Back in 1984, when there was a plan afoot (mercifully squelched) to site an oil refinery on the Hudson waterfront, the late Arthur Koweek, the principal mover and shaker in the destruction and reimagining of Hudson that was Urban Renewal, was quoted in article that appeared in Hudson Valley Magazine titled "An Oil Refinery in Our Backyard" as saying, "It's an industrial area. Let them go out of town to get access to the river."
Forty years later, that opinion lives on, voiced most recently on Instagram by the derivative and malcontent greenportwail.
Derivative and wrong. The riverfront doesn't belong to the county -- it belongs to the people except where it's privately held. The City of Hudson is merely the steward of its water frontage that's not in private hands. As always, a tempest in a teapot.
ReplyDeleteThe misspellings, bizarre capitalization and weird punctuation make me think it's written by a millennial (notorious anarchists as a generation) but the coda re: corroption (sic) make me think it's just a vintage Hudson High graduate c. 1985 or so.
In the grand scheme of things, the riverfront belongs to neither the county nor to "the people." The waterfront belongs, first and foremost, to the birds, plants, fish, and other living creatures that inhabit our planet. They depend on wise stewardship of land by human beings to survive. The waterfront is literally their home. Perhaps we should plant fruit and nut bearing shrubs at the waterfront to create good habitat for birds and the insects that pollinate our plants and in turn provide our food. "A Sand County Almanac" by Aldo Leopold is my guide.
ReplyDeleteSo true, so true, thank you
DeleteIn fact, if we were serious about saving our planet, we would restore the land surrounding the Dunn Warehouse to wetlands. It would provide a buffer against storm surges and create habitat.
ReplyDeleteThe 'greenportwail' should celebrate the glories of Fairview Avenue.
ReplyDeleteIt's the USA in a nutshell, Red vs. Blue---like it's been all along. The reality: they're dying of jealousy. Hudson is now known nationally, and even internationally, for its unique and attractive qualities. Greenport??? (Well, there is
ReplyDeletethat other, and infinitely nicer, town of the same name on the eastern end of Long Island...)
Everyone understands that 'greenportwail' is a parody account, right? It's got the patina of The Hudson Wail or other Columbia County meme accounts, but is decidedly poking fun at the Facebook community groups and commenters there. I've always assumed that the account is run by the same mystery individual as Hudson Wail.
ReplyDeletePerhaps it is time, too, to end the interminable effort to find a tenant for the Dunn Warehouse. Allow the building to remain exactly as it is a monument to Hudson's industrial past. Open all the doors and windows to give birds a place to nest and roost. Creating wetlands around the building would create new habitat for migratory bird species. We could increase Hudson's habitat for peregrine falcons and bald eagles. It could be great.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, bats play an important role in pest control, pollinating plants, and dispersing seeds. I have never seen even a single bat in Hudson. A colony of bats could be introduced to Hudson at the Dunn Warehouse.
ReplyDeleteDude, I think you're lucky if you have never seen a bat in Hudson. Most people who have lived here for any length of time have experienced a bat flying around inside their house at least once. Some of us have become very skilled at escorting them out.
DeleteIt would be good for our health to increase the number of hawks in Hudson. Hawks prey on white-footed mice, which are a host for the ticks that cause lyme disease. Hawks would control the mice population which is a vector for human disease.
ReplyDeleteNote that owls and snakes are common predators of the white-footed mouse. By increasing habitat near and at our waterfront for such creatures, we take a small but significant step locally to control the mouse population, which has exploded in the northeast due to to the extirpation of the apex predators.
ReplyDeleteIf you haven't seen bats in Hudson, you have not been looking very hard. Look up around dusk. Those aren't birds, they are hundreds or thousands of bats flying about.
ReplyDeleteThanks for educating me! I have seen that. I thought those were birds.
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