How It Was Done in 1886

John Mason reports in today's Register-Star on the Common Council's confabulations about how to achieve uniform, walkable sidewalks throughout city: "City mulls sidewalk repair." Given that ongoing discussion among our current aldermen, the discovery today of this resolution, passed by the Common Council on April 29, 1886, and reported in the Hudson Daily Evening Register on April 30, 1886, seemed serendipitous.

Because the text of the resolution is hard to read, it is transcribed below. Alderman Barry represented the First Ward, but it seems he may also have been chair of the Street Committee. Most of the locations cited are in the First Ward, but the numbering of lots and houses did not change until 1888-1889, so it's possible one or two of the offending lots were in the Third Ward.

Resolved, The owner or owners, occupant or occupants of the respective lots hereinafter specified, are hereby required and directed to lay, relay, or repair, pave or repave, grade or regrade the sidewalk and gutter in front of said lots, respectively, and where required to pave or repave it shall be with four feet flag in the center and hard brick on the sides, and to set or reset the curb and lay or relay the gutter adjoining the sidewalk, as follows: The owner or owners, occupant or occupants, respectively, of lot on west side of South First street, between Union street and Cherry alley, and lots Nos. 51, 101, and 125 Union street, to repave walk and reset curb; lot on west side of Third street, between Union and Partition, to reset curb and relay gutter; lots Nos. 112, 110, 106, 104, 102, and 80 Allen street, to repave walk and reset curb, under the direction of the City Surveyor on lines and a grade to be given by him, within thirty days from the time of the service of a copy of this resolution upon said owners or occupants, respectively, in pursuance of sub-division 5, section 33 of the charter of the city of Hudson.

A Chance Discovery

The last private owners of the Dr. Oliver Bronson House, the National Historic Landmark on the grounds of the Hudson Correctional Facility, were Elizabeth and Matilda McIntyre. Their brother, John F. McIntyre, had purchased the house for his unmarried sisters in 1883.

I always imagined that the sisters were middle-aged spinsters when their brother bought them the house, which they called Glenwood, but I recently discovered--quite by accident--Matilda's obituary which appeared in the Register-Star on October 31, 1914.

   
Matilda, who was 53 when she died in 1914, would have been just 22 when her brother bought the house and she and her sister took up residence there. The year after Matilda's death, Elizabeth, who was 15 years older than Matilda, sold the house to the State of New York, to expand the Girls' Training School, with the understanding that she could continue living there during her lifetime. Elizabeth died in 1917, at the age of 71.

The photo of the house, from the period when it was the home of the McIntyre sisters (1883-1917), is from Historic Hudson's collection and appears on the blog Dr. Oliver Bronson House Day Book.

Does Hudson Need a Bomb-Sniffing Dog?

CBS News photo

According to a report on CBS News a couple weeks ago, there has been an increased demand for bomb-sniffing dogs since the Boston Marathon bombing in April. But does the City of Hudson need one?

At Thursday night's Common Council Economic Development Committee meeting, John "Duke" Duchessi, who handles grant writing and administration at the Hudson Development Corporation, spoke of applying for a grant to acquire a K-9 Unit for the Hudson Police Department--specifically, a bomb-sniffing dog. It was unclear if the perceived need for a bomb-sniffing dog originated with the HPD (Duchessi said something about a hazards assessment) or was inspired by there being federal money currently available for such things.

Fine Dining in Hudson 70 Years Ago

It was the middle of World War II. Food was being rationed. Forty percent of the vegetables consumed on the home front came from victory gardens. Still, in spite of it all, you could get a sumptuous meal at the General Worth Hotel. Here is the menu for October 24, 1943.

A whole broiled lobster for $1.75 seems like a really good deal until you consider that the average annual salary in 1943 was something like $1,300.

In the Courtyard

In the Register-Star article about the Planning Commission giving site plan approval for the new use of 364 Warren Street as an alternative learning school, John Mason reports that Daniel Kent, executive director for the Galvan Foundation, said the ALP program would have "access to the recently renovated courtyard on Warren Street." "Recently renovated" raised a question. Was stripping it of every bit of foliage--magnolias, holly bushes, and other shrubs--what was meant by "recently renovated"? It turns out it wasn't. The report suggests the renovation has already happened, but it hasn't happened yet. 

Today, a crew was pulling up the brick paving in the courtyard. What will replace is not known.

Intel from Thursday Night's Committee Meeting

Sometimes information can be gleaned at a committee meeting long before it gets on the radar of the general public. The Common Council Economic Development Committee meeting on Thursday night may have provided one of those opportunities.

In her report to the committee, Sheena Salvino, executive director of HDC (Hudson Development Corporation) and HCDPA (Hudson Community Development & Planning Agency), talked about site planning for the former Kaz warehouse at the junction of Cross Street and Tanners Lane. The immediate response came from committee member John Friedman (Third Ward), who pointed out that the warehouse was in a floodplain, and, given the expected effects of climate change on the Hudson River, there would be at least two inches of water there in twenty years.

When Salvino explained that the HDC board had asked her to start thinking about site planning, Don Moore, Common Council president and chair of the committee, suggested that she involve Omni Housing Development, since "we're working with them," and they have "experience doing this sort of thing"--"this sort of thing" being developing affordable housing not designing buildings that can accommodate the expected return of South Bay.

It has been more than two years since we've heard anything about Omni Development and the plan to demolish Bliss Towers and replace it with dozens of duplexes scattered throughout the Second and Fourth wards or perhaps throughout the whole city. In January 2011, we learned that Omni had hired Tim O'Byrne, a site selection specialist from BBL, to work on the Bliss Towers replacement project. At some point in the last two years, Moore commented that the project was having trouble finding enough potential building sites, but no more information has been forthcoming. Moore's mention of Omni on Thursday was a reminder that the plan has not been abandoned, although its current status is unknown.

Interestingly, 248 and 250 Columbia Street, which are soon to be demolished by their owner to make way for a new five-unit apartment building, were on Fourth Ward supervisor Bill Hughes' list of fourteen buildings he thought could be demolished to make way for Bliss Towers replacement units. That was in September 2010. According to tax records, the current owner bought 250 Columbia Street in June 2011 and 248 Columbia Street in July 2012.

If the plan, as presented in April 2010, for replacing the 132 units of Bliss Towers with two-household buildings scattered throughout the city is moving forward unchanged, it should be of enormous concern to the property owners of the city. It will affect the entire city, and it should not be moving toward implementation without the public being made aware of what is happening. The first plank in the Hudson Democrats' 2013 platform, which addresses the staggering property tax burden in Hudson, states: "We support initiatives to increase housing density to help drive down taxes." As originally presented, the plan to replace Bliss Towers, which seems to be an attempt to provide a semblance of the American dream of suburbia in a city with a land area of about two square miles, is the antithesis of increasing housing density to help drive down taxes.
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So Long, Old Houses

The owner of these two houses--248 and 250 Columbia Street--was at the Planning Commission meeting on Wednesday night to submit an application for site plan approval. He intends to demolish the two houses and build on their footprint one new building that will have five one-bedroom apartments. The applicant said that Peter Wurster, code enforcement officer, had reviewed and approved the plans for the new building, but, checking the bulk requirements in the city code, Cheryl Roberts, city attorney and counsel to the Planning Commission, raised a red flag. 

The site is zoned R-4, and the minimum required size for a "dwelling unit" in R-4 is 1,500 square feet. Roberts pointed out that an apartment is a "dwelling unit," and since the total square footage of the new building being proposed is 1,700 square feet, there is no way that each of the five apartments can be 1,500 square feet. It seems like it may be time to refine the code and clarify the terminology.
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Of Interest: Hudson on YouTube

An incident that took place last night at the Half Moon, involving a Hudson police officer, was recorded and published on YouTube.
Gossips Note: At about 4:00 p.m. today, this video went "Private." The reason for this action is not known. 

The Return of the Turret

63 North Fifth Street in 1929

63 North Fifth Street in April 2012

63 North Fifth Street day before yesterday

63 North Fifth Street yesterday

Historic photograph courtesy Historic Hudson

Photos from the past week courtesy Jamison Teale

Bridging the Gap

At the moment this post was published, the Register-Star online poll showed that those who are fine with locating an alternative learning program at 364 Warren Street had a .2 percent lead over those who think it should be someplace else. On Monday, August 19--seven days before Daniel Kent expects the building will have its certificate of occupancy and sixteen days before the school year begins--there is to be a panel discussion that seems intent on making everybody feel fine about the plan. 

According to HCSD superintendent Maria Suttmeier, the spirit in which the invitation is being extended to the public is "a better understanding of the vision of both the school district and community." Common Council president Don Moore will moderate the panel discussion, which concludes with a forty-minute public forum.

Here's the agenda:

• 6:00–6:05  Opening Remarks (Moderator Donald Moore, Common Council President)
• 6:05-6:15  Hudson/Catskill Partnership Vision (Superintendent Maria Suttmeier, Hudson City Schools, and Superintendent Kathleen Farrell, Catskill Central Schools)
• 6:15-6:35  The Bridge ALP (Superintendent Bruce Potter, Berkshire Union Free Schools)
• 6:35-6:45  The Bridge Financials (Superintendent Bruce Potter, Berkshire Union Free Schools, and School Business Executive Robert Yusko, Hudson City Schools)
• 6:45-7:30  Public Forum (Moderator Donald Moore)

The meeting takes place, as so many other memorable meetings have, at the Central Firehouse, 77 North Seventh Street in Hudson.

A Building Changes Owners

Gossips regularly reports on buildings purchased by the acquisitive Eric Galloway and his several LLCs and not-for-profits. Today, for a change, we're going to report on a building that Galloway didn't buy: the factory building at the corner of Allen and Second streets, most recently the home of Irv Schroder & Sons All Steel Services.

In 2005 or there about, rumors abounded that Galloway was thinking of buying, was about to buy, had already bought this building, but the rumors turned out to be false. For years, the possible sale of this building--out of place in a residential neighborhood--has been the stuff of hearsay and speculation. It was for sale. It wasn't for sale. A sculptor who made giant works in metal wanted to buy it for studio and living space. Someone who designed outdoor gear for women talked of using it as an atelier and retail shop. There were perennial tales about interested buyers and curiously vacillating sellers.

Finally, this week, Gossips has received confirmation that the building has been sold. The new owners are Nick and Carrie Haddad. Nick Haddad told Gossips that they planned to convert the space into artist's studios, but his first priority was to improve the exterior appearance of the building. Haddad shares Gossips' fondness for the Art Deco design of the entrance and a curiosity about what the building's original doorway looked like. 

Some interesting things are known about the site of the building. From 1792 to 1837, before Allen Street (then called Federal Street) extended east beyond Second), it was the location of the first First Presbyterian Church. In the early decades of the 20th century, Mrs. Isaac Newton Collier, who lived in the Greek Revival mansion across the street (now St. Michael's Ukrainian Orthodox Church), owned the lot and maintained it as a formal garden. George Duguay, whose father was Mrs. Collier's chauffeur, tended the garden when he was a boy.

Little, however, is known about the building itself. Searching for some information, Gossips discovered this advertisement, which appeared in the Chatham Courier for July 24, 1947. One line in this appeal for employees by a children's wear manufacturer not only reveals the building's original use but also provides a clue about when the building was constructed: "BRAND NEW MODERN FACTORY. Built Especially For You."

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Happy Anniversary to Us

Fourteen years ago today, I met this handsome guy at an animal shelter in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It was love at first sight, and we've been together ever since.

"Every year of dog love is worth seven of the human kind."

Planning Commission Gives Site Plan Approval

As predicted, the Planning Commission on Wednesday night approved the plan to locate the Columbia-Greene Partnership Academy in the former Register-Star building at Warren and Fourth streets.

After discussing at some length whether staff members who drive to the location should be required to park in a designated parking lot or simply prohibited from parking on Warren Street (they ultimately decided on the latter), the five members of the Planning Commission who could participate in the deliberation and the vote--Don Tillson (chair), Cappy Pierro, Gail Grandinetti, Claudia DeStefano, and Glenn Martin--agreed unanimously to approve the resolution before them. (Of the two Planning Commission members not voting, Cleveland Samuels recused himself because he is employed by Galvan Partners/Galvan Foundation, Laura Margolis was absent.)

The four-page resolution, which apparently was drafted by Jonathan Cohen, attorney for the Galvan Foundation, contains some interesting details. Third in the litany of fifteen Whereases is this one, which quotes Hudson's rarely referenced 2002 Comprehensive Plan to justify siting an alternative learning program in the heart of the commercial district:

WHEREAS, as stated in Goal 3 of the City's Comprehensive Plan under "Create Improved Educational Opportunities for Residents": "In a community as diverse as Hudson, a culture of learning can serve as a glue that makes residents understand and appreciate those things they hold in common, along with those things that set them apart from each other. A community that promotes learning on the part of all its residents will certainly be more economically competitive, more culturally vibrant, and more civically involved and responsible."

The thirteenth Whereas mentions this goal from the eleven-year-old Comprehensive Plan again as one of the reasons why the project will have no adverse impact on community character:

WHEREAS, the Planning Commission finds that the project will not create an adverse impact to Hudson's community character as a school is an as of right permitted use in the C-C District and the City's Comprehensive Plan acknowledges as a goal, the creation of improved educational opportunities for all of its residents and such project shall serve Hudson students, among others.

Never in the discussion of the plan at the special meeting on Thursday, August 8, was the impact on community character mentioned or considered.

In Tillson's remarks after the vote, there was a hint that the written comments received from Warren Street business owners had been "taken into consideration" as he promised they would. "Whether you support this or not," said Tillson, "it's not an ideal location." Addressing the applicants, who represented the Galvan Foundation not the school districts involved, he continued, "We encourage you to look for another spot. If you haven't found one in two years, you need to come back."
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Ear to the Ground

Rumor has it that Peter Wurster, Hudson code enforcement officer, is resigning. Some say he plans to leave as early as the end of August. There is speculation that the mayor may not appoint Wurster's replacement until after the election because appointing a successor could be controversial.

Cultural Pollination or Logo Piracy?

We expect to see visual evidence of New York City's influence on Hudson but not necessarily Hudson's influence on New York City, so this is a surprise. On Monday, Chad Weckler's observant eye spied an Asian restaurant on Lexington Avenue near 62nd Street calling itself lilliandloo, and he took this picture.

Not only is the name almost the same as liliandloo here in Hudson (Melinda Slover spells lili with two ls not three), but the font and the use of color to distinguish the words on the sign are the same. All that's missing on the restaurant sign is the wonderful swoosh of color that forms a long macron over the double o.

Of Interest

The Register-Star has introduced an online survey that asks if you approve of locating the Columbia-Greene Partnership Academy at 364 Warren Street or feel it should be somewhere else? Click here to make your opinion known.

More About "The Bridge"

At the HCSD Board of Education meeting last night, Bruce Potter made a PowerPoint presentation about "The Bridge," a.k.a. the Columbia-Greene Partnership Academy. Some interesting information about the program emerged. The program is based on the work of New Zealand educational researcher John Hattie, author of Visible Learning and Visible Learning for Teachers. A professional development coach trained in Visible Learning methodology will be working with the teachers, and those teachers will be "some of the most talented staff" from Berkshire Union Free School. The students in the new program are students from the Hudson City School District and the Catskill Central School District who would otherwise be bused to Canaan for the day program at Berkshire Union Free School. Although the program at Berkshire is only for boys, the program planned for 364 Warren Street will have both male and female students.

A couple of audience members left after Potter's presentation, when they were told they could not ask questions or make comments until the public forum part of the meeting. When it finally came time for the public forum, at 8:45 p.m., most of the members of the public remaining wanted to comment about PINS (person in need of supervision), ask for a re-vote on the code of conduct, or urge that Lorraine Del Vecchio be retained as the coordinator of substitute teachers.

There were, however, some comments and questions during the public forum that elicited new information about the decision to house the "Bridge" program at 364 Warren Street. When an audience member commented that the twenty-six students (the number of HCSD students expected to be in the program) was just "a drop in the bucket" when it came to the total number of students in need of such a program, HCSD superintendent Maria Suttmeier revealed, "We're looking for something larger." Another audience member, concerned that, in the past, ALP students had been promised things they didn't get, wanted to know how the school district was going to "get past the negativity in the community," if a back-up plan was needed, and if the building would be ready by the time school started.

Responding to the last of the three questions, Potter said they had been given "every assurance [by the Galvan Foundation] that the building will be ready." Suttmeier, however, acknowledged that construction has stopped because the project has not been issued a building permit. She went on to say that "the ball was dropped with introducing us to the community," explaining that she had been critically ill during the month of July. She called 364 Warren Street "a temporary stop." "We're not planning to stay there," she said.

Addressing the issue of "negativity," Suttmeier said there were "a lot of misconceptions." She excused her failure to engage the community earlier in the planning process by saying her attention "was on my district and the program." She also indicated that she was "shocked" that the community had reacted as it did. She promised to "try to mend fences" and "help people understand what we are planning to do here" and concluded her comments on the topic by saying, "The decision was made with the students in mind."

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Historic Odds & Ends

Back in the 1970s, the Register-Star had a regular column called "Kramer's Corner," which had the secondary title "Odds and Ends." The column was often a kind of potpourri of loosely related historical tidbits. Such was the case with the offering for July 3, 1972, which includes these two intriguing items.

DID YOU KNOW THAT . . . The last execution in the Columbia County area took place in Hudson 90 years ago. About 15 years ago, the discovery of almost 100 human bones in the hills near Austerlitz revived memories of Oscar Beckwith[,] Simon Vandercook's murderer[,] who eventually was hanged for this crime in Hudson. Until about 10 years ago, there were at least two persons still living who remembered seeing Beckwith led up and down Warren St., by his jailer. A sign hung around his neck, read "Shake Hands With A Murderer For A Penny." The late Ernest Lasher, who lived to be almost 100 and who died several years ago, told me he had begged his father for 10 cents to give to Beckwith so that he could buy tobacco.

THE WARREN ST. BUILDING THAT houses The Register-Star was built as a jail in 1805. An old iron door to one of the cells, with a narrow slot in it through which the prisoners used to be fed is still on the premises. . . . 

NOT MANY PEOPLE are aware that one of Hudson's most famous landmarks, the fountain in the 8th St. Park [sic], would have long since been demolished had it not been for the generosity of Sam Finkelstein. In the mid-1950s, the base of the fountain became cracked and it was feared it might topple on youngsters playing there. The fountain was offered for sale to Mr. Finklestein, who had it removed from its base. He then told city authorities that if they would build a safe and study new base he would return it to the city, free. He did. That's why the fountain is still there to add pleasure to all who frequent the park.

The story of Oscar Beckwith is a grisly tale of murder and cannibalism which sounds more like something that might have happened in the Klondike than in Columbia County. In January 1882, Beckwith, who was mining for gold near Austerlitz, murdered a fellow prospector, Simon Vandercook. Beckwith cut his victim's body into little pieces and packed them in a pork barrel, but he kept out the heart and the liver, which he was reportedly eating when the posse arrived at the cabin that had been the scene of the crime. Surprisingly, Beckwith managed to escape on foot to Canada. It was three years before he was arrested, and another three years before he was tried and sentenced. 

You can read the whole story in the recollections of David C. Neefus, which appeared in the Chatham Courier for January 28, 1954. At the time of the hanging, on March 1, 1888, Neefus, then a young man of 24, worked for the Hudson Republican, and all of the newspaper staff got "free passes" to the spectacle from the county sheriff.

The story of the fountain's near demise in the mid-1950s is new to me. Sadly, thirty years after the fountain was saved by Sam Finklestein's largesse, the fountain was removed permanently and replaced by "Inspiration Fountain," the fountain we have now. 
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Another Amazing Image of the Past

Timothy O'Connor found this unattributed c. 1860 engraving of Promenade Hill and the waterfront in Carl Carmer's book The Hudson, originally published in 1939.

Torn Between Two Meetings

There are two meetings tonight: the HCSD Board of Education meeting and the Common Council informal meeting. Both begin at 7 p.m.

At the Board of Education meeting, Maria Suttmeier, HCSD superintendent, and Bruce Potter, superintendent of the Berkshire Union Free School District, are scheduled to update the board on the plans for the Columbia-Greene Partnership Academy. This presentation is a report to the board and only board members will be permitted to ask questions. The presentation comes early in a very long agenda, but attendees who want to speak on this issue or any other will have to wait through two "instructional conversations" (one of which has to do with the district's 2013 ELA and math test results), an executive session (the BOE's executive sessions are notoriously long), and four items of old business before a "Public Forum" is scheduled. The agenda explains the rules that govern participation in this part of the meeting when public comment is permitted.

With only twenty-three days left before the Columbia-Greene Partnership Academy is hoping to open in the former Register-Star building, Suttmeier is promising to "host more than one round table discussion dedicated to the ALP questions very soon." According to Suttmeier, she is working with Council president Don Moore to organize these discussions, and Moore has agreed to moderate them. What a concept--but, if the goal of these discussions is do anything other than try to convince people to be comfortable about having an ALP school in the middle of Hudson's revitalized business district, this is coming several months too late. 

Meanwhile, at tonight's informal meeting of the Common Council, the items on the agenda so far include the introduction of two new laws (renter protection and site plan review), resolutions about financing and budget transfers, and a status report on the plans for the police and court building. The City has until the end of August to complete its due diligence and decide whether or not to buy the building at 701 Union Street.

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Proposed New Local Law

In recent weeks, there have been a couple of issues related to site plan review by the Planning Commission. In the case of Fish & Game, some think the project should have been subject to site plan review, but it wasn't. In the case of the proposed Columbia-Greene Partnership Academy, more than two weeks passed after the City got wind of the project before it was decided that a site plan review was required.

Tomorrow night, a new local law, which seems to be bypassing the Legal Committee and coming straight to the full Council from city attorney Cheryl Roberts, is expected to be introduced at the Council's informal meeting. The law, to be known as the "Site Plan Approval Law," is meant to clarify what development projects proposed require a site plan review and "to promote the timely development and redevelopment of properties in the City of Hudson."  

The following language is proposed to replace the current Section 325-35A of the Hudson City Code, a section entitled "Site Development Plan Approval":

A.  Approval Required. No building permit shall be issued, other than for interior alterations or the erection or enlargement of one, two, or three family residences or accessory uses thereto, and no change in use or intensity of use which will affect the characteristics of the site in terms of parking, loading access, drainage or utilities shall be permitted except in conformity with an approved site development plan issued in accordance with this chapter. No certificate of occupancy for such structure or use shall be issued until all the requirements for such approval and any conditions attached thereto have been met. The continued validity of any certificate of occupancy shall be subject to continued conformance with such approved plan and conditions. Revisions of such plans shall be subject to the same approval procedure. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the following land uses shall require issuance of site development plan approval:

(1) All new commercial, industrial and institutional development on a previously vacant lot or parcel;

(2) New residential development containing four or more units in non-single family structures on contiguous or adjacent lots that have previously been subdivided;

(3) All expansions of existing commercial, industrial or multifamily properties which increase the ground floor area by at least 1,000 square feet or 25% of the existing ground floor area.

(4) Any conversions of an existing residential structure to a nonresidential or institutional use (excepting the establishment of a home occupation that is a permitted use or accessory use).

(5) All conversions of an existing nonresidential structure to a residential use containing at least three dwelling units.

Home occupation is defined as a "business, profession, occupation or trade conducted by the occupant of a dwelling unit or accessory structure and which is incidental and secondary to the use of the dwelling unit."

Official Opening, Officious Complaint

Tonight from 6 to 8 p.m. is the grand opening of the Democrats' 2013 campaign headquarters, located at 6 South Second Street. It is expected that the candidates and the party faithful will turn out in force to commence the 2013 campaign season.

The story making the rounds is that the location of the Democratic headquarters is causing Mayor William Hallenbeck some consternation. The storefront is located in a building owned by Housing Resources, and the mayor allegedly paid a visit to Stephanie Lane, executive director, to tell her he felt the situation was inappropriate and to remind her that Housing Resources owed the City money. As the story goes, Lane explained to the mayor that it was commercial space, it was available, and the Democrats rented it.

Hallenbeck may be upset because the space used by the Republicans last year as their headquarters--449 Warren Street, which belongs to Eric Galloway's Lantern Organization--is currently undergoing transformation into the Hudson Arcade and isn't available this year.  

The Worst Fire in Hudson History

A few weeks ago, the buildings still missing in the 300 block of Warren Street led Gossips to wonder what happened to them. This curiosity resulted in learning about the "Good Friday Fire" of 1965. Recently, among the old newspaper clippings given to me by Susan Troy, I discovered this item from a Register-Star column called "Kramer's Corner," telling about another memorable fire: the "Gray's Furniture Store Fire." The fire happened in 1902; the article recalling it appeared on March 8, 1972.

DURING HUDSON's long and illustrious history, it has been the scene of some big fires. One of the most destructive broke out early on March 8, 1902. In firemanic circles it is known as the "Gray's Furniture Store Fire."

The 1800's saw a number of conflagrations in Hudson.

One, on Aug. 7, 1838, burned 70 buildings and stores burned to the ground on the site where the Franklin Playground now stands [at the corner of South Front and Ferry streets].

ANOTHER TOOK PLACE seven years later, on June 28, 1844, on the riverfront. The three wharves, a vessel laden with flour, two lumber yards and 34 other buildings on Franklin, Ferry and Water Sts., were consumed with a loss of $175,000, a considerable sum in those days. [Franklin Street ran east of and parallel to Water Street between Broad and Ferry streets.]

SOME OLDER members of our present day fire companies can tell you of several really bad ones--such as the Lincoln Hotel, Oneida Market, Grand Union five-building fire between Fourth and Fifth Sts., on Warren, the First Reformed Church and the four-building fire between Fifth and Sixth. They were all general alarms.

BUT IT IS generally agreed that the "Gray's Fire" was the worst. A newspaper account said: "It was a fire that for fierceness has probably never been equalled in this city."

THE FIRE BROKE out about 5:00 a.m. in the store of Dosenheim & Co. It was disvoered by Miss Hattie Dosenheim, whose apartment was over the store. The flames spread to the building of W. C. Falk's dry goods establishment. At first, it was believed that the firemen had the blaze trapped here, but a sudden wind blew the flames in another direction and from that point on the fire just fanned out.

IT BLAZED INTO the Gray's Furniture Store building. Since there [were] occupants in some buildings set fire, the primary thought was to get them to safety, which was accomplished.

IN ADDITION to Dosenheim's, Falk's and Gray's, Van Tassel's Drug Store, Sheldon's, Booth's Photography Shop, the F & M Herbs' buildings, the Chas. J. Hermance Bicycle Shop and W. H. Crapser estate building were destroyed. 

HUNDREDS OF SPECTATORS were endangered when plate glass windows shattered into the street, and falling electric wires sent sparks shooting. Many firemen were in peril when roofs from which they were directing hoses started to collapse.

DOSENHEIM'S HEAD CLERK almost was trapped when flaming timbers crashed on him as he helped fight the fire. "A cry of horror went up," the newspaper account said, "and there was a rush of men into the debris to rescue him." He was found unconscious, but revived after being carried to safety.

GRAY'S FURNITURE STORE lost over $50,000 in stock, in addition to the building. Van Tassel's Drug Store lost $11,000 and 69,000 prescriptions. The F & M Herbs buildings losses exceeded $30,000 and the other fire-ruined properties were correspondingly high. 

Curious to know what buildings were involved in the Gray's Furniture Store Fire, I went to the History Room at the Hudson Area Library to check the Hudson city directory for 1902 and discovered that the buildings involved were 543 to 553 Warren Street.

• Dosenheim & Co., dry goods, where the fire started, was located at 545 Warren Street--now Ammi Ribar Antiques & Fine Period Frames.
• William C. Falk, ladies & gents furnishing goods, where the fire initially spread, was located at 543 Warren Street--now Bodhi.
• Gray's Furniture, where the fire spread when the wind shifted, was at 547 and 549 Warren Street, and Wm. H. Van Tassel, druggist, was also located at 547 Warren. This location is now Stair Galleries.
• C. J. Sheldon, dry and fancy goods, house furnishing, notions, etc., and Charles F. Booth, photographer, were both located at 551 Warren Street--now Noonan Antiques and Crawford & Associates. 
• William J. Crapser, groceries and provisions, was located at 553 Warren Street--now Hudson City Books.

It's not clear where the F & M Herbs buildings were located. The 1902 directory lists F & M Herbs as cigar manufacturers at 620 Warren Street. According to the directory, Charles Hermance lived at 549 Warren Street, but the location of his bicycle shop is not given.

The lost buildings were all rebuilt or replaced, for here is that streetscape today.

Smoke and Miserere

Gossips has covered the unhappy situation caused by smoke issuing from Fish & Game, and so has the Register-Star. Today, Sam Pratt reports that Peter Wurster, Hudson code enforcement officer, has dismissed the complaints brought by neighbors against the restaurant.

HPC Votes to Approve Armory Project

Rick Rector, chair of the Historic Preservation Commission, called it "the most major thing we have dealt with." HPC member Peggy Polenberg, who works as a buyer's agent for Eric Galloway, declared, "We should be doing cartwheels down Warren Street." On Friday morning, the Historic Preservation Commission voted to move ahead on granting a certificate of appropriateness to the design for the Galvan Community Learning Center, the adaptive reuse of the Hudson Armory for the Hudson Area Library, a senior center, and, in a new addition to the building, a community health center--the one caveat being that if significant changes are made to the plan as a consequence of the site plan review by the Planning Commission the project must come back before the HPC.

The approval did not come without the HPC expressing some concern about modernity and differentiating between old and new. Rector observed that the portico proposed for the entrance to the library on State Street "looks very classic not modern." Architect for the project, Vincent Benic explained he didn't want to have "a completely modern intervention" or to have this entrance compete with the original entrance to the building on North Fifth Street. He added that the more classical design of the portico "suited a library function."

HPC member Tony Thompson also had problems with the portico, saying it was not clear what the rationale was for having a Classic Revival entrance instead of continuing with "the modern feel of the courtyard." Benic reiterated that he felt that "putting something completely modern against the building was not appropriate."

The design for the new addition to the building, to be constructed on the footprint of the 1957 garage, has changed since the plans were first presented to the community in December 2012. The element that echoed the turrets of the original building has disappeared, and a parapet with a cornice has been introduced.

The design for the addition drew some criticism from the HPC. Concerned that there might be confusion about what was old and what was new, HPC member Phil Forman asked if they had considered "a more aggressive approach to differentiation." Winnie Moy, Benic's associate, explained that "putting a really modern addition on the building would take attention away from the original building." Benic added that they wanted to make sure the building, with the addition, was viewed "in terms of its totality."

Thompson commented that the design for the addition "seems to be taking architecture from a different period--a 1930s civic building." He questioned the introduction of a cornice "that exists nowhere else." Moy responded, "It's corbelling, and that appears on the drill shed."

Although Thompson, Forman, and Rector all expressed concerns that the portico and the addition were not modern enough or differentiated enough, the HPC made no requests for changes, as they had with the elevator tower proposed for the Hudson Opera House. In supporting the approval of the design for the Armory, Forman addressed this apparent inconsistency by saying that the original design proposed for the elevator tower, which "let the tower mirror the iconic building," was "a tremendous missed opportunity" to differentiate new construction from old. He then dismissed concerns about the portico proposed for the library entrance by saying that it "comes down to a matter of choice or taste."

In a voice vote, Rector, Forman, Polenberg, and David Voorhees favored moving ahead with granting a certificate of appropriateness. Only Thompson dissented, saying that "adding two historic styles to the building turns it into a mongrel." Architect member Jack Alvarez recused himself from the deliberation and the vote for reasons unexplained; Scott Baldinger was absent from the meeting.
COPYRIGHT 2013 CAROLE OSTERINK

Hit the Streets!

The Hudson Music Fest begins in eleven minutes! Three days of music wherever you go in Hudson. 

Check the schedule here or just get out there on Warren Street and follow your ears. Don't let the rain deter you tonight. Most of the venues are in tents or indoors, and after the rain, on Saturday and Sunday, the weather is supposed to be spectacular!

No Time for Public Comment

The change of use for the former Register-Star building is probably the most controversial proposal to be made for Hudson's central commercial district since 2010, when Eric Galloway's New York City-based Lantern Organization wanted to build Starboard, thirty-three units of permanent supportive housing at the corner of Warren and Fifth streets. Then, overwhelmingly negative community sentiment, voiced at a public meeting, caused Lantern to withdraw its proposal. Now, in considering a plan involving Galloway's Hudson-based not-for-profit, the Galvan Foundation, nobody wants to hear from the public.

On Thursday night, a special meeting of the Planning Commission to review the plan to locate the Columbia-Greene Partnership Academy, a.k.a. "the Bridge," on a significant corner of Hudson's main street, drew a standing room only crowd. The Planning Commission, guided through the process by city attorney Cheryl Roberts, heard first from Joe Catalano, attorney for the Lantern Organization and now presumably also for the Galvan Initiatives Foundation. He began by explaining that all the students (a maximum of sixty) and half the teachers (six) would arrive on a single bus from Hudson High School every morning at 8 and depart on a single bus every afternoon at 3. Later, he modified that to say that a second bus from Catskill would be arriving and departing each day. Catalano assured the commission that there would be "minimum use outside the building" and instruction would take place "behind closed doors"--including "modified PE," which Bruce Potter, superintendent of the Berkshire Union Free School District, a partner in this endeavor, explained involved such things as weaving and "literature-based assignments about exercise."
Correction: I've been told that Potter did not say weaving but rather Wii Games, which are video games that involve the player or players standing and playing sports against virtual opponents.

The Planning Commission's review of this project needs to be expedited because, if the building is to be used for the alternative learning program, it must be ready for students by September 4. According to Catalano, the developers "only recently" learned that a site plan review was required in order to get a building permit. According to all accounts, no one in city government knew anything about this plan until July 22, so whose fault is it that they are running out of time? 

Catalano asked the Planning Commission to authorize a building permit "at our own risk," meaning presumably that if the site plan was not approved by the Planning Commission, any work on the building done in the interim would be for naught. Roberts advised the commission that this would be illegal and told Catalano, "You've gone to the state legislature [to get enabling legislation passed]. This has been in the works for a while, but the Planning Commission has only just received [the application]."

According to Catalano, the work being done at the building now is all interior demolition. A demolition permit was applied for--by Rick Scalera, special adviser to the Galvan Foundation, whose signature appears on the document--and issued on the same day: July 23.

At the beginning of the meeting, Planning Commission chair Don Tillson explained that site plan review was limited to such things as lighting, parking, access and egress. After some discussion, the Planning Commission agreed to impose some conditions on the project:

• Site plan approval would be for only two years. Since the project is described as a "two-year commitment," and there is a two-year lease with Galvan, were it to continue beyond the two years, it would have to come before the Planning Commission again for review.
• The arrival and departure of students will be supervised. This condition is intended to prevent students from hanging out around the school and loitering in the neighborhood.
• There will be only one bus from Hudson High School and one bus from Catskill arriving and departing each day. According to HCSD superintendent Maria Suttmeier, "we already stop buses on Warren Street," so having two buses stop to discharge or pick up thirty or so students each won't be any different from what already happens.
• Faculty and staff of the school will not park on Warren Street and take parking spaces away from the customers of retail businesses. Planning Commission member Cappy Pierro helpfully suggested that they could park in the vacant lot, owned by the City, at Fourth and State streets, but Roberts pointed out that probably wasn't an option since "you're thinking of selling that lot."   

Roberts said she was not comfortable about drafting the conditions "on the spot," explaining, "It's very important that the conditions are satisfactory." Catalano volunteered Jonathan Cohen, another Galvan attorney, to draft the conditions. The plan is that, once the conditions have been defined to everyone's satisfaction, the Planning Commission will officially vote on approving and "go through the SEQR form" at their regular meeting on Wednesday, August 14.

When the question was posed of whether or not the project needed a public hearing, Pierro opined, "I think no, because we want to expedite this as much as we can." In spite of the fact that the room was filled to overflowing with people clearly interested in the outcome and just before the meeting Tillson had been handed a sheaf of written comments from Warren Street business owners who were unable attend, which he acknowledged and said would be "taken into consideration," commission members Gail Grandinetti, Claudia DeStefano, and Glenn Martin agreed that they didn't think a public hearing was necessary.

Meanwhile, just down the street, seven retail businesses were celebrating the opening of three new shops and the relocation of one in their midst. The festive mood was diminished only slightly by the presence of a few stunned and disaffected people who had come to the Sunset Soiree straight from City Hall. 

Can it be imagined that the revitalization of Hudson has gained so much momentum that it is a juggernaut--unstoppable and able to survive unscathed plans and decisions that don't take into consideration the interests of the city's main street businesses? That seems like a reckless assumption no municipality should make.
COPYRIGHT 2013 CAROLE OSTERINK