The Building Lost Today

I took this picture shortly after noon today.

About an hour later, John Peterson posted this picture on Facebook.

A building that undoubtedly took a year to construct and stood for 110 years was bashed to pieces in an hour's time.

The building demolished was most recently used as the administration building for the Firemen's Home. It was constructed in 1906 as an addition to the original Firemen's Home, a building designed by Michael O'Connor which was built in 1893 and demolished in 1965. This post card image shows that building, which faced the Hudson River, and the building just demolished right beside it.

The post card image below shows the Firemen's Home as it was in 1935 and as it appeared, more or less unchanged, until the beginning of this century.

The top of the tower on the original building can still be seen over the roof of of the newer 1916 building. The building that was just demolished appears at the left. 

There is still no word from the code enforcement officer about why the building had to be demolished. In an interesting bit of related information, a book about the Firemen's Home, published I believe for its centennial in 1993, noted that $1.4 million had been allocated to tear down the original building "which had become a fire hazard due to its wood construction." According to a contemporary description and photographic evidence, it was a building "of brick with granite trimmings, standing on a granite foundation."

Of course, by "wood construction" they probably meant wooden beams, wooden joists, wooden floors, wooden wall framing, wooden doors, wooden door and window frames, and decorative woodwork.
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Happening Right Now

For a city that prides itself in its historic architecture, a surprising amount demolition happens here. Right now, the only historic building remaining at the Firemen's Home--other than the original part of the Museum of Firefighting--is being demolished.

Back in 2004 or so, when the plans for the new Firemen's Home facility were before the Hudson Planning Board, Historic Hudson along with members of the community urged FASNY to renovate the historic buildings--one built in 1916 and other in 1932--rather than demolish them. The promise to preserve this building, which was constructed in 1906, was a concession FASNY made to those who wanted them to preserve their gracious early 20th-century campus, which stood far back from the street. Now, a dozen or so years later, that commitment to preservation has clearly been forgotten. The building is being demolished. A call to code enforcement officer Craig Haigh to learn the justification used to obtain a demolition permit has not been returned.
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The Human History of the Armory

The fortress-like design of the Hudson Armory was meant, when it was built at the end of the 19th century, "to inspire fear and awe among the so-called 'dangerous classes' (i.e., Anarchists, Socialists, and Communists as well as most immigrants and laborers) and pride and patriotism among the law-abiding middle and upper classes." In spite of its appearance and its principal purpose, which was to provide "space for local militia to gather, train, and store arms and ammunition," the Hudson Armory has a long history of being a community center where social functions, public meetings, sporting events, and fundraisers were held. 

Photo courtesy Historic Hudson

Last year, at about this same time, local historian Paul Barrett presented his lecture At Ease: The Social Side of the Hudson Armory at the annual meeting of the Friends of the Hudson Area Library. This year, in honor of the Hudson Area Library's first year at the armory, Barrett is reprising At Ease as part of the History Room's Local History Speaker Series. Barrett will reveal how the armory was host to "beauty contests, big band performances [with dancing], basketball tournaments, business expositions, exotic car shows, and was even the center of a controversial brush with the Cold War."

  
The event takes place on Thursday, April 27, at 6 p.m., in the Community Room of the Hudson Area Library, 51 North Fifth Street. Admission is free, and seating is available on a first come, first served basis. A question-and-answer period will follow the lecture, accompanied by light refreshments.
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Little Known Facts

Today, April 13, is National Scrabble Day. If you didn't already know that, here's something else you may not know: Scrabble was invented by someone from the Hudson Valley. The game was created by Alfred Mosher Butts, who was born in Poughkeepsie in 1899.  An architect, Butts invented the game he called Lexiko during the Great Depression. You can learn more about the early history of the best word game ever here.
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New Look, New Tenants Needed

In the past year, the building at the intersection of Green and Columbia streets has gotten some fresh black and white paint and a name: Crossroads.

Today in the Register-Star, Victoria Addison reports what many driving by the building have already surmised: "Green Street building to lose Subway, Carvel, and a laundromat." Although Addison's article doesn't mention it, the regular presence of Subway trucks in front of the old Dairy Queen building, which was most recently Davi's Delights, suggests that Subway may just be moving up the street. That possibility, however, has so far not been confirmed. 

Update: Bill Williams just informed me that 98.5 The Cat had the story last week: "Hudson losing two food establishments." Subway and Carvel are leaving for good; the laundromat is moving into the old Dairy Queen building that was Davi's Delights. 
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The Great War: April 12, 1917

On April 6, 1917, the United States declared that "a state of war existed." On April 12, 1917, a letter from Major R. N. Ellis, who was in charge of the main recruiting station for the U.S. Army in Poughkeepsie, appeared in the Evening Register. The letter was dated April 6, 1917, and its clear purpose was to inspire young men to enlist. 

To the Editor of the Evening Register, Hudson, N.Y.:

This day on which the United States has avowed itself on the side of right and humanity will go down in history as one most vital not only to our own happiness and welfare but also to the happiness and welfare of the whole world. In order that an early peace may be attained each one of us must do his share whether it be in the harvest field, in the factory, or in the army.

It is on behalf of the army that through your valuable paper I now desire to make an appeal to the young men of this district. At the present time we are far short of the number of men authorized by Congress during its session in 1916.

The men who now come in the front will reap the benefit of the early training and it is from these men that the officers will be made who will in the near future drill and command the large army of several million men which it is absolutely necessary for us to organize for our self-preservation. When it is realized that an army of 500,000, which at the present time is considered small, requires 25,000 officers and when the fact is known that our present army has not more than 6,000 officers any one can easily see the opportunity for advancement which the present offers to the young man who is not only patriotic but ambitious.

The army for the next few months will be a training school for officers, all will be given like opportunities, and merit, which has always been recognized by us will lead to promotion. The man who comes into the army to follow and uphold our flag will do so under the best conditions not only with regard to opportunities unlimited, to place himself where he can be justly proud of duty well done, and of having brought honor to himself, his family, and his country.

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Tomorrow Night at the Planning Board Meeting

The agenda for Thursday night's Planning Board meeting has been posted on the City website. It confirms that there will be a discussion of the proposed Colarusso haul road. The new consulting engineer will be introduced; questions will be asked of Colarusso's engineer, Pat Prendergast; and the board will prepare for the April 18 "informational meeting" on the proposal, which begins at 6:30 p.m., at Columbia-Greene Community College.

In addition, four new projects will come before the Planning Board. The first is a proposal to move the Hudson Brewing Company to a new location within 99 North Third Street, the giant former L&B building, and open a tasting room at the site.

The second is a proposal to renovate and repair an existing office space in the basement at 5 East Court Street.  

The third is a proposal for 205-207 Warren Street, but that application, although on the City website, cannot be opened, so what's planned for this building remains, for now, a mystery.

The fourth is a proposal to convert the house at 239 Warren Street into mixed use residential/commercial space.

At the last Planning Board meeting on March 9, Tom DePietro, who chairs the board, said he would schedule a public hearing on the proposal to develop the basement of Galvan Armory into office space and a daycare center for COARC. A public hearing on this proposal, however, is not part of the published agenda for Thursday's meeting. 

The Planning Board meets at 6:30 Thursday, April 13, at City Hall.
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Of Great Interest

Politico reports today that Mick Mulvaney, Trump’s director of the Office of Management and Budget, is pressing lawmakers to include language to restrict federal funding grants for cities that do not enforce federal immigration policies, and the Democrats, whose votes are needed to pass the budget, are resisting: "Sanctuary cities crackdown threatens government shutdown."

Over the River and Through the Woods

Photo: Rural Intelligence

Today, Gaby and Rachel of Bonfiglio & Bread made a devastating announcement: they are closing their Hudson location in less than month, on May 8. They lost their lease at 748 Warren Street, and they are moving the bakery to Athens, where they plan to open in early summer. The announcement read in part:

We are expanding on our program adding a provisions section, espresso, a LICK ice cream kiosk, more lunch fare, prepared foods, beer and wine, and of course bread and pastries. There will be expanded seating. We will miss Hudson but are very excited about starting new in beautiful Athens. We are working on extending the ferry transport to Athens.

I hope we can still count on them to be at the Hudson Farmers Market!
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The Great War: April 11, 1917

On the night of Easter Sunday, April 8, 1917, there was a patriotic rally at the Universalist Church to encourage the young men of Hudson, who "had not been responding in the way that they should be to the call," to join the Navy. Three days later, on April 11, the Hudson Evening Register reports that the first young man from Hudson haS answered the call.

 The first young man in Hudson has answered the call of his country to join the navy since the declaration of war. Yesterday afternoon Jefferson Elliot, son of Mr. and Mrs. A. A. Elliot, was accepted as a naval recruit at the Albany station. He returned to Hudson last evening to say good-bye to his many friends and gather up some personal belongings. He returned to-day to Albany and shortly before noon left there for the naval recruiting ground at Newport, R.I.

"Jeff," as he is commonly known, has been employed at the Crescent garage. He is a licensed chauffeur and on account of his expert knowledge of gasoline engines and motors will probably be placed in the submarine-chaser class.

He has the well wishes of his many friends here and that he will make the kind of a sailor Uncle Sam needs no one doubts.

The Crescent Garage, where Jeff Elliot worked, was located at the corner of Warren and Eighth streets, in the building that will someday be Hudson Anchor. The picture below, from the Evelyn and Robert Monthie Slide Collection at the Columbia County Historical Society, shows the building as it appeared around 1917.

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Ear to the Ground

While the City of Hudson moves forward with its residential parking permit plan to ameliorate the parking situation around the hospital, there's word that Columbia Memorial Health is pursuing its own plan to address parking. As has been reported here before, CMH acquired the building that housed COARC's Starting Place program last year.

The Galvan Foundation is now pursuing a plan to relocate the COARC daycare program to the basement of the Galvan Armory. That proposal is currently before the Planning Board.

Meanwhile, Gossips has learned that CMH plans to move the administrative offices now in the former Eden Park nursing home building to the former COARC building and then demolish the Eden Park building and construct in its place a multi-level parking garage that will accommodate 444 vehicles and have an enclosed walkway over Prospect Avenue from the garage to the main hospital building. Below is an example of an enclosed walkway connecting buildings at the Albany Medical Center, with which CMH now has an affiliation.

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"Speak of the Devil, and He Shall Appear"

That's not exactly the perfect title for this story, but I couldn't resist. Last Friday, in the introduction to the post about hospital litter in people's yards on McKinstry Place, Gossips reviewed the ill-fated parking permit plan for the part of the city around the hospital, which was passed the Common Council by a tiny margin in March 2015 and was then vetoed by Mayor William Hallenbeck. It turns out I left out an entire chapter in the saga of the parking permit plan. In June 2016, a revised version of the law creating a parking permit system was laid on the aldermen's desks.

A line-by-line comparison of the 2015 document and the revised 2016 document reveals that not much was changed. An alternative, mildly sardonic title for the bill was added: "The Friendly Neighborhood Parking Solution for the year 2016"; a paragraph in the "Legislative Findings" section, which mentioned aldermen John Friedman (Third Ward) and Bart Delaney (Fifth Ward) and their interactions with hospital executives, was deleted; all references to the City Clerk were changed to the Parking Ticket Bureau. Aside from that, the proposed legislation remains the same, including the parameters of the area to which the parking permit system applies, which so outraged the former mayor.

A residential parking permit system is hereby established on both sides of the following streets unless otherwise noted: Warren Street east of Eighth Street to its easterly terminus; Worth Avenue from the intersection of Warren Street to the north side of the Worth Avenue entrance to the State Prison; the west side of Prospect Avenue from its intersection with Warren Street and Worth Avenue to the south side of Prison Alley, and the east side of Prospect Avenue from Warren Street to the south side of Rossman Avenue; Rossman Avenue; Van Winkle Avenue; Eighth Street; Columbia Street from the east side of Eighth Street to Fairview Avenue; Fairview Avenue from Columbia Street to the south side of Green Street; Green Street from the west side of Fairview Avenue to Fredrick (sic) Street; Fredrick (sic) Street; McKinstry Place; Columbia Turnpike from Prospect Avenue to Cemetery Road.

This proposed law, in its revised form, was placed on the aldermen's desks in June 2016. At the time, it wasn't clear if enabling legislation would be required to enact the law, and when it was determined that it was, the state legislature was out of session, so no action was taken. Last night, however, at the informal Common Council meeting, a resolution was introduced requesting that a formal home rule request be sought. That resolution was accompanied by the 2016 version of the law. As with the lodging tax, bills must to introduced by our assemblymember Didi Barrett and our state senator Kathy Marchione and passed by the state assembly and senate before the law creating the parking permit system can be enacted by Hudson city government.
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The Great War: April 10, 1917

On this date, a hundred years ago, the front page of the Hudson Evening Register included, among many other things, a report about the guards that had been stationed the previous week at Churchtown and on Mount Ray to guard Hudson's water supply. 

The water supply of Hudson is under constant guards, both at the reservoirs here and at Churchtown dam. Last night a couple of Hudsonians thought they would make inspection to see how well the guarding was being done and they went by auto to Churchtown. One of the guards halted them when fifty or more feet away from him and he had his gun all ready for action, too. He then came down to the auto and looked the party over before they could move on. Two guards are here at night and one in the daytime, and there are also two 12,000 acetylene lights which throw their illumination like a searchlight.

The party then returned and visited the reservoirs here. They found the guards alert and "right on their job." The reservoir vicinity is light as day, from the fifty electric lights placed there.

One guard here, who was on in the daytime, was found asleep while on duty, he evidently failing to realize the full importance of his position. He received a severe reprimand, and he realizes that any "break" of this kind on his part again will mean the loss of his job.

A letter to the editor that appeared in the newspaper on that same day announced that the Daughters of the American Revolution were making their chapter house in Hudson available to the Red Cross.

Editor Evening Register:

Dear Sir--I should like to announce in the columns of your paper that Hendrick Hudson Chapter, D.A.R., as a patriotic society, is ready and willing to render any service of which it is capable.

Our chapter house has been placed at the disposal of the Columbia County Red Cross society either as a place of meeting or where surgical dressings may be made.

The objection has been raised the our rooms are too far down town. That, of course, is our misfortune.

At our last monthly meeting I urged those who were not members to join the Red Cross society, as a large number of our D.A.R. members are serving their country in that capacity. I also stated that unless the need was very great, better results could be accomplished by co-operation with the county society than to start one of our own as I felt that the city was not large to warrant taking that step.

So often societies work at cross-purposes rather than act as aid to each other.

Other organization are appealing to their headquarters for instructions and are being told that it is too soon to decide. Our society is in the same situation and when orders come from Washington, we know that every Daughter of Hendrick Hudson chapter will consider it her duty and privilege to serve her country in any way she may be called upon to do so.

Yours very truly,

MAUDE M. BENSON

Regent  

The author of this letter lived in the grand house at 306 Warren Street, which her husband had inherited from his parents. It's interesting that already in 1917 the location of the D.A.R. chapter house was disparaged as being "too far down town," and it was being apologized for by someone whose own home was undoubtedly considered too far down town to be fashionable.

If the D.A.R. ladies seemed prematurely eager to assist in the war effort, so were the banks--or at least one of them. This advertisement also appeared in the Evening Register for April 10, 1917. 

  
Note that the location of Hudson River Trust Company is what is now City Hall. The building had been built for the bank, then called National Hudson River Bank, in 1907.
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Planning Board Meeting This Week

The Hudson Planning Board meets this Thursday at 6:30 p.m. The agenda for the meeting is not yet available, but it is not certain if the proposed Colarusso haul road will be on it. Hudson and Greenport are doing a coordinated review of the project, and right now the ball seems to be in Greenport's court. Next Tuesday, April 18, the Greenport Planning Board, which is the lead agency in the SEQR (State Environmental Quality Review) process, is holding a public hearing on the proposed project, which they are calling a "Special Informational Meeting." That event begins at 6:30 p.m. in the Theater in the Arts Center at Columbia-Greene Community College.

One thing is likely to happen at the Planning Board meeting on Thursday that relates to the haul road. The new engineer retained to consult with the Planning Board on the haul road project will be there. It will be recalled that Ray Jurkowski, who had been the engineer consulting with the Planning Board on this project, was forced to resign when the Greenport Planning Board demanded that he choose between Greenport and Hudson and he chose Greenport. Today, Mayor Tiffany Martin Hamilton confirmed that the City of Hudson has engaged Barton & Loguidice to consult with the Planning Board on the haul road. Barton & Loguidice is a huge engineering firm, with twelve offices throughout New York as well as one in Pennsylvania and one in Maryland, and lots of engineers, so it's not known exactly who will be advising the Planning Board, but we will find out on Thursday.

If the name Barton & Loguidice seems familiar to Gossips readers, it is because in 2014 they submitted a proposal to do the feasibility study for the Dunn warehouse, earlier this year they submitted an expression of interest in rebuilding the Ferry Street Bridge, and in 2014 some representatives of the firm made a presentation to the Economic Development Committee that taxed the patience of then chair of the committee Don Moore, because it went on three times longer than it was supposed to and did not provide the information the committee was expecting.

Update: Planning Board chair, Tom DePietro just informed Gossips that the new engineer is David Clouser, from the New Paltz office of Barton & Loguidice.
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Lunchtime at the River

Henry Hudson Riverfront Park signage and the industrial backdrop—both gifts of A. Colarusso & Son, Inc.

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What Does It Mean for Hudson?

Late on Friday, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that an agreement had been reached on a $153 billion state budget, which includes, in addition to a plan for tuition-free education at state colleges, a plan to raise the age of criminal responsibility in New York from 16 to 18. Advocating for the latter, the Common Council, in February 2016, unanimously passed a resolution, initiated by Alderman Tiffany Garriga (Second Ward), in support of raising the age. The question this reform of the criminal justice system raises now is what happens next for the Hudson Correctional Facility?

Google

Last year, the Hudson Correctional Facility was transformed from being a medium security prison for male inmates to a facility for 16- and 17-year-old offenders of both genders. Now that, according to the plan, 16- and 17-year-old offenders will be tried in family court instead of criminal court, what ramifications might that have for the Hudson Correctional Facility?
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The Great War: April 9, 1917

In 1917, April 8 was Easter Sunday, so no newspaper was published that day. On the next day, however, Monday, April 9, the front page of the Hudson Evening Register reported on a patriotic rally that had taken place on Easter night at the Universalist Church. The story carried the headline reproduced below. (It will be remembered that war had been declared only the previous Friday.) Excerpts from the text of the article are transcribed following the headline.

The urgent need of men to man the ships of the United States navy was emphasized at the Universalist church last night.

One of the speakers further said that Hudson young men had not been responding in the way that they should be to the call.

Two men of the navy made addresses, and there were present a number of the Civil war veterans, members of the Sons of Veterans and a number of the khaki-clad soldiers of the Co. H 71st regiment, New York city, who are on duty here. There was a large audience, every pew being filled. It was a big patriotic rally for Navy night of the church into which was blended the anthems and solos of the Easter music. The service opened with the singing of "America," and the national colors had their place along with the floral decorations, the pulpit being draped with a large American flag, while many were hung about and a row of smaller flags were along the choir rail. . . .

In opening [Lieutenant Philip M. Hambsch] said that one of the chief obstacles was due to women, who held their boys back from enlisting. Many applicants were rejected owing to poor teeth, and here was a matter in which mothers could help, by seeing that boys take better care of their teeth in the future. . . .

Albany, Troy, Utica, Schenectady, Amsterdam, Glens Falls, Pittsfield all were recruiting with a lively spirit, but Hudson was "not there." No young men, who have no dependents, is [sic] worthy the name of American who does not come forward at this time. What is the reason here in Hudson for this slackness? asked the speaker. He did not believe it was because the young men were not patriotic, but they did not realize the urgency and seriousness. It was the most important matter before the United States to-day. We have splendid ships undermanned, a stupendous ship building program, the greatest in world's history, is under way, and all these ships will require men. . . .

The service closed with everybody singing "The Star Spangled Banner."

During the service a hymn written by Mrs. Luella D. Smith was sung, which was written especially for the occasion. It will be found in another column.

Gossips found the hymn written by Mrs. Luella D. Smith in another column, and here it is--five quatrains, each with an abab rhyme scheme.

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All Politics Is Local

Local elections happen this November--just a little more than six months away. All city offices--mayor, treasurer, Common Council president, aldermen (ten), and supervisors (five)--are up for a vote. This year, to make it even more interesting, the aldermen and supervisors will be elected from the newly drawn wards of equal population, adopted by referendum last November, which, in some instances, makes incumbency less of a guarantee of reelection.

To encourage and inform those interested in running for office and serving their fellow Hudsonians as elected officials, the Hudson City Democratic Committee (HCDC) is holding an informational event on Thursday, April 13, from 5 to 7 p.m. You don't need to be a registered Democrat to attend.

Three members of the HCDC (two of whom are also elected officials)--Bill Hughes, Fourth Ward supervisor; Sarah Sterling, First Ward supervisor; Justin Goldman--will participate in a Q&A session moderated by a fourth HCDC member, Verity Smith.   

The event takes place at the Hudson Area Library, 51 North Fifth Street, in the Teen Room at the back of the library.
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Community Activism

The people of Hudson have an impressive history of battling back projects that threaten to harm the environment, the waterfront, and the unique character of our city.

Image: Two Square Miles

In the 1980s, it was an oil refinery proposed for the waterfront. In the 1990s, it was a facility to recycle the toxic dry cleaning solvent perchloroethlene proposed for the site that is now Basilica Hudson. From 1998 to 2005, it was the $300 million coal-burning cement plant--then to be the largest in the country--proposed for Greenport, with facilities for receiving giant barges at the dock in Hudson. The seven-year struggle against St. Lawrence Cement was chronicled by Sam Pratt in "The Bullet We Dodged: How the Cement War Was Won," which first appeared in the quarterly OurTown and was republished by Pratt in five parts on his blog in 2011.

In each crisis, a group arose to oppose it. For the oil refinery, it was SHOW--Save Hudson's Only Waterfront. For the PERC recycling plant and the cement plant, it was Friends of Hudson. Now, in the face of what is feared to be a ramping up of industrial activity at the waterfront as a consequence of the haul road being proposed by A. Colarusso & Sons, a new group has emerged: Hudson for Hudson.

The group has recently launched a website, where it defines itself in this way:

Hudson for Hudson is a community group made up of individuals, families, and organizations that live, work, and play here in Hudson, coming together to make sure that the future of our city is as bright as it can possibly be. Hudson for Hudson is open to anyone and everyone who cares about preserving the unique character of this city, recognizes its untapped potential, and wants to take part in supporting a fair and forward-thinking vision for its continued growth.

The current issue challenging the city is explained is this way:

A proposed intensification of industrial activity on the Hudson waterfront that will be detrimental to our city. The Town of Greenport is leading the review process, even though the majority of impact is on Hudson. It is critical to make our voices heard. Any concerns need to be formally submitted to them; the amount of public comments received will reflect the legitimate concerns and will inform their decision marking. HUDSON MUST BE HEARD.

For more information about the issue and the review process now underway, visit www.hudsonforhudson.org.
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Discovered While Searching for Something Else

With apologies to readers for whom this is common knowledge, I share a recent discovery that proves twenty-four years of living in Hudson doesn't make you knowledgeable about everything going in Columbia County. Here's my discovery: JR Heffner, the mild mannered and affable vice president of operations for A. Colarusso & Sons, familiar to some of us as the guy who comes to planning board meetings in Greenport and Hudson and answers the questions about the proposed haul road that the engineer doesn't, is a professional dirt track and stock car racer.

Photo: Dirt Track Digest

He has a website, JR Heffner Racing, a Facebook page, and an entry in Wikipedia, where the account of his racing career begins with this paragraph:

Heffner's interest in racing started at the age of five, when he and his parents attended races at Lebanon Valley Speedway. In his teen years, he raced three-wheelers and eventually started racing in Lebanon Valley's Sportsman's Division, winning the championship in 1990. He moved up to the big block Modified division, winning his first race in the division in 1994. In 1997, he acquired sponsorship from A. Colarusso & Sons, a highway construction firm. Heffner and Colarusso would develop a longtime relationship, with Heffner joining the company in 2003 and becoming the Vice President of Operations.

Who knew? Well, I'm sure many people, since his racing career is a very successful one and his Facebook followers number in the thousands.
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The Great War: April 7, 1917

In 1917, April 7 was the Saturday before Easter. The United States had declared war on Germany the previous day, on Good Friday. On April 7, 1917, the front page of the Hudson Evening Register had a headline reporting that Brazil and Cuba were expected to declare war on Germany and another announcing that a German sea raider had been "officially reported off Nantucket" that very morning. Also on the front page, these words of advice appeared at the top of the page, in the center, spanning two columns: 

At the lower right of the page, also taking up two columns, was this proclamation from the mayor of Hudson, Charles S. Harvey:

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Town and (Hospital) Gown

We're all grateful to have a hospital in our city. It's reassuring to know that, if you have an accident or health emergency, help is just minutes away. If you live in close proximity to the hospital, though, the institution's presence can be a source of annoyance.

Parking is an issue that remains unsolved, although we haven't heard much about it lately. Hospital workers park their cars on the street, taking up spots that area residents, without driveways or garages, consider theirs. Early in 2015, the Common Council voted on a new law that would provide parking permits for residents of the streets surrounding the hospital. Anyone parking on the designated streets without such a permit would be ticketed. The legislation squeaked through the Council in March 2015 with barely a majority but was then vetoed by Mayor William Hallenbeck because, although the parking permit scheme had originally been his idea, the Council Legal Committee had "turned it into a monster." Since there weren't enough votes to override the mayor's veto, that was that.

A year ago, in March 2016, Alderman Priscilla Moore (Fifth Ward), who lives on one of the affected streets, asked about the legislation. Council president Claudia DeStefano, who lives on the same street, suggested it was time to resurrect the law, but a year later, nothing has happened.

But here's a problem with the hospital that should be easily solved: litter. Columbia Memorial Hospital has declared itself a smoke-free campus. Smoking is prohibited everywhere in the buildings and on the grounds. The problem is that many of the people who work at the hospital are smokers, and when they want a cigarette, they have to leave the grounds of the hospital. A favorite place to go is just across Columbia Street, at the top of McKinstry Place. And when they smoke, they drop their cigarette butts on the ground, where they accumulate, on the sidewalk and on the lawns of nearby houses.

Cigarette butts have been a problem for a while, but recently Gossips learned that other kinds of hospital-related litter is ending up in people's yards. Exam gloves and even a surgical mask have been found strewn on the ground.

According to Gossips' sources, it is not clear if people are wearing these items when they come across the street to have a smoke and pull them off and toss them on the ground, or if the items are being carried by the wind across the street from a giant trash bin with no lid on the hospital grounds. Either way, this litter, along with the cigarette butts, is unacceptable, and it seems to be a problem that could be far more easily solved than the parking problem.
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Celebration and Recollection

Tomorrow, from 10:30 a.m. until 3 p.m., the Hudson Area Library is celebrating one year at its location in the Hudson Armory, now known as Galvan Armory. Many events will be happening throughout the day, a full schedule of which can be found here.

At any time throughout the day, people are invited to come in and share their stories about the Hudson Armory--stories of their own experiences at the armory or stories that have been passed down from parents or grandparents.

Photo courtesy Hudson Area Library

The construction of the armory began in 1897 and was completed in 1898. A nomination completed in 2012 but never pursued for listing the building in the National Register of Historic Places says this of the building's design: "Typical of armories designed by State Architect Isaac Perry in Upstate New York during the late nineteenth century the Hudson Armory is a fortress-like castellated style edifice designed to inspire fear and awe among the so-called 'dangerous lower classes' (i.e., Anarchists, Socialists and Communists as well as most immigrants and laborers) and pride and patriotism among the law-abiding middle and upper classes." Despite its fearsome fortress-like design, the armory has, from the beginning, been a place for community events--everything from hospital balls to basketball tournaments. And, of course, there is the great fire that occurred on New Year's Eve 1928. 

The library wants to document this diverse history of the armory, so, if you have a story to tell, visit the library anytime tomorrow between 10:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. and share it. The recorded recollections will be part of a permanent oral history preserved in the library's History Room.
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