This year and last year, there has been an event in Hudson called Hudson Family Reunion. For those unfamiliar with the event, the 2024 application for City event funding (it received $1,000 in 2024 and $1,000 again this year) described it in this way:
The Hudson Family Reunion's goal to honor the rich legacies of families past, present and future of Hudson. This annual event will celebrate the love and support for the City of Hudson. The history of Hudson is important and should be preserved for future generations. After all it takes families to create and raise a community. . . . [The event] will bring them together and embrace past, present and those who have been reunited to Hudson along with networking.
This year, the Hudson Family Reunion Committee gave out awards. At this year's event, which took place two weekends ago, an award was given to Mayor Kamal Johnson.
Yesterday, at the gathering at Savona's, the Hudson Family Reunion Committee presented another award--this one to the Galvan Foundation. The award was accepted by former longtime mayor and special adviser to the Galvan Foundation, Rick Scalera.
I'd like to point out that this nativity award is funded by Hudson's useless $30k event budget. I still stand by what I proposed to the BEA last year: Scrap it and give those $30k to the CAC so that they can use it to plant trees throughout the city. It remains the better use.
ReplyDeleteThere's also an irony that should not be lost on the taxpayers: The event budget is supposed to support events that foster tourism. Nothing is truer to this goal than an award handed out in an event that is exclusive to those who attended Hudson High School.
Using an events fund to help provide seed money for well thought-out initiatives in their first year or two seems fine and a good way to support community organizations.
DeleteGiving money to the organizers of established events who have had a cycle or two to build their fundraising base and should have weened themselves from the public teat is simply wasteful pandering.
If the funds are meant to produce tourism revenue, what metric is used to measure success?
A "nativity award" sounds a bit suspicious, but I would not be giving CAC any money to plant new trees until they prove they can take care of our heritage trees. --peter meyer
ReplyDeleteLet's assume the group organizers all had good intentions and next year they may take additional steps to invite everyone, and perhaps not use the City funded event for political purposes in an election year.
ReplyDeleteThat said... the optics and response might explained... and it is always useful to 'invert' group names, practices, events, and funding, and see if it still makes sense.
Let's try that here:
>>
"The Hudson Newcomers’ Family Reunion will honor only those families who have arrived in our city within the past five years. This annual gathering will celebrate their fresh start in Hudson and the promise they bring for the future. The long history of Hudson, while acknowledged, is less central than the vitality of its newest residents. After all, it takes new families to shape tomorrow’s community. This event will bring them together, uniting recent arrivals while setting aside the traditions and legacies of older households."
The event will then endorse the mayoral candidate who arrived most recently, right before an election, and a well known lobbyist who arrived most recently, to secure tax breaks for a new developer in town. The event will be advertised mainly on closed WA and iMessage groups where new residents network.
Like the actual event that took place, this one is also sponsored by the Spark of Hudson, Colarusso, City Hall, and the local police union. (Or was that misreported?)
~
How would Mayor Kamal (from Westchester), Albany-based but ever present in Hudson Quintin Cross, and perennial candidate for office in uncontested races Claire Cousin (from Greenport) categorize the "Hudson Newcomers’ Family Reunion" event?
Kristen Zanotelli's (based in Greenport) keyboard will explode as she punches out angry missives on the locals-only private FB group berating the EVs and oat lattes next to orange organic wine. TRANSPLANTS cause global warming!!
>>>
All jokes aside:
The wise approach is of course to limit public funding for special interest events only open to some, lower taxes overall, and depoliticize city-wide events and traditions, especially ones leveraging municipal, State, and Federal funding.
Hi. You do realize that Kamal was born and raised in Hudson, and still living here? Claire actually lives very near Hudson High School, and not in Greenport.
ReplyDeleteNow, getting to the gist of this comment. Why do you have a problem with long time friends who were raised in Hudson, and are life long friends, having a reunion? Why does it require a response as convoluted as yours? You always seem to have that “Hey, you kids get off my lawn!” vibe. Comments like yours are tue main reason why the life long residents have an issue with those who decided to make Hudson their home in recent years. They feel like they don’t count, and are looked down on. It’s a very real feeling.
I’m sorry that you have an issue with those whose families have been the fabric of the community of Hudson for up to 150 or more years. If you were to take the time and actually say hello to them with sincerity, I can guarantee you that that they will say hello back. However, you choose to be a great divider. Not unlike our current dictator in DC. The very man most of you despise, but emulate every day.
Take the time to get to know those Hudson natives, and perhaps you’ll actually get the REAL history of Hudson, and not some surmised story that you think was Hudson.
Have a wonderful day.
What a load of crap: the problem is that the reunion is paid for with everyone’s money but only available to a subset of folks — most of whom don’t live in Hudson. Clear enough for you?
DeleteDear HBR (Hudson Born and Raised) -
DeleteThank you for writing, and thank you Carole for posting the comment.
HBR - it is worth responding to your comment to correct a common falsehood, and to go deeper to understand the true point of difference and why an exclusive event with public funds might not be wise.
1. re: "You do realize that Kamal was born and raised in Hudson, and still living here? Claire actually lives very near Hudson High School, and not in Greenport."
Kamal was in fact born and raised in Westchester County (Yonkers? Kamal, please chime in) and then moved to Hudson as a pre-teen, Claire currently lives where you note, and before that in the 1st Ward (as she herself shared on her campaign videos and materials), but her family mostly lived outside "the City of Hudson" in her formative years. Other "Hudson Born and Raised" point this out all the time without us asking.
Now, we do not care if someone was born in Timbukti, Taconic, or Tanners Ln in Hudson… but it sure does seem to matter to the HBR crowd who is, and who is not, "from Hudson." So we are simply pointing out that hypocrisy and that the loudest anti "transplant" voices are not actually "from" Hudson, or have now moved away (QC, and other Albany based folks who return mainly for Common Council Meetings). Ditto Kristen Z., and other Greenport residents who have very strong opinions about Hudson's political system and leaders.
2. re: "Why do you have a problem with long time friends who were raised in Hudson, and are life long friends, having a reunion?"
We have no problem with friends choosing who they associate with and doing what they wish to do with their own resources… we have a problem, as John noted, with tax payer public funds being used to further exclusive groups.
Also, didn't your award recipient (Kamal) label Hudson a "Welcome and Inclusive City", aka Sanctuary City?
Furthermore, we take issue with said nativist group (someone who favors the interests of native-born inhabitants over those of immigrants) then "awarding" an "Above & Beyond" award to two career politicians on the eve of an election (with a nativist undertone).
Kamal and Rick have not fully disclosed their Galvan financial ties and both have worked tirelessly for years behind the scenes for Galvan's tax breaks and who knows what else.
3. "You always seem to have that “Hey, you kids get off my lawn!” vibe."
No, if we had a lawn your kids would be welcome to play on it. And if we can buy you coffee or a drink to discuss all this please reach out to editors @ HudsonCommonSense.com
Our "vibe" is advocating for a more Apolitical (non-political), efficient (no waste of public funds) and equal (all residents treated the same) Hudson.
This is not revolutionary or exclusionary, it is the law, and it should be the norm.
4. "Comments like yours are tue main reason why the life long residents have an issue with those who decided to make Hudson their home in recent years. They feel like they don’t count, and are looked down on. It’s a very real feeling. I’m sorry that you have an issue with those whose families have been the fabric of the community of Hudson for up to 150 or more years."
DeleteHBR - we have no issue with other residents who follow the law, and we treat them all the same whether they have been here for a year or a century. In fact, "life long" residents are some of our most fanatical readers and content contributors, also some of our closest friends. This is not about "life long" vs. "recent". This is about about who wants to move forward, grow Hudson, treat everyone equally, vs. those who seem to yearn for the past, want to press the "pause" button on Hudson, which is of course impossible, and those who want some groups (sometimes based on race, other times based on location, other times based on personal relationships or political affiliation) to be treated preferentially when it comes to public funds and City Hall appointees and committees.
Also it is interesting that you note "150" years… was that an arbitrary number or do you just not care about the Native Americans who lived here originally for centuries? Do you write off the hugely productive English and Dutch settlers and their legacy from the 1600s to 1800s… or your real Hudson only starts in 1875 to 2000?
We didn't see on the event for the "Hudson Family Reunion" invite the asterisk "The Hudson Family Reunion's goal to honor the rich legacies of families past, present and future [BUT ONLY 1875 onwards until 2000, if your family arrived before 1875, or after 2000, you are deprioritized!).
We kid, but you get the point.
The strongest defense of this publicly funded event's exclusion of _some_ residents, as shared by organizers, is that it was accidental (omission, vs. commission) the event was in fact open to all, but the invitations were not shared widely. Which is understandable and a common problem when a town runs on FB, essentially locking in old (vs. future) social ties / silos.
But your riposte here says the quiet part out loud; this event was for one preferred community over the others.
Of course the irony is that two of our editors may have arrived in Hudson in the last decade, but our ancestors built this place in the 1700s and named the streets. And yet, we don't ask for a tax discount or for the City to sponsor our BBQs, and we certainly don't add it to our byline to demand extra affordances.
We may not all agree (in this town) what America is about... but it is certainly not about locking in hereditary privileges. Our republic was founded to do the opposite...
5. re: "If you were to take the time and actually say hello to them with sincerity, I can guarantee you that that they will say hello back."
DeleteWho says we are not embedded in the community. Why the broad assumption when in fact HBRs (who built your schools, who served as Supervisors for many terms, and whose families worked in factories or lived in the furgary shacks are the ones egging us on… we do not publish half of the gossips (small g) and evidence of hypocrisy provided to us by your HBR family and neighbors to take the high road and keep the debate about facts and principles.
6. re: "However, you choose to be a great divider."
No.
We choose to have standards. We choose to demand equal treatment under the law for all residents. We choose to demand value for our tax dollars. Framing reasonable standards and a city wide preference for effective government as "divider" is incorrect and in bad faith.
If you want to see division go look at Kamal's A) FB page, B) IG page C) the occasional City of Hudson Press Release, on the same day/topic, and compare and contrast the difference in tone, words and facts, shared about the same City event, and then consider how the message is tailored for the perceived audience.
7. re: "Not unlike our current dictator in DC. The very man most of you despise, but emulate every day."
This is like Hudson's version of Godwin's Law (Godwin’s Law states that the longer a discussion continues, the more likely someone will compare an opponent to Hitler or the Nazis.) In Hudson, if you can't win on facts or reason, you equate your opponent to Trump or accuse your opponent of racism. Boring.
Also super funny that your President (who won the popular vote, is from this state, and carried the majority of the HBR vote) is somehow this gross insult. Hudsonians should reflect how far out of lock step the City might be with the nation.
8. "Take the time to get to know those Hudson natives, and perhaps you’ll actually get the REAL history of Hudson, and not some surmised story that you think was Hudson."
We spend plenty of time with residents and neighbors, we just don't categorize them by "native" vs. non-native. You should try it.
Also, I'd rather hear about their futures and jointly make it better than hear about the past.
Since you offered suggestions to us…. allow us to make a few:
DeleteA: Why don't you reach out to new residents or simply invite them to your events? It takes two to tango, but in most other cities there are Welcoming Committees, or the Mayor is competent and welcomes folks and make valuable introductions to newcomers based on shared professional and personal interests.
Across religions and civic traditions, from Leviticus 19:34 in the Bible to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, the consistent norm is that established communities bear the duty to welcome and protect newcomers, not that strangers must first prove themselves. It is also polite. Portsmouth NH was founded around the same time, same industries as Hudson, and their City motto is "The City of the Open Door". Is Hudson really "The Friendly City?"
B: Next time you host a "Hudson Family Reunion", why don't you invite ALL Hudson families and if you have to give out awards, try to do it in an Apolitical way (a teacher that played a pivotal role in a student's life and path to a College scholarship, or a police officer or firefighter who acted bravely. There are plenty to choose from), or simply thank a worthy group without leaving any one out for political reasons (for example all candidates for office, old and new, short or tall, 1st ward to 5th ward) who run for office and step up to the plate of selfless public service.)
C: How can Hudson be better?
A minority of Hudson residents seem afraid of the future, obsessed with the past, dismissive of the new…. and it is not like Hudson, especially over the last 100 years, did anything particularly noteworthy from an innovation or industry perspective. After Hudson distinguished itself as one of the newly incorporated cities, first planned city post independence, and the whaler years of growth…. the only major invention was creating the drink category that is known as the "cocktail".
What other great fortune was created here? Or medical cure invented? Or civic tradition perfected? Or anything of note in the last 100 years?
Please educate your new city residents. There must be so many...
Parisians like to live in the past too, but they had a glorious past, you could forgive them for wanting to relive it.
~
In the end HBR, birthplace grants no distinction, honor belongs to those who act, who build, who advance liberty and prosperity.
Wouldn't it be great if 20 years from now there is another Hudson Family Reunion, all residents are invited, and the awardees have distinguished themselves at an international, national and state level across industries and academia, and possibly brought investment and opportunity back to Hudson (not just limited Albany grants that require matching funds and those who simply... never left.)
How can we build that future of opportunity and growth together?
I think a lot of the confusion and division around here is due to the cognitive dissonance between those who define “Hudson” by the school district boundaries vs those who define it by its official municipal boundaries. I would say the latter has slowly become the majority, and are not bound by nostalgia and nativism, and are just focusing on the current state and future success of the city. The former are confused as to why the latter pays less attention to the opinions of people who live in neighboring communities (Greenport, Claverack, Stockport, etc), than the opinions of people who actually pay taxes in Hudson, deal with its infrastructure, and live on its roads and waterfront. This is also compounded by the unfortunate zip code confusion and the brain drain that common in many rural communities across America.
ReplyDeleteAnd why does that have to be? Why not try to meet halfway with those lifelong residents? Maybe we ALL can turn this around? Instead of just being negative like this entire thread has turned into.
DeleteHBR -
Delete"When you want to help people, you tell them the truth. When you want to help yourself, you tell them what they want to hear.”
Take a piece of paper draw a line down the middle to make two columns. On the left make a list of the local Substacks, politicians, and career "community organizer" types who tell you what you want to hear... right before asking for your vote, asking for your money, or asking for you to join in their discrimination (based on immutable traits and place of origin) or scapegoating.
Then on the other side make a list of people who tell you what you don't want to hear, that may be true in the long-run.
Which list is longer?
~
Union Jack - super spot on comment.
The confusion between zip code, City of Hudson voting zone, Greenport voting zone, and HCSD voting zone, and then the library catchment/support area (is it the exact same as HCSD or not?) is the real "structural" issue ailing this town, and contributes to the lack of responsibility and tangible outcomes.
It might also explain why Kamal and his Kohort misjudged the primary election.
Because there are no halfway municipal borders, laws, elections, or taxes. You either live in one municipality or the other. Just like you live in one county, one state and one country. You pay taxes, vote, and help make decisions for the jurisdiction you live in. My comment was not negative or positive, it neutrally pointing out the ignorance (a neutral word) many people, including locals, have of basic civic governance and jurisdictions—your comment being another example. Hudson has elections and taxes and is governed within the two square mile municipal limits. Greenport and other neighboring communities don’t have a say, just like we don’t have a say what your town boards do. Would Greenporters support their property taxes funding a meetup mixer for newly Hudson transplants? Would you like for your next door neighbor to tell you what color to paint your house? Even if they feel entitled to have a say because they moved into their house before yours? This is why Kamal lost the primary, to the shock of the Facebook crowd. Because residents vote—and it’s based on where you live, not by alumni status or Facebook group. If you would like for Hudson to reunify and merge with Greenport, or even Claverack, Ghent, whatever… we can have that conversation. But you may not like the higher taxes, restrictive zoning and building laws, or progressive politics. That’s what’s called having skin in the game, which non residents don’t have outside of aesthetics and cultural affinity.
Delete