An article by Jamie Larson that appeared today in Rural Intelligence reveals something that we residents of Hudson didn't know: "Hudson Mayor Joins Call for Limits on Industrial Use of City Waterfront."
The mayor says the planning board's ongoing use permit approval process needs to be halted for a few months so a multi-party working group can be convened to draft conditions and broker a compromise that addresses resident concerns while allowing the company to continue operating. "My goal is to get representatives from all the groups, and from [Colarusso], in a room to see where we agree--and really get this done," Johnson said. "It's been going on for so many years. I'd rather see this behind us and focus on investment in that area of our city."
You have to wonder what took the mayor so long to speak out about the issue and why he chose to do so in an exclusive interview with Rural Intelligence.
COPYRIGHT 2025 CAROLE OSTERINK
Actually, I think Peter Spears said that . . . multiple times in multiple locations.
ReplyDeleteThis should be filed under "better late than never" in terms of the mayor's sudden interest in municipal affairs. Of course, at this late date, with the clock now running for the PB to render a decision on the application, the ball is squarely in ACS's court: if they say "no," then the mayor's disaster of a PB will be required to issue a final decision or face another Article 78 proceeding. Luckily for the mayor -- and the city and its residents -- Paul Colarusso is an eminently reasonable man and good neighbor. Just ask the Basillica: ACS made its lot adjacent to the Basillica available for parking to visitors to Basillica's most recent farm and flea at the Basillica's request.
When does the 60-day clock start ticking? Is it already ticking or does it start on May 30?
DeleteI believe it starts the day following the day the PB votes to close the hearing.
DeleteThis is then very interesting. With some effort I was able to extract from him that the Planning Board's approval process has not yet been halted.
DeleteIf what you say is true we're already more than a couple of weeks into those 60 days. If it's not true, he has a few days to halt it.
Either way, it seems that halting the process for a "few months", as he is quoted in the article, is not going to happen.
This is just another rancid Kamal ad-lib performance in front of a reporter. Worked so well the last time when he tried that and made the ludicrous claim in the Register Star that he can easily knock the charter petition off the ballot.
Two thoughts-- It's important to establish that this is not some political ploy by the Mayor to pacify waterfront advocates prior to the coming elections. Second, we can probably expect that Colarusso will kick and scream and piss and moan over the imposition of even the most reasonable conditions. That might be the moment when City Hall and the Planning Board realize that we don't need a gravel dump and industrial truck route in our community. - PJ
ReplyDeleteOh, it's not a political ploy? That would be truly surprising given that this mayor has never particularly cared for the waterfront nor Colarusso. He was always indifferent towards both.
DeleteThe change of heart is either because he thinks he can eke out a few more votes this way (unlikely to happen) or someone found a way to put pressure on him.
Whatever it is, it will not be followed up by some sort of profound mayoral epiphany over the future of the waterfront.
We’ve been seeing a lot of this lately from the mayor and I’m sure we’ll see more. It seems the mayor’s campaign strategy is to now tackle what have been controversial issues and make an opinion known once he knows which way the wind is blowing. Using the luxury of hindsight to revise his legacy. We’re also starting to see it play out with Galvan’s Depot Luxury Lofts. The only consistent narrative about Kamal Johnson’s tenure as mayor is that he leads from behind.
ReplyDeleteThis is the same tactic, that people use when they form an LLC . Publish the notice in an obscure rag,hoping if will not be noticed.
ReplyDeleteOr hope the pro Trucks-Over-People locals on Facebook don’t find out
DeleteOh, the mayoral roasting has already begun. He meanwhile responded and claims that he has been meeting for a while with representatives from Colarusso and the waterfront folks - this directly contradicts his soundbite in the article.
DeleteI don't get a strong sense that he is fully in control of what will now transpire.
Kamal’s approach to city planning:
ReplyDeleteInstall the wrecking crew, skip the meetings, then issue a press release once the rubble is being cleared by volunteers, stating that while he supports the volunteers, he also believes that wrecking balls should respect ruins.
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Donna from Our Hudson Waterfront has been writing Op-Eds and organizing on this issue for months. Alongside the businesses and residents on the Waterfront.
Did Kamal attend a single organizing meeting?
Would Kamal have said anything if citizens didn't rise up.
Did Kamal forget to text Randall that he is flipping and now Randall (conflicted with his 1st Ward appointed role, and his PB role, is still marching to the wrong tune).
Donna and the other Waterfront organizers should get a cut of Kamal's $80k plus salary... since they are doing part of his job for him.
p.s. Colarusso guys have been harmed just as much by Kamal and his appointees.
Instead of "brokering a compromise," with Colarusso how about establishing a Planning Board that has the backbone to put its foot down and impose conditions?
ReplyDeleteYeah, this is weird the more you think about it. He’s now inserting himself near the end of the process to “broker” a solution to a problem that he mostly created though his appointees and general neglect of the Planning Board. And no matter how I’ve personally felt about particular projects, I always feel bad for the what they’re put trough. All applicants deserve a fair and efficient adjudication.
DeleteYou know the old maxim: don't look at what people say, look at what they do.
ReplyDelete📺 https://www.instagram.com/hudsoncatskillhousing/
Kamal was in Albany today with SuperPAC (For the Many) funded Brahvan Ranga (Poughkeepsie resident advocating for unwise laws in our town), and HCHC (still missing some IRS filings) protesting for more government aid (presumably for housing).
Kamal... this may be well intentioned... but this kinda sums up your approach to being mayor:
Just over the last few days:
0 - The largest infrastructure project in town, the bridge, is delayed for avoidable reasons... Kamal nowhere to be found.
1 - you refused primary debates in wards with Joe Ferris, then accepted 1, but in an evaporating IG story. Why?
2 - you insult our Fairview neigbours on FB with sexist language for holding you to account
3 - you give Galvan a tax break for affordable housing, that then does not lead to affordable housing (Depot Lofts), then you want to give them another PILOT tax break
4 - Then instead of being in Hudson, working with citizens concerned about the Waterfront, working with developers trying to get past your inept Planning Board, starting the city-wide tax-reassessment to make working families' tax burden more fair and predictable (a core housing issue), engaging in good faith with residents who want to update the Charter..
You lobby in Albany with SuperPAC funded astroturfers to increase red tape.
🤔 So Albany gets the Hudson Mayor, while Hudson gets the Facebook Mayor. Got it.
Can you just become a professional lobbyist, live your best life between Hudson and Albany, and stop harming the City of Hudson financially and socially with your fraud and neglect.
Dude, he’s auditioning for his “next” “job” in case Joe or Peter beat him in the primary/general (as the case may be).
Delete"why he chose to do so in an exclusive interview with Rural Intelligence." - Answer: I called and asked.
ReplyDeleteWell, this is a highly amusing hypothetical now: Would we have just continued like before if you had not called him? It didn't seem like he was in the process of releasing a statement.
DeleteThis is so bizarre. So after six years of no opinion or concern, you just so happen to call the mayor out of the blue and he so happens to be in the middle of a Camp David Accords style solution that he was ready to unveil at the last minute to save the day. All the while, all the waterfront advocates have been trying to communicate with anyone who’ll listen because they feel the last opportunity for action is upon us?
DeleteI mean... IDK if I would characterize it as "just happening to call him out of the blue." I'm a well established regional journalist who worked as the Hudson city reporter back when the LWRP was being drafted and lived there for a decade. I grew up on the river in Stuyvesant and went to St Lawrence Cement meetings as a teen. I get your point but I didn't just drop out of the sky.
ReplyDeleteIf you'd like to see more of my reporting for context please subscribe to my newsletter: https://ruralintelligence.com/newsletter
Fair enough. I wasn’t diminishing your credentials or reporting chops, which are obviously quite good since, according to your account, you called him, he didn’t call you, and got the scoop. Great instincts, and possibly luck. I already follow RI, so nothing but respect.
DeleteI think the confusion for me, and others here, is the timeline on the mayor’s so-called halt to the review process… when/if this halt started, has he already been talking with all parties, and how does this affect the 60-day clock for the planning board who I believed closed the public hearing. As of a few days ago, to my personal knowledge, some of the parties involved have heard nothing about this development. But that’s on what the mayor says, and not indicative of your reporting.
Rural Intelligence is normally "Good News" with Tony Danza events. Can we count on more investigative writing?
DeleteThank you for paying attention.
I don't think anyone was questioning what you did. On the contrary, your article was very much appreciated.
DeleteWhat people here are discussing is how off-guard you caught the mayor. Given his flailing and implausible response, it seems he was totally unprepared.
Oh, I didn't intend to come across defensive. Just offering a little perspective on how I got the scoop. I certainly understand that the Mayor's new stance came as a surprise. I'm excited to see if it comes up this evening.
DeleteSince taking over as editor of RI earlier this year my hard news whiskers have been twitching. So while It's important that I continue to focus on arts and culture (and Tony Danza), I will absolutely be covering more community issues as well.
Congratulations on taking over as editor of RI Jamie!
DeleteSincere questions on whiskers and newsworthiness...
Why do local journalists not cover, for example, the mayor dating a subordinate and then her salary increasingly sharply (40%?)... arguably a conflict of interest and possible legal liability for the City if not disclosed....
But you do cover his change of tone on the Waterfront when it is all but too late...
Or Tiffany from the Register Star writes a puff reporting piece on the rent control rally in Albany...
But not a serious piece on Galvan getting tens of millions in PILOT tax breaks, while Kamal, and the HHA Executive Director, and until recently, Claire Cousins of the HCHC, live in Galvan housing? The PILOT did not yield affordable housing, as promised.
These two events, in other cities and countries, would be a scandal given the relative scale and brazen conflict of interests, DAs would investigate, and the local newspaper would add subscribers with ongoing coverage.
Why not in Hudson?
I cant speak for anyone else but myself, but I think in short and unsatisfying answer is bandwidth. All journalists, and their publication management teams are asked to do more with less because 20 years ago the industry fumbled the transition from paper to screen. I'm happy to talk more about specific issues directly. You, or anyone else, are welcome to email me directly at jamie.larson@chronogram.com
ReplyDeleteI would like to remove this dialogue from this chat though as I can feel Carole's eyes rolling from all the way down here in Red Hook. JK
I doubt Carole minds her readers becoming better acquainted with you and your publication's interests.
ReplyDeleteThe issue with Hudson is that everything happens in the alleys, in the shadows... it not only leads to more fraud and abuse... but also to false accusations and misinformation going untested. If we do not have shared facts, can we have a shared commons.
So Kamal, we all know you read Gossips (evidence, when you called Max "Carole's bitch" regarding a comment correction).
Why have you not:
1 - proven that you pay a fair rate (or pay at all) for your Galvan $750,000 worth house on Union Street?
- the public is entitled to this given the City's generous tax breaks to Galvan, and you voting on their tax breaks via your IDA role.
2 - disclosed your relationship with the Housing Justice Director, who received a 40% raise shortly after, or was it before?
- hypothetically, if you err in the relationship, could she turn around, aggrieved, and sue the City somehow? What if you and the housing folks fail to convert her job into the City Planner role...
3 - started the process to legally claw back the PILOT tax grant from Galvan now that they did not make the Hudson Depot Lofts as affordable as originally promised?
Kamal, if #1-3 are unfair questions, or not founded on credible concerns regarding public integrity and disclosure, or have already been addressed and resolved with City attorneys, please let us know so that we we can be fair and not spread misinformation.
Jamie - what serves your readers best?
Writing a summary of the Waterfront issue and Kamal's last minute change of heart when the damage is done... or showing that many of your RI readers are servicing a disproportionate tax burden due to corruption and public housing conflicts of interests that is out in the open.