COVID-19 Update

The Columbia County Department of Health has released its numbers for today. Since yesterday, there have been 15 new cases of COVID-19. The number of active cases being reported today is 13 more than yesterday, from which it can be inferred that, since yesterday, 2 county residents have recovered from the virus. The number of county residents hospitalized with the virus and in the ICU has remained the same since Monday, March 28. There was not been a death from COVID-19 reported in Columbia County since March 3.

The New York Forward dashboard seems no longer to exist.

A new ago today, the CCDOH reported 10 new cases of COVID-19. The total number of cases was 3,858, and the number of active cases was 72. There were 211 county residents in mandatory quarantine, 5 were hospitalized, and 2 were in the ICU. The total number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 at this time last year was 90.

The Quality of Our Water

The City of Hudson Annual Drinking Water Quality Report for 2021 is now available and can be reviewed by clicking here.

The Future of WSSUP and the Cement Blocks

The conversation about WSSUP (Warren Street Shared Usage Program) at last night's Tourism Committee meeting began with Councilmember Ryan Wallace (Third Ward) telling his colleagues that "an overwhelming number of restaurants are asking if we are doing it again." 

Photo: JD Urban|Hudson Hall

The conversation touched upon the much maligned concrete blocks introduced last year as a means of protecting diners and shoppers from vehicles moving along the street at 30 mph, as well as the whole idea of allowing businesses to expand into the parking lane to facilitate social distancing and outdoor dining.

Wallace made the suggestion that, in 2022, participation in WSSUP be limited to restaurants and coffee shops and that participating establishments be required to pay the City the full value of lost parking revenue. According to Gossips' calculations, that would amount to $42 a week for each space which, for the proposed duration of WSSUP 2022--Memorial Day to Labor Day--would total $588 for each space. In most instances, restaurants and coffee shops use more than one parking space. John Kane warned against making restaurants pay for lost parking revenue, citing restaurants' low profit margins and their current struggle with rising food prices.  

Andy McArdle, proprietor of Isaan Thai Star, located just off Warren Street on Seventh Street, complained that lost parking on Warren Street negatively impacted his business by further limiting parking spaces available to his patrons. Sarah Dibben, proprietor of Supernatural Coffee on the 500 block of Warren Street, spoke in support of expanding into the parking lane and of the concrete barriers, which she said provided places for her patrons to sit. She told the committee that her neighbors, Oak and Baba Louie's, were also grateful for the outdoor space.

The upshot of the discussion was that the committee wants to hear from restaurant owners. The Tourism Board conducted a survey of businesses at the end of WSSUP last year, but there were only eleven responses to the survey.

Restaurant owners are encouraged to share their thoughts about Warren Street Shared Usage with one or all of the members of the Common Council Tourism Committee: 

Ryan Wallace ryan.wallace@cityofhudson.org 

Dominic Merante dominic.merante@cityofhudson.org 

Art Frick art.frick@cityofhudson.org

Vicky Daskaloudi vicky.daskaloudi@cityofhudson.org

 

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HPD Body Armor Headed for Ukraine

This morning, Gossips received the following press release from the Hudson Police Department:

On Thursday, March 31, 2022, the Hudson City Police Department presented dozens of bullet proof vests and Kevlar SWAT helmets to representatives of St. Michael’s Ukrainian Orthodox Church, 59 Partition Street, for immediate shipment to Ukraine.

The body armor manufacturer certifies their vests for a period of five years, which coincides with a federal grant which also requires periodic vest replacement. Labor contract obligations as well as liability issues also necessitate the vests’ routine replacement. An inventory of surplus equipment at HPD showed a growing collection of old vests.

“We have been trying to determine the best way to dispose of these vests and helmets,” Lt. Andy Moon, HPD Sr. Firearms Instructor, said. “You just can’t throw these things in a landfill, and there is a substantial cost to our city associated with having them burned or shredded by an authorized company.”

Some of the equipment was tested at the Department’s firearms range. While the vests and helmets have been taken out of service, HPD found that the equipment is still very effective at stopping small caliber bullets and shrapnel.

World events prompted Chief Moore to contact Father Wolodymyr Paszko, a priest at St. Michael’s Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Hudson. Father Paszko has been arranging weekly shipments of medical supplies and food to Ukraine. 

“Father Paszko is a lifelong friend,” Chief Moore said. “A couple years ago we partnered together and shipped Hudson’s abandoned bicycles to an orphanage in Ukraine. With the vest rotation and the suspension of our SWAT team, this was the most logical and best use for our old vests and helmets. I am sure all of our citizens agree. Our used equipment, which probably would have been scrapped, could actually save the life of an innocent civilian or child.” 

Lt. Moon, Father Paszko, and Chief Moore

Affordable Housing and Columbia County

Yesterday, the Columbia County Housing Brief, commissioned by Columbia Economic Development Corporation and prepared by Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress, was presented to a virtual audience of more than a hundred. The presentation started off with information about rising home prices in Columbia County and statistics about housing affordability. According to the statistics, 14 percent of households in Columbia County are "extremely cost burdened," that is, housing costs represent more than 50 percent of their income. This is true in differing degrees both for owner households (11 percent are extremely cost burdened) and for renter households (22 percent are extremely cost burdened). What is considered affordable is housing costs that represent 30 percent of the household income.

The presentation also identified the impediments to affordable housing.

The entire Columbia County Housing Brief 2022 can be found here.

During the discussion that followed the presentation, Katy Cashen, a member of the Town Board in Claverack, noted that the town's comprehensive plan, in the interest of preserving open space, required a minimum lot size for homes of five acres. Although such zoning prohibits density, it seems actually to sacrifice open space. Joe Czajka, of Pattern for Progress, used the term "exclusionary zoning" to describe it. Brenda Adams, supervisor for the Town of Canaan and former executive director of Habitat for Humanity, suggested that a template needed to be developed, on the county level, for protecting open space while providing for affordable housing. She expressed the desire "to keep our county rural." 

The study, which was about quantifying need and identifying resources, was acknowledged as a first step. When the question was raised about follow up, Mike Tucker of CEDC said there would be a debriefing with the panelists (Adams, Czajka, Darren Scott from NYS Homes and Community Development, and Brian Skoda, Taghkanic Town Supervisor) next week, the goal of which would be to identify five to ten next steps. Tucker concluded, "The true test is not what we do here today but what we do moving forward."

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Learn a Skill That Could Save a Life

Tonight, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Hudson Area Library, 51 North Fifth Street, Twin County Recovery Services and Third Ward Councilmember Amber Harris are holding a free training session in administering Narcan, the treatment for opioid overdoses. The window of opportunity will be there for two hours, but you don't have to be. Just stop in, do a quick training to learn when to administer Narcan, when it works and why, and when it doesn't. When your training is complete, you're set to go.   

COVID-19 Update

The Columbia County Department of Health has released its numbers for today. Since yesterday, there have been 14 new cases of COVID-19. The number of active cases being reported today is 4 more than yesterday, from which it can be inferred that, since yesterday, 10 county residents have recovered from the virus. The number of county residents hospitalized and in the ICU remains the same today as yesterday. There has not been a death from COVID-19 reported in Columbia County since March 3.

The New York Forward dashboard is reporting a positivity rate for Columbia County today of 4.6 percent and a seven-day average of 2.4 percent. By comparison, the daily positivity rate for the Capital Region is 4.5 percent and the seven-day average is 3.5 percent.

A year ago today, the CCDOH reported 14 new cases of COVID-19 and one death from the virus. The total number of cases 3,848, and the number of active cases was 81. There were 215 county residents in mandatory quarantine, 5 were hospitalized, and 2 were in the ICU. The total number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 at this time last year was 90.

Hump Day, Busy Day

There is a lot happening later today, starting at 4:00 p.m., and no one is going to be able to do all of it. Here's the summary. You can pick and choose.

• At 4:00 p.m., Mayor Kamal Johnson holds a public hearing on the proposed local law that will amend the lodging tax law to abolish the Tourism Board. The hearing takes place in person only, so if you want to participate, you need to show up at City Hall, 520 Warren Street.
• From 4:30 to 6:00 p.m., CEDC (Columbia Economic Development Corporation) is hosting the Columbia County Virtual Housing Forum. The announcement for the event indicates that attendees will "learn about the latest trends in Columbia County housing." During the forum, a recent study commissioned by CEDC and carried out by Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress, the same group that did Hudson's Affordable Housing Development Plan, will be discussed. For the Zoom link to the meeting, click here. 

• At 5:30 p.m., Friends of Oakdale Lake presents the Oakdale Lake Water Quality Assessment Project carried out by the ecological consulting firm Great Ecology. The event takes place in person only at the Hudson Area Library, 51 North Fifth Street.

• At 6:00 p.m., the newly created Tourism Committee of the Common Council will hold its first meeting. The committee is made up of the following alders: Ryan Wallace (Third Ward), Dominic Merante (Fifth Ward), and Art Frick (First Ward). The agenda includes  reviewing applications for funding in 2022. (There is $50,000 available this year.) Also on the agenda is a discussion of WSSUP 2022. (The acronym stands for Warren Street Seasonal Usage Program.) Click here to access the meeting on Zoom.

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COVID-19 Update

The Columbia County Department of Health has released its numbers for today. Since yesterday, there have been 8 new cases of COVID-19. The number of active cases being reported today is 2 more than yesterday, from which it can be inferred that, since yesterday, 6 county residents have recovered from the virus. The number of county residents hospitalized and in the ICU remains the same as yesterday. There has not been a death from COVID-19 reported in Columbia County since March 3.

The New York Forward dashboard is reporting a positivity rate for Columbia County of 2.7 percent and a seven-day average of 2.9 percent. By comparison, the daily positivity rate for the Capital Region is 4.5 percent and the seven-day average is 3.4 percent.

A year ago today, the CCDOH reported 22 new cases of COVID-19. The total number of cases was 3,834, and the number of active cases was 85. There were 215 county residents in mandatory quarantine, 10 were hospitalized, and 2 were in the ICU. The total number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 at this time last year was 89.

Another Rite of Spring

Mayor Kamal Johnson has announced the seasonal suspension of alternate side of the street parking on weekend nights--Friday to Saturday and Saturday to Sunday. The suspension begins this weekend. From midnight to 8 a.m. on April 2 and from midnight to 8 a.m. on April 3, cars can be parked on either side of the street. The suspension is in effect "until further notice." The rest of the week, alternate side rules for overnight parking will continue to be enforced.   

Sea Level Rise and the River

On Sunday, the Times Union published an article by Roger Hannigan Gilson called "Here's how the rising Hudson River will impact all of us." There isn't much in the article about the City of Hudson specifically, but it includes this map, on which Hudson appears with this annotation: "The micropolis is in the process of redesigning its public waterfront to incorporate expected tidal flooding." 

"In the process of redesigning its public waterfront" seems a bit of an overstatement. Back in December, there was a gathering at the river, announced by Future Hudson on Instagram, to collect input for a "design framework for an urban riverfront park that regenerates the shoreline, responds to climate change, and maintains recreational access that is critical to the Hudson community." The announcement indicated that the City of Hudson was partnering in this undertaking with Hudson Valley Collaborative and eDESIGN DYNAMICS. According to the "year-long process" outlined in the announcement, there is to be another meeting next month, in April 2022, to "Share Preliminary Designs for Feedback." The entire planning process is anticipated to be completed by September 2022. That's the plan for Henry Hudson Riverfront Park.

There is also a plan being developed for the Hudson State Boat Launch, which came to light earlier this month. Hudson is one of five state boat launches to receive upgrades under the Hudson Eagles Recreation Area initiative. The upgrades planned for the boat launch are intended to expand access for boating, fishing, and wildlife observation, as well as improving resiliency.   

As more information about these initiatives is available, Gossips will keep you informed.

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COVID-19 Update

The Columbia County Department of Health has released its numbers for today. Since Friday, there have been 12 new cases of COVID-19. The number of active cases being reported today is 3 fewer than on Friday, from which it can be inferred that, since Friday, 15 county residents have recovered from the virus. There is 1 fewer county resident hospitalized with the virus today than on Friday, and no one is in the ICU. There has not been a death from COVID-19 reported in Columbia County since March 3. 

The New York Forward dashboard is reporting a positivity rate for Columbia County today of 5.3 percent and a seven-day average of 2.9 percent. By comparison, the daily positivity rate for the Capital Region is 3.6 percent and the seven-day average is 3.4 percent.

A year ago today, it was Sunday, and the CCDOH did not report COVID numbers, but on the previous day, March 27, there were 12 new cases. The total number of cases was 3,812, and the number of active cases was 100. There were 342 county residents in mandatory quarantine, 11 were hospitalized, and 1 was in the ICU. The total number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 at this time last year was 89.

Tourism a Hundred Years Ago

On Wednesday, the Common Council Tourism Committee meets for the first time to review applications for the $50,000 earmarked for distribution this year to events and initiatives that support tourism and perhaps also to decide the fate of Warren Street Seasonal Usage in 2022. The meeting comes just hours after Mayor Kamal Johnson holds a public hearing on the amended lodging tax law that does away with the controversial Tourism Board. 

Given the attention to tourism this week, it is a coincidence that, a hundred years ago today, on March 28, 1922, the Columbia Republican published this opinion piece, advocating for what was then a cutting edge concept. 

An internet search did not uncover any clue about a motorists' camp in Newburgh, but we know there was one just outside Hudson, on Fairview Avenue in Greenport, run by Enos Hamm. The Grey Goose Diner was a part of that camp. The piece in the Columbia Republican may be evidence that Hamm had not yet established his tourist camp in March 1922.  

Searching for evidence of the motorists' camp in Poughkeepsie led to the discovery of a group called called Tin Can Tourists, organized in the winter of 1919-1920 at Desoto Park in Tampa, Florida. 

Desoto Park in 1920

Most of the early motorists' parks were in Florida, and most of the Tin Can Tourists were from states in the northern Midwest. This excerpt from Tin Can Tourist History explains the phenomenon:

After the completion of the Dixie Highway from Montreal to Miami in 1915, the number of automobile tourists to Florida increased dramatically every year, and Florida's rural areas and small towns began to change as well. The 1920s featured a faith in the material growth of the nation and with Florida's natural allure, caused much of the state to seemingly mushroom overnight. According to one local historian, "It seemed that all the people of the Midwest and farming regions of the North were coming to Florida to spend the winter in their trailers." Lured by the accounts of friends who had visited the area, intrigued by Florida sunshine and sand, and spurred in the 1920s by the mobility of Henry Ford's inexpensive cars, the number of immigrants to the state steadily increased. . . . The winter of 1919-1920 marked the arrival of the so-called Tin Can Tourists; visitors driving homemade trailers and eating out of tin cans. Cars from all over the North headed to Florida piled high with bedding, tents, and boxes of canned food.

Gateway to Osceola County on the Dixie Highway, 1920s

In 1921, there were approximately 17,000 members of Tin Can Tourists through the United States and Canada. (By 1935, during the Great Depression, there were 100,000 members.) Their touring wasn't restricted to winter trips to Florida. They also held summer gatherings in northern locations, most often in Traverse City, Michigan. Tin Can Tourists ceased to exist in the 1970s, but the group was revived in 1998. Tin Can Tourists now describes itself as "an organization committed to the celebration of classic trailers and motor coaches through annual gatherings of owners and friends."

 

Photo: MyNorth.com

In June 2019, Tin Can Tourists celebrated their centennial at Interlochen State Park, fifteen miles southwest of Traverse City. This year, Tin Can Tourists plan a fall gathering at Camp Dearborn in Milford, Michigan.

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Meetings and Events in the Week Ahead

A week into spring, and it snowed today. Here's what else is happening in the week that culminates in April Fools' Day.

• On Tuesday, March 29, the Hudson Community Development and Planning Agency (HCDPA) has a special meeting at 3:30 p.m. The topic of this meeting is not known, but it may be making a decision about which property to sell to keep the agency solvent. A Zoom link for the meeting has been published on the city website. Click here to access the meeting.

Update: The meeting is to accept the annual audit.

• On Wednesday, March 30, at 4:00 p.m., Mayor Kamal Johnson holds a public hearing on Local Law Introductory A of 2022, which amends the lodging tax law to abolish the Tourism Board. The hearing will take place at City Hall. There apparently will be no remote access to the hearing.  
• At 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 30, Friends of Oakdale Lake presents the Oakdale Lake Water Quality Assessment Project carried out by the ecological consulting firm Great Ecology. The event takes place in person at the Hudson Area Library, 51 North Fifth Street.

• Also on Wednesday, March 30, the Tourism Committee of the Common Council meets at 6:00 p.m. to review applications for funding events and initiatives that support tourism. The committee has about $50,000 to distribute this year. The applications for funding can be reviewed here. It is not yet known if the meeting will be accessible on Zoom.
• On Thursday, March 31, at 5:30 p.m., the Hudson Industrial Development Agency (IDA) holds the first of three Project Criteria Evaluation Public Workshops. Because the tax benefits granted by the IDA result in a cost to the community, the goal of the workshops is to make the evaluation criteria used by the IDA accessible and understandable to the general public. The goals and objectives of the workshops are explained here. The workshop can be accessed on Zoom by clicking here.

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Local History Talk Coming Up Next Month

On Thursday, April 28, at 6:00 p.m., the History Room of the Hudson Area Library, in collaboration with the Jacob Leisler Institute for the Study of Early New York History, presents a talk by Dennis J. Maika, Senior Historian at the New Netherlands Institute, entitled "Reconsidering Slavery in 17th-Century New Netherland--What Do We Know? What Can We Learn?" The following is quoted from the press release for the event:

There has been a glaring gap in today’s important and critical discussion of American slavery and its legacy: an accurate understanding of the lives of the enslaved and their enslavers in the Northern colonies and how their experiences contributed to the institution of American slavery. Many Americans are surprised to learn of the existence of Northern slavery and New Yorkers may be stunned to learn that slavery was deeply entwined in their colonial and state history. Historians have long recognized these connections but have been marginally successful in bringing these stories to a wider audience. In recent years, a new cohort of New Netherland historians has focused their attention on the experiences of the enslaved, slavery’s institutional origins and development, the slave trade, and how slavery impacted New Netherland society. Thus, the purpose of this talk is to provide a broader historical context in which to consider some of these new revelations and the questions they raise. Hopefully, a better appreciation of slavery in New Netherland will stimulate a more accurate and comprehensive understanding of American slavery.

The event will be held virtually on Zoom. To register and receive the Zoom link, click here.

COVID-19 Update

The Columbia County Department of Health has released its numbers for today. Since yesterday, there have been 13 new cases of COVID-19. The number of active cases being reported today is 10 more than yesterday, from which it can be inferred that, since yesterday, 3 county residents have recovered from the virus. There are 3 more county residents hospitalized today than yesterday, but none is in the ICU. There has not been a death from COVID-19 reported in Columbia County since March 3.

The New York Forward dashboard is reporting a positivity rate for Columbia County today of 1.7 percent and a seven-day average of 2.7 percent. By comparison, the daily positivity rate for the Capital Region is 3.3 percent and the seven-day average is 3.2 percent.

A year ago today, the CCDOH reported 7 new cases of COVID-19. The total number of cases was 3,786, and the number of active cases was 90. There were 412 county residents in mandatory quarantine, 10 were hospitalized, and 1 was in the ICU. The total number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 at this time last year was 89.

Meeting Update

Gossips has learned that tomorrow's Historic Preservation Commission meeting will not be a hybrid. It will be entirely on Zoom, starting at 10:00 a.m. So, if you were planning to venture out to attend the meeting in person at City Hall, don't. Stay home and click here to join the meeting on Zoom.

COVID-19 Update

The Columbia County Department of Health has released its numbers for today. Since yesterday, there have been 5 new cases of COVID-19. The number of active cases being reported today is the same as yesterday, from which it can be inferred that, since yesterday 5 county residents have recovered from the virus. There are 2 fewer county residents hospitalized with the virus today than yesterday, and, as was the case yesterday, none is in the ICU. There has not been a death from COVID-19 reported in Columbia County since March 3. 

The New York Forward dashboard is reporting a positivity rate for Columbia County today of 0.0 percent (0 positives out of 199 tests administered) and a seven-day average of 2.8 percent. By comparison, the daily positivity rate for the Capital Region is 2.8 percent and the seven-day average is 3.1 percent.

A year ago today, the CCDOH reported 11 new cases of COVID-19. The total number of cases was 3,779, and the number of active cases was 93. There were 354 county residents in mandatory quarantine, 8 were hospitalized, and 2 were in the ICU. The total number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 at this time last year was 89.

COVID-19 Update

The Columbia County Department of Health has released its numbers for today. Since yesterday, there have been just 2 new cases of COVID-19. The number of active cases being reported today is 8 fewer than yesterday, from which it can be inferred that, since yesterday, 10 county residents have recovered from the virus. There is 1 more county resident hospitalized with the virus today than yesterday, but no one is in the ICU. There has not been a death from COVID-19 reported in Columbia County since March 3. 

The New York Forward dashboard is reporting a positivity rate for Columbia County today of 6.0 percent and a seven-day average of 3.4 percent. By comparison, the daily positivity rate for the Capital Region is 4.0 percent and the seven-day average is 3.0 percent.

A year ago today, the CCDOH reported 11 new cases of COVID-19. The total number of cases was 3,768, and the number of active cases was 92. There were 278 county residents in mandatory quarantine, 10 were hospitalized, and 2 were in the ICU. The total number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 at this time last year was 89.

Eye About Town

Earlier today, a reader sent me a picture of a backhoe at work in the vicinity of the Depot District, near the site of one of the proposed apartment buildings, and wondered what was going on. A query to Walter Chatham, the architect for the project, provided the answer.

The digging is related to creating an access road to service the Upper Depot Brewing Co., which will occupy the newly restored train station. The new road follows the route of Rope Alley were it to extend east beyond Seventh Street.

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Of Interest

Yesterday, the New York Times made the following appeal for information: "Are You Familiar With Wrongdoing Among Nonprofit Groups?" The article's opening paragraph reads: "David A. Fahrenhold, an investigative reporter for The New York Times, covers the world of nonprofit organizations. He wants your suggestions about what to dig into next." He's looking for examples of "mismanagement, deception, self-enrichment or fraud." It's an intriguing invitation.

COVID-19 Update

The Columbia County Department of Health has released its numbers for today. We are back in the double digits. Since yesterday, there have been 12 new cases of COVID-19. The number of active cases being reported today is 4 more than yesterday, from which it can be inferred that, since yesterday, 8 county residents have recovered from the virus. There are 2 fewer county residents hospitalized with COVID-19 today than yesterday, but, as yesterday, no one is in the ICU. There has not been a death from COVID-19 reported in Columbia County since March 3. 

The New York Forward dashboard is reporting a positivity rate for Columbia County today of 2.0 percent and a seven-day average of 2.4 percent. By comparison, the daily positivity rate for the Capital Region is 3.9 percent and the seven-day average is 2.8 percent.

A year ago today, the CCDOH reported 31 new cases of COVID-19. The total number of cases was 3,757, and the number of active cases was 90. There were 236 county residents in mandatory quarantine, 9 were hospitalized, and 1 was in the ICU. The total number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 at this time last year was 89.

Not Happening on Friday

On Sunday, Gossips included a public hearing on the Depot District at Friday's Historic Preservation Commission meeting. Today, I learned that the public hearing has been postponed. It will not occur this Friday, but a new date for the public hearing has not yet been determined. When the date has been set, Gossips will let it be known.

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Happening on Thursday

This Thursday, March 24, at 6:00 p.m., Gary Sheffer, trustee of the Hudson Area Library, hosts a special History Room on Zoom focused on Hudson and its relation to the river whose name the city shares: "The City of Hudson and Its River."

 

Men survey damage at the Shacks after a flood in 1948.
Photo from Ciancetta-Rowles Collection, Hudson Area Library

 

The presentation features a selection of audio and video clips from the library's collections, including the Black Legacy Association of Columbia County (BLACC) Oral History Collection. Sheffer, along with Leo Bower, Shantytown historian, and Peter Tenerowicz, past president of the Hudson Power Boat Association, will discuss these excerpts and photos of the river from the library's collection, and share their own stories of how the river has impacted the residents of Hudson.

Click here to register for the Zoom event.

COVID-19 Update

The Columbia County Department of Health released its numbers earlier today. Since Friday, there have been 12 new cases of COVID-19. The number of active cases being reported today is the same as on Friday, from which it can be inferred that, since Friday, 12 county residents have recovered from the virus. The number of county residents hospitalized and in the ICU is the same today as on Friday. There has not been a death from COVID-19 reported in Columbia County since March 3. 

The New York Forward dashboard is reporting a positivity rate for Columbia County today of 2.3 percent and a seven-day average of 3.0 percent. By comparison, the daily positivity rate for the Capital Region is 2.7 percent and the seven-day average is 2.7 percent.

A year ago today, it was Sunday, and the CCDOH did not report COVID numbers, but on the previous day, March 20, there was 1 new case. A total number of cases was 3,726, and the number of active cases was 96. There were 260 county residents in mandatory quarantine, 9 were hospitalized, and 1 was in the ICU. The total number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 at this time last year was 89.

And to Think I Saw It on Union Street

This afternoon, a tour bus tried to make a right turn off Union Street onto Fourth Street. With cars parked on both sides of the street, the bus got itself wedged into the space between, not able to move forward without hitting a parked car. 

Coming from the opposite direction and wanting to turn onto Fourth Street myself, I waited patiently just behind the crosswalk for the situation to resolve itself. After a car passed me on the left, even though I had my left turn signal on, and it appeared the bus driver was going to attempt to back up onto Union Street, I decided it was time to get my little car out of there, even though curiosity made me want to stay to the end.

 

And we thought trucks straying off the truck route was a big problem.

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Book Discussion Next Week

Gossips wrote about Sam J. Miller's book The Blade Between when it was first published more than a year ago, and the book and its author have also been featured on Trixie's List. 

Next Monday, March 28, Miller will be at Time & Space Limited, 434 Columbia Street, from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. to talk about The Blade Between. TSL's announcement of the event says the novel "explores Hudson's vibrant past and fraught present" and calls it "a story exploring grief, gentrification, and resistance . . . and whale-ghosts, as well."

You can attend the event in person or virtually. To do the latter, you must register in advance, which can be done by clicking here.

The First Disappointment of Spring

The Times Union is reporting this morning that the delivery of Girl Scout cookies, which was supposed to happen next week, won't be happening for another month: "Girl Scout cookies delayed. Baker can't get key ingredient."

Meetings of Interest in the Week Ahead

Spring has sprung, and here's what's happening in the first week of the new, much anticipated season.

• On Monday, March 21, the Hudson Housing Authority Board of Commissioners meets at 6:00 p.m. An agenda for the meeting is not available, but it is possible there may be an update on the search for a new executive director. The meeting will take place in person in the Community Room at Bliss Towers, 41 North Second Street, and can also be accessed on Zoom. Click here to join the meeting remotely.
• On Tuesday, March 22, Hudson Development Corporation (HDC) holds its regular monthly meeting, followed by its annual meeting, beginning at 12:00 noon. On the agenda for the regular meeting, the assertion that HDC is a public authority will be refuted and the renewal of its lease at 1 North Front Street will be discussed. At the annual meeting, the board will elect officers. The slate of officers to be presented is the same as those currently serving, with the exception of board president. The meeting will take place in person at the offices of CEDC, 1 City Centre, Suite 301, where there is greater opportunity for social distancing.
• On Wednesday, March 23, the Common Council Technology Committee meets at 6:30 p.m. Some of the issues discussed at the first meeting of this new committee were improving the quality of hybrid meetings, updating the software system for the treasurer's office, and having the Council go paperless. The meeting will be a hybrid--in person at City Hall and virtually on Zoom. Click here to join the meeting remotely.
• On Friday, March 25, the Historic Preservation Commission holds its second meeting of the month at 10:00 a.m. It is expected that the meeting will include a public hearing on the Galvan Foundation's plans for the area of the city being called the "Depot District." The HPC is being called upon to make a judgment about the appropriateness of the two buildings being proposed to their context.

The meeting will be a hybrid. Click here to join the meeting on Zoom.

Update: The public hearing on the Depot District has been postponed. It will not take place on Friday, March 25, but it has not yet been rescheduled.

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It Has Arrived

We've had a couple of spring days in the past week, but today is the vernal equinox, the First Day of Spring!

Lafayette in Hudson

On Tuesday, the Common Council passed a resolution supporting the installation of a marker in Hudson commemorating the Marquis de Lafayette's visit to Hudson in 1824. The marker is part of the project being undertaken by the not-for-profit organization The Lafayette Trail, Inc.

Lafayette was, of course, the French aristocrat and military officer who fought in the Revolutionary War, commanding American troops in several battles, most notably the Battle of Yorktown in the autumn of 1781, which was the decisive victory in the war. 

Washington and Lafayette at the Battle of Yorktown, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation 

Lafayette in 1825, National Portrait Gallery

In 1824, President James Monroe and Congress invited Lafayette to return to the United States, in part to celebrate the country's upcoming fiftieth anniversary. During that visit, which lasted for more than a year, Lafayette traveled to all twenty-four states that then made up the Union. Hudson was one of his early stops. He arrived in New York on August 15, 1824. On September 17, 1824, he paid a brief visit to Hudson. An account of Lafayette's visit to Hudson is found is Stephen B. Miller's 1862 book, Historical Sketches of Hudson. The following is quoted from that book:

Hudson was one of the first cities in the Union which sent a committee of invitation to meet Lafayette in New York, and tender him the hospitalities of the city. In the month of September, in 1824, he started upon the steamer James Kent, commanded by Capt. Samuel Wiswall, or the "Commodore" as he was styled, to visit the different places upon the North river. Upon his arrival at the residence of the Hon. Edward P. Livingston, the evening previous to his visit here, word was sent to the city, when a committee of citizens, consisting of Rufus Reed, Esq., Mayor, Doct. John Tallman, and Col. Strong, accompanied by two military companies mentioned [Hudson City Guards and Scotch Plaids], the Hudson Brass Band, Gen. Jacob R. Van Rensselaer and suite, Brig. Gen. James Fleming and suite, proceeded upon the steamboat Richmond, Capt. William J. Wiswall, to meet Lafayette at Clermont and escort him to this city upon the day following. In the evening the grounds and dwelling of Mr. Livingston were beautifully illuminated, and a ball given, attended by several hundred people, among them many of the most distinguished citizens of the State. The military companies from this city were quartered over night upon the James Kent. After a short visit at Catskill, Lafayette reached Hudson about noon of the day following, and "met with a reception the most heartfelt and joyous ever bestowed upon man." He was conducted to an elegant carriage drawn by four black horses, attended by four grooms in livery, and accompanied by a lengthy procession of military and citizens of Hudson and its vicinity, under the direction of Col. Charles Darling as Marshal of the day, was carried through the principal streets, which were literally choked with people, to all of whom Lafayette tried in vain to bow. Arches of evergreens were erected at various points, bearing inscriptions of welcome, and that at the head of the street was surmounted by a colossal figure of the Goddess of Liberty, bearing the Stars and Stripes in her hand. At the Court House, which was filled "by elegantly dressed women," he was welcomed by his Honor, the Mayor, to whom he replied in a brief speech. Sixty-eight veterans of the Revolution were then presented to him, for each of whom he had a kind word; after them the military officers, lastly the "elegantly dressed women." Dinner had been provided for a great number of people at Mr. Allen's tavern, the long room of which had been beautifully decorated by the ladies. Over the chair designed for Lafayette was suspended a beautiful wreath of flowers, enclosing an appropriate poetical welcome, while around the room were the most tasteful and elaborate decorations which had been anywhere seen upon his journey. But these labors of love were all lost, the want of time preventing his remaining for dinner; he did, however, so great was the pressure of citizens upon him in passing this point, alight, and after remaining for a short time and partaking of a glass of wine, bade the multitude farewell, proceeded directly to the river and embarked for Albany about the middle of the afternoon.

We take the particulars of this reception from the Commercial Advertiser of that date, whose reporter accompanied Lafayette upon his extended tour through the country.

In 1824, the courthouse was not located where it is today. What was the second Columbia County Courthouse (the first was in Claverack) and the first of four in Hudson was located at the corner of Warren and Fourth streets, where the First Presbyterian Church now stands. The location of "Mr. Allen's tavern" is unknown. Wisely, it was decided not to put the commemorative marker on the site where Lafayette was welcomed by Mayor Rufus Reed and responded with a "brief speech" or where he declined dinner and partook of a glass of wine but rather in riverfront park, where he would have arrived and departed. 

These pictures from the Lafayette Trail website provide a preview of what the marker will look like.

The following is the proposed text for the marker:

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