Grants from the Galvan Foundation

The Register-Star reports today on the most recent round of grants made by the Galvan Foundation: "Galvan Foundation awards $135K in most-recent grants." The lion's share--$80,000--went to the Friends of the First Presbyterian Church to restore the stained glass window in the church's Gothic facade. 

A year ago, the window's deteriorated condition made it necessary to cover it with panels to protect both the window and the public. According to Phil Forman, president of the Friends of the First Presbyterian Church and a member of the Historic Preservation Commission, $80,000 is "half of the total dollar amount we need for the window" and "puts within reach an accurate historic restoration that re-creates the beauty of the original 1876 window to shine again." 

Although historic preservation is one of seven categories for Galvan Foundation grant making, this grant is only the second that has been made to a project classified as "Historic Preservation." The first was a grant of $1,000 awarded to State Street A.M.E. Zion Church "to provide general support for ongoing renovations" to a building that is not generally considered historic.
COPYRIGHT 2013 CAROLE OSTERINK

How Tall a Foundation

A foundation is now being built at 215 Union Street on which 900 Columbia Street will be "reassembled." To this observer and others, it seems awfully high.

It appears to be as high as the foundation on the house next door, which requires six steps to reach the entrance. 

The house in its original configuration in its original location required only three steps to reach the threshold. 

Public Money Talk

Today at 5:30 at City Hall, there is to be a public hearing on the proposed 2014 budget. The budget involves a .97 percent increase in property taxes and taking $330,000 from the fund balance. The mayor's "budget message," delivered last Tuesday, can be reviewed here. The proposed 2014 budget can be reviewed here.

Disposable Hudson

We know the story of Hudson and urban renewal all too well. Acres of little vernacular houses, like the one shown in this picture, built in the 19th century and even earlier, were demolished in the 1970s to make way for government subsidized low-income housing. The Second Ward, which once upon a time was configured pretty much the way the First Ward still is today, was totally transformed.

Forty years later, when it should be apparent to everyone that Hudson's historic architecture--i.e., old buildings and intact streetscapes--is the principal reason for the city's revival, it would seem the City's official position would be to encourage people to rescue the old buildings and restore them to usefulness. Not so. The City's taste for demolition lives on.

When Per Blomquist first came to the Planning Commission with his proposal to build a new five-unit apartment building at 248-250 Columbia Street, he said that the mayor and the code enforcement officer wanted him to demolish the existing buildings, which he purchased, according to tax assessment records, in 2011 and 2012. The foundations are reportedly buckling, and in the opinion of our Hudson officials, the only course of action when there's a problem with the foundation is demolition. But is it? Demolition isn't the solution always sought in other places.

Take for example this little house across the river in Athens. Not long ago, the foundation was crumbling, and the house was tilting downhill. Today, the foundation has been repaired, and the house has been righted and beautifully restored.

The house, the oldest part of which was built in the 1780s, is known as Hallenbeck House (probably no relation to our mayor), and it is now listed in the Greene County Historic Register. If only such a bright future could be imagined for 248 and 250 Columbia Street.  

Photographs of 7 North Church Street in Athens courtesy James Male and E. D. Pujol.

Happening as Predicted

Back in July, Gossips reported on the dilemma facing small, independent movie theaters throughout the country: "Go Digital or Go Dark." What was predicted then is now happening. 

Bruce Mitchinson, who owns Fairview Cinema 3, Hudson's hometown movie house (just across the border in Greenport), reports Paramount Pictures recently announced that Anchorman 2, to be released on December 20, will be the last film distributed in 35mm. Mitchinson expects similar announcements from the rest of the "Big Six" film distributors very soon.

Mitchinson told Gossips it is estimated that as many as 10,000 independent theaters will close as a consequence of the conversion to digital format for movies. One of the three screening rooms at Fairview Cinema 3 already has digital projection equipment, but to stay profitable, the other two screening rooms need the new equipment as well. So far, community efforts have raised more than $10,000 to purchase the digital projectors needed to keep Fairview Cinema 3 in the game. There have been two successful food and film events to benefit the projector fund, and a third will take place between Thanksgiving and Christmas. A gofundme campaign, launched by Kristen Decker, whose grandmother was the cashier at Fairview Cinema for decades, is going on right now. Click here to contribute to that campaign and help keep Fairview Cinema from going dark.

Warmth on Warren Street

The temperature reached 60 degrees today, but a few days last week were a reminder--as if we needed it--that winter can be brutal in the Northeast. By happy coincidence, just as our thoughts turn to bundling up against the cold, two pop-up stores appear on Warren Street, filled with beautiful things for that very purpose.

The first, Spruce Ridge Alpaca Farm Store opened yesterday. Located in the newly renovated storefront at 255 Warren Street, the shop offers apparel made from the fiber of the farm's own alpacas, raised in Old Chatham. There are socks, gloves and mittens, hats, scarves, sweaters and vests, sofa throws, as well as dresses and jackets, in beautiful natural and dyed colors. William and I checked out the store earlier today, and something I'm going back for are mittens that leave the ends of your fingers and thumbs exposed. They're perfect to wear while walking a dog or working at the computer, if you keep your home on the cool side in winter. 

Next Thursday, November 21, another pop-up returns: Cashmere in Hudson. This year they are setting up shop at 502 Warren Street, offering the same beautiful things we've come to expect--hats, gloves, sweaters, scarves, wraps, and throws, all made from cashmere.

Both shops will be open Wednesday through Sunday until after Christmas.

Art Upstreet and Downstreet

It's a glorious day, and the evening promises to be just as lovely--perfect for walking on Warren Street, visiting galleries, and maybe winding up someplace for dinner.

Downstreet, BeLo3rd is presenting its ART/DINE Gallery Stroll, with eight restaurants and seven galleries participating. Upstreet, from 6 to 8 p.m., there's an opening at McDaris Fine Art, 623 Warren Street. The new exhibition is made up of recent paintings by Kim Bach and the new photographs by Miami photographer Ariel Baron-Robbins. 

Also upstreet, from 6 to 8 p.m., there's an opening at the always intriguing HuMP (Hudson Museum of Photography), located at 552 Warren Street. Currently being exhibited at HuMP are a group of oil paintings by Lucien Rees-Roberts, done over a series of summers on a remote island off the coast of Croatia. The exhibition, which opens tonight, continues through December 29. During that period, HuMP will be open from noon until 5 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday. Click here to preview images of the paintings.

Of Interest

The article about Hudson that appeared in the November issue of Architectural Digest is now online: "Hudson, New York's Best Boutiques, Restaurants, Hotels, and Historic Sights."

The Glory Days of the Hudson Elks

A reader recently acquired some memorabilia from the Hudson Elks' Lodge. Among the treasures was the souvenir program from the Grand Opening of Hudson Lodge 787, when the Elks moved from 231 Warren Street to 601 Union Street. The event took place seventy-seven years ago, on November 15, 1936.

The cover of the booklet provides a wonderful image of the house when the Elks took possession of it in 1936, and found within the booklet is a fascinating history of the early days of Hudson Lodge 787.

HUDSON LODGE--787

On June 28, 1901, an unobtrusive article appeared in the Hudson Republican to the effect that "there was some talk of starting a lodge of the Order of Elks in this city." Very shortly after the appearance of this announcement application to the Grand Lodge was made for a charter. The incident was hailed with considerable attention and excitement in town and preparations were begun for a celebration, civic in character.

The day of the induction of the new lodge was a gala holiday in which the entire city participated. The Opera House, scene of the festivities, was decorated with the colors of the order, both inside and out. Warren street also was lined with festive bunting in honor of the occasion. . . . 

The Elks were popular from their founding and continued to grow in number quite lustily. For a time meetings were held in the hall over the post office, but it soon became apparent that more suitable quarters were required. The Knights of Columbus Hall was also used for a while, but efforts were made to obtain a meeting place and clubhouse that would be exclusively for Elks.

To that end a mammoth bazaar was held under the Persian title of "Mawsim," the first of a series of similar events which proved quite popular and enjoyable to the public. An attractive feature was the prize drawing, at which it is interesting to note that Grant Miller walked off with the grand prize--a $150 upright piano (or a lady's sealskin jacket). Your historian has no information as to which our worthy trustee saw fit to choose. As an added attraction for the bazaar a stage show was presented in the Opera House, starring "Pretty and Petite Agnes Ardeck" in "Mademoiselle Louise." This was the first of a group of theatrical ventures with which the Elks became identified.

In 1903, the Elks took upon themselves the management of the Opera House as a legitimate theater. The move was hailed as an advantageous one by the townsfolk and the local lodge proceeded to change the name to the Elks' Theatre, and to effect a number of alterations and improvements. As the first attraction they featured the great Robert Mantell in Tremayne's "The Dagger and the Cross." This was received as a great success, as were modifications made in the building by the new management. To quote from an editorial in the Republican, "For the first time in many years a woman could go there without ruining her gown; the old barn had actually been cleaned . . . and an attempt was made to keep order in the gallery." The theatre continued under lodge management until 1907, when the club moved into new quarters. During the time that the Elks were in charge they instituted many improvements and provided many interesting and entertaining programs. Although traveling companies were the vogue of the day local talent was also given opportunity to demonstrate histrionic ability which in many cases proved surprisingly good. In 1906, a benefit performance was given to aid those who suffered in the San Francisco earthquake. Hudson lodge participated with others throughout the country in providing a fund of $30,000 for the relief of the destitute. . . . 

In 1907, the need for new quarters became acute, and the lodge finally chose the Hudson River National Bank building as their new dwelling. The building which was the home of the local lodge until last month, was entirely remodeled and redecorated. Reception room, reading and smoking rooms, buffet and kitchen were arranged on the ground floor; card rooms, committee chambers and billiard room were directly above. The lodge, described as "the handsomest in the city and at the same time the best ventilated" occupied the top floor. Money for the construction and refurnishing was raised by means of shares of stock sold to the members at $10 and bearing suitable interest. The progress of the new clubhouse was marked by Hudson residents, and the paper described it as "the showplace of Hudson" and a building that "would make them sit up and take notice."

Now that building, after almost thirty years of continuous service has outlived its practical usefulness. Some of the furnishings and in particular the oak wainscote in the grill room, are being used in the new lodge. The old home has been the scene of many hours of pleasure and good fellowship for hundreds of our brothers and we leave it with the regret we always feel in the passing of the old familiar things. However, the new lodge is so much more spacious and offers so many more possibilities for the future that we feel sure most brothers are accepting the change as a mark of progress and advancement.

The history says the lodge at 231 Warren Street had "outlived its practical usefulness," but there seem to have been other reasons for the move. In the summer of 1935, there was a fire that caused significant damage to the Elks Lodge. The Chatham Courier reported: "Damage estimated at $20,000 was caused and one fireman was hurt in an early morning fire of unknown origin which swept two floors of the clubhouse of the Hudson Lodge No. 787, B.P.O.E, at 231 Warren street, Hudson, Sunday morning."    

Of Interest

John Mason covers Wednesday night's Planning Commission meeting and the plight of Per Blomquist's apartment project in today's Register-Star: "Hudson commission delays small apartment project again."

Catch-22 Continues

"I feel like a little pinball," said Per Blomquist, who was back before the Planning Commission on Wednesday night, seeking the recommendation the Zoning Board of Appeals needed before they could close their public hearing and make a decision about granting him an area variance. Blomquist, it will be remembered wants to tear down these two houses at 248 and 250 Columbia Street and build in their place a five-unit apartment building.

Blomquist has run afoul of the City's regulatory boards because the one-bedroom apartments he plans for the building will each be 770 square feet, and, accordingly to Cheryl Roberts, city attorney and counsel to the Planning Commission, the city code requires a minimum of 1,500 square for every dwelling unit in a multi-unit building. Gossips, however, maintains that the minimum requirement of 1,500 square foot per dwelling unit pertains to lot size not to the interior size of the dwelling units. A land use attorney and an architect have supported this interpretation. The Planning Commission and the ZBA, however, and now the Legal Committee of the Common Council as well, which is pursuing a change in the code, are being guided by Roberts' reading of the Schedule of Bulk and Area Regulations for Residential Districts. 

Roberts was not present at last night's Planning Commission meeting, but she called in her advice. After excusing himself to the hallway to carry on a ten-minute conversation with Roberts on his cell phone, Planning Commission chair Don Tillson reported what Roberts had advised that Blomquist's project is "not something the Planning Commission should recommend" because it would be "doubling the density." Based on this advice from legal counsel, the Planning Commission tabled Blomquist's request for a recommendation until December.

Next Wednesday, the ZBA was expected to wind up the public hearing on this project and make a decision on whether or not to grant the area variance. In October, they left the public hearing open because they were waiting for a recommendation from the Planning Commission, but since that will not be forthcoming, it is unclear what they will do. At their previous meeting, Roberts advised the ZBA, "This is not a variance you can grant." But one has to wonder why not? 

Let's assume that Roberts is right, and the code requires dwelling units that are no less than 1,500 square feet. Here's what the New York State General City Code has to say about granting area variances: 

In making its determination, the zoning board of appeals shall take into consideration the benefit to the applicant if the variance is granted as weighed against the detriment to the health, safety and welfare of the neighborhood or community by such grant. In making such determination the board shall also consider:

(i) whether an undesirable change will be produced in the character of the neighborhood or a detriment to nearby properties will be created by the granting of the area variance;

(ii) whether the benefit sought by the applicant can be achieved by some method feasible for the applicant to pursue, other than an area variance;

(iii) whether the requested variance is substantial;

(iv) whether the proposed variance will have an adverse effect or impact on the physical or environmental conditions in the neighborhood or district; and

(v) whether the alleged difficulty was self-created which consideration shall be relevant to the decision of the board of appeals, but shall not necessarily preclude the granting of the area variance.

According to the law, the ZBA's principal task must be to weigh the benefit to the applicant if the variance is granted against the detriment to the health, safety and welfare of the neighborhood or community. If Roberts is right, the variance is indeed substantial--the apartments will be only half the size required by code--but that is only one of five criteria to be considered in weighing the benefit to the applicant against the detriment to the community. Given that what is being proposed has no detriment to the health, safety and welfare of the neighborhood and community--indeed it can be argued, and has, that the project will be a significant benefit to the health, safety and welfare of neighborhood and community--it is hard to see how this is not a variance that the ZBA can grant.

Roberts has warned the ZBA that they could be subject to a lawsuit if they grant the area variance, but one has to wonder who would initiate such a legal proceeding. It seems more likely that Blomquist might sue them if they don't.

Of course, Blomquist could achieve his goal of creating five affordable one-bedroom apartments by renovating the existing buildings. That way, he could avoid the tsuris of the regulatory boards altogether and make the people who mourn the imminent loss of two of the few remaining original houses on the block very happy.
COPYRIGHT 2013 CAROLE OSTERINK

Economic Development in Columbia County

Sam Pratt has two important posts on his blog. The first reports on the plastics extrusion plant that was supposed to happen in the old button factory on the north end of Second Street here in Hudson: "Ashes for Phoenix Hudson?" The second recounts last night's informational meeting about the Columbia County airport: "County and Richmor heap scorn on their own 'grantsmanship.'" 

Another Delay

A special Common Council meeting took place on Tuesday night to consider the purchase of 701 Union Street for reuse as a police and court facility. Council president Don Moore opened the meeting by explaining that it had been the intention to bring the issue to a vote at the meeting, but "some problem with the title" has been discovered and "reservations have begun to develop."

Two of those reservations, which seem to be coming by way of Alderman Wanda Pertilla (Second Ward), were things that have already been addressed: environmental concerns raised by the Phase II environmental study (not a problem so long as the soil isn't disturbed) and police support of the proposed location (Gary Graziano, police commissioner, reported that all but one of the members of the police union were in favor of the proposed site). One was a concern not heard before: police response time. How quickly could the police get to where they were needed from a location at Union and Seventh streets? (Fourth Ward supervisor Bill Hughes, Pertilla's brother, helpfully offered the information that most crime in Hudson occurs below Fourth Street.) What if the train were coming through when the police were summoned to the scene of a crime?

The concern about response time seems calculated to frighten people. It's not as though our Hudson police officers hang out at the station, as Sheriff Andy Taylor and Deputy Barney Fife did in Mayberry, waiting for someone to call for help. The police cars and the officers are on the street. They're dispatched to where they're needed from where they are. Besides Hudson is only two square miles, and the police know when the train will come through.

Gossips has much more to report about the special meeting and the proposed police and court facility, but for the time being the news is that there is to be a public hearing about the new facility on Wednesday, November 20, at 6 p.m. at the Central Fire Station. Subsequent to the public hearing, on Friday, November 22, at 5 o'clock, there will be another special meeting of the Common Council to vote on purchasing 701 Union Street. 
COPYRIGHT 2013 CAROLE OSTERINK

Lineup of Meetings at City Hall Tonight

Tonight there are no fewer than three meetings back to back at City Hall.

At 6 p.m., the mayor presents the 2014 budget to the Common Council. Tomorrow the proposed budget is expected to be on the city website for review by the taxpayers. A public hearing on the budget is scheduled for Monday, November 18, at 5:30.

At 6:15 p.m., there is a special meeting of the Common Council "to consider proceeding with the Courts and Police Facility at 701 Union Street."

At 7 p.m., the Common Council holds its informal meeting for November, at which new resolutions are introduced and new business discussed.

Mass Gatherings

In May, Joe Fierro got a mass gathering permit to shut down Warren Street between Third and Fourth streets for what was expected to be a giant car show. He had obtained a mass gathering permit from the mayor, but his plans to close down the street for most of a Saturday came as a surprise to his commercial neighbors on the block, whose businesses were impacted by the street closure.

This fiasco inspired the Legal Committee of the Common Council to undertake to amend the application process for a mass gathering permit, but some of the proposed changes are drawing criticism, and, according to today's Register-Star, the Arts, Entertainment & Tourism Committee is unhappy with them, too, which seems a bit bizarre since Alderman David Marston (First Ward), who chairs the Arts, Entertainment & Tourism Committee, is a member of the Legal Committee that drafted the changes. John Mason reports what transpired at last Wednesday's AE&T Committee meeting: "Proposed mass gathering rules ruffle feathers."   

Up by the Station Early in the Morning

If more evidence were needed to make the case that Hudson Upper Depot deserves to be saved, here it is: a photograph, taken this morning by international photographer Lynn Davis, which shows just how handsome a structure it is.

PHOTO COPYRIGHT 2013 LYNN DAVIS

Observing the Day in Hudson, Ninety-Five Years Later

Photo credit: C. Vitall

Ninety-Five Years Ago Today

Although we now call it Veterans Day, November 11 was originally called Armistice Day. Ninety-five years ago today, in a railway car at Rethondes in the forest of Compiegne in France, the Allied powers signed a ceasefire agreement with Germany, and, at the eleventh hour on the eleventh day of the eleventh month, the fighting in the Great War, now known as World War I, came to an end.

The photograph is from the archives of the New York Daily News and shows "the first 'unofficial' celebration of Armistice Day" in New York City, which took place on Fifth Avenue and 34th Street on November 11, 1918.

A Neighborhood-Altering Proposal

On Friday morning, there was another challenging proposal before the Historic Preservation Commission. The current owners of 39 South Fifth Street are seeking a certificate of appropriateness to install a six-foot high privacy fence around the yard beside the house, where South Fifth Street curves into East Allen Street.

When shown a picture of the type of cedar fence to be used and told it would be painted white, HPC member Peggy Polenberg opined, "Very nice. I like it." Other HPC members, however, were concerned about the height of the fence and how it would block the view of the building and interfere with the sense of openness. 

In the late 19th century, there was a fence around the property, but it was low picket fence, open in its design, which could be seen over and through.

The HPC urged the applicant, who was there representing the owners, to look at other examples in the city where the desired goals of privacy and security were achieved in ways that were "more of an enhancement than a barrier." A wrought iron fence, a picket fence, and a privet hedge were suggested as possible solutions.

The application was determined to be incomplete because it lacked a site plan that showed exactly were the fence would be positioned and an image that showed what the fence would look like in context. The HPC will continue its consideration of the application at its next meeting on Friday, November 22.

COPYRIGHT 2013 CAROLE OSTERINK

Happening Next Weekend

Next Saturday, November 16, BeLo3rd's ART/DINE Gallery Stroll returns, offering tastings from eight BeLo3rd eateries at seven Belo3rd galleries. Of particular interest is a tribute exhibition, opening that night at BCB ART, of outsider art collected by the late Cynthia Coulter.

A respected artist, Coulter had a passion for collecting unique and unusual outsider art from her native state of Oklahoma, as well as from rural locales in Texas, Illinois, and New York. The exhibition features select pieces from her collection--handmade lamps fashioned from ice cream sticks and marbles, tables made from twigs and spools, colorful paintings and drawings, and polychromed carved wooden animals.

In accordance with the artist's wishes, the proceeds from the sale of these works will be donated to charities dear to her heart, among them the Texas Women's Shelter and the Humane Society of the United States.