We are now well into May, it's not expected to rain again until Tuesday afternoon, and here is what's happening.
- On Monday, May 12, the Common Council holds its informal meeting at 6:00 p.m. It is expected that, among other things on the agenda, the Council will be discussing the proposed amendments to the zoning code to facilitate the construction of accessory dwelling units (ADUs). 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, May 13, the Planning Board holds its regular monthly meeting at 6:30 p.m. The agenda includes a number of projects that have been before the Planning Board for a while, and one new and intriguing item: "Amended site plan application from the Galvan Initiatives Foundation to convert a co-working space [at 76 North Seventh Street] into a two-bedroom apartment for a total of 64 units instead of 63 in the Depot District." According to the city calendar, the meeting takes place in person only at City Hall, but it is very likely it will also be livestreamed on Zoom. Click here to view the meeting remotely.
- On Wednesday, May 14, 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.
- On Thursday, May 15, at 6:00 p.m., it is the Hudson City School District's "Meet the Board of Education Candidates" night. The event takes place in the Hudson Junior/Senior High School auditorium and will be moderated by the Hudson Senior High School Student Council. It is likely the event will also be livestreamed on the HCSD YouTube channel.
Wondering aloud:
ReplyDelete- What is a "Housing Trust Fund"?
A trust fund, often enjoyed by nepo-babies, usually describes a "person who receives unearned income or capital from the fund, often without the need to work for financial security".
Or is this some technical / legal term to circumvent the normal capital allocation and review process?
Does Heather the town CFO not have oversight over these funds?
Is this Trust Fund the one that was used by Kamal to give his now romantic partner a 40% salary increase?
Or does the Housing Justice Director's salary come from another source or sources?
This is quite confusing... I thought social democrats did not like trust fund babies (except Soros, he is great because he hands out his money to progressive causes and is now married to Huma Abedin, so he is a good billionaire)... so why do they call a recreation of, arguably, federal and state responsibilities (housing) a "trust fund".
These two posts from late 2021 and early 2022 may be of some help:
Deletehttps://gossipsofrivertown.blogspot.com/2021/12/about-housing-trust-fund.html
https://gossipsofrivertown.blogspot.com/2022/01/news-of-housing-trust-fund.html
Great articles to refer to Carole. Time just flys by it seems.
DeleteFNI: the Housing Trust Fund is the magic deus ex machina the mayor’s supporters, and those who benefit from the status quo, use to defend against any criticism towards our handsomely compensated Housing “Justice” Director and whether that money could be better directed towards paying for a city manager that would actually do tangible work for the city. All the while ignoring the fact that money is fungible and that money is annually being diverted from the general fund to the Slush, err Trust Fund, to keep it replenished as the one time grant has been spent down. Oh, they get small donations from local banks and such from time to time. The alleged romantic relationship makes it all more suspicious, but that’s why those engagements are wisely avoided.
Thank you for the links Gossips:
ReplyDelete🧐 If I understand this correctly the plan was to take tax revenue from City of Hudson lodging tax, and a chunk of revenue from the Pocketbook factory… (normally this is called Planning Board extortion) and funds from a one time non-recurring NY State grant...
To create this "trust" which is then overseen by the current girlfriend of the mayor (presumably not in said undisclosed relationship back then in 2021 when she was hired?), and at some point Quintin Cross (previously elected Council member who allegedly broke into City Hall but was not convicted) was involved?
And so four years later, how many residents have received housing support?
I googled it and only found $11,369 for 2025 so far, which included offsetting car repairs.
https://cms3.revize.com/revize/hudsonnynew/HHTF%203.27.25.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com
There must be more in other years? Or is it ~$20k per year X 4 years?
So who decides which residents gets support and which residents pay taxes to provide the support?
❓ Can residents who have been hit with the illegal Welcome Stranger tax assessment apply to have the difference between fair taxes and their own taxes be paid by this "housing" support fund?
What about residents applying to offset car repairs due to the Union Street and other roads being in disrepair?
Wouldn't a court find that more "just", since that financial hardship was caused directly by the City of Hudson's demonstrably wrongful actions or inactions?
I ask the question here because Kamal, Tom, and Michelle only answer some public inquiries, and certainly not ones with inconvenient questions and answers.
Michelle - I will email this query to you and feel free to answer here publicly.
Because if this entity of yours does so little… wouldn't it be more efficient just to take your salary ($80k after the 40% increase) and give it back to tax payers proportionally as a credit on their tax bill?
Or pay the guys who are up before dark to take out the trash better. They do the real work of a city.
I'd rather have Josh Riley, Didi Barrett, and Michelle Hinchey work on these collective action issues on our behalf since we already pay them NY State / Federal taxes, they have access to greater national and state resources, and they have a demonstrated track record of above board governance and competence.
Anything else I trust Hudson residents to spend their own money better than you can.
🤑 Remember when you and Kamal spent $200k on an expensive survey monkey consulting firm exercise?
~
re: Lodging tax:
Shouldn't the lodging tax go towards helping those who pay it…. the staircase between the City and the train station is still in disrepair… wouldn't it make sense to fix that first so that the visitors who walk to their hotels and Airbnbs and pay the lodging tax get some benefit and avoid injury?
re: Taxation and redistribution:
I thought that was something America decides and enacts at a federal and national level via our elected representatives... not in Kamal's Union Street Galvin house kitchen table?
Also, isn't the housing affordability issue due to lack of housing, national labor and economic issues, and limited space in the 2 mi.² city... so how would a five figure housing trust fund solve this?
Other than creating jobs for friends of Kamal... oh wait... I get it now.
~
Obviously it would be simpler and fairer simply to lower taxes across the board.
Right now we are raising taxes on productive workers, families, and retirees, and then giving selective and political handouts that may provide partial temporary relief at best.
If the Columbia County District Attorney audited the recipients of these funds... I wonder how many of them would have ties to Kamal's 501c3, Claire's HCHC, or to other affiliated political entities that help get Kamal and Tom and Claire re-elected.
This is not sustainable.
It is not what the City of Hudson government is supposed to do or is capable of doing.