One of the things being discussed in the Common Council Legal Committee is amending the process by which mass gathering permits are applied for and granted. The impetus for doing this is Mayor William Hallenbeck's decision to approve a mass gathering permit that allowed Joe Fiero of American Glory to shut down the 300 block of Warren Street on a fine Saturday in May, much to the annoyance of other business owners on the street, for an event that didn't live up to expectation.
The challenge is to amend the law so that the desire of one does not interfere with the interests of many without curtailing the power of the mayor, since a referendum is required when an action by the legislature changes the executive's power.
Soon after the July Legal Committee meeting at which amending the process was discussed, Gossips discovered, while searching the Common Council minutes for clues about what happened to the Hudson-Fulton fountain, that a similar situation had occurred a hundred years ago. The following excerpt is from the minutes for January 26, 1911:
Alderman McAree inquired as to whether the Mayor had given permission to representatives of the Italian Church to discharge fireworks recently, and Alderman Finigan inquired as to whether the Mayor was liable in case of an accident resulting from his granting such permission.
The Recorder read Ordinance No. 36 in relation to the subject.
Alderman McAree then moved that the Finance Committee be authorized and directed to amend Ordinance No. 36, so as to curtail the discretion given to the Mayor.
Alderman Finigan suggested that if the Mayor was to be given such discretion he should be required to give a bond in order to indemnify the city.
The motion of Alderman McAree was adopted.
A hundred years ago, the Common Council seemed to have no constraints when it came to curtailing the executive's powers. The minutes for March 2, 1911, reveal the reason why the Common Council wanted to hold the mayor responsible for his decisions.
A claim of Basil Halloran for $15,000 damages, for alleged injuries received by an explosion of a piece of fireworks which he picked up in an alley north of Robinson St. was read, received and placed on file.
The piece of fireworks that injured Halloran was no doubt from the fireworks discharged by the "Italian Church." According to the 1912 Hudson city directory, St. Maria Del Monte Carmelo was located at "Market Place," North Front Street near Diamond Street.
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When the new building being constructed at 900 Columbia Street was first proposed in February 2011, it was explained to the Planning Commission that the ten residents of the group home operated there by the Mental Health Association would remain in the historic building until the new facility was completed. When they had been moved to the new facility, the historic house would be demolished to make way for a parking lot.
The timetable changed in June 2013, when the Galvan Foundation requested an extension on their certificate of appropriateness to move the building. According to a letter sent to the Historic Preservation Commission by Walter Ritchie, at the behest of the Galvan Foundation, the historic house could not be moved until the ten residents of the group home had been relocated, but they would be out of the building by the end of July 2013.
Today, as the historic building is being "disassembled," the new building is rising behind it. But what happened to the ten people that made up the group home at 900 Columbia Street?
When Gossips spoke with Daniel Kent, executive director for the Galvan Foundation, on Wednesday, he confirmed that they had been moved out, on schedule, at the end of July. When asked where they had gone, he first said he didn't know and then said the question should be directed to the Mental Health Association.
Weeks ago, it was rumored that the residents of the MHA group home would be moved to 67-71 North Fifth Street, a property owned and recently reconstructed by the Galvan Foundation. Evidence now suggests that those rumors may have been true.
Although the exterior of the building remains only partially painted, there are curtains, which are always drawn, at all of the windows, and neighbors report seeing furniture being delivered to all three units at the same time by the same truck. The new residents rarely appear in front of the building but seem to congregate, according to reports, under a canopy tent in the backyard.
If the residents of the MHA group home have, in fact, been relocated to 67-71 North Fifth Street, this raises some questions. The building, now a triple house as it had been historically, is located in an area that is zoned R-2. According to Hudson code (Chapter 325-8 B and 325-7 B), "Hospitals, sanitariums, philanthropic or eleemosynary institutions and convalescent or nursing homes or homes for the aged" are a conditional use in an R-2 District, subject to the approval of the Planning Commission, provided that "such hospital, institution or home does not primarily care for patients suffering from alcoholism and is not a transitional service facility."
When advocates for the preservation of 900 Columbia Street tried to persuade the Mental Health Association to sell the historic house and locate elsewhere, MHA maintained that the constraints of Hudson's zoning made this impossible. If it is now true that MHA has relocated its clients to this Galvan-owned property in an R-2 District, they seem to have found a way to skirt the city's zoning laws.
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Stockholm, which is having its American premiere at Stageworks/Hudson, got a rave review from Ben Brantley in yesterday's New York Times: "Dancing Erotically with Knives."
It's still possible to see the performance, today at 2:00 and 8:00 p.m., tomorrow at 2:00 and 7:30 p.m., and next week Wednesday through Sunday. Visit the website or call (518) 822-9667 for tickets.
Rumor has it that the Columbia-Greene Partnership Academy, a.k.a. "The Bridge," to be situated at 364 Warren Street, has encountered some unanticipated problems. Lynn Sloneker has the story on her blog, Unmuffled: "Rumor Patrol: Has the Bridge collapsed?"
This is what the historic house at 900 Columbia Street looked like today at about 4:30 p.m.
Sam Pratt has an account on his blog of a conversation with Ken Flood, commissioner for planning and economic development for Columbia County: "Ken's convo with Kevin." A sample of what Flood said: "Restaurants in Hudson and Chatham . . . don't provide good jobs except for the owners."
The Register-Star reports today that the bridge on Route 23B over Claverack Creek is expected to reopen, on schedule, for Labor Day weekend: "Claverack bridge to reopen next week."
The article talks about pieces of wood from a platform under the bridge seen floating in the creek and quotes Department of Transportation spokesman Bryan Viggiani as saying, "Their [sic] supposed to keep the creek as clean as possible. . . . They are supposed to take precautions and get things out of there when they are done."
They took precautions about some things. A reader kayaking on Claverack Creek last Sunday spotted these life preservers hanging on either side of the bridge, presumably there lest some unfortunate worker should topple into the creek below.
A reader reminded Gossips of this press release, from May 7, 2012, which can still be found on the Galvan Foundation website.
THE GALVAN FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES A HISTORIC PRESERVATION INITIATIVE TO SAVE TWO HISTORIC AND IMPORTANT PIECES OF HUDSON’S ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE.
HUDSON, NY May 7, 2012 -- The Foundation mission, in part, is preserving the unique architectural heritage of the City of Hudson. In accordance with our mission, the foundation proposes to move 900 Columbia Street and the Robert Taylor House to vacant lots Galvan already owns.
900 Columbia Street is currently a group home run by the Mental Health Association of Columbia Greene Counties. They are in need of a new housing facility, which they plan to build on the lot behind 900 Columbia, and then raze the house to make room for parking. They have generously offered to transfer the building at no cost to anyone who would move it. The site selected for the house is located at 215 Union Street, Hudson, NY.
The Robert Taylor House, located at 68 South 2nd Street, has been vacant for many years. On its current site the house is somewhat lost, and looks out over warehouses, when originally it looked out over the South Bay towards Mt. Merino, the river and the Catskills beyond. The site selected for the Taylor house is 21 Union Street, Hudson NY.
These moves require cooperation and assistance from the several City agencies as well as residents. For example, we must provide the movers with a clear path, including temporarily adjusting electrical lines and street lights. We also have to trim any tree branches that might impede the move, and no parking on the streets along the route will be possible on the day of the move. Traffic will also have to be rerouted for the move. The Foundation is hopeful that in the interest of preserving these two important historic houses that all interested parties will provide the cooperation necessary to make these moves possible
On May 11, 2012, the Historic Preservation Commission denied a certificate of appropriateness to the proposal to move the Robert Taylor House but granted a certificate of appropriateness to move 900 Columbia Street. The press release makes it pretty clear that what was being proposed at the time, and, more importantly, what the HPC deemed appropriate, was to move the house not to "disassemble" it and "reassessible" it, which is what is actually happening.
This is what the historic house at 900 Columbia Street looked like at about 7:30 p.m. today.
In the summer of 2011, a movie called Love Orchard, starring Bruce Dern and Columbia County's own Kristanna Loken, who grew up on Love Apple Farm in Ghent, was filmed here in Hudson, at the Columbia County courthouse. The film was shown last year at the Chatham Film Festival, but, recently renamed Fighting for Freedom, it will have its theatrical release next month, on September 13, opening in two theaters--on the West Coast, at the Laemmle Theatre in North Hollywood, and on the East Coast, at Fairview Cinema 3, just across the border in Greenport.
When she was growing up here in Columbia County, Loken and her family were regulars at Fairview Cinema 3. Now, with an established film career and her own production company, Loken wants to help the movie house of her childhood survive.
As reported on Gossips previously, the major studios have announced that, starting in 2014, all movies will be distributed in digital format. To stay in business, Bruce Mitchinson, owner of Fairview Cinema 3, needs to equip all three theaters at Fairview Cinema 3 with DCI (Digital Cinema Initiatives) compliant projectors and sound systems. He purchased new digital equipment for one of the theaters last year, but to remain profitable, he needs digital projectors in the other two theaters as well.
To benefit Fairview Cinema 3 and help Mitchinson get the digital projectors he needs, Loken and her father, writer Chris Loken, who wrote the screenplay for the film, have arranged for the East Coast premiere of Fighting for Freedom to take place at Fairview Cinema 3. Mark your calendars (yes, it's Friday the 13th, but who's superstitious?) and look for more information about the event on Gossips as it becomes available.
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The image of Kristanna Loken in the courtroom of the Columbia County courthouse is a screen capture from the movie trailer.
With three days left, the Kickstarter campaign to fund phase one in the development of the Marina Abramovic Institute here in Hudson has reached its $600,000 goal.
The Phase I Environmental Site Assessment for 701 Union Street, the proposed new location for the Hudson Police Department and city court, can now be viewed on the City of Hudson website.
The Housing Needs Analysis, done for the City of Hudson by the New York State Rural Housing Coalition and dated May 14, 2012, has finally been made public and can be downloaded here.
Before its regular meeting last night, the Common Council held a public hearing on the new Site Plan Approval Law being fast-tracked through the adoption process by mayoral "letter of necessity." The hearing started out with city attorney Cheryl Roberts and Common Council president Don Moore making a couple of minor changes to the text of the law--multifamily properties was changed to residential uses containing at least four dwelling units; residential use containing at least three properties was changed to residential use containing at least four properties. Moore then explained that the county planning board, which needed to review and make a recommendation on the law, was meeting at that very moment, and he was expecting a call letting him know their decision.
Curious about the haste and extraordinary measures, Gossips asked, when the time came, why the law was being pushed through with such urgency. Moore explained that, since it was the construction season, they didn't want to hold up projects or inundate the Planning Commission with applications for site plan review for such things as porches and minor additions. Since the Planning Commission never seemed to get applications for porches and minor additions, that explanation seemed inadequate.
Later in the meeting, Roberts revealed the reason for the urgency. In June, right about the time it was being discovered that Peter Wurster, the code enforcement officer, had not required a site plan review by the Planning Commission for Fish & Game, the mayor decreed that the law must be followed. As it was then written, the law required that every project that needed a building permit also needed to be reviewed by the Planning Commission, but the code enforcement officer used his discretion to waive a Planning Commission review when he felt it unnecessary. If the code enforcement officer was now expected to follow the law, with no exceptions, the law needed to be changed to make following it practicable.
In the discussion preceding the vote, Alderman David Marston (First Ward) questioned using "at least 1,000 square feet" as the size of an addition that required a site plan review, saying that was too large in a city as small as Hudson, with buildings in such close proximity to one another. He also objected to the fact that the law had bypassed discussion in the legal committee.
Given the accelerated process--skipping committee and eliminating the requirement that it sit on the aldermen's desks for ten days--a two-thirds majority was needed to pass the law. When they were voting on the SEQR form required for this action, Alderman Robert "Doc" Donahue (Fifth Ward) had stated, prematurely but loyally, "If the mayor wants this, I want it, too." When they were voting on the actual law, Alderman John Friedman (Third Ward), for comic effect, echoed Donahue's words. Marston and aldermen Nick Haddad (First Ward) and Chris Wagoner (Third Ward), however, voted against passing the law. Nevertheless, with Moore and all the other aldermen voting for it, the law achieved the two-thirds majority required.
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A call half an hour ago from a reader sent Gossips scurrying up to 900 Columbia Street to see what was going on. There is a dumpster in front of the building, window sash has been removed, and the roof is gone. Is this being done in preparation for moving the building?
A call to Daniel Kent, executive director of the Galvan Foundation, revealed that the house is being "disassembled"--taken apart down to its individual bricks, something some might call demolished--to be "reassembled" in the 200 block of Union Street. That's probably not what most people anticipated when Galvan announced its intention to save the historic house by moving it to another location.
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The original agreement with the owner of 701 Warren Street allowed three months for the City to do its due diligence before deciding whether or not to buy the property for use as a police and court building. Part of that due diligence was an environmental study. Late yesterday afternoon, only eight days before the time runs out on the City's purchase agreement, Morris Associates delivered the Phase I environmental study which recommended that there be a Phase II.
That the site requires a Phase II environmental study probably should come as no surprise. It's right next to the railroad tracks, and apparently, in the distant past, ashes and old railroad ties had been dumped there. In the more recent past, the building was an auto parts store. What's surprising is that it could have been converted into a gym without undergoing any environmental review.
With time running out, the Common Council had the choice last night of walking away or extending the agreement to buy the building (which will now cost a nonrefundable $5,500 a month) in order to do a Phase II environmental study and complete the painstaking cost analysis being done to avoid another costly boondoggle like the ultimately scrapped plan to build a senior center. Last night the Council voted unanimously to extend the agreement for two months and to transfer another $4,000 from the General Fund to pay for further environmental testing. John Mason has the whole story in today's Register-Star: "City buys time to make police/court HQ decision."
Nathan Mayberg reports in the Register-Star that Local Ocean was sold today to Michael Spielman, the man who held the mortgage on the property: "Local Ocean property sold back to original owner for $3M." Spielman promises that "the building will be utilized" but not for aquaculture. There are hundreds of thousands of fish--some say millions--left at the facility, and, according to the Register-Star, Spielman would be glad to sell them to anyone who wants them.
HCSD superintendent Maria Suttmeier said she wished she could "turn back the hands of time." Berkshire Union Free School superintendent Bruce Potter lamented that "you never get a second chance to make a first impression." Common Council president Don Moore opined that "it's not important if you make mistakes, it's how you respond to them" and went on to say, "Out of something wrong, something right can happen." Suttmeier called the plan to site an alternative learning program on Warren Street "a bold move," and said, "When there are bold moves, there is turbulence."
Arthur Cusano reports on last night's panel discussion about "The Bridge" in today's Register-Star: "Warren St. alternative ed forum draws heavy feedback." Sara Kendall was there recording the presentations and the discussion for WGXC, so chances are, in the fullness of time, those who were not there will be able to listen to the proceedings for themselves.
In her comments, Suttmeier recounted how the choice of 364 Warren Street had been made. She said they had first "looked to the home campuses" but found that (1) there was no space and (2) there were "union issues." It seems that union agreements prohibit faculty from other school districts from working in HCSD schools, and the teachers in this program will be Berkshire Union Free School faculty. She then explained that, when she "first became superintendent," Daniel Kent contacted her and offered to house the alternative learning program in the Armory. (Suttmeier took over as superintendent on July 1, 2012; Kent took over as executive director of the Galvan Foundation on September 19, 2012.) At the time, there was no ALP, but in April 2013, when she was seeking a site for the new program, Suttmeier called Kent to see if the Armory was still available. Just a month earlier, in March 2013, the Galvan Foundation had offered the space in the Armory not already committed to the Hudson Area Library to the City of Hudson for a senior center. Something else had to be chosen from the Galvan inventory of vacant buildings, and 364 Warren Street was it.
During last night's panel discussion, it seemed frustratingly impossible to separate the noble intentions of the program from the careless and wrongheaded decision to site it in the heart of Hudson's main street. Most people who expressed concern about with the location and dissatisfaction with the process by which it was chosen seemed compelled to preface their criticism with complimentary statements about program lest they be perceived as heartless malcontents. A refreshing exception was Bruce Porter, writer and professor at the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia, now retired and living in Hudson. After Mayor William Hallenbeck's comments, in which he declared that "the bottom line is if one child is saved," Porter began by saying, "Enough of the violins." Porter's criticism was directed at the program: "I have not heard anything here that increases our confidence in this plan." He cited the HCSD administration's record of running "probably the worst high school in the state" and suggested that HCSD has a "record of disaster."
Criticism of the program also came from Linda Mussmann, co-director of Time & Space Limited, who observed that "the community is not included in your grand plan," and predicted that "if the community is not engaged, you will fail." She also spoke of the lack of minority faculty in the Hudson City School District and wanted to know how many of the teachers in the alternative program were minorities. She was told by Potter that three of the ten people who would be working with the students were minorities: the psychologist and two of the support staff. He stressed that the faculty for the program were selected because "they are excellent at what they do."
Joan E. Hunt, project manager for the Greater Hudson Promise Neighborhood, also urged that the program include plans for involving the community. Suttmeier spoke to the intention to "invite students out into the community and invite the community into the school" and said she didn't know how the "myth" that kids will be "locked up in the building" got started. That seemed a rather disingenuous comment, since Suttmeier was present when Joe Catalano, attorney for the Galvan Foundation, tried to persuade the Planning Commission that the school would have no impact on the surrounding neighborhood by saying there would be "minimum use outside the building" and instruction would take place "behind closed doors."
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If you've ever fantasized about having your own high-tech fish farm, today's your chance. Local Ocean is being auctioned off "in front of the steps" at the temporary Columbia County courthouse in Claverack. The bidding begins at 11 a.m. Arthur Cusano has the story in today's Register-Star: "Greenport's Local Ocean goes on the block today in Claverack."
The Olana Partnership and Scenic Hudson have filed a legal challenge to overturn the approval granted by the Town of Livingston Planning Board for a 190-foot communications tower on Blue Hill, in the Olana viewshed. Joe Gentile has the story in today's Register-Star: "Environmental groups challenge Blue Hill ruling."
In granting the approval, the Livingston Planning Board seems to have ignored letters of concern from the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) indicating that the tower would negatively impact views from Olana, which SHPO called a “preeminent historic landmark.” The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted a request from The Olana Partnership and Scenic Hudson for a review of the site under the provisions of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. In a letter issued on August 5, 2013, the FCC stated: "The proposed tower would be plainly and prominently visible from Olana, which is a National Historic Landmark. Moreover, as the home of a landscape artist and the site of many of his famous works, the view from Olana is not only a contributing characteristic to its historic integrity, but is uniquely important to understanding the life and experiences of its famous resident. In addition, the proposed lattice tower may present a significantly greater visual intrusion than the existing guyed towers on the Olana property and landscapes."
Olana attracts 130,000 visitors every year, who support 267 jobs and generate $7.9 million for the local economy. The views from Olana are integral to the experience of the historic site and represent the birthplace of America's first art movement. To protect the Olana viewshed, Scenic Hudson has worked directly with more than a dozen property owners and invested nearly $6 million to conserve more than 1,500 acres of their lands. Other conservation groups have partnered with landowners to preserve nearly another 1,000 acres.
Photo of Blue Hill courtesy Jonathan Simons
