Signs of the Times

The Historic Preservation Commission regularly approves signs for businesses on Warren Street and elsewhere in the city's locally designated historic districts. Usually the process is pretty perfunctory. Not so this past Friday morning, when some very out-of-character and, in Gossips' opinion, garish and inappropriate signs were proposed.

The first was an internally illuminated 7 x 7 foot sign to be affixed to the side of this house at the corner of Third and Allen streets.

The house has been operated successfully as a B & B by different owners since 2002, and no previous owner has found it necessary to introduce this kind of garishly commercial signage into a residential neighborhood.  

HPC member Miranda Barry objected to the internal illumination, and the HPC encouraged the applicant to rethink the illumination and submit an amended application. It is Gossips' opinion that affixing signage of any kind, illuminated or not, to the side of a house on a residential block is incompatible with the historic character of the neighborhood and should be prohibited.

Another proposed sign that was something of a shocker was this one for 407 Warren Street, the former location of The Cascades. It is plastic and internally illuminated. 

Barry observed that the sign was out of place on the facade of a historic building, commenting, "It really clashes with the historic architecture." Phil Forman, who chairs the HPC, told the applicant, "The font you chose is kind of aggressively modern and commercial," and asked, "Is there a tasteful way to pull back from the starkness and commercial quality?" HPC member Hugh Biber urged the applicant to look at other signage on Warren Street and to design a sign that would "become more part of that graphic landscape."

The mural being painted on 26o Warren Street was also a topic of discussion. The botanical flourishes that have already been painted on the historic building were the topic of the Gossips post back in July: "Adding Insult to Injury." But it seems they were just the beginning of what is to become a larger "mural," one that extends to the side of the building as well.

Code enforcement officer Craig Haigh issued a stop work order on the painting because, as he explained it to the HPC on Friday, the design included cannabis leaves, and cannabis leaves, representing the product for sale in the establishment, made the decoration a sign. Signs in historic districts require a certificate of appropriateness from the HPC. Because the city's preservation ordinance gives the HPC no jurisdiction over what can be painted on surfaces that have already been painted, however, the resolution to this problem was simple. The artist agreed to remove or eliminate anything that resembled a cannabis leaf from the design. Problem solved.

When recognized for a comment, steadfast HPC observer and critic Matt McGhee pointed out that a mural, by the very origin of its name, is something that is painted on a wall. This painting was being done on doors, glass panes in the doors, framing, and marble support columns. He called it "damaging to the historic nature of the building and our city."

It's interesting to review how we got to this place with 260 Warren Street. The building was owned by the Galvan Foundation (or one or another previous iteration of Eric Galloway's involvement in Hudson) from the early 2000s until October 2021. In that time, various plans for its restoration came before the HPC. Each time a certificate of appropriateness was granted and allowed to expire. Finally, in early 2019, a plan for the building's restoration, informed by a photograph found by Gossips in the Evelyn & Robert Monthie Slide Collection at the Columbia County Historical Society, was approved by the HPC, and the work was actually carried out.

Photo courtesy CCHS, Evelyn & Robert Monthie Slide Collection

The plans presented to the HPC in 2019 included the proposal that the marble plinths, lintels, and sills, original to the building, would be "cleaned, protected, and sealed." Kate Johns, who at the time was the preservation architect member of the HPC, specifically requested that the marble not be sealed because of the damaging effect such action can have on marble. Nevertheless, some white substance was applied to the marble plinths and lintels.

When the "white coating" came to the attention of the HPC, Forman, who then as now chaired the HPC, reported that he had consulted with then city attorney Andy Howard (who is now once again city attorney) and with Craig Haigh. It was the opinion of both that, "despite back and forth [discussion recorded] in the minutes and what most believe to be best practice," there was no legal recourse to force the undoing of the action because the agreement not to seal the marble "never made it into the certificate of appropriateness." The only way for the "white gunk" to be removed and the marble restored to its original state would be if the owner--Galvan--did it voluntarily. Of course, that never happened. 

Instead the white gunk that was supposedly a sealant has served as justification for more paint to be applied to the marble, because the current law does not empower the HPC to opine on paint applied to an already painted surface.

At Friday's meeting, the HPC agreed they would, at their next meeting, take up the issue of murals and other ornamentation painted on buildings, the question of their jurisdiction over paint applied to already painted buildings, and possibly petitioning the Common Council to amend the preservation law. They came to the same conclusion two years ago, when the ornamental painting of 529 Warren Street was brought to their attention.

At that time, HPC legal counsel Victoria Polidoro recommended that the HPC form a working group to come up with a proposal regarding the use of paint in historic districts. It was decided they would look into how other communities with historic districts handled the issue of paint--both paint color and paint application patterns. To Gossips' knowledge, no working group was ever formed, no investigation was ever undertaken, and no request to amend the preservation ordinance was ever made to the Council. Maybe this time will be different.

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Tomorrow at Hudson Hall

Tomorrow at 5:00 p.m., an excerpt of Jeffrey Lependorf's work-in-progress chamber opera American Terror, made from the 1969 Firing Line television debate between William F. Buckley and Noam Chomsky about America's involvement in Vietnam, will performed at Hudson Hall.

Today, there is an article about the project in the Times Union: "'American Terror' in Hudson: Composer Jeffrey Lependorf turns 1969 TV debate between William F. Buckley and Noam Chomsky into opera."

Admission to the performance is pay what you will. Click here for more information and to make a reservation.

News from the Planning Board

The Planning Board meeting on Tuesday night went on for just shy of four hours. There were several projects considered, and Gossips will report on them one at a time, beginning with Mill Street Lofts, the project being proposed for the playing field on the south side of Mill Street. 

The discussion of the project opened with a presentation by Kearney Realty & Development Group of the amenities they have added to the plan for the site in response to concerns expressed at the August 20 meeting about traffic and transportation. These amenities are described in the letter submitted to the Planning Board on August 26:

1. Bus Shelter. As discussed during the meeting, the Applicant will work with the City and County to provide a bus route to the project. This shelter will be located at the end of the proposed pedestrian connection between the project and Mill Street to maximize the convenience to future residents.
2. Fire Apparatus Turnaround. A hammerhead turnaround has been added that complies with Appendix D of the NYS Fire Code. This turnaround will utilize the existing paper street adjacent to the project which will require construction of a third box culvert to convey flow around the site to the proposed stilling basin and the City drainage infrastructure. The turnaround will be adequate to allow buses associated with the proposed bus route to turnaround.
3. Bicycle Repair Station. A bicycle repair station is proposed along Mill Street to benefit future residents and riders on the Empire State Trail. 
4. Scenic Overlook Station. A sidewalk has been extended to a bench at the western end of the site at the top of the proposed retaining wall where residents can enjoy the undeveloped open space on the subject property and adjacent to it.

It wasn't pointed out that a bicycle repair station is something of a redundancy given that there is already a bicycle repair station about 500 feet away at the Empire State Trail trailhead at the corner of Dock Street and North Second Street.

During the public comment period, Mill Street resident Faith Gilbert expressed concern about the "improper and possibly illegal use of park land," alluding to the deed restrictions that required the land to be used as a park or for recreation. She suggested that the Planning Board was "expediting the project for the sake of the developer" and recalled that at the August 20 special meeting there seemed to be an effort to persuade the members who had voted against making a negative declaration to change their minds. She asserted that the project would result in a 600 percent increase in neighborhood density and told the Planning Board, "Every household on Mill Street agrees this is a bad fit for the site." She concluded, "The Planning Board should honestly assess the project's impact."

Three Hudson elected officials--Linda Mussmann, Fourth Ward Supervisor; Rich Volo, Fourth Ward Councilmember; Margaret Morris, First Ward Councilmember--were present at the meeting and expressed concerns about the project and its negative impacts on the neighborhood. In his comments, Volo pointed out that this project would negatively impact five houses built by Habitat for Humanity, which he described as "housing that works in this city," enabling homeownership and building generational wealth. In her comments, Morris reiterated the suspicion that the project was being expedited, observing, "This project is moving forward more quickly than other projects." Theresa Joyner, who chairs the Planning Board, told Morris, "It's a perception and not a fact." Despite Joyner's denial, Planning Board member Susan Vernovage Foster later asserted, "This project does seem to be fast-tracked."

Six members of the Planning Board were present for the meeting on Tuesday, as compared with five who were present for the special meeting on August 20, when they failed to have enough votes for a negative declaration. On Tuesday, attorneys Victoria Polidoro and Cassondra Britton and engineering consultant Chris Bertram, from Barton & Loguidice, took turns leading the board through the eighteen questions of Part 2 of the Full Environmental Assessment Form, reviewing the answers they had agreed to on August 20. Of interest was the discussion about Question 11: Impact on Open Space and Recreation. Residents of the neighborhood had given ample testimony that the space was regularly used, for close to two decades, as a playing field, but the Planning Board decided that since the City of Hudson had never officially designated it as such during the forty years it owned the field, its informal recreational use and its value as an open space didn't matter. 

Even more interesting was the discussion relating to Question 18: Consistency with Community Character. Although the residents of Mill Street and almost everyone else think this 70-unit apartment project is completely inappropriate for the site and completely out of character with the neighborhood, the Planning Board decided to define things a bit differently. According to Joyner, with the apparent agreement and support of Planning Board member Randall Martin, the "community" with which this project should be compatible is "not just one block but the whole area"--"the high-rise and everything around that lower part of Hudson." 

When the question of making a negative declaration on the project--meaning that the project will not create significant environmental harm or that environmental impact has been mitigated to a less than significant level--came to a vote, five of the members present (Martin, Gini Casasco, Bettina Young, Gene Shetsky, and Joyner) voted in favor, and only one (Vernovage Foster) voted against. Young had voted against making a negative declaration on August 20 but changed her mind. The other dissenter on August 20, Ben Forman, was absent from Tuesday's meeting.

The entire discussion and vote can be viewed here, beginning at 1:22:15 and ending at 3:17:38.

Interestingly, this evening, Gini Casasco, who voted in support of the negative declaration, posted this on the Facebook group "Unfiltered Hudson."

That grassy field where the kids in the picture are playing, informally and unofficially, is certainly reminiscent of the grassy field on Mill Street, the site of this proposed development.

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The Long, Not Winding Road

Work on Colarusso's two-lane, two-way paved road from the quarry to the river moves ahead relentlessly. The picture below was taken this morning, at the intersection of the haul road and Route 9G.

Council Considers Good Cause

At last night's informal meeting, the Common Council took up the issue of the Good Cause Eviction Law. The law was enacted by the New York State Legislature in April. It automatically applies to New York City, but other municipalities in New York can opt in. So far, six have done so: Albany, Kingston, Poughkeepsie, Newburgh, Ithaca, and Beacon--all with populations significantly larger than Hudson's. Beacon, which is the smallest of the six, has a population of 15,259 as compared with Hudson's 5,749. There are two parts of the law that can be determined by each individual city: the definition of small landlord and the definition of luxury apartment. How Hudson would define each of these was not discussed at last night's meeting.

Before the discussion began, three councilmembers recused themselves and left the building: Vicky Daskaloudi (Fifth Ward) and Rich Volo (Fourth Ward), both of whom are landlords, and Dominic Merante (Fifth Ward), who is a tenant and said he did not want to be involved in making a decision that might benefit him financially. During the discussion, Jennifer Belton (Fourth Ward) revealed that she was a landlord, but she would be exempt from the law because she rents one apartment in the building where she herself lives. 

Margaret Morris (First Ward) opened the discussion by saying that she was concerned the law would have negative impacts on tenants seeking apartments. She predicted that the law would be an incentive for landlords to set rents at the maximum amount to start with because rent increases are capped. She also predicted there would be no incentive for landlords to take a risk on a tenant because they would be entering into an agreement over which they had no control. For these reasons, she was not in favor of the law.

Morris also pointed out, "We do not know how many buildings [in Hudson] this [law] would apply to." Any building with income restrictions is exempt, as are buildings for which the certificate of occupancy was issued after January 1, 2009. It was suggested that a landlord could evade the law by taking a building off the market and rehabbing it to require a new certificate of occupancy. When asked about this possibility, Crystal Peck, counsel to the Council, said that litigation would define the specifics of this perceived loophole.

The Hudson critic who identifies himself as the Friendly Neighborhood Immigrant opined that "the law clearly is not designed for a city the size of Hudson." He said that Cambridge, Massachusetts, once had a similar law, but it destroyed the rental market, and the law was rescinded. He asked of the Council, "Why do you know better than Cambridge, Massachusetts?" He asserted, "In the long term, rent control harms those it is trying to help."

A representative of For the Many, the advocacy group that endorsed Claire Cousin in her unsuccessful run for State Assembly, maintained there was no evidence that the law would reduce the housing supply. He noted that it allows landlords to raise rents by 5 percent every year. He argued that the law gives tenants the right to ask for repairs and to make long-term plans without having to worry about where they will live. He also denied that the law would perpetually trap landlords in a lease. 

Morris took issue with the statement that the law does not lock landlords into a lease in perpetuity and reiterated that it would make it very difficult for someone to get into an apartment. Lola Roberts (Third Ward) defended the law, saying that it protects people already in apartments, alleging that "landlords kick people out for no reason."

The Friendly Neighborhood Immigrant suggested the law might harm older people and disabled people. Morris elaborated, saying landlords could reclaim a unit for personal use or for a family member unless the tenant is elderly or disabled. This, she suggested, would make people unwilling to rent to the elderly or disabled.

Peck commented, "It's going to take time for issues not clarified in the law to be clarified in the court."

Supervisor Linda Mussmann (Fourth Ward), who owns rental properties in Hudson, commented, "We don't know how many small landlords there are in Hudson." She further opined that the law "would certainly discourage people from being a landlord."

The meeting was adjourned before there was any discussion of what might constitute a "small landlord" or what percentage of fair market rent would exempt an apartment as "luxury"--the two aspects of the law that can be determined by individual municipalities opting in to the law. 

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Before the Planning Board Tonight

The agenda for tonight's Planning Board meeting is now available on the City of Hudson website. It includes the continuation of the public hearings on five projects currently before the Planning Board:

• The subdivision proposed for Hudson Avenue
• The new location of Lil' Deb's Oasis at 735 Columbia Street
• The apartment building proposed for Fairview Avenue between Parkwood and Oakwood boulevards--It is expected that at this meeting the applicant will respond to the Planning Board's requests that they reduce the number of units from 30 to 15; provide 26 assigned offstreet parking spaces for tenants, workers in the commercial space, and visitors; create ADA compliant sidewalks and crosswalks at Parkwood and Oakwood and along Fairview Avenue as far as Aldi's.
• The 70-unit apartment project proposed for Mill Street known as Mill Street Lofts--The Planning Board may return to its consideration of the Full Environmental Assessment Form (FEAF). At a special meeting on August 20, the five members of the Planning Board in attendance failed to agree on issuing a negative declaration, which would indicate the project would not have a significant adverse impact on the environment and hence does not require an Environmental Impact Report.
• The subdivision of a large tract of land in North Bay, on either side of North Second Street, ownership of which is being transferred from the Hudson Industrial Development Agency (IDA) to the Columbia Land Conservancy. The subdivision, or lot line adjustment, would carve out a small area on the west side of the street, just beyond the entrance to the dog park, that would become the property of the City of Hudson. There is currently a DPW garage there, and it is the site where the City dumps snow removed from the streets in winter.

New on the agenda for tonight's meeting is a proposal from Return Brewing to renovate the remaining 9,850 square feet of the building where they are located to create a theater, event space, and restaurant. 

The Planning Board meeting starts at 6:30 p.m., and it doesn't seem likely it will be over before the debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump begins at 9:00 p.m. The Planning Board meeting is a hybrid, taking place in person at City Hall and on Zoom. Click here to join the meeting remotely.

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Meetings and Events in the Week Ahead

It's a big meeting week, and Monday seems to be on overload, with public hearings and meetings scheduled back to back from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.--most hybrid, one in person only.

• At 4:00 p.m. on Monday, September 9, Mayor Kamal Johnson holds a public hearing on two new laws: one meant to protect dogs who are tied outside and the other reducing the speed limit throughout the city to 25 mph. The hearing takes place in person only at City Hall.
• At 5:00 p.m. on Monday, September 9, the Common Council holds a special meeting to consider three resolutions. The first resolution authorizes the mayor to enter into a contract with Assemblage Landscape Architecture for a waterfront resiliency project. The second resolution authorizes the mayor to sign an agreement with Christ Church Episcopal for the Youth Department to use space in the church's Fellowship Hall as an afterschool childcare facility. The third resolution authorizes the mayor to enter into an agreement with Columbia County Recovery Kitchen to supply meals--sixty each day--for children at the Hudson Youth Department. The meeting is a hybrid, taking place in person at City Hall and on Microsoft Teams. Click here for the link to join the meeting remotely.

• At 5:30 p.m. on Monday, September 9, the Common Council holds a public hearing on the amendments to Chapter 325, Articles V and XIV of the city code, meant to protect community character by prohibiting chain stores and formula businesses in Hudson. The hearing is a hybrid, taking place in person at City Hall and on Microsoft Teams. Click here for the link to join the hearing remotely.
• At 6:00 p.m. on Monday September 9, the Common Council holds its informal meeting. It is likely there will be much discussion of Hudson's possible adoption of the Good Cause Eviction Law at this meeting. In addition to that, of interest on the agenda is a lengthy communication from the Planning Board arguing that the City should reinstate offstreet parking requirements for new development in Hudson. Ironically, it was the Planning Board that recommended eliminating offstreet parking requirements back in 2019. That issue, too, may be discussed at the meeting or perhaps just referred to the Council's ad hoc Parking Study Committee. The meeting is a hybrid, taking place in person at City Hall and on Microsoft Teams. Click here for the link to join the meeting remotely.
• On Tuesday, September 10, the Planning Board meets at 6:30 p.m. The agenda for the meeting has not yet been published, but it is certain to include the apartment building proposed for Fairview Avenue, which the Planning Board seems to be threatening with a positive declaration in the SEQR process if the applicant doesn't reduce the number of units from 30 to 15, and the 70-unit Mill Street Lofts, for which the Planning Board seems inclined to make a negative declaration. (A negative declaration is a determination that a project will not have a significant adverse impact on the environment and does not require an Environmental Impact Report.) The meeting is a hybrid, taking place in person at City Hall and on Zoom. Click here to join the meeting remotely.

• On Friday. September 13, the Historic Preservation Commission meets at 10:00 a.m. The meeting will include public hearings on the preservation and restoration of the Robert Taylor House and on the adaptive reuse of 601 Union Street as a boutique hotel. The meeting is a hybrid, taking place in person at City Hall and on Microsoft Teams. Click here for the link to join the meeting remotely.

• On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, September 13 through 15, Friends of the Hudson Area Library holds a book and bake sale to benefit the library. The sale takes place from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and from 1:00 t0 3:30 p.m. on Sunday in the Community Room at the library, 501 North Fifth Street.

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Good Cause Eviction and Hudson

In April, New York State enacted the Good Cause Eviction Law, which not only limits a landlord's ability to remove a tenant from a residential unit but also caps rent increases. The law automatically applies to New York City, but other municipalities in the state can opt in to the law. So far, six municipalities have done so: Albany, Kingston, Poughkeepsie, Newburgh, Ithaca, and Beacon. Hudson is now considering opting in to the law.

At the Common Council meeting on August 20, advocates for the law showed up in force to urge the Council to adopt the law. Council president Tom DePietro responded by saying, "I'd like to think you're preaching to the choir." 

On Wednesday, the issue was taken up by the Legal Committee. There are two aspects of the law that can be tailored to the specific municipality: the percentage of fair market rate that qualifies a unit as "luxury" and hence exempt from the law (in the original law, it is 245 percent); and the number of units that exempts a landlord from the law (in the original law it is 10 or fewer). At the Legal Committee meeting, there seemed to be some consensus that only landlords with just one rental unit should be exempt from the law. It was agreed that the two issues should be left to the full Council to decide. An exchange between DePietro and Councilmember Vicky Daskaloudi (Fifth Ward), however, raised a whole new issue--possibly one unique to Hudson.

When Councilmember Margaret Morris (First Ward), who chairs the Legal Committee, wanted to recognize Daskaloudi, who was attending the meeting virtually, for a comment, DePietro interrupted, asserting that Daskaloudi should not be part of the discussion because she is a landlord. Daskaloudi reacted by telling DePietro, "I wasn't planning to say something against your law that you love so much." Gossips has since learned that at some time prior to the committee meeting, Daskaloudi had made it known that she was considering recusing herself from this issue. The recusal had not been made officially or publicly, but DePietro was apparently aware of it. Recusal would require that Daskaloudi not participate in the discussion.

The exchange raised an interesting question for the Common Council: Should councilmembers who have tenants or who are tenants recuse themselves from deciding on opting in to the Good Cause Eviction Law? If the answer to that question is yes, it would leave, according to Gossips' calculation, only four members of the Council who are unaffected. Four is not enough to take any action.

Crystal Peck, legal counsel to the Common Council, said she would look into the situation. The committee, meanwhile, agreed to move the issue to the full Council. The informal meeting of the Common Council takes place on Monday, September 9, at 6:00 p.m.

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Mark Your Calendars

As most readers have heard, the City of Hudson is working on a new comprehensive plan. The work has been proceeding in "internal meetings" with Public Works Partners, the consultants commissioned for the project; "the City," represented by Mayor Kamal Johnson, Common Council president Tom DePietro, and housing justice manager Michelle Tullo; and a steering committee made up of thirteen members of the community, chosen by Johnson, DePietro, and Tullo--Alex Elmasri, Alex Petraglia, Javed Iqbal, Jayden Cross, Jess Wallen, Joshua Cohen, Kali Michael, Kim Hunt, Lisa Dolan, Pat Malloy, Piper Olf, Shaina Marron, and Sonja Okun. 

On June 3, the first Community Visioning Workshop was held at The Spark of Hudson. It was a drop-in event that took place over a period of two hours. Today, the City announced the second Community Visioning Workshop, to happen on Saturday, September 21, from 10:00 a.m. until noon. The location is the Hudson High School Cafeteria, 215 Harry Howard Avenue. This time, the workshop is not a drop-in event. People are expected to arrive at 10:00 am. and stay for the whole two hours. 

Here is the official announcement of the event:

The City of Hudson is hosting its second Community Visioning Workshop to inform its new Comprehensive Plan.

During the first workshop, the project team shared initial research findings and heard from residents about the values they most want to see reflected in the final plan. This second workshop will seek to align participants around a guiding vision for Hudson's future and types of actions the City should prioritize in the coming years.

The workshop will start with a presentation summarizing the project and its progress to date, including results from the Community Preference Survey. After that, attendees will break up into smaller groups to go deeper into a community visioning exercise and begin identifying potential recommendations for the Comprehensive Plan.

This will be a two-hour workshop beginning promptly at 10:00 a.m. Please arrive on time in order to fully participate in the program. The event will include activities for kids and light refreshments. Advanced registration is not required.

When: Saturday, September 21st--10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon

Where: Hudson Sr. High School Cafeteria (215 Harry Howard Ave)

To learn more about the comprehensive planning process, please visit the project webpage by clicking here. If you have any questions, please email comprehensiveplan@cityofhudson.org.

Of Interest

Chronogram has published its most recent article about Hudson: "Kaleidoscopic City: A Photo Essay of Hudson." The photographs are by David McIntyre. and the article includes the eighty-two portraits taken at the Waterfront Wednesdays event on August 7. 

Photo: David McIntyre

Somber News

Gossips has received word that Paul Czajka has died.

Photo: Lori Van Buren|Times Union

In January 2023, Czajka, then 68, announced he would not be seeking a sixth term as Columbia County district attorney. Czajka served a total of thirty-five years in elected office in Columbia County, both as district attorney (1988-1994 and 2011-2023) and as county judge (1995-2011). 

On December 8, 2023, county notables gathered in the Ceremonial Courtroom in the Columbia County courthouse to honor Czajka on the occasion of his retirement and celebrate his years of service. The video recording of the event, by Lance Wheeler, can be viewed here.

Meetings of Interest in the Week Ahead

With Labor Day behind us, summer is unofficially over, but the actual end of summer doesn't happen until September 22. In the prelude to autumn, here is what's happening.

• On Tuesday, September 3, the Conservation Advisory Council meets at 6:00 p.m. The meeting is a hybrid, taking place in person at City Hall and on Microsoft Teams. Click here for the link to join the meeting remotely.
• On Wednesday, September 4, the Hudson Industrial Development Agency meets at 10:30 a.m. Updates on a number of projects are on the agenda for the meeting, including Galvan's revised proposal for 75 North Seventh Street. The meeting is a hybrid, taking place in person at One City Centre, Suite 301, and on Zoom. Click here to join the meeting remotely.

Update: The IDA meeting has been canceled because, as it was explained to Gossips, there were "no pressing issues needing a vote."

• At 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 4, the Common Council Legal Committee holds its monthly meeting. It appears that opting in to the Good Cause Eviction Law is the main item on the agenda for the meeting. The meeting is a hybrid, taking place in person at City Hall and on Microsoft Teams. Click here for the link to join the meeting remotely. 
• On Thursday, September 5, the first meeting of the Stuyvesant Falls Bridge Committee takes place at 6:00 p.m. The Bridge Committee was formed in response to the opposition and concern about plans to demolish the historic Stuyvesant Falls Bridge and replace it with a modern bridge. The meeting takes place at the Stuyvesant Town Hall, 5 Sunset Drive, in Stuyvesant.  

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Ear to the Ground

Gossips has learned that the CGS Group collaborated with the mayor's office on the grant application for NY SWIMS, and the plan is that the municipal/community swimming pool will be located on the northern part of the Dunn Warehouse site. 

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Governor Hochul Announces NY SWIMS

The news has already been reported on WAMC and on Facebook, but following is quoted from Governor Kathy Hochul's website:

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced nearly $150 million in capital grants have been awarded to fund 37 projects in underserved communities across the State as part of the New York Statewide Investment in More Swimming (NY SWIMS) initiative . . . .

The historic $150 million NY SWIMS investment to support pools in underserved communities is New York's biggest investment in swimming since the New Deal. The program provides grants between $50,000 and $10 million to help municipalities design, construct, rehabilitate, or modernize public swimming facilities, with a focus on supporting disadvantaged and underserved communities that lack access to safe swimming and outdoor recreation opportunities. Applications were evaluated on characteristics of project need, impact and viability. In addition to various costs to develop swimming areas, a portion of NY SWIMS grants can be used to add amenities, including splash pads, concession stands, picnic areas and playgrounds. . . .

Hudson is one of the grant recipients. This information, too, is quoted from the governor's website.

City of Hudson – ($792,649) Waterfront Public Pool: The City of Hudson will construct a municipal public pool at the scenic Hudson River waterfront. The pool will be designed to be fully accessible to persons of limited mobility and adjacent to a concentration of public housing projects in the city.

Although apparently the City had to apply for this grant, the announcement of the award is the first the public has heard of it. The idea of a pool raises a few questions. Where at the waterfront will a pool be built? The plans for the Dunn Warehouse presented by the CGS Group almost a year ago included an outdoor pool. Will this $792,649 be used for that, or are we talking about a different plan for an outdoor pool?  

Given the sad fate of the splash pad in the newly refurbished playground at Promenade Hill, which was brutally vandalized, there is another question: How and by whom will the pool be staffed and maintained?

Hudson in the Times Union

A story that Gossips reported on June 5, "Hudson's 'New, Exciting Commercial District,'" was picked up by Roger Hannigan Gilson and made the front page of today's Times Union: "Developer scraps affordable units after losing state tax credits."

There's not much in the article that Gossips hasn't already reported, but there is this. There's been some speculation about the vote on Galvan's application to the Hudson Industrial Development Agency (IDA) for tax breaks for the market rate building given that two of the seven members of the IDA board--Mayor Kamal Johnson and Randall Martin, who serves as proxy for Theresa Joyner, chair of the Planning Board--are tenants of the Galvan Foundation and thus appear to have a conflict of interest and should recuse themselves. Gilson's article addresses that, at least as it relates to Johnson. The following is quoted from the article:

Mayor Johnson is a member of the IDA and will be voting on the tax breaks despite being a Galvan tenant. Though he recused himself from the IDA vote for tax breaks on the first apartment block, Johnson said he had consulted with the city attorney and will most likely not recuse himself this time, since there is no financial benefit from his participation, he said.

Mark Your Calendars

Friends of the Hudson Area Library are having a Book & Bake Sale two weekends from now--from Friday through Sunday, September 13 through 15.

The following is quoted from the press release announcing the event.

New and gently used books of all genres, as well as clothing patterns, puzzles, CDs, and DVDs, will be available at reasonable prices. Back by popular demand, the sale will also feature chocolate bars from Vasilow's Confectionary and a selection of delectable home-baked goods. . . . 

Both the Kinderhook and Hudson Friends are holding book sales the same weekend. Visitors to either book sale will receive a coupon for a free book at the other book sale site. . . . Cash, checks, or credit cards will be accepted at both library sales. All proceeds will benefit programs and services at both libraries.

Another Project from The Spark of Hudson

Another project of The Spark of Hudson was announced today on Facebook: HudsonNest, communal housing for healthcare students. 

Some sleuthing in the tax rolls found that in July 2021, The Spark of Hudson acquired the building at 548 Warren Street for $1.75 million. The retail space in the building had for years been occupied by Theron Ware Antiques. In recent years, the second and third floors had been operated as an inn or guest house. Now the upper two floors have been redeveloped as communal housing for students enrolled in local healthcare programs.

The following information about the program can be found here, as can the application form for the program. 

HudsonNest is a communal housing program for people enrolled in local healthcare programs. This program takes place in a two floor residential space on Warren Street in Hudson with seven suites and en suite bathrooms. There is a communal kitchen and living space, and there is a resident’s assistant who lives in the space who graduated from Columbia Greene and currently works as a Registered Nurse in Hudson. 

This program is offered by The Spark of Hudson to provide significantly subsidized housing for students aiming to work in these critical healthcare positions locally. In addition to the below market rent--just $150 per month which includes utilities and high speed internet--our hope is that we can relieve the financial burden on local students so that they may thrive.

We also hope that providing a communal housing situation for people enrolled in a similar program at the same place will promote collaborative support in terms of academics, transportation, meal sharing, etc.

Selected applicants will have the opportunity to live in a newly renovated suite for up to two years while they are enrolled in a healthcare program. We welcome applications from both full-time and part-time students; but maintaining enrollment in at least two courses is required for this housing program.

The Promise of More Food in Hudson

Last November, the Albany Business Review published an article about the plans for the former Kaz site behind The Wick Hotel: "'Dream project' would transform site near Hudson train station." At that time, there were thoughts of bringing the Hudson Farmers' Market to the site to "build a space around them," but the Hudson Farmers' Market was happy with the spaces they currently occupied—the parking lot at the corner of Columbia and Sixth streets for most of the year and the Elks Lodge on Harry Howard Avenue in the winter months.

Today, a different partnership was announced that would bring food--a new retail grocery store--to the location. What follows is the press release that made that announcement:

Hawthorne Valley Farm Store and Nice and Weird LLC (N&W LLC) are thrilled to announce their partnership to explore the potential of bringing a new retail grocery store to the South Bay of Hudson. The envisioned project involves transforming the Kaz site, at 14 Montgomery Street, into a vibrant 16,000 square foot retail and community space complete with a dedicated parking area to support nearby businesses.

Transforming Spaces, Enriching Communities

Under the leadership of Ben Fain, Nice and Weird LLC boasts a remarkable record of accomplishment of revitalizing derelict sites and turning them into bustling community hubs, including the well-known Kitty’s Market and Restaurant, Grapefruit Wines, and recently opened The Caboose Hudson, as well as additional properties in Catskill, NY. 

A Vision for Sustainable Community Growth

Hawthorne Valley Farm Store, a beloved part of Hawthorne Valley Association since the 1980s, has flourished in Harlemville as a natural foods retailer. Committed to serving and enhancing the community socially, ecologically, and economically, this new venture aligns perfectly with its mission. 

Innovative Plans for a Net Zero Building

While still in the initial planning stages, the proposed project aims to construct a Net Zero building featuring a 12,000 square foot retail space with an additional 4,000 square foot community space. This initiative will also bring many new jobs to the City of Hudson. 

Voices of Enthusiasm for the Project

“This project will transform these formerly underused buildings into a vibrant community resource and a year-round destination for our community,” said Fain, President and CEO of N&W LLC / owner of the nearby sister businesses (Kitty’s Market and Restaurant, the Caboose, and Grapefruit Wines). “We are so excited to expand this little corner of Hudson, to bring new businesses and opportunities to the historic waterfront and DRI BRIDGE District, and to fulfill the promise of expanded food access in the neighborhood, bringing the incredible, farm-fresh offerings of Hawthorne Valley to enrich and nourish our community. We couldn’t have done it without generous support from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) and the New York State Department of State (DOS), and we are so grateful to have received NYSERDA support through the Carbon Neutral Community Economic Development program, now known as the Building Cleaner Communities Competition, in 2023; an ESDC Restore NY Communities Initiative Round 7 award in 2022; and funding from DOS through Hudson's Downtown Revitalization Initiative to help us reimagine and rehabilitate this incredible site,” he added.

“We are excited to partner with Ben and N&W LLC on this project to bring a grocery store to Hudson,” says Jeremy Laurange, Hawthorne Valley Director of Retail & Enterprise Development. “Ben is passionate about reducing our environmental impact and bringing beauty into living spaces, both of which are values that we hold dear at Hawthorne Valley. We are equally enthusiastic about the potential this project has for us to support our community partners in Hudson more fully, including Rolling Grocer which plays a crucial role in supporting food access and promoting local agriculture.” 

For more information, please contact Uzay from Nice and Weird LCC or Sushannah from Hawthorne Valley.

Meetings and Events in the Week Ahead

Here we are, at the beginning of the final week of August. The heavy meeting week of the month is over, and there's very little happening in the week ahead.

• On Monday, August 26, there was a special Planning Board meeting scheduled, but it's been canceled.
• On Tuesday, August 27, the Common Council ad hoc Parking Study Committee meets at 6:00 p.m. It's possible the meeting will yield more information about the plan to implement paid parking on all of Warren Street. The meeting is a hybrid, taking place in person at City Hall and on Microsoft Teams. Click here for the link to join the meeting remotely.  

• On Wednesday, August 28, the final Waterfront Wednesdays for 2024 takes place at Henry Hudson Riverfront Park. The historic racing sloop Eleanor will be there for an evening that spotlights local artists. The events at the waterfront begin at 5:00 p.m. and continue until dusk.

• Also on Wednesday, August 28, the Common Council ad hoc Truck Route Committee meets at 6:00 p.m. The committee hasn't met for a while, so it's hard to predict what topics might be discussed. The meeting is a hybrid, taking place in person at City Hall and on Microsoft Teams. Click here for the link to join the meeting remotely.

Update: The meeting of the ad hoc Truck Route Committee meeting has been postponed. When it will be rescheduled is not known at this time.
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