As we move further into the month of August, here is what's happening.
- On Monday, August 11, the Common Council holds a special meeting at 5:00 p.m. The purpose of the meeting is to authorize the mayor to submit an application for a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG). The resolution the Council will be voting on is the same one that was tabled on July 15 because the Council did not know what the CDBG was to be used for. That information is still not available, but at the July 17 meeting of the Public Works Board it was revealed that the intention is to apply for $1 million for sidewalk repairs. 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 5:30 on Monday, August 11, the Common Council holds a public hearing on the proposed law to allow the construction of accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in all zoning districts of Hudson. The hearing 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, August 11, the Common Council holds its informal meeting at 6:00 p.m. Among the items on the agenda for the meeting is a proposed local law meant to prohibit cars from idling for more than ten minutes. 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, August 12, the Planning Board meets at 6:30 p.m. The agenda for the meeting includes public hearings on the hotel proposed for 10-12 Warren Street and the education center proposed by Kite's Nest for 59 North Front Street. The board will also consider an amended site plan application for converting 724-726 Columbia Street into a theater, event space, and restaurant; amendments to the site plan for 76 North Seventh Street; and the Hudson Housing Authority's site plan application for its two-phase redevelopment project. The meeting will be livestreamed on YouTube. Click here to find the link to view the meeting.
- On Wednesday, August 13, the penultimate Waterfront Wednesdays event takes place from 4:00 p.m. until sunset in Henry Hudson Riverfront Park.
- Also on Wednesday, August 13, 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.
- At 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, August 13, the Columbia County Board of Supervisors holds its monthly meeting at 401 State Street. Columbia County Forward is urging people to arrive at 6:30 p.m. to protest the efforts to keep a referendum to create an elected County Executive position off the ballot on November.
- On Thursday, August 14, the Property Disposition Committee of Hudson Community Development and Planning Agency (HCDPA) meets at 5:00 p.m. The subject of the meeting is the sale of two parcels currently owned by HCDPA to the Hudson Housing Authority. 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 Thursday, August 14, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., the Hudson Business Coalition and the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce hold a summer party for their members at Henry Hudson Riverfront Park. Advanced registration is required. Click here for more information.
COPYRIGHT 2025 CAROLE OSTERINK
No idling for more than ten minutes? Sure, turn your car off. Half the cars on Warren are electric anyway. I’m 100% for the idea and I think the law is 100% unenforceable. I’m glad we’ve solved all the immediate problems in Hudson to get to this point. It will get passed in the council by the people who say yes to whatever pre written special interest group law that Tom brings before them. And there will never be a ticket issued. And, as Bill will probably chime in to say, DPW and utility companies are the worst offenders.
ReplyDelete... before the vote on the idling law, will a council member be asking Mishanda Franklin how she plans to have her officers handle the enforcement of the law? Will enforcement happen while an officer in the new white "Supervisor" SUV idles for 10 minutes next to or behind an idling car on South Front Street as the driver inside waits for an Amtrak train to arrive? Oops, sorry, the train arrived 9 minutes later! Gotta go try Warren Street!
DeleteHow about some potentially useful NO IDLING signs first (especially at the station), then worry about enforcement!
Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe this idling law idea came from Rich Volo's CAC.
You are correct, Bill. It did come from the Conservation Advisory Council.
DeleteOk, I see it originated from the CAC. I thought maybe it was from one of those “clean air” interest groups, like the one that tried to lobby Kingston’s Common Council to ban all outdoor fires, including fire pits and grills.
DeleteBut yeah, are HPD going to sit behind a car with a stopwatch? Here’s a tip: follow the Baldor truck that’s also always blocking the alleys
Talbott & Arding has a simple sign on Partition Street asking that vehicles not be left idling. That seems to work.
DeleteReaders of Gossips look forward to 2026 when a competent mayor, and later a competent City Manager, will take a moment to explain in a monthly emailed newsletter issues like the what/where/who/when of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG).
ReplyDelete- Does this require a match from the City of Hudson like the Oakdale grant fiasco?
- Who is individually responsible for managing this?
- Could this decrease the Sidewalk Tax?
Meanwhile, over in another port city with similar history and economic challenges... take a minute to scan the Portsmouth, NH "Weekly Newsletter":
https://us2.campaign-archive.com/?u=09a251212294eb25c93966499&id=b1a20646b0
Complete with DPW work notices, workforce housing incentives, public space design input meetings etc.
Now for the kicker, City of Hudson, NY homeowners pay higher property taxes than Portsmouth, NH residents (on average), and New Yorkers also pay sales and income tax.
But the espressos in Hudson make up for the difference, right?
And for close readers of the Portsmouth NH vs. Hudson NY comparison... I got a few texts and Tom or Dorothy is about to fire up their burner account...
DeleteYes - Portsmouth, NH has a City Manager system...
And yes, their mayor is an Olympian who can hold down a real competitive tech job and Hudson's mayor is...
And yes their population is 4x larger at ~22k... their much larger budget is because they combine their City and School budget into one whole. Hudson separates it. They also have more valuable homes. But they also suffer from the "curse" of being close to an economic hub (in their case Boston) with commuters and tourists.
If you compare the dollar property tax rate you would pay on a $1m home in each you will see Hudson runs more expensive, by a few thousand.
Portsmouth also reappraises its entire tax base (residential, commercial) at least once every 5 years, by law.
Hudson.... we do it when the BEA / Council feels like it... and then it becomes a political choice and game.
If Joe, Peter, or Lloyd become mayor they will be saddled with an unpopular tax ra-assessment moment that was delayed by Tom and Kamal for political purposes.
The real tragedy here... and why serious professionals would never take Hudson's virtue-signalling lefty politicians and 501c3s seriously... is that Portsmouth's public schools outperform on every measure.
Portsmouth schools win National Blue Ribbon distinctions repeatedly (top 1% of schools nationally, awarded by the DoE), and their students frequently win National Merit Scholar Finalists (top 1% nationally) and compete as peers with elite private schools in the country.
And competence is not a political issue.
In the last national election ~ 70% of Portsmouth NH voters voted for Biden/Democrat. So they have a a roughly equal Dem/GOP split to the City of Hudson.
What explains Hudson's systemic failure?
We will dig into this in future months... sure some of it is Portsmouth's wealthier tax base.... but it is also fiscal discipline, a professional governance culture, and higher voter turnout and famously vigilant residents who monitor budgets and take part in various (encouraged) oversight activities.
Going out on a limb here, but I'll bet Portsmouth's elected and appointed leaders don't spend their time taking smiling selfies in front of vandalized properties.
DeleteCorrect.
DeleteOne of our editors recently purchased property there and toured the schools...
We now believe Hudson grant-industrial-complex that seems to benefit the employees and managers above the youth is not just a governance failure, but a moral failure.