Stewart's There and Here

In April, Gossips reported the story of the plan by Stewart's Shops to build a convenience store and gas station in Voorheesville. To summarize, in the spring of 2016, Stewart's purchased Smith's Tavern, an iconic pizzeria in the heart of the village. The plan was to demolish the building and construct a convenience store and gas station in its stead.

On June 13, 2017, the Village Planning Commission, worried about pedestrian safety as well as flooding and erosion (the site backs up on Vly Creek), requested an in-depth environmental review of the project. Stewart's threatened to sue. Chuck Marshall, real estate representative for Stewart's, complained to the Altamont Enterprise that, "of the over 300 shops operated by Stewart's . . . no other municipality had required an in-depth environmental review."

Two weeks later, on June 27, 2017, the Village Board adopted a moratorium on development to allow work on Voorheesville's first comprehensive land-use plan to be completed. The six-month moratorium could be extended by additional six-month periods, and in November 2017, it was. In May 2018, a draft of Voorheesville's new comprehensive plan was made available. The new plan, not yet adopted, rezones the area in which Smith's Tavern is located as the "Creekside Commercial District." The Altamont Enterprise explained the impact of the proposed new zoning:

That new district, under the proposed plan, would not allow for a Stewart's Shop let alone one with a gas station attached.

That's because as a "use," Stewart's Shop "does not promote the desired character for this district." Specifically, it is a "Formula Business," which according to the plan is "required by contractual or other arrangements to be virtually identical to businesses in other communities because of standardized architecture, services, merchandise, decor, uniforms and the like."

As a consequence of the proposed new zoning, the Altamont Enterprise reported on June 14: "Stewart's Shops to sell former Smitty's." Marshall is quoted in the article as saying the property could be on the market "as soon as next week."

Compare the Stewart's story here in Hudson, which has some common elements: Stewart's desire to develop; a need for a new comprehensive plan (our current one was adopted in 2002); concern about formula businesses. The differences are: Stewart's is already here, has been here for forty-some years, and has been a nonconforming use for all that time; Hudson already has legislation in place banning formula businesses; the outcome of the story in Hudson is likely to be very different.

At its June 27 meeting, the Common Council Legal Committee, made up of John Rosenthal (Fourth Ward), who chairs the committee, Rich Volo (Fourth Ward), and Shershah Mizan (Third Ward), agreed to move forward to the full Council a new amendment to the zoning code in response to Stewart's, and now also Scali's (both nonconforming uses in a residential district), desire for a zoning change. The new amendment, which applies only to R-2 and R-2H districts, would allow "any building or portion thereof, the use of which is currently a non-conforming use within the zoning district," to be "renovated, replaced, and/or expanded," with these provisions:

(a) the non conforming use has been established and has operated continuously for a period of greater than twenty years in the R-2H zone;

(b) the owner demonstrates mitigation of impacts of the renovated building to the surrounding neighborhood to the satisfaction of the Planning Board. . . . Any mitigation required shall be set forth in resolution by the Planning Board and/or through a host community benefit of agreement between the owner and the City Council [sic] for the purposes of long term enforcement;

(c) the construction of the renovated building is completed upon the parcel or adjacent parcel(s) upon which the non-conforming building currently exists;

(d) the renovated building shall not be more than 1x greater than the existing structure of the non-conforming use;

(e) the construction of the renovated building shall create no new additional non-compliance with the Bulk and Area Regulations for the zoning district.

This amendment seems worded to give Stewart's exactly what they want. They can build a new building twice the size of the current one and demolish two houses in the process, and the bugbear of spot zoning is avoided because the proposed changes will not benefit a single property owner. The owners of Scali's get to expand their building, too. 

What's sweetening the deal is the "host community benefit agreement." The last time a corporation offered Hudson a host community benefit agreement it was St. Lawrence Cement, so many of us are conditioned to believe that nothing good comes with the offer of such an agreement. What was revealed at the Legal Committee meeting last Thursday is that the nature of the benefit being discussed is money to help finance a new comprehensive plan and comprehensive zoning revisions. These are two things that the City definitely needs. Our current comprehensive plan was done in 2002, and people are forever complaining about our antiquated zoning code, which was adopted fifty years ago and seems often to apply suburban planning principles to our very urban built environment. But unlike Voorheesville, where they put a moratorium on development until they completed their comprehensive plan, what's purposed in Hudson is amending the zoning to enable two fairly neighborhood altering projects and then, after the horse has left the barn, revising the comprehensive plan.

At the meeting, Gossips asked Rosenthal what if a revised comprehensive plan came to the conclusion that a super-sized Stewart's and a larger Scali's with a larger parking lot, with the loss of residential buildings such expansions would necessitate, wasn't in keeping with what the city envisions for its future. He said he didn't think that would happen, but he was willing to take the chance.
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Of Interest

In the past quarter century, Hudson has had a few instances of people holding public office in Hudson while living someplace else. Most recently, there was the Fifth Ward alderman who moved to Taghkanic before his term was up but nonetheless continued to serve on the Common Council. 

This morning a reader brought to my attention an exposé in the New York Post about an elected official not actually residing where required by law to reside: "Brooklyn state Supreme Court justice using rentals to claim residency." The article alleges that Justice ShawnDya Simpson "has been using a series of rental apartments [in Brooklyn] for more than a decade to claim she's a borough resident" while actually living in South Orange, New Jersey, in a house she and her husband purchased in 1998. What's the Hudson connection? Simpson is married to Jacob Walthour, Jr., son of Jake and Barbara Walthour, longtime proprietors of the Savoia.
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The Great War: July 2, 1918

Exploring the Columbia Republican for July 2, 1918, I was expecting to find an account of great plans for the celebration of Independence Day during a time when the country was at war. Instead I found this affecting story of one young Hudson man's experience while training in the cavalry.

Some research discovered that Paul Burns was born in East Greenbush, the seventh child of William and Mary Burns. His father was an Irish immigrant, whose occupation was listed in the 1900 census as "Trackman on RR." At the time he enlisted in the cavalry, Paul Burns was living here in Hudson with his oldest sibling, his sister Mary, who was thirteen years older than he and married to a man named John F. Dryer.

Although the account in the Columbia Republican reports that Paul Burns's arm was so badly injured it would have to be amputated, his military records suggest otherwise. According to his military card, found on Ancestry.com, he was honorably discharged on March 17, 1919, having served with the 12th Cavalry from the time of his enlistment. He had not served overseas, and he was "0 per cent disabled on date of discharge."  

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Mrs. Greenthumbs Day Approaches

Mark your calendars! Mrs. Greenthumbs Day is only weeks away. 

The biennial event honoring the memory of Hudson's most talented, most exuberant, and most famous gardener, Cassanda Danz, who had a local radio show, appeared on national television, and wrote books as Mrs. Greenthumbs, happens this year on Sunday, July 22.

As in the past, Mrs. Greenthumbs Day will be celebrated with an open garden day in Hudson. This year, twenty gardens will be welcoming visitors from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The gardens are located throughout the city, but all within walking distance of each other. (Hudson is, after all, only two square miles.) Mrs. Greenthumbs Day provides a rare opportunity to view gardens in Hudson that are hidden behind buildings and fences and to get inside gardens that can usually only be longingly glimpsed from the sidewalk.

The garden tour is free and open to all, but there will be an opportunity at each garden to show your appreciation and help with the preservation and beautification of Hudson's public spaces by making a contribution. In the past, garden tour contributions have gone to the Mrs. Greenthumbs "Hedge Fund," but in the past year, the "Hedge Fund" has morphed into the Hudson Parks Conservancy, which will be the beneficiary of this year's contributions.

That same evening, when the garden tour is over, there will a party to launch the Hudson Parks Conservancy at The Secret Gardener, 250 Warren Street. All are invited to celebrate the beginning of the organization whose mission is the restoration and enhancement of Hudson's parks and to learn what's being planned and how you can be a part of it. The party is from 5 to 7 p.m. Click here for more information and to RSVP.
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Of Interest

The topic of Ralph Gardner Jr.'s commentary on WAMC yesterday was Kinderhook historian Ruth Piwonka: "Go Ask Ruth." 

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God Is in the Details

At its June 22 meeting, the Historic Preservation Commission agreed on a new policy. When a project involves the removal of asbestos, aluminum, vinyl, or other non-original siding, a certificate of appropriateness will not be granted to the proposed facade restoration before the siding has been removed. Applicants will be required to return to the HPC after the siding has come off to get a certificate of appropriateness for the facade restoration. This policy is especially important when no historic pictures can be found of the building. Much was covered up when buildings were clad in post-World War II siding, often deliberately to "modernize" the house's appearance, and without a historic photograph, it's impossible to know what lies beneath. It makes no sense approve a plan for restoring a facade without that information.

Two recent projects prompted the HPC to adopt this policy. The first is this house in the 500 block of Union Street.

The HPC granted a certificate of appropriateness to remove the vinyl siding and restore the cornice. When the siding came off, three eyebrow windows below the cornice were exposed, but they were covered up again, and since no one knew they were there, the certificate of appropriateness did not specify that the eyebrows should be restored.

Even without a historic photograph, it seems possible to guess that the original cornice didn't look like what is there now.

The other project that persuaded the members of the HPC that they shouldn't grant a certificate of appropriateness for facade restoration without knowing what's under the siding is 742 Warren Street.

The prospect of 742 and 744 Warren Street being freed from their salmon-colored siding was welcomed with unbridled enthusiasm, and there was even greater elation when the evidence of the buildings' original details was uncovered.

But alas, no sooner were the details and the ghosts of details revealed than they were covered up again, and, because the certificate of appropriateness did not make specific reference to retaining historic details that might survive beneath the siding, there was nothing that could be done to prevent it.

There is no doubt that 742 and 744 Warren Street--two distinct buildings--look much better today than they did clad in siding that made them look like a single building, but imagine how much better 742 Warren Street might have looked with its original details restored.

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Glamour Pusses

Photographers have often used their art to promote the adoption of shelter dogs. Notable examples are Richard Phipps, who photographed dogs at the Humane Society of New York and created the book Rescue Me; Fred Levy, who started the Black Dogs Project; and Sophie Gamand, who created the series Flower Power, photographing pit bulls in shelters wearing flower crowns. 

Here in Hudson, photographer Shannon Greer is using his art to encourage the adoption of cats. Greer takes amazing pictures of the rescued cats at Animalkind . . .

and posts them on the Facebook page for his guest house and inn, The Hudson Milliner, with messages like this: "This cool cat lives at Animalkind in Hudson NY, presently. He could live with you if you're looking for a furry friend to adopt."
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Thanks to Shannon Greer for permission to use the images and tell the story

Beware the Boot

Despite the fact that the Common Council voted unanimously in May not to increase the fee for removing the boot from $110 to $150, the boot is back. 

The practice of booting cars for outstanding parking fines had been suspended by Mayor Tiffany Martin Hamilton in March 2016 because some cars that were booted ended up also getting towed because fines could not be paid within 24 hours on the weekend. Now that outstanding parking fines can be paid at the police station, which is open 24/7, it was decided the practice of booting cars should resume. But after two years, the towing companies that had been providing the service wanted more money to come back to Hudson. 

Apparently, the money issue has now been resolved, because yesterday the Hudson Police Department announced on its Facebook page that the boot has returned.

Citizens should be made aware that enforcement of Local Law No. 3 of 2011, regarding the booting of vehicles will resume immediately. Booting had been temporarily suspended while the City reviewed policies regarding booting.

Any motor vehicle which has three or more [parking] tickets outstanding in excess of 45 days may have a boot installed upon it. In addition to the outstanding tickets, the car owner shall pay a boot removal fee of $110 dollars plus tax.

If your vehicle is booted, you have 24 hours to pay all fines to the ticket clerk at the parking bureau. The tow company that installed the boot will return after 24 hours to tow the vehicle and you will be subject to additional towing and storage charges.

The announcement on the HPD Facebook page doesn't indicate this, but presumably if the 24 hours in which you must pay your outstanding fines happens on the weekend when the Parking Bureau, which is located in City Hall, is closed, you can pay your outstanding fines, required to free your car from the boot, at the Police and Courts Building, 701 Union Street. Whether or not that's the case, the goal is to avoid the boot, so if you have unpaid parking tickets, you may want to take care of them now. You can do it online at www.parkingticketpayment.com/hudsonny/. There's a fee, but you can do it at your convenience, and you'll know it's done.
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Open House Today

The public housing project known as Bliss Towers is a perennial cause of contention in Hudson. There have been allegations that conditions in the building "have deteriorated well beyond livable." Evidence has emerged about past mismanagement. There have been calls to "do away with" the Hudson Housing Authority Board of Commissions and suggestions that current HHA director Timothy Mattice isn't doing enough to address the issues. Then there's the persistent conversation about razing all or part of the building in favor of pursuing some new model for subsidized public housing.

Meanwhile, things are happening at Bliss Towers that counter all the bad publicity. The fence surrounding the property has come down, and a plan for new landscaping is being developed by three members of the Conservation Advisory Council-- Carol Smillie, Holly Gardner, and Elsa Leviseur--with input from building residents.

Today, Friday, June 29, there is to be an Open House at Bliss Towers to introduce residents to available community services and people in the community to the building. Representatives from about a dozen agencies and organizations, from the Department of Social Services to the Hudson Farmers Market, will be present, and one of the newly renovated apartments--one of forty that have recently been completely rehabilitated--will be open so people can see the work now being done in the building. The event is from 4 to 7 p.m. today at 41 North Second Street.
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Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc?

Last night, Gossips brought attention to a typo in the new street sign at State and North Third streets.

This morning a new sign appeared, with the spelling of the ordinal suffix corrected.

Thank you, Department of Public Works. And thanks to David Andersson, who provided the information and the pictures.
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Everybody Needs a Proofreader

The street sign at the corner of North Third and State streets, which was knocked down a while back, has recently been replaced. 

It seems some things in Hudson haven't changed since Stephen Bergman was growing up here in the 1950s. Writing as Samuel Shem, Bergman characterized the thinly fictionalized Hudson that is the setting of his 2008 novel The Spirit of the Place as a "town of breakage." In this case, we might call it more appropriately a town of "mistakage."
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Thanks for David Andersson for noting the error and providing Gossips with the picture 

There's Still Time to Get There

Today at 6 p.m., there is a screening at the Hudson Area Library of Odds Against Tomorrow, the memorable 1959 film noir that features Hudson as its central setting.

The event is part of the History Room's Local History Speaker Series and features, following the screening of the film (which runs for about an hour and forty minutes), a discussion with documentary film maker David McDonald. McDonald has this to say about the film and how became interested in it: "Apparently, tons of people in the town of Hudson had served as extras in the movie or played a part in the production . . . so I got it into my head to do a short video about [people's] memories of the event. To do so, I thought I should sit through the old movie, and when I did so, I was gobsmacked. That movie, all about the price of intolerance, was a relevant for today's world as it had been in 1959. I was hooked." The trailer for McDonald's video--a "film-about-a film"--will be shown after the movie.

The screening is open to the public. A donation is suggested. Snacks and refreshments will be available at a cash bar. 

The library is located at 51 North Fifth Street.
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Bitter Irony

Earlier this week, a flyer arrived in the mail from the Galvan Foundation, announcing its free tree planting initiative.

The homeowners of Hudson are being invited to "ENJOY THE BEAUTY & WISDOM OF A TREE!" by the foundation whose modus operandi is to fell all the trees on the property it acquires.

The irony is breathtaking
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What Happens Outside a Historic District

In Sunday's post about the public hearing held by the Historic Preservation Commission, it was noted that no new historic districts have been created since 2006. A recent comment by an alderman that her constituents were concerned "historic preservation was coming to them," as if having your neighborhood become a historic district were more dreaded than an infestation of Formosan termites or emerald ash borers, gives a pretty good indication of why creating new historic districts is not a task the HPC or any other group is eager to take on. Upper Columbia Street is a sad reminder of what can and does happen in areas that are not historic districts.

In August 2013, the house at 900 Columbia Street was demolished, despite efforts from the community to save it and the false promise from the Galvan Foundation to move it to a location on Union Street.

The state historic preservation office was called upon for help. The house was determined to be a very early 19th-century house, eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Place, but because it was not in a locally designated historic district, there was nothing to stop its being "disassembled."

The building that replaced it is of a kind of pseudo-Arts and Crafts design, totally out of character with the neighborhood, and the parking lot, positioned in front of the building, interrupts the street wall and looks suburban in a very urban setting.

Now the house next door, at 886 Columbia Street, is undergoing its own transformation. Originally known as the Dinehart mansion, the house was built as a single family residence around 1910.

The house's fate was probably determined sixty years ago, when it was purchased in 1958 by the Rip Van Winkle Foundation to expand its clinic. In the intervening years, the house has had a variety of uses, among them a funeral home, but it never returned to being a residence. Now the house is being converted into six medical office suites. 

Gossips followed the site plan review for this house by the Planning Board and reported what was said about the changes being proposed--those that were in the purview of the Planning Board: adding an elevator at the back of the building, expanding the parking lot, re-glazing the brick blue-gray. Nothing was said about enclosing the front porch, which was probably originally an open veranda, was enclosed with windows sometime in the last century, and extended to create a porte cochere probably during the house's stint as a funeral home. 

Since the project got its site plan approval, I've been watching the progress of the house's transformation into medical suites. When the columns that supported the roof of the porch were removed, I foolishly thought they were being removed for restoration and tried to ignore the fact that they'd been replaced by pillars of cement blocks. Even when great sheets of plywood appeared, I stuck to my pipe dream, but I was forced to abandon it when the ZIP wall sheathing appeared.

We as a community may mourn the loss of great houses and regret the 20th-century transformation of others . . . 

The family home of Sanford Gifford, at Sixth and Columbia streets

The house that once stood at the southern terminus of West Court Street

Photo: Evelyn & Robert Monthie Slide Collection, CCHS

Google

but without the protection of the City's historic preservation ordinance, which only applies to buildings within locally designated historic districts, the demolition and re-imagining of Hudson's historic architecture can continue unabated, and it does.
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Mapping Yesterday's Results

A Gossips reader couldn't find a map that showed the county-by-county results of yesterday's Democratic primary in New York's 19th Congressional district, so he created one himself and gave Gossips permission to share it.

The source of the data is the New York State Board of Elections, which is now reporting results from 436 of the 458 election districts. The percentages given indicate the percentage lead of the first place winner in each county over the candidate coming in second.
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Thanks to Steve Dunn for providing this map

Of Interest

Sam Pratt comments on the outcome of yesterday's primary: "Instant takeaways from the NY-19 Democratic primary."

But Then, It May Be . . . Over That Is

Click here to view the election results being reported by the New York Times.

The Bigger Picture

The New York State Board of Elections is now reporting the following results from 385 of 458 election districts in CD19: Brian Flynn 4,320; Erin Collier 1,493; Gareth Rhodes 5,708; Pat Ryan 5,465; Antonio Delgado 7,022; Jeff Beals 4,331; Dave Clegg 3,763.

It Isn't Over Until It's Over

The unofficial election night results now being reported by the Columbia County Board of Elections are as follows: Brian Flynn 505; Erin Collier 157; Gareth Rhodes 1,156; Pat Ryan 639; Antonio Delgado 840; Jeff Beals 478; Dave Clegg 195. Of course, that's just Columbia County. There are ten other counties in New York's 19th Congressional District.
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Warriors or Guardians?

Since last night, Gossips hasn't had a chance to report on the Common Council Police Committee meeting, but there is no need. Dan Udell's video of the meeting is now available on YouTube and can be viewed by clicking here.

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Land for Sale

Strapped for cash, the Hudson Community Development & Planning Agency (HCDPA) is selling off some of the vacant property it owns in Hudson, mostly in the Second Ward. The first parcel offered for sale is a relatively narrow strip of land between 209-211 Columbia Street and 215 Columbia Street that runs from  Columbia Street through to Prison Alley. The parcel is being sold by sealed bid. Bids on the property will be accepted by HCDPA at 1 North Front Street until 2 p.m. on Thursday, July 26, after which time "the bids will be opened and publicly read aloud at a special meeting of HCDPA" to take place at 1 North Front Street. The bid package, which gives complete information about the parcel, provides directions for submitting a bid, indicates the minimum bid, and includes the form for submitting a bid, can be found here.     
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