Sunday, March 13, 2011
One Remarkable Typo
Mrs. Anna Bradbury
Recently a reader asked me if I knew where Mrs. Bradbury had lived in Hudson, so I spent a little time yesterday, with the Hudson directories in the History Room at the library and on the amazing Fulton History site, seeking the answer to that question.
It seems Mrs. Bradbury may have grown up in Hudson and after marriage moved somewhere else, probably Claverack. Her return to Hudson in 1900, very likely after the death of her husband, was announced in the Hudson Evening Register for December 3: "Mrs. Allen Rossman and Mrs. Anna Bradbury, former Hudsonians, have moved to this city from Claverack, where they have been spending the summer."
During her first years back in Hudson, Mrs. Bradbury lived as a boarder at 4 East Court Street. In 1904, she took up residence at 729 Warren Street.
In 1910, Mrs. Bradbury moved from 729 Warren Street to 620 Union--the Home for the Aged--where she lived for the next eight years.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Proposal for Union and First Streets
On Friday morning, Kevin Walker, accompanied by Galloway attorney Mark Greenberg, appeared before the Historic Preservation Commission to present a revised proposal for new construction on the corner of Union and First streets.
The plan involves constructing two attached houses facing Union Street and one freestanding house facing First Street, and demolishing the existing house on Cherry Alley and constructing on its footprint a fourth house, being called a carriage house, with a garage door in the center of the facade facing First Street.
Most of the discussion at the HPC meeting focused on the house that will be situated along Cherry Alley. Walker submitted photographs documenting the poor condition of the existing building to justify razing it, including pictures of its concrete foundation, which is crumbling. There were questions about why the garage door had to face First Street, and the reason given was that there was not adequate space for the garage to be accessed from the alley. This reasoning seems odd, since there are a number of garages and carriage houses along that stretch of Cherry Alley, all of which open onto the alley.
There was also discussion about the intention to use Hardiplank instead of wood clapboard to clad the houses. According to Walker, Hardiplank, which is fiber cement siding, "has the same personality as wood but not the problems." He pointed out that the two houses introduced onto Willard Place by Galloway were sided with cedar clapboard, and "the planks have shrank" in the short time since they were built. He explained that the house at 13 South Second and the addition to 136 Union Street that is now 15 South Second are both sided with Hardiplank. HPC member Nick Haddad suggested the possibility of using wood clapboard on the facades of the houses and Hardiplank on the back and side walls.
HPC member David Voorhees tried to refocus the discussion by reminding the commission their concern should be "compatibility with the surrounding houses." Chair Tom Swope predicted that the proposed houses would be so compatible with their surroundings that "they'll just disappear," and architect member Jane Smith expressed the opinion that overall the proposal was fine.
When the question was raised about the need for a public hearing, Greenberg discouraged that action. Greenberg pointed out that the project had been granted a certificate of appropriateness four years ago, and although the C. of A. had expired, the project was not substantively different from the one proposed four years ago. The only thing that had changed, he said, was the makeup of the HPC. There had been "no change in the character of the neighborhood in four years." Residents of the neighborhood, who had come out for Friday's meeting to make sure that the HPC did not waive a public hearing on this project, took issue with the statement, pointing out that nine houses in the neighborhood immediately surrounding the proposed project had new owners since 2007, and many of those new owners were engaged in painstaking restorations of their buildings. One resident objected to "ticky-tacky imitation Greek Revival houses" in their neighborhood of authentic historic buildings. Greenberg cautioned the HPC that there had to be "evidence that would change the prior ruling," intimating that a change in decision now could be considered arbitrary and capricious.
Smith argued the need for a public hearing "given the extent of the project," and in the end, the HPC voted to accept the application as complete and to schedule a public hearing. Swope requested that the plans submitted in 2007 be available at the public meeting. At the end of the meeting, after other matters had been considered, it was decided that the public hearing would be scheduled for Friday, March 25, at 10 a.m.--the HPC's regular meeting time.
Mayor Scalera, who was an active supporter of the project in 2007, was at the meeting but said nothing publicly. After the HPC had moved on to another issue, Scalera remained in the chamber, carrying on a conversation with Greenberg, Galloway's attorney, and Common Council President Don Moore.
Meanwhile, the project is scheduled to go before the Zoning Board of Appeals for an area variance on Wednesday, March 16. The ZBA granted an area variance to the project four years ago, but, like the certificate of appropriateness, it has expired. The ZBA meeting is at 7 p.m. in City Hall.
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| First and Union Streets |
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| Cherry Alley and First Street |
Most of the discussion at the HPC meeting focused on the house that will be situated along Cherry Alley. Walker submitted photographs documenting the poor condition of the existing building to justify razing it, including pictures of its concrete foundation, which is crumbling. There were questions about why the garage door had to face First Street, and the reason given was that there was not adequate space for the garage to be accessed from the alley. This reasoning seems odd, since there are a number of garages and carriage houses along that stretch of Cherry Alley, all of which open onto the alley.
There was also discussion about the intention to use Hardiplank instead of wood clapboard to clad the houses. According to Walker, Hardiplank, which is fiber cement siding, "has the same personality as wood but not the problems." He pointed out that the two houses introduced onto Willard Place by Galloway were sided with cedar clapboard, and "the planks have shrank" in the short time since they were built. He explained that the house at 13 South Second and the addition to 136 Union Street that is now 15 South Second are both sided with Hardiplank. HPC member Nick Haddad suggested the possibility of using wood clapboard on the facades of the houses and Hardiplank on the back and side walls.
HPC member David Voorhees tried to refocus the discussion by reminding the commission their concern should be "compatibility with the surrounding houses." Chair Tom Swope predicted that the proposed houses would be so compatible with their surroundings that "they'll just disappear," and architect member Jane Smith expressed the opinion that overall the proposal was fine.
When the question was raised about the need for a public hearing, Greenberg discouraged that action. Greenberg pointed out that the project had been granted a certificate of appropriateness four years ago, and although the C. of A. had expired, the project was not substantively different from the one proposed four years ago. The only thing that had changed, he said, was the makeup of the HPC. There had been "no change in the character of the neighborhood in four years." Residents of the neighborhood, who had come out for Friday's meeting to make sure that the HPC did not waive a public hearing on this project, took issue with the statement, pointing out that nine houses in the neighborhood immediately surrounding the proposed project had new owners since 2007, and many of those new owners were engaged in painstaking restorations of their buildings. One resident objected to "ticky-tacky imitation Greek Revival houses" in their neighborhood of authentic historic buildings. Greenberg cautioned the HPC that there had to be "evidence that would change the prior ruling," intimating that a change in decision now could be considered arbitrary and capricious.
Smith argued the need for a public hearing "given the extent of the project," and in the end, the HPC voted to accept the application as complete and to schedule a public hearing. Swope requested that the plans submitted in 2007 be available at the public meeting. At the end of the meeting, after other matters had been considered, it was decided that the public hearing would be scheduled for Friday, March 25, at 10 a.m.--the HPC's regular meeting time.
Mayor Scalera, who was an active supporter of the project in 2007, was at the meeting but said nothing publicly. After the HPC had moved on to another issue, Scalera remained in the chamber, carrying on a conversation with Greenberg, Galloway's attorney, and Common Council President Don Moore.
Meanwhile, the project is scheduled to go before the Zoning Board of Appeals for an area variance on Wednesday, March 16. The ZBA granted an area variance to the project four years ago, but, like the certificate of appropriateness, it has expired. The ZBA meeting is at 7 p.m. in City Hall.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Dog Tales: William et Buckley
It might be said that Buckley has a Napoleon complex. He overcompensates for his diminutive size by barking wildly and displaying histrionic fierceness whenever he sees a big dog, especially a big black dog like William. I remember an early encounter with Buckley. William and I were on one side of Warren Street, Buckley and his humans were on the other. As soon as Buckley spied William, he went into an apoplexy of barking--jumping and growling and showing his teeth. William was unfazed by this ferocity.
Several weeks later, while on a Sunday evening walk, William and I were invited for a drink in a neighbor's fenced yard. Buckley and his humans were already there. Once inside the gate, I let William off his leash, poised to intervene if things went bad between William and Buckley. Off leash and up close though, Buckley's attitude toward William was entirely different. He wanted to play.
In human years, William was already a septuagenarian and Buckley was a hyperactive five-year-old, but William was game, and the two of them raced around the yard endlessly. Sometimes it appeared that Buckley was chasing William; at other times, William seemed to be chasing Buckley. At one point, William, desperate for a break, followed our hostess into the house, where he emptied the resident dog's water bowl and devoured his kibble. When I chided him for bad manners and brought him back outside, the romp with Buckley resumed. It didn't end until William, exhausted, tried to hide under my chair, and one of Buckley's humans took him home for a time-out.
Demolition Opposition Update
The Save 900 Columbia Street petition will go to Jeffrey Rovitz at the Mental Health Association this afternoon, with a covering letter proposing a meeting to discuss alternative solutions.
MENTAL HEALTH ASSOCIATION PERSPECTIVE
ON 900 COLUMBIA STREET
There have lately been a few letters to the editor in the Register Star and a petition campaign regarding the Mental Health Association of Columbia-Greene Counties’ (MHA) plans for the property it owns on 900 Columbia Street in Hudson. Although a couple of the letters were needlessly provocative and misinformed, we do appreciate the tone of the letter from the Board of Directors of Historic Hudson. Although the building in question is not in an historic district, nor on the Local or National Historic Registry, nor ever part of a tour of Historic houses in the 20 plus years we owned the property, we respect their passion for saving older buildings and would expect nothing less in their response to our plans. We would like to take this opportunity to present our side of the issue.The mission of our agency is to assist people affected by mental illness in gaining skills and supports so they may live productive lives in the community with dignity and hope. We have been doing this since 1958, growing steadily such that we now serve over 1,000 children and adults in Columbia and Greene Counties. In addition, we provide preventive services to many youth and adults who may be at risk. We assist people in the areas of work, school, socialization, housing, goal setting, advocacy, peer support, strengthening families, crime victims support, managing symptoms, and crisis management, among other areas.
In the area of housing, we operate three 24 hour supervised residences and over 100 scattered site apartments. One of the supervised residences is located on 900 Columbia Street. It serves 10 adults who are learning skills that will enable them to live successfully in the community as they transition to more independent living. In this home, all 10 residents share common living space and one kitchen, with most in shared bedroom situations. Funding is primarily through the NYS Office of Mental Health (OMH). The current philosophy of the OMH is that whenever feasible, these large community residences should be replaced with clustered one or two bedroom apartments that are more in keeping with the way most people live. It is easier to learn skill building, allow for needed privacy, and is overall a more effective model than sharing space with 9 other people. The OMH has spent quite a bit of money over the years on the current building. At this point, however, given the state of disrepair and the enormous amount of money needed to return it to a functional living space, the OMH has indicated to us that they will no longer fund the building. In addition, even if this were possible, retrofitting the current building to fit the needs of the residents is not fiscally feasible, and it would displace them during renovation.
We have been searching well over a year for an ideal place for these clustered apartments, and have endured significant hostility from potential neighbors in alternate sites for which we expressed interest. In that process, we have come to the conclusion that the current property is wonderfully suited for our purposes. It is near Warren Street, within walking distance to markets, and close to doctors’ offices. We have not found a better site to meet the needs of the residents, which must be our utmost concern. Besides, at this time, there is no longer funding to purchase an alternate site. The MHA plan is to build clustered apartments in the back portion of the property while the residents continue to live in the current structure. Once the clustered apartments are ready for occupancy, the residents would move in and we would remove the current building, replacing that area with an attractive lawn, gardens, perhaps benches, and an area for our vehicles. The new facility will be wheelchair accessible, attractive, comfortable, affordable, and of greater benefit to the people we serve. The OMH and the MHA can simply no longer take responsibility for the current house as it is not in keeping with the mission of the organizations.
That being said, if Historic Hudson would like to initiate a conversation that includes well-thought out, practical ideas that go beyond simply suggesting we relocate or somehow save the building on our own, and most importantly takes into consideration the best interests of our clients, we would be pleased to participate. We feel ultimately this priority by our agency is in the best interest of the citizens of Columbia County.
Jeffrey Rovitz, Executive Director
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Dog Tales: William's Bear
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| William's bear in the early years |
Eventually, when William learned to trust that I would always come home, and I got tired of vacuuming stuffing and bits of plush off the rug, we kicked the stuffed animal habit. William, however, never lost his fondness for teddy bears.
Three or four years ago, a neighbor put a box of toys out on the sidewalk with "FREE" written on the side. In the box, taking up almost half of it, was a big caramel-colored bear. We noticed the box one afternoon on our way home from a walk, and William went straight for the bear. He grabbed the bear's head with his teeth and started tugging. William is a large dog, but the bear was so big that he had trouble getting it out of the box. I tried to help, but--for the first and only time in our life together--he growled at me. It was his bear. He'd spied it, and he wanted it. When he finally got the bear out of the box, he couldn't carry it without dragging it along the ground and tripping on it. Struggling, he finally decided to accept my help, and together we carried his prize up the street to our house--William holding it by the head, I holding it by the hind legs.
Progress for the Sloop Eleanor
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Not to Be Missed
Sam Pratt's latest assessment of the political landscape in Hudson in the run-up to the November election.
Demolition Opposition Update
Meanwhile, with a day and a half to go, the petition now has 559 signatures. If you haven't already signed it, please do. If you have, get your friends to sign it. Time is running out.
Dog Tales: The Pet Psychic
There was the unfortunate shopping trip when, at our second stop, William pushed his way out of the car and wouldn't get back in. There was the disastrous road trip when, at a rest stop in the middle of nowhere, exactly midway between home and our destination, William refused to get back in the car after a walk.
The start of any journey involved a half hour of wheedling, coaxing, commanding, and nudging, so after a while, I avoided all car trips except the essential ones: to the vet and to the groomer for a bath. That practice, of course, only exacerbated the problem, because the car now meant going someplace William didn't want to go. To remedy this, I came up with a plan I hoped would get William to associate the car with something good. Every evening, we would drive out to Wendy's where, at the drive-thru, I would order chicken nuggets off the dollar menu. Then I'd drive around until the nuggets were cool enough for William to eat, find a pleasant place to park, and then feed the nuggets to William. I did this for a month or more but never achieved the goal of getting William to leap eagerly into the car in anticipation of a special treat.
After William and I had been together for a few years, I learned from someone at a cocktail party about a pet psychic in the Berkshires who did her work over the telephone. Perfect. I figured if I could understand why William didn't like cars, I could cope with it better, and over the phone meant we didn't have to drive anywhere in the car. I set up an appointment on the psychic's website, emailed her a picture of William (as required), and called in at the appointed hour for our session.
According to the psychic, the cause of William's car problem was twofold: he associated cars with getting lost from his first humans, and he got a little carsick--not nausea, but anxiety about being stuck in an enclosed space (something I could relate to, since I feel the same way in planes). She predicted that time would mollify the first problem; for the second, she recommended Rescue Remedy.
At the end of the session, the psychic said to me, "William keeps telling me that he's a good dog and doesn't need obedience training. Why is he saying that?" I told her I didn't know. I was lenient--lax. We were obedience school dropouts. But when the call was over, the reason occurred to me.
A young German shepherd named Cupcake, who lived across the street, had just returned from doggy boot camp. She'd been pretty out of control, and her humans had sent her away to be trained. Just before our session with the psychic, William and I saw Cupcake for the first time since she'd come home. She was in her fenced yard outside her house, and instead of barking aggressively at the first sight of William, the way she used to, she slunk away and cowered when we approached. Clearly, William wanted to make sure he didn't get sent to the place where Cupcake had been.
First and Union Streets
One has to wonder why Galloway, who owns so many buildings standing empty in Hudson, has chosen to move forward on this plan for new construction.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Demolition Opposition Update
Dog Tales: Obedience School
The routine was the dog sits, the human gives the "stay" command (word and hand gesture), the dog stays while the human walks away. At first, William and I didn't do too badly because we humans were only expected to step back a few paces. William kept his eyes fixed on me as I backed away, looking confused and a little unsettled, but he stayed put.
Then the instructor upped the ante. After commanding the dogs to stay, the humans were to turn their backs on the dogs and walk away. The goal was to walk behind a building--totally out of the dog's sight--and the dog was supposed to sit motionless until the human returned and released him from "stay."
We tried. I commanded William to sit, and he did. I commanded William to stay, and he did. I turned to walk away, but before I had taken the first step, William was right beside me. We tried again. The same thing happened. We tried a third and a fourth and a fifth time. The same thing happened. The instructor gave us special attention and encouragement. We kept trying; we kept failing. At the end of the session, we were the only ones who had not managed a successful "stay." As we left, the instructor encouraged me to keep practicing at home until we'd mastered it.
In the car after class, William seemed dejected. He'd been a stray. He'd been a shelter dog. He'd been without a human of his own for God only knows how long. At home, he followed me from room to room. The first time I left him alone, he'd had an anxiety attack and chewed a couch cushion. How could I possibly expect him to sit obediently and watch me abandon him?
So I gave him a hug and kissed him on the muzzle and whispered, "You don't have to learn that." And thus my velcro dog and I became obedience school dropouts.
Last Night at City Hall
Two issues of critical interest came up at last night's informal Common Council meeting.
US Army Corps of Engineers The plan to get the US Army Corps of Engineers to conduct a reconnaissance report on South Bay has been in the works for quite a while--the initiative of the citizens' group called the South Bay Task Force (Patrick Doyle, Chris Reed, Michael O'Hara, Meg Carlon, Timothy O'Connor). Almost a year ago, in April 2010, members of the South Bay Task Force met with USACE representatives Jason Shea and Karen Ashton to discuss South Bay. Others attending were Common Council President Don Moore, Mark Wildonger of Scenic Hudson, and Benedict McCaffree from Congressman Scott Murphy's office. The outcome of the meeting was the determination by the USACE that South Bay merited a preliminary study, comparable to a Phase I environmental study, to discover if there were contaminants in the wetland and to explore the possibility of remediation. In June, at the South Bay Symposium, Patrick Doyle reported that the only thing required to get the USACE to conduct the $100,000 federally funded study was "a call from Scott Murphy's office."
In August 2010, Mayor Scalera and Moore asked Murphy to introduce a resolution authorizing the USACE study. Unfortunately, the authorization was not secured before Murphy lost his House seat to Chris Gibson, so the request was taken up by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who has introduced the resolution in the US Senate. The Senate resolution requires a local sponsor, so at last night's meeting a resolution was introduced to make the City of Hudson the non-federal sponsor. According to Moore, it will be late spring before we know if the study has been authorized.
The Sloop Eleanor Louise Bliss and Joe Kenneally were at last night's meeting, seeking the Council's help in finding a location on the waterfront to carry out the restoration of the 108-year-old Hudson River sloop Eleanor. Their original plan, explained at an introductory meeting on January 6, was to build a pole barn, estimated to cost $20,000, over the sloop at Kenneally's Clay Pond Farm property on Route 23B in Greenport and to carry out the restoration there. Last night, Bliss explained that there had been a "groundswell of interest that [the restoration] take place at the waterfront," and they were now seeking a building that could be used for the purpose. They require a space 40 feet by 20 feet with a 14-foot ceiling and electricity.
The Kaz warehouses on Cross Street, acquired by the Hudson Development Corporation (HDC) in December 2010, seemed to be the site Bliss and Kenneally were considering most seriously. Moore explained that the warehouses had been Mayor Scalera's suggestion but expressed his own opinion that "time might be a problem." (A family health emergency kept Scalera from being at last night's meeting to address the issue.) The restoration is anticipated to take three years, which Moore felt was too long a commitment for the warehouses since the City wants to demolish them and sell the site for development. Another HDC-owned property--the surviving building of the Hudson River Knitting Mill complex--was suggested as a possible site, as were some privately owned buildings on the waterfront, but the idea that Moore seemed to favor was that the not-for-profit venture rent space in the former LB Industries building.
At the end of a discussion that came to no definitive conclusion, Bliss asked, "What should I do next?" Moore answered: "Call me in the morning."
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| Photo credit: South Bay Task Force |
In August 2010, Mayor Scalera and Moore asked Murphy to introduce a resolution authorizing the USACE study. Unfortunately, the authorization was not secured before Murphy lost his House seat to Chris Gibson, so the request was taken up by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who has introduced the resolution in the US Senate. The Senate resolution requires a local sponsor, so at last night's meeting a resolution was introduced to make the City of Hudson the non-federal sponsor. According to Moore, it will be late spring before we know if the study has been authorized.
The Kaz warehouses on Cross Street, acquired by the Hudson Development Corporation (HDC) in December 2010, seemed to be the site Bliss and Kenneally were considering most seriously. Moore explained that the warehouses had been Mayor Scalera's suggestion but expressed his own opinion that "time might be a problem." (A family health emergency kept Scalera from being at last night's meeting to address the issue.) The restoration is anticipated to take three years, which Moore felt was too long a commitment for the warehouses since the City wants to demolish them and sell the site for development. Another HDC-owned property--the surviving building of the Hudson River Knitting Mill complex--was suggested as a possible site, as were some privately owned buildings on the waterfront, but the idea that Moore seemed to favor was that the not-for-profit venture rent space in the former LB Industries building.
At the end of a discussion that came to no definitive conclusion, Bliss asked, "What should I do next?" Moore answered: "Call me in the morning."
Monday, March 7, 2011
Demolition Opposition Update
If you haven't already signed the petition, please sign it now. If you have signed the petition, please don't sign it a second time. Instead, get someone else to sign it,
Dog Tales: The Homecoming
I adopted William from a shelter in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I was there, a few weeks after my dog Niklaas died, on a weekend visit to a friend. On the evening I arrived, I recounted over dinner my sad tale of looking for love at the Columbia-Greene Humane Society. After a week of daily visits to the shelter, meeting dogs, walking them, playing with them, wanting to adopt all of them and none of them, but mostly weeping for Nick, I gave it up out of fear that dogs I'd met would start disappearing and I wouldn’t know what had happened to them. (Back then, the Columbia-Greene Humane Society was not yet a “no kill” shelter, or if it was, I didn't know it.)
After hearing my story, my friend declared that, before the weekend was out, I would have a new dog, and first thing the next morning, we went to the Lancaster County Humane League. The shelter has a very efficient design. Small dogs, puppies, and cats are housed in a room at the center of the building. Ranged around the perimeter of the building are quarters for medium and large dogs, each with an indoor space and access to an outdoor area. People wanting to adopt a dog circumnavigate the building to view the dogs who need homes.
On my first trip around, I saw nothing that tugged at my heart. There was a Golden Retriever, and my friend urged me to ask about her. I did and learned that she wouldn’t be available for almost a week and there was already a waiting list of more than twenty people wanting to adopt her. Desperate to find a new dog to love, I went around for a second time, and it was then that I saw a dog who'd been outside on my first go-round. He was black, long-legged, and gangling, with one ear that stood up straight and one that flopped over. Only his color and size made him similar to Niklaas, a purebred Belgian sheep dog (hence the Flemish spelling of his name), but when he looked at me, I saw my dear departed Nick in his eyes. It was love at first sight.
He wasn’t ready to be adopted. He wouldn't be available until the next day. After I was interviewed and judged to be a worthy adopter, and the dog and I spent time together under the watchful eye of a member of the shelter staff, my name went first on his dance card. The next afternoon, I could claim my new love.
I don’t remember how I spent the rest of Saturday--I think I may have visited Longwood Gardens—but at the appointed hour on Sunday, I was back at the shelter eager to take possession of my new companion, whom by that time I had named William. After I’d signed all the papers and paid the adoption fee, William and I piled into the back seat of my friend’s car together, like teenagers being chauffeured by a parent on their first date.
I don’t really recall how we spent the rest of Sunday. I remember worrying that, although the shelter assured me he was housebroken, William might soil the white carpet in my friend’s condo, and I remember sleeping at the edge of the pullout couch, with my hand on William who lay beside me--I on the bed, he on the floor.
On Monday morning, my friend headed off to work, and William and I, after taking a long walk around the neighborhood, got in our car for the six-hour journey back to Hudson. Halfway home, we took a break in a little National Park somewhere in Pennsylvania, where William got a walk, a snack and a drink, and a chance to relieve himself. When I was ready to go, William wasn’t keen to get back in the car, but after a little coaxing he did. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but that was my first clue that William had a troubling aversion to cars.
When we finally reached Hudson, there was no parking space right in front of my house, so I had to park a few doors down. As we walked up the street, William turned and tentatively approached the front door of our next-door neighbors’ house—a house I’d entered many times. He hesitated, appeared to reconsider, then made a beeline to the next house, and bounded up the steps to the front door.
We were home.
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| The adolescent William at home in Hudson |
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Motorist Alert
Gossips has received word that Route 9G is flooded--right at the usual point, where the proposed Holcim/O&G haul road would cross the highway, and at the turnoff to Mt. Merino Road. The road has not yet been blocked off. Cars are still making their way through the water on the roadway.
Classical Music at Helsinki
It's 52 degrees and raining today, and the temperature and the rain are inexorably eating away the nasty piles of ice and hardened snow that line the streets. Although there's a snow shower in the forecast for tomorrow morning, the vernal equinox is only two weeks away and the approach of spring is palpable. What better way to celebrate the end of winter and the approach of spring than with chamber music played by exceptional young musicians at the beginning of their professional careers?
Next Sunday, March 13, Club Helsinki hosts the next concert in the ClaverackLanding Classical Series: the Chimeng String Quartet. "Chimeng" is Chinese for "enlightenment," and the four young women who make up the quartet--all part of the Bard College Conservatory of Music Class of 2011--bring an "exceptional blend of expression, skill, and artistic impression" to their performance. On the program for Sunday's concert are Mozart's String Quartet No. 22 in B flat major, the "Prussian, No. 2"; Janacek's Quartet No. 1, "Kreutzer Sonata"; and Brahms' String Quartet No. 1 in C minor. Artistic Director Gwen Gould describes the concert as a "delicious musical treat" certain to inspire and enlighten. Indulge yourself! Order tickets online at Columbia Festival Orchestra or Club Helsinki.
Back in the Day
In the 1960s, before the Healy Farm was sold and Greenport became strip mall heaven, Warren Street, like main streets all over the country, was lined with businesses that offered all the goods and services any American family could possibly need or want. There was also, at the top of the street, a movie theater that had been turned into a motel--an adaptive reuse so novel that it merited a historic marker.
In recent times, the Warren Inn has lost its reputation for being the place to stay in Hudson, but here's what it looked like back in the day. (Note the two Volkswagen buses at the right in the top picture.) Not shown is the Hawaiian lounge that was located in the motel--perhaps Hudson's answer to the original Trader Vic's, which opened at the Savoy Hilton in 1958 and moved to the Plaza Hotel in 1965.
Thanks to Jennifer Arenskjold for letting Gossips share this picture, which she received from Liz, the bartender at the Warren Inn, who has worked at the motel since the beginning.
In recent times, the Warren Inn has lost its reputation for being the place to stay in Hudson, but here's what it looked like back in the day. (Note the two Volkswagen buses at the right in the top picture.) Not shown is the Hawaiian lounge that was located in the motel--perhaps Hudson's answer to the original Trader Vic's, which opened at the Savoy Hilton in 1958 and moved to the Plaza Hotel in 1965.
Thanks to Jennifer Arenskjold for letting Gossips share this picture, which she received from Liz, the bartender at the Warren Inn, who has worked at the motel since the beginning.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Hudson on TV
WMHT has announced plans to do a 60-minute special called Our Town Hudson which will air in June 2011. It's part of a series of "video scrapbooks" showing area communities through the eyes of their residents. They've already completed and aired an episode about Amsterdam, NY, and are working on one about Bethlehem. Both can be sampled at the WMHT website.
WMHT is recruiting volunteers to shoot video that shows what's special about Hudson. There's to be an informational meeting and training session here on Monday, March 14, at 7 p.m. at John L. Edwards Primary School, 360 State Street (behind the Hudson Area Library). The only requirement is that you have your own video camera and bring it with you to the meeting. Participants will have from March 15 to April 4 to collect footage that "captures the personalities, businesses, activities, and history of the area" and provides "a sense of what it truly means to live in the town they call home." The video produced by local volunteers will be used to create the 60-minute episode about Hudson.
Demolition Opposition Update
Friday, March 4, 2011
Last Night's Public Hearing
In preparation for this year's Community Development Block Grant application, there was a public hearing last night to consider community needs. In the past, these public hearings seemed to be empty gestures. Community members came with earnest proposals for ways to use the City's potential CDBG funding, but the decision usually seemed to have already been made. Last night, however, one got the impression that the ideas put forward had a genuine chance of being pursued.
The hearing, conducted by John Duchessi of TGW Consulting Group (The Grant Writers), was sparsely attended. Common Council President Don Moore was there, as were Third Ward Alderman Ellen Thurston, First Ward Alderman Sarah Sterling, Scott Baldinger, and Gossips.
The maximum that Hudson can be awarded in CDBG funding this year as last is $400,000. Last year, the City got $400,000 to build an addition to the Youth Center at Third and Union streets, to be used as a senior center. It seems that project now needs more money in order to install an elevator, and Mayor Scalera reportedly wants to try to get more money from the CDBG program to pay for it. Duchessi indicated, however, that is was unlikely that more CDBG funding would be awarded to the project, since the original amount was supposed to be adequate.
Four ideas for using CDBG funding were proposed last night--two by Thurston, and two by Sterling. Thurston's first suggestion was to use the money for housing rehabilitation--making the $400,000 available to low- and moderate-income homeowners in the City's historic districts. The plan would help homeowners deal with the costs of maintaining their historic homes and provide a means to preserve the economic diversity of neighborhoods.
Thurston's second suggestion was to seek $400,000 to make improvements to the plaza surrounding Washington Hose, providing handicapped access to Promenade Hill and upgrading the playground. Thurston explained that this would support the rehabilitation and reuse of Washington Hose and it was a project that was talked about in both the Vision Plan and the LWRP. Since Promenade Hill is Hudson's most historic open space, there was some concern about making changes before a historic landscape study was done that could inform the alterations.
Sterling's first idea also had to do with Washington Hose. She suggested that an addition be built at the back of the building to provide much needed public bathrooms. Such a public facility would certainly be useful to both residents and visitors, assuming that, unlike the current public bathrooms in Henry Hudson Riverfront Park, they could actually be unlocked and accessible on a regular basis.
Sterling also suggested that the City might apply to the CDBG program for help in building a parking garage at Fourth and Columbia streets, but Moore pointed out that the cost of such a garage has been estimated at between $3 and $4 million, and $400,000 represented an insignificant part of that cost.
The idea that generated the most interest and discussion was housing rehabilitation. Duchessi advised that, in order to pursue the project this year, a citizens' committee should be formed now to create a program implementation plan for the CDBG application. The committee would need to set program parameters: target neighborhood, qualifying income level, and maximum grant to individual homeowner. It was generally agreed that only owner-occupied dwellings would qualify. It was also suggested that since the Robinson Street Historic District is currently being considered as the first historic district in the Second Ward that the area proposed for that historic district might be the area targeted for the proposed housing rehabilitation program.
The CDBG application is due on May 27, and before then there will be a second public hearing to present the project that the City is proposing for CDBG funding. It is not clear what the decision-making process is that will determine which of the ideas discussed last night will the proposal the City pursues, or if it will be something else altogether.
The hearing, conducted by John Duchessi of TGW Consulting Group (The Grant Writers), was sparsely attended. Common Council President Don Moore was there, as were Third Ward Alderman Ellen Thurston, First Ward Alderman Sarah Sterling, Scott Baldinger, and Gossips.
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| This computer-generated image of the proposed senior center by Matthew Frederick appeared on his blog, Hudson Urbanism. |
Four ideas for using CDBG funding were proposed last night--two by Thurston, and two by Sterling. Thurston's first suggestion was to use the money for housing rehabilitation--making the $400,000 available to low- and moderate-income homeowners in the City's historic districts. The plan would help homeowners deal with the costs of maintaining their historic homes and provide a means to preserve the economic diversity of neighborhoods.
Sterling's first idea also had to do with Washington Hose. She suggested that an addition be built at the back of the building to provide much needed public bathrooms. Such a public facility would certainly be useful to both residents and visitors, assuming that, unlike the current public bathrooms in Henry Hudson Riverfront Park, they could actually be unlocked and accessible on a regular basis.
Sterling also suggested that the City might apply to the CDBG program for help in building a parking garage at Fourth and Columbia streets, but Moore pointed out that the cost of such a garage has been estimated at between $3 and $4 million, and $400,000 represented an insignificant part of that cost.
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| Photograph by Peter Frank |
The CDBG application is due on May 27, and before then there will be a second public hearing to present the project that the City is proposing for CDBG funding. It is not clear what the decision-making process is that will determine which of the ideas discussed last night will the proposal the City pursues, or if it will be something else altogether.
An Exercise in Futility
The article also contains some memorable quotes from Mayor Rick Scalera, who wanted the building for the Hudson police department and city court.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
"A Tall, Sad-looking Man"
Time for another excerpt from the original Gossips of Rivertown. In the first four sketches, Alice Neal focused on the women of Rivertown. Now, in Sketch the Fifth, she casts her eye on the city's men, beginning with Mr. Townsend, pastor of the Congregationalist Church and husband of Mrs. Jackson's new friend and confidante.
The description given by Mr. Edward Jackson, of Mr. Townsend, the pastor of the Congregationalist Church, was—" a tall, sad-looking man, who seemed to have learned sympathy through sorrow." This last remark conveyed the impression made on almost every one, when he first came among them. He was always pale, as if from midnight watchings, and his large dark eyes at times seemed filled with an expression of unutterable sorrow. Yet he was so gentle that the smallest child in his congregation ran to meet him, looking up into his face with confiding love; and were any in affliction or distress, no one could suggest more hopeful words of consolation. He was always grave in manner, yet when he smiled, a beautiful light illumined his whole countenance, giving it that expression which some of the old masters have delighted to portray in pictures of "the beloved disciple." Indeed, "Aunt Underwood," one of the oldest among his charge, often said she was sure "the Apostle John must have looked just like her pastor; and it was no wonder if he did—that the Master had loved him better than all the rest."
His wife was not unlike him in gentleness and forbearance, but her manner was entirely different. She had been the petted, only child of fond parents, who wondered, as did all her friends, at her acceptance of Mr. Townsend, when wealthy and distinguished men at the same time sought her love. She had never been allowed one act of self-denial, for her wishes were anticipated from her cradle, and now she laid aside the gaiety and idleness of her luxurious life, to become the sharer in the humble fortunes of the pastor of a village church.
They had first met in the saloons of fashion, where the young lawyer so rapidly rising in his profession, and the beautiful heiress, Louise Warner, were the observed of many eyes. But though it was only natural that mutual admiration should result in deep regard, no one dreamed that this would still continue when "Townsend had become a mad religious enthusiast"—so said his gayer friends—and avowed his intention of forsaking the paths of wealth and ambition, for that lowlier way which his Master had through suffering trod.
Her parents argued and even pleaded in vain. Her duty to them would not admit that she should marry without their consent, yet she declared her intention of holding sacred the vows she had plighted to one whom she truly esteemed. When they saw that this resolution did not arise from a girlish sentimentality, but from a sincere conviction of duty and an entire change in her hitherto thoughtless character, opposition ceased.
"Let the child be happy in her own way," said her father; and so they were united, and the fashionable world wondered, pitied them, and as soon forgot even their existence.
None of their church to whom he came as a friend and a guide, knew of the self-denial Mr. Townsend had already practised, or how different was the quiet, humble life they now led, from that to which they had been accustomed. Rumours that Mrs. Townsend's family were wealthy, had, indeed, been borne to Rivertown; but the inhabitants decided it could not be true, when they saw how plainly she dressed and how studiously she avoided anything like display. True she had a piano, and for a long time some of the more rigid seemed disposed to consider it an unpardonable sin. Mrs. Townsend was a fine musician, and did not feel herself called upon to close her instrument for ever, or silence the brilliant voice on whose cultivation so much care had been bestowed. Surely those are "righteous overmuch" who would deny us the most exquisite and the purest of earthly pleasures—"the only one," says Horace Walpole, "we are sure of enjoying still in Heaven!" So thought Mrs. Townsend, and so said her husband, as, after the day's weary duties were ended, he listened to the choral strains which Handel and Haydn have left to keep their memory for ever in the hearts of men.
Sketch the Fifth. Male Gossips. Chapter I
His wife was not unlike him in gentleness and forbearance, but her manner was entirely different. She had been the petted, only child of fond parents, who wondered, as did all her friends, at her acceptance of Mr. Townsend, when wealthy and distinguished men at the same time sought her love. She had never been allowed one act of self-denial, for her wishes were anticipated from her cradle, and now she laid aside the gaiety and idleness of her luxurious life, to become the sharer in the humble fortunes of the pastor of a village church.
They had first met in the saloons of fashion, where the young lawyer so rapidly rising in his profession, and the beautiful heiress, Louise Warner, were the observed of many eyes. But though it was only natural that mutual admiration should result in deep regard, no one dreamed that this would still continue when "Townsend had become a mad religious enthusiast"—so said his gayer friends—and avowed his intention of forsaking the paths of wealth and ambition, for that lowlier way which his Master had through suffering trod.
Her parents argued and even pleaded in vain. Her duty to them would not admit that she should marry without their consent, yet she declared her intention of holding sacred the vows she had plighted to one whom she truly esteemed. When they saw that this resolution did not arise from a girlish sentimentality, but from a sincere conviction of duty and an entire change in her hitherto thoughtless character, opposition ceased.
"Let the child be happy in her own way," said her father; and so they were united, and the fashionable world wondered, pitied them, and as soon forgot even their existence.
None of their church to whom he came as a friend and a guide, knew of the self-denial Mr. Townsend had already practised, or how different was the quiet, humble life they now led, from that to which they had been accustomed. Rumours that Mrs. Townsend's family were wealthy, had, indeed, been borne to Rivertown; but the inhabitants decided it could not be true, when they saw how plainly she dressed and how studiously she avoided anything like display. True she had a piano, and for a long time some of the more rigid seemed disposed to consider it an unpardonable sin. Mrs. Townsend was a fine musician, and did not feel herself called upon to close her instrument for ever, or silence the brilliant voice on whose cultivation so much care had been bestowed. Surely those are "righteous overmuch" who would deny us the most exquisite and the purest of earthly pleasures—"the only one," says Horace Walpole, "we are sure of enjoying still in Heaven!" So thought Mrs. Townsend, and so said her husband, as, after the day's weary duties were ended, he listened to the choral strains which Handel and Haydn have left to keep their memory for ever in the hearts of men.
Sketch the Fifth. Male Gossips. Chapter I
Clever with Words
A reader turned me on to this. Click here, stick with it to the end, and your persistence will be rewarded.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Contemplating Windows
Habitat for Humanity is to be commended for making the effort to build houses that are compatible with Hudson's historic architecture. After building a little neighborhood of five one-story houses on Mill Street, which outnumber the existing houses on a dead end street at the edge of town, Habitat responded to the challenge of building houses more suitable to their surroundings when they moved to their next location in the 400 block of Columbia Street. In constructing these buildings, they did several things they had never done before--among them, involving an architect and building a pair of two-story attached houses. They made the effort with what they like to call their "Federal design," but why does the outcome seem somewhat less than successful?
The regular placement of doors and windows is so important to 19th-century facade design that sometimes, when there is no interior reason for a window or when the interior design makes a window impossible, a house has false shutters where windows should be to maintain the rhythm. An example of this is 201 Union Street where there's a chimney behind the false shutters. The windows and doors in the new Habitat houses are spaced evenly apart like 19th-century houses, but they are off center, which creates an awkward break in the rhythm of the facade.
The Habitat houses aren't the only houses meant to be compatible with their surroundings that miss what seems to be an essential shared characteristic of Hudson's historic architecture. The Hudson Homestead houses built by Housing Resources at various locations in the city have windows and doors that are irregular in their placement in different ways. For example, in these houses on North Second Street, the rhythm of the windows misses a beat, something seen in some badly altered facades around the city where windows that once existed have been closed up and covered over.
When tasked with creating something that is compatible with existing historic buildings, some architects seem to focus on the decorative details. I recall an early design for Crosswinds that involved the developer and his architect driving around Hudson identifying appealing details on various 19th- and early 20th-century houses--an interesting window here, an pleasant molding there--and then cobbling them together on an otherwise undistinguished big box of a townhouse apartment building. Perhaps if the focus were on the more basic elements like mass and the placement and size of doors and windows in the facade, compatibility with the buildings of our predominantly 19th-century city could be more satisfactorily achieved.
A comment made recently by a friend about these houses got me thinking about windows and doors. What is true for every unspoiled 19th-century building facade in Hudson--except for later 19th-century houses that are deliberately assymetrical--is the regular placement of doors and windows. They are spaced evenly apart, and they are centered on the building. This is true for major houses designed by architects and master builders, and it is true for smaller vernacular houses.
The regular placement of doors and windows is so important to 19th-century facade design that sometimes, when there is no interior reason for a window or when the interior design makes a window impossible, a house has false shutters where windows should be to maintain the rhythm. An example of this is 201 Union Street where there's a chimney behind the false shutters. The windows and doors in the new Habitat houses are spaced evenly apart like 19th-century houses, but they are off center, which creates an awkward break in the rhythm of the facade.
The Habitat houses aren't the only houses meant to be compatible with their surroundings that miss what seems to be an essential shared characteristic of Hudson's historic architecture. The Hudson Homestead houses built by Housing Resources at various locations in the city have windows and doors that are irregular in their placement in different ways. For example, in these houses on North Second Street, the rhythm of the windows misses a beat, something seen in some badly altered facades around the city where windows that once existed have been closed up and covered over. Demolition Opposition Update
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
"The First Time I Saw Hudson"
Scott Baldinger has a wonderful post on his blog at GoToHudson.net recalling his first visit to Hudson in the winter of 1985. As is the case for many of us who have settled here, it was the architecture of Hudson that amazed and delighted him and made him think that this was a place where he might someday like to live. His recollection concludes with an appeal for the preservation of this historic streetscape--what remains of an early settlement known as Schermerhorn Town--and, in particular, 900 Columbia Street.
Demolition Opposition Update
The Save 900 Columbia Street petition now has 278 signatures, but many more are needed. The petition "went viral" yesterday when Enid Futterman, publisher and co-editor of OurTown, put the link to the petition on her Facebook page, along with an appeal for the building that ended with this quote from Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi": "Don't it always seem to go /
That you don't know what you've got till it's gone / They paved paradise and put up a parking lot."
If you haven't already done so, please sign the petition.
The Sting on Warren
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