DAR Chapter House Wins Federal Grant

The Times Union reported yesterday that the Robert Jenkins House, home of the Hendrick Hudson Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), has won a $500,000 Save America's Treasures grant from the National Park Service: "Hudson house among 25 chosen for federal grants." 

The house, which stands at 113 Warren Street, was built in 1811 by Robert Jenkins, a son of Seth Jenkins, one of the founders and an original Proprietor of Hudson. It was given to the local chapter of the DAR in 1900 by Mrs. Frances H. R. Hartley, the granddaughter of Robert Jenkins.  

The grant will help fund a $1 million project which, according to the Hendrick Hudson Chapter website, includes replacing the slate roof, repairing the parapets and other masonry, restoring windows and doors, and making the building universally accessible. The grant requires a one-to-one match, and the Hendrick Hudson Chapter has been working on raising its share of the $1 million.

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A Write-In Competition?

On Wednesday, Gossips reported on the race for alderman in the First and Third wards. In both wards, for the two seats on the Common Council, there is only one viable candidate listed on the ballot. Gossips reported at the time that Margaret Morris had launched a write-in campaign in the First Ward. Today, Gossips reported that Shershah Mizan had announced on Friday that he was running a write-in campaign for reelection in the Third Ward. Both candidates who are not running but whose names still appear on the ballot have been replaced. 

Oddly, late this afternoon, with two candidates already declaring their intention to replace the two candidates on the ballot, the Hudson City Democratic Committee posted this on Facebook:

INTERESTED IN RUNNING FOR COMMON COUNCIL?

If you live in the First or Third Wards, consider running a write-in campaign for the Common Council in the upcoming election on Tuesday, November 2nd, 2021!

Hudson Ward Alders sit on the Common Council which has the authority to govern the City, manage its affairs and provide for the protection, security and welfare of the City, its inhabitants and their property. The Common Council has the power to make local laws and ordinances to insure the well-being and good order of the City.

One of the First and one of the Third Ward candidates currently on the ballot will not be able to take office due to recent employment conflicts. It is too late to change the ballots, so if elected, the Council will appoint representatives of its choosing in January when their term begins. However, it's NOT too late to mount a write-in campaign, to give the voters of the First and Third Wards an opportunity to select their own representation.

The Hudson City Democratic Committee encourages registered Democrats in those wards to contact us if you'd like our help promoting your write-in campaign. Please send direct messages by 5PM EST Thursday, October 14th to info@hudsoncitydemocrats.org. Feel free to call Kate Treacy, the Chair of the HCDC, at 917-344-5153 with any questions or to discuss further. We look forward to hearing from interested candidates!

Why is the HCDC making this appeal now, less than two weeks before early voting begins, when absentee ballots have already gone out, and after two candidates--one in the First Ward and one in the Third Ward--have announced their write-in campaigns? It's been known since July that there are two candidates on the ballot--Gary Purnhagen in the First Ward and Calvin Lewis in the Third Ward--who, because of employment, are not viable candidates. Why is the HCDC only now appealing for write-in candidates? Can it be they are not happy with the two write-in candidates who have declared--Margaret Morris in the First Ward and Shershah Mizan in the Third? This seems odd, since one of them, Mizan, is a member of the HCDC.

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Hudson: Craft Beer Destination

In a footnote on page 159 of History of Columbia County, New York (1878), Franklin Ellis reports: 

Brewing was also, and has continued to this day, a successful industry in Hudson. The first brewer here was Benjamin Faulkins, an Englishman, whose establishment was near Titus Morgan's ship-yard. Soon after, there came "David Coope, Brewer of Porter, Ale, and Beer, Brew-House near the Market." Another of the early brewers was Auchmoody, whose establishment was on Cherry alley, between Fourth and Fifth streets.

Through successive ownerships, Benjamin Faulkins' brewery, Hudson's first, established in 1786, eventually became C. H. Evans & Co. in 1878, and so it continued until Prohibition brought about its demise.   

Today, Hudson is fast returning to its glory days of brewing. Hudson Brewing Company, which claims the distinction of being Hudson's first brewery since Prohibition, was founded in 2015. Six years later, three more craft breweries are in various stages of development. Hudson Brewing Company is located down by the waterfront, near Basilica Hudson, in the building now known as The Warehouse. The new breweries will be in what might be called Hudson's "East End." 

Upper Depot Brewing Company, located in the restored Hudson Upper Depot on State Street just above Seventh, a building owned by the Galvan Foundation, after which Galvan has named an entire neighborhood, is expected to open any day now.

In February, Galvan announced that another brewery, Return Brewing, would be opening in the remnant of the Gifford Foundry building at 724 Columbia Street, another building owned by Galvan. It turns out, Return Brewing will only be occupying a portion of that building--the portion right across State Street from Hudson Upper Depot.

The Planning Board began its review of the plans for converting this space into a brewery and restaurant on September 14 and is expected to hold a public hearing on the project on Thursday, October 14. This past Friday, the Historic Preservation Commission voted unanimously to grant a certificate of appropriateness to the project.

Plans for a third brewery proposed for the building shown below on upper Union Street have been approved by both the Planning Board and the Historic Preservation Commission. 

This brewery is being proposed by the same people who originally intended to establish a brewery at 735 Columbia Street, the former TJ Auto Service Center, but reportedly abandoned the plan because of the extensive remediation that would be required for the adaptive reuse of the former auto garage.

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Another Hat in the Ring

On Wednesday, when Gossips reported on the state of our local elections, there was only one viable candidate running for the two Third Ward alderman seats. That candidate was Ryan Wallace, who was appointed to the seat vacated when Calvin Lewis resigned after taking a job with the Youth Department. Since then, Shershah Mizan, who is currently one of the alderman representing the Third Ward, announced that he is running a write-in campaign for Third Ward alderman. 

Mizan is now in his second term on the Common Council. It is not known why, in the spring, Mizan chose not to seek reelection and has now changed his mind. The announcement of Mizan's write-in campaign boasts:

Shershah has worked tirelessly at community development and job creation for our city and played an essential role in the Stewart's Shop's expansion on Green Street. In addition, Shershah Mizan has helped to significantly increase revenue for the City. Shershah had worked hard to support local youth sports programs, improved public safety and much more.

COVID-19 Update

The Columbia County Department of Health released its numbers late Saturday afternoon. From Friday to Saturday, there were 6 new cases of COVID-19. The number of active cases being reported on Saturday was 30 fewer than on Friday, in which it can be inferred that, from Friday to Saturday, 36 county residents have recovered from the virus. Five more county residents were in mandatory quarantine on Saturday than on Friday, and one more was hospitalized. Of those hospitalized, none was in the ICU. There has not been a death from COVID-19 in Columbia County since Thursday, October 7.

The New York Forward dashboard is reporting a positivity rate from Friday to Saturday of 1.8 percent and a seven-day average of 2.9 percent. By comparison, the positivity rate for the same 24-hour period was 3.1 percent and the seven-day average was 3.6 percent.

A year ago today, the CCDOH reported 1 new case of COVID-19. The total number of cases was 586, and the number of active cases was 20. There were 51 county residents in mandatory quarantine, 1 was hospitalized, and 0 were in the ICU. The total number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 at this time last year was 37.

The Open Window

Once upon a time, the Charles Alger House, at 59 Allen Street, had a tripartite window in its east facade. 

At some point in the house's long life, that window disappeared, replaced by a single, smaller, off-center window, which in 1954, when the first of these pictures was taken, had a drip mould similar to the ones on the other windows.

Photo: Matt McGhee

The plans for the restoration of the house involve reproducing the original tripartite window.

Recently, the bricks that had closed up the original window opening were removed. Earlier this week, Gossips took this picture of the building to show the original opening for the window restored.

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What to Do This Weekend

It's Columbus Day Weekend, or as we now know it, Indigenous Peoples Day Weekend. It's also the weekend for Open Studio Hudson. This year, forty-four Hudson artists are opening their studios for visits from the public--to view their work uncurated and get insight into their creative process. The studios are open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., today and tomorrow. Click here to learn more about the event and the artists. Click here to download the map.

COVID-19 Update

The Columbia County Department of Health has released its numbers for today. Since yesterday, there have been 13 new cases of COVID-19. The number of active cases being reported today is 26 fewer than yesterday, from which it can be inferred that, since yesterday, 39 county residents have recovered from the virus. There are 24 fewer county residents in mandatory quarantine today than yesterday, but the number hospitalized remains the same. The one person hospitalized is not in the ICU. There has not been another death from COVID-19 in Columbia County since yesterday. 

The New York Forward dashboard is reporting a positivity rate in the past 24 hours in Columbia County of 4.1 percent and a seven-day average of 3.0 percent. By comparison, the daily positivity rate for the Capital Region is 3.4 percent and the seven-day average is 3.6 percent.

A year ago today, the CCDOH reported 3 new cases of COVID-19. The total number of cases was 584, and the number of active cases was 19. There were 48 county residents in mandatory quarantine, 2 were hospitalized, and 1 was in the ICU. The total number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 at this time last year was 37.

Questions of Appropriateness

On Wednesday, in advance of the first presentation to the IDA (Industrial Development Agency) of the plans for the restoration and reuse of the Pocketbook Factory, Alderman Rebecca Wolff (First Ward), who as Common Council minority leader serves on the IDA, posted the following on the Hudson Area Community Board Facebook page: 

Hi Community. . . . Here's how you can join the IDA meeting at which the first presentation by the developers who want to develop the Pocketbook Factory will be proposing why they "need" tax abatement in order to move forward with the project. Note that it is simply a foregone conclusion that they will say they "need" it in order to continue because this is what the federal government mandates they say if they are to apply for a tax abatement. PLEASE join the meeting via zoom link below if you are interested to find out how they try to make their case for their need.

Wolff's appeal brought a number of people to the Zoom meeting, who asked questions in the "Chat"--questions that were posed to the applicant. Claire Cousin asked if they would be accepting homeless vouchers in the 40-room hotel which is part of the proposal. That question was seconded by Kaya Weidman of Kite's Nest. Sean Roland, who was making the presentation answered, "We haven't discussed this, but we would be open to considering this." Responding to Roland's statement that they needed a "strong economic driver to afford the expense of restoration," Weidman asserted that RUPCO has converted old buildings into affordable housing and asked Roland if they had talked with RUPCO. Roland said they had met with RUPCO but decided that converting the building for housing "shut off accessibility to the public" and making the building accessible to the public was one of their goals.

At one point, Roland asked, "If members of the public are asking questions, is this a public hearing?" Mike Tucker, who as president of CEDC (Columbia Economic Development Corporation) serves as an adviser to the IDA, told him it was not a public hearing, but the IDA liked to hear the concerns of the public as they were learning about a project.

The whole experience raises a couple of questions. First, is it appropriate for members of the IDA to rally opposition to or support for projects that come before them? In this case, Wolff's appeal exposed her opposition to the project's request for tax abatements and encouraged others who shared her view to attend the meeting. In the past, Alderman Tiffany Garriga (Second Ward), who chairs the IDA, used social media on several occasions to muster supporters of the Galvan project to attend IDA meetings. 

The second question has to do with the use of "Chat" during a meeting. During the IDA meeting, the "Chat" function was enabled, and attendees could type in all their questions and comments, which Tucker and Wolff made a point of reading aloud. At the Common Council Legal Committee meeting on Wednesday night, Council president Tom DePietro explained that the "Chat" had been disabled for the meeting because "we are trying to replicate the experience of an in-person meeting." At an in-person meeting, it would be unlikely that the public would be allowed to interrupt a presentation to ask questions or engage in a dialog with a presenter. Public comment, if it is entertained at all, is invited only at the end of a meeting. 

The PowerPoint of Roland's presentation, along with other documents submitted to the IDA about the project, can be found on the City of Hudson website by clicking here. The information includes a fiscal impact analysis and a benefit-cost analysis. As was pointed out at the IDA meeting on Wednesday, the benefit-to-cost ratio of the project for the City of Hudson is 10 to 1--the anticipated benefits to the City are ten times more than the forgone tax revenue.

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Not Giving Up

On Tuesday, September 14, the Planning Board made a negative declaration under SEQRA (State Environmental Quality Review Act) on the two apartment buildings on North Seventh Street proposed by the Galvan Foundation. The next day, the Industrial Development Agency (IDA) voted 4 to 2 to approve the PILOTs and other financial benefits sought for the two buildings. What remains is for the Planning Board to grant site plan approval.

Bill Huston, who lives a few blocks from the site of the proposed buildings, has been a steadfast critic of the project, objecting to it primarily on the grounds of the impact the buildings will have on parking availability in the neighborhood. Yesterday, the Register-Star published Huston's critical analysis of the parking study commissioned by the Galvan Foundation and presented to the Planning Board: "Galvan Parking Study loaded with inaccuracies."

The Planning Board is scheduled to meet at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 14. It is expected the board will complete its site plan review and make a decision about approving the project at that meeting.

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The Mayor's Public Hearing: Following Up

Earlier today, Gossips reported about the amendments Alderman Rebecca Wolff (First Ward) wanted to make to the "good cause" eviction law, which the Common Council voted to enact in September--with eight yes votes, one abstention, and two aldermen absent. The amendments would make the law even more stringent, eliminating "significant market changes" as justification for raising the rent more than 5 percent and an owner's ability to sell a property free of residential tenancy obligations. This afternoon, in his public hearing on the law, Mayor Kamal Johnson said that, on the advice of counsel, he would be vetoing the law, "so it is heading back to the Common Council." It is heading back to the Common Council to be amended in the manner Wolff requested.

Although Johnson said he would be vetoing the law in its present form, two members of the public made comments about the law. The first was Margaret Morris, who is running as a write-in candidate for First Ward alderman. Morris expressed concern that some of the provisions of the law would hurt people seeking apartments in Hudson. She warned that, if a landlord cannot terminate a lease, new tenants will be subjected to a much higher bar in terms of credit scores and job stability. She argued there had not been "sufficient conversations with landlords" and asserted, "Landlords and tenants have a shared interest, and that has not been explored." She urged, "Take a step back, and think about the problem we are trying to solve."

It should be noted that, after a brief mention of this law at a meeting of the Common Council ad hoc committee devoted to drafting inclusionary zoning legislation, this law was presented to the Council on August 17. Here's what Gossips reported about it at the time:

Another new law that made a sudden appearance this month without any vetting in public was an amendment to the code prohibiting evictions without cause. The proposed law appears to have been modeled after the good cause eviction law passed in July by the City of Albany Common Council. Gossips believes copies of the Albany law were passed around to members of the ad hoc committee pursuing inclusionary zoning at its meeting on Wednesday, August 4, but the law was not discussed at that meeting.   

Also commenting on the law at the mayor's public hearing this afternoon was Kristal Heinz, who said the law had been rushed and suggested had not been "thought through." Heinz predicted that the law would "push a lot of people out of the rental market" and would "make more rental units inaccessible." Heinz cited the eviction moratorium in New York, which is effective through January 15, 2022, and said, "We don't have to rush this right now." She argued that the goal should be "to make rentals more affordable and more available." She also asked why the mayor had been asked to veto the law, but that question went unanswered during the hearing.

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COVID-19 Update

The Columbia County Department of Health has released its numbers for today. Since yesterday, there has been another death from COVID-19, bringing the total number of deaths from the virus in the county to 103. Also since yesterday, there have been sixteen new cases of COVID-19. The number of active cases being reported today is seven more than yesterday, from which it can be inferred that, since yesterday, eight county residents have recovered from the virus. There are fourteen fewer county residents in mandatory quarantine today than yesterday, and four fewer are hospitalized with the virus. Of those now hospitalized, none is in the ICU. 

The New York Forward dashboard is reporting a positivity rate for Columbia County yesterday of 1.6 percent and a seven-day average of 2.9 percent. By comparison, the daily positivity rate for the Capital Region is 3.2 percent and the seven-day average is 3.6 percent.

A year ago today, the CCDOH reported 1 new case of COVID-19. The total number of cases was 580, and the number of active cases was 15. There were 26 county residents in mandatory quarantine, and 1 was hospitalized and in the ICU. The total number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 at this time last year was 37.

A Change of Heart

Today at 4:00 p.m., Mayor Kamal Johnson holds a public hearing on three proposed laws. One of them is the "good cause" eviction law. Last night, at the Common Council Legal Committee meeting, Alderman Rebecca Wolff (First Ward) said she wanted to amend the law, which the Council had voted to enact at its September meeting. Among the changes requested by Wolff were deleting the words "significant market changes relevant to the subject unit" in paragraph 1 under "Grounds for removal of tenants" and deleting this paragraph, paragraph 9, altogether:

The owner-landlord has in good faith entered into a contract for the sale of the housing accommodation and such contract requires that the housing accommodation be transferred free and clear of any and all residential tenancy obligations as a condition of such sale where the owner-landlord has no shared financial or other interest with the potential buyer than the sale of the housing accommodation in question and submitted sufficient proof to the court thereof.

Wolff said of the amendments she was proposing, "This is how [the law] has been passed in other cities." When asked where it had been passed other than in Albany and Hudson, Wolff named a number of cities, among them Kingston, Newburgh, Poughkeepsie, and Beacon. Council president Tom DePietro said his information was that Beacon was still considering it.

Jeff Baker, counsel to the Council, told Wolff that the mayor had already scheduled a public hearing on the law but suggested the mayor could veto it "to give time to make corrections." It will be interesting to see what the mayor does. Click here to access the hearing on Zoom.

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Great Expectations

Everyone was thrilled when the City of Hudson was awarded a $1 million anti-displacement grant. Just a few days ago, Council president Tom DePietro was speculating that some of that $1 million might be used to give the mayor's aide a $5,000 a year raise because he spends some of his time working on anti-displacement issues. 

Yesterday, at the Board of Estimate and Apportionment (BEA) budget workshop, Michelle Tullo, the housing justice director who was hired with funds from the grant, told the BEA that Enterprise, the funding source for the grant, "doesn't want to give us funds unless we are committed to the future." Of the $1 million, $400,000 has been received, and the remaining $600,000 has been allocated as "seed money" for a housing trust fund. To show its commitment, Tullo was requesting about $200,000 from the City: 10 percent of the ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds and 50 percent of the lodging tax revenue.

The members of the BEA--mayor, Council president, treasurer--seemed a little surprised by the request. DePietro said he was "curious how we commit funds before we know how it will be used." Tullo told him, "We know the parameters; we just don't know specifics." Mayor Kamal Johnson said the City could pay the 25 percent of the staff salaries not covered by the grant, which amounts to $22,000. 

City treasurer Heather Campbell asked about the per capita income in the cities Tullo was using as comparables to justify her ask. She also wanted to know if any of those cities consistently ran a deficit, with its expenditures exceeding its revenues. DePietro pointed out that the housing trust fund program in Burlington, Vermont, was created in the 1980s by Bernie Sanders, and commented, "The key was it would not break the bank."

Tullo reiterated that the $600,000 in seed money would not be released until the City shows a commitment and argued, "Grants are not enough to provide reliable, consistent funding." 

The discussion ended with Johnson saying, "Let's come back to this in the next round."

Also yesterday, Alderman Ryan Wallace (Third Ward), who chairs the Tourism Board, presented that entity's budget request, which since Monday had increased by $30,000 to $160,000: $100,000 for "Heritage Programs" and $60,000 for "Growth Initiatives." In presenting the budget, Wallace talked about creating "an environment that is attractive to visitors" and lets them "see under the hood of what makes Hudson special." 

During the discussion, DePietro opined, "The Tourism Board has a better future as a 501(c)3 with a contribution from the City." Johnson declared himself agreeable to committing to funds for the Heritage Programs but did not want to commit funding to Growth Initiatives. It was suggested there might be a quarterly application process for Growth Initiatives. Johnson also stated, "We have no commitment to doing seasonal usage in the future."

Campbell expressed concern about the two new requests for funding, reminding her colleagues on the BEA that the City has for the past several years run a deficit: its expenditures are greater than its revenues.

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COVID-19 Update

The Columbia County Department of Health has released its numbers for today. Since yesterday, there have been six new cases of COVID-19. The number of active cases being reported today is 83 fewer than yesterday but only seven fewer than on Monday, which supports the notion that yesterday's numbers to total cases and active cases were a little strange and makes it possible to infer that, since Monday, thirteen county residents have recovered from the virus. There are 26 more county residents in mandatory quarantine today than yesterday, but there is one fewer hospitalized. The number of the hospitalized that are in the ICU remains the same. There has not been a death from COVID-19 reported in Columbia County since Monday, September 27.

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

A year ago today, the CCDOH reported 1 new case of COVID-19. The total number of cases was 579, and the number of active cases was 14. There were 26 county residents in mandatory quarantine, and 1 county resident was hospitalized and in the ICU. The total number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 at this time last year was 37.

Who Wants to Run for Local Office?

Early voting begins in just seventeen days--on Saturday, October 23. Sample ballots can be viewed at the Board of Elections website and absentee ballots are already going out to those voters who have requested them. The sad thing is that the ballots for the First Ward and the Third Ward in Hudson contain the names of people, running unopposed, who are no longer actually running.

In the First Ward, there are two and only two people whose names appear on the ballot as candidates for the two alderman seats: Art Frick and Gary Purnhagen. There were never any choices for alderman in the First Ward this year. The two people, both Democrats, who got the requisite number of signatures on their petitions got on the ballot without being primaried, and since there are no candidates from other parties running, they were certain to win. But back in July, Purnhagen dropped out of the race. Although his name is still on the ballot, voting for him would be meaningless. The ballot, as it is printed, provides voters in the First Ward with only one choice: Frick. 

Fortunately, for First Ward voters, there is someone who has stepped up and decided to run a write-in campaign. That person is Margaret Morris. So, although First Ward voters still don't actually have a choice, they are not forced to abdicate the selection of their representative in city government to the Common Council, which is what would happen if there were not a write-in candidate. First Ward voters can write in the name "Margaret Morris," easily remembered and easily spelled, at the bottom of the column farthest to the right on the ballot, in the box labeled "Write-in."  

The Third Ward is in a similar situation. Two and only two names appear on the ballot as candidates for the two alderman seats: Calvin Lewis and Ryan Wallace. As with the First Ward candidates, Lewis and Wallace got the requisite number of signatures on their petitions and got on the ballot, unprimaried and unopposed by candidates from another party. But during the summer, Lewis, who was serving as one of the two Third Ward aldermen, took a job with the Youth Department, and as a consequence, in early July, he resigned as an alderman and as a candidate for re-election. Wallace, the other candidate now on the ballot, was appointed to replace him on the Council. 

As with the First Ward, the ballot provides only one choice for the two Third Ward alderman seats on the Council: Wallace. Unlike the First Ward, however, no one has announced, not to Gossips' knowledge at least, that they are running a write-in campaign. So unless a write-in candidate emerges in the next couple of weeks, it appears that the Common Council will be deciding in January who the second person will be to represent the Third Ward.

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COVID-19 Update

The Columbia County Department of Health released its numbers for today about a hour ago. Since yesterday, there have been ten new cases of COVID-19. Some of the statistics being reported seem a little questionable. The total number of cases being reported today is 266 fewer than yesterday, and the number of active cases is 76 more than yesterday. Neither of those numbers is likely to be correct. These figures, however, do seem more probable. The number of county residents in mandatory quarantine today is eleven more than yesterday, and one fewer county resident is hospitalized with the virus today than yesterday. One of those hospitalized is in the ICU, and we know from Matt Murell's press release that the person in the ICU was unvaccinated. There has not been a death from COVID-19 reported in Columbia County since Monday, September 27.   

The New York Forward dashboard is reporting a positivity rate in Columbia County yesterday of 5.7 percent and a seven-day average of 3.6 percent. By comparison, the daily positivity rate for the Capital Region was 5.1 percent and the seven-day average was 3.6 percent.

A year ago today, the CCDOH reported no new cases of COVID-19. The total number of cases was 577, and the number of active cases was 13. There were 22 county residents in mandatory quarantine, and 1 was hospitalized and in the ICU. The total number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 at this time last year was 37.

COVID News

The Columbia County Department of Health has not yet released its numbers for today, but this afternoon Matt Murell, chair of the Columbia County Board of Supervisors, issued a press release declaring "Infection Positivity Rate Drops." Here are the paragraphs that follow that head:

As of today, the in-county infection positivity rate stands at 4.2 percent, whereas last Tuesday that rate stood at 6.8 percent, noted Columbia County Department of Health Director Jack Mabb.

Over the past seven days, the county Department of Health recorded 19 new cases for Sunday-Monday, 14 on Saturday, 14 Friday, 13 last Thursday, and eight last Wednesday. There were five new cases as of midday today.

Currently, seven county residents are hospitalized, and one individual is in the ICU. That person is unvaccinated.

There are currently a total of 83 cases of the virus associated with county schools, 74 among students and nine staff members.

DOH Director Mabb said Tuesday that the rate of at least one vaccination among county residents is "closing in on 80 percent for those 12 and up. I think that's a great number. I think we're in pretty good shape with vaccinations, but it bothers me to see these deaths. We've had five in the last six weeks, all among the unvaccinated. It's really terribly tragic and so unnecessary."

A Preview of the Tourism Board Budget

Tomorrow afternoon, the Tourism Board goes before the BEA (Board of Estimate and Apportionment) to request funding for 2022. At its meeting in September, Tourism Board member Chris McManus proposed that the board ask the BEA for $209,845. 

At last night's meeting of the Tourism Board, Alderman Ryan Wallace (Third Ward), who now chairs the Tourism Board, presented a more conservative version of the budget. In presenting his proposal, Wallace spoke of "turning Hudson into a compelling place to visit" and making Hudson "a happening place to be," as if it weren't those things already.   

Wallace's proposal identified eleven events that he described as "Heritage Programs": Black Enterpreneurs Market, Black Arts & Cultural Festival, Juneteenth, Bangladeshi Cultural  Festival, Latinx Festival, Halloween Parade, Winter Walk, Flag Day, Hudson Pride Parade, Waterfront Wednesdays, Pocket Park Initiatives. Wallace proposed that $100,000 be budgeted for those eleven events.     

He also suggested allocating $30,000 for what he called "Growth Initiatives." Wallace did not include in his proposal the $42,000 for Warren Street Seasonal Usage, which had been part of McManus's suggested budget. 

McManus objected to asking for only $30,000 for growth initiatives, asserting that Hudson's increased sales tax revenue was evidence that the Tourism Board's initiatives were bringing more people and money to Hudson. He argued that there should be $100,000 for new initiatives, to fund a "seed program" like Waterfront Wednesdays for every season. 

Wallace spoke about corporate sponsorship for events, mentioning specifically such national chains as Pizza Hut and Starbucks, neither of which has a presence in Hudson since chains and formula businesses are banned from the city.

The Tourism Board was originally funded by the percentage of revenue from the lodging tax. Council president Tom DePietro pointed out that the revenue from the lodging tax has decreased as revenue from sales tax has increased and suggested, "If the old standard were still in effect, how much would you have gotten?" His suggestion seemed to imply that the Tourism Board might use that number to help them determine how much to ask for 2022. McManus credited the Tourism Board with the shift in tax revenue, saying they had "gone after daytrippers."

It will not be known until tomorrow if the Tourism Board will present the $130,000 budget proposed by Wallace or will seek more funding. What the board did agree on last night was that the cost of Warren Street Shared Usage in 2022 will be charged to those businesses that participate in the program. Tourism Board member Kate Treacy reported there were thirty-seven participants this year, which, assuming a cost of $42,000, meant that each participating business would pay $1,135 for the season or about $50 a week to utilize the parking spaces in front of their establishments.

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Ragtime at Hudson Hall

This Friday, October 8, at 7:00 p.m., Tony Kieraldo launches his new album, Hudson Ragtime Piano Suite, with a concert at Hudson Hall. Kieraldo has composed a rag for each of the east-west streets in Hudson--Allen, Union, Warren, Columbia, and State.

Syncopated Times describes the rags in this way:

There are five new rags here, each inspired by and named for a Hudson street. Allen Street Rag is stately, befitting the beautiful mansion homes that line it, once inhabited by Hudson's high society. Union Street rag is a sea shanty inspired piece. Looking back on the city's whaling history, it has a looser movement to it. Warren Street Rag is the most Joplinesque of the five, teasing Maple Leaf Rag. It is named for the city's Main Street, which was renamed Warren Street in 1799, though the Warren so honored is lost to history. With this rag Kieraldo attempts to connect the past and present as Warren Street has again become the bustling center of Hudson with new restaurants and drinking establishments opening even during the pandemic.

Diamond Street Rag gets right to the roots of ragtime, honoring what was once Hudson's red light and "colored" district, too close to the slaughterhouses and tanneries for respectable folk. Home to both brothels and middle class Black congregations the work opens with a theme that instantly recalls a rough and tumble blues den but later calls up images of a proud promenade, and closes with a festive dance or, as he puts it in the notes, police breaking up the party. (Diamond Street was renamed Columbia Street in the 1920s to distance itself from the reputation it had acquired.)  

State Street was a working class district known for breweries where many of the slaughterhouse workers lived. The State Street Rag closes the collection with an attempt to encompass the modern diversity of the area by introducing the most complex set of melodies heard.

Kieraldo's performance of the rags will be peppered with filmed interviews with such Hudson folk as Reverend Ed Cross, former mayor Dick Tracy, local historian Ken Sheffer, and me, The Gossips of Rivertown, sharing history and memories and stories about the streets. The History Room at the Hudson Area Library has also provided archival images of each street which will be projected on Hudson Hall's cinema-sized screen. 

The album and the accompanying songbook will be available for purchase at the event. For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.