CAC to the Rescue

Almost a month ago, on August 13, Arterial, the group planning the streetscape changes that are part of the Hudson Connects DRI project, made a presentation to the Historic Preservation Commission. Responding to that presentation, HPC chair Phil Forman told his colleagues, "We need to bring our full game to the table." John Schobel, vice chair of the HPC, declared, "We have to be very careful with materials." 

It's still not clear what role the HPC will be allowed to play in the planning for Hudson Connects, but at the HPC meeting yesterday, Hilary Hillman and Britt Zuckerman from the Conservation Advisory Council (CAC) were in attendance to make a presentation. In introducing Hillman and Zuckerman, Forman said the CAC had been doing "a lot of thinking about materials" and commented, "What's being proposed [by Arterial] is a hell of a lot of stripes."

Zuckerman began her presentation by showing historic photographs of Hudson, which showed large shade trees right at the edge of the street, sometimes literally in the street. 

She argued that to survive and flourish, street trees needed more than minimum sized tree wells and spoke of the benefits of incorporating planting strips and bioswales into the street design.

Zuckerman asserted that materials could be used instead of striping to "suggest moments of pause and places to cross" and showed examples of materials, all of which are ADA compliant, that might be used to create an appropriate streetscape for Hudson.

Schobel responded, "This is exactly the expertise and thoughtfulness that needs to overlay what Arterial is doing." HPC member Jeremy Stynes concurred, commenting, "The hero should be the architecture not the traffic striping."

When Forman asked about the process going forward, Zuckerman said she was "reaching out" to Arterial but as yet they have not responded. 

In August, David Lustberg of Arterial told the HPC that they had created a website for the project called HudsonConnects.com to keep people updated on the project. He said at that time the website was no more than a landing page. Gossips checked the website earlier today and found it is still not much more than a landing page but did discover that the public workshop, originally scheduled for August 24 and canceled, had been rescheduled for September 22. Checking the website again just now, that information seems to have disappeared. No workshop appears on the city calendar for the month of September.

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COVID-19 Update

The Columbia County Department of Health has released its numbers for today. Since yesterday, there have been 23 new cases of COVID-19. The number of active cases being reported today is twelve more than yesterday, from which it can be inferred that, since yesterday, eleven county residents have recovered from the virus. There are four more county residents in mandatory quarantine today than yesterday, and the number hospitalized and in the ICU remains the same. There has not been a death from COVID-19 in Columbia County since Tuesday, September 7.

The New York Forward dashboard is reporting a positivity rate for Columbia County yesterday of 2.0 percent and a seven-day average of 3.2 percent. By comparison, the daily positivity rate for the Capital Region is 3.9 percent and the seven-day average is 4.3 percent.

A year ago today, the CCDOH reported no new cases of COVID-19. The total number of cases was 547, and the number of active cases was 1. There were 13 county residents in mandatory quarantine, and no one was hospitalized or in the ICU. The total number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 at this time last year was 37.

Some Background

The Planning Board has scheduled a special meeting for Thursday, September 23, to continue its consideration of Colarusso's applications for conditional use permits. For several months now, the Planning Board has been holding special meetings to consider the Colarusso applications. In its most recent meetings, the board has been working its way through Part 2 of the Full Environmental Assessment Form, and it is believed that the board is just about ready to make a positive or negative declaration in the SEQRA (State Environmental Quality Review Act) process. 

The process has taken a long time, and there's a lot at stake here. For those whose attention has strayed away from this issue over the years, here's a way to catch up. Last weekend, Peter Jung was the guest on Radio Kingston's Green Radio Hour with Jon Bowermaster. That interview, titled "Fighting for the Hudson Waterfront," can be heard here. 

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COVID, Climate Change, and Now EHD

Today, the Hudson Police Department shared the following information on its Facebook page: 

Five dead deer were located today at Oakdale Lake. DEC pathologists believe the deer contracted Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD). Deer with EHD seek out water sources. This is a disease that does not affect humans. Please see the attached FAQ sheet published by the Department of Environmental Conservation.

The FAQ sheet to reproduced below. Click on the image to enlarge. 

Back to Standard Fare

The subject of an email I received from Chronogram this evening was "The Hottest Zip Code in America." What appeared upon opening the email was the latest edition of Chronogram's "Eat. Play. Stay. A curated guide to the Hudson Valley's best homes, restaurants, and events," which focused on Hudson--primarily in the categories of "Accommodations" and "Food & Drink."

The title of this post alludes to Chronogram's most recent previous feature about Hudson: "Hudson: Off Warren Street."

Stay at Home Tomorrow

Tomorrow morning's Historic Preservation Commission meeting will take place exclusively on Zoom. Click here to join the meeting.

COVID-19 Update

The Columbia County Department of Health has released its numbers for today. Since yesterday, there have been seven new cases of COVID-19. The number of active cases being reported today in 23 fewer than yesterday, from which it can be inferred that, since yesterday, thirty county residents have recovered from the virus. There is one fewer county resident in mandatory quarantine today than yesterday, and the number hospitalized with the virus remains the same. But whereas yesterday none of those hospitalized was in the ICU, today there are two. There has not been a death from COVID-19 reported in Columbia County since Tuesday.

The New York Forward dashboard has not updated its numbers since yesterday.

A year ago today, the CCDOH reported no new cases of COVID-19. The total number of cases was 547, and the number of active cases was 3. There were 14 county residents in mandatory quarantine, and no one was hospitalized or in the ICU. The total number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 at this time last year was 37.

Hudson and Newburyport

A reader--the same one who was first to alert me earlier this week to the article about Hudson in GOLOCALProv--also tipped me off to an article that appeared recently in Boston Magazine and its relevance to Hudson. The article is about Newburyport, Massachusetts, and its resistance to Steve Karp, the developer who helped transform Nantucket into "a glitzy island paradise": "Don't Nantucket My Newburyport." The article is well worth reading for the comparisons that can be seen with Hudson, which has its own issues with a developer who owns dozens of properties in the city and seems intent on transforming Hudson according to his own vision. What is equally interesting is connection between Hudson and Newburyport that goes back almost fifty years.

Back in 1975, after the City had carried out the devastation and reconstruction that was Urban Renewal, Hudson embarked on a plan to revitalize its business district (which was all of two blocks) that drew on history and restoration and took Newburyport as its model. The reader provided these images from a Register-Star Special Feature insert called "Putting history to work: Hudson." 

Curiously, although Hudson looked to its history and architectural heritage to promote itself in the 1970s, it wasn't until more than a quarter century later that the Common Council adopted a preservation ordinance to protect the city's built environment.

Regarding the major property owner who seems to be Hudson's version of Steve Karp, Gossips learned yesterday that the acquisition of the former Community Theatre by the Galvan Initiatives Foundation is now complete. 

Galvan announced its plans to acquire the building in November 2020. At that time, this was said about what its intended use might be: "Galvan will develop the building as the gateway to our Depot District Initiative, a mixed-used commercial and residential development in the planning phase. We expect to complete the transaction in January 2021." It seems it took a bit longer to accomplish that. 

When the building first went on the market in December 2019, the asking price was $1,470,000. The latest published asking price was $990,000. Marina Abramovic purchased it in 2007 for $950,000. The building is assessed at $1 million. It appears that Galvan bought it for $800,000.

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Hudson and Troy . . . Again

Over the years, Gossips has compared the development efforts for the Kaz site here in Hudson and One Monument Square in Troy. Those posts can be found here, here, and here. Troy has been trying since 2011 to redevelop the waterfront site where its mid-1970s concrete city hall was demolished in 2010. Hudson Development Corporation (HDC) has been "marketing" the Kaz site ever since the agency acquired it in 2010. Yesterday was a pretty big day for both projects.

Yesterday, the HDC Board voted unanimously to approve the purchase/sale agreement for the Kaz site, now known as the Montgomery Street parcel. Yesterday, too, the proposed design for the building to be constructed at One Monument Square was released. Below are the renderings at appeared in the Albany Business Review: "$60M design unveiled for Troy's One Monument Square." 

The developer for the project is Hoboken Brownstone Company, and the design is by Syvertsen Rigosu Architects PLLC of Clifton Park. The proposal is for a six-story, mixed-use building and public plaza, with 22,000 square feet of commercial space and 90 apartments, with monthly rents from $1,500 to $2,500. It is anticipated that construction of the building will begin in 2023.

We in Hudson still don't know what is being contemplated for the former Kaz site.

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COVID-19 Update

The Columbia County Department of Health has released its numbers for today. Since yesterday, there have been 24 new cases of COVID-19. The number of active cases being reported today is 21 more than yesterday, from which it can be inferred that, since yesterday, three county residents have recovered from the virus. There is one more county resident in mandatory quarantine today than yesterday. The number hospitalized with the virus is the same as yesterday, but today no one is in the ICU. There has not been another death from COVID-19 reported by the CCDOH since yesterday. 

The New York Forward dashboard is reporting a positivity rate for Columbia County yesterday of 6.3 percent and a seven-day average of 2.8 percent. By comparison, the daily positivity rate for the Capital Region is 3.2 percent and the seven-day average is 4.5 percent.

A year ago today, the CCDOH reported 1 new case of COVID-19. The total number of cases was 547, and the number of active cases was 3. There were 15 county residents in mandatory quarantine, and no one was hospitalized or in the ICU. The total number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 at this time last year was 37.

Entering a New Phase

The Board of the Hudson Development Corporation (HDC) met at noon today and, after an executive session that lasted just six minutes, voted unanimously to approve the purchase/sale agreement for the Montgomery Street parcel. All the members of the HDC Board, except for Council president Tom DePietro, an ex officio member of the board, were present at the meeting.

The identity of the purchaser of the property has still not been officially revealed. That is expected happen after the closing on the sale, which is anticipated will happen in about ten days. After the vote was taken, Bob Rasner, president of the HDC Board, declared, "There will be five acres back on the tax rolls. The community should be satisfied." He went on to say that the buyer will develop their plans and present them to the Planning Board and the Zoning Board of Appeals as applicable, and he expressed the hope that the regulatory boards will "make good decisions quickly . . . not as we are currently seeing in other projects." The reference may have been to the Colarusso matter, which has been before the Planning Board for more than four years now. Paul Colarusso is a member of the HDC Board.

In her executive director's report, which was presented at the end of the meeting, Branda Maholtz spoke of the organization's plans "for our immediate future and beyond." In her remarks, Maholtz spoke of change, saying, "Sometimes it's slow, sometimes it happens quickly, and you aren't sure why it's happening. But Hudson has this uncanny ability to succeed despite all the negative outcry and vitriol, despite the dialectical opinions that always seem to rear their head in the face of change."

Maholtz stressed Hudson's small size--just 2.3 square miles--and the need to come together to address issues and solve problems.

We're a small city with big city issues to tackle. We all need to work together and make decisions for the future of this city, and sometimes that does mean putting personal agendas aside. If we can't do this, if we can't compromise, we have created nothing but an "us versus them" situation over and over again. This stalls any progress or potential forward movement.  

She continued on that theme of coming together to touch on the Colarusso issue:

I think Hudson can achieve a healthy balance here. We have a robust tourism economy, we have a creative economy that is unsurpassed, we have industry, history, and recreation. But our good fortune may not continue if we don't figure out how to work--at least a little bit--together. Nothing will get done, nothing will progress, if we just keep arguing past each other.

The haul road may be an example here. You blur your eyes a little bit, and you can see two clear sides: one that seems to always be attacking, and one that's always defending. The extremes are louder, but the point here is that conversation--which opens the door for compromise--is always already hard from these extreme positions. And look where we're at with the haul road--a whole lot of nothing since 2017. . . .

She then returned to the theme of Hudson's small size:

Hudson is a city of limits. But there are benefits to limits. It forces us to be creative, to use what we have, waste nothing, practice restraint, to be more intentional. . . . We must do better at understanding our limits as a town--both businesses and as a community--and how we can address them together, collectively, in a balanced way. 

Regarding the issue of Colarusso, the haul road, its dock operation, and its continued presence on the waterfront, the Planning Board has scheduled a special meeting to continue its consideration of the Colarusso conditional use permit applications for Thursday, September 23, at 6:00 p.m. The information thus far is that the meeting will take place at City Hall, but, given that only ten audience members are currently permitted in the Council Chamber, it is likely it may be a Zoom meeting.

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Back to Zoom

Council president Tom DePietro announced this morning that tonight's Legal Committee meeting would take place on Zoom. 

It's a good thing the meeting can be viewed from the comfort of home, because it is likely to go on for a long time. On the agenda for the meeting, to quote DePietro, are "sidewalks, inclusionary zoning, 4th ward zoning, and the cause for eviction law on our desks." By "4th ward zoning" I believe DePietro means the proposal to amend the zoning to allow eating and drinking establishments as a conditional use in R4 Districts. R4 Districts, shown in pink on the zoning map below, exist in many places in the city other than the Fourth Ward. 

Click here to join the meeting. 

Happening This Saturday

Tommy Stinson, of The Replacements and Guns N Roses, and Chip Roberts have formed a duo called Cowboys in the Campfire. They will be performing this Saturday, September 11, at the Park Theater, 723 Warren Street, in a concert to benefit Perfect Ten. The event begins at 7:00 p.m. 

In junction with the concert, there is an online auction, which began last week and continues until 11:55 p.m. on September 11. The auction includes several items of Stinson's rock and roll memorabilia, along with such intriguing things as a private presentation by Victoria Wyeth on the art of her grandfather, Andrew Wyeth, and her uncle Jamie Wyeth, and an in-home Asian-inspired omakase dinner for two created by Chef Dennis Gardon. Click here to access the auction.

Tomorrow, Wednesday, September 8, at 9:30 a.m., you can tune in to Radio Woodstock WDST 100.1 FM to hear Stinson and Roberts talk about the upcoming event.

COVID-19 Update

The Columbia County Department of Health has not reported the county's COVID numbers since Friday, September 3, and the news today is not good. Since Friday, there has been another death from COVID-19, bringing the total to 99, and 41 new cases. There are ten more active cases today than there were on Friday, from which it can be inferred that, over the weekend, thirty county residents have recovered from the virus. There are five fewer county residents in mandatory quarantine today than on Friday, but there is one more hospitalized. The number in the ICU remains the same as on Friday.  

The New York Forward dashboard is reporting a positivity rate for Columbia County yesterday of 8.5 percent and a seven-day average of 2.7 percent. By comparison, the daily positivity rate for the Capital Region was 5.9 percent and the seven-day average was 4.6 percent.

On September 6, 2020, the CCDOH reported 1 new case of COVID-19. The total number of cases was 546, and the number of active cases was 4. There were 18 county residents in mandatory quarantine, and none was hospitalized or in the ICU. The total number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 at this time last year was 37.

Hudson and Providence

The Centennial Gazette, published on April 9, 1885, to mark Hudson's first 100 years, had this to say about the founding of our city.

The enterprise out of which thus grew the city of Hudson is popularly supposed to have originated in Nantucket. This is only partially correct. Full investigation gives to the city of Providence, in the State of Rhode Island, largely the credit for the energy which conceived and directed it, and the wealth which so greatly tended to give it success. Nantucket, from its isolated position, had endured great privations and suffered great losses during the war of the Revolution. It had lost nearly all of its shipping in capture by British privateers, had suffered greatly in all of its business interests, and the return of peace found its population impoverished, a large portion of it compelled and anxious to seek a new home. They were ready to gather up the remnant of their means and go out from the peaceful island they loved, but they needed leaders. These they found in Thomas Jenkins and others, wealthy residents and merchants of Providence, who had years before left Nantucket and, engaging in commercial pursuits, had amassed fortunes in the former place and were now not only able but glad to aid their less fortunate kinsman and friends.

I was reminded of this early connection between Providence and Hudson when several readers alerted me to an article that appeared today in the business section of GOLOCALProv, a local news publication in Providence, Rhode Island. In it, Hudson is depicted as a model of success that Providence might emulate: "Hudson, NY: Successful, Small-Scale Revival--Can Providence Learn From It?" 

Some noteworthy quotes from the article:

Hudson illustrates how history and high-end tourism can rescue a city.

Might Hudson give us some clues about how to get jobs without industry? Can a city of antique shops really compete? A New York Times study of 926 metro areas during the pandemic showed that Hudson had the biggest rate of in-migration in the United States. Most of those newcomers were New Yorkers drawn by Hudson's cultural reputation. 

The article doesn't get everything right. Speaking of the revival that began in the late 1980s, spurred by the antique dealers, the article states: "As with Providence, Hudson had been spared urban renewal, so there was a abundance of architecturally distinguished homes and commercial buildings that were incredibly affordable." We who live here know that part about being spared urban renewal is far from true.

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Meetings of Interest in the Week Ahead

Although the autumnal equinox isn't until September 22, with Labor Day behind us, summer is unofficially over. Here's what's happening in the first unofficial week of fall. 

• On Wednesday, September 8, the Board of the Hudson Development Corporation (HDC) holds a special meeting at noon at 1 North Front Street. It is expected that at this meeting the contract for the sale of the former Kaz site, also known as the Montgomery Street parcel, will be presented to the board for approval. 

• On Wednesday, September 8, at 6:00 p.m., the Hudson Housing Authority Board of Commissioners meets in the Community Room at Bliss Towers, 41 North Second Street. The commissioners have a lot on their plate right now. They are working on an RFQ (request for qualifications) for the redevelopment of HHA property; they need to find a new executive director; and, as Gossips just discovered, the HHA website has expired. 

Update: The HHA website is up and running again, and tonight's meeting will take place on Zoom. Click here to join the meeting.

• Also on Wednesday, September 8, at 6:00 p.m., the Common Council Legal Committee holds its first meeting since Council president Tom DePietro decided to reinstate it. The meeting takes place at City Hall. Among the things the committee is expected to discuss is the proposed "good cause eviction" law, which restricts reasons for eviction to ten and requires landlords to renew leases automatically for tenants in good standing. The law was based on a similar law enacted in Albany in July. There is likely to be a big turnout for this meeting, which will test Mayor Kamal Johnson's policy statement, issued on August 16, that limits the number of audience members in the Council Chamber to ten.

• On Friday, September 10, the Historic Preservation Commission holds its first meeting of the month at 10:00 a.m. at City Hall.

Update: Tomorrow's Historic Preservation Commission meeting will take place exclusively on Zoom. Click here to join the meeting.
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A Different Perspective

Over the past few decades, Chronogram has published many articles about Hudson. The most recent one is a photo essay by David McIntyre called Hudson: Off Warren Street.

  

Photo: David McIntyre

Tree Inventory at Oakdale

Miguel Berrios of Land Beyond the Sea in Ithaca, New York, is currently at work doing an inventory of street trees and trees in city parks, funded by an Urban Forestry Grant from the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation. Last week, Berrios toured the wooded area around Oakdale Lake, and Hilary Hillman of the Conservation Advisory Council made this report on the visit.

[Last] Tuesday, Arborist Miguel Berrios got a tour of the Hudson Oakland Lake woodland trail system. Youth Director Liz Yorck and Youth Program coordinator Vanessa Baehr talked with Berrios about the tree canopy, the understory, and invasive species.… He and Baehr discussed methods of eliminating invasive species. They were also able to identify trees that could be potentially dangerous as well as non-native ones that are causing more desirable native trees to not thrive.

Berrios is also a Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) Certified Technical Service Provider for Habitat Planning. Baehr who is very knowledgeable about all-things flora, Oakdale, and the history of the site, and Yorck, who is newer to this part of the county and to Oakdale, were able to augment their knowledge and confirm restoration concepts with Berrios. Yorck and Baehr are shaping a plan to eliminate invasives and create new outdoor education spaces and [are] designing trails that will lead to micro-environments within the site.

Thanks to Yorck, Baehr, Hudson DPW, and volunteers, a great deal of work was done on the trails and in the woods this summer. Much debris and overgrowth has been cleared out, and trees brought down by storms have been removed. On this trip, we were able to get all the litter in one grocery bag. I highly recommend a visit to Oakdale Lake trails. Stay tuned for future volunteer days at Oakdale to help with invasive weed removal and wildflower meadow plantings this fall.

When Berrios returns with his full presentation of his findings and management plan recommendations, we hope that the youth, the future stewards of Oakdale Lake Park, will be able to attend.

Party Animals

As Gossips readers already know, the Hudson Dog Park won a $5,000 grant this week in the PetSafe® “Bark for Your Park”™ grant competition. 

The winners were announced on Thursday, and on Friday evening, the dogs of Hudson and their humans gathered at the dog park to celebrate. Michael Orlando from Cool Dogg Creamery, an entrepreneurial startup here in Hudson, was on hand to provide doggie ice cream and other treats for the canine celebrants. 

Here are some pictures from the event.

For more pictures and a great video of dogs celebrating together, check out the Hudson Dog Park Facebook page.

COVID-19 Update

The Columbia County Department of Health has released its numbers for today. Since yesterday, there have been twenty new cases of COVID-19. The number of active cases being reported today is six more than yesterday, from which it can be inferred that, since yesterday, fourteen county residents have recovered from the virus. There are fourteen more county residents in mandatory quarantine today than yesterday, but there is one fewer hospitalized. As was the case yesterday, one of those hospitalized is in the ICU. There has not been a death from COVID-19 in Columbia County since yesterday.

  

The New York Forward dashboard is reporting a positivity rate for Columbia County from Wednesday to Thursday of 1.0 percent and a seven-day average of 2.6 percent. By comparison, the daily positivity rate for the same period in the Capital Region was 4.9 percent and the seven-day average was 4.8 percent.

A year ago today, the CCDOH reported 1 new case of COVID-19. The total number of cases was 544, and the number of active cases was 7. There were 21 county residents in mandatory quarantine, 1 was hospitalized, and none was in the ICU. The total number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 at this time last year was 37.

Ear to the Ground

At the beginning of June, the Board of the Hudson Development Corporation agreed to sell the former Kaz site, also known as the Montgomery Street parcel, to a buyer whose identity was not revealed at the time. In the intervening three months, HDC has been negotiating the contract for the sale of the property. Today, the real estate committee of the HDC board met at noon to finalize the contract. It is expected the contract will be presented to the full board at a special meeting to take place at noon on Wednesday, September 8, at 1 North Front Street. Perhaps after that meeting the identity of the buyer will finally be officially revealed, although many people already know who it is.

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The End of an Era

Earlier this week, the Hudson Art & Antiques Dealers Association (HAADA), which was founded in 1988 simply as the Hudson Antiques Dealers Association (HADA), announced its dissolution with the following press release:

The Hudson Art & Antiques Dealers Association (HAADA) is dissolving after 33 years in Hudson, New York.

Formed in 1988 with a group of 12 antiques dealers, at its peak around 2005, there were 65 members and associate members. Our mission statement to promote the antiques business in Hudson in general and specifically Hudson itself has been accomplished beyond our wildest dreams. However, due to attrition over the years and changes in the antiques trade, it has been decided by the remaining members that it is now time to dissolve.

The changes we have witnessed have been remarkable, and our dealer members past and present have worked hard and in so doing have seen Warren Street flourish, attracting people to Hudson’s great architecture and heritage.

Every year, HAADA produced up to 10,000 brochures which our dealers distributed at antique shows across the Northeast and in Manhattan, making Hudson a destination for dealers nationwide and those interested in antiquing and architecture. Articles in World of Interiors, Architectural Digest, Elle Décor, New York Times, New York Magazine, and many others have covered Hudson’s antiques personalities again and again, to a point where now Hudson, as a jewel of a city in the Hudson Valley, is featured in magazines worldwide and also on national television.

The balance of HAADA’s membership dues, $1,794, will be donated to Columbia County Recovery Kitchen, which provides meals for needy children.

A Pandemic of the Unvaccinated

Yesterday, the Columbia County Department of Health announced the 98th death from COVID-19 in Columbia County. Today, the Register-Star reports that this most recent COVID death was a relatively young person who was unvaccinated: "Man under 40 is 98th COVID death." The article also reports that of the nine people hospitalized with the virus yesterday, only one was vaccinated. According to CCDH Director Jack Mabb, the vaccinated person who experienced break-through infection is "an older person who has comorbidities."

COVID-19 Update

Although Columbia County has achieved a 70 percent vaccination rate, the pandemic is far from over. Today, the Columbia County Department of Health reported the county's 98th death from COVID-19. Since yesterday, there have been thirteen new cases of COVID-19. The number of active cases being reported today is six fewer than yesterday, from which it can be inferred that, since yesterday, eighteen county residents have recovered from the virus. The number of county residents in mandatory quarantine remains the same as it was yesterday, but, sadly, there is one fewer county resident hospitalized and in the ICU. 

The New York Forward dashboard has not been updated since yesterday.

A year ago today, the CCDOH reported no new cases of COVID-19. The total number of cases was 543, and the number of active cases was 8. There were 22 county residents in mandatory quarantine, 1 was hospitalized, and none was in the ICU. The total number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 at this time last year was 37.

What's Ahead for the Depot District

Yesterday, at its regular monthly meeting, the Hudson Industrial Development Agency (IDA) reviewed the draft resolutions approving PILOTs (payment in lieu of taxes) and other financial benefits for 708 State Street and 75 North Seventh Street--the two apartment buildings proposed by the Galvan Foundation to be constructed in the part of the city they are calling the "Depot District." The IDA cannot vote on the resolutions until the Planning Board completes the SEQR (State Environmental Quality Review) process. 

Dan Kent of the Galvan Foundation told the IDA that the Planning Board was expected to complete the SEQR process at its meeting on Tuesday, September 14, at which time the board is also expected to make a decision on the project. The IDA is scheduling a meeting the following day, on Wednesday, September 15, to make its decision on granting the financial benefits sought. There is a second opportunity to apply for NYS Homes and Community Renewal funding for the project in October.

If the project is approved by the Planning Board and the IDA, and the buildings receive the anticipated funding and financing, construction is expected to begin in the spring of 2022 and be completed by the end of 2023.

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Happy Day for the Dog Park

THANK YOU 

to everyone who voted so loyally!

Ear to the Ground

Down at the waterfront this morning, I noticed a new sign among the profusion of signs at the commercial dock. The new one announces the sale of boats and a business. There's no information about what boats and which business are for sale, but it seems reasonable to think it might be Hudson Cruises.

COVID-19 Update

The Columbia County Department of Health has released its numbers for today. Since yesterday, there have been ten new cases of COVID-19. The number of active cases being reported today is three more than yesterday, from which it can be inferred that, since yesterday, seven more county residents have recovered from the virus. There are nine fewer county residents in mandatory quarantine today than yesterday, but the number hospitalized with the virus and in the ICU remains the same. There has not been a death from COVID-19 in Columbia County since August 19.

The New York Forward dashboard is reporting a positivity rate for Columbia County yesterday of 3.2 percent and a seven-day average of 2.9 percent. By comparison, the daily positivity rate for the Capital Region was 4.3 percent and the seven-day average was 4.6 percent.

A year ago today, the CCDOH reported 1 new case of COVID-19. The total number of cases was 543, and the number of active cases was 8. There were 24 county residents in mandatory quarantine, 1 was hospitalized, and none was in the ICU. The total number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 at this time last year was 37.

Tonight at the Waterfront

The rain is likely to put a damper (no pun intended) on the final week of Waterfront Wednesdays, and that's too bad, because this week the Impossible Dream is here in Hudson.

The Impossible Dream is a universally accessible catamaran, "dedicated to raising awareness of barrier-free design and improving the quality of life for people with disabilities through sailing." 

Even if the rain continues this evening, and the forecast says it will, it's worth a journey down to riverfront park just to have a look at this vessel.