Promenade Hill in 1851

Today, the City is struggling to find the money to make Promenade Hill universally accessible. In 1851, there were different concerns. 

The following item was discovered in the Hudson Daily Star for June 6, 1851. It should be noted that in 1851, the stretch of the Hudson River Railroad from Hudson to Albany was under construction.

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Preserving Community Character

In 1994, James Howard Kunstler published The Geography of Nowhere: The Rise and Decline of America's Man-Made Landscape. In the book, Kunstler traced America's evolution from a nation of Main Streets and coherent communities to a land where every place is like no place in particular.

In the twenty years since Kunstler's book came out, although the creation of "nowheres" continues unabated, an appreciation of traditional main streets has developed. Last Thursday night, the Common Council Economic Development Committee initiated a conversation about legislation to ban chain or "formula" stores from Hudson. Such bans are a growing trend among cities that pride themselves in their historic architecture and their unique character.

Several things are motivating this initiative. There is an interest in protecting the historic architecture of Hudson from the detracting impact of the cookie-cutter design of chain stores. There is also concern about protecting the unique and organic quality of Hudson, which has made it a destination. The action is also motivated by the desire to protect local businesses and the local economy. Committee member John Friedman (Third Ward) made the point that money spent at a chain store leaves the community, whereas money spent at a locally owned business stays in the community. Another motivation is the desire to curb the rise of rents on commercial spaces. Friedman suggested that knowing they could not rent to Starbucks or Pottery Barn would have the effect of limiting the expectations of building owners.

Audience member Steve Dunn insisted there needed to be a "carve out" for a supermarket. Friedman suggested that an exception might be made for "businesses that are underrepresented or have a low profit margin," noting that the profit margin for supermarkets is 2 percent. The discussion of supermarkets led to a suggestion by Friedman that it might be possible to create "a food oasis within a food desert" by working out a way to distribute food from supermarkets in the city. One possibility he offered was convincing ShopRite, which has a home delivery service, to make multiple deliveries at one time to a centralized place in Hudson, without requiring minimum orders and presumably with no or reduced delivery charges. 

Friedman, who has declared on several occasions that 2017 will be his last year on the Council, said he was willing to take on the task of drafting the legislation and "do all the work," with the goal of getting the legislation adopted in the next year. He told his colleagues on the Economic Development Committee, "The identity of Hudson is worth preserving," noting that "the strength of Hudson is its organic quality."
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A Reason to Go to the Bronx

If you go to the New York Botanical Garden to see the Holiday Train Show, you will see model trains zipping along on a half-mile track through a display of 150 landmarks re-created with bark, leaves, and other natural materials. Those landmarks include such things as the Brooklyn Bridge, the Statue of Liberty, Rockefeller Center, the architecture and attractions of Coney Island, and something dear to our hearts here in Hudson--Olana!

Photo: Peter Scala

Click here for more information and to make a reservation.
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How Many Trucks?

On Thursday, December 8, the Planning Board received an inch-thick document from Patrick Prendergast, the engineer for A. Colarusso & Sons, which was supposed to answer the many questions about the proposed haul road raised by Ray Jurkowski, the engineer retained by the Planning Board. The document is made up of years of completed forms, applications, and correspondence with various regulatory agencies, but it fails to provide a straightforward answer to the question on many people's minds: How many trucks will travel on the haul road from the quarry to the dock every day?

A call to action posted on Imby by Julie Metz warns that the haul road signals a "major expansion of the gravel operation that would add traffic and pollution to the waterfront area," but there is no way of knowing if this dire prediction is true, or if, as J. R. Heffner has stated, Colarusso is pursuing the haul road simply to shorten the route from the quarry to the dock and to get trucks off our city streets. The Project Narrative in the inch-thick document states: "For each barge to be loaded approximately 100 truck loads of stone would make the trip. This would normally occur over three to four days." Later on in the document, a traffic study prepared by Creighton Manning cites some significantly higher numbers: "The project is estimated to generate an average of four truck trips during a typical hour that will cross both US Route 9 and NY Route 9G. During worst-case conditions, a maximum of 24 trucks trips will cross both US Route 9 and NY Route 9G during a one hour period."

You can peruse the document yourself and see if you can find a definitive answer about the anticipated industrial traffic to the waterfront. It is now available on the City website, and you can access it by clicking here.
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Cold Now, Snow Tomorrow

Sad news for everyone who feels it isn't Christmas until you've raised your voice to sing the "Hallelujah Chorus" in a group accompanied by an ensemble of musicians. The Messiah Sing, which was to happen tomorrow afternoon, has been canceled. Here's the word from Classics on Hudson, as shared by the Hudson Opera House.

Friends of the Messiah Sing: All events (especially the weather event) conspire against us. With the forecast for substantial snow and sleet widespread in Columbia County and the surrounding counties, we must cancel the Sing. This is a great disappointment to us. Equally unfortunately, it will not be possible to find an alternative date in the next weeks with the holidays hard upon us. If that should change, we shall certainly let you know. A bright note. Gwen Gould suggests that we could have a Sing during the Easter season. A terrific idea, so look for that.

What Would You Have Done?

Something truly bizarre happened this morning on City Hall Place, involving the Hudson Police Department and the Greenport Rescue Squad. Click here for the story. 

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News from County Government

The Register-Star reports on two actions taken recently by the Columbia County Board of Supervisors. In the first, the board voted against a resolution authorizing a public hearing on a proposal to allow "common, safe items to be excluded from the dangerous fireworks definition: "Fireworks measure defeated in supervisor's vote." The outcome is that the sale and purchase of fireworks will continue to be prohibited in Columbia County.

In  the second, the Board of Supervisors approved issuing a request for proposals "for design/engineering and other needed services for determining the location and design of a trail at the North Bay Recreation Area": "North Bay project takes step forward." The trail in Hudson would connect with the trail system at the Greenport Conservation Area and trails leading to Harrier Hill in Stockport.
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Sanford Gifford's Patron N. C. Folger: Part 4

Today, we conclude our story of Nathan C. Folger, the man who commissioned two early paintings by Sanford R. Gifford which were displayed at W. W. Hannah's jewelry store in June 1851 before being delivered to Folger in New Orleans.

In our last post about Folger, we revealed that the manufactory he had established here in Hudson, in partnership with James Clark, to supply his retail clothing establishment in New Orleans had been shut down by a federal marshal and all the merchandise seized. That occurred in September 1861, during the first year of the Civil War. The news item that reported this alleged that they were supplying clothing to the rebels and that Folger was a colonel in a Louisiana regiment.

In  antebellum New Orleans, Folger was clearly a man of means. He owned "one of the largest clothing establishments in the South," and, in 1854, his newly constructed house was praised in a New Orleans newspaper as "a princely mansion [that] far excels any edifice in our city."

Census records provide more information about his life. In 1860, when Folger was 50 years old, he and his wife, Madeline, who was nine years younger than he, had ten children--the oldest was 24, and the youngest 2. The household also included three female servants, all born in Ireland. The census records for 1860 assess the value of his home at $75,000. The "Slave Schedules" that accompany the federal census for 1850 indicate that at that time Folger owned seven slaves--four females and three males.

Folger's clothing business closed in 1862, the same year the Union took possession of New Orleans. It is not known how Folger spent the years during the Civil War. Records indicate that his second son and namesake, Nathan C., Jr., enlisted as a private in the Louisiana Fenner's Light Artillery Battery and fought for the Confederacy.  

After the war, Folger returned to the clothing business. The New Orleans city directory for 1870 shows him in partnership with Robert Pitkin, selling "ready made clothing, and gents' and youths' furnishing goods." No mention is now made of "Plantation Goods, " which seemed to be the source of much of his success before the war.

  
Nathan C. Folger died at his home on August 18, 1878. Probate records indicate that at the time of his death, his estate "was encumbered with many debts and liabilities." His obituary, which appeared in the Times-Picayune the following day, provides the information that, at the time of his death in 1878 he was no longer in the retail clothing business. Instead, he had become a tax collector.

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A Sure Way to Get in the Christmas Spirit

The annual Messiah Sing is happening this Saturday, December 17.

Because the First Presbyterian Church, the traditional setting for the Messiah Sing, has roof issues, this holiday event presented by Classics on Hudson in collaboration with the Hudson Opera House, will take place this year at Christ Church Episcopal at Union and East Court streets. As in the past, Gwen Gould will conduct an instrumental ensemble and vocal soloists from the Bard Conservatory and Graduate Vocal Arts Program and a chorus made up of audience. 

The Messiah Sing begins at 4 p.m. Scores will be provided, or you can bring your own. The suggested donation is $15. Click here for more information.
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Water, Hudson, and Colarruso: Some History

At the beginning of the 1960s, the Northeast experienced a five-year drought that jeopardized the water supply to New York City and inspired an attempt at cloud-seeding to induce rain. On July 27, 1964, three years into the drought and the same summer that cloud-seeding was attempted, Mayor Sam Wheeler convened a special meeting of the Common Council to address what he called Hudson's "naked water problem." What Wheeler told the Council on that occasion suggests that more than just the drought was contributing to the water crisis in Hudson in 1964. The following is quoted from Common Council minutes:

While our differences have been many, our agreement is complete in that the health and welfare of our citizens are our prime concern. . . . We cannot, in good conscience, continue the present conditions and expect an already long-suffering citizenry to endure still more. . . . 

My spirit of personal compromise is based on my fervent desire to release our citizens from the almost annual binds of water bans and the resultant personal discomfort, loss of income, damage to motor vehicles, and loss of flowers, shrubs, lawns and young trees.

Wheeler made four recommendations to the Council, the first of which was: "Securing an additional and plentiful supply of water for the future."

Five years later--and three years after the final year of the drought--the City did secure "an additional and plentiful supply of water for the future" when it acquired the 354-acre Lone Star quarry after Lone Star Cement ceased operations at its plant in Greenport (now the location of ADM). Speaking of the acquisition in October 1969, Wheeler told the Council: "It is believed that the purchase of the Lone Star Quarry, with its enormous water supply and great land usage potential, will prove to be the wisest venture the City of Hudson has ever undertaken." Fast-forward to 2002.

In June 18, 2002, the Common Council authorized the issuance of bonds, not to exceed $7.8 million, to finance the construction of a new water treatment plant on Mt. Ray, at the top of Rossman Avenue. Two months later, the Common Council was discussing how the City would pay off those bonds: a lease agreement with A. Colarusso & Sons, worked out by Mayor Rick Scalera, for all but 14.5 acres (those being the actual site of the water source) of the former Lone Star quarry. Colarusso would pay the City of Hudson $200,000 every year for thirty years, then $100,000 a year for another ten years, for the right to mine the quarry, and at the end of the forty years, they would own the property.

There was considerable objection to the deal at the time. In discussion of the lease agreement, recorded in the minutes of the Common Council for August 20, 2002, citizens voiced their concerns. Jack Harrell called the deal "a huge disservice to the citizens of this town." He asserted that the land could become a huge income producer for the City of Hudson and noted that the 354-acre parcel had not been addressed in the City's Comprehensive Plan, which had been adopted earlier that year, in April 2002. He suggested that a feasibility study be done to determine the possible uses for the land and told the Council that, in 1969, when the quarry was purchased, a professional planner had identified nineteen possible uses of the land, none of which had been explored by the City.

John Flynn, the former city engineer for Hudson who had negotiated the purchase of the quarry, questioned why the City was spending close to $10 million to clean up the water coming from the Churchtown Reservoir instead of utilizing the water from the quarry site as its primary water source. "That is what we bought it for," he told the Council.

Mary Hack asked why there were no competitive bids for leasing the land, suggesting that "by failing to offer [the land] to the public, you don't even make the pretense of avoiding the appearance of impropriety." Ned DePew called the land "an extremely valuable asset" and pointed out that the lease agreement was actually a sale agreement. He told the Council, "It is incumbent on this body to go the extra mile, the extra five miles, the extra ten miles, to exhaust the research for alternatives."

No further research was undertaken, and no alternatives were explored, One month later, at a special meeting on September 20, 2002, the Council passed a resolution authorizing the mayor to enter into a lease agreement with A. Colarusso & Sons. The only alderman who did not support the lease agreement was Rob O'Brien, who represented the First Ward.

In 1969, Wheeler predicted the acquisition of the quarry would "prove to be the wisest venture the City of Hudson has ever undertaken." After deacccessioning the quarry, no one had anything eloquent to say about the significance of that action for the future--at least nothing that ended up being quoted in the minutes of the Common Council. Two years later, however, at a special meeting to present the proposed budget for 2006, Mayor Scalera said this: 

Our brand new water treatment plant costing 10 million dollars (2 million was granted to us) leaving an eight million dollar debt to the taxpayers. This debt service is over $250,000 a year but we are extremely fortunate to have $200,000 in revenue coming in each year from the Colarusso Quarry Agreement. However, to make up the difference along with an increase in operating costs we are forced to raise water rates by $2.00 per quarter from $41.00 to $43.00.

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See It for Yourself

It's only marginally more exciting than watching paint dry, but for those with an interest, Dan Udell's video of last night's informal Common Council meeting can now be viewed here.

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New Management for Bliss Towers

The Register-Star reported today that Jeffrey First, executive director of the Hudson Housing Authority, which oversees the public housing project Bliss Towers, intends to retire before the end of the month: "Bliss seeks director as First retires."

First, who also serves as property manager for Bliss Towers (the high-rise) and for the adjacent low-rise building, was the focus of criticism in the summer of 2014 for the maintenance and management of the high-rise building. In May 2014, a elevator stalled between floors, trapping nine people inside. That and other complaints from tenants led State Assemblymember Didi Barrett and Council president Don Moore to petition senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand to call on the Department of Housing and Urban Development to conduct an inspection of Bliss Towers. More recently, in September 2016, First locked horns with those wanting to establish a computer lab at Bliss Towers, declaring that it was not a priority, and in November 2016, it was reported that two tenants of the low-rise had turned their apartment into a "makeshift studio" for producing child pornography. 

First's successor will be hired by the HHA Board of Commissioners, which is currently made up of Tracy Brown, Vern Cross, Barbara Hall, Kristal Heinz, Martin Martinez, Charlie Suisman, and Alan Weaver. Five of the seven members of the board are mayoral appointees; two are elected by residents of Bliss Towers.
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Tonight at City Hall

The informal Common Council meeting was gaveled to order tonight by Council president Claudia DeStefano promptly at 7 p.m., and fifteen minutes later, with another rap of the gavel, it was adjourned. In that time, with three members of the Council missing--John Friedman (Third Ward), Alexis Keith (Fourth Ward), and Priscilla Moore (Fifth Ward)--no fewer than fourteen resolutions were presented. Only two of those resolutions provoked any discussion, and both of them had to do with additional funding for the universal access ramp at Promenade Hill.

The first of these resolutions authorized that $80,000 of the $100,000 set aside in the 2017 budget "for legal defense of an anticipated legal challenge to the City's weighted voting and ward system" be redirected toward "the construction of the Promenade Hill Park ramp." The second resolution authorized that the entire $100,000 be redirected to the ramp. 

In the discussion that ensued, it became clear that the $80,000 resolution was the initiative of Alderman Abdus Miah (Second Ward) and the $100,000 resolution was the initiative of Alderman Tiffany Garriga (Second Ward). Garriga called the ramp "an important project that needs to be completed" and explained that the point of the resolution was "to earmark the money to assure that the project will go forward." Garriga told her fellow aldermen that if the mayor's efforts to secure additional grant money for the ramp and to reduce the cost of its construction are successful, what was not needed of the $100,000 would go back into the general fund. 

Alderman Rick Rector (First Ward) asked Garriga how much of the total cost of the ramp, which is estimated to be $155,000, had already been set aside. Garriga said it was $50,000; Gossips' information is that it is $60,000. 

When DeStefano asked for an introduction and a second for the $80,000 resolution, Miah introduced, but no one seconded. When an introduction and second were requested for the $100,000 resolution, Garriga introduced, and Alderman Robert "Doc" Donahue (Fifth Ward) seconded.
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News from Friday's HPC Meeting

The Historic Preservation Commission held a marathon meeting on Friday, which began with a public hearing and lasted more than three hours. The public hearing was about the application for a certificate of appropriateness to demolish 718-720 Union Street. Oddly, although there was much discussion of the proposed demolition during what was supposed to be a public hearing, there were no actual comments from the public, either in support of or in opposition to the proposal. Kristal Heinz, attorney for the applicant, offered the only thing that came close to a public comment when she told the HPC that Henry Haddad, who owns a building adjacent to this one, was eager to see the building demolished.

Rick Rector, HPC chair, opened the public hearing by making a statement intended to clarify that the requirements set forth in Paragraph 169-8 B of the city code--that demolition be permitted only after new plans for the site have been submitted and approved by the HPC, including a timetable and guarantees, and that new construction on the lot begin within six months of the demolition--applied only in the situation of a hardship application for demolition. He went on to say, "Demolition is the most serious thing we consider."

Craig Haigh, Hudson code enforcement officer, told the HPC that he and Ray Jurkowski, the engineer retained by the City, had inspected the property and found that it did not present any life-threatening issues for the public, but there were code compliance issues that rendered the building uninhabitable. Haigh also estimated that restoration of the building would require that 80 percent of it be destroyed and rebuilt. He said he would hold off making a decision about the building until Jurkowski's final report had been received (the code enforcement officer can order a building demolished for public safety reasons without a certificate of appropriateness from the HPC) but stated of the building, "It's in bad, bad shape."

When the public hearing was closed and the regular meeting began, a decision on 718-720 Union Street was postponed to the end. The first new application to be considered was the ramp at Promenade Hill, presented by Mayor Tiffany Martin Hamilton. The ramp is a city project and hence does not require certificate of appropriateness from the HPC, but it is required to go before the HPC for a recommendation.

Hamilton explained that the material chosen for the retaining wall would be block meant to replicate the historic stone retaining walls rather than the red brick walls that are a part of the 1970s redesign of the park entrance. This choice was made because the ramp is meant to be permanent, and in all public discussions about a redesign of the entrance to Promenade Hill there has been agreement that the red brick walls should be eliminated.

Kate Johns, architect member of the HPC, asked if poured concrete retaining walls with a veneer of natural limestone had been considered but admitted that would be more costly than the block being proposed. The estimated cost of the ramp already far exceeds the funds that have been allocated for it. When Rector called for a vote, the HPC voted unanimously to approve the plans for the proposed ramp and grant a certificate of appropriateness.

The proposal for changes to the facade of 306-308 Warren Street came back before the HPC. At its previous meeting, the HPC had asked the applicants to reconsider their plans for eliminating the original double front doors, replacing the brownstone stoop with a new limestone stoop, replacing the railings, putting a limestone veneer on the foundation, and replacing all the original wood windows. There was also concern about the awning to be installed over the entrance.

On  Friday, the applicants told the HPC they had complied with all but one of their requests: the original exterior doors would remain; the brownstone stoop would be repaired; the iron railing would be restored; the foundation would be parged to look like brownstone; but, for considerations of "cooling and acoustics," the original wood windows would be replaced with new wood windows that replicated the originals. HPC member Miranda Barry, who had been most concerned about the awning obscuring the door surround, conceded, "Restoring the door is such a step in the right direction that the awning becomes less important."

The HPC voted unanimously to grant the project a certificate of appropriateness.

Another application of interest that came before the HPC on Friday was the proposal to alter the facade and construct two additions to the house at 21 Rossman Avenue.

The house, which was built in 1924 for William Wortman, a former Hudson mayor (1915-1916 and 1938-1939), was designed by prolific Hudson architect Michael O'Connor, who designed the original Firemen's Home, the Allen Street School, the Sixth Street School, the Brousseau Building at 202-204 Warren Street, and numerous private homes, including 39 West Court Street, 8 Willard Place, and 339 Allen Street. O'Connor's design for the house is Dutch Colonial Revival. The architect who has designed the proposed alterations to the house described the design as "an eclectic collection of different revival styles" and said the changes proposed were meant to "tone that down a little bit."

The proposed alterations involve eliminating the original entrance to the house and building a new entrance with a courtyard on the east side of the house, extending the existing porch on the west side of the house, and adding "two glass boxes" at the back of the house.

Johns was the first to object to the removal of the front door. John Schobel expressed the opinion that "the changes to the original building were more troubling than the proposed additions to the building." David Voorhees concurred. Barry also said she wanted to keep the door, but added, remarkably, "because it is revival it doesn't count as much. If it were a real Dutch door, we would care more."
   
HPC vice chair Phil Forman made a motion to waive a public hearing and move forward on deciding whether or not to grant a certificate of appropriateness. No one seconded the motion. It was then agreed that a public hearing on the proposed alteration to 21 Rossman Avenue would be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, December 23.

The proposal to create a hotel at 214-216 Warren Street, until recently the location of the Savoia, was one of the projects that was supposed to have a Planning Board public hearing on Thursday but didn't because there was no quorum. On Friday, the HPC reviewed the project and proceeded to waive a public hearing, conducted by the HPC, and grant the project a certificate of appropriateness.

After considering two more applications--one for window replacement at 608 Warren Street and another for the installation of windows and a French door at 226 Allen Street--the HPC returned to the matter of demolishing 718-720 Union Street. It seemed clear that some members of the HPC wanted code enforcement to take the decision off their plate by ordering the building demolished for public safety reasons. Rector suggested that they might postpone making a decision until the engineer's report was received. 

Barry posited that, in focusing on the condition of the building, they were discussing the wrong issues. What they should be considering is "whether or not the building itself is significant enough to defend." But she continued, "Our law gives us no criteria [for making a decision about demolition, so we cannot rule on it."

In the end, when a roll call vote was taken on whether to grant or deny a certificate of appropriateness to demolish the building, every member of the HPC voted to deny except Schobel, who abstained.
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Support the Eleanor . . .

and get a chance to stay at the Saugerties Lighthouse.

Between now and the first day of spring, a $25 contribution to the restoration of the Hudson racing sloop Eleanor gets you a chance to win a $250 gift certificate for a stay at the Saugerties Lighthouse. A contribution of $100 gets you five chances to win. 

On March 21, 2017, the Historic River Historic Boat Restoration & Sailing Society will hold a gathering at Wunderbar Bistro, 733 Warren Street, where attendees can witness the drawing, toast the lucky winner, and welcome spring. 

Click here for more information and to make a contribution that could win you a stay at the Saugerties Lighthouse.
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Three Hearings and No Quorum

There were three public hearings scheduled by the Planning Commission to take place on Thursday. The one for 209-213 Columbia Street (the proposed new location for Promise Neighborhoods) was cancelled because the applicant had withdrawn the proposal. The other two hearings were cancelled because, although more than thirty members of the public showed up for the meeting, only two of the seven members of the Planning Board did--the chair, Tom DePietro, and Laura Margolis. With only two members present, there was no quorum.

Of interest is the fact that the terms of three members of the Planning Board--Cleveland Samuels, Glenn Martin, and Gene Shetsky--expire at the end of this month, and DePietro intimated that all three are to be replaced with new members.

Although no public hearings took place, it turned out that, except for the two applicants those public hearings were cancelled, the rest of the people had come to City Hall for what actually did take place: an open discussion of the proposed Colarusso haul road from Newman Road in Greenport to the Hudson waterfront.

Google Earth

Google Earth

DePietro displayed a document, more than an inch thick, recently received from Colarusso, which he explained was the response to questions posed by Ray Jurkowski, the engineer from Morris Associates who has been retained to advise the Planning Board in this matter. Among those questions was: How many truck trips through Hudson would be eliminated by the haul road? The document was not discussed because no one had had time to review it.

DePietro told the audience that the Planning Board was in the process of drafting a letter to the Greenport Planning Board, which has been granted lead agency status in the SEQR (State Environmental Quality Review) process by the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). The letter, DePietro explained, would define "what our interests in Hudson are." He said he wanted people to know that the Hudson Planning Board's review of the proposed haul road would be "an open and careful process," and he encouraged people to attend Greenport Planning Board meetings, to let them know that the project was of concern to the people of Hudson. He then invited questions and comments from the audience.

Timothy O'Connor was first to speak, bringing up what he called "the east causeway"--the part of the haul road going east from Route 9G through a part of Hudson zoned Recreational Conservation.

O'Connor pointed out, as he has before, that the conversion of what was a rutted trail into a gravel road should have come before the Planning Board for site plan review. DePietro told O'Connor that the decision of whether or not something came before the Planning Board was made by the code enforcement officer. Mitch Khosrova, counsel to the Planning Board, suggested that the easement for the road, which Colarusso presumably inherited from Holcim, may have been the width of the current road, and in widening the road, "they are just taking advantage of what they had all along."

        
Khosrova asserted that there was no established baseline and hence to way to determine if what had been done exceeded what was permitted. O'Connor alleged that everything had been documented in a letter written by former city attorney Cheryl Roberts, but no one could find that letter.

The discussion then switched from the "east causeway" to the dock, where a major revetment project was completed within the past week or so. In this case, Gossips has learned, Hudson's code enforcement officer has maintained that only the Army Corps of Engineers had jurisdiction over the work that was done.

Work in the "causeway" going west in 2011

John Rosenthal then asked, "When was [the path through South Bay] used as a haul road?" He followed up with the statement, "Now we are saying it is a haul road when historically it might not be." The question crystallized, for those who have been in Hudson for a while, how much the use of the "causeway" and the activity at the dock has increased over the past ten years, apparently without any review or oversight from the City of Hudson and in spite of community commitment to limiting industrial uses of the waterfront. This Gossips post from July 2011 provides some history of what went before: "Contemplating the 'Causeway.'" Another question raised by Rosenthal is an apt one: "What kind of control can we exert going backward?"

When Khosrova pointed out that the proposed haul road would mean many fewer trucks going through city streets, Tony Stone said he didn't want "the city attorney to pit citizens against each other." Trucks going to the dock now enter the city on Route 23B from Newman Road, follow Green Street to Columbia Street, take Columbia Street to Third Street, and Third Street to the entrance to the causeway. This entire route, up to the turn into South Bay, is on state designated truck routes. Trucks going from the dock back to the quarry do not use the route through South Bay. Instead, after crossing the railroad tracks on Broad Street, they go north on Front Street to Columbia Street and up Columbia Street, where, once they have crossed Third Street, they are back on the state truck route, and they retrace their path back to Newman Road. The reason they don't go back through South Bay is that the Department of Transportation will not permit heavy trucks emerging from South Bay to make a left turn onto Route 9G, but, as Stone pointed out, they could make a right turn and bypass the city by returning to the quarry by way of Routes 23 and 9H.

Khosrova called the information that trucks could make a right turn onto Route 9G, which has been known for at least three years, a "show stopper," but is it? Could the City, were it to have the will, force Colarusso to route its trucks on a longer path that would keep them off Hudson's streets both coming and going? Even if this were possible, it doesn't address the problems that remain ours: an industrial haul road through a significant coastal habitat, truck traffic at the only entrance to the waterfront, industrial activity at the dock, and the fugitive dust.    

Melissa Auf der Maur recalled that ten years ago no trucks passed Basilica Hudson. "There were no trucks and no people. . . . The fight was to get people to the water." She asserted there was something wrong in the city planning. "How did we get to this point of industrial expansion?" She pointed out that the level of industrial activity, as it is now, is unacceptable. She noted that the gravel trucks are interfering with the hundreds of people who are going to work every day in the former L&B building, where Digifabshop and other enterprises now operate.

Reacting to Auf der Maur's statements, Rosenthal raised the question of whether or not Colarusso was a good neighbor and asked, "Why should we favor a business interest in Greenport over business interests in Hudson?"

There is also a report about the Planning Board meeting by Rosa Acheson in today's Register-Star: "Road expansion proposal faces tough questions." 
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What's Happening at 400 State Street?

Since the end of October, the facade of 400 State has been illuminated at night. Last week, for the holidays and presumably in preparation for Winter Walk, little lights resembling candles appeared in all the windows. The effect, for anyone driving north on Fourth Street after dark or passing the building on foot, is quite pleasing. 

This afternoon, a Gossips reader walking by the building noticed a new development: silver spheres positioned on the lawn.  Finding them interesting, he decided to take this picture.

The appearance of the spheres is curious, but what is curiouser is that someone came out of the building as he was taking the picture, declared that taking pictures of these objects which had been placed outside, in the public view, was not allowed, and threatened to call the police.
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Grant Money Coming to Hudson

The Regional Economic Development Council has announced its awards for 2016, and there are several of interest to us here in Hudson. 

• The City of Hudson will receive $45,000 to update the Local Waterfront Revitalization Plan "to address climate change and sea level rise, as well as current planning and potential new projects."
• Historic Hudson will receive $487,000 For Phase III of the restoration of the Dr. Oliver Bronson House.
• Hudson Development Corporation will receive $14,000 for something called the Hudson History Project to provide visitors "with a mechanism to engage with Hudson's past, present, and future by providing self-guided walking tours that highlight historic, cultural, and environmental assets via well-catalogued, beautifully photographed, and narrated pathways through history to present day."
• The Hudson Opera House will receive $49,500 to hire a full-time, permanent Director of Development and Marketing.
• Hawthorne Valley Association will receive $600,000 for its Farm Enterprise Expansion project, which earlier information indicated involved "the acquisition, renovation, and equipment outfitting of a 10,000-square-foot facility for sauerkraut production" in the Second Ward. 

There are other awards of interest on the list: $197,878 to The Olana Partnership for the Olana Farm Education Center, and $875,000 for the Hudson River Skywalk connecting Olana and the Thomas Cole House; $170,000 for the restoration of Shaw Bridge in Claverack.  

You can review the entire list here. The grants for projects in Columbia County begin on page 83.

Just a reminder: The $500,000 Restore NY grant being sought for the Dunn building is part of a different process. It is expected that those awards should be announced soon as well.

COPYRIGHT 2016 CAROLE OSTERINK

Of Interest

Two articles about Hudson were brought to Gossips' attention today. The first is "Why New York's Young Artists Are Leaving the City and Moving Upstate."

Photo: Clement Pascal

The second is "A Neighborhood Walk in the Catskills: Hudson, NY."

Image: Rotem Raffe

Both are recommended reading.
COPYRIGHT 2016 CAROLE OSTERINK

A Recommended Holiday Day Trip

Here's news for everyone with resident or visiting children to entertain during the holidays and for the many fans of Joan Steiner's beloved Look-Alikes® books. Ten of the original dioramas, meticulously crafted by Steiner from everyday objects and various edibles and photographed for the books, are now on display in different locations throughout the Albany Institute of History & Art.

The miniature scenes offer an engaging challenge for all to find and identify the objects used in their composition. There are reportedly at least a hundred in each scene. The motto of Look-Alikes® is, after all, "The more you look, the more you see." 

The exhibition of Steiner's dioramas, created in her studio here in Hudson, opened at the Albany Institute, 125 Washington Avenue, on November 25 continues through January 29. Click here for more information about the exhibition and for directions and museum hours.
COPYRIGHT 2016 CAROLE OSTERINK