More About the Sewer Separation Project

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has a tool on its website called the EAF Mapper, which makes completing an Environmental Assessment Form pretty much an automated process. You enter the location of your project, and the mapper searches the state's database for relevant information and completes the Environmental Assessment Form for you.

Timothy O'Connor used the EAF Mapper recently to generate a Short Environmental Assessment Form using State and North Front streets--the site of the proposed sewer separation project--as the location and shared the results with Gossips.

Curiously, the answers provided by the EAF Mapper to some key questions on the Short Environmental Assessment Form are different from the answers provided by Delaware Engineering on the draft SEAF presented to the Common Council at the Council's informal meeting last Monday.

While Delaware Engineering answered NO to Question 13a (Does any portion of the site of the proposed action, or lands adjoining the proposed action, contain wetlands or other waterbodies regulated by a federal, state or local agency?), Question 15 (Does the site of the proposed action contain any species of animal, or associated habitats, listed the the State or Federal government as threatened or endangered?), and Question 20 (Has the site of the proposed action or an adjoining property been the subject of remediation [ongoing or completed] for hazardous waste?), the EAF Mapper answered YES to all three of those questions.
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Not to Be Missed

Today, Sam Pratt provides a full report of the discussion of CEDC and its discovered conflicts of interest, which took place at yesterday's meeting of the Board of Supervisors Economic Development Committee: "All the gory details from County meeting about CEDC."

Gossips Celebrates Preservation Month 2015 Historic Detail 19

Fewer than two weeks remain in the 2015 Historic Detail Hunt, but that's more than enough time to take up the challenge and join the search. Every day in May, Gossips is publishing the picture of an architectural detail found on a building in Hudson. Locate the details, submit your answers to Gossips at the end of the month, and you could be a winner. Here is the detail for today.

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Don't Forget to Vote Today

School district elections take place today, May 19. The polls are open from noon until 9 p.m. The polling place for everyone in Hudson is John L. Edwards Primary School, 360 State Street. Check here to learn the polling sites for voters elsewhere in the Hudson City School District. 

HCSD voters are asked to approve or reject the proposed $45,477,121 budget, which Peter Rice, president of the Board of Education, celebrates as representing "the lowest tax levy increase our district has had," but in fact, at 1.75 percent, is the maximum allowed by the state tax cap. Voters will also vote for two candidates who are "vying" for two vacant seats on the Board of Education: William J. Kappel and Sage Carter.

You can learn about the two candidates here and here.
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You Can't Get There from Here

Last October, the mayor ordered the roadway approaching Ferry Street bridge be closed, and it has remained so ever since. Now the New York State Department of Transportation has ordered that the bridge be closed--just in time for all the parades and summer events that make use of the waterfront. John Mason has the story in today's Register-Star: "State closes Ferry Street Bridge."
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Fleshing Out the Story

In today's Register-Star, Arthur Cusano reports on the incidents that took place in the vicinity of Warren and Second streets over the weekend: "Man arrested after shots fired on Warren Street." HPD chief Ed Moore is quoted in the article as saying, "This is in keeping with the factual report I presented back on October 27. Despite Mrs. Walthour's efforts, the area around the Savoia is a lightning rod for criminal behavior. Especially after 2 a.m. The facts are the facts." 

Mrs. Walthour places the blame elsewhere. She is reported to have told the New York State Liquor Authority, during a compliance hearing that took place earlier this month, "The only time we ever had problems or complaints is when the New York City people moved here and they're trying to change it. We are the only black establishment in Columbia and Greene counties and we do run a decent establishment. The fights that occur are not in the premises but across the street or around the corner. We have one neighbor that constantly calls, she is like five doors away, she brings chicken bones and says, 'these come from you.' These are the kind of people we're having to deal with."

Who Got the Money This Year?

On Monday night, the Common Council Arts, Entertainment & Tourism Committee divvied up $20,000 among twelve events that take place in Hudson. In the past, the $20,000 had been made up of $15,000 that was written into the city budget and $5,000 provided by the Hudson Development Corporation (HDC). This year, HDC did not contribute $5,000, so, at the mayor's request, $5,000 was taken from the general fund to make a total of $20,000.

Last year, thirteen events received funding from the City of Hudson. This year, three were missing from the pack of grant seekers--the Hudson Music Festival, Taste of Hudson, and the New Year's Eve Ball Drop--and two new ones were added--the Hudson Halloween Parade and the Lincoln Funeral Train commemoration.

A few years ago, the AET Committee developed a scoring system to help them evaluate events seeking funding. Events were scored from 1 to 5 on Local Purpose, Economic Impact, Other Funding, and Size of Audience. That system wasn't used this year. Instead, the committee seemed to make its decisions based primarily on what had been awarded in the previous year. Here is the list in alphabetical order:

• ArtsWalk requested $1,350 and will receive $1,000 (total budget: $4,900)
• Bangladeshi Festival requested $2,000 and will receive $1,700 (total budget: $6,000)
• Black Arts requested $3,000 and will receive $3,300 (total budget: $9,630)
• Chili, Cheese & Cider Fest (formerly the Chili Fest) did not request a specific amount; will receive $400 (total budget: $13,450)
• Community Block Party (presented by Promise Neighborhood) requested $1,000 and will receive $1,000 (total budget: $6,000)
• Flag Day Parade did not request a specific amount; will receive $3,300 (total budget: $45,000)
• Hudson Halloween Parade did not request a specific amount; will receive $500 (total budget: $1,640)
• Hudson River Exchange did not request a specific amount; will receive $1,100 (total budget: $12,300)
• Hudson Pride Weekend did not request a specific amount; will receive $3,400 (total budget: $40,000)
• Lincoln Funeral Train received $500
• Summer Cirkus (presented by the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus) requested $800 and will receive $500 (total budget: $6,500)
• Winter Walk requested $2,500 and will receive $3,300 (total budget: $52,182)

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Not to Be Missed

In the aftermath of an investigation by the New York State Budget Authorities Office into the operations of the Columbia County Economic Development Corporation (CEDC) which found serious problems with conflict of interest, tonight, at the Board of Supervisors Economic Development Committee meeting, Supervisor Art Baer (Hillsdale) called for the resignations of three members of CEDC: David Crawford, Bill Better, and Robert Sherwood. Sam Pratt reports the development on his blog: "Baer calls for resignations of Crawford, Better, Sherwood."

Gossips Celebrates Preservation Month 2015 Historic Detail 18

The month is more than half over, but there's still time to join the Historic Detail Hunt. Each day in May, Gossips publishes the picture of an architectural detail found somewhere in Hudson. Locate the detail, record the address of the building on which it is found, and submit your answers at the end of the month. In addition to the awe and admiration of your fellow Gossips readers, there will be prizes for those who locate all the details. Here is the detail for today.

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Another Unsettling Night Below Third

In the wee hours of Sunday morning, shots were fired in front of the Savoia, in the 200 block of Warren Street. In the wee hours of Monday morning, someone threw a brick through the window at Verdigris Tea & Chocolate Bar, nearby at the corner of Warren and Second streets.

By 9 o'clock this morning, when Gossips visited the site, the work of cleaning up and replacing the glass had already begun.

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Voting: Our Right and Privilege

It's amazing when you consider what people in the past endured to win the right to vote that so many people today don't bother to exercise their right.

Susan B. Anthony being beaten and arrested for trying to vote in 1872

John Lewis being beaten by state troopers during the civil rights voting march in Selma, Alabama, on March 7, 1965 (Photo: Associated Press)

With this in mind, as part of its campaign to register more voters in Hudson, Hudson Forward is partnering with the Staley B. Keith Social Justice Center to present a free screening of the film Selma. The event takes place on Wednesday, May 20, at 5:30 p.m., in the Bliss Towers Community Room. Pizza and soda will be provided. Children under 15 must be accompanied by an adult.

Gossips Celebrates Preservation Month 2015 Historic Detail 17

The Historic Detail Hunt continues. Every day during the month of May, Gossips publishes an architectural detail found on a building in Hudson. To join the hunt, identify the buildings on which the details are located and submit your answers to Gossips at the end of the month. Here is the detail for today.

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When It Was New

While the Greenport School is getting embedded into an apartment complex to be known as "The Falls," it is an appropriate time to consider the former school building's past.

The building is not as old as one might think. It was completed in 1931. In the early summer of that year, when the school brand-new, it was the scene of an event that was front page news in the Chatham Courier: the first annual countywide 4-H rally.

  
What may have been most remarkable about this event, which took place on Saturday, June 6, 1931, is that it started at the Columbia County courthouse in Hudson, and the kids from all the 4-H clubs in the county marched from the courthouse to the Greenport School. It makes one curious to know what route they took.
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The Sound of Gunshots in the Night

Last night, at around 2 a.m., someone posted the news on Facebook that shots had been fired in front of the Savoia, in the 200 block of Warren Street. At 8:15 a.m., while on my morning walk with Joey, I encountered three Hudson police officers, searching the area across the street from the Savoia. They confirmed that two shots had been fired in the early morning and assured me that they had the gun and the person who had fired it. At the time I encountered them, the officers were searching the area for shell casings. That done, they interviewed people in the neighboring houses. 

The incident brings to mind the controversy last fall over the suggestion that all bars in Hudson be required to close at 2 a.m. The discussion was sparked by a shooting that took place in the wee hours of the morning at First and Warren streets. The victim of that shooting was alleged to have been drinking at the Savoia.
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Gossips Celebrates Preservation Month 2015 Historic Detail 16

Rain is expected today, but there may still be time for scouting out details. To assist in your search, there is a new Weekend Walking List, which you can download and take with you. All the details presented so far are on the walking list, including the detail for today.

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Gossips Celebrates Preservation Month 2015 Historic Detail 15

Midway through the month of May, the Historic Detail Hunt continues. If you haven't been doing the hunt for the past two weeks, there is still plenty of time to catch up. Tomorrow morning, Gossips will publish a walking list with all the details up to that point. Meanwhile, here is the detail for today.

  
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More About New York's Position on Fracking

Today, on WAMC's Midday Magazine, the Innovation Trail explores the possible impacts of New York's decision about fracking: "New York's fracking decision will be hard to replicate or overturn."

Change May Be Coming . . . But Glacially

Ever since the amendments to the weighted vote, based on the 2010 census, were adopted, the growing inequity of Hudson's weighted vote system has been a topic of discussion on Gossips and elsewhere. Correcting the inequity has now been taken up by the very body whose votes are weighted and the only body that can amend the situation: the Common Council.

The topic of the weighted vote is now a regular item on the agenda of the Common Council Legal Committee, but given the course of action now being contemplated, the transition from a weighted vote system to an equal population system would not be effected for another year and a half and would possibly not be implemented until January 2018.

At the April meeting of the Legal Committee, Alderman John Friedman (Third Ward), who chairs the committee, presented a memorandum proposing a "Framework for a Resolution to Transition to Constitutional Voting in the Hudson City Council." He made reference to that memorandum at last night's Legal Committee meeting, but he had no copy of the document with him nor did any of the other members of the committee, and Alderman Rick Rector, who has joined the Council and Legal Committee since the committee's April meeting, had never seen it.    

The memorandum proposed, among other things, the creation of a "Redistricting Commission" to be tasked with dividing the city up into five equipopulous districts. The memo gives suggestions for how the members of the commission would be chosen.

• The chair would be nominated by the mayor on the advice and consent of two-thirds of the Council.
• Of the remaining twelve members of the commission (two from each of the current six election districts), two would be named by the mayor, two would be named by the Council president, and the rest would be nominated by the mayor on the advice and consent of two-thirds of the Council. 
• The two members representing each election district cannot be of the same party nor can they both be NOPs (No Official Party).

The somewhat convoluted procedure for appointing members of the Redistricting Commission is meant to ensure that the commission is apolitical and nonpartisan, but, as Supervisor Sarah Sterling (First Ward) pointed out at the April Legal Committee meeting that, in a city made up predominantly of Democrats, the requirement that the two people representing each election district be of different parties artificially inflates the influence of parties that are in the minority in the city.

Last night the Legal Committee contemplated a multistep, multiyear course of action to achieve the goal of equitable representation in the Common Council. 

1. The Common Council passes a resolution to get a referendum on the ballot for November 2015 in which residents vote on creating a Redistricting Commission.
2. The commission is formed and is given a year to come up with a plan for redistricting that results in five districts of equal population.
3. There is another referendum in November 2016 in which residents vote on accepting the proposed redistricting.

If the proposed redistricting scheme created by the Redistricting Commission is approved by referendum in November 2016, the redistricting might not take effect until January 2018, because only then could there be elected officials representing the new districts who had actually been elected by the voters of the new districts.

There have already been two exercises in dividing up the city into equal population districts. The first was done in 2003 by Bonnie Colwell and Tracy Delaney in the city clerk's office. The plan divided the city into six districts using the population data from the 2000 census.

The second was created recently by Stephen Dunn, Second Ward resident, attorney, and statistics aficionado. Dunn's scheme divides the city into five districts using the population data from the 2010 census.

There is a fair amount of similarity between the two schemes, because both take the current ward boundaries as a starting point and both demonstrate the principle that to achieve equal population districts, areas with greater population density must shrink geographically and areas with lower population density need to expand geographically. One wonders how much different a plan devised by thirteen people working for a year could possibly be.

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This Weekend on the River

On May 16 and 17, the New York Rivers 2015 Boating Festival is happening right here in Hudson at Henry Hudson Riverfront Park.

The free event, presented by the Mohawk Hudson Council of Yacht Clubs, promises to be "a one of a kind event for all in the region with the focus on rediscovering boating and recreation on the Hudson River." The Hudson Sloop Club will be at the festival both on Saturday and on Sunday, offering rides on one of their sailboats, fishing on the shore, and working on finishing a wooden boat they built. The Hudson River Historic Boat Restoration & Sailing Society will be there on Saturday, providing demonstrations and information about the ongoing restoration of the historic Hudson River sloop Eleanor. Hudson Cruises will be offering sightseeing cruises, leaving from the city dock at 1 p.m. each day, and special ferry service across the river to Athens from noon to 6 p.m. 

Representatives of the twenty yacht clubs, from Schenectady to Poughkeepsie, that make up the Mohawk Hudson Council will be on hand to "introduce the public to the opportunities and benefits of joining a boat club." If you don't have the basic prerequisite for membership--a boat--boat dealers will be there with new boats for sale, along with council members' pre-owned boats. Even if you don't have a boat and don't want to buy a boat, the festival promises many interesting demonstrations and activities. Check them out at the festival website. 

The festival runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, May 16, and Sunday, May 17.
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Gossips Celebrations Preservation Month 2015 Historic Detail 14

During the month of May, Gossips encourages readers to get out, enjoy the beauty of our city, and participate in Gossips' third annual Historic Detail Hunt. Every day in May, Gossips publishes the picture of an architectural detail found on a building in Hudson. Find the detail, record the address, and submit your answers to Gossips at the end of the month. Here is the detail for today.

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