Witnessed on Warren Street

A Gossips reader witnessed the following incident this afternoon. The truck shown in the photograph was parked in the first metered spot on the southwest corner of Fifth and Warren. The front end of the vehicle extended into the yellow "No Parking" zone painted on the curb, and the parking meter was expired. At 4:32 p.m., a parking enforcement officer issued a ticket for the parking violation and placed it on the truck's windshield. No sooner had he done so than a passing HPD patrol car stopped, and the officer in the car told the parking enforcement officer to remove the ticket, explaining that the truck belonged to a fellow officer and the ticket would be voided anyway. The parking enforcement officer did as he was told and removed the ticket.  

Galloway Gallery: Exhibit 26

When Debby Mayer reported in Columbia Paper that the properties owned by Eric Galloway and his various LLCs and NFPs totaled 38, the question arose: What had Gossips, with a total of 25 (27 if you counted the Armory houses and the lot at Fifth and Warren, which was the motivation for the Galloway Gallery series and not one of the numbered exhibits), missed? 

Mayer was kind enough to compare the list of parcels she'd gotten from the city treasurer with Gossips' list and identify the 11 properties it seemed Gossips had overlooked. Some checking revealed that all but one of those 11 parcels were portions of something that Gossips treated as a single property. For example, 217 Partition Street, listed as a separate parcel in the tax rolls, is the back half of one of Galloway's three contiguous vacant lots on the 200 block of Union Street; a parcel listed in the tax rolls simply as "Deer Alley" turned out to be the land adjoining the Robert Taylor House, which was held by the previous owner and sold to Galloway with the house; the vacant lot on the corner of Fifth and Warren is made up of two separate parcels.

There was one house on Mayer's list, however, that had escaped Gossips' notice. It's this one: 438 Union Street. It seems that Galloway had his eye on a couple of houses on this block. A Gossips source reports that Galloway made an offer on 446 Union Street, an 1830 Greek Revival house, but then withdrew it.

On the topic of Galloway's holdings in Hudson, Sam Pratt answers a question that went unanswered when he posed it to Tom Swope, executive director of the Galvan Initiatives Foundation: How much property does the new not-for-profit foundation own in Hudson? For the answer to that question, see "Real property: What Galvan actually owns?"      

Gray Water Proves a Gray Area

At last night's Planning Commission public hearing on the proposed plan for 347 Warren Street, attorney Brian Herman seemed to do his client more harm than good in his presentation of the project. He first set the cat among the pigeons when he told the commission that the principals were applying for a full liquor license and that the indoor part of the bar, which will be open year round, would serve food. Michael Davis, in his two previous appearances before the commission, had told them the bar would serve only beer and wine, and the plans submitted for the bar did not include a kitchen. The commission's fear that they were being asked to review a site plan that kept changing was dispelled after Giovanni di Mola, the manager of 3FortySeven, made a hasty call to Davis's brother in California, who is a partner in the project (Davis himself was out of the country), and confirmed for the commission that the intention was to serve only beer and wine and explained that the food served in the bar during the winter months would be prepared by a caterer at a different location and delivered to the site.  

At one point, the meeting was reduced to an argument between Herman and Carl Whitbeck, legal counsel for the Planning Commission, about the number and placement of food trucks on the site. While Herman continued to insist that his client needed flexibility when it came to the size and number of trucks, Whitbeck, with voice raised, stated unequivocally that "the placement of units on the site requires site plan approval." When commission member Laura Margolis offered a way that flexibility might be achieved within constraints, Whitbeck said, "Why are we negotiating? We say what he needs to do."

In the end, the issues seemed to distill down to one: how gray water produced by the food trucks, primarily as a result of handwashing, would be contained and disposed of. Sam Starr, owner of Truck Pizza, offered the information that the "mobile vendor code book" required that food trucks be fitted with a 40-gallon holding tank for gray water, which could be removed or emptied and the gray water disposed of at a waste water treatment plant. Whitbeck said he was unfamiliar with the relevant laws and would have to review them before he could advise the commission about whether or not having a 40-gallon holding tank for gray water complied with the health code. 

Although the room was filled to overflowing with what appeared to be supporters of the project, only two people actually offered comments: John Friedman and Victor Mendolia. After identifying himself as an alderman representing the Third Ward, "where this project and most of the restaurants in Hudson are located," Friedman said that he had spoken with restaurant owners and constituents who lived in proximity to 347 Warren Street about the project and reported that, while there was some concern about more competition, "no one in the Third Ward is opposed to it." He offered the opinion that it was "a great use of space."

Mendolia encouraged the commission to "find a way to make it work," saying that the proposed project would create "a nice streetscape" and would "add to the redevelopment and revitalization of Warren Street."

In the end, it was decided that the public hearing would remain open, Whitbeck would draft a resolution that included stipulations to address the commission's concerns about aesthetics and public safety, and a special meeting would be held on Thursday, April 26, at 7 p.m., to review the resolution and render a decision. Despite the long and sometimes heated discussion, Donald Tillson, chair of the Planning Commission, stated, encouragingly, "In general, we're supportive of what [Davis] is trying to do."              

Such Chutzpah!

At the Hudson Area Library Board meeting last night, the trustees discussed, among other things, the input received from the focus groups conducted recently. One of the focus groups was designated for city and town elected officials, and although few if any of our Hudson elected officials showed up, officials from Greenport and Stockport did. It was reported that Greenport supervisor John Porreca expressed the opinion that the library should be located in his town and reiterated this idea in a subsequent email to the consultant who conducted the focus groups. What shameless presumption. The City of Hudson supports the library to the tune of $120,000 a year, while Greenport kicks in a mere $5,500. Perhaps if Greenport provided some real financial support for the library Porreca's suggestion wouldn't seem quite so ludicrous.

What emerged as the principal concern from all the focus groups was parking. People have always been dissatisfied with the parking available at 400 State Street, and the two potential new sites for the library--the Armory at Fifth and State streets and the Register-Star building at Fourth and Warren streets--offer no improvement. HAL board president Mark Orton told the trustees that he had spoken with Common Council president Don Moore and reported that "Moore is actively working on promoting a solution to the parking problem" in Hudson. The solution Moore is promoting, according to Orton, is a two- or three-story parking garage at the northeast corner of Fourth and Columbia streets--an idea that was part of Rick Scalera's "Plan B" for relocating the Department of Social Services. Orton told the board that Moore had spoken with Tom Swope, Eric Galloway, and Rick Scalera about the problem. 

Were this parking garage to be realized, it would only help solve the parking problem for the library if the library were to relocate to the Register-Star building, which is only a short block away. It would provide no solution to the parking problem if the library moved to the Armory, since people who complain about lack of parking are not likely to be willing to walk a block north over to State and then a block east on State to get from the parking garage to the library. 

One trustee reported being asked if the two houses north of the Armory--the two houses now being rehabilitated--were going to be demolished to create a parking lot for the library if the library moved there.

There is still time to make your thoughts about the library known. The library continues to gather feedback from the community with its online survey, but time is running out. Sunday, April 15, is the last day for responding to the online survey.        

Another Gossips Milestone

Yesterday, April 11, Gossips achieved another readership milestone: 2,000 pageviews in a single day. We've come close before: 1,985 on March 13 and 1,946 on March 30, but yesterday the pageviews totaled 2,008. Thank you, readers! 

IMPORTANT: Change of Meeting Venue

Gossips reported earlier today that the Council chamber at City Hall is being repainted. Common Council president Don Moore just announced that, because of the ongoing work, tonight's Planning Commission public hearing about the proposed plans for 347 Warren Street and its subsequent meeting to continue the site plan review will take place at the Central Firehouse, 77 North Seventh Street, instead of City Hall. The public hearing begins at 7 p.m.

The meeting of the Historic Preservation Commission to be held at 10 a.m. on April 13 will also take place at the Central Fire Station.   

Unsettling News

Gossips has learned that a Hudson resident, on his way home from Club Helsinki last night after Tommy Stinson's Tools for Timkatec benefit concert, was attacked and robbed. The assailants, who reportedly spoke mostly Spanish and called their victim a "f---ing white boy," made off with his credit cards and ATM card. Fortunately, the victim, although shaken by the experience, was not injured in the attack. This should be a warning to us all to be watchful and cautious on the streets of our little city.    

Modern Architecture in Hudson

At Monday night's meeting of the Common Council, after the schematic design drawings for the proposed senior center were presented, Alderman David Marston (First Ward) complimented Jane Smith for proposing a structure of modern rather than imitative period design. He made reference to a municipal building designed by Spacesmith in New York City that he admired: the NYPD Impound Center at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. For readers unfamiliar with that building, here it is.  

More photographs of this structure, which received a design award from the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, can be viewed on the Spacesmith website and at AIArchitect.

New Decor for Council Chambers

When Jane Smith presented the latest iteration of plans for the senior center at Monday night's informal meeting of the Common Council, she did so in a strangely unfamiliar place. It was Council chambers, but it seemed stark and vacuous. The portraits of two and a quarter centuries of Hudson mayors that line the walls were missing. Missing too was the built-in wall clock that hasn't worked since the Tracy administration.

Council president Don Moore explained that the room was being prepped for repainting. The walls, which are now aqua and dusty pink, are to be light gray; the spindles on the Council president's dais, which are now aqua, will be painted dark gray; and the carpet on the platform where the aldermen sit, which is now a dirty teal blue, will be replaced with gray carpeting. It's not known if the clock is being repaired or replaced.  Nothing, however, it being done to improve the comfort of the benches provided for the audience at Council meetings. 

Not to Be Missed

On the op-ed page of today's Register-Star, Dr. Norman Posner, past president of the Hudson Area Library Board of Trustees, assesses the library's current situation and makes a suggestion: "MY VIEW: A modest proposal."  

HCSD Budget Update

Audra Jornov reports in today's Register-Star on the Hudson City School District's plans for closing its budget gap: "HCSD fixes budget gap, prepares for vote." It involves eliminating teachers and giving district taxpayers the maximum increase in the tax levy allowed by state law: 2.78 percent.

Of Interest

Scott Baldinger comments on his blog about two projects now happening or being considered in Hudson--the Armory houses and the proposed senior center: "Not Too Shabby." 

Measuring the Value of the Invaluable

There was a time when the economic contribution of the arts to a community went uncalculated and underappreciated. Then, in 1992, Americans for the Arts did its first study of the role the nonprofit arts and culture industry played in strengthening the nation's economy: Arts and Economic Prosperity. Now in its fourth iteration, the study clearly demonstrates that arts and culture is an economic driver in communities. Americans for the Arts even provides a tool--the Arts & Economic Prosperity Calculator--that communities can use to estimate the economic benefit of the arts to them.

Now a new study has put a value on another apparent intangible: urban trees. Alderman David Marston (First Ward) brought to Gossips' attention this article that appeared in The Atlantic Cities: "The High Cost of Losing Urban Trees." It reports on a study conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service on the economic benefits--through energy savings, air and water filtering, and carbon storage--of the urban trees in Tennessee. Those benefits total $638 million. The valuations do not consider the aesthetic value of streets and parks lined with trees. Those benefits are more difficult to quantify, but, as the article points out, the Tennessee study was only a pilot. 

Similar studies have been or are now being done in Indiana, Wisconsin, New Jersey, and Colorado. One wonders how such a study could be initiated in New York.  

More Drawings of the Senior Center

Jane Smith, the architect working on the design for the proposed senior center, sent Gossips a complete set of the schematic design drawings for the building. These drawings have now replaced the images in last night's post about the senior center, and the drawings for the floor plans for the building are reproduced below.

Smith emphasized that these are schematic design drawings not "finally vetted" design drawings. Although the concept will remain the same, changes may be made to meet budget requirements. 

An Unusual Letter

There is a letter to the editor from Ed Cross in today's Register-Star, which takes the newspaper to task for mentioning his nephew Quintin Cross, still a fugitive from justice, in its coverage of the arrest of Jamont McClendon, Cross's alleged accomplice in the March 19 break-in at City Hall. The article, bearing the headline "McClendon arrested; Cross still on the lam," appeared on April 4, the day of the funeral for Leslie Cross--Ed Cross's sister and Quintin's aunt. 

The "Latest Iteration" of the Senior Center

At Monday night's informal meeting, architect Jane Smith of the architectural firm Spacesmith presented what Common Council president Don Moore called the "latest iteration of plans" for the proposed senior center. Smith stressed that the building was still in "schematic design" and talked about the thinking behind the design. She explained that the goal was to impact the existing historic buiding as little as possible and to design "a light, airy structure that is complementary to the existing structure." She described the materials to be used as "simple, authentic Hudson materials"--clapboard, wood, clerestory windows, a standing seam metal roof--and called the design "simple, pure architecture of this time."

Smith said that a model, showing the new building in the context of existing buildings, and realistic renderings of the proposed building would be presented to the Historic Preservation Commission, but given the time constraints, that might not be possible. According to city attorney Cheryl Roberts, there must be a recommendation from the Historic Preservation Commission before the State Environmental Quality Review can be done. She referred to a schedule that presumably had been worked out in February. Smith responded by saying that typically a project was presented to the Zoning Board of Appeals and the Planning Commission for approval before the final design was done, and it was the final design that was presented to the Historic Preservation Commission for approval.

Although Roberts made reference to a schedule for moving the project forward, David Voorhees, chair of the HPC, who was in the audience, was unaware that the project was expected to be presented to the HPC at its meeting this Friday, April 13. He pointed out that because there was a vacancy on the commission and two members had to be absent on Friday, there would not be a quorum and suggested that the HPC might have to schedule a special meeting on April 20 to review the project. 

There was also a question of extending the funding for the project. The funding expires at the end of August 2012, and the project obviously cannot be completed by that time. John Duchessi of The Grant Writers reported that the draft of a letter requesting an extension was now being worked on, but he was confident that the City will be granted an extension.

Karen Smith, whose house on Union Street is immediately adjacent to the Youth Center and the proposed new senior center, spoke for herself and her neighbors when she expressed concern about light from the new building flooding her backyard at night and noise from the building's mechanicals being disruptive. Jane Smith explained that the intent was that the light emanating from the building would have a much more residential feeling than the fluorescent light that now escapes from the building and pointed out that the mechanicals were positioned so that the building itself would muffle the sound.

Alderman Ohrine Stewart (Fourth Ward) was less than sympathetic. Not allowing Karen Smith to finish what she was saying, Stewart said that she lived on Columbia Street and had to deal with light pollution from the parking lots that surround the county office building at 325 Columbia Street and noise pollution from the truck route. She concluded by saying, "We all need to work together," but the implication seemed to be that Smith should stop complaining and suck it up. At which point Alderman Wanda Pertilla (Second Ward) said, of the thirty-four seniors who currently participate in senior programs, "They deserve it."

After the senior center presentation, the Common Council went into executive session to discuss the police contract and those tantalizing "real estate matters." 

An Interesting Development

Recently, an Associated Press article appeared in the print version of the Register-Star and online in the Times Union reporting that "a federal appeals court on Friday reversed a judge's order making the state provide apartments and small homes to thousands of mentally ill people." Nine years ago, a lower court ruled that the system of housing people with mental illness in group homes was more restrictive than necessary and ordered the state to move people into supportive housing, where they live in their own apartments but continue to receive specialized treatment and services. Friday's ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit was made on procedural grounds. It was decided that the Albany-based not-for-profit Disability Advocates Inc., which initiated the litigation in 2003, did not have legal standing to do so.        

One wonders what impact, if any, this decision might have on the Mental Health Association's plan to build a new facility of clustered apartments and to demolish the historic house where they now operate a group home.  

Last year, Jeffrey Rovitz, MHA's executive director, defended the organization's proposed action in a "My View" in the Register-Star primarily on the grounds that MHA was complying with the goals of the New York State Office of Mental Health: "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." The funding for the MHA project is coming from the OMH. It's not clear how much OMH's philosophy was determined by the 2003 court order, but in accordance with that philosophy, MHA's proposed new two-story building has four two-bedroom apartments, one one-bedroom apartment, and a studio apartment. 

An article about the decision in the New York Times says that "the long-term implications for the mental health system [of Friday's appeals court decision] are unclear." It also reports that a spokesman for Governor Andrew Cuomo said the administration was "reviewing the decision." 

Anticipation

In the past week, scaffolding has been erected around the Cornelius H. Evans mansion, one of a handful of buildings in Hudson individually listed in the National Register of Historic Places. All indication is that the wood architectural details on the brick building are being repaired and repainted. At one time, the brick on this house had been painted, probably some time in the latter half of the 20th century, but Eric Galloway had the paint removed from the brick several years ago, soon after he acquired the building.         

Framing the Viewshed: The Video

On February 25, The Olana Partnership sponsored a panel discussion entitled Framing the Viewshed: A Bend in the River. Moderated by Dorothy Heyl, the discussion involved three major players in a pivotal environmental battle in the Hudson Valley--J. Winthrop Aldrich, Carl H. Petrich, and Richard Benas--and recounted the successful opposition to siting a nuclear power plant on the Hudson more than three decades ago, on the unprecedented grounds that the plant would do visual harm to the viewshed. That panel discussion was videotaped, and the first of four parts can now be seen on YouTube. 

Happy Easter!

Easter Parade in New York City in the late 19th-century

Returning to the Scene

At shortly after 5 p.m., when I returned to the 300 block of Warren Street, the street was blocked off if you approached from the west but not if you approached from the east. Most of the cars that had been there earlier in the day were gone, replaced by others parked parallel to the curb on the north side of the street. A new addition was a row of motorcycles--scores of them--parked hip to haunch along the south side of the street.

Warren Street--Muscle (Car)-Bound

The first the other business owners on the 300 block knew about it was this morning when they came to open their shops and restaurants. Signs were posted on both sides of the street, from Fourth Street to City Hall Place, declaring that there would be no parking on Saturday from 2 to 11 p.m. American Glory was having its "First Annual 60s/70s Party" which included a classic car show. 

American Glory's owner, Joe Fierro, had gotten a mass gathering permit from the City of Hudson, approved by the mayor, the chief of police, and the DPW superintendent, but he neglected to tell any of his fellow business owners on the block that, on a busy spring holiday weekend, their customers wouldn't be able to park in front of their shops and restaurants. He also neglected to tell the staff at the Hudson Opera House, where sixty people were expected for a wedding reception, that the number of parking spaces available to them would be greatly reduced. 

As 2 o'clock approached, a handful of early birds were already parked on the north side of the street, parallel to the curb. It seemed briefly that Fierro might have abandoned his plan to park the cars diagonally on both sides of the street. But shortly after 2:30, the cars started reparking diagonally, reportedly tying up traffic as they did so. At one point, with most of the cars parked diagonally on the north side of the street and only one classic car parked parallel to the curb on the south side of the street, traffic on that section of Warren Street was reduced to one lane.

It will be interesting to see what happens if more cars show up. Will they be parked diagonally on the south side of the street? Will cars traveling on Warren Street be able to get through? Will police officers be there to direct traffic and mediate stand-offs? 

Stay tuned. Gossips is about to head back out there to see what's happening.    

Hudson in Literature

Tom Casey has an article in today's Register-Star about Hudson native Gary Grossman, grandson of the owner of Grossman's Bakery on Columbia Street (now Time & Space Limited), and his latest book, Executive Actions, the second in a trilogy of political thrillers, set right here in Hudson: "Grossman still calls Hudson home." Central to the plot is an assassination attempt on a presidential candidate during a primary stump speech being delivered in our very own Seventh Street Park.  

Update on County Buildings

John Mason reports in today's Register-Star that 25 Railroad Avenue has passed both Phase I and Phase II of its environmental review and Pat Grattan, chair of the Board of Supervisors, has the go-ahead to negotiate with Anthony Concra to purchase the building: "DSS building passes environmental muster." Apparently, the site is contaminated, but the contamination and harmful vapors have not penetrated the building.

Also in today's Register-Star, John Mason reports on the status of the plan to expand the Columbia County courthouse to provide handicapped access: "Courthouse work could start soon."

The Armory Houses

People who champion Eric Galloway and his activities in Hudson often talk about buildings he has rescued, derelict houses he has turned into occupied dwellings, people he has delivered from substandard conditions and given decent homes, and properties he has put back on the tax rolls. Those who have been paying attention know that most of this is hyperbole. With few exceptions, the buildings Galloway has purchased in Hudson were habitable and inhabited when he bought them, though most of them now stand vacant, and, except for 400 State Street (the library) and possibly the house he is reported to have purchased recently from Shiloh Baptist Church, all the buildings were on the tax rolls.


Two houses that Galloway has acquired recently, however, were notoriously derelict--the two houses on Fifth Street just north of the Armory. Their previous owners wanted them gone but apparently not enough to pay for professional demolition. Periodically it would be reported that they had been seen trying to dismantle the houses themselves. They even tried to get the fire department to set fire to them and use them for fire fighter training. 

In 2004, the City decided to seize the buildings by eminent domain. That effort was successful, but the City was required to pay the owners the appraised value of the houses, and nothing had been budgeted for the acquisition. In 2006, during Round I of Restore New York Community Initiatives, the City partnered with Eric Galloway and Henry van Ameringen to write a grant application for funds to restore the two houses and build one of Galloway's signature Greek Revival houses behind them, facing Prospect Street. Unfortunately, the project wasn't funded, and the next year the city attorney failed to file a document in a timely fashion, the houses were returned to their abusive owners, and the City was forced to pay the owners' legal fees.

In recent months, there has been lots of activity at the two houses. Regrettably, the first thing that was done was to remove a mature tree from the backyard, but since then attention has turned to repairing the foundations and removing layers of paint from the clapboard.

The houses are situated in a locally designated historic district, so before work proceeds much further, the project will have to go before the Historic Preservation Commission for a certificate of appropriateness. Fortunately, there is good photographic evidence of what the houses looked like in their prime. There's the photograph from the 1930s that appears at the beginning of this post and the one below, discovered by Lisa Durfee and published on her blog The Tainted Lady Lounge.  

Of Interest

Back in 2008, CBSNews did an investigative report about Eric Galloway's Lantern Group and two of the buildings it owns and manages in New York City. Recently, a Gossips reader informed me that the video had been removed from the CBS New York website, but today Sam Pratt located the transcript of the report online and published at on his blog: "CBS shines a light on Lantern."    

Allée Complete and in Bloom

The two new trees that were planted in Thurston Park last fall, to replace two that had died in the park's distinguishing allée of Bradford pears, are now in blossom. 

Planting the trees was the initiative of First Ward supervisor Sarah Sterling. The trees were planted by Ben Eaton of the Secret Gardener, who is caring for them during their first critical year. The project was funded with money left over in the coffers of the now defunct Hudson Beautification Committee. The trees will be dedicated to the memory of Fran and Vinnie DeGrazia, who were active members of the Beautification Committee. 

School Budget Update

Nathan Mayberg reports in today's Register-Star that Superintendent Jack Howe, who is retiring in two months, hopes that the newly discovered $1.2 shortfall in the school district budget can be "steadily worked down": "Howe hopeful budget gap can be reduced." According to Howe, the previously identified $1.3 million shortfall is being made up with a 2.78 percent increase in the tax levy. Meanwhile, the Hudson Teachers' Association is standing firm, stalwartly refusing to make any concessions in their benefits or their automatic annual raises.   

Be Your Media. Fund Your Media.

At 8 a.m. this morning, WGXC reported that they were just $5,000 away from meeting the goal of $30,000 in their spring pledge drive. The drive was extended by two days, and today is the last day to raise the funds needed to meet the station's operating expenses. The station reports that in the last forty-eight hours there has been an enormous rally of support. Now just a little more is needed to reach their goal. To make a pledge by phone, call (518) 828-0290, (518) 697-7400, or (518) 291-WGXC. To donate online, click here or on the image in the upper right-hand corner of this web page.  

Of Interest

Travel & Leisure has a list of "America's Best Spring Drives." Of the two dozen featured, Route 9 between Poughkeepsie and Valatie is twenty-second on the list. Unfortunately, there's no mention of Hudson as a place to stop along the way, but tourists following Route 9 with no variation will probably figure that out. Of course, following Route 9 also takes them along Greenport's fast food/strip mall corridor, similarly not mentioned as an attraction along the way.

An Idea Whose Time Has Come

At last night's meeting of the Common Council Arts, Entertainment & Tourism Committee, committee chair Chris Wagoner suggested that an issue talked about two or more years ago in the committee needed to be revisited: creating bicycle lanes and making cycling safer in Hudson. He cited New York City, where since 2006 more than 400 miles of traffic lanes for bicycles have been created. The types of bike lanes in New York vary from shared space to protected lanes, the most inventive of which moves the parking lane farther into the street and creates a protected bike lane between the sidewalk and the row of parked cars. 

It was acknowledged that Hudson's narrow streets make moving parking lanes impracticable, but the suggestion was made that bike lanes could be created in the alleys. Common Council president Don Moore made the point that ISTEA (Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act, now called TEA-21--Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century) had "a good deal of money in it for bicycle paths." The committee seemed to agree that an ad hoc committee should be formed to explore the possibilities and propose a bicycle path network for Hudson. 

With everything in our little city of two square miles within easy bicycling distance and the price of gas now exceeding $4 a gallon, this seems like an idea whose time has come.  

Not to Be Missed

Columbia Paper has an article, written by Debby Mayer, about Eric Galloway and his activities in our city: "He 'collects' Hudson." Mayer reports that Galloway owns 38 properties in Hudson--2 percent of all the taxable property in the city. That's 11 more than Gossips' count. It's time to expand the "Galloway Gallery." 

Things Aren't as Bad as They Seem . . .

They may be worse. Audra Jornov reports in the Register-Star that the Hudson City School District's budget deficit may be $2.5 million instead of the $1.3 million originally reported: "HCSD gap may be more than expected." 

About the Senior Center . . .

Common Council president Don Moore said at last night's Youth & Aging Committee meeting, responding to a question from Gossips, that he expected there would be a presentation to the Council about the project next week, at the informal meeting on Monday, April 9.

Tom Casey has more comments from Moore about the project in his article in the Register-Star: "Senior center plan still a work in progress."

Speaking of Hotels . . .

Yesterday, Gossips reported on plans, proposed six or seven years ago, for two hotels. One never happened; the other hasn't happened yet. As luck would have it, Gossips learned today of new plan for a boutique hotel in Hudson. An item was added this afternoon to the agenda for next Wednesday's Planning Commission meeting: "Initial review of proposed new hotel project at 542 Warren St." How's that for coincidence?

Vendors and Food Trucks

A few days ago Giovanni di Mola, manager of 3FortySeven, posted on Facebook the renderings of the plans for the lot surrounding the former gas station at 347 Warren Street. Yesterday, Scott Baldinger published those renderings on his blog, along with an enthusiastic post about the proposed project. 

Although the prospect of having food trucks offering tacos and burritos, pizza, Thai noodles, and Indian food all in one place is tantalizing to many Hudson residents and to visitors as well, it is having a different effect on some members of local government. When the project was first presented to the Planning Commission in February, commission member Cappy Pierro, formerly the mayor's aide and now Fifth Ward alderman, used the occasion to lament that the current vendors law (Chapter 307 of the City of Hudson Code) did not apply to food trucks situated on private property. Responding to Pierro, Carl Whitbeck, counsel to the Planning Commission, clarified that the vendors law addressed vendors that used public streets and sidewalks, and since the proposal for 347 Warren Street involved food trucks on private property, it had to be judged by the standards that applied in any site plan review, pointing out that there was nothing currently in the city code to prohibit the project that was being proposed. 

Pierro's determination to revise the vendors law has not abated. He has brought up the issue both in a Common Council meeting and in a Legal Committee meeting, and his statements give the impression that he is most interested in limiting the proximity of food trucks on private land to conventional restaurants. At last week's Legal Committee meeting, Mayor William Hallenbeck, speaking from the audience, echoed Pierro's concern.

Meanwhile, the Planning Commission's consideration of the project proposed for 347 Warren Street moves forward. Although at their March meeting, because legal counsel was not present, the commission did nothing more than receive the elaborated drawings they had requested the month before, a public hearing has been scheduled for Wednesday, April 11, at 7 p.m., after which, during their regular meeting, the commission will continue its site plan review and possibly render a decision.            

Author Revealed

The Galvan Initiatives' response to Alderman David Marston, which first appeared on the foundation's blog, now appears in the Register-Star as a letter to the editor: "Marston's Words." When the statement appeared on the blog, the authorship was unclear; the letter to the editor, however, is signed "Tom Swope, Executive Director, Galvan Initiatives Foundation." 

One Down, One to Go

Tom Casey reports in today's Register-Star that the Hudson police, working on an anonymous tip, located Jamont McClendon, the alleged accomplice in the City Hall break-in, right here in Hudson--in an apartment on the 200 block of State Street: "McClendon arrested; Cross still on the lam."  Of Cross, Chief Ellis Richardson is quoted as saying, "'I have the utmost confidence in the detectives, and we have a large enough dragnet. . . . It is only a matter of time before we get Cross.'"

Street Food on Warren Street

In February, Gossips reported on a plan before the Planning Commission to turn 347 Warren Street into a sophisticated outdoor food court. Now Scott Baldinger has the latest news about the plans and the renderings of what it will look like on his blog, Word on the Street. 

The Final Count

This morning and into the early afternoon, the absentee and affidavit ballots were counted from Columbia County. With all the votes now counted, in both Columbia and Dutchess counties, Didi Barrett wins by 300 votes.  

He Said, He/They Said

Sam Pratt investigates further into David Marston's statement about violations in buildings owned and/or managed by the Lantern Organization in New York City and the Galvan Initiatives Foundation's denial of any such violations: "Demonstrably: I do not think it means what you think it means."

Where's the Hotel?

Some people have expressed the opinion recently that Hudson needs a good hotel more than it needs more low-income housing. The talk of the Ace Hotel Group buying the Pocketbook Factory and Marina Abramovich taking over the St. Charles Hotel calls to mind that six or seven years ago, there were a couple of plans for boutique hotels in Hudson. Tivoli architect Peter Sweeny had a plan to build a hotel at the southwest corner of Fifth and Warren streets, and Richard Cohen was all set to convert his building at the northeast corner of Fourth and Warren streets into a luxury hotel with a swimming pool on the top floor. So why is it that we still don't have a hotel?

The lot at Fifth and Warren, previously owned by Hudson Development Corporation, ended up being sold to Eric Galloway in 2006 instead of Peter Sweeny, after a legal tussle that saw once and future city attorney Jack Connor (2006 was during the Tracy administration) representing Galloway because Galloway's regular attorney, Mark Greenberg, was representing Sweeny et al. Since he has owned the lot, Galloway first proposed a plan for a massive building that combined mall-like commercial space with market rate housing, then the ill-fated Starboard project, but the lot remains empty except for the American Glory food truck and its umbrellaed picnic tables. 

A comment yesterday from a reader drew Gossips' attention to 402 Warren Street--the building we all thought would be a hotel by now. In 2005 and 2006, Cohen appeared several times before the Historic Preservation Commission with plans for transforming the building into a hotel. His first plan featured New Orleans style balconies that extended out over the sidewalk; his second plan involved a new building at 406 Warren Street, with a zig zag wall and a perpetual waterfall. Neither design was ever approved by the HPC, and there was some indication at the time that Cohen may have engaged a new architect to come up with yet another design. 

To date, the only visible progress at this site has been to demolish the historic building at 406 Warren to clear the way for new construction. The demolition occurred in December 2006, and it is still a sore point for preservationists. Although the HPC had never granted a certificate of appropriateness for the demolition, Peter Wurster, code enforcement officer, issued a demolition permit, and although the demolition was and continues to be in clear violation of Paragraph 169.9.B of the preservation law ("Demolition shall be permitted only after the owner of the site has submitted and obtained design approval of his/her plans for new development under the provisions of this chapter, including an acceptable timetable and guarantees, which may include performance bonds for demolition and completion of the project. In no case shall the time between demolition and commencement of new construction or lot improvement exceed six months."), more than five years later, no punitive action has ever been taken.

Work, however, continues to be done on the building, mostly, according to Cohen, in places where it cannot be seen, like in the cellar. At the present time, work is being done to the back wall of the building. It seems that the foundation is the primary focus, although it appears that some of the window openings in the back wall are being bricked up. In one of the plans, this area was going to be the hotel's valet entrance.  

Economic Opportunity and Prosperity

An article in today's Register-Star reports that a project to gather local input about village development was launched in Philmont this past weekend. The project asks participants to prioritize seven themes, the initial letters of which spell the acronym DEVELOP: Distance of commute, Engaging activities, Village resources, Economic opportunities, Limit inconveniences, Overall beauty, Prosperity. One of the participants quoted in the article is none other than Phil Gellert of Northern Empire Realty, the controversial owner of a number of buildings offering low-income housing in Hudson. Gossips inventoried those properties back in November 2010, in a post called "Gellert Gallery."  

According to the article, Gellert identified "economic opportunity, limiting inconveniences, and prosperity" as the themes he considered most important for the village of Philmont. Somehow this seems a bit ironic. It is impossible to calculate the negative impact that Gellert's real estate holdings and his record as a landlord have had on these themes in Hudson over the past few decades. One of Gellert's buildings in particular seems, in some people's minds, to be a reason to support the proposed Civic Hudson project. 

Supervisor Bill Hughes (Fourth Ward) was quoted in the Register-Star a few weeks ago, lamenting the deplorable living conditions in some Hudson buildings and speaking of the proposed Civic Hudson project as the solution to the problem: "There is housing in this city where people have dirt floors, where they don't have furnaces, where walls have holes in them, unsuitable conditions. . . . We want to move those people out of those homes and get them into something like this."

It seems fairly clear that one of the buildings Hughes had in mind was this one at 718-720 Union Street, owned by Phil Gellert.

Last July, a tenant was evicted from this building allegedly for speaking out about the living conditions. The Register-Star coverage of the eviction revealed that Gellert was collecting $750 a month for the apartment in question--the lion's share of which was paid by a Section 8 subsidy. 

That all Hudson residents should live in decent conditions is not debatable, but is forfeiting the City's civic function and pride and partnering with the Lantern Organization to built yet more low-income housing the only way to ensure that? Surely, the City of Hudson, with the power to enforce its building code, and Columbia Opportunities, which administers the Section 8 program, could ensure that all apartments offered for rent in Hudson, particularly those subsidized by the Section 8 program, be decent and habitable. Besides, is there any reason to believe that if there are thirty-three new studio apartments in Hudson that thirty-three substandard apartments will miraculously disappear? More likely there will just be thirty-three more unfortunates in Hudson desperate enough to live in the substandard apartments. 

Talk Among Yourselves

Even though the Department of Transportation has not yet received the Common Council's March 20 resolution about the truck routes, DOT has offered its response: "the agency's hands are tied until Hudson, Claverack, and Greenport can come to an agreement." Tom Casey has the story in today's Register-Star: "On truck routes, DOT tells county municipalities ball's in their court."

April Fool's Day

Today is April Fool's Day, and, for the occasion, Gossips offers excerpts from an article that appeared in the Hudson Daily Evening Register on the eve of April Fool's Day in 1891. It's evidence that the late 19th-century sense of humor was a little different from ours today. 

All Fools' Day, by common consent during the centuries, has been dedicated to the God of Laughter, rose-lipped Son of Joy. . . . 

Gray haired men of affairs take as much delight in playing practical jokes on their contemporaries as their scions. A distingushed New York editor called up the office boy on April 1 and handing him a basket, told the boy to take it to a rival editor and ask for a bushel basket full of editorials. The boy went and returned in a short time with a small parcel in the bottom of the basket. The editor proceeded to unroll the small bundle, which resembled an Egyptian mummy in the number of its wrappings. At last there lay exposed before him the stump of a half consumed cigar. Carefully wrapping the cigar stump in its manifold covers again, the editor called up the boy, and as he handed him the basket, said:

"Take this back where you got it and tell the man that I did not send for the editor." Thus the humorous sender of stump was answered according to his folly.

Practical joking is very properly condemned when it has the tendency to do injury to life or limb. All forms of practical joking are frowned upon by those whose vanity or pride is injured. But who is there among us so dignified and reserved that he could restrain a smile while walking down Warren street behind a man upon whose back hung the sign: "For rent--Vacant room. Inquire in basement." It is doubtful, however, if the man who is awakened at 5 o'clock on April 1 by a loud and continued ringing of his doorbell will feel like cracking jokes when he finds an unfortunate yellow dog tied to the bell handle. But, after all, he might reflect that it is a much rougher joke on the dog.         

Gossips in Chronogram

The April issue of Chronogram, which came out this morning, has an article about Hudson and Columbia County, written by Hudson resident Peter Aaron and entitled "Where Historic Meets Hip." There are photographs of local people and places by David Morris Cunningham and a "Local Notables" feature about the area's "two most prominent" blogs: The Gossips of Rivertown and SamPratt.com. How cool is that?

Six Months Later

In September 2011, Gossips reported on the clear cutting of the backyard at 9 Union Street--a property owned by Eric Galloway. It was learned subsequently that some of the trees that were felled were actually in the yard behind 7 Union Street, and the owners of that house were reportedly not happy about their loss.

Yesterday, six months later, a reader sent Gossips this picture of the view from Partition Street now that all the trees are gone.