Booze, Demolition, and a Barking Dog

On February 14, Gossips reported that the Planning Board would hold a public hearing at 6 p.m. on March 11 on the plan to expand the Quick Mart at 67 Green Street. Last night, without veteran Planning Board chair Don Tillson, who resigned last month, and with Claudia DeStefano serving as acting chair, there was no public hearing at 6 p.m. Instead the Planning Board launched into the review of at least five other projects before getting around to the public hearing about the Quick Mart, forcing any members of the public who had come for the hearing to sit through nearly two hours of other business before their opportunity came to be heard.

The first project on the agenda was 347 Warren Street, the outdoor food court and beer and wine garden. The rendering below shows the vision that was approved by the Planning Commission three years ago--a vision that, as we all know, never became a reality.

Last night, Brian Herman, representing the owner, Michael Davis, came before the Planning Board seeking a modification of the site plan that was approved back in 2012. According to Herman, "When the plan was approved, it was all hypothetical," and that hypothetical plan is not working out. The proposed modification moves all the food trucks--a maximum of five now instead of the original maximum of three--closer to the street and devotes the back of the lot to outdoor seating for the bar: sixteen tables, which will seat an estimated 96 people and be accessed only through the bar inside the building. 

The Planning Board was concerned about seating capacity (there are more tables toward the front), hours of operation, lighting, and trash receptacles. The review of the requested site plan modification will continue at the Planning Board's next meeting on April 8.

Next up was the plan for 225 State Street. The house that now stands on that lot has already been partially demolished. (Since virtually nothing on the north side of town is officially recognized as historic, although wonderful examples of late 18th- and 19th-century vernacular architecture are found there, not much can be done to save a house if the owner or the code enforcement officer decides it is "beyond repair.") What is planned to replace the house is a double house that will "stay within the size and scale of the area" and be "stylistically compatible" with the design of the surrounding houses. The plans also include a garage on Long Alley with a "work studio" above it. Because the setbacks at the front and sides of the building will not comply with city code (although they conform with what exists in the neighborhood), the project was referred to the Zoning Board of Appeals for area variances.

The next project proposed will make the big empty space in the 300 block of Warren Street, created by the "Good Friday Fire" that happened fifty years ago, even emptier. What's proposed is the demolition of the building, once Harold's Bar, that was constructed at 330 Warren Street after the fire, the restoration and extension of the brick wall that now stands where 332 and 334 Warren Street once were, and the creation on those three lots of a "side yard garden" for 336 Warren Street, which will be restored.

This project is in the locally designated Warren Street Historic District and will come before the Historic Preservation Commission tomorrow morning at 10 a.m.

The next project that came before the Planning Board last night also involved demolishing a building on Warren Street, although in this case the building's facade would be preserved and restored to its earliest documented appearance. The building is 211 Warren Street, which was severely damaged by fire a few years ago. The plan is to restore the facade of the building and its original commercial storefront and build behind it a passive structure that would be commercial on the ground floor with residential space above. Behind the building, on Cherry Alley, a two-car garage would be constructed, with a one-bedroom apartment above it. This project too will come before the Historic Preservation Commission on Friday morning. 

The next project before the Planning Board was a microbrewery to be established in part of the old L&B building. It was at that point, after the meeting had gone on for an hour and a half, that Gossips received word that Joey, waiting in the car, was barking. 

Gossips left the meeting then and was not present for the public hearing on 67 Green Street or to watch as the members of the Planning Board read silently a report from Crawford & Associates about 78 Green Street (the building that was constructed in the wrong place) and a communication from former city attorney Jack Connor, who owns the property adjacent to the misplaced structure. Gossips has learned, however, that a public hearing about 78 Green Street will take place at the Planning Board's next meeting, which is scheduled for April 8.
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What Caused the Fire

The surprising cause of the fire on State Street that severely damaged two houses--one probably beyond repair--and left three families homeless is revealed today in the Register-Star: "Officials: Reignited fire debris caused State Street fire."  

Storm Water and North Bay

On Monday night, the resolution declaring the City's sewer separation project a Type II Action, requiring no environmental review, came before the Common Council at its informal meeting. After the resolution was introduced and seconded, the discussion began with a presentation by two people from Delaware Engineering, the consulting firm involved with the upgrade to the City's waste water treatment plant and, it would seem, with this project as well. During the presentation, the antiquity of Hudson's sewer system was stressed (it was mentioned more than once that much of it dates back to 1830), and the need to do the work was linked to "sinkhole issues." Our aged sewer system is collapsing and must be replaced, and, it was explained, the law requires that our old sewer, which is a combined sewer, must be replaced with new mains that will handle sewage and storm water separately.

The presenters also spoke of the antidegradation policies in the Clean Water Act. "You cannot discharge water that will cause the quality of a water body to decline" and "You must remove everything that could damage the river" were two statements that were made. Yet when asked how, given these antidegradation policies, storm water runoff, which contains salts, oils, trash, sediments, and other pollutants that damage the river, can be discharged untreated into North Bay, the answer was that "the focus is on sanitary sewer not on storm water."

Reference was also made to Hudson's "robust street cleaning program," which was meant to reassure us that the storm water flowing over our streets, which would be discharged into North Bay, wasn't all that polluted. Those of us who live in Hudson and regularly walk its streets know that our street cleaning program doesn't seem robust enough to eliminate oil spilled in alleys or to address all the litter dumped on streets and in gutters.

Maybe everything will be fine. Maybe discharging storm water into North Bay will have no negative effect on the ecosystem of the bay or of the river, where it will ultimately end up, but without environmental review, no one knows that. It is hard to understand why there is such apparent urgency to declare this project a Type II Action and forgo all environmental scrutiny. There may be a case to be made for the urgency, but it is not one that has been persuasively made with the public.
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Holy Cow!

We've seen New York City restaurants and chefs establishing outposts here in Hudson, but this is the first time a Hudson restaurant is branching out to New York City: "Support Good Animal Welfare Practices When You Eat at Grazin' TriBeCa."

Thanks to Seth Rogovoy for bringing this to our attention
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At a Diner Near You

Assemblymember Didi Barrett just announced her 2015 Diner Stop Tour. She'll be at Grazin' in Hudson, 717 Warren Street, on Friday, March 27, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. 

“The Diner Stop Tour," says Barrett, "gives me the opportunity to chat with folks from all around the district and hear personally what really matters to them, so I can best represent them in Albany."

Fifth Ward's Gain, Fourth Ward's Loss

Back in October, it was discovered that the residents of the 70 units at Crosswinds voted in the Fourth Ward but were counted for the purpose of calculating the weighted vote in the Fifth Ward. What's more, it was revealed that the boundary between the Fourth and Fifth wards used by the Board of Elections was not the boundary described in the city charter. Section C1-4 of the charter describes the eastern boundary of the Fourth Ward thus: "northerly along the center line of Fifth Street and a projection of said center line of Fifth Street to the northerly bounds of the City." The Common Council hired surveyor Jeffrey Plass to determine exactly where that projection of said center line fell, and a map showing its course was provided at last night's informal Common Council meeting.

As the map reveals, the boundary bisects the building on the grounds of the Firemen's Home where the residents live. At last night's meeting, Supervisor William Hughes (Fourth Ward), who seemed sanguine about the residents of Crosswinds who presumably voted for him not being represented by him, wanted the Council to decree that all of the Firemen's Home was in the Fourth Ward. 

Hughes also called for a new survey map to be done of the entire city. That hardly seems necessary. What does seem necessary is redefining this particular ward boundary. Everywhere else in the city, streets are used to define ward boundaries. This seems to be the only ward boundary that is "projected" and hence requires a surveyor to figure out where it's supposed to be.

The ward boundary described in the charter very likely dates back to 1886, when the Fifth Ward was first created. The two 1888 atlas maps shown below don't include the part of the boundary in question, but from what they do show, one may surmise that Harry Howard Avenue, as we know it, did not exist in 1886, and when the boundary was defined there was an expectation that this part of the city, when it was developed, would continue the grid pattern of the rest of the city.

      
How much simpler it would be for everyone if the Common Council just adopted Harry Howard Avenue as the ward boundary, which is what the ward map distributed by the Board of Elections has shown all along. But how much fairer it would be if we abandoned the wards altogether for the purpose of voting and legislative representation and established equal population election districts.
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The Future of North Bay

In December, the City of Hudson was awarded a $600,000 grant for a sewer separation project at State and North Front streets. The goal of the project is separate storm water from the sanitary sewer and direct it into North Bay. In the application for the grant, it was stated that the City "anticipated that the project will be classified as Type II," making it exempt from environmental review. Timothy O'Connor has warned repeatedly that the plan to direct storm water runoff into North Bay will result in more and unacceptable pollution. Dan Shapley of Riverkeeper, in a letter to Mayor William Hallenbeck, urged that the City "consider the impacts of discharging untreated storm water to North Bay . . . part of the state-designated 'Significant Fish and Wildlife Habitat' known as Stockport Creek and Flats," pointing out that storm water runoff contains "salts, oils, trash, sediments and other pollutants that can harm the ecosystem of the Bay and the River."

These warnings and cautions appear to have fallen on deaf ears. Tonight, at the informal Common Council meeting, which will take place in the community room of Bliss Towers, a resolution is expected to be introduced that would declare that "the City of Hudson's sewer separation project is a Type II Action under SEQRA and is not subject to review under 6 NYCRR Part 617 per 6 NYCRR Part 617.5(c)(2)and (5)." Part 617.5(c)(2) speaks of "replacement, rehabilitation or reconstruction of a structure or facility, in kind, on the same site"; Part 617.5(c)(5) relates to "street openings and right-of-way openings for the purpose of repair or maintenance of existing utility facilities." Of the two parts of the law being used to justify Type II Action, neither speaks to the issue of discharging untreated storm water into a significant fish and wildlife habitat.
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A Lot Can Change in a Hundred Years

Today, the word asbestos strikes terror in the hearts of all, because we now know it causes two particularly nasty lung conditions: asbestosis and mesothelioma. The need to remove it from historic buildings often adds significantly to the cost of restoration projects, and its presence is regularly cited as the reason why groups like Habitat for Humanity refuse to rehab existing houses. 

A hundred years ago, though, people raved about asbestos. Introduced in the last quarter of the 19th-century, asbestos was hailed as a "wonderful fire-proof and highly useful substance." It was added to roof paint and house paint to provide heat insulation and fire resistance. It was used to insulate steam pipes, boilers, ovens, and other high-temperature products. This advertisement, which appeared in the Columbia Republican for March 9, 1915, shows how comfortable people were with asbestos back in the day, even putting it on their dining room tables.

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Happy Anniversary, Promenade Hill!

On this day, March 9, 220 years ago, the Proprietors granted Parade Hill to the Common Council "for a public walk or mall." 

Observe the momentous occasion by paying a visit to Promenade Hill today and be grateful that this public space from which to view significant scenic vistas on the Hudson has been preserved--sometimes, it seems, against all odds--for more than two centuries.

Thanks to Timothy O'Connor for reminding us of this anniversary
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Don't Forget to . . .

Celebrate the return of Daylight Saving Time. Can warmth and green be far behind?

Power and the City

In May 2013, Mayor William Hallenbeck announced, with considerable fanfare, that the City of Hudson was going to save money and help the environment by switching to 1oo percent locally produced wind energy, purchased from Viridian. "Today, we embark on the future of Hudson," said the mayor at a press conference, "saving taxpayers' hard-earned dollars whenever we're able to, while doing something right for the environment and our state's economy." Hudson, he declared, would be the only municipality in New York to be exclusively powered by wind energy.

In February 2014, the mayor announced, once again at a press conference, that in the first five months with Viridian as its energy supplier the City had saved $26,030, saving in only five months 63 percent of what the City was projected to save in the first year. If the rate of saving continued, the mayor said, the City would save $62,472 in the first year.

In April 2014, the mayor made a unilateral decision to switch from all wind power to a combination of wind power and solar power--the solar power also to be purchased through Viridian. At that time, the mayor spoke of installing solar panels on the Central Fire Station, on City Hall, and on the new police and court building being planned. (Almost a year later, none of these things has happened.) At that time, too, he made assurances that the City remained "on track to meet its savings goal of $40,000 for the year." (The annual saving of $62,472, predicted in February, had apparently been abandoned.)

Then in September 2014, it was revealed that the City's energy bill for the prior year was $113,782 more than the previous year--an increase of 33 percent. It was also revealed that, far from being "exclusively powered by wind energy" or by some combination of wind and solar, only some of the City buildings were involved. The Department of Public Works and the Police Department were getting their energy from Viridian, but the Youth Department and the Fire Department continued to buy energy from National Grid. It's not clear where the power to City Hall was coming from.

There was much consternation over whether increased usage or higher rates accounted for the increased cost to the City in 2014, but the mayor defended his action. He was quoted in the Register-Star as saying, "Regardless of if we save thousands or tens of thousands we did the right thing. We took a leadership role and led the county and Hudson Valley, and now there are Democratic and Republican-led towns and councils who followed Hudson's lead of price stability and green energy, all choosing Viridian."

Last week, in Connecticut, inspired by a civil lawsuit brought against Viridian in Maryland and more than a hundred complaints about the company in Connecticut, FoxCT News did an investigative report on Viridian Energy: "FoxCT Investigates: CT energy company accused of misleading customers."
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Hip Hudson

There's always a lot of talk about marketing Hudson. Amazingly, Hudson manages to get marketed pretty well without a lot of branding or studies or surveys. In November, Gossips reported that Hudson had been featured in Sawubona, the in-flight magazine of South African Airways, where our little city was called "a microcosm of cool." More recently, a reader brought to Gossips' attention an article called "Hip Hudson" on "The Hot List" in the Australian travel magazine International Traveller.

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Be Part of History Re-Created

Tomorrow, Saturday, March 7, from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Hudson Opera House, auditions will be held for singers to make up the "band of young women" to take part in the re-creation of what transpired on the night of April 25, 1865, when Lincoln's funeral train stopped briefly in Hudson. 

This historic photograph was taken not in Hudson but in Chicago, where the train made its last stop before reaching its destination in Springfield. The photograph shows the procession accompanying the catafalque bearing the coffin of Abraham Lincoln from the train depot to the court house, where Lincoln's body lay in state for twenty-eight hours. The event in Hudson may not have been quite so grand, but historic pictures like this and the description of the scene in Hudson from the journal of Assistant Adjutant General Edward Townsend, the commander of the funeral train, are inspiring and informing the re-creation that will take place here on April 25, 2015, at the very hour the funeral train stopped in Hudson 150 years ago.

Mary Deyerle Hack, of Diamond Opera Theater, will be conducting the auditions and directing the choir of young women. A music historian as well as a professional singer, Hack has already researched and selected the dirges to be sung--dirges that could well be the very ones that were sung in 1865. 

All who are interested in being part of this historic re-creation are urged to come to the Hudson Opera House between 2 and 4 tomorrow afternoon. Thirty-five young women (young in fact or in spirit) are needed to make up the band--the number representing the states in the Union in 1865.
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Let the Preparations Begin!

Yes, it is still beastly cold. Yes, there is snow on the ground, and grizzly mounds of petrified snow and slush line the streets. But June is only three months away, and it's time to start planning for the 2015 Hudson Pride Parade.

Photo: Sarah Sterling

This Saturday, March 7, is the Hudson Pride 2015 Fundraiser Kickoff to benefit the Hudson Pride Foundation. The event takes place from 6 to 8 p.m. at Concepto Hudson, 741 Warren Street.

On Thursday, March 12, the Parade Committee will meet at 6:30 p.m. in the conference room at the Chamber of Commerce, 1 North Front Street. The meeting is open to everyone interested in getting involved.

There will be a weekend Parade Committee meeting on Saturday, March 28, at 10:30 a.m. This meeting will also be held at the Chamber of Commerce.

Meanwhile, there are the Pride Parade trophy-making workshops, which happen on the first and third Tuesday of each month. The workshop scheduled for March 3 had to be cancelled because of nasty weather, so the very first one will take place on Tuesday, March 17, from 6 until 8 in the Fellowship Hall of the First Presbyterian Church, 369 Warren Street. Those attending the workshop are asked to bring "glue guns and [glue] sticks (if you can), snacks and water for yourself, and lots of energy and ideas."
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Attention Event Planners

Each year, the Common Council Arts, Entertainment & Tourism Committee has a budget of $15,000 to dole out, to provide partial support for events "that have an impact on the economic & social fabric of Our City." In the past, the Hudson Development Corporation (HDC) has kicked in another $5,000, to make the total $20,000, but this year HDC is using its $5,000 to build a website to help organizations apply for not-for-profit 501(c)3 status, so the extra $5,000 may come from the City's fund balance. 

Whether the total amount is $15,000 or $20,000, the AET Committee is now accepting applications from organizations and individuals who want a piece of the pie. Guidelines for applying are now available on the City's website. Applications are due on April 30. The committee will review the applications and make decisions about allocating funding at its regular monthly meeting on May 6.
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Good News for Cats and Some Dogs

Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed Bill 316-101, initiating a pilot program to allow dogs and cats to travel with their humans on Amtrak trains. Read all about it in Bloomberg Business: "Fluffy and Fido May Be Your Seatmates Under Amtrak Measure." The problem is the bill specifies that pets be transported on trains "in the same manner as carry-on baggage," which leaves out some people's favorite furry companions.
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Ear to the Ground

The news has reached Gossips Central that there will be spring salad greens and micro greens, from Blue Star Farm and other local growers, at the Indoor Farmers' Market this Saturday. Don't miss out on this visible, tangible, and palatable proof that spring approaches!

The market takes place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Parish Hall at Christ Church Episcopal, 431 Union Street.
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A Tribute to William's Departed Friends

As readers know, my beloved and aged William died in November. Since then two more of the great dogs of Hudson, William's contemporaries and his buds from the neighborhood, have died. First there was Henry, who died on December 21.

Earlier this week, the gentle and much loved Allegra, who accompanied her human everywhere, ended her long and happy life.

Rest in peace, Henry and Allegra. You are mourned and missed by all who knew you.
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About the Hudson River School

This afternoon, as part of the Local History Speaker Series at the Hudson Area Library, Peter Jung, proprietor of Peter Jung Fine Art at 512 Warren Street, will make a presentation about the artists of the Hudson River School, sharing images of their paintings and details of their lives. The event takes place at 5:30 p.m. at the library, 400 State Street. A question and answer period will follow the presentation, and light refreshments will be provided.

Just Do It

Back in November, Sheena Salvino and Branda Maholtz of the Hudson Development Corporation launched a Business Climate Survey to help them understand what's driving the economy in Hudson. Four months later, they still don't have enough data to make the survey meaningful, and the reason they don't is that not enough people have completed the survey.

So, if you have a business in Hudson or are self employed, please complete the survey, which can be accessed here, and do so before the end of the day on Sunday, March 15.

Back in the Day

Gossips' curiosity about the Kiwanis Club in Hudson was piqued by talk of reviving the service organization in Hudson and is being satisfied by a scrapbook of Kiwanis memorabilia lent to Gossips by Joe Kenneally. In January, Gossips published a post about the Kiwanis Club's efforts to save a stone house that was one of cluster of houses that once stood along Power Avenue and was known as Simpsonville.

Evelyn & Robert Monthie Slide Collection, Columbia County Historical Society

Those of us who discovered Hudson only after the wholesale demolition and redevelopment that was Urban Renewal had taken place sometimes imagine that it was all done with the blessing and support of the citizens of Hudson. Two letters to the editor, preserved in the Kiwanis scrapbook, suggest that this was not entirely the case. The two Kiwanians who wrote these letters, prompted by the controversy about the stone house, were critical of the Hudson Development and Planning Agency (HCDPA) and especially of the agency's executive director during that era, Lynda Davidson. Both letters are reproduced below. Thirty years later, they make interesting reading.

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Ignorance of the Law

Over the weekend, there was an oil spill on Partition Street. It appeared that someone had changed the oil in his or her vehicle and allowed the used motor oil to flow out onto the street.

Here's the deal. The State of New York doesn't want people to dispose of motor oil in the ground or in sewers. To discourage this, state law requires that all service stations that change oil for their customers and retailers who sell more than 1,000 gallons of oil a year accept up to five gallons of used motor oil, free of charge, from members of the public. This service may not be limited to regular customers of the establishment. So, instead of being allowed to spill out onto Partition St, this used motor oil could have been collected in a clean plastic milk carton or similar container and brought to a service station, where it would have been collected for recycling.  

For more information about disposing of used motor oil and other hazardous waste, check out this publication from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
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Classics on Hudson Family Concert

Every so often, an event comes along that makes you wish, if you don't have young children in your life, that you could borrow some for a few hours. Such an event is the concert Classics on Hudson is offering at the Hudson Opera House on Sunday, March 15: Ferdinand and Friends: A Musical Menagerie!

On that day, at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, Eugenia Zukerman, flute, Helena Baillie, violin, and Ryan Kamm, bass, extend this invitation to families: 

Join Ferdinand the Bull and his raucous coterie of furry and feathered friends in this enchanting  journey through classic tales. Will Peter escape the wolf? Will the goat dance away the snow? Can the elephants keep up with the carnival procession? These colorful creatures will be brought to life with music by Saint-Saëns, Honegger, Ridout, Prokofiev, and more.

And the very best thing may come after the concert, at the instrument "petting zoo," when kids get the chance to handle a variety of classical and world instruments!

The concert is free, so mark your calendars and plan to be part of this delightful event on Sunday, March 15, at 3 p.m., at the Hudson Opera House.
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A Battle of Wits

Last Friday, when the Register-Star reported about the mayor's opposition to the residential parking permit law drafted by the Common Council Legal Committee, the idea for which had originally been his, Alderman John Friedman (Third Ward), who chairs the committee, was quoted as saying of the mayor: "The man doesn't understand the constitutional separation of powers. He's dumber than a box of rocks."

Yesterday, at the public hearing on a new law amending the zoning code, the mayor took the opportunity to get in his licks. Speaking with Register-Star reporter John Mason after the hearing that no one attended, Mayor William Hallenbeck is quoted as saying: "This law was sent to me by the Common Council. There doesn't appear to be much opposition to it. I want to review the document, that was created by Chairman John Friedman of the Legal Committee, in its entirety, prior to signing, for any inaccuracies that may exist in it."

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Hudson's Thespian Mayors

Last month, on a slow news day, Gossips reported finding an article that appeared in the Columbia Republican on February 9, 1915, about Richard A. Brandon, former mayor of Hudson, who was appearing at the Eltinge Theatre in New York City, in a play called A Man About Town. Checking the list of mayors at City Hall, to find out exactly when Brandon had been the mayor, it was discovered that there had never been a mayor of Hudson named Brandon. The Columbia Republican recounted how Brandon had been recruited to run for mayor in 1896, but from January 1897, when he would have taken office, through April 1899, the mayor of Hudson was Richard A. M. Deeley not Richard A. Brandon.

Columbia County at the End of the Century tells that Richard Arthur Measom Deeley, sometime mayor of Hudson, was born in England, of American parents, in 1861. He was educated in Brussels and "thoroughly mastered the science of brewing in Europe." He came to Hudson, by way of Philadelphia, in 1888 to be the superintendent of the "well known brewing firm of C. H. Evans & Sons." City of Hudson historian, Pat Fenoff provided the clue that connects Deeley and Brandon: Richard A. M. Deeley, in addition to being a brewer and a mayor, was an actor. Can we surmise then that, in his fifties, Deeley took the stage name Brandon to pursue a new career in the theater?

Satisfying our curiosity about the Eltinge Theatre, where Brandon performed, proved more fruitful. The theater, on 42nd Street, was built in 1912. It was designed by Thomas W. Lamb, and it was named for Julian Eltinge, "the top female impersonator of the American stage."

Photo: New York Public Library

Eltinge's Theatre started out as a legitimate theater specializing in light comedies. During the Great Depression, the building was sold and converted into a burlesque theater. In 1942, it became a movie theater, and in 1954, it was renamed the Empire Theatre. In the mid-1980s, the theater was closed and abandoned.

In 1998, the 7.4 million pound historic theater was lifted off its foundation and moved 168 feet to become the western entrance of a giant entertainment complex. The entire interior of the theater is now the lobby and lounge of the 25-screen AMC Empire 25.

The year 1998 provides the segue to Hudson's other thespian mayor, Kenneth G. Cranna, whose acting career, which preceded his term as mayor (2000-2001), flourished in 1997 and 1998. Using the screen name Kenny Cranna, he appeared, in 1997, in a Season 7 episode of Law & Order called "Double Down." His character was Number Four in a police lineup, and he delivered the line: "Move your damn truck, and I'll park somewhere else."

Cranna also appeared in two independent films: Illuminata (1998), directed by John Turturro, in which his role is described as "Scruffy man," and O.K. Garage (1998), starring John Turturro, where he plays "Yuppie #1."
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What He Said . . . Then

Yesterday, while doing some fact checking for the post about the weighted vote, I came across an article on Crosswinds that appeared in the Times Union on September 21, 2008. Rick Scalera, who had that year returned to being mayor after a one-term hiatus, was interviewed for the article. Here's what he had to say:

Mayor Richard Scalera said Hudson's once readily available housing has been increasingly purchased by New York City investors. Properties were either leased out and left vacant, or rented at exorbitant rates, he said, which "squeezed out" prospective local residents.

Interestingly, Scalera now works for the Galvan Foundation, which has been accused of creating a shortage of affordable housing in Hudson by buying up buildings, emptying them of tenants, and keeping them vacant for years on end.
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State Street Fire: The Aftermath Continued

At 6 a.m. on Monday morning, the GoFundMe campaign to help the families who lost their homes in the fire at 336 and 338 State Street has raised $5,000. Congratulations, Hudson, for this generous show of community! The original goal was $5,000, but considering the enormity of the need, a new goal of $10,000 has been set. Donations of food, clothing, diapers, furniture, and household items can also be delivered to the basement at 331 State Street.

"Can't Get Much Worse" . . . Or Can It?

In the past year or so, during and after the recalculation of the weighted vote, there has been a lot of talk about the inequity of Hudson's method of achieving the constitutional standard of one person–one vote. Most of it has to do with the disproportionate amount of power wielded by the aldermen from the Fifth Ward, who each cast votes that are nearly four times more powerful than the votes cast by the aldermen from the First and Fourth wards and almost twice the weight of the votes cast by the aldermen from the Second and Third wards.

All that talk has led to scrutiny of census data and ward boundaries which has only served to make matters worse. First, Stephen Dunn discovered the population figures for 15 South Front Street and 15 North Front Street--the two parts of Hudson Terrace complex south and north of Promenade Hill--had been switched in the data used to calculate the weighted vote. It turns out the population of the First Ward is even smaller than it was believed to be, and the votes of the First Ward aldermen should be even less powerful than they are now.

Then it was discovered the ward boundary between the Fourth and Fifth wards in the area of Harry Howard Avenue was incorrect. A couple of problems came to light here. First, although the ward map disseminated by the Board of Elections shows Harry Howard Avenue as the boundary, the charter indicates that the ward boundary is the continuation of North Fifth Street. Second, although the residents of Crosswinds, a housing complex completed in 2008, were voting in the Fourth Ward, they were being counted in the Fifth Ward, thus increasing the power of the Fifth Ward aldermen--representatives for whom the residents of Crosswinds had not voted.

Now there is a new discovery: the ward boundary between the Third and Fifth wards out by the cemetery is incorrect.

It seems that Columbia Street has been used as the boundary between the Third and Fifth wards when it should have been Columbia Turnpike. As a consequence, all the residents of the houses in the little wedge of land from the point where Columbia Turnpike splits off from Columbia Street just beyond the hospital to the border with Greenport actually belong not in the Third Ward but in the Fifth Ward. This includes the mayor, who once served as Third Ward supervisor.

These discoveries underscore the need to revisit and redraw the ward boundaries for the purpose of establishing election districts of equal population.

The Fifth Ward was created in 1886, when much of that area the comprised the Fifth Ward was taken up by the fairgrounds. The Fifth Ward represented a lot of acreage but very little population.

When the weighted vote system was adopted back in 1975, Hudson was at the height of urban renewal. Ten years earlier, the 1965 Comprehensive Development Plan had assessed only the neighborhoods that make up up the Fifth Ward--the High School Neighborhood and the Oakdale Neighborhood--as being without serious problems for which rehabilitation and redevelopment were recommended. One can see how people in the less admirable neighborhoods--those seen as contributing to Hudson's reputation for having "the worst housing stock in all of New York State"--might have acquiesced to the representatives of the Fifth Ward having the greatest power in the City's legislative body, but in truth, the differences in the weighted vote were not that great in 1975. As this chart shows, they only became remarkably imbalanced in the most recent adjustment, giving the aldermen from the Fifth Ward just shy of 72 percent of the votes needed to achieve a simple majority.

The Common Council Legal Committee is still waiting for an opinion from former city attorney Daniel Tuczinski on whether or not Hudson's weighted vote system is unconstitutional, but logic suggests that the time has come to make the changes needed to ensure that all Hudson residents have equitable representation on the Common Council.
COPYRIGHT 2015 CAROLE OSTERINK

State Street Fire: The Aftermath

Several families lost their homes and all their belongings as a consequence of the fire that severely damaged the houses at 336 and 338 State Street last night. To assist them, a GoFundMe campaign has been established to raise money for the families and a drop-off location is being prepared in the basement of 331 State Street, which will be ready tomorrow, to receive donations of clothing, diapers, food, furniture, and household goods.

Fire on State Street

Late on Saturday night, there was a major fire on State Street.

Photo: Scott Baldinger

The two houses involved--336 and 338--both suffered major damage. Word from the scene is that the people living in the houses got out safely. The Register-Star reports that a fire fighter was treated at the scene for nausea, and Animalkind was called in to rescue a cat: "Two Hudson homes ignite."