Meetings of Interest in the Week Ahead

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  

Photo: David McIntyre

Tree Inventory at Oakdale

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

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

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

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

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

Party Animals

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

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

Here are some pictures from the event.

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

COVID-19 Update

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

  

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

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

Ear to the Ground

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

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The End of an Era

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

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

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

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

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

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

A Pandemic of the Unvaccinated

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

COVID-19 Update

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

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

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

What's Ahead for the Depot District

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

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

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

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Happy Day for the Dog Park

THANK YOU 

to everyone who voted so loyally!

Ear to the Ground

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

COVID-19 Update

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

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

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

Tonight at the Waterfront

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

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

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

COVID-19 Update

The Columbia County Department of Health has released its numbers for today. Since yesterday, there have been eight new cases of COVID-19. The number of active cases being reported today is fourteen fewer than yesterday, from which it can be inferred that, since yesterday, 22 county residents have recovered from the virus. There are six more county residents in mandatory quarantine today than yesterday, but the number hospitalized and in the ICU remains the same. There has not been a death from COVID-19 in Columbia County since August 19. The Times Union reported today that the Capital Region, of which we are a part, is now averaging more than two deaths from COVID-19 a day. 

The New York Forward dashboard is reporting a positivity rate for Columbia County yesterday of 2.2 percent and a seven-day average of 3.2 percent. By comparison, the daily positivity rate for the Capital Region was 5.7 percent and the seven-day average was 4.6 percent.

A year ago today, the CCDOH reported no new cases of COVID-19. The total number of cases was 542, and the number of active cases was 8. There were 22 county residents in mandatory quarantine, 1 was hospitalized, and none was in the ICU. The total number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 at this time last year was 37.

Columbia County and Vaccinations

A press release today from Matt Murell, chair of the Columbia County Board of Supervisors, contained the following information:

Today, Columbia County hit the "magical number" of 70 percent of those aged 12 and above who are now fully vaccinated. "I feel pretty good about that," said Director [Jack] Mabb.

Ear to the Ground

Those who know him from New World Home Cooking in Saugerties, New World Bistro in Albany, or countless appearances on WAMC's "Food Friday" will be interested to know that Ric Orlando is the uncle of one of the young men from Return Brewing, the craft brewery that will be opening in what is left of the Gifford-Wood Building on Columbia Street. The brewery will include a restaurant, and Orlando will be involved in planning and establishing the restaurant. 

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COVID-19 Update

The Columbia County Department of Health has released its numbers for today. Since Saturday, there have been fifteen new cases of COVID-19. The number of active cases being reported today is four fewer than on Saturday, from which it can be inferred that, in the past two days, nineteen county residents have recovered from the virus. The number of county residents in mandatory quarantine today is 24 fewer than on Saturday, but the number hospitalized with the virus and in the ICU remains the same. There has not been a death from COVID-19 in Columbia County since August 19. 

The New York Forward dashboard is reporting a positivity rate for Columbia County from Saturday to Sunday of 2.9 percent and a seven-day average of 3.4 percent. By comparison, the daily positivity rate for the Capital Region was 4.4 percent and the seven-day average was 4.6 percent.

A year ago today, the CCDOH reported no new cases of COVID-19. The total number of cases was 542, and the number of active cases was 8. There were 31 county residents in mandatory quarantine, 1 was hospitalized, and none was in the ICU. The total number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 at this time last year was 37.

Meetings of Interest in the Week Ahead

It's going to be a quiet week in Lake Woebegone as August ends and September begins.

• On Wednesday, September 1, the Hudson Industrial Development Agency (IDA) holds its regular monthly meeting at 1:00 p.m. in Suite 301 at One City Centre. The agenda for the meeting is not known, but we can safely assume it will not include any deliberation or decision on the proposed Galvan project. The IDA cannot act on that project until the Planning Board has completed the SEQRA process, and that hasn't happened yet.
• At 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 1, Mayor Kamal Johnson holds a public hearing on the proposed local law regarding the registration of bicycles. The hearing will take place in the Council Chamber at City Hall.
• On Thursday, September 2, the Conservation Advisory Council meets at 6:00 p.m. The meeting takes place at City Hall. Certain to be on the agenda is the draft Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) for the solar farm project. Peter Bujanow, Commissioner of Public Works, presented the RFEI to the Common Council ad hoc committee on Wednesday. Bujanow's earlier suggestion that the capped landfill be included in the RFEI had been an issue of concern for the CAC. After the CAC meeting on June 1, it was assumed that the landfill was no longer part of the RFEI, but the maps included in the draft RFEI indicated otherwise. The RFEI was posted on the city website on Friday, without the maps, but it has since been removed altogether. Earlier today, in a comment posted on Gossips, "unheimlich" reported: "I've been reassured by Council President DePietro that the draft RFEI was entirely in error, and that there's no plan whatsoever to site a solar array on the landfill." The CAC is likely to need further assurance. 

And those are the meetings for the week.

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Preserving the Character of Hudson

Once upon a time, when Hudson Development Corporation was still thinking of overseeing the development of the Kaz site, people like Walter Chatham and Matthew Frederick urged that the site be divided up into smaller lots for development. That advice was not heeded. Advice that was heeded, by DRI (Downtown Revitalization Initiative) Committee, came from the developer Bonacio Construction, who advised that the three parcels on the waterfront, north of the Dunn building, be included in the Request for Expressions of Interest for the Dunn building. There was even talk of adding the Kaz site to what the City was offering for development. The latter didn't happen, but in June 2020, the Common Council passed a resolution authorizing the addition of the three vacant parcels to the Dunn warehouse REI. All of this runs counter to what is known as Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND), a concept that we in Hudson should probably be embracing.

An article of interest, originally published in February 2019, appeared today on the Strong Towns Facebook page. It argues that, although developers may consider smaller parcels to be "substandard," small parcel size and diverse ownership are keys to successful urban development: "Savor Your Small Parcels, and Create More of Them." It is recommended reading.

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