This morning, at exactly 4:20 a.m., an unknown person removed a flag displayed at The Forshew Gallery on Warren Street and replaced it with a Jolly Roger, a pirate flag.
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| Photo contributed |
The flag that was removed was smoothed out and carefully folded. On top of the folded flag, a handwritten note was left. The following is a transcript of that note:
25/VI/2025 Halve Maen (Dutch for Half Moon)
To Whom It May Concern (and it concerns you):
Let it be known to voters, bloggers, taxpayers, and porch-sitters alike.
To the bullied, the forgotten, the wrongly accused of racism, classism, or invasion, when all you sought was safety. To those who just want to protect their families, their pensions, and their peace of mind. To immigrants, first-time buyers, and retirees, unwelcome by the Welcome Stranger Tax. To those who chose calm and got chaos. This is our democratic mutiny, a defensive alliance for common sense, diversity, and love.
We are not storming the gates. Our ancestors built them and our grandparents restored them. We are not angry, just disappointed like parents who had to step in after carelessness and guide the ship back on course. We are sweeping our porches . . . and your deck, while reading the town charter and planning a better future Hudson.
But we are serious. And we are many. And we want a town that is welcoming, affordable for all, fair, and free of national politics, tribalism, and tax dodging non-resident billionaires and their false flag bunglers.
Let's build a new Hudson together, in the spirit of the Mohican, the Dutch explorers, the Nantucket mariners, the Proprietors, and the Quakers of old, and generations of New Yorkers who sought refuge in this weird and wonderful clay City on a Hill. Let's build the best small town city in America.
~The Spirit of Henry Hudson and the Rebel Alliance
P.S. Be kind to the nerds, the merchants, the rainbow alliance, and the grannies. This is our town. You are welcome here if you follow the rules and pay your fair share of taxes.
And Kk and Tom, you come at the Queen(s) and the Wail(s), you best not miss.
I'm told the format of the date--Arabic numeral for day/Roman numeral for month/Arabic numeral for year--is not only the format used in Dutch East India Company correspondence (Henry Hudson's voyage on the Halve Maen was financed by the Dutch East India Company), but also the format taught to children in Irish and Commonwealth boarding schools.
The final line, apparently a message to Kamal Johnson and Tom DePietro, echoes a line from The Wire: "You come at the king, you best not miss."
Yes, what a mystery. Unless you know who owns that building. Perhaps some evidence can be gleaned from the newly installed security camera that was neither reviewed nor approved by the HPC.
ReplyDeleteThat was clearly the work of the spirit of Vince Mulford (for those who remember him).
ReplyDeleteDefinitely!
DeleteYes! This made me think of Vince and smile!
DeleteTHIS!!!
ReplyDeleteThis is another demonstration of ‘the people have spoken’! The need for civility, workability, governance, due diligence, respect, care and love! Yes I said LOVE, for humanity, for people’s voices to be heard that touches all. And for those that fear their voice will now be lost - I ask you to be cautiously guarded AND HOPEFULLY OPTIMISTIC. Rome was not built in a day. WE THE PEOPLE.
This is where this new era and new leadership GETS TO PUT THEIR MONEY where their mouth is.
And yes, this is ONLY the primary! YET, change is needed, change is being asked for, change is coming.
One could say TRANSFORMATION is in the AIR.
I love a good small town mystery! How are there so many clever pranksters and good writers here? Can we all fly the Jolly Roger in solidarity with rebellion and independence? Change is coming. Integrity matters.
ReplyDeleteAs a Star Wars fan, I take issue with this movement/person identifying with the Rebel Alliance but, I do think they are more accurate in identifying themselves with Henry Hudson. It doesn't seem like too much of a mystery who did this but they do seem friendly and I bet they live in our neighborhood and who knows if they are an immigrant or not. Regardless I think this document does serve as a clear manifesto of a movement that is gaining steam in town. It's useful to see their vision put into writing for us all to read and understand better.
ReplyDeleteoh - and I should add, since I am "Friendly" TM... though you should be honest and share what you really think about me. 😉
DeleteThank you, genuinely, for doing good work towards housing renovation on Union Street with your crew.
Renovation is a big part of the housing solution here, as is Spear's gentle density, and Ferris' policies. It is not Mill Street's current plan, and it is not PILOT's to Galvan.
👀
ReplyDeleteFirst - what is all this innuendo Nick... you know your investors at Spark do not like innuendo.
Second - why didn't you tell us all you were a Star Wars fan, so relatable. And of course you would pose as Jedi, ruling like Palpatine, and running youth corps like Sith summer camp.
Everyone knows I am a Trekkie; live long and prosper, sir... ideally with apolitical and efficient government 🖖
Third - this satirical / serious / artistic / whimsical / time-capsule letter is obviously the work of Mark Allen, all of Hudson is his stage. Or Trixie given the rainbow references, or the Hillsdale Hamlet raiding across town lines like a Mohawk, or Friendly Neighborhood Immigrant 🇺🇸™, as you imply... the Wail would nail pirate memes, or possibly any of the "invaders" you and Kamal so despise who buy homes from willing (some say self-enriching) sellers and then have the gall to pay taxes to subsidize the town while Kamal's friends are delinquent, or even the HBCI given the "merchant" support reference... regardless, great to see you appreciate a good written out manifesto.
Care to write one summarizing your views on how to make Hudson better? That is a sincere request. We may disagree on political economy and personal responsibility but you are obviously thoughtful and in your way, like all of us, you love Hudson and have a very important perspective that we can all benefit from understanding.
My past comments on this blog are very clear and I'd be delighted to email you a précis. You have my cell and email.
Finally - can you deploy your Sherlockian powers of deductive reasoning to figure out which Hudson resident threw dog feces at former Mayor Rick Rector at that last major budget meeting?
Weren't you in the room and working at the Youth Department at the time?
Hudson can use another private eye.
And if you want to get spicy on doxxing people... do you want to meet at high noon at the Courthouse Square and we each bring our complete title deeds for homes just in Hudson and Greenport?
Otherwise, hope to run into you casually at Half Moon or the DMV and exchange pleasantries.
At least you know where I stand, even if I can't vote.
Where and for what do you stand? And have you decided if you will vote in Greenport or Hudson in November?
A longtime neighbor just told me that Joe Ferris is a Seton Hall grad and apparently their mascot is a pirate.
Deletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seton_Hall_Pirates
Though I doubt very much he had a hand in this... he would've raised a Knicks or Peace flag.
I feel compelled to say how much I don't want to see things like this given air time alongside other critical town news. This could have been written by an AI trollbot, it's so purposely divisive. I believe the "us vs them" dynamic has been a major critique of the current administration, and I can't imagine why a person would voluntarily call out a wide range of identities to make up "the opposition party" and validate that divide. I hope we can realize this town doesn't have actual villains, and that jeering at a political coalition that just lost a primary election is essentially bullying.
ReplyDeleteHi Faith,
DeleteOld story by now, but important and worth responding.
I’m with you on moving past division. I love being your neighbor. What you’ve built in Hudson matters, and lots of us benefit from it and support it.
I don't want to see local racism and nativism on FB or Kamal othering either, and yet dozens of residents send it to me. Kamal's comments are explicitly and narrowly negative and divisive.
Second - strong disagree on "essentially bullying". Random artist satire or sincere memo is not bullying.
There’s no actual opposition party here. The winners didn’t run as a team. Didn’t coordinate. Didn’t even make a joint statement on the Planning Board mess, when they agree entirely on the issue.
They actively tried not to coordinate or stand together, lest they be accused of ganging up.
Imho, real bullying, unfair treatment, and intimidation = silencing dissent, pushing out new voices, assaulting someone physically like Tom did, spreading falsehoods, using race and identity to dodge real questions, throwing dog feces at mayors. Triple taxing new residents, making it policy not to tax preferred residents and friends. Betraying Mill Street.
Calling that out isn’t mean. It’s necessary. Isn't civility without honesty, just complicity.
The path to harmony and growth runs through constructive (lawful) dialogue and conflict. We are now in it with this election.
p.s. Kamal promised housing to everyone, but then only secured it for himself, he then bullied his opponent unfairly on stage, stacked the room, and still hasn’t updated his campaign website since 2021.
He lied to you. He lied to me. He lied to everyone and never said sorry.
Will you hold him to account for his division and dishonesty?
If he can’t do the minimum (update his website) or treat people with respect, why should anyone follow him and spend countless hours in the heat campaigning for him?
We pay him $80k a year for dividing us.
Have you called him out on it?
Next time an elected or appointed leader of this City tells immigrants or relatively new residents (parents not born here) that they are not allowed an opinion, should kiss the ring, and will be overtaxed (Welcome Stranger Tax), may I tag you in to address their unity undermining actions and words.
Hello FNI! Yes, all of this!!!
Delete