More News of Note

The Hudson City School District Board of Education is looking to fill the vacancy created by Elizabeth Fout's resignation. The board is accepting applications from the public until October 14, and on October 21, they will decide, by a vote of the board, who will complete Fout's term, which ends on July 1, 2014. An application is defined as a two-paragraph letter of intent mailed or delivered in person to Frieda Van Deusen, 215 Harry Howard Avenue, Hudson, NY 12534. Arthur Cusano has the story in today's Register-Star: "School board set to fill open seat."

Something Else to Worry About

In today's Register-Star, John Mason has an article about yet another problematic invasive species--Lumbricus rubellus: "Worms threaten local forest land." Apparently, these exceptionally large earthworms are a particular threat to maple trees, and this isn't just a problem for wooded areas in rural parts of the county. The giant red wrigglers have been found in yards and gardens right here in Hudson.

Forty-seven Years Ago Last May

Yesterday, at Framing the Viewshed: Groundswell, Dorothy Heyl, a member of the Olana Landscape Viewshed Committee, was ensconced at the picnic area midway along Ridge Road, telling about the beginnings of Olana as a state historic site.

She had with her a copy of Life Magazine for May 13, 1966, the issue that contained a photo essay about Olana entitled, "Must this mansion be destroyed?" Heyl explained that in June 1966, when the New York State Legislature considered the bill authorizing the State of New York to acquire Olana, a copy of this issue of the magazine was placed on the desk of every state senator and assemblyman.

The Life article that helped to persuade the State Legislature to save Olana turns out to have also been an early example of crowd sourcing. The text of the article contained this appeal:

. . . today Olana is in imminent danger of destruction. In 1964 the artist's heirs decided to dispose of the 327 acres of land, the mansion and its entire contents, including several hundred paintings and drawings by Church himself. Alarmed at this news, Professor David Huntington, a Church expert and enthusiast, rounded up a distinguished committee to preserve Olana as a museum and park. They have raised $160,000 toward the purchase of the property, but they must obtain $310,000 more before June 30 when their option expires. Only the interest and contributions of many Americans can save this unique and splendid domain of an artist's fancy.

People all over the country responded by sending contributions for Olana to Huntington, mailing them to Time, Inc. The contributions, although none in great amounts, were many. Heyl had copies of some of the letters that accompanied contributions. Among them was one from the owner of a Shell station in Newark, New York, who shared this sentiment:

May your committee raise the necessary money or we may surely be classed as the "Ugly" Americans.

The sheriff of Multnomah County in Oregon had this to say in the letter that accompanied his contribution:

I read with interest the article in LIFE Magazine regarding the F. E. Church estate and the effort to save it from destruction. I feel very strongly that we should save the best of the past to provide for the excellence of the future.

Among the letters, too, was one from a nine-year-old boy in West Nyack, who sent a dollar he had saved along with fifty cents from his six-year-old brother. In his letter, he wrote:

In the latest issue of life they had an article on Olana. They told about the mansion where the Famous artist Frederic Edwin Church lived.

In the mansion it holds 100's of Churches Pictures and drawings and its lovely furniture.

But I was disappointed when the article said the artist's heirs planned to tear down it all, 327 acres and all. . . .

I hope that the mansion that overlooks the Hudson river will be saved and be turned into a park and a museum so many people could see what it was like when the mansion was built.

A Look Back at the Recent Past

You may have heard about it. You may have seen it. Now you can watch Two Square Miles anytime online--the movie that explores Hudson's past and documents its present in the early years of the 21st century. See Hudson and some familiar faces as they were a decade ago and marvel at how things have changed and how they haven't in ten years' time.

HFB Before the ZBA

In a garage on Cherry Alley, behind 326 Union Street, Mercedes Wallner has been operating a year-round, indoor farmer's market called the Hudson Farm Box. It's a drop off and pick up site for CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) shares, as well as a place where everyone can buy fresh farm produce and freshly made juices--Green Life Juice (kale, celery, cucumber, ginger, apple, parsley) and Beet Detox (beets, carrots, celery, cucumber, apple). In the short time that it has existed, the farm box has attracted an enthusiastic clientele. Last March, when "Chef Zak Pelacco's Guide to Hudson, NY" appeared in GQ, the Hudson Farm Box was No. 4 among the 13 favorite places featured.

Last Wednesday, Wallner applied to the Zoning Board of Appeals for a use variance. She wants to create a certified kitchen at the Hudson Farm Box, so she can prepare food on site and sell it there exclusively for take out. Because the area is zoned R-3, adding a certified kitchen requires a use variance.   

At the meeting, ZBA chair Lisa Kenneally warned Wallner that a use variance was difficult to obtain. The ZBA then voted to accept the application as complete. The vote was not unanimous. ZBA member Theresa Joyner maintained the application was incomplete because copies of pictures submitted to code enforcement officer Peter Wurster had not been forwarded to the ZBA. A public hearing on the project was scheduled for Wednesday, October 16, at 6 p.m.

Photo source: Hudson Farm Box Facebook page  

Hudson Reads

If you believe that if you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem, here's a chance to become part of the solution to the problems of literacy and academic achievement in the Hudson City School District. Hudson Reads needs more reading mentors to read and talk about books with third graders at Montgomery C. Smith School. Someone who has been a mentor for the past two years describes the experience as "the best, least stressful, most laugh-filled hour of the week." 

If you're interested in becoming a reading mentor, there is a meet and greet on Wednesday, September 25, at 6:30 p.m., at 1 North Front Street. It's an opportunity to meet other mentors and learn about a program that gives community members the chance to help kids in a very direct way.

HTTP Begins Tomorrow

Carol Rusoff, director of the Hudson Teen Theatre Project, has an extraordinary ability to work with teens and cultivate their talent and creativity. For HTTP's eleventh fall season, Rusoff invites teens to participate in a group theatrical endeavor called "Experiments and Explorations" in which they lead the process. "Agitation and propaganda? Shakespeare? Improv? Scene work? Adaptation? Newspaper theater? Fantasy? What's on teens' minds in upstate New York today? The answers will be revealed in the imagination, chemistry, and concerns of the ensemble."

The 2013 fall season of HTTP begins tomorrow, Monday, September 23, and every Monday and Tuesday thereafter, from 4 to 6 p.m., veteran HTTP members will pave the way for neophyte thespians at the Hudson Opera House.

Sunday at Olana

Over the last forty years of his life, Frederic Church created the landscape at Olana. He planted trees and shrubs to enhance the natural landforms and laid out carriage roads that allowed visitors to move through the grounds and experience the landscape "pictures" he had created. In a letter written in 1884, Church said of his work, "I can make more and better landscapes in this way than by tampering with canvas and paint in the studio."

Photo credit: Andy Arthur

Tomorrow--Sunday, September 22, from 2 to 6 p.m.--The Olana Partnership and Wave Farm's WGXC 90.7 FM present Framing the Viewshed: Groundswell, an innovative event that invites participants to wander through Church's landscape vignettes and experience site specific works of sound, text, installation, and movement. The main performance route follows Ridge Road and culminates on the East Lawn next to Church's Persian-inspired house. 

Those participating in the performances and installations include DJ Spooky, Pauline Oliveros, Japanther, eteam, robbinschilds, Bobby Previte, Maximilian Goldfarb, Greg Fox, Nadja Verena Marcin, David Kermani, Archie Rand, Nancy Shaver, Beth Schneck, and Cara Turett. To learn more about the event, you can listen to a compilation of interviews broadcast on WGXC with people involved in creating and organizing the event: Galen Joseph Hunter, Mark Prezorski, Pauline Oliveros, Bobby Previte, eteam, Beth Schneck, and DJ Spooky.

Tickets for Framing the Viewshed: Groundswell are $20, if purchased online today, and $30 if purchased after midnight tonight or at the event tomorrow.

An Aha! Experience

Yesterday, Gossips reported that Per Blomquist had appeared before the Zoning Board of Appeals requesting an area variance for the building he is proposing for 248-250 Columbia Street. The reason for the variance apparently is that the five apartments in the building will be just 700 square feet and zoning regulations require that each dwelling unit be 1,500 square feet. This morning, at the suggestion of a reader, Gossips looked at the chart that sets forth the bulk and area regulations and discovered that 1,500 square feet has to do not with the apartment size but with the lot size--something that was not clear either at the Planning Commission meeting or at the ZBA meeting.

The chart indicates that the lot size must be 1,500 square feet for each dwelling unit, which means that the lot on which the proposed five-apartment building is constructed must be 7,500 square feet. According the Assessment and Parcel Inventory, the lot at 248 Columbia Street is .05 acre and the lot at 250 Columbia Street is .07 acre. Combined, that translates into 5,227.2 square feet--2,272.8 square feet or about a third less than what is required by the code. The code also requires that there be 300 square feet of usable outdoor space for each dwelling unit. If the building complies with the specified maximum lot coverage, which is 30 percent, fulfilling that requirement should not be a problem.
COPYRIGHT 2013 CAROLE OSTERINK

The Tyranny of Trucks Continues

At the Common Council Economic Development Committee last night, it was finally announced that Hudson will not be getting $50,000 from the Department of Environmental Conservation Office of Environmental Justice to do a study of the impact of truck traffic on our community. Asked to comment on why the grant application was unsuccessful, Bill Roehr, of TGW Consultants, told the committee that a "tremendous number of community gardens" had been funded, but he believed that "our project was right on the cusp."

Council president and committee chair Don Moore reported that he and the mayor have had conversations with Greenport supervisor John Porreca about the truck issue and said that city attorney Cheryl Roberts has spoken with Greenport town attorney Jason Shaw.

Alderman David Marston (First Ward) suggested organizing a Community Truck Count Day to provide some anecdotal evidence about the number of trucks passing through Hudson and their destinations. The event would involve volunteers stationed at strategic points along the truck routes--Routes 9 and 9G--to count the trucks and note the signage, as a indication of where the truck might be bound. Moore suggested that Marston draft a proposal. 

Let's hope whatever is required to make this happen will be done soon, so that the volunteer truck counters can do their work on a sunny autumn day instead of having to do the tally in winter.
COPYRIGHT 2013 CAROLE OSTERINK  

Good News for Glencadia Dog Camp

Gossips just got word that Will Pflaum won his legal battle in state court. His permit to operate a dog camp in the Town of Stuyvesant, which was revoked by the town zoning officer in 2010, has been reinstated. Read all about it on Pflaum's blog Sunshine on the Hudson.

How Big Is 1,500 Square Feet?

In response to this morning's post about an area variance being required for a small apartment building proposed for 248-250 Columbia Street, because the apartments would be smaller than 1,500 square feet, a reader provided the information that the ranch houses on the same block of Columbia Street are each only 1,092 square feet.

Now these houses were built back in the late 1970s, and it's possible that the zoning requirements have changed. Everything below Third Street is part of the Waterfront Revitalization Area, for which there is new zoning in the LWRP (Local Waterfront Revitalization Program). 

The same reader suggested that the houses built by Habitat for Humanity and completed in 2012 (240-242) and 2013 (244-246) might be 1,500 square feet.

Consulting Brenda Adams, executive director for Columbia County Habitat for Humanity, Gossips learned that these houses, which have three bedrooms, are each 1,200 square feet. 
COPYRIGHT 2013 CAROLE OSTERINK

What's a Dwelling Unit?

Last night, Per Blomquist appeared before the Zoning Board of Appeals to request an area variance. He plans to demolish the buildings that now stand at 248 and 250 Columbia Street (shown below) and build a new building that will contain five one-bedroom apartments.

Blomquist sees a need for small, affordable apartments for young people--singles and couples--who are coming to Hudson, and his plan would provide five such apartments. When he appeared before the Planning Commission in August, however, he was told by city attorney Cheryl Roberts, counsel to the Planning Commission and the ZBA, that the minimum size for a "dwelling unit," which Roberts interpreted to be an apartment, was 1,500 square feet. The apartments in the proposed building would be just 700 square feet.

Thinking that 1,500 square feet is pretty big for an apartment, Gossips did a little online research this morning to find out about the size of apartments in Hudson. Among the apartments currently available in Hudson are a 700 square foot apartment on State Street and an 800 square foot apartment on Robinson Street--both in the same R-4 Zone as the site of the proposed building. On Warren Street, which is zoned Central Commercial and may have more modest bulk requirements for apartments, there is an 800 square foot apartment in the 400 block and an 850 square foot apartment in the 200 block. On Harry Howard Avenue, in an area that is zoned R-1 One-Family Residential, there is a 900 square foot apartment for rent. The rental space now available that is 1,500 square feet or more is either commercial space or a whole house.

At last night's meeting, the ZBA determined that the application for an area variance was complete and scheduled a public hearing on the project for Wednesday, October 16, at 6 p.m.

Gloriosky! We're Approaching 3,000

Back in June 2012, Gossips was celebrating days when there were 2,000 pageviews. Yesterday, Gossips came within striking distance of 3,000 pageviews, with 2,992 pageviews. Amazing! 

Disappearing Building Update

The state of the building on Fourth Street, just behind 402 Warren Street, has not changed since Sunday. The demolition is so far limited to the top floor--the eyebrow windows, the frieze band, and the roof.

Gossips learned this morning, however, that yesterday, after the top floor was already gone, Peter Wurster, code enforcement officer, issued a demolition permit for the second floor, bypassing the Historic Preservation Commission owing to "the 'emergency' nature and public safety concerns."

Yesterday, too, Tom Swope, who chaired the Historical Preservation Commission in 2006, when the Hudson River Hotel project was presented to the HPC, and in 2007, when 406 Warren Street was demolished without a certificate of appropriateness, unearthed a narrative which he believed accompanied a certificate of appropriateness that was granted to the Hudson River Hotel project. Significantly, in this seven-year-old document, there is no specific language about demolishing the building that is now being demolished. 

The third part of the project is the row of three elegant brick townhouses in pure Greek Revival style along North Fourth Street. The three townhouses will be rebuilt, keeping the original facades and their details, doorways, cornice and window sizes and openings, but again the roof will be raised to create spaces that meet current habitability codes, but the roof angle and style will be maintained from the street so as to appear the same. Also maintained will be the frieze band and eyebrow windows that give the row of houses its distinctive Greek Revival look. The big change to these houses will be that number 8 North Fourth, the townhouse immediately abutting 402-404 Warren, will have its first floor removed, to create an entrance to the hotel. This entrance will be a drive through and under the second and third floors of the townhouse, so that cars will drive in, drop of guests, and exit at Prison Alley.

There is some question if a certificate of appropriateness was ever actually granted to this project, and the current HPC chair Rick Rector is now searching the files for some record of it. Even if one had been granted, though, it didn't, based on the narrative, authorize the demolition that is going on now, and it wouldn't still be in effect. A certificate of appropriateness is only valid for one year.
COPYRIGHT 2013 CAROLE OSTERINK

Police and Court Building Update

Last night, the Common Council was all set to vote on a resolution that would give the city treasurer the authority to pursue the bonds required to pay for the project should the Council decide to purchase 701 Union Street and rehab it to be the new police and court building, but no vote was taken. City attorney Cheryl Roberts pointed out that SEQR (State Environmental Quality Review) needed to be completed before the Council could authorize the bond resolution.

Given that situation, Council president Don Moore explained that before the end of the month a special meeting would be scheduled to decide whether or not to purchase the building and proceed with the project, and the bond resolution could be considered at that time, too.  

At the end of the meeting, the Council went into executive session to discuss, as Council president Don Moore explained, "cost issues related to the outcome of the Phase II environmental study, issues requiring negotiating." 

Although there remain uncertainties about the project, Moore, as reported by John Mason in today's Register-Star, seems generally optimistic about it going forward: "Moore: Police-court facility SEQRA report looks good."

Of Interest

There is an article about Modern Farmer, the magazine published right here in Hudson, in today's New York Times: "A Magazine for Farm-to-Table." And here's some news: the current issue of Modern Farmer contains an article by former President Bill Clinton.

Mendolia Hurls Down the Gauntlet

Victor Mendolia, the mayoral candidate endorsed by the Democratic and Working Families parties, has challenged incumbent mayor William Hallenbeck to a debate--several, in fact. Here is the press release received by Gossips on Tuesday at 8:23 p.m. 

HUDSON DEMOCRATIC MAYORAL CANDIDATE VICTOR MENDOLIA CHALLENGES HALLENBECK TO SERIES OF DEBATES         

Democratic Mayoral candidate Victor Mendolia challenged his opponent William Hallenbeck, Jr., to a series of Town Hall meetings and a citywide debate. Mendolia proposes a Town Hall meeting in each Ward with both candidates and a citywide debate. Mendolia said, "Each Ward has its own unique problems and concerns. Both candidates should hear those concerns and have a chance to present their plans to address them." 

Unfortunately, the Columbia County League of Women Voters, which often moderated local debates, disbanded a few years ago. In the absence of League sponsored debates, Mendolia's campaign will agree to have any publisher, editor, reporter, or team of reporters from any mainstream press outlet operating in Columbia County [serve] as moderator(s) for the proposed debates.

Mendolia continued, "Hudson is at a crossroads, and the voters of each Ward and the city at large deserve an opportunity to hear how the candidates would address the issues they care about. I sincerely hope that the Mayor will participate in these forums."

Everyone Needs an Editor

Maria Suttmeier, superintendent for the Hudson City School District, writes a column in the Register-Star. Her most recent offering, entitled "The goal--Destination Graduation," talks about her plan to improve the district's graduation rate. In the first two paragraphs of the piece, Suttmeier talks about the importance of destinations and concludes: "The point I am trying to make is captured best in the words of Lewis Carroll, who incidentally wrote the Wizard of Oz, when he said, 'If you don't know where you are going, any road will take you there.'"

Well, the quote is from Lewis Carroll all right, but it's not from The Wizard of Oz. Lewis Carroll didn't write The Wizard of Oz; L. Frank Baum did. Lewis Carroll wrote Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and that's where the quote is from.

Later, Suttmeier writes: "A few years ago our district set out on the 'yellow brick road toward the Emerald City' as the image of improved student performance and outcomes." The yellow brick road, the Emerald City--that's The Wizard of Oz.

Another Historic Building Coming Down

There's a building on North Fourth Street that is disappearing. When this picture was taken, on Sunday, September 15, the top floor was missing, and the building had been taken down to the marble lintels over the second-floor windows.

The building is in a locally designated historic district, but no certificate of appropriateness has been requested or granted for its demolition. The building is also one of several buildings that were supposed to become the Hudson River Hotel.

Back in March 2006--that's more than seven years ago--Richard Cohen presented to the Historic Preservation Commission his plans to transform 402 Warren Street and the adjacent buildings along North Fourth Street into a hotel. His presentation included a model of the proposed hotel--the model shown in this picture, which appeared in the Register-Star.

The plan for the hotel, which was never granted a certificate of appropriateness or given site plan approval by Planning Commission, involved demolishing two buildings. A very old building, which stood at 406 Warren Street, believed to have been late 18th century, had to go to make way for the proposed hotel entrance, with its accordion wall the second and third stories of which were to be a "waterfall facade."

The building at 406 Warren Street was demolished in late December 2006, with a demolition permit issued by code enforcement officer Peter Wurster but no certificate of appropriateness for the demolition from the Historic Preservation Commission. In spite of the fact that the preservation law (Chapter 169-8.B) clearly states that "In no case shall the time between demolition and commencement of new construction or lot improvement exceed six months," the lot at 406 Warren Street has been vacant now for seven years.

The caption accompanying the photograph below, which appeared in the Register-Star in March 2006, reminds us that the plan for the Hudson River Hotel also involved demolishing the building on Fourth Street immediately behind 402 Warren Street to create an entrance for vehicles to a courtyard and another entrance to the hotel, where guests would be dropped off and luggage unloaded. 

It seems that Cohen may now be pursuing his seven-year-old plan. It is not known if he has a demolition permit from the code enforcement office to take down the building, but it is absolutely certain that he does not have a certificate of appropriateness for the demolition.

In a city that owes its revival and current vitality to its historic architecture and character, it is stunning how little care and protection is shown to that valuable resource by Hudson officialdom.
COPYRIGHT 2013 CAROLE OSTERINK