A Misleading Headline

On Friday, a front-page article in the Register-Star bore the headline: "Murell shares plans for 11 Warren St." 

Anyone who read the article found that very little of it was actually about 11 Warren Street, and it provided very little new information about the county's plans for the site. Regarding 11 Warren Street, the article quotes Matt Murell, chair of the Columbia County Board of Supervisors, as saying:

"We want to complete the 11 Warren St. project, which will occur throughout the remainder of 2024. . . . [The renovation] solves many issues. Firstly, we have to find a new space for the Board of Elections and the storage of the voting machines, which is a big investment on the county's part. We bought all new voting machines. Potentially, this will enable us to move the departments that are in the 610 State St. buildings, which will enable us to liquidate that building. It might serve a purpose if someone else wants to purchase it, but in terms of the county, it's just not functional anymore."

The county paid Galvan $3.35 million for 11 Warren Street, and the estimated cost of renovating the building is between $6 and $8 million.  

It was promised that input from the community would be sought before decisions were made about which county departments, in addition to the the Board of Elections, would be relocated at 11 Warren Street. For this purpose, apparently, a public hearing is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, January 24, at 4:00 p.m. in the Board of Supervisors chamber at 401 State Street. Currently, the Probation Department and the Public Defender's Office are located at 610 State Street, the building the county is planning to "liquidate." Hence these departments are likely candidates for relocation to 11 Warren Street.

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Of Interest

On Friday, the Register-Star weighed in on the issue of the Shacks in an editorial: "The work of restoring the Furgary must go on." In defense of preserving the site, the editorial makes this somewhat bewildering argument:

The Shacks offer a counter-history, a glimpse of how Hudson once lived and worked and how it can move the city forward. Like the three notches that marked the path to Jules Verne's center of the Earth, the 17 cabins of Furgary point the way to the future, offering a sort of instruction manual for the city to build what it needs to advance.   

Although the Register-Star editorial refers to seventeen shacks, at the time it was written there were only thirteen. One of the four shacks that have already been demolished was the most historically interesting. That was Shack #13. The images below, which were posted recently on the Furgary Fishing Village Facebook page, show Shack #13 not long before it was demolished and in its heyday.

The drawing of Shack #13, which was his grandfather's shack, is the work of Michael Williams. 

A Tragic Loss for Our Community

Last night, a number of people replaced their Facebook profile pictures with this symbol:

This morning, the Hudson Fire Department suspended a giant American flag over Green Street near the intersection with Fairview Avenue, a traditional gesture of remembrance and respect.

Photo: Gini Casasco | Facebook

This afternoon, the Hudson Police Department issued this statement:

It is with deep sorrow and heavy hearts that the City of Hudson Police Department announces the untimely passing of Senior Sergeant Christopher Filli after suffering a medical emergency while on duty Friday, January 12, 2024. Senior Sgt. Filli’s dedicated service to our Department and City will be remembered, and his loss is felt profoundly by our community. 

Senior Sgt. Filli was a respected and dedicated member of HPD for 22+ years. His commitment to duty and selfless service left an indelible mark on those who had the privilege of working alongside him. He was an exceptional officer and will be greatly missed by all. 

Our thoughts and prayers are with Senior Sergeant Filli’s family, friends, and colleagues during this challenging time. We extend our deepest condolences, and we stand together as a community to support each other through this loss. 

We would like to thank surrounding law enforcement and public safety agencies to include but not limited to: New York State Police, Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, Columbia County 911, Hudson Fire Department, Greenport Fire Department, Greenport Police, and Greenport Rescue Squad for their unwavering support while our department mourns the loss of our officer. 

At this time, the cause of Sr. Sgt. Filli's passing is unknown, and an ongoing investigation is underway. We ask for the privacy of the Filli family and members of HPD to be respected during this difficult period. 

Further information regarding memorial services and tributes will be communicated as details become available.

Let It Be

The Historic Preservation Commission held a public hearing on 501 Union Street this morning. Then, after some discussion, the HPC made a decision about how to deal with the problem.  

To review the situation, in September, limewash was applied to the building in violation of this stipulation in the building's certificate of appropriateness: "The original patina of brick shall be maintained." A stop-work order was issued, but in violation of the stop-work order limewash was applied to the newly reconstructed brick chimneys as well. 

Last month, the Galvan Foundation, which owns the building, proposed resolving the problem by applying more limewash. Kurt Hirschling from Jan Hird Pokomy Associates, the expert Galvan hired to advise them, explained that two coats of a 3 percent solution (97 percent water to 3 percent hydrated lime) with been applied to the Union Street side of the building, and one coat of the 3 percent solution had been applied to the other three sides. His recommendation, and what Galvan was seeking a certificate of appropriateness to do, was to apply another two or three coats of a 20 percent solution of limewash (80 percent water and 20 percent hydrated lime). He told the HPC the limewash already applied to the building could not be removed without damaging the brick and predicted it would take three to five years for the limewash now on the building to wear away naturally. 

Today, it was revealed that there was something more at stake. Apparently, work on the building is now complete, but a certificate of occupancy cannot be issued while the building is in violation and a stop-work order is in place.

The four people who spoke at the public hearing--Margaret Morris, Christabel Gough, Matt McGhee, and me--all advocated for letting the building to remain as is and not allow the application of any more limewash. Earlier this week, McGhee sent these photographs of 342 Allen Street to the HPC, which he said "illustrate what 501 Union would look like if allowed to age and patina over time."

Hirschling argued that leaving 501 Union as it is now would result in uneven weathering and applying more limewash would ensure uniform weathering. By more, he meant three more coats of a higher lime concentration. The HPC briefly entertained the possibility of allowing a second coat of the 3 percent solution on the three sides of the building that had gotten only one coat, but in the end the unanimous decision by the HPC was to approve the existing condition and deny the request to apply more limewash or anything else. Based on the HPC's decision, code enforcement officer Craig Haigh said he would lift the stop-work order and initiate the inspection required for issuing a certificate of occupancy. Commenting on the rationale for the decision, HPC member Paul Barrett said the HPC had chosen to "live with the damage that was done rather than increase the damage."

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In the Lobby of the Library

On Tuesday, Gossips reported about an exhibition of photographs from the History Room's extensive collection currently on display in the lobby of the Hudson Area Library at 51 North Fifth Street. That post included one of the photographs on display, one showing the Hudson post office under construction in 1912. Today, we share another photograph from the exhibition. This one shows the audience at the opening of The Playhouse Theatre on March 25, 1912. They were there to see the play Everywoman: A Modern Morality Play, by Walter Browne.  

The Playhouse, which seated 1,500, stood at 347 Warren Street, now the site of BackBar. It was a movie house and also a live music and theater venue which brought well-known performers, musicians, and shows to Hudson. In its day, it was the center of theatrical activity in Hudson. Its slogan was: "The modern way to enjoy life, with a modern theatre to enjoy it in."

On the evening of February 25, 1938, The Playhouse was irreparably damaged by fire. It was never reopened.

To see the rest of the exhibit, go to the Hudson Area Library and linger in the lobby. To learn more about The Playhouse, you can explore the William E. Kline Hudson Playhouse Collection in the History Room at the library.

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New Year, New Council, New Rule, New Strife

The Common Council held its first meeting of the new year on Monday. The first part of the meeting was the body's annual organizational meeting, when various things typically happen, among them adopting the Rules of Order for the year and announcing the majority and minority leaders for the upcoming term. 

Regarding the Rules of Order, which can be found here, there was one substantive change: Rule #8, which has to with comments from the public. The text of the amended rule follows:

Rule #8 Non-Members Addressing the Council

At the discretion of the Chair, non-members, after identifying themselves and providing their place of residence, may address a question before the Council or new business at the new business portion of the meeting, in each case, after council members have discussed the issue at hand. As with council members, non-members first must be recognized by the Chair. The Chair has the authority to limit the number of speakers and the time allocated to each person. Any non-member seeking to speak must do so in an orderly manner and shall not engage in conduct which disrupts, disturbs, or otherwise impedes the orderly conduct of the meeting. Nor shall any non-member engage in any threatening manner or abusive language directed at any member of the Council, City Department representative, or member of the public. If any person continues to engage in such behavior after being warned by the Chairperson to cease such behavior, Chair may order the removal of said person from the meeting.

Previously Rule #8 consisted only of the first three sentences of the text reproduced above. The amended Rule #8, which could be given an eponymous title, was undoubtedly inspired by an incident that incurred at the informal Council meeting in November.

As has happened frequently in the past, the Common Council is once again made up exclusively of Democrats. As a consequence, the idea of a majority leader and a minority leader seems a bit meaningless. Still there are duties in city government assigned to councilmembers holding these titles--serving on the IDA (Industrial Development Agency) and HCDPA (Hudson Community Development & Planning Agency)--so Council majority and minority leaders must be named. At Monday's meeting it was announced that, for the next two years, Margaret Morris (First Ward) will be the majority leader, and Dominic Merante (Fifth Ward) will be the minority leader. Merante was majority leader in the previous term (2022-2023).

In the past, the organizational meeting was also the time when the makeup of committees was announced. Instead, Council president Tom DePietro asked councilmembers to volunteer for committees. The committees that currently exist are the Legal Committee and two ad hoc committees--one devoted to the truck route and the other to parking. At the meeting, councilmember Morris brought up the issue reinstating standing committees. 

Standing committees had been part of the structure of the Common Council for more than 150 years, but in January 2021, DePietro eliminated all standing committees and decreed that department heads would report to the full Council at its informal meeting rather than making their reports at committee meetings. A few months later, in August 2021, the Legal Committee, one of the traditional standing committees, was revived. There were calls last year to reinstate the Police Committee, after a shooting incident that shattered a plate glass window at The Maker, but instead DePietro asked then councilmember Theo Anthony (Fourth Ward), to conduct a quarterly forum on public safety. If those forums ever happened, they were not announced on the city calendar.

In arguing for the return of standing committees, Morris mentioned five committees in particular,  all of which have existed previously in some form:

• Finance
• Public Safety
• Infrastructure
• Youth & Aging
• Economic Development

Morris suggested there might be a discussion among councilmembers about reinstating standing committees, but DePietro interrupted her. He complained she had never spoken with him about the issue, and it was he who controlled the committees. He told her he disagreed with her, and it was not a matter for open discussion. 

After that, the organizational meeting was adjourned.

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Visiting Olana

The Olana Partnership will hold its first Olana Third Thursdays on January 18 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Olana State Historic Site. Olana Third Thursdays are monthly days of free tours of the historic landscape and house, as well as programs for all ages.

On January 18, a special drop-in "Artmaking in the Afternoon" will take place in the Wagon House Education Center for all ages and skill levels. Professional art supplies and refreshments are included.

"Olana State Historic Site's landscape is free and open to all, year round, but monthly Olana Third Thursdays makes every aspect of Olana free, including guided tours and inspiring events like drop-in artmaking, even more accessible to all," said Carolyn Keogh, director of education and public programs at The Olana Partnership.

Photo: Peter Aaron

Visitors on Thursday, January 18, are also invited to attend free tours of the historic landscape, the main house, and the special exhibition "SPECTACLE: Frederic Church and the Business of Art." Space is limited. Participants are required to have a ticket to attend the tour. Tickets can be reserved in advance online. A limited number of tickets will be made available on site that day at the Visitor Center. Tours and programs will be offered in both Spanish and English.

Looking ahead, February's special Olana Third Thursdays program will partner with the Kingston Cacao Lab. This program encourages participants to drop in, peel and taste cacao, ask questions, and sample chocolate. A Lunch & Learn titled "The Underground Railroad Revisited," with Paul and Mary Liz Stewart from the Underground Railroad Education Center in Albany, will also be offered at 11 a.m. on Thursday, February 15. Participants can learn more about the history of the Underground Railroad and the work of the Underground Railroad Education Center during the special free lecture celebrating Black History Month. 

In March, Women's History Month will be observed with a Lunch & Learn titled "The Women of Olana," with associate curator Allegra Davis. There will also be a drop-in printmaking workshop.

Generous support for Olana Third Thursdays is provided by Art Bridges Foundation's Access for All program. To learn more about upcoming events and programs and to secure free tickets, visit Olana.org/ThirdThursdays or call 518 751-0344.

Flooding Alert for Route 9G

Gossips has just learned that Route 9G is closed in both directions just beyond Power Avenue--right where the controversial Colarusso "haul road" will cross 9G on its way to the river. 

This is the second time this stretch of Route 9G has flooded since the Planning Board granted site plan approval to the haul road only a month ago, on December 12. It will be remembered that one of the two conditions that would allow Colarusso to use the streets of Hudson to transport gravel to the river after the haul road is constructed is any situation that makes the road impassable. It would seem that flooding at the intersection of the haul road with 9G might be sufficient to make the haul road impassible. Even after the haul road is constructed, it is likely we will still have to put up with gravel trucks on the streets of Hudson with some frequency.

Photo: Linda Mussmann

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If You Missed It at Hudson Hall

A year ago, the documentary film Hudson, America premiered at Hudson Hall. The film follows six Gen-Z Bangladishi immigrant students from 2016 to 2022, as they graduate from high school and leave the safety of their conservative Muslim community here in Hudson to attend colleges around the Northeast.

The film can now be viewed on Amazon Prime Video and on Kanopy, where you can access the movie with your public library card.

For Those Intrigued by Hudson History

The History Room at the Hudson Area Library recently archived its extensive collection of photographs--more than a thousand images that have come into the possession of the library over the years. These photographs, which date from the early 19th century to the first decade of the 21st century, depict people, buildings, landscapes, homes, events, schools, infrastructure, local businesses, community organizations, and other activities in Hudson and Columbia County. The collection consists of many original black-and-white and color photographic prints, including cyanotype, daguerreotype, and albumen.

Archivist Nina Boutsikaris working on the History Room photograph collection 

Archival boxes that store the History Room's photograph collection

A selection of photographs from the History Room collection, chosen to highlight the breadth of the collection, is now on display in the lobby of the Hudson Area Library, 51 North Fifth Street. To pique your interest and encourage you to pay a visit to the library, here is one of the photographs included in the exhibit. It shows the Hudson post office under construction in 1912.

Over the next couple of days, Gossips will be sharing more of the images currently on display in the lobby of the library. To explore the entire collection, visit historyroom.hudsonarealibrary.org. To inquire about ordering copies of photographs or maps in the History Room collections, email brenda.shufelt@hudsonarealibrary.org. Many generous people have donated photographs to the History Room, and those donated images, in large part, comprise the collection. People who wish to donate photographs that represent the history of diverse Hudson, Greenport, and Stockport communities should contact brenda.shufelt@hudsonarealibrary.org.

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Last Minute News

The Planning Board meeting scheduled for tonight at 6:00 p.m. has been canceled.

More Attention to the Shacks

There was an article in the Times Union yesterday by Roger Hannigan Gilson about the demolition of the Furgary shacks which happened last week: "Hudson begins tearing down shantytown."

Photo: Will Waldron | Times Union

The article contains this quote from Dan Keefe, spokesman for the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP):

Our review is ongoing. However, we anticipate recommending that a portion of the grant funds go to preserving one or more of the buildings, and/or installing educational signage and photographic documentation.

OPRHP determined the site met the criteria for listing in the State and National Registers of Historic Places in August 2015. Sadly, the shack of the greatest historic interest was one of the four shacks that were demolished last week.

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Sorrowful News

Tony Thompson passed away yesterday, in his home, in the company of this wife, daughter, son-in-law, and bull terrier. He was 85 years old.

Tony moved to Hudson with his family 35 years ago. A professional artist, he was known for his beautiful paintings of Columbia County landscapes and the Hudson River. In his Hudson studio, he also continued his lifelong interest in abstract painting, often combining the two genres. As a community member, Tony advocated for the arts and architecture, as a board member of Hudson Hall and a founding member of the Historic Preservation Commission.

Donations in memory of Tony can be made to the Hudson Area Library.

Meetings and Events in the Week Ahead

A week into the new year, with several inches of snow on the ground to remind us that it's winter, here is what's happening.

• On Monday, January 8, the Common Council holds its organizational meeting for the year and its informal meeting at 6:00 p.m. The meeting is a hybrid, taking place in person at the Central Fire Station, 77 North,  Seventh Street, and on Microsoft Teams. Click here to find the link to join the meeting remotely.
• On Tuesday, January 9, the Planning Board meets at 6:00 p.m. On the agenda for the meeting are three things: the subdivision proposed for Hudson Avenue, the relocation of Lil' Deb's Oasis to 735 Columbia Street, and the boutique hotel proposed for 601 Union Street, the former Elks Lodge. The meeting is a hybrid, taking place in person at the Central Fire Station, 77 North Seventh Street, and on Microsoft Teams. Click here to find the link to join the meeting remotely.

Update: The Planning Board meeting has been canceled.

• On Wednesday, January 10, the Hudson Industrial Development Agency (IDA) meets at 9:30 a.m. The meeting is a hybrid, taking place in person at 1 City Centre and on Zoom. Click here to join the meeting remotely.
• On Friday, January 12, the Historic Preservation Commission meets at 10:00 a.m. At the HPC's last meeting, which took place on December 15, it was decided that there would be a public hearing on the latest certificate of appropriateness application for 501 Union Street. The application seeks approval to apply several more coats of limewash to 501 Union Street, to make the building appear as if it had been painted white. A recent development at the building, documented by a reader in the photograph below, suggests that, as blotchy and unattractive as the building is now, it would be preferrable to allow the limewash that has already been applied, in violation of the previous certificate of appropriateness granted by the HPC, to wear away over the next three to five years rather than have more limewash applied. In recent weeks, a brown stain has appeared on the west facade of the building. What is causing the stain is not known, but it would be much less obvious if the building were its natural brick color rather than white. The meeting is a hybrid, taking place in person at the Central Fire Station, 77 North Front Street, and on Microsoft Teams. Click here in find the link to join the meeting remotely. 

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Progress!

Decades ago, I heard about a photograph that appeared on the front page of the Register-Star in early 1970, showing Mayor Sam Wheeler standing in front of the rubble of the demolished General Worth Hotel eating a hotdog. The photo was captioned "Progress!" I've never actually seen that photograph, much less gotten a copy of it, but if I had a copy, I would be tempted to juxtapose it with these pictures, taken this morning, of the historic fishing village in North Bay that evolved into the Furgary Boat Club.

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How Are We Doing?

On August 1, 2017, Governor Andrew Cuomo came to town to deliver the news that Hudson was the Capital Region winner of $10 million in Round Two of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI). Tiffany Martin was the mayor of Hudson at that time.

In October 2018, after more than a year of workshops and planning and waiting, the City projects approved by the NYS Department of State to be funded with DRI money were announced. The following descriptions of the projects are quoted from a press release issued at the time by the mayor's office. Rick Rector was then the mayor of Hudson.

• Implement Complete Streets Improvements: Design and construct a phased Complete Streets initiative throughout the DRI area [i.e., everything below Second Street] to provide safe access, aesthetic improvements, and separation of truck traffic from pedestrians and bicyclists. Examples of improvements include safe and functional at-grade railroad crossing, streetscape improvements, bike lanes, extension of the North Bay trail, sidewalk and crosswalk improvements, pedestrian stairs, and signage. ($3,982,550)
• Renovate Promenade Hill Park and Provide ADA Access: Renovate Promenade Hill Park, and important public space in the heart of the DRI area, to preserve its historic features while providing access to park amenities and extraordinary views of the Hudson and the Catskills for people of all abilities. ($1,100,000)
• Improve the Safety and Aesthetics of Cross Street and the Second Street Stairs: Improve the safety and aesthetics of Cross Street and the Second Street stairs by designing and implementing streetscape improvements along Cross Street. This will include grading and repaving, new sidewalks, and lighting and replacement of the Second Street stairs leading from Allen Street to Cross Street. ($250,000)
• Stabilize the Dunn Warehouse for Future Re-Use: Stabilize the historic Dunn Warehouse, the City's last remaining central waterfront building, and conduct a feasibility study for its reuse. The City of Hudson will issue an RFP for a public/private partnership to adaptively reuse Dunn Warehouse based on recommendations in that study. Critical structural improvements will be made to exterior walls and masonry, the roof, and perimeter drainage, and a new concrete slab will be added. Remaining funds will be used for other interior renovations. ($1,000,000)
• Repurpose Historic Fishing Village as a City Park: Convert city-owned land containing a historic collection of fishing shacks into a waterfront park with access to the Hudson River. The project at the city's northern boundary will include the demolition of some of the shacks to open the space, as well as basic repairs to preserve more historically significant and visually interesting structures. DRI funds will be used for site cleanup, remediation, design services and site preparation. ($150,000)

The recent demolition of four shacks (11, 13, 15, and 16) at the "historic fishing village," a.k.a., the Furgary Boat Club, reportedly to show progress and support the City's request for an extension in implementing DRI funding, provides an occasion for reviewing all five of the City's DRI projects.

Today, more than five years after the City's DRI projects were determined, only one of the five projects has been completed: the redesign of the entrance to Promenade Hill. The project was completed in October 2022 and cost $750,000 more than the $1.1 million in DRI funds allocated for it.

The plan for the reuse of the Dunn warehouse may be underway, or maybe not. In April 2020, the City did a temporary repair to the roof of the building to arrest deterioration. 

In April 2023, the City issued an RFP (request for proposals) for the adaptive reuse of the building. It was not the first time such a request was issued, but it was the first time that a proposal received was considered acceptable. That proposal came from CGS Group, a partnership of Caitlin Baiada, Gabriel Katz, and Sean Roland, some of the same people involved in the restoration and adaptive reuse of the Pocketbook Factory. In October 2023, CGS Group entered into an agreement with the City, which involved a 90-day due diligence period. That due diligence period is set to end later this month, and then we will know if this DRI project will move forward or if it will be back to square one.

Early on, the project to improve the safety and aesthetics of Cross Street and the Second Street stairs was folded into the Complete Streets project, and the entire project became known as "Hudson Connects." Although the lion's share of DRI funding--slightly more than $4 million--was allocated for this project, at this point, very little is known about it. The last public workshop took place in September 2021, and the last update, posted on the project website on November 18, 2022, indicates: "Construction is anticipated for the spring of 2023." That didn't happen. 

It seems that the bids have come in way over budget, and the project keeps getting scaled back, but how it has been scaled back is not known. We do know that the fantastically ambitious plan for the Second Street stairs that appeared in early DRI documents has been reduced to repairing and painting the existing concrete stairs and adding a runnel so you can push your bicycle along while ascending or descending the stairs.

The plans for State Street may have been scaled back, or eliminated altogether, since the Hudson Housing Authority's plan for demolishing Bliss Towers and redeveloping its properties seems to involve closing State Street to vehicular traffic below Second Street.

Word is that the City will rebid the Hudson Connects project in the coming weeks, but what the project looks like at this point has not been shared with the public.

That brings us to the historic fishing village project. In the past two days, four of the seventeen shacks have been demolished--Shacks 11, 13, 15, and 16. The description of the project in the October 2018 press release mentions "repairs to preserve more historically significant and visually interesting structures." That part of the plan seems to have been abandoned. As Timothy O'Connor points out in a comment on this blog, two of the shacks that have already been destroyed (Shacks 13 and 16) were the oldest and most historically interesting. Shack 16 appears on the 1889 Sanborn map, as part of a trio of structures labeled "Fish Market." 

Detail from 1889 Sanborn map

Shack 13, O'Connor points out, "was significant enough to launch a new approach to maritime archaeology within the NYS Office of Historic Preservation." Apparently, the historic value of the shacks was not considered when deciding which shacks to demolish in order to demonstrate progress.

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The Gradually Disappearing Furgary

This was the state of things at the Furgary this morning. The demolition is limited to shacks 11, 13, 15, and 16, and the cleanup continues.

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The Morning After . . .

This morning, I went by the shacks to survey the damage. A backhoe was at work, raking up the rubble, and a DPW vehicle was parked not far away. 

Now that four of the seventeen shacks have been demolished, and the fate of the remaining shacks--indeed, of the entire site--is unclear, it seems a good time to review, however briefly, what has happened in the past decade. In 2012, when the City was about to take possession of the shacks, Lance Wheeler did a video, which can be found here.   

Over the years, Gossips has published many posts about the Furgary Boat Club, a.k.a. North Dock, a.k.a. The Shacks, and the efforts to make it recognized and valued as a historic resource. In August 2015, as the result of a formal request submitted by an interested third party, the State Office of Historic Preservation (SHPO) determined that the site, whose history dates back to the 19th century, met the criteria for listing in the State and National Registers of Historic Places. Sad to say, there is no evidence that the City ever pursued the process of getting the site actually listed. 

In 2018, a plan for preserving selected shacks and converting the historic fishing village into a public park was one of the projects selected for DRI (Downtown Revitalization Initiative) funding. From the beginning, the amount of DRI funding allocated for the project was thought by City decision makers to be inadequate, and as a consequence, for the past six years, not much attention as been paid to the project. The demolition of the four shacks yesterday seems to suggest that the City is ready to move forward, but it is unclear what the plan now being pursued is. 

The original application for DRI funding, which contains SHPO's Resource Evaluation and a conceptual plan for the park, can be found here.

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Protect Your Best Friend's Health

Although there have been no instances reported so far in New York State, people who share their lives with dogs are concerned about a mysterious respiratory illness that has been affecting dogs in various parts of the country. There is currently no vaccine specifically designed to prevent this disease, but veterinarians are recommending, as protection from this disease, that dogs be vaccinated for Bordatella (kennel cough) and for Canine Influenza. Today, the Columbia-Greene Humane Society announced it will be offering a Canine Influenza Vaccination Clinic. 

The Columbia-Greene Humane Society/SPCA will be hosting a Canine Influenza Vaccine Clinic. To properly vaccinate dogs against Canine Influenza, dogs require two vaccinations two to four weeks apart. CGHS/SPCA will be requiring all shelter dogs and all visiting boarding, daycare, and grooming dogs to be vaccinated against Canine Influenza.

CGHS/SPCA Canine Influenza Vaccine Clinic

Location: Columbia-Greene Humane Society/SPCA

111 Humane Society Road, Hudson, NY

Dates:

1st Vaccine--January 20, 8 to 10 a.m.

2nd Vaccine--February 10, 8 to 10 a.m.

No appointment is necessary. The public is welcome. The cost is $39 per vaccine. There is no office charge.

About the Canine Influenza Virus (CIV)

Influenza A virus can cause infection in many mammalian and avian species and exists in multiple subtypes. CIV was first identified as a factor in canine respiratory disease in 2004. The virus is a genetic variant of the H3B8 equine influenza virus that gained the ability to infect dogs. The key change in the virus was the ability for transmission of the virus from dog to dog. The Asian H3N2 virus is derived from an avian strain that also gained the ability to infect dogs and be transmitted from dog to dog. As is the case with all influenza viruses, there is the opportunity for changes in the virus that could affect transmission rates and increase or decrease the ability of the virus to cause respiratory illness.

Transmission and Symptoms

CIV is transmitted by close contact with an infected dog, often in a restricted space such as an animal shelter, daycare center, or boarding kennel. Casual contact is less likely to be a factor mainly due to the relatively low amount of virus shed by an infected dog. Virtually all dogs are susceptible regardless of age or breed.

Influenza virus infection in dogs follows a similar pattern to infections in other species. The onset of clinical signs will to 2-3 days post infection. Peak of the virus shed is 3-4 days post infection. Longer shedding times of up to 24 days have been identified in dogs infected with H3N2. Because of the differences in the time dogs may shed virus, the quarantine of 7 days is recommended for dogs with H3N8 influenza, while a 21-day quarantine is recommended for dogs with H3N2 influenza. Dogs may continue to cough for several weeks following recovery from acute infection. While in the past CIV infections in and of themselves have not shown a significant mortality rate, CIV infections as well as other respiratory viruses compromise the normal defenses of the lung permitting secondary bacterial pneumonias. (Information source: Cornell University)

And So It Begins . . .

Elected and appointed officials in Hudson were sworn in this afternoon at the Central Fire Station--eight of the ten members of the Common Council, Council president, police commissioner, Fair Housing officer, mayor's aide, city treasurer, and the mayor.

In his remarks preceding the swearing in of members of the Common Council, Council president Tom DePietro mentioned as achievements things that have been in the works for a while but will soon finally happen: construction of the new Ferry Street Bridge, the citywide sidewalk improvement district, and a new comprehensive plan. By contrast, in his remarks, delivered while holding his younger child, Mayor Kamal Johnson cited as accomplishments the longest running UBI (universal basic income) pilot, the proposed housing projects, keeping taxes flat (there is a tax increase of 3.875 percent for 2024), the Youth Center, appointing the city's first female chief of police and first female city judge, and establishing a mental health court.

When it came time for the mayor to be sworn in for a third term, he did so with his little daughter at his side, also raising her right hand.

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The Fate of Hudson's Historic Fishing Village

The news was first reported on Facebook. The shacks are being destroyed!

Indeed, four of the shacks in what was once known as the Furgary Boat Club were demolished today--shacks numbered 11, 13, 15, and 16, all located along the south edge of the site.

The plan for the redevelopment of the site as a "historic-and-recreational park," which was designated as one of the city's DRI (Downtown Revitalization Initiative) projects, did not envision the preservation of all the shacks, but it did make recommendations for two of the four shacks that were demolished today. Shack 13 was to be a Shad Museum, and Shack 16 was to be "sealed . . . awaiting potential local tenant." Despite what was proposed, the four shacks are now gone.

Rob Perry, Superintendent of Public Works, told Gossips that the four shacks demolished today had no environmental issues, so it was possible to demolish them without great precaution and expense. He also said that the Department of State will not give Hudson an extension on its DRI funding (Hudson was a DRI winner in 2017) without showing progress on its two outstanding projects: the historic fishing village and the connectivity project. It seems the demolition of the four shacks was done to show progress. 

Since we no longer know who comprises the DRI Committee, and its meetings, if indeed there are meetings, are no longer accessible to the public, it is not known what the final plan is for the site, but the plan that was proposed and accepted by the Department of State can be found here.

COPYRIGHT 2024 CAROLE OSTERINK

Meetings and Events in the Week Ahead

The new year is underway, albeit slowly when it comes to city meetings. Here's what is happening in the first week of 2024.

• On Tuesday, January 2, the Conservation Advisory Council meets at 6:00 p.m. The meeting is a hybrid, taking place in person at the Central Fire Station, 77 North Seventh Street, and on Microsoft Teams. (City government has switched from Zoom to Microsoft Teams.) Link here to find the link to join the meeting remotely.
• The city calendar lists a meeting of the Hudson Industrial Development Agency (IDA) on Wednesday, January 3, but there will be no such meeting. The IDA cannot meet until the majority and minority leaders of the Common Council have been determined (the people who hold these offices serve on the IDA), and that will not be determined until the Council holds its organizational meeting for the year, which is scheduled to take place on Monday, January 8. 
• On Friday, January 5, at 4:00 p.m., Mayor Kamal Johnson holds a public hearing on an amendment to legislation having to do with alarms. The hearing takes place in person only at the Central Fire Station, 77 North Seventh Street.

 COPYRIGHT 2024 CAROLE OSTERINK