DSS and Gellert Foiled Again

The Register-Star has the story this morning of  a new plan to create "congregate housing" in Hudson blocked by Hudson's zoning code: "City code snags homeless housing--again."

What's most interesting about this story is that DSS went back to Phil Gellert, the owner of many noteworthy properties in Hudson, for their latest scheme. Last time, DSS was going to rent the two apartments in 518 Columbia Street from Gellert for $2,300 a month and paid the rent for three months even though the apartments were never occupied by DSS clients. This time, the plan is to rent the two apartments in this house on Eighth Street for $3,000 a month.

About Those Assessments

For everyone unhappy about the assessments in Hudson, here's a chance to be a part of the solution. Mayor Rick Scalera announced recently that Cathy Bartolotta and Kevin Walker have both resigned from the Board of Assessment Review, leaving two vacancies on the three-member board. Replacements are needed immediately since training for the BAR takes place this month. Appointments to the BAR are made by Mayor Scalera, so anyone interested should contact him right away. 

Nilsson Nominated for JBF Award

Daniel Nilsson of DA|BA is a semfinalist for a James Beard Foundation Award as Best Chef in the Northeast. There's are article about it in today's Register-Star. If you're worried about where you might find Lincoln Park Center should Nilsson win and you want to attend the awards ceremony, fear not. The gala awards ceremony will actually take place at Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center.

The Sting Over the Sting

Jamie Larson's account of Tuesday night's Common Council meeting appears in today's Register-Star: "Catholic Charities grant splits Council."

Tonight's ZBA Meeting

Gossips was right the first time. The ZBA meeting is at 7:00 not at 6:30. But if you get to City Hall at 6:30, someone will be there to let you in, and you can amuse yourself by looking at the pictures of former Hudson mayors until the meeting begins.  

Let the Sting Continue

Gossips wasn't at last night's Common Council meeting, but reports have been received that the issue most vigorously debated was the resolution allowing the Hudson Police Department to accept a grant from Catholic Charities to conduct more sting operations in Hudson. 

When this resolution first came before the Common Council on February 7, Council President Don Moore referred it to committee for more discussion before it was voted on. He questioned whether a sting operation was the most effective way to deal with the problem of under-age drinking. On February 28, the issue was discussed at the Common Council Police Committee meeting, but the committee did not vote to move the resolution to the full Council, so technically it was still "in committee." Last night, however, First Ward Alderman Geeta Cheddie forced the issue, wanting to know why the Council wasn't going to vote on it.

According to reports, what followed was a contentious discussion, the details of which I will leave to Register-Star reporter Jamie Larson to recount since he actually witnessed it. At one point, it was determined that the Council's rules of order permitted Moore to refer the resolution to committee a second time, but, toward the end of the meeting, when Hudson Police Chief Ellis Richardson arrived, with his two sons in tow, wanting to know the fate of the resolution, it was decided that a vote would be taken after all. Third Ward Aldermen Ellen Thurston and Chris Wagoner voted with Moore in opposition to accepting the grant from Catholic Charities; First Ward Aldermen Cheddie and Sarah Sterling, Second Ward Aldermen Wanda Pertilla and Abdus Miah (himself caught in similar sting in Greene County), Fourth Ward Aldermen Ohrine Stewart and Sheila Ramsey, and Fifth Ward Alderman Bob Donahue all voted in favor of accepting the grant. Had Sterling not voted with the majority, the resolution would not have passed. 

Union and First Streets

IMPORTANT CORRECTION: Tonight's meeting of the Zoning Board of Appeals, which will consider requests for area variances for Eric Galloway's proposed plan for Union and First Street, begins at 6:30 p.m., not at 7:00 as previously reported.  

The Historic Preservation Commission has scheduled a public hearing on the project for Thursday, March 24, at 6 p.m. at City Hall.

Demolition Opposition Update

MHA Executive Director Jeffrey Rovitz has a MY VIEW in today's Register-Star: "The other side of the 900 Columbia story." It's the same statement sent to Scott Baldinger's blog and to Rural Intelligence, which we printed here last Friday, with the addition of a few paragraphs.

Rovitz received the petition with 652 signatures, together with covering letter requesting a meeting, electronically on Monday, March 14, and via snail mail on Tuesday, March 15. I received an email from him yesterday afternoon agreeing to a meeting. This morning, after consulting with the people who will be involved, I suggested a time for the meeting and am now waiting to hear back from Rovitz.  

Breaking News

Less than an hour ago, the Register-Star posted online the breaking story that Holcim US has announced its intention to mothball its cement plant in Catskill effective June 13: "Holcim's Catskill plant to close."

Galloway Project Goes Before the ZBA

Tomorrow night, Wednesday, March 16, Eric Galloway's plan to build four houses on the vacant lot at Union and First streets goes before the Zoning Board of Appeals. The project will be seeking an area variance for two reasons: (1) the houses will continue the existing street wall and will not have the setback from the street required by current zoning code; and (2) the houses will not have the amount of offstreet parking required by Hudson's current zoning code.

The meeting takes place at 7 p.m. at City Hall.  

"Our Town: Hudson" on WMHT

On Monday night, the folks from WMHT met with about twenty-five community members interested in creating stories for the video "scrapbook" of Hudson. WMHT is planning to incorporate the footage produced by the community into an hour-long show about Hudson, devoting 60 to 90 seconds to each story. The first in WMHT's Our Town series, Our Town: Amsterdam, can be viewed online at the WMHT website.  

Story ideas and topics that were shared at last night's meeting include the history of whaling, the Pleshakov Piano Museum, the Boys' Club (a story idea that Mayor Scalera himself plans to pursue), Operation Unite, the architecture of Warren Street, historic factory buildings, Stair Galleries auctions, Winter Walk, Hudson Pride Foundation, music and music venues in Hudson, Hudson's diversity, a typical day in Hudson, eclectic businesses, parades, the animals of Hudson, musicians who have come to Hudson, and the new community radio station WGXC. That's seventeen ideas--probably not enough to fill up an hour-long show--so anyone interested in doing a story about some aspect of Hudson that makes our community unique and special is encouraged to contact series producer Joanne Durfee. 

People working on video stories have until April 4 to shoot their footage. On April 5 & 6, Durfee will  be interviewing the people who produced the footage on camera to provide the narrative. The interviews will take place at the Hudson Opera House. The target broadcast date for Our Town: Hudson is June 16. On June 15, a special screening is planned for the community at Hudson High School.    

Not to Be Missed

In a MY VIEW in today's Register-Star, Board of Supervisors Chair Roy Brown comments on the county's changing attitude toward 25 Railroad Avenue, the plan to consolidate all client-based county services in the old Walmart building in Greenport, and what he calls Mayor Scalera's proclivity to "deflect his lack of communication and working with the County as a lack of leadership on our part."     

"There Are None So Blind . . . "

The Register-Star published today what appears to be a press release from Congressman Chris Gibson's office: "Gibson maintains support of nuclear power." It contains this memorable quote from the man who represents us in the House: “Energy is a passion for me because it can be a game changer for our economy.” Well, that could sure be true . . . but not necessarily in a good way.

Hudson on TV

Gossips has received word that a fictitious penal institution called Maybelle Minimum Security Prison located in Hudson, NY, is one of the settings for a new A&E series called Breakout Kings. I haven't seen it, but from a really brief time spent on the website, I gather that the series is about a special task force created to hunt down escaped prisoners throughout the Northeast. Since two members of the task force are former fugitives, I think the task force may work out of the fictitious Hudson prison. 

If any readers are familiar with this series, which started on March 6, please post a comment to provide more information or correct misinformation. The show airs on Sunday nights at 10 p.m. on A&E.   

Demolition Opposition Update

A technical glitch apparently having to do with Internet Explorer prevented the Save 900 Columbia Street petition from being delivered on schedule last Friday, but with a little (much appreciated) help from a blogging colleague with a Mac and Firefox, the petition, with 652 signatures, was finally downloaded early Sunday morning. An electronic copy of the petition was sent via email yesterday to Jeffrey Rovitz, Executive Director of the Mental Health Association of Columbia-Greene Counties, with a cover letter restating the argument for sparing the building and requesting a meeting to explore an alternative that would achieve MHA's goal while preserving this historic house. Hard copies of the petition will be delivered today. 

One Remarkable Typo

I watched Woody Allen's film Interiors on DVD recently, thirty-three years after seeing it for the first time, and was taken aback when I noticed, in the closing credits, the name of the casting director that Woody Allen worked with on all his films spelled Juilet Taylor. I had to go back and look at it again to make sure I had really seen what I thought I saw.   

Mrs. Anna Bradbury

In 1908, Mrs. Anna Bradbury's History of the City of Hudson, New York was published by the Record Printing and Publishing Co. in Hudson. Mrs. Bradbury explains, in the Preface to her book, why she undertook to write it: "Grateful acknowledgments are made to Mr. Stephen B. Miller's 'Historical Sketches of Hudson.' Had that work been still in print this would not have been written. The fear that its valuable material would be lost, together with the numerous inquiries in relation to the early history and settlement of Hudson, led to the preparation of this volume." At the beginning of the 20th century, Mrs. Bradbury could hardly have anticipated that a hundred years later both Miller's work and hers would be electronically archived and available to all on the Internet.

Recently a reader asked me if I knew where Mrs. Bradbury had lived in Hudson, so I spent a little time yesterday, with the Hudson directories in the History Room at the library and on the amazing Fulton History site, seeking the answer to that question.

It seems Mrs. Bradbury may have grown up in Hudson and after marriage moved somewhere else, probably Claverack. Her return to Hudson in 1900, very likely after the death of her husband, was announced in the Hudson Evening Register for December 3: "Mrs. Allen Rossman and Mrs. Anna Bradbury, former Hudsonians, have moved to this city from Claverack, where they have been spending the summer."

During her first years back in Hudson, Mrs. Bradbury lived as a boarder at 4 East Court Street. In 1904, she took up residence at 729 Warren Street.

In this extraordinary house, with brackets and an ornamental veranda reminiscent of A. J. Davis's work on Dr. Oliver Bronson's house, Jane E. Heath and her daughter, Sally Heath, operated a boarding house. Mrs. Bradbury lived here from 1904 through 1909, and it's entirely possible that she may be one of the people who posed on the veranda for this picture. Mrs. Heath's boarding house seems to have been a fairly upscale establishment. In 1905, the eleven roomers in the house included "teachers, a mechanical engineer, a publisher, and several book agents." It's not hard to imagine Mrs. Bradbury's book project being conceived and carried out in this environment.

In 1910, Mrs. Bradbury moved from 729 Warren Street to 620 Union--the Home for the Aged--where she lived for the next eight years.

In 1919, her name disappears from the directories, but so far I have unable to locate her obituary.

Proposal for Union and First Streets

On Friday morning, Kevin Walker, accompanied by Galloway attorney Mark Greenberg, appeared before the Historic Preservation Commission to present a revised proposal for new construction on the corner of Union and First streets.


First and Union Streets

Cherry Alley and First Street

The plan involves constructing two attached houses facing Union Street and one freestanding house facing First Street, and demolishing the existing house on Cherry Alley and constructing on its footprint a fourth house, being called a carriage house, with a garage door in the center of the facade facing First Street. 

Most of the discussion at the HPC meeting focused on the house that will be situated along Cherry Alley. Walker submitted photographs documenting the poor condition of the existing building to justify razing it, including pictures of its concrete foundation, which is crumbling. There were questions about why the garage door had to face First Street, and the reason given was that there was not adequate space for the garage to be accessed from the alley. This reasoning seems odd, since there are a number of garages and carriage houses along that stretch of Cherry Alley, all of which open onto the alley.

There was also discussion about the intention to use Hardiplank instead of wood clapboard to clad the houses. According to Walker, Hardiplank, which is fiber cement siding, "has the same personality as wood but not the problems." He pointed out that the two houses introduced onto Willard Place by Galloway were sided with cedar clapboard, and "the planks have shrank" in the short time since they were built. He explained that the house at 13 South Second and the addition to 136 Union Street that is now 15 South Second are both sided with Hardiplank. HPC member Nick Haddad suggested the possibility of using wood clapboard on the facades of the houses and Hardiplank on the back and side walls.

HPC member David Voorhees tried to refocus the discussion by reminding the commission their concern should be "compatibility with the surrounding houses." Chair Tom Swope predicted that the proposed houses would be so compatible with their surroundings that "they'll just disappear," and architect member Jane Smith expressed the opinion that overall the proposal was fine.

When the question was raised about the need for a public hearing, Greenberg discouraged that action. Greenberg pointed out that the project had been granted a certificate of appropriateness four years ago, and although the C. of A. had expired, the project was not substantively different from the one proposed four years ago. The only thing that had changed, he said, was the makeup of the HPC. There had been "no change in the character of the neighborhood in four years." Residents of the neighborhood, who had come out for Friday's meeting to make sure that the HPC did not waive a public hearing on this project, took issue with the statement, pointing out that nine houses in the neighborhood immediately surrounding the proposed project had new owners since 2007, and many of those new owners were engaged in painstaking restorations of their buildings. One resident objected to "ticky-tacky imitation Greek Revival houses" in their neighborhood of authentic historic buildings. Greenberg cautioned the HPC that there had to be "evidence that would change the prior ruling," intimating that a change in decision now could be considered arbitrary and capricious.

Smith argued the need for a public hearing "given the extent of the project," and in the end, the HPC voted to accept the application as complete and to schedule a public hearing. Swope requested that the plans submitted in 2007 be available at the public meeting. At the end of the meeting, after other matters had been considered, it was decided that the  public hearing would be scheduled for Friday, March 25, at 10 a.m.--the HPC's regular meeting time.

Mayor Scalera, who was an active supporter of the project in 2007, was at the meeting but said nothing publicly. After the HPC had moved on to another issue, Scalera remained in the chamber, carrying on a conversation with Greenberg, Galloway's attorney, and Common Council President Don Moore. 

Meanwhile, the project is scheduled to go before the Zoning Board of Appeals for an area variance on Wednesday, March 16. The ZBA granted an area variance to the project four years ago, but, like the certificate of appropriateness, it has expired. The ZBA meeting is at 7 p.m. in City Hall. 

Dog Tales: William et Buckley

This is Buckley, a Hudson dog with his own touching story of finding a new home, but we'll leave the telling of that tale to Buckley and his humans. Our story is about when William met Buckley.

It might be said that Buckley has a Napoleon complex. He overcompensates for his diminutive size by barking wildly and displaying histrionic fierceness whenever he sees a big dog, especially a big black dog like William. I remember an early encounter with Buckley. William and I were on one side of Warren Street, Buckley and his humans were on the other. As soon as Buckley spied William, he went into an apoplexy of barking--jumping and growling and showing his teeth. William was unfazed by this ferocity.  

Several weeks later, while on a Sunday evening walk, William and I were invited for a drink in a neighbor's fenced yard. Buckley and his humans were already there. Once inside the gate, I let William off his leash, poised to intervene if things went bad between William and Buckley. Off leash and up close though, Buckley's attitude toward William was entirely different. He wanted to play. 

In human years, William was already a septuagenarian and Buckley was a hyperactive five-year-old, but William was game, and the two of them raced around the yard endlessly. Sometimes it appeared that Buckley was chasing William; at other times, William seemed to be chasing Buckley. At one point, William, desperate for a break, followed our hostess into the house, where he emptied the resident dog's water bowl and devoured his kibble. When I chided him for bad manners and brought him back outside, the romp with Buckley resumed. It didn't end until William, exhausted, tried to hide under my chair, and one of Buckley's humans took him home for a time-out.

Demolition Opposition Update

The following perspective was sent to Scott Baldinger's blog and submitted as a comment on Rural Intelligence yesterday. Oddly, it was not submitted to The Gossips of Rivertown. 

The Save 900 Columbia Street petition will go to Jeffrey Rovitz at the Mental Health Association this afternoon, with a covering letter proposing a meeting to discuss alternative solutions.

MENTAL HEALTH ASSOCIATION PERSPECTIVE

ON 900 COLUMBIA STREET

There have lately been a few letters to the editor in the Register Star and a petition campaign regarding the Mental Health Association of Columbia-Greene Counties’ (MHA) plans for the property it owns on 900 Columbia Street in Hudson. Although a couple of the letters were needlessly provocative and misinformed, we do appreciate the tone of the letter from the Board of Directors of Historic Hudson. Although the building in question is not in an historic district, nor on the Local or National Historic Registry, nor ever part of a tour of Historic houses in the 20 plus years we owned the property, we respect their passion for saving older buildings and would expect nothing less in their response to our plans. We would like to take this opportunity to present our side of the issue.

The mission of our agency is to assist people affected by mental illness in gaining skills and supports so they may live productive lives in the community with dignity and hope. We have been doing this since 1958, growing steadily such that we now serve over 1,000 children and adults in Columbia and Greene Counties. In addition, we provide preventive services to many youth and adults who may be at risk. We assist people in the areas of work, school, socialization, housing, goal setting, advocacy, peer support, strengthening families, crime victims support, managing symptoms, and crisis management, among other areas.

In the area of housing, we operate three 24 hour supervised residences and over 100 scattered site apartments. One of the supervised residences is located on 900 Columbia Street. It serves 10 adults who are learning skills that will enable them to live successfully in the community as they transition to more independent living. In this home, all 10 residents share common living space and one kitchen, with most in shared bedroom situations. Funding is primarily through the NYS Office of Mental Health (OMH). The current philosophy of the OMH is that whenever feasible, these large community residences should be replaced with clustered one or two bedroom apartments that are more in keeping with the way most people live. It is easier to learn skill building, allow for needed privacy, and is overall a more effective model than sharing space with 9 other people. The OMH has spent quite a bit of money over the years on the current building. At this point, however, given the state of disrepair and the enormous amount of money needed to return it to a functional living space, the OMH has indicated to us that they will no longer fund the building. In addition, even if this were possible, retrofitting the current building to fit the needs of the residents is not fiscally feasible, and it would displace them during renovation.

We have been searching well over a year for an ideal place for these clustered apartments, and have endured significant hostility from potential neighbors in alternate sites for which we expressed interest. In that process, we have come to the conclusion that the current property is wonderfully suited for our purposes. It is near Warren Street, within walking distance to markets, and close to doctors’ offices. We have not found a better site to meet the needs of the residents, which must be our utmost concern. Besides, at this time, there is no longer funding to purchase an alternate site. The MHA plan is to build clustered apartments in the back portion of the property while the residents continue to live in the current structure. Once the clustered apartments are ready for occupancy, the residents would move in and we would remove the current building, replacing that area with an attractive lawn, gardens, perhaps benches, and an area for our vehicles. The new facility will be wheelchair accessible, attractive, comfortable, affordable, and of greater benefit to the people we serve. The OMH and the MHA can simply no longer take responsibility for the current house as it is not in keeping with the mission of the organizations.

That being said, if Historic Hudson would like to initiate a conversation that includes well-thought out, practical ideas that go beyond simply suggesting we relocate or somehow save the building on our own, and most importantly takes into consideration the best interests of our clients, we would be pleased to participate. We feel ultimately this priority by our agency is in the best interest of the citizens of Columbia County.

Jeffrey Rovitz, Executive Director