For the past couple of days, most of us have relied on the signs to tell us where not to park. At this point, for many of us, that crutch has been taken away. We're on our own again.
If the snow has been removed from both sides of your street, the regular alternate side of the street pattern is back in force for overnight parking. That means tonight cars should be parked on the odd side of the street.
If there are still signs on your street, follow them.
There's an interesting and significant convergence of issues in Hudson just now. There is more accumulated snow on the ground than there has been in about two decades, there is a grant application being considered to upgrade the Power Avenue waste water pump station, and the Legal Committee is contemplating changes in the bulk and area regulations which could increase the percentage of impervious coverage allowed in the city. These things are all connected and point up our need for a Conservation Advisory Commission.
The snow is evidence that we are experiencing climate change, which is making major weather events more frequent and more severe. These events more often than not--for us anyway--involve water, lots and lots of water, sometimes more water than our combined sewer system can handle. When our combined sewer system is overwhelmed by water flowing into the storm drains, from a hard rain or a major thaw, it can become more than even our new waste water treatment plant can handle, and untreated sewage gets spilled into the Hudson River. That is known as CSO--combined sewer overflow.
Tonight, the Common Council will vote on whether or not to approve an application for state assistance for a Water Quality Improvement Project. What some on the Common Council may focus on is how much this project will cost the City of Hudson. The total cost of the project is $243,000, and the City's share is $60,750, which will come from the sewer fund fund balance. The project will upgrade the generator and the pump at the Power Avenue pump station and is promised to eliminate CSO events on the south side of town. It sounds good, but there are objections to it.
One objection is that, although the proposed pump station upgrades may eliminate CSOs on the south side of the city, it will not eliminate the CSO problem altogether. It just moves it farther down the line. When the sewer system is overwhelmed with water entering from the storm drains, an overflow can still happen at the waste water treatment plant. A further objection is that it is not clear if and how this project fits into the City's declared goal of separating the storm drains and the sanitary sewer.
Then there is the whole issue of altering the bulk and area regulations to allow a greater percentage of a lot to be covered by a building. Such changes create greater amounts of impervious coverage and more storm water that does not get absorbed into the ground but ends up in the storm drains and in the sewer system.
As an aside about impervious coverage, there is the question of who pays attention to this. When the houses at Union and First streets were being considered by the Zoning Board of Appeals back in 2011, setbacks were an issue, but lot coverage didn't seem to be, although it was quite clear the four houses proposed would cover more of the lot than the 30 percent permitted in the bulk and area regulations.
I recall asking at a ZBA meeting about storm water run off and the impact of creating so much impervious coverage on a lot that had been vacant for a very long time--according to Gossips' research, for a hundred years. I was told that storm water run off and hydrology were not matters that the ZBA concerned itself with. They were the purview of the Planning Commission, but the Planning Commission would not be reviewing the project because (1) the lot had been subdivided before the law was passed, in 2008, requiring Planning Commission review and approval of subdivision, and (2) site plan approval was not required for single-family homes. Fortunately, the dense lot coverage originally proposed is not yet a reality. The two houses planned for First Street have not yet been built.
All the things this post frets about would be addressed in a Long Term Control Plan for our combined sewer problems. According to information received, Hudson submitted a Long Term Control Plan (LTCP) to the Department of Environmental Conservation ten years ago, in December 2003. DEC responded by pointing out that the plan submitted lacked a public participation component. What has happened to the plan since then is not entirely clear, but it seems the whole issue of dealing with storm water and CSOs needs to be revisited, and the perfect body to do this would be a Conservation Advisory Council.
It has been eighteen months since the idea of a CAC was presented to the Common Council, and it seems the time has come to move the legislation that would create it forward. A CAC could serve as a liaison among city officials, SPDES (State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) agencies, and the public, could provide research and expertise to inform the LTCP and amendments to bulk and area regulations, and could advise the Planning Board in considerations of storm water run off and hydrology, as well as other issues having to do with the environment and conservation.
COPYRIGHT 2014 CAROLE OSTERINK
In my family, the bon mot used in the title is attributed to my Uncle Bill, my late father's youngest and only surviving sibling. Others have attributed it to Bette Davis. Whoever said it first, it's a sentiment William will attest applies to dogs as well as humans.
My valiant William, who is just days away from his official sixteenth birthday, recently suffered a recurrence of old dog vestibular disease. While his first bout with canine vertigo was totally debilitating, this one could be described as disorienting. The first time it happened, he just lay still and didn't attempt to stand for ten days. This time he was agitated, constantly moving and unable to lie still for more than a few seconds before getting up and walking around again. Much of the time, he walked in circles, with one hind paw planted on the floor like a compass needle while the rest of him drew a circle around it. During the previous episode, I had to feed him Ensure with a turkey baster to keep him nourished. This time, he was ravenous, wanting to eat several times a day and eagerly scarfing down favorite kinds of dog food. His newfound appetite delighted me, but there was a problem. Lowering his head to the food dish made him dizzy, and a few times he toppled over. So I would lift the bowl and hold it at a height that was comfortable for him. Sometimes, while he was eating, he would start revolving. When that happened, I would move around with him, keeping the bowl at his mouth so he could eat while he turned.
On a run out to Greenport for more dog food, it occurred to me that I should buy William an elevated feeder so he wouldn't have to lower his head to eat. Bound for ShopRite, I detoured out to PetSmart on a mission to get such a feeder. Once there, I considered but rejected an adjustable feeder with two bowls suspended from a center post. It seemed too unsettling for an already unstable dog to have to eat and drink from bowls that hung in midair. I finally narrowed it down to an arch-shaped feeder of not very appealing design, but it seemed sturdy and less likely to intimidate William. Because it wasn't adjustable, I wanted to be sure the height was right, so I took the feeder off the shelf, set it on the floor, and reached down to test if the bowls were at the same height as when I held a bowl for William. With that gesture, I knew I wasn't buying that feeder or any other.
William has eaten from the same bowls, positioned in the same spot, in the same house for more than fourteen years. It wasn't fair, in his old age, to make him change something so basic in his life. Besides, I realized that the act of holding the bowl for my beloved dog as he ate was precious to me. It was a service I owed to the being who had shown me that I was capable of unconditional love.
I put the feeder back on the shelf and bought instead a bag of William's favorite Blue Buffalo salmon treats. (I'd been in the store so long, I figured I couldn't leave without buying something.)
Now, after a few days and some vet-prescribed Meclizine, William has pretty much recovered from this bout with vestibular disease. He is back to eating unassisted from his bowls on the floor, he isn't walking in circles, only listing a bit, and we don't have an awkward elevated feeder taking up space beside the dinner table.
COPYRIGHT 2014 CAROLE OSTERINK
Today is a national holiday, so snow removal is suspended for the day (and, of course, the trash won't be picked up until tomorrow). DPW superintendent Rob Perry advises that for the next few days, until all the snow is removed, "parking restrictions will be on a street by street basis." On some streets, snow has been removed from both sides, on others snow has been removed from only one side, and some streets have not yet had any snow removal. On any street, if there are signs stuck in the snow, they tell you where not to park.
When, and only when, both sides of a street have been cleared of snow and the signs have been taken away, the street returns to the regular pattern of alternate side of the street overnight parking. That is, when you park for the night before midnight, think of the next day's date. If it is even, park on the side of the street where the house numbers are even. If it is odd, park on the side of the street where the house numbers are odd. If it's after midnight when you park your car for the night, park on the side where the majority of your neighbors have parked their cars.
COPYRIGHT 2014 CAROLE OSTERINK
Revisions to the Schedule of Bulk and Area Regulations for Residential Districts will be the subject of a special meeting of the Common Council Legal Committee on Friday, February 21, at 11 a.m.
The notion that the schedule needed revision arose back in August, when Per Blomquist appeared before the Planning Commission seeking site plan approval for a five-unit building he wanted to construct on the footprint of 248 and 250 Columbia Street. At that meeting, city attorney Cheryl Roberts checked the Schedule of Bulk and Area Regulations and informed the Planning Commission and Blomquist that dwelling units--i.e., apartments--in the R-4 district had to be a minimum of 1,500 square feet. (If Roberts is correct in this interpretation, the minimum size for an apartment size goes up to 2,000 square feet in the R-3 district.)
Although many have disagreed with Roberts' interpretation, attorneys Ken Dow and Joe Catalano among them, maintaining instead that 1,500 square feet per dwelling unit refers to lot size not apartment size, John Friedman, chair of the legal committee accepts Roberts' interpretation, and so reducing the apartment size required by the bulk and area regulations will be the first goal of the work session. Friedman initially suggested that required apartment size should be reduced to 250 square feet but adjusted that to 500 square feet after reading an article about the health risks of small apartments. Gossips believes that the article he read is this one, which appeared in The Atlantic.
Other changes to the bulk and area regulations that Friedman has suggested need to be made have to do with lot coverage. Currently, the percentage of the lot that buildings may occupy is 30 percent in some districts or 35 percent in others. Friedman has proposed increasing the coverage to 70 percent. Curiously, for the past several years, new construction in Hudson has regularly exceeded the permitted lot coverage without apparent penalty or reprimand from code enforcement.
Another shortcoming in the Schedule of Bulk and Area Regulations that Friedman has mentioned is that only districts with an R in their name are included--that is, the residential districts (R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4) and the three districts created by the LWRP (R-G Riverfront Gateway, C-R Core Riverfront, and R-C Recreational Conservation). Not included is the General Commercial Transitional (G-C-T) district, where the Galvan Initiatives Foundation is proposing to develop ten studio apartments in the old orphanage building--apartments that will only be 350 square feet. Also excluded are the RSC Residential Special Commercial, C-C Central Commercial, G-C General Commercial, G-C-T General Commercial Transitional, and I-1 Industrial districts.
The meeting on Friday, which is open to the public, is expected to go on for several hours as members of the Legal Committee (Friedman, Bart Delaney, Dave Marston, Abdus Miah, and Don Moore), along with Roberts and someone said to have expertise in urban planning and zoning, contemplate changes to the zoning requirements that will impact future new construction and the development of the city.
COPYRIGHT 2014 CAROLE OSTERINK
Cold temperatures and snow on the ground make the idea of a cruise to someplace warm and sunny very appealing. It is now and was a hundred years ago, as evidenced by these advertisements, which appeared in the Hudson Evening Register during February 1914.
DPW superintendent Rob Perry reports that, owing to the tremendous amount of snow that has fallen in the past few days, snow removal is taking three times longer than it typically does. With the snow continuing today, equipment and workers have been overwhelmed.
According to the published schedule, cars are supposed to be parked on the even side of the street, from now until noon on Sunday, but in most places, no snow has been removed from the even side, and the "No Parking" signs are still in place. For the time being, it seems, the signs should be relied on to indicate where it's safe to park.
Barbara Reina reports today in the Register-Star that a fourth 20,000-gallon tank of treated toxins began being released into the Valatie Kill on Thursday: "Fourth tank discharging into kill." The toxins, being treated at a new water treatment plant, are from the Dewey Loeffel Toxic Landfill, a Superfund site in Nassau, in Rensselaer County.
The Indoor Farmers' Market may not have happened as scheduled this morning, but we are assured that tonight's events at the Hudson Opera House will happen in spite of the snow--both the accumulated and the fresh.
Appropriately, given this winter's uncharacteristic and persistently brutal cold and snow, The Crossroads Project, the multi-media performance being presented at the Hudson Opera House tonight, fuses art and science to examine the Earth's changing climate. At the center of the project is the Fry Street Quartet performing a commissioned work by Laura Kaminsky, as well as works by Haydn and Janacek.
The music is interwoven with scientific commentary from physicist Dr. Robert Davies exploring human impact on the climate and takes place against a backdrop of imagery from artists Rebecca Allan, Garth Lenz, and Lyman Whitaker. The performance begins at 7 p.m.
Preceding the concert and coinciding with it is the opening reception for an exhibition of Rebecca Allan's paintings, many of which are featured in the The Crossroads Project.
Known for her richly layered and chromatically nuanced abstract paintings, Allan has for many years concentrated on rivers, tributaries, and watershed environments as primary sources of investigation. Speaking of her work and The Crossroads Project, Allan has said, "I think what artists and scientists have in common is that we share a deep curiosity about the world around us."
The opening reception is from 5 to 7 p.m., and wine and warm beverages are promised. Call the Hudson Opera House at 518 822-1438 to check the availability of tickets for the concert.
Gossips has been advised that weather conditions have forced the Indoor Farmers' Market at Christ Church to cancel for tomorrow. Alas, the thing we look forward to as a promise of spring has been driven away by the excessive snow from winter storm Pax. Bummer.
The snow emergency is over. Next comes snow removal.
The process of loading snow into dump trucks and hauling it away takes place in the morning--any time between midnight and noon. Tonight at midnight and until noon tomorrow, cars should be on the odd side of the street. Then from midnight tomorrow until noon on Sunday, cars need to be on the even side of the street. "No Parking" signs are being posted, so if there is a discrepancy between these directives and the signs, follow the signs. The signs, we are told, always take precedence.
A reader who is in a position to know the plans and goals of Columbia Memorial Hospital contacted Gossips to say that the hospital has absolutely no intention of demolishing 834 Warren Street to create a parking lot or for any other purpose.
City Hall is closed today.
The Historic Preservation Commission meeting has been cancelled and will be rescheduled.
Yesterday, on his blog, Seth Rogovoy published his poignant and beautiful remembrance of Maggie Estep: "My Maggie."
The photo of Maggie and her dog, Mickey, is from the Rogovoy Report.
The Historic Preservation Commission has been short a member since August, when Scott Baldinger resigned, and so far, the mayor has not appointed anyone to replace him. By contrast, the mayor let no grass grow under his feet before appointing a new member to the Planning Commission, to replace Gail Grandinetti, whose term ended in December. The newly appointed member of the Planning Commission, Priscilla Moore, was present at Wednesday night's meeting; Planning Commission chair, Don Tillson, was not. Also absent was Galvan attorney Joe Catalano, who it was thought might return to continue his presentation of the plans for the old orphanage at Sixth and State streets and the former car dealership behind it. Apparently the plans are undergoing some tweaking.
What was presented to the commission was a proposal to turn the first floor of 829 Warren Street and the detached garage next to it into retail space. The garage in question is the one with the artful, intriguing, and oft changing installations. The owners of the house and the garage design furniture, and they want to use the garage as a store for themselves and lease the first floor of the house as retail space.
Planning Commission member Cappy Pierro, as is his wont, fretted about parking. Glenn Martin observed that the truck route, which turns off Worth Avenue onto Warren Street just up from the house, made it "double bad." The house and garage are located in the R-5 Residential Transitional Service Facility District, just a few doors up from the Central Commercial District. A use variance will be required to convert the garage and the first floor of the house into retail space.
The property is also located in the Warren Street Historic District, so a certificate of appropriateness is required for the proposed alterations to the facade of house. It was decided that the applicants should go first to the Zoning Board of Appeals to make their case for a use variance.
During the discussion of parking, one of the applicants said, quite matter-of-factly, that the house across the street was to be torn down, and the property used as a parking lot. She was talking about 834 Warren Street, a house which two years ago was being considered as a possible site for a homeless shelter.
The owner of 834 Warren Street, who took the house off the market before the plan to turn it into a homeless shelter could be realized, subsequently donated it to Columbia Memorial Hospital, which has a long history of demolishing houses to create parking. A decade or so ago, a very old house on Columbia Street, which was believed to be where Martin Van Buren once had his law office, and a Arts and Crafts house, also on Columbia Street, with beautifully intact interior woodwork, were both demolished for the sake of parking. Cavell House escaped the same fate only because New York Oncology and Hematology, looking to locate in Hudson, thought it would be a nice to have a cancer treatment facility in a historic house. An advantage 834 Warren Street has over those ill-fated houses is that it is in a locally designated historic district, and demolishing it will require a certificate of appropriateness from the Historic Preservation Commission.
COPYRIGHT 2014 CAROLE OSTERINK
See followup post about 834 Warren Street.
The agenda for tomorrow morning's meeting of the Historic Preservation Commission has been posted on the City of Hudson website. Among the projects listed, to be considered for certificates of appropriateness, are: "364 Warren Street--Facade renovations and 366 Warren Street--Facade revision."
Both addresses are those of the building at the corner of Warren and Fourth streets that until recently housed the offices of the Register-Star and its antecedents and had for 150 years. Now owned by Galvan Initiatives Foundation, it is the location of the alternative learning program known as "The Bridge," which, according to an article that appeared today in the Register-Star, is now up and running: "Bridge program opens."
COPYRIGHT 2014 CAROLE OSTERINK
On Monday, a resolution was introduced in the Common Council, which will come to a vote on Tuesday, February 18. The resolution opposes the proposed expansion of the power lines from New Scotland to Pleasant Valley--power lines that pass through Columbia and Dutchess counties. The text of the resolution reads as follows:
WHEREAS, the City of Hudson ("the City') derives much of its economic vitality from tourism based upon the aesthetics of the Hudson Valley region, the historic integrity of structures located in the City and surrounding communities, and the historic farmland landscape; and
WHEREAS, the New York State Department of State has documented the significance of these attributes and the relationship to the local and regional economy and to the continued growth and vitality of these economies . . . ; and
WHEREAS, the City is concerned that the pending application by New York Transco, NextEra, and North American Transmission for the expansion of 345-kv power lines as part of the NY Energy Highway Plan (herein after "the Project") will cause significant and irreversible damage to the local and regional environment . . . due to decreases in forest cover, wetlands and farmland, reduced agricultural production; damage to and or loss of historic structures, properties and landscapes; adverse effects to public health; and adverse effects to the regional community character thereby negatively impacting tourism and the local and regional economies; and
WHEREAS, the City opposes accessing additional lands for the Project by use of eminent domain; and
WHEREAS, alternatives to the use of acquiring additional lands for power transmission lines through eminent domain exist and it is not clear that addition lands are needed at all; and
WHEREAS, use of the existing right-of-ways, locating new lines underground and using high-composite wires could eliminate or significantly limit the need to secure any new lands or install new electric wire to implement the Project.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the City:
1. Hereby opposes the Project as currently proposed.
2. Urges Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the Honorable Audrey Zibelman, Chairwoman of the NYS Public Service Commission, to insist and ensure that the Project receives the utmost scrutiny and consideration, including a detailed analysis of using existing right-of-ways to lay new power lines; placing power lines underground; using new or emerging technology such as composite wires to reduce or eliminate the need for new electric wire towers; and all reasonable alternatives.
If the resolution passes on Tuesday, it will happen just in time to meet a critical deadline. The Public Service Commission meets on Thursday, February 20. It is expected that it will be an "instructional meeting." Governor Andrew Cuomo has promised "expedited approval" for any plan that stays within the existing rights-of-way. It is believed that on February 20 the PSC will tell the utilities what they need to change in their proposals.
At Monday night's informal Common Council meeting, Ian Solomon, of Farmers and Families for Claverack, explained that the PSC "has set up an entirely new way of reviewing" this project, and the decision they make will be based on public comment. "Testimony and comments," said Solomon, "go directly to the people making the decision." Everyone's involvement is critical. Click here for instructions on how to post a comment on the Public Service Commission website.
COPYRIGHT 2014 CAROLE OSTERINK
Last April, the Common Council voted to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Galvan Initiatives Foundation for the development of a senior center at the armory. The MOU contained this statement: "City shall make a good faith effort to facilitate the transfer of project financing previously allocated for the purpose of developing a Senior Center, including the $400,000 grant from New York State Office of Community Renewal (OCR) and the $100,000 grant from Hudson Community Development Planning Agency (HCDPA)."
Over the next eight months, the City made a "good faith effort," petitioning the Office of Community Renewal to permit the $400,000 grant, originally awarded in 2010, to be applied to the new plan for the senior center. During that time, whenever questions arose about the status of the project, the answer was typically that Galvan was waiting for the financing to be in place.
Finally, in January, the financing was in place. Word came that OCR had approved using the $400,000 for the renovating and repurposing of the Officers' Hall at the armory as a senior center. The Register-Star explained at the time: "To receive reinbursement from the CDBG grant for work done, Galvan will submit invoices to the HCDPA, where they will be evaluated as to 'compliance with CDBG award guidelines and rules, including all state and federal rules and regulations,' and forwarded to the state."
Today, the Register-Star reports that Galvan doesn't want the $400,000 after all: "Galvan rejects $400,000 in state funding for senior center project." The reason given is "the myriad long-term administrative and compliance requirements associate with using government funding in private developments." The article further quotes this comment from the press release: "Galvan's relationship with the Hudson City Council is insufficiently defined to support such an undertaking on an extended basis."
On the topic of "the myriad long-term administrative and compliance requirements," Rick Scalera, mayor for two decades and now special adviser to Galvan, is quoted as saying, "With state funds, there are a ton of regulations you have to follow. With the Armory Building, we could only work on the senior center and would have to hold off on any other development until it was completed. There could be no other construction in building concurrent with the senior center's." One wonders why they couldn't have figured this out sooner.
The article also reports this surprising development: "[T. Eric] Galloway recently stepped down from his role as CEO of Lantern Organization to devote more time and attention to the work of Galvan Foundation. He said his decision was based on the fact that 'Galvan Foundation is in the process of planning and developing numerous 2014 initiatives.' These initiatives include conversion of the armory into the library and senior center, development of a home for the Alternative Learning Program, reassembling 900 Columbia St. and renovation of its Warren Street holdings."
COPYRIGHT 2014 CAROLE OSTERINK
Today, a reader sent me this snapshot taken on Pennoyer Street looking toward South Front Street.
Pennoyer Street was the continuation of Union Street, west of Front Street. The building straight ahead in the picture is the location of Moxie's, Maxie's, and most recently MOD.
COPYRIGHT 2014 CAROLE OSTERINK
Sheena Salvino and the HCDPA board thought they were exercising the wisdom of Solomon when they decided the split the lot at Columbia and Second streets between HUG and Habitat for Humanity, but, apparently forgetting that Solomon didn't cut the baby in two, they made a decision that serves no one very well--least of all the cause of affordable housing in Hudson.
At Monday night's informal Common Council meeting, Alderman David Marston (First Ward) initiated a conversation to get on the record the comments of elected officials about, as he put it, "something as delicate as bulldozing a community garden for the sake of affordable housing." John Mason reports on that conversation in today's Register-Star: "Council, residents critique Habitat deal."
Mason does a competent job of recounting all the comments made by elected officials and city residents, but the message to be taken from the discussion seems to be that the Habitat for Humanity model of building single-family houses is inadequate to address the housing needs in Hudson and is a very uneconomical use of the limited land available.
Back in 2008, the PARC Foundation proposed an extensive redevelopment plan for the Second and Fourth wards. The plan, designed by California architect Teddy Cruz, was inspired by the shantytowns of Tijuana. It gave nightmares to many Hudsonians who hold the city's historic architecture in high regard, but it made extremely economical use of the city's limited open space, proposing a mix of affordable and market rate housing which included some units designed specifically for students and others for senior citizens. The plan involved constructing a multi-unit dwelling on the site of the community garden, but plots dedicated to urban agriculture were incorporated into the design in several locations.
A recurring theme in the conversation on Monday night was the need to take a holistic approach to addressing the issue of affordable housing and to revisit both the 1985 Urban Development Plan and the 2003 Comprehensive Plan. Something else that needs to be revisited, if it is at all possible to do it at this point, is the PARC Foundation plan, a small portion of which is now being carried out in the city.
COPYRIGHT 2014 CAROLE OSTERINK
.jpg)
