Speaking Up for the Trees

In January, Gossips reported about the plan to install electric vehicle charging stations in the parking lot at the Columbia County courthouse--a plan that involved running new powerlines from Third Street to the courthouse along the 300 block of Allen Street: "The County and the City, Round 2." Implementing this plan would have involved the extensive pruning of the ancient silver maple at 342 Allen Street and the removal of two trees at 357 Allen Street.

Fortunately, thanks to the efforts of residents and Councilmember Margaret Morris (First Ward) and the intervention of Assemblymember Didi Barrett, that destruction was averted. An alternative plan was then presented to run the powerlines from Third Street to West Court Street along the north side of Partition Street. Sadly, this plan is not without negative impact on this historic neighborhood.

On Tuesday, Peter Meyer, who was part of the effort to get the powerlines off Allen Street, appeared at the meeting of the Conservation Advisory Council (CAC) to enlist their help in protecting trees on the courthouse lawn that will be impacted by the installation of the new powerlines. The picture below shows Partition Street as it meets West Court Street and Courthouse Square. The two trees straight ahead are the ones that would be affected. The tree on the left would be extensively "trimmed"; the tree on the right would be removed.

Photo: Peter Meyer

Although the CAC has a tree-planting program and sold tote bags with the message "Keep Hudson Shady," the group told Meyer that the trees in question were on county property, and, as an agency of the city, they had no jurisdiction.

Some may think National Grid is the place to seek redress for this situation. It turns out it's not. The county--or more precisely, the Board of Supervisors Public Works Committee--is making the decisions about the placement of the EV chargers and the route of the powerlines. A much better route--one that would not have any impact on the neighborhoods adjacent to the courthouse--would be to bring the powerlines up from Power Avenue along the west side of East Court Street, where they would not pass any houses, and locate the charging stations on the east side of the parking lot instead of the west side as now proposed. It is not clear if this route was ever considered, but Sarah Boggess of National Grid told Meyer yesterday that the county had chosen the route now proposed because other routes were "cost prohibitive." 

The installation of the EV chargers in the courthouse parking lot is part of a NYSERDA initiative and is being carried out with NYSERDA grant funding. Perhaps the grant funding is insufficient to cover the cost of routing the powerlines in a manner that does not deface one of the loveliest areas of the city, but surely the county, which seems to have unlimited funds when it comes to pursuing bad ideas (think Ockawamick and 11 Warren Street), could come up with the additional money needed to avoid marring its own property and the diminishing one of Hudson's finest neighborhoods.

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