Turbulent Hearing, Predictable Outcome

One gets the impression that Planning Commission chair Don Tillson would rather waive public hearings, and when a public hearing is unavoidable, he secretly wishes--as sometimes happens--that nobody will show up. On Wednesday night, at the public hearing on the Armory project (a.k.a., the Galvan Community Center), Tillson didn't get his wish. Although half the seats in City Hall were occupied by Galvan employees, consultants, and attorneys and almost all the members of the Hudson Area Library board, there was still room for people who had concerns about the project.

Predictably, parking was a big issue. Crawford & Associates had provided a parking study which concluded that "the on street parking far exceeds the needs of the project and should be considered adequate to waive any onsite parking requirements." The Planning Commission was satisfied with the findings of the study and willing to accept its recommendation. Members of the public, however, were not.

Linda Mussmann recalled that when she and Claudia Bruce located Time & Space Limited in Hudson, back in 1991, they were required to provide their own offstreet parking for the performance space. She complained that the parking requirements specified in the city code are now being relaxed for others. She characterized the future parking situation around the former Armory as "dumping a lot of new cars in a neighborhood that already has a lot of cars and traffic."

Selha Graham-Cora, who runs the Sip 'n' Sudz laundromat at 453 State Street, also had concerns about parking. She intimated that her experience of parking in the area was different from what was reported in the traffic study. She also questioned the basis of the information about the number of patrons who walk and drive provided in the parking study by the Hudson Area Library. "I go to the library all the time," said Graham-Cora, "sometimes on foot, sometimes on a bicycle, sometimes by car. I've never been asked how I got there."

Alana Hauptmann also expressed concern about parking around the Armory, predicting that "people who live in the neighborhood will no longer have places to park." She suggested that, instead of maximizing the available space by building a new addition where the 1950s garage now is, that the space along Short Street could be used for parking. She also suggested that the area along State Street, instead of being developed as a plaza, could be dedicated to offstreet parking.

Claudia Bruce summed up the situation by saying that "the more successful the building is, the harder it will be on the surrounding community in terms of parking."

Another issue of great concern was what Galvan attorney Joe Catalano called the "medical wing." Exactly what this is intended to be had never previously been revealed to the public. At the hearing, Mussmann was the first to mention it, saying that she had served for two years on a health committee that looked at ways to provide primary and preventive care for people not adequately served by Columbia Memorial Hospital. Mussmann spoke of the proposed facility as a "walk-in clinic that should work not only in the daytime but at night." 

Claire Parde, executive director of the Healthcare Consortium, took up the task of describing what was planned. She spoke of a feasibility study to address "unmet community health needs," which looked at public use data and surveyed a thousand people. What was proposed, she said, was a federally qualified health center. Although she indicated that the feasibility study had identified its ideal location as "below Seventh Street, to serve the concentration of under-served," she said the health center would serve not only Hudson but all of Columbia County and parts of Greene County.

Alderman John Friedman (Third Ward) objected to the location, saying it was less than a mile from the hospital, and expressed the opinion that locating a clinic in this neighborhood was bad public policy. He suggested that Galvan's motive for leasing to a healthcare provider was to get tax credits. "Where is your lawyer?" Friedman asked the commission, referring to city attorney Cheryl Roberts. "This is not a proper use for this part of the city. You are not qualified to decide this. This man [Catalano] is lobbying you. The city does not need it. You [gesturing toward Catalano] need it."

When Friedman alleged that a medical facility was not a permitted use in this part of the city, which is zoned R2H, Tillson asserted that what was proposed in the application were simply "professional offices"--a permitted conditional use. This prompted Mussmann to insist that the facility would be a place where health services will be delivered, not just an office. "Something is wrong with the application," she declared. "You are not being told the truth about what is going to happen in that space."

The whole contentious conversation might have been avoided if someone in the room had been familiar enough with the zoning regulations to be able to clarify that a walk-in clinic is a permitted conditional use in an R1 zone and hence in any residential district in Hudson. Paragraph 325-7 B of the city code states the following: 

The following conditional uses are permitted, subject to the approval of the Planning Commission in accordance with Article VIII hereof. These uses are subject to the regulations specified below and elsewhere in this chapter:

(1) Hospitals, sanitariums, philanthropic or eleemosynary institutions and convalescent or nursing homes or homes for the aged, provided that with respect to such uses:

(a) Such hospital, institution or home does not primarily care for patients suffering from alcoholism and is not a transitional service facility.

(b) No building intended for such use shall be erected nearer than 50 feet to any street or property line, nor shall any lot on which such building is erected have an area of less than five acres.

(c) No building shall exceed a height of 45 feet.

Based on this, it seems the proposed medical wing should have gone to the Zoning Board of Appeals for an area variance, but I can't recall that it did. Perhaps it was exempted because the new wing is being built on the footprint of the old garage that's being demolished to make way for it. Still, that would only have relevance for the setback requirement not the lot size requirement.

Tillson more than once identified the proposed lessee for the medical wing named in the application as "River Health Care Incorporated." Padre mentioned Hudson River Health Care and made reference to a "robust provider network." Hudson River Health Care, or HRHCare, is a not-for-profit healthcare provider, founded in 1975 in Peekskill. It started with an ambulatory clinic in an abandoned department store on the main street of Peekskill that provided services to a community whose only other option was a county hospital 19 miles away in Valhalla. It now has nineteen clinics in the Hudson Valley--primarily in Westchester, Putnam, and Dutchess counties--and on Long Island, the closest one being in Pine Plains. 

After the public hearing, which went on for more than an hour, the Planning Commission convened its regular meeting. After some discussion about requiring the project to return to the Planning Commission every two years to reassess parking (it was decided it was meaningless to impose such a condition if there was no intention to rescind site plan approval), Claudia DeStefano, Gail Grandinetti, Glenn Martin, Cappy Pierro, and Tillson voted unanimously to grant site plan approval. Cleveland Samuels and Laura Margolis recused themselves--Samuels because he works for Galvan; Margolis presumably because her theater company, StageWorks, received a $5,000 grant from the Galvan Foundation in 2012.
COPYRIGHT 2013 CAROLE OSTERINK

Photos of parking around the Armory were taken shortly after 9 a.m. on Thursday, October 10      

Not to Be Missed

Sam Pratt reports on last night's "informational" meeting about the Columbia County airport: "Sgt. Flood: 'I Know Nothing."'

Paving Update

DPW superintendent Rob Perry has provided this schedule for completing the repaving projects now going on in the city.

• First Street was completed yesterday--Wednesday, October 9
• City Hall Place, Fifth Street, and East Allen Street will be completed today--Thursday, October 10
• Sixth Street and McKinstry Place will be completed on Friday, October 11

He added the caveat "Weather/equipment cooperating."

Next week, Third Street will be repaved. It will be interesting to see what alternate routes will be taken by trucks normally heading into Hudson on Route 9G.

Let There Be Trees

In June, Basilica Hudson conducted a fundraising campaign to plant trees and make improvements to its cinema space. Now, in the autumn planting season, the trees are going in along the Basilica's perimeter--nine 25-foot maples and one honorary dogwood.

The trees being planted are the first phase of a long-term plan to bring trees, shade, and natural beauty to the Basilica site. The plan was developed with the help of landscape designer Wenonah Webster and Pondside Nursery and was inspired by Christabel Gough, who offered to buy the Basilica its first tree. 

On Saturday, October 12, at 4 p.m., tree lovers and supporters are invited to a tree planting ceremony, at which time the final tree in this phase will be planted. Come prepared to lend a hand. Shovels and dirt will be provided. Click here for more information about the project and the event.

Important Reminder

Friday, October 11, is the last day to register in order to vote on Tuesday, November 5. 

In Hudson, elections have been won or lost by a handful of votes. Your vote counts! If you're not already registered, do so this week at the Board of Elections, 401 State Street. If you're not sure if you're registered, call the Board of Elections at (518) 828-3115 to find out.    

Important Meetings Tonight

At 5 p.m.  The Columbia County Board of Supervisors holds a meeting on the subject of the controversial proposal to expand the Columbia County Airport. Ken Flood, commissioner for planning and economic development, and Thomas Lanphear, from the county sheriff's office and the Emergency Management Office, will be present to answer questions. The meeting takes place at 401 State Street.

At 6:30 p.m.  The City of Hudson Planning Commission holds a public hearing on the site plan proposed for the Galvan Community Center, a.k.a. the Armory, at State and Fifth streets. The documents relevant to this proposal--the parking study, the site plan, the application for site plan review, and the Environmental Assessment Form--can be viewed at the City of Hudson website. The hearing takes place at City Hall. It is expected that, following the public hearing, the Planning Commission will vote aye or nay on approving the site plan.

Repaving the Streets

In August, Gossips reported the list of streets to be repaved this fall. Today, the Register-Star reports on the progress of the repaving: "City rolls out road-paving projects." For those concerned about side streets not being available for parking this weekend, DPW superintendent Rob Perry predicts that the repaving of First Street, City Hall Place, and Fifth Street will be completed on Thursday.

Every House Has a History

At last Wednesday's Legal Committee meeting, the topic of 248 and 250 Columbia Street came up. The main focus of the conversation had to do with the interpretation of the bulk and area requirements and whether the project needed an area variance because the apartments would not be 1,500 square feet each or because the lot on which the proposed new building would be built was not 7,500 square feet, or 1,500 square feet per dwelling unit.

Alderman David Marston (First Ward) took the opportunity to ask Per Blomquist, who owns the buildings, why it was necessary to demolish two of the few remaining historic houses on that block of Columbia Street--indeed, two of the few survivors of Urban Renewal in the Second Ward. Blomquist, who, according to tax records, bought 248 Columbia in 2012 and 250 in 2011, said that the mayor and the code enforcement officer told him the buildings were unsafe, because the brick foundations were buckling, and intimated that he felt pressured to demolish them.

There is no doubt that these houses have been abused and neglected in recent decades, but what of their past? The house at the left--248--is very old. Evidence of its antiquity are the central fireplace and one remaining six over six window. Both houses appear on the map of the Second Ward in the Beers Atlas for 1873.

A bit of searching the old newspapers at Fulton History provides a sense of the people who lived in these houses a hundred years ago. (A reminder: What we now call Columbia Street had several different names in the 19th and early 20th centuries. From Front to Third streets, it was called Fulton Street; from Third to Sixth, it was Diamond Street; from Sixth to Park Place, it was known as Gifford Place; and beyond that, it was, as it is today, Columbia Street.)

In September 1913, the Hudson Evening Register announced that Cecilia Walton, who lived at 250 Fulton Street, was to be married to Charles E. Brown, who lived just up the street, at 323 Diamond Street. 

In August 1914, Paul Sirand announced his new entrepreneurial business, with a very grand name, to be headquartered at 248 Fulton Street.

In October 1914, the Hudson Evening Register reported an untimely death at 250 Fulton Street.

Dog Tales: William's Weekend

At 15 going on 16, William has his good days and his bad days. Saturday was a good day. He went to Christ Church to be blessed. Then we walked home along Warren Street, stopping for lunch at Tortillaville, treats at Hudson Wine Merchants, and chicken at Bruno's. It was before one o'clock, and LICK hadn't open yet, so we couldn't get ice cream. But when we got home, I fixed him my own version of a Betsy's Bow Wow, just so he would have the whole gamut of treats he's grown to expect on a walk from Fourth to Second on Warren Street.

Sunday was a bad day. William went out for only the shortest of potty walks--to the tree in front of the house and back in again. And he wouldn't eat. My favorite trick to encourage him to eat--grating Parmesan cheese on his food--wasn't working. I grated heaps of Parmesan cheese over Turkey Medley, over Chicken Stew, over Savory Beef Recipe. He would eat none of it. By evening, although offered breakfast, lunch, and dinner, William had eaten nothing at all. 

I thought of driving out to PetSmart to buy a brand of food that had been recommended to me, but I decided to go with a sure thing: Tortillaville chicken. It was after 6:30. I figured I had just enough time to get there before they closed. I didn't want to risk going to the cash machine and possibly getting there too late. I would just ask for as much chicken as the seven dollars in my wallet would buy, hoping it would be enough for one good meal.

Realizing the chicken was for William and William wasn't eating, Brian and Allison were beyond generous. They gave me enough chicken for several meals. Later, after I had called Brian to report that Tortillaville chicken had done the trick--William had scarfed it down!--Brian came to our house with even more chicken! 

Thanks to Brian and Allison, happiness and contentment reign at Gossips Central. William has been feasting lavishly on Tortillaville chicken. When I mix a little with his kibble, he eats the kibble, too. They've promised to give me the secret recipe for their chops lickin' good chicken, so the culinary delight can continue . . . until William's fickle taste changes.

COPYRIGHT 2013 CAROLE OSTERINK

"It was a dark and stormy night . . . " at City Hall

The opening sentence in John Mason's report in the Register-Star on last night's Common Council meeting reads like an entry in the Bulwer-Litton Fiction Contest: "Hudson's seniors, neglected for years, victims of dashed hopes and swallowed promises, will apparently now have their long-awaited senior center." Mason's bathos reflects the drama of the meeting, but given the reports of how many people actually participate in the City's senior programs, one has to wonder where these masses of disappointed elders have been huddled, yearning for a senior center.

Last night, the aldermen had on their desks a document the size of a phone book for a major city, which contained the resolution authorizing the mayor to enter into a lease agreement with the Galvan Foundation, the lease agreement, the SEQR form, the site plan, and other supporting documents. Needless to say, the aldermen had questions. Is the 2010 Community Development Block Grant being repurposed? (We don't know.) Will the fit out proceed without this grant? (Yes.) Will there be an elevator and a handicapped ramp? (Yes.) Is this a self-contained space? (Yes.) Why are we being asked to vote on the lease before the construction begins? (Construction on the senior center is ready to begin now.) Can the Common Council vote on the lease before the Planning Commission has approved the site plan? (The resolution only authorizes the mayor to sign the lease.) Is the lease a critical component for financing? (Yes. Hudson River Bank & Trust Foundation will not consider an application for funding without a commitment from the City.)

None of the questions seemed unreasonable, but the mayor grew impatient. More than once he rose to complain that he and the seniors had waited two and a half months while the city attorney and the attorney for the Galvan Foundation negotiated the terms of the lease. He referred to the aldermen's questions as "delay tactics." At one point, he called upon Supervisor Sarah Sterling (First Ward) to speak on behalf of the seniors about the delays, which, according to the mayor, have been going on for eight years. Sterling gamely rose to speak, but what she said was probably not what the mayor had hoped she would say. She expressed the opinion that "if there's one final tweak, it won't hold up anything. We're almost there."

The one final tweak was the need, identified by Alderman John Friedman (Third Ward), a contract lawyer, for clarification on how the expenses for public spaces in the building would be prorated. Friedman argued that "all expenses are going to devolve to the City if there is no clarification." The mayor objected that "to change the document is an assault tactic and an obstruction for the senior center going to the Armory." He worried aloud that any change in the language would require that the document go back to the Galvan attorney.

In the end, it was decided that Friedman and city attorney Cheryl Roberts would take a half hour to amend the language--about ten words--in a specific section of the lease "to ensure that the City is only paying for public spaces in the section of the building that the City is renting." That accomplished, the Council president Don Moore called for a voice vote to amend the resolution; the city attorney asked that the minutes reflect that the Council had reviewed the SEQR form and had no issues with it; and the Council, in a roll call vote, agreed unanimously to authorize the mayor to sign the lease. 

Alderman Wanda Pertilla (Second Ward), declaring herself one of the people responsible for the senior center, proclaimed, "Today we made history."
COPYRIGHT 2013 CAROLE OSTERINK        

Dissing the Dish

Gossips has posted on this topic before, but it seems this is something that can't be repeated often enough--at least not if the message is to be heeded. A certificate of appropriateness granted by the Historic Preservation Commission is required in order to install a satellite dish on a building within a locally designated historic district. 

Here's what the law says--Chapter 169, Section 5 of the Hudson City Code (boldface inserted):

A certificate of appropriateness is required to carry out any exterior alteration, additions, restoration, reconstruction, demolition, new construction, or moving a landmark property within an historic district, or to make any materials change in the appearance of such a property or its windows, or install or move a satellite dish.

The idea behind requiring a certificate of appropriateness is that the HPC can dictate where on the building the dish should be mounted, to avoid defacing the facades of buildings in the historic districts. 

Alas, Gossips was alerted this morning to this dish, allegedly installed without a certificate of appropriateness, on the top of the portico at 28 Union Street.

Since it seems so hard to get the word out about this issue, and because oftentimes the dishes are installed on rental properties by new residents who are unfamiliar with Hudson's preservation laws, it might be effective if the city attorney, who is also counsel to the Historic Preservation Commission, were to send an official notice to all the companies that provide satellite TV in the City of Hudson, informing them to it is illegal to install a satellite dish within a historic district without a certificate of appropriateness, accompanying that notice with a map of the historic districts. How hard could that be?

Meeting Reminders

Tonight at 6 p.m., prior to the informal Common Council meeting, which begins at 7 p.m., there will be a special meeting of the Council, at which time they will consider the lease with the Galvan Foundation for a senior center, to be located in the officers' hall of the Armory, and a bond resolution and SEQR (State Environmental Quality Review) for the proposed reuse of 701 Union Street as the police and court building.

Wednesday night at 6:30, the Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on the proposed site plan for the Galvan Community Learning Center, a.k.a. the Hudson Armory. Because this building is expected to house the Hudson Area Library, the senior center, and, in a new addition to be constructed at the rear of the building, a community health center, the exact nature of which is unknown, people have been concerned about parking. A parking study was done by Crawford & Associates. So that the public can prep for the hearing, the parking study, along with the site plan, the application for site plan review, and the Environmental Assessment Form (completed by the applicant), is available online at the City of Hudson website.

A Dog Story That Provokes Outrage

Two hours ago, Gossips published the link to an item in The New York Times reporting about brain imaging evidence that "Dogs Are People, Too." Then this news was discovered. At about 3 o'clock this afternoon, the dog in the photo at the right was found tied up behind City Hall--hungry, thirsty, and wet. His rescuers--Jamison Teale and James Gottlieb--dried him off, gave him food and water, and turned him over to the police. If you recognize this dog and have any information about the humans who failed to be caring and responsible guardians, call (518) 828-3388 or send a message on the Hudson Police Department Facebook page.  

Linguistic Vindication

I was once criticized--by Scott Baldinger, on his blog Word on the Street--for referring to the people with whom dogs live as the dogs' humans. He seemed to think, if memory serves (the post can no longer be accessed on gotohudson.net), that owner would be a more appropriate term. Now we learn, in The New York Times, that brain imaging findings show that "dogs have a level of sentience comparable to that of a human child," which suggests that the appropriate term for a dog's human companion is not owner but guardian: "Dogs Are People, Too." I'm not too far off thinking of myself as William's human, as he is my dog.

Book Notes

In late September, Lisa Dolan, literacy coach for the Hudson City School District, who writes a weekly column called "Lisa's List" for the Register-Star, interviewed Debby Mayer and reviewed her memoir, Riptides & Solaces Unforeseen. Dolan describes Mayer's memoir as "a personal, honest, often brutal account of her life partner Dan's rapid passage from life to death. And all that happened in between." The column appears in its entirety on Mayer's blog, 2becomes1.

Gossips learned recently that Byrne Fone's book Historic Hudson: An Architectural Portrait is now out of stock, and the publisher, Black Dome Press, is "looking into the possibility of a new printing." This is an important book for Hudson. The Spotty Dog regularly reports that Historic Hudson is the best selling book in the shop, and it is referred to often in comments by readers of The Gossips of Rivertown. Perhaps a flurry of requests from people who count on Historic Hudson continuing to be available will persuade the publisher to do a reprinting sooner rather than at some undefined later date. You can make that request here.

Dog Parade

In case you missed the Mystic Krewe of Barkus Pet Costume Parade yesterday, the Register-Star has a 1.38 minute video of the event on its Facebook page.

Job Opening in City Hall

At the Legal Committee meeting on Thursday night, it was revealed that the city has no assessor. Garth Slocum's six-year term as city assessor--he was appointed by Mayor Dick Tracy in 2007--ended on September 30. Slocum was not reappointed, nor has anyone else been appointed to fill the position. 

In today's Register-Star, John Mason reports: "Mayor William Hallenbeck Jr. said he's in conversation with the New York Conference of Mayors and the state Office of Real Property Services to determine whether the city's currently listed job qualifications are sound." The article goes on to say that the mayor is "looking at all the specifications to determine how to go about advertising for the position" and quotes the mayor as saying, "We may or may not wait till after the election." The entire article can be read here: "City seeking assessor."

Right now, many people are applying or reapplying for STAR exemptions, and it would be nice if there were an assessor in place to answer questions and remind people who need to do so to reapply. While it is admirable that the mayor is doing his due diligence and "looking for the best assessor we can find," one wonders why this didn't take place before Slocum's term was up. Surely the mayor knew well in advance of September 30 that he didn't intend to reappoint him.

Big Morning for Dogs in Hudson

William and I missed the Mystic Krewe of Barkus Pet Costume Parade this morning. Instead we went to Christ Church for the Blessing of the Animals. This is our best picture from the event. It shows William (right) hanging out, waiting to be blessed, with Tribble (left), whom he met for the first time this morning, and Scooter (center), whom he has met many times on morning walks.

Celebrity Sighting Reported

Rumors abound that Lady Gaga was seen this morning at Bagel Tyme on North Seventh Street, behind what will soon be the Marina Abramovic Institute. Gossips has not yet been able to confirm the truth of these reports, but it seems entirely feasible that Gaga might be in town.

The Evolution of a Law

Today, there are signs at Henry Hudson Riverfront Park reminding dog walkers to pick up after their canine companions, tacitly acknowledging that dogs are walked in the park. Not long ago the iron fence bordering the original section of the park (the park as we know it today was developed in three stages) was lined with signs proclaiming "NO DOGS ALLOWED." They're gone now, but Chapter 70-4 A of the city code still states: "It shall be unlawful for an owner of a dog in the City of Hudson to permit or allow such a dog . . . (11) to be present at any time at the Riverfront Park."

Last night, at the Common Council Legal Committee meeting, Alderman John Friedman (Third Ward), the committee chair, expressed his desire to repeal the law, explaining that the law was in conflict with the way people actually used the park. Friedman wondered aloud about how the law banning dogs from riverfront park came to be, and so today, Gossips recalls how it happened.

In 1999 or thereabout, someone went to a Common Council meeting to complain about dog poop in Seventh Street Park. The Council's response was swift and sure. They banned dogs from all city parks. Within a week, "NO DOGS ALLOWED" signs appeared in Seventh Street Park, at Promenade Hill, and in every little pocket park along Warren Street--including this space behind Lisa Marie, beside the passageway to the municipal parking lot.

Although they apparently authorized the Department of Public Works to erect the signs, the Council did not pass a local law making it illegal for people to ignore the signs. As a consequence, although self-righteous Hudsonians sometimes took it upon themselves to reprimand dog walkers in parks, the police did nothing to enforce the ban because there was no law to enforce.

The public admission that the signage was meaningless came a few years later, at about the same time as the first phase of what is now known as Henry Hudson Riverfront Park was opened--the first phase being everything north and west of the building that houses the restrooms. DPW workers were concerned about dog poop gumming up mower blades, and they wanted a law that the police would enforce, ticketing people who ventured into the park with their dogs.

Dog owners used the Common Council's consideration of the law as an opportunity not only to oppose banning dogs from parks but to advocate for stricter enforcement of the leash and pooper scooper laws and for more serious penalties for violations. What turned the tide was an appeal by Margaret Saliske on behalf of her elderly mother, who loved walking around town with her dog. Her mother felt secure with her dog as her companion, said Saliske, but from time to time she needed to sit down and rest. Since the places where she could sit down and rest were the parks, she wouldn't be able to do this if it was illegal to bring a dog into the parks.

Saliske's appeal touched Alderman Robert "Doc" Donahue (Fifth Ward--then as now), and the parks were thrown open to dogs once again. The single exception, however, was the new park at the waterfront, where it was envisioned that people would regularly be sitting on the lawn for concerts and other events.

Now, a decade later, when there is a better understanding of how the park is actually used by the residents of Hudson, it's an appropriate time to revisit the law that makes it illegal for a dog "to be present at any time" at Henry Hudson Riverfront Park.
COPYRIGHT 2013 CAROLE OSTERINK

Rumors Confirmed

Although it is dated September 30, Gossips just received the following press release from Karen Preuss, Director of Marketing the Communications for the Hawthorne Valley Association. 

HAWTHORNE VALLEY ASSOCIATION ASSESSING THE FEASIBILITY OF HUDSON GROCERY STORE AND LEARNING CENTER 

Hawthorne Valley Association announced that they are researching the possibility of operating a grocery store in the newly developed building at 449 Warren Street. If the research findings are favorable, the intention is to open the market in 2014. 

The store will carry a full range of grocery products, with an emphasis on bringing fresh food at an affordable price to the Hudson community. Hawthorne Valley Association (HVA) is also exploring the creation of a community learning center on the second floor that will build upon its ongoing work with children and synergize with existing programming in Hudson to offer new resources and opportunities to city residents. In October, HVA will be conducting a listening tour to determine how the store and programs can best meet the needs of the Hudson community.

Martin Ping, Executive Director of HVA said of the plans, "Hawthorne Valley Association is excited by the opportunity to meet the community’s food needs and deepen our relationship with the City of Hudson. Through our Farm & Arts program we have been working with Hudson youth through in-school and afterschool programs and have invited them and their families out to our farm in Harlemville.  We believe that this market and learning center will give us the opportunity to build stronger relationships with these families and connect more people to local food and agriculture."

Galvan Initiatives Foundation invited HVA to explore opening the store by providing a $20,000 planning grant. The Foundation has offered the space at the Hudson Arcade building for below-market rent in order to facilitate educational programs and food access. Daniel Kent, Executive Director of Galvan Initiatives Foundation, celebrated the collaboration saying, "Working with Hawthorne Valley Association helps us further a number of our initiatives. The market will create jobs and will also provide educational programs that promote health and well-being. Finally, Hudson residents will no longer have to drive, ride the bus, or take a cab to buy groceries."

About Hawthorne Valley Association: Hawthorne Valley Association (HAV) is a not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization promoting social and cultural renewal through the integration of education, agriculture and the arts, and is committed to environmentally sound land management as the basis for sustainable economic success. By exploring the dynamic relationships among education, agriculture, the arts, economics, and science, Hawthorne Valley hopes to foster sustainable forms of human endeavor that enhance the quality of life for ourselves and for future generations.

About Galvan Initiatives Foundation: Galvan Initiatives Foundation is a private operating foundation which began operations in January 2012. The Foundation mission is to conserve and maintain buildings of architectural, historic, and social significance in order to improve and enhance the quality of life for all Hudson residents, especially those most vulnerable or economically disadvantaged.

Rehabilitation Update

If you're curious about the status of this house in the 300 block of State Street, which has been owned by Housing Resources of Columbia County since 2008 or so, John Mason has an update in today's Register-Star: "Housing Resources seeking funds to rehabilitate duplex." 

Friday's Literary Festival Event Cancelled

Gossips learned today that "Spotty Lit," the opening event of Literary Festival 2013, to take place at Spotty Dog Books & Ale on Friday, October 4, has been cancelled. It will rescheduled, and when the new date is determined, Gossips will let you know.

Calling All Food Entrepreneurs

Last night, at the Common Council Arts, Entertainment & Tourism Committee meeting, Sheena Salvino reported that she had been contacted by a woman named Loreen Stevens, who is casting for a show about food entrepreneurs for the Food Network. Stevens is looking for people who make their livelihood by creating food products for public consumption and sell them--either directly to consumers or to stores and restaurants. Two Hudson enterprises that spring to mind as businesses that fit the bill are Trixie's Oven and Union Street Pastry Works. The process for getting considered seems to be to fill out this questionnaire and submit it to Stevens at Atlas Media Corp.

Senior Moments

Last night, at the Common Council Youth & Aging Committee meeting, Council president Don Moore revealed that there will be a special meeting at 6 p.m. on Monday, October 7, before the informal Common Council meeting, to vote on the lease agreement with the Galvan Foundation to locate the senior center at the Hudson Armory, now to be known as the Galvan Community Learning Center. With this announcement, Moore explained that "the financing isn't all in place," and, as a consequence, work on the senior center, which was supposed to begin this fall and be completed by spring, will not begin this fall and probably won't be completed until October 2014.

Alderman Wanda Pertilla (Second Ward), who chairs the Youth & Aging Committee, made no attempt to conceal her annoyance with the postponement, declaring: "We need to talk with them." Pertilla, who said the senior center was "near and dear" to her and claimed to have "campaigned on it," acknowledged that "it's a great deal we got from them," but went on to say, "Projects with this particular person are not what they appear to be"--presumably referring to Eric Galloway.

Pointing out that "we don't control the construction timeline," Moore argued that, to have a successful senior center, "we need more than just a building." Currently, the program for seniors consists of aerobics, which attracts an average of 15 people; bingo, which draws 20; and yoga, which has 8 regular participants. He suggested that the City hire a consultant to "come in and create a program." He suggested too that Doris Moore, commissioner for aging, needed a small advisory group to help her plan activities for seniors. Pertilla and Alderman Ohrine Stewart (Fourth Ward) both seemed confident that a paid consultant was not needed and that the job of planning senior programming could be done by "five or six people who want to do the job and decide what is valuable programming for seniors in Hudson."

On the subject of programming for seniors, in May, the Arts, Entertainment, & Tourism Committee awarded $350 for a bus trip to be organized by Doris Moore. Moore reported last night that the seniors were interested in taking a bus trip to Saratoga, presumably to visit the RACINO. 

John Mason has more about last night's Youth & Aging Committee meeting in today's Register-Star: "Council to vote on senior center."        

On Hudson's East End, the Lights Go On

Last night, the new streetlamps on Warren Street above Park Place were illumined for the first time, and Mayor William Hallenbeck used the moment as a campaign opportunity. Joe Gentile has the story in today's Register-Star: "New lights shine bright in Biz District."

One Fish, Two Fish, Many Fish, No Fish

Arthur Cursano reports in today's Register-Star on the aftermath of Local Ocean going belly up: "Local Ocean fish gone." 

God Bless Them Every One

October 4 is the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi, and on Saturday morning, October 5, at 11 a.m., Father John Perry, rector of Christ Church Episcopal, will be presiding at the annual Blessing of the Animals, which takes place--rain or shine--beside the church at 431 Union Street. Hudson residents are invited to bring their well-beloved and well-behaved pets on leashes or in crates to be blessed. After the blessing, there will be treats for the animals and their human companions.

The Episcopal Church recently approved a new liturgy to memorialize pets who have died. For the first time, this new service will be included in the blessing ceremony. People who have lost pets in the last year are invited to come to the Blessing of the Animals and add their departed pet's name to the remembrance.

Looking Forward to the Weekend

It's October, and in Hudson, that means ArtsWalk. Works of art are already installed in shop windows along Warren Street and beyond, the Members' Show is in readiness at the Pocketbook Factory, and the weekend is filled with events celebrating the arts. There's a lot happening, and you're likely to wish you could be in two places at once, but here are Gossips' picks. You can do them all with careful planning and a fast car.

On Friday and Saturday, the Second Ward Foundation, the not-for-profit created by Walter Sudol and Steven Johnson to exhibit and lend contemporary art, is presenting an inaugural concert event in the rehabilitated auditorium of what was once the Charles Williams School. The performances feature John Exposito and the ensemble A Book of Five Rings, with video artist Laura Steele. Each night the concert begins at 8 p.m., preceded by a reception at 7 p.m.

  
Friday night also is the beginning of the Literary Arts Festival. The opening event, "Spotty Lit," which takes place at 7 p.m. on Friday at Spotty Dog Books & Ale, is an evening of emerging and established writers--Melissa Holbrook Pierson, Sarah Kilborne, Karen Crumley Keats, Sara Kendall, Kenji Suzuki--hosted by Karen Schoemer.

The Literary Arts Festival continues on Saturday and Sunday with readings at the Hudson Opera House by award-winning New York poets and prose writers. The participating authors are all pictured above, from left to right (top row) James Lasdun, Rebecca Wolff, Adam Falkner, Cara Benson; (middle row) Tracie Morris, Lydia Davis, Djelloul Marbrook, Mahogany Browne; (bottom row) Paul La Farge, Greg Hrbek, Joydeep-Roy Bhattacherya, Illya Szilak. The readings are from noon to 5 p.m. each day. Click here for the complete schedule.

Starting tomorrow, Thursday, October 3, and through Saturday, October 5, thirty celebrated plein air artists will be at the Olana State Historic Site, creating "Landscapes Within the Landscape." You can walk the grounds, speak with the artists, and watch them as they paint the awesome Olana views. This very Hudson River School event, sponsored by The Olana Partnership and the Columbia County Council on the Arts, culminates on Saturday afternoon with a cocktail reception at 4 p.m. and a live auction of the paintings at 5 p.m. The event takes place at the Wagon House Education Center at Olana.

News from Just Beyond Our Borders

This morning, Sam Pratt publishes the proposed route through Columbia County of a new power line: "Proposed Transco power line route through Columbia County."

More @Issue Prep

Today Sam Pratt published on his blog a letter from Ancram supervisor Art Bassin to his colleagues on the Board of Supervisors: "Bassin calls on County to table airport plan."

Turn Your Radios On . . . Tomorrow Morning

On Wednesday at 10 a.m., on WGXC's @Issue, Tom DePietro will be talking with county supervisors Art Bassin (Ancram) and Mike Benvenuto (Ghent) about county issues in general and about the proposed expansion of the Columbia County Airport in particular. If you need some background about the airport proposal, these posts on Sam Pratt's blog will provide it: "County airport numbers: Pie in the sky?" and "Supervisor quizzes Flood about the County airport expansion." @Issue can be heard at 90.7 FM or online. 

Of Interest

John Mason has an article in today's Register-Star about the Prison Public Memory Project and its discoveries about the Girls' Training School, which existed from 1904 to 1975 in the facility that is now the Hudson Correctional Facility, and its soon to begin research into the Women's House of Refuge (1887-1904), the institution for which the buildings were originally designed and constructed: "Project recovers prison's memory."

Photo courtesy Historic Hudson, Inc.

Architectural Accolades

Yesterday, the work wall at 255 Warren Street was removed to reveal the newly reconstructed storefront. The picture at right shows what the facade looked like a year ago. The picture below, taken at about 5:30 yesterday, shows some of what's been going on behind that work wall over the past months.

Bravo to Michael Harris and Christopher Haupert for this lovely change in the streetscape.
COPYRIGHT 2013 CAROLE OSTERINK

Always on Sunday

On September 17, code enforcement officer Peter Wurster issued a demolition permit to allow the second story of a early Greek Revival town house on North Fourth Street to be taken down. Wurster cited "the 'emergency' nature and public safety concerns" as the reasons why he bypassed the Historic Preservation Commission and issued a demolition permit for a building in a locally designated historic district without a certificate of appropriateness from the HPC. Despite the alleged emergency, the second story facade was still standing when Gossips took this picture on Thursday, September 26.

Now, two weeks after the roof and top story disappeared and almost two weeks after the "emergency" demolition permit was issued, the second story is gone. Late Sunday afternoon, a reader sent these pictures of what remains of the house and of the remains that seem to have tumbled into the street during the demolition.

Odd. It was also late on a Sunday afternoon that another reader alerted Gossips to the demolition of the top story. Are there demolition companies that only work on weekends?
COPYRIGHT 2013 CAROLE OSTERINK

The Dog Camp Squabble Continues

In today's Register-Star, Barbara Reina reports on the Town of Stuyvesant's reaction to the recent court decision in the case of the Glencadia Dog Camp: "Stuyvesant responds to court decision and allegations of kickbacks." On his blog Hudson Sunshine, Will Pflaum responds to the response: "What did I get for that $437 I paid Tal in 2010?"