Meetings and Events in the Week Ahead

As June ends, and July begins, here is what's happening.

• On Tuesday, July 2, 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, July 3, the Common Council Legal Committee meets at 6:00 p.m. The meeting is a hybrid, taking place in person at City Hall and on Microsoft Teams. Click here to join the meeting remotely.

Update: The Common Council Legal Committee meeting has been rescheduled for Thursday, July 11, at 6:00 p.m.

• On Thursday, July 4, it's Independence Day. In the runup to this day of national celebration, I share this message from Freddy, who speaks for many of the dogs of Hudson.

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11 Warren Street Moves Ahead

Yesterday, the Columbia County Board of Supervisors Space Utilization Committee met to review and approve the plans for the interior reconfiguration of 11 Warren Street, which were modified from the plans first introduced to the committee on May 22. 

In addition to explaining the changes that had been made, Ray Jurkowski, Commissioner of Public Works for the county, talked about parking. He told the committee that 41 spaces would be needed for staff that would be working in the building. He noted there were 27 offstreet parking spaces in front of the building, as well as 14 onstreet spaces on the south side of Warren Street between First Street and the driveway and 4 parking spaces on First Street, for a total of 45 spaces in close proximity to the building. He explained there are 20 union employees who will be working at 11 Warren Street, and their contract requires that they be provided an offstreet parking space.

When it came time to vote on approving the schematic drawings so they could move on to the design development phase, only one member of the committee--Linda Mussmann, the only Hudson supervisor on the committee--voted no. She explained her vote saying that she wanted a parking and traffic study to be done before proceeding. 

The departments that will be relocated to 11 Warren Street are the Board of Elections, Probation, and the Public Defenders Office. At the meeting on Thursday, the committee discussed what other county services might be relocated there and decided the conflict defender and the Article 18B assigned counsel should have offices in the building. When the committee voted on a motion to relocate these offices to 11 Warren Street, Mussmann once again voted no. She explained that she was opposed to the county's plan for 11 Warren Street in general and made reference to the opposition in Hudson to the plan--from the Common Council, the business community, and Hudson residents. Ron Knott, supervisor from Stuyvesant, who chairs the Space Utilization Committee, said he had been meeting with Hudson mayor Kamal Johnson and reported that "things are going well."

It's not clear how much of an advocate for Hudson Johnson will be on this issue. Reportedly, at some time before Matt Murell, chair of the Board of Supervisors, announced the County's intention to acquire 11 Warren Street last August, Murell and Robert Lagonia, the supervisor from Austerlitz who serves on the Space Utilization Committee, had a chance encounter with Johnson at 401 State Street, during which they told him the County was planning to acquire 11 Warren Street for office space. According to reports, instead of telling them their plan would negatively impact the City's efforts to reconnect with the waterfront--one of the goals of the DRI Hudson Connects project--and prevent appropriate development of the site from happening for another thirty to fifty years, Johnson said the City had no plans for 11 Warren Street because the City did not own it. It hardly seems likely that successful conversations between Johnson and Knott are going to defuse the opposition to this project or bring about an outcome that opponents will find in any way satisfactory.

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Trucks and the City

In March, it was made known that, according to NYS Department of Transportation, Special Dimension Vehicles (SDVs)--that is, trucks greater in length than 48 feet or tandem trucks--traveling on Route 9G north of what was originally L&B Furniture were doing so illegally. The only legal truck route through Hudson was Route 9 in the eastern part of the city. Gossips' posts at the time about this issue can be found here and here.  

At the Common Council ad hoc Truck Route Committee meeting last night, Councilmember Margaret Morris (First Ward), who chairs the committee, reported that the Hudson Police Department, with the help of the New York State Police, were willing to enforce the restriction. A problem in the past was that there was no place along the route to pull trucks over and inform them that they could not proceed beyond the turnoff to the building that now houses the Antiques Warehouse unless they were making a delivery within the City of Hudson. That problem has been resolved. In building its controversial "haul road," Colarusso has created strips of gravel along the side of Route 9G, where a truck can be pulled over. 

There will also be signage on Route 23 warning that trucks should only turn onto Route 9G/23B if they are making a delivery within the City of Hudson.

Eliminating through truck traffic on Route 9G has a downside. Hudson is required to provide access for through-traffic trucks entering the city from the south on Route 9, from the north on Route 9, from the east on Route 23B, or from the north on Route 66. That route is, from the south, along Worth Avenue, the upper part of Warren Street, Park Place, and Green Street. At last night's meeting, Council president Tom DePietro, who lives on Worth Avenue, asked if the committee was "celebrating" increasing the number of trucks having to make the turn at Warren and Park Place, adding that he wanted "clarity for a really poorly thought-out idea."

DePietro's statement seems to be based on the assumption that all trucks unable to pass through Hudson on the "western route"--Third Street to Columbia Street to Green Street--will take the "eastern route"--Worth Avenue to Warren Street to Park Place to Columbia Street to Green Street. That might not actually be what happens. 

Eliminating the second truck route through Hudson could have the effect of weaning trucks off the habit of getting to their destination in Greenport or beyond by driving through Hudson. Trucks not making deliveries in Hudson could opt to avoid the city altogether and continue on Route 23 to Route 9H. Avoiding Hudson could become even more appealing to truckers when the speed limit throughout the city is reduced to 25 mph. 

In any event, how serious will we seem about wanting to reduce truck traffic in Hudson if we are unwilling to enforce the law restricting trucks in the city that already exists?

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National Attention for Our Lighthouse

Today, the weekly newsletter from the National Trust for Historic Preservation featured the Hudson Athens Lighthouse.

To read the article about the lighthouse that appeared in the newsletter, click here. It contains this amazing aerial photograph by David Oliver showing the scale of our precious lighthouse compared with the ships that are now traveling on the Hudson River.

To join the effort to save the lighthouse, visit the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse Preservation Society website at halps.org.

Meeting Today

The Space Utilization Subcommittee of the Columbia County Board of Supervisors meets today at 2:30 p.m. in the Committee Room at 401 State Street. The stated purpose of the meeting is to "review and approve final architect plans for 11 Warren St."

  

Happening at Hudson Hall in September

Hudson Hall may want to consider changing its name back to Hudson Opera House, because it is becoming a venue not only for baroque opera, with R. B. Schlather's "Handel on the Hudson" series, but also for intriguing new opera works.

In 2012, Hudson resident Jeffrey Lependorf began work on a full-length opera project--American Terror--made from the 1969 Firing Line television debate between William F. Buckley and Noam Chomsky on America's involvement in Vietnam. Lependorf says of the project:

While the debate itself is captivating, I was particularly interested in how these two masters of discourse so fail to communicate with one another. I was more interested in how they were saying what they said than in specifically what they were saying.

I did a good deal of work on the piece, and part of my unfinished libretto was even published in PEN America journal, in a special issue called "Fear Itself," but I abandoned the work for other projects. Until now. The wonderful Hudson Hall opera house invited me to apply for a New York State Council on the Arts Individual Artist commissioning grant to complete the work. We got the grant, and the opera is done!

Though my original translation into libretto of the Buckley/Chomsky debate focused on their language (capturing every nuance of stutter, throat clearing, misspeak, and talking over one another), the topic of their conversation--mainly about the consequences of providing military aid to an overseas war--is now shockingly relevant.

Because I'm not interested in imitating Chomsky or Buckley but rather in presenting them through their language, I do two things to accomplish this, in addition to having them both strictly sing only the actual words spoken. First, Chomsky and Buckley are each at different times sung by a tenor, baritone, lyric soprano, or mezzo soprano, switching at each scene change. So, the singer voicing Chomsky in one scene might very well sing Buckley in the next. Second, a good deal of the music is appropriated from classic piano repertoire: the music for Buckley--established, formal, witty, a seasoned TV personality--finds its roots in the piano music of classical composer Franz Joseph Haydn, while the music for Chomsky--anarchist, emotional, a bit nervous on his first TV appearance--finds its roots in the piano music of Alexander Scriabin. The contrast and interplay of these two strikingly different aesthetics amplifies the context and subtexts of the debate.

  
On Saturday, September 14, at 7:00 p.m., Hudson Hall will present one act of the opera, starring two exceptional young singers and a remarkably fine accompanist, along with composer/librettist Jeffrey Lependorf in conversation with author Dave King. The event is pay what you like. Click here to register and make a reservation.

Celebrate 20 Years!

Hudson Wine Merchants is celebrating its 20th anniversary this Friday, June 28, with an in-store party at 341½ Warren Street from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

There will be complimentary wine, spirits, and cocktails, cheese and snacks by Olde Hudson, and live music by Oliver Myles Mashburn. Stop in on Friday to join the party, congratulate and thank Michael and Marianne for 20 years of introducing us to the finest wines, and raise a glass to friendship, grape memories, and vintages to come. 

Primary Election Results Update 3

The following are the results now being reported by the New York State Board of Elections. 

In Columbia County:

• Didi Barrett--61.06 percent (2,404 votes)
• Claire Cousin--38.79 percent (1,527 votes)

In Dutchess County:

• Didi Barrett--53.41 percent (2,328 votes)
• Claire Cousin--46.32 percent (2,019 votes)

In all of District 106:

• Didi Barrett--57.41 percent (4,732 votes)
• Claire Cousin--42.74 percent (3,546 votes)

There are 37,480 active enrolled Democrats in the 106th Assembly District--13,452 in Columbia County and 24,028 in Dutchess County.

Primary Election Results Update 2

The Dutchess County Board of Elections is now reporting the following information for Assembly District 106:

• Didi Barrett--53.35 percent (2,220 votes)
• Claire Cousin--46.63 percent (1,940 votes)

Primary Election Results Update 1

With all election districts now reporting, the Columbia County Board of Elections has posted the following information: Claire Cousin, with 897 votes, has received 38.17 percent of the vote; Didi Barrett, with 1,452 votes, has garnered 61.79 percent of the vote.

Information from Dutchess County is yet to be received.

Primary Election Results

The Columbia County Board of Elections has posted its unofficial results for today's primary election. It appears that, in Columbia County at least, incumbent assemblymember Didi Barrett is winning handily, getting 64.08 percent of the votes against 35.93 percent for challenger Claire Cousin. 

In Hudson, the numbers are:

• First Ward--Barrett: 67.69 percent; Cousin: 32.31 percent
• Second Ward--Barrett: 39.47 percent; Cousin: 60.53 percent
• Third Ward--Barrett: 54.55 percent; Cousin: 45.45 percent
• Fourth Ward--Barrett: 31.82 percent; Cousin: 68.18 percent
• Fifth Ward--Barrett: 34.72 percent; Cousin: 65.28 percent

A total of 445 votes were cast in the City of Hudson.

Gossips will let you know when the results for all of the 106th Assembly District are made known.

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Another Loss for Hudson

Gossips has learned that Eileen Halloran died on Sunday, June 23. 

Halloran served as city treasurer from 2007 through 2013. In 2014, she joined the board of Hudson Development Corporation (HDC), and in 2018, she became an alderman representing the Fifth Ward, a position she held through 2021.

Halloran will be remembered by many for her regular brisk walks around Hudson. When she was city treasurer, she walked back and forth to work, between her home on Bayley Boulevard and City Hall. During her years as alderman and after, her walks became more wide ranging, taking her down to the river. Along the way, she would often stop on Green Street and on Warren Street to chat with constituents and friends. Once, while walking my dog, I met up with her just after she had climbed the Second Street stairs from Cross Street to Allen Street. She acknowledged she had climbed the stairs to challenge herself; I marveled she had done it without breaking a sweat or breathing heavily from the exertion.

Halloran served Hudson conscientiously and with integrity and compassion. She was unafraid to stand by what she believed was right and best for Hudson, even when that drew the ire of other aldermen. In 2019, after a particularly rancorous Council meeting, Halloran declared her intention not to run for reelection. But her sense of duty prevailed, and she decided to run again after all. 

Eileen Halloran's obituary, with information about visitation and services, can be found here.

Meetings and Events in the Week Ahead

Less than a week into summer, heat advisories seem to be a daily event. Today we are getting a break from the heat and humidity, but that will be short-lived. Meanwhile, despite the heat, here's what's happening.

• On Monday, June 24, the Housing Trust Fund Board meets at 5:30 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.
• Also on Monday, June 24, the Stuyvesant Planning Board meets at 7:00 p.m. It is expected the Planning Board may proceed with the SEQR (State Environmental Quality Review) analysis, which was suspended a few months ago, for the controversial "agro-tourism" proposal for Sharptown Ridge. The meeting takes place in person only at Stuyvesant Town Hall, 5 Sunset Drive in Stuyvesant. 
• Tuesday, June 25, is Election Day. The primary, which is for Democrats only, will decide who--longtime Assemblymember Didi Barrett or challenger Claire Cousin--will be the the Democratic candidate for Assembly District 106 in November. For those who haven't already voted, the polls are open from 6:00 a.m. until 9 p.m. The polling places for Hudson residents are St. Mary's Academy, 301 Allen Street (Wards 1, 2, 3), 401 State Street (Ward 4), and the Central Fire Station, 77 North Seventh Street (Ward 5).

• Also on Tuesday, June 25, the Common Council ad hoc Parking Study Committee meets at 6:00 p.m. At the meeting, it is likely the committee will hear more presentations from companies looking to provide the needed equipment for upgrading the city's parking meter system. The meeting is a hybrid, taking place in person at City Hall and on Microsoft Teams. Click here to join the meeting remotely.
• On Wednesday, June 26, the Common Council ad hoc Truck Route Committee meets at 6:00 p.m. It's been a few months since this committee has met, so it is hoped the meeting will provide updates on the committee's work, including the results of the tests conducted to determine the weight-bearing capacity of the city's streets. The meeting is a hybrid, taking place in person at City Hall and on Microsoft Teams. Click here to join the meeting remotely. 

• On Thursday, June 27, Hudson Community Development and Planning Agency (HCDPA) meets at 4:30 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.
• At 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 27, the Public Works Board, tasked with implementing the Sidewalk Improvement District, holds its monthly 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.
• From 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 27, the Jacob Leisler Institute for the Study of Early New York History, in collaboration with the Hudson Area Library and the Columbia County Libraries Association, hosts a presentation by Toya Dubin about New Amsterdam at the time of Jacob Leisler's presence in the settlement. The presentation includes an introduction to the 3D map of New Amsterdam in 1660 and the stories behind the work to maintain historical accuracy in the model. The presentation takes place virtually on Zoom. For more information about the event, click here. To register for the virtual event, click here. 

• At 9:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 27, it's the presidential debate between President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump. The debate will be livestreamed on CNN.com.

• On Friday, June 28, the Historic Preservation Commission meets at 10:00 a.m. The meeting includes a public hearing on the renovation/reimagining of 833 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.

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HPC to Hold Public Hearing

At the last meeting of the Historic Preservation Commission, which took place on June 14, architect Walter Chatham presented plans for renovating the building at 833 Warren Street.

The plans involve eliminating the recessed commercial entrance and converting the building into two residential units.

Chatham maintained that the building had not originally been a commercial building and the recessed entrance had not been part of its original design. That's not hard to believe. The recessed doorway does not align with the oriel above it. But what was the original design of the building?

Unfortunately, the only early photograph of the building known to Gossips is this one, which only shows a small portion of the building. It appears, however, that when the picture was taken the recessed entrance was already part of the building's facade.

The Beers Atlas maps for 1873 and 1888 suggest that the building that now stands at 833 Warren Street did not exist or did not exist in its current configuration in those years.

Checking city directories reveals that through most of the second half of the 19th century the building was a residence. (Prior to the renumbering in 1898-1899, the building number was 427.) From 1868 to 1872, Sebastian Menick who owned a dry goods store with his brother John at what is now 543 Warren Street lived in the building. From 1874 to 1876, Smith Parsons, the city sexton, occupied the building. It was his home, but this ad, which appeared in the city directory for 1876, suggests he may have been doing some portion of this business from that address. 

Briefly, in 1877, F. T. Cochran, physician, lived and practiced at 427 Warren Street.  In 1878 and 1879, Allen Race, whose occupation is listed as painter, lived at that address, and from 1881 to 1883, Joseph Deyo lived there. In 1883, Peter Cole, a laborer, occupied the house. During his residence, it seems the house may have become a two-family dwelling because starting in 1886, both Peter Cole and Jacob Cole are listed in the directory as residing at 427/833 Warren Street.

Evidence from the city directories and the Tap Record suggests that the building now on the site may have been constructed in 1901. From 1897 to 1901, the address doesn't appear in the city directories, which suggests that it was vacant. Then in 1901, it reappears. That is also the year that the building is added to the municipal water system. For most buildings in Hudson, that happened thirty to forty years earlier. 

For most of the first two decades of the 20th century, families named Bame lived in the building. Originally it was just Charles, then Charles and Ralph, then Charles and Ralph and Arthur. 

The information most relevant to the recessed entrance to the building is found in the city directory for 1930-1931. In that year, Abraham Meiner operated a confectionary shop and ice cream parlor in the space. 

When the plans for the restoration/reimagining of the building were presented to the HPC on June 14, HPC member John Schobel commented, "It would be great to have a prominent building get some love, but this is a big change." A significant part of the big change is transforming what is now an oriel into what appears to be a two-story bay window.

If a two-story bay window is in fact what's being proposed, there is precedent for that design a little more than a block away at 745 Warren Street, where there is a bay window that extends three stories. 

 

Back in 2013, when there was a proposal to remove the bay on the first floor and replace it with a single door that would give entrance to a commercial space, the HPC suggested that, instead of removing the bay, the door be incorporated into the bay. And that is what was done.

The building at 745 Warren Street might be a good guide for the changes being proposed for 833 Warren Street. In the case of 745 Warren, the desire was to convert a residential building into a mixed use building. The building at 833 Warren is one step ahead: originally a residential building, it was converted at some point into a mixed use building, and now it's getting converted back into an exclusively residential building.

Gossips shares this picture as a reminder that once upon a time this stretch of Warren Street above Park Place was all residential. 

Photo: Evelyn and Robert Monthie Slide Collection, Columbia County Historical Society

The Hudson Preservation Commission is holding a public hearing on the proposed alterations to 833 Warren Street on Friday, June 28, at 10:00 a.m. The hearing and the subsequent meeting will be hybrid, taking place in person at City Hall and on Microsoft Teams. Click here for the link to join the meeting remotely.

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Progress at the Depot

The first of four residential floors at 76 North Seventh Street, the building now known as Hudson Depot Lofts, has been framed out. 

Photo: Win Jackson

Photo: Win Jackson

The floor plans for the building's 63 one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments can be found here. 

This is the building that was originally proposed by the Galvan Foundation to be market rate apartments, but it was redefined as "workforce housing" in order to qualify for a PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes). The building is now intended for households with incomes between 80 and 130 percent of the area median income (AMI).

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Hudson, NY: Baroque Opera Destination

Yesterday, Hudson Hall and R. B. Schlather announced the second opera in the "Handel on the Hudson" series: Giulio Cesare. There will be six performances of Handel's most popular opera in April 2025. 

The press release announcing the news follows:

Visionary opera director and Hudson resident R. B. Schlather reunites with early music band Ruckus in April 2025 for six performances of Handel's baroque blockbuster Giulio Cesare at Hudson Hall in Hudson, NY. Repeating the successful alchemy of Rodelina (2023), Schlather brings together area residents, rising young stars, and some of today's finest baroque interpreters to share his passion for Handel in the intimacy of New York State's oldest surviving theater. As R. B. is known to say: "I think Handel is the greatest opera composer, full stop."

Led by sought-after American countertenor Randall Scotting as Cesare and rising young star Song Hee Lee as Cleopatra, the production also features 2024 Met Opera Finalist Meridian Prall as Cornelia, Bard Music Conservatory alumni Chuanyuan Liu as Tolomeo and Rolfe Dauz as Curio, and area residents Matthew Deming as Nireno, Raha Mirzadegan as Sesto, and Douglas Williams as Achilla. 

(Left to right) Top: Randall Scotting (Cesare); Song Hee Lee (Cleopatra); Chuanyuan Liu (Tolomeo); Raha Mirzadegan (Sesto). Bottom: Meridian Prall (Cornelia); Douglas Williams (Archilla); Matthew Deming (Nireno); Rolfe Dauz (Curio)

The young, conductorless period instrument ensemble Ruckus features a dozen of some of the top baroque instrumentalists working today. In his New York Times review of last year's Rodelinda at Hudson Hall, Joshua Barone called Ruckus "stars" and continued: "With a mercurial, almost improvisatory spirit that responded to the drama in real time, they played with the fieriness and emotional charge of verismo." Ruckus's core is a continuo group, the baroque equivalent of a jazz rhythm section: guitars, keyboards, cello, bassoon, and bass, joined by violin, flute, and oboe.

The creative team includes Joseph Cermatori as dramaturg, costume design by Terese Wadden, lighting by Masha Tsimring, scenic associate Erica Zhang, hair and makeup by Matia Emsellem, supertitles by Steven Jude Tietien, and assistant director Michael Hofmann.

This second installment in Schlather's "Handel on the Hudson" series is eagerly anticipated. After The New York Times' chief music critic Zachary Woolfe called the initial announcement "the best news in a while for the New York opera scene," The New York Times' classical music critic Joshua Barone praised Schlather's Rodelinda as "worthy of a multi-year commitment to Handel." Critic Seth Rogovoy commended the creative team of Rodelinda for investing their interpretation with "the kind of punk aesthetic and dynamic that made the nearly three-hour performance feel urgent, contemporary, and incredibly fun," and The Berkshire Eagle's Evan Berkowitz wrote: "Rodelinda gave us the sort of opera we don't often get in our region: not just fully staged, but fully realized."

Place and talent are crucial ingredients in realizing Schlather's vision. As Barone noted in his review, Hudson Hall is "surprisingly ideal for the intimacy of Handel," setting it apart from the large New York City opera houses. Schlather, who lives just a few streets away from Hudson Hall, sources many of his collaborators from the local area and surrounding region, tapping a rich network of talent and partnerships right in his own backyard. Kaatsbaan Cultural Park in nearby Tivoli, NY, joins as a cultural partner and is where the cast will be in residence for the month of March. This sense of community extends to Schlather's audiences--many of whom are introduced to opera through his work. In addition to the six performances, Schlather plans additional open rehearsal hours to allow even more audiences an entree into the power of opera.

"R. B. Schlather's love of Handel and ability to connect with a new generation of musicians, creatives, and audiences creates an experience that is undeniably fresh and vital," says Hudson Hall Executive Director Tambra Dillon. "It's the future of opera--and it's spectacular. We expect nothing less for Giulio Cesare in 2025."    

The performances of Giulio Cesare will take place on April 19, 23 (matinee), 26, 27 (matinee), 30 (matinee), and May 2, 2025, at Hudson Hall at the historic Hudson Opera House, 327 Warren Street. Tickets went on sale yesterday for members of Hudson Hall; tickets will be available to the public beginning in January 2025.

Another Day to Be Observed . . . by Some

Tomorrow, June 21, is Take Your Dog to Work Day. Although my work for more than thirty years hasn't involved showing up at an office, I observe Take Your Dog to Work Day every day. Here's my dog Joey attending a Conservation Advisory Council meeting with me at City Hall back in 2015.

Photo: Rick Rector

Thanks to the advent of virtual meetings, my dog Freddy can be with me at work all day, every day, without setting paw out of the house.

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The Word from the HCSD Superintendent

This afternoon, Dr. Juliette Pennyman, who officially began her role as superintendent of the Hudson City School District on September 1, 2023, distributed the following "Guest Column," assessing her first year as superintendent of the Hudson City School District. The text of the "Guest Column" is reproduced below. 

Pennyman’s First Year as Hudson Schools Superintendent Marked by Innovation, Successes, and Seeding the Future

When I started learning about the Hudson City School District before arriving in September 2023, I was impressed by our students’ abundant achievements every day. I also recognized the vast potential to advance educational excellence that preps students for careers, college, and life through transformative, innovative approaches.

My first year as your superintendent has been focused on just that. This journey has been an enjoyable whirlwind of activity–and incredibly inspiring.

Every school district decision has been focused on providing each student with an engaging, rigorous, and supportive education to help them succeed academically, socially, and emotionally. As I settled in, I saw the opportunity to introduce #HudsonTogetherWeCan, a hashtag/motto designed to inspire a culture of accomplishment via collaboration among schools, district leadership, students, faculty, staff, and the community. My early observations also inspired my 125-Day Plan, a blueprint of actions and plans detailed here: https://www.hudsoncsd.org/2024/02/28/progress-report-from-dr-juliette-pennyman-my-first125-days/

Our diverse student population is an asset to celebrate, and we are committed to fostering a safe, respectful, and inclusive environment. We strengthened this tenet by launching our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusiveness Community Team, now devising programs and services that embrace our district’s unique backgrounds, cultures, and perspectives.

We are especially proud that we safeguard tax dollars. Our 2024-2025 budget, overwhelmingly approved by voters on May 21, is a result of partnering with elected representatives to advocate for state aid that, after a predicted $2.9 million reduction, now actually slightly increases that aid above the current year’s amount. In addition, the budget’s tax levy increase–the tax levy is the amount collected via property taxes–is 2%, less than the 3.42% permitted under New York State’s tax cap.

To further ease taxpayers’ burden, we prioritized securing highly competitive grants–including $5.5 million over five years for the Learning and Enrichment Afterschool Program Supports (LEAPS) program and nearly $3 million from New York State. The state grants include $1.9 million to support safe, healthy, and supportive learning environments for students and $200,000 to expand pre-kindergarten. In addition, $5,000 is being received from the American Farmland Trust’s project, Farm to Institution New York State. The district also joined Verizon Innovative Learning, which provides Chromebooks, enhanced internet and technology coaches to Hudson Junior and Senior High Schools at no cost to the district to leverage technology as a teaching tool.

I also have focused on strengthening our district’s infrastructure. This has included hiring teachers across the district, including for science, graphic arts, and robust electives, as well as assistant principal and technology instructional coaches.

Other initiatives include:

• Revamping Bluehawk Academy into a more innovative school, focusing on personal support to achieve educational excellence.

• Refreshing the student Code of Conduct. 

• Reinstating clubs and organizations such as the Student Council and the Parent Teachers’ Association at Hudson Junior High School.

• Focusing on school safety by introducing STOPit Solutions’ anonymous reporting capabilities to bolster school health and safety, and receiving top-level recognition by Utica National Insurance as a “School Safety Excellence” award recipient.

• Converting the high school football program to a modified version to overcome a lack of eligible players.

I also directed that our district ramp up communications to advance transparency. I established Pennyman’s Pen, a concise enewsletter, and oversaw the expansion of our monthly district newsletter. I also inaugurated monthly Conversations with the Superintendent public forums, created Student Advisory Committees, shadowed classrooms, and attended numerous sports, arts, and community events. We also installed monitors in our schools to provide news, information, and lunch menus.

Through it all, we have kept a focus on the future. We are now embarking on a strategic planning process, which will be unveiled in late June. This will include abundant community involvement, and our goal is to finalize this plan next autumn.

I extend gratitude to the Board of Education and our schools’ dedicated leadership teams, teachers, staff, students, families, and community members for partnering with me to support students’ success.

Congratulations to all, especially our graduating seniors, on a dynamic school year! Have a safe, enjoyable summer and we look forward to the start of the 2024-2025 school year on Wednesday, Sept. 4!

Dr. Juliette Pennyman 

Superintendent 

#HudsonTogetherWeCan

Gossips cannot resist reminding readers that the $56.6 million budget for the 2024-2025 school year was approved by a vote of 464 to 231. Only 695 people bothered to show up to vote. It seems a bit of an overstatement to say that the budget was "overwhelmingly approved by voters."

Today at Olana

The Olana Partnership holds its monthly Third Thursday event today, on the first day of summer, from 12:30 to 7:00 p.m. Olana Third Thursdays are monthly community days of free tours and programs at the Olana State Historic Site.

Today, participants can explore Bollywood dancing during a free class and performance with instructor Arobi. They can learn moves to trendy and iconic Bollywood songs during a fun, beginner friendly outdoor class and then stick around for a special performance on the East Lawn from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. The class is designed for participants ages 12 and up.

Immediately following the Bollywood performance, Trio Candela will celebrate the beginning of summer, performing lively traditional, folkloric Latin music from the Caribbean, Mexico, and Latin America. This performance will also take place on the East Lawn near the Main House from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Visitors are also invited to attend free tours of the historic landscape, house, and the special exhibition Afterglow: Frederic Church and the Landscape of Memory. Tickets are available on site, starting at 12:30 p.m. today, on a first come, first served basis. Tours and programs will be offered in both Spanish and English. Spanish tours will be given at 1:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.

Generous support for Olana Third Thursdays is provided by Art Bridges Foundation's "Access for All" program. To learn more about each month's programs and upcoming events, or to secure free tickets, visit olana.org/ThirdThursdays or call (518) 751-0344.

Highlights from the Planning Board Meeting

It's been more than a week since the Planning Board had its last meeting, and Gossips has been remiss in reporting about it. The entire meeting, which went on for more than three hours, can be viewed here. For those not interested in watching the entire video, Gossips will recap some of the high points.

The meeting began with Lou Pierro, the principal of the group wanting to build a 30-unit market rate apartment building on Fairview Avenue between Oakwood and Parkwood boulevards, noting that it had been a year since his project was first presented to the Planning Board for site plan review. He said they had made a lot of changes to the plans at the request of the Planning Board and suggested it was time for the Planning Board to make a decision. Nevertheless, no decision was made, and Planning Board's review of this controversial project continues. 

The Planning Board did make one decision at its meeting on June 11. They voted to grant site plan approval, with seventeen conditions, to 601 Union Street, the project that will convert the Terry-Gillette mansion at 601 Union Street, for many years the Hudson Elks Lodge, into a boutique hotel. The original application for site plan review of the project is dated December 21, 2022.

The Planning Board meeting also yielded some interesting information about the buildings proposed by Kearney Realty and Development for Mill Street and for the corner of Fourth and State streets. According to Sean Kearney, who was making the presentation to the Planning Board, the project for Mill Street "went for funding last year and lost," so now they are combining the two projects--Mill Street Lofts and State Street Lofts--to seek funding, thinking that describing the project as "scattered site" housing will put it at an advantage. 

Although it appears there are no renderings of the two projects, there are some drawings included in the applications for site plan review. The drawing below shows the site plan for Mill Street Lofts, with the parking lot in front and the buildings--two of them--along the edges.

The application also includes these drawings of the elevations for the buildings--Building 1 and Building 2.

A similar elevation drawing is provided in the application for State Street Lofts.

The building to be known as "State Street Lofts" is across the street from the historic Hudson Almshouse and half a block away from a locally designated historic district. 

   

The Historic Preservation Commission has more than once been urged to extend the historic district north to 400 State Street, which is individually designated locally and individually listed in the State and National Registers of Historic Places, but the HPC never pursued it. As a consequence, the HPC will have no input on the design of a building in a prominent location in the city.

The applications also include sample floor plans for both Mill Street Lofts and State Street Lofts.

Upon close examination, what seems unusual about the floor plans for both projects is that most of the apartments have their entry door opening into the kitchen.

That may seem unusual, but it is not without precedent. 

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