (the current plan was adopted in 2002), and there is a pledge from an unnamed private source to make up the difference between the grant money and the actual cost of a new comprehensive plan, which is estimated to be $250,000.

On the topic of selling City-owned properties, DePietro clarified that 429 Warren Street is the only building they are ready to sell. DePietro pointed out that there has been an insurance settlement for the damage incurred when pipes burst in the house near the water treatment plant. DePietro seemed to suggest that the insurance money would allow the City to make repairs to the house in preparation for putting it on the market.

Another building that had been discussed as potentially for sale seems to have come off the list: 10-12 Warren Street, the location of the Hudson Day Care Center. 

Last week, the Register-Star reported on the condition of the building: "Rain-damaged day care center seeks new home." In that article, DePietro is quoted as saying, "It's really expensive, what needs to be done. . . . Probably in the nature of, you know, upwards of half a million dollars." The article also reports: "Hudson Mayor Kamal Johnson said he is helping the day care center find a new home, but the locations would need renovating to meet specifications required for certification." On Thursday night, DePietro said the City was seeking a grant to repair day care center. The grant is "an expansion of the City's CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) application." According to mayor's aide Michael Hofmann, the grant will be submitted sometime next week and decided on in December. Hofmann also commented, "As soon as the City knows they will get the grant, it can help [the Hudson Day Care Center] with their license."

Short term rentals and specifically small hotels were also a topic of conversation at the meeting. Wolff noted that the "sunset period for the STR law (Section 325-28.3) is coming up" and spoke about enforcing the law. This segued into a conversation about hotels, no doubt inspired by the proposal to convert 26 Warren Street into a hotel. DePietro asserted, "Just because someone calls their building a hotel doesn't means it's a hotel." He mentioned specifically the Amelia Hotel in the 300 block of Allen Street and alleged, "According to Craig [Haigh, code enforcement officer], it is not a hotel." 

Photo: Realtor.com

Tullo stated that she too is involved in determining "what STRs are legal and what ones are not." DePietro said he was concerned about "a couple of buildings that are still operated as whole house [short term] rentals." 

The STR law took effect on November 17, 2020, and gave the owners of buildings being operated in a manner rendered illegal by the law one year to comply.

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