New Leadership at Bliss Towers

The Register-Star reported today that a new executive director for the Hudson Housing Authority had been named: "Laulette to take the reins at Bliss Towers as new Housing Authority executive director."

Hiring someone to replace the beleaguered Jeff First, who announced his retirement in December, effective almost immediately, was the responsibility of the HHA Board of Commissioners. In the past few months, since First's departure, the board seems to have gone through some turmoil. Three commissioners resigned: Vernon Cross, in January; Kristal Heinz and Charlie Suisman, in February. Mayor Tiffany Martin Hamilton appointed three new people to the board, which now consists of Barbara Hall, Randall Martin, Martin Martinez, Anthony Pastel, Peggy Polenberg, and Alan Weaver. Tracy Brown, who was previously on the board and has been acting executive director, will return to the board when Anthony Laulette, the new executive director, begins his job on March 27.
COPYRIGHT 2017 CAROLE OSTERINK

The Vote on Video

Lance Wheeler's video of last night's vote on Hudson's "welcoming and inclusive city" resolution is now available on YouTube. Click here to watch.

COPYRIGHT 2017 CAROLE OSTERINK

What Else Happened Last Night

The big news from last night's Common Council meeting was passing the resolution declaring Hudson to be a "welcoming and inclusive city," which essentially directs the Hudson Police Department to continue, in the current political climate, their established practice of not inquiring into the immigration status of crime victims, witnesses, or people who call or approach the police seeking assistance and not stopping, questioning, or detaining people solely on their actual or suspected immigration status. After the applause died down, and the people who had crowded into City Hall began filing out of the Council Chamber, the aldermen turned to the other business before them.

Of interest among the other issues was the resolution authorizing "the conveyance of real property and two utility easements to the Hudson City School District." The real property in question is 1.277 acres adjacent to Montgomery C. Smith Intermediate School, and the need for the property and the utility easements is related to the proposed addition to the building. According to the resolution, "the fair market value of the property has been determined to be $7,094.00," and the resolution authorizes giving the land to HCSD, and in exchange "the School District shall credit the City of Hudson the sum of $7,094.00, to be utilized to offset the present and future charges related to the City of Hudson Department of Youth's use of School District facilities."

Kelley Drahusuk of Spotty Dog
talking with HCSD students
earlier this month

The resolution passed, but with opposition from both Third Ward aldermen: John Friedman and Henry Haddad. Friedman said of the exchange, "They are stealing from us." Haddad similarly declared the transaction "real estate theft." Before casting their nay votes, both alderman made reference to their active support of HCSD. Both volunteer their time to the Hudson Reads Power Lunch program, and Friedman conceived of and continues to manage the Creative Approaches to Work luncheon, which gives HCSD high school students access to members of the community who have found successful careers through paths that vary from a "traditional collegiate trajectory."

Although the revised local law creating a lodging tax in Hudson was only placed on the aldermen's desks at the informal meeting on March 13, and Andy Howard, counsel to the Council, had advised that the law would have to "ripen" for ten days before the Council could vote to enact it, last night, the Council voted on it anyway, after only eight days. Mayor Tiffany Martin Hamilton has scheduled a public hearing on the law, before signing or vetoing it, for Tuesday, April 4, at 4:00 p.m. at City Hall.
COPYRIGHT 2017 CAROLE OSTERINK

Hudson Is a Welcoming and Inclusive City

Supporters of the resolution declaring Hudson a "welcoming and inclusive city" packed the Council Chamber and spilled out into the lobby of City Hall tonight to witness the vote. In addition to Dan Udell, who always videotapes Council meetings as a public service, Lance Wheeler was there with his video camera, along with news people from a couple of Albany TV channels.

After Council president Claudia DeStefano called the meeting to order, the moment of prayer or silent reflection was observed, and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited, DeStefano announced a change in the order of the agenda. The "sanctuary city" resolution, which had been the fifth item on the agenda, would be first. 

DeStefano then announced that Andy Howard, counsel to the Council, had a statement to make before any action was taken by the Council. Howard's statement was essentially a synthesis of a letter from Hudson Police Chief Ed Moore, stating that he would abide by whatever directive he received from the Council, but he had some concerns and didn't want to "run afoul of federal grants" to his department. Howard noted that the State Attorney General had agreed to give an opinion in writing on Hudson's "sanctuary city" resolution.

Alderman John Friedman (Third Ward) then proposed that, since the Attorney General's office had agreed to give written advice and everyone on the Council seemed to support it, the resolution be adopted by acclamation, adding, "I would just like to go back to where we were all neighbors." That seemed to be what was happening until DeStefano declared that she was voting no, because she wanted the Attorney General's opinion about the resolution in writing before she would support it.

This triggered a roll call vote. First to be called on, in alphabetical order, was Alderman Robert "Doc" Donahue (Fifth Ward), who moved to table the resolution until they got the Attorney General's written opinion. This elicited boos from the audience and admonitions from his colleagues that they were voting and a motion to table was out of order. Forced to vote, Donahue said he couldn't vote no with all the people there in support of the resolution, so he voted yes. 

Everyone thereafter voted yes but not without making a statement. Friedman asked rhetorically "Who needs to be protected from the law?" and answered "It's usually not the ones with the guns." Tiffany Garriga (Second Ward) said she was proud of the Council for previously passing resolutions supporting issuing driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants and welcoming Syrian immigrants. Henry Haddad (Third Ward) read aloud the last paragraph of Moore's letter, which warned in part, "A directive, order, or resolution that causes a police officer to be less than fully cooperative with another police agency runs antithetical to our standard practices and sensibilities as a law enforcement agency." Alexis Keith (Fourth Ward) said, "The safety of residents and businesses should come first." Abdus Miah (Second Ward) said, among other things, "I don't want to see any family suffer." Priscilla Moore (Fifth Ward) worried about federal funding and said, "I just hope I'm doing the right thing." Michael O'Hara (First Ward) said he sympathized with the concerns of DeStefano and others but "trusted the Attorney General's office at their word" and assured his colleagues, "We are doing the right thing." Rick Rector (First Ward) said that welcoming and inclusive were the important words and they "reflect what the HPD is doing right now." Lauren Scalera (Fourth Ward) said she hoped "we can get the chief what he is seeking."

With every alderman voting in favor, the resolution passed despite opposition from Council president DeStefano.
COPYRIGHT 2017 CAROLE OSTERINK

Update: Click here to view the Channel 6 coverage of tonight's Council vote.

The Wards of Hudson . . . and Other Things

In our next local election, which happens in November, a little more than eight months from now, Hudson voters will be electing aldermen to represent the recently redrawn five wards of equal population.

A while back, in August 2013, Gossips shared the item below, found in the Hudson Evening Register for April 30, 1886, which announced the creation of the Fifth Ward, carved out of what had been previously the Fourth Ward.

Some may think, based on the 1873 Beers Atlas map below, that Hudson was divided into four wards from the time of the Proprietors, but it was not.

Originally, Hudson was divided into just two wards: everything south of Warren Street was the First Ward; everything north of Warren Street was the Second Ward. Today, I discovered, in the Hudson Daily Star for January 11, 1853, a letter to the editor that helps determine when the change from two wards to four wards happened. The letter makes the case that Hudson should have four wards because having only two wards presents "an insignificant appearance among our sister cities, none of which have less than four." The letter, which called for a charter revision, also sheds light on how we ended up with two aldermen for each ward instead of just one. Because there is much of interest in the letter, it is reproduced below in its entirety.

 

Equally interesting is the editorial comment about the letter, which emphasizes and amplifies the letter writer's salient points.

 

It's interesting to note that, according to the letter, the charter in place in 1853 "was revised and passed some twenty-four years ago." A new charter was adopted two years later, in 1855. Our current city charter has not been amended in its entirety since 1973.
COPYRIGHT 2017 CAROLE OSTERINK 

Whether the Weather . . .

Remembering those warm days in February that challenged records before Stella plunged us back into winter on the cusp of spring, I was amused to find this little item in the Hudson Daily Register of January 11, 1853.

 COPYRIGHT 2017 CAROLE OSTERINK

Cocktails and Literacy

The ninth annual Hudson Children's Book Festival is happening on Saturday, May 6, at Hudson High School. It is, if you didn't know, one of the biggest book festivals in all of New York State.

On Saturday, April 1, the directors of the HCBF Literacy Fund are holding their fourth annual cocktail party fundraiser to raise money to sustain the literacy efforts in the Hudson City School District. The fund provides "Good For" coupons for HCSD students to buy a book from the author of their choice at the book festival. A tax deductible contribution of $35 at the cocktail party provides a "Good For" to one student. The HCBF Literacy Fund also provides financial awards to college bound students for books, and financial coupons for summer reading to students moving up from 1st, 5th, and 8th grades.

The event, which is hosted by Colin and Katrina Stair, takes place at Stair Galleries, 549 Warren Street, from 5 to 7 p.m., on Saturday, April 1. For more information, visit the HCBF Fund Literacy Fund website. 
COPYRIGHT 2017 CAROLE OSTERINK

Of Interest

There was an article earlier this month, in the UK Independent, about the patterned borders, created by Thomas Cole himself on the walls of his home Cedar Grove, which are now being uncovered and restored: "Thomas Cole murals uncovered on walls of Catskills home in New York state." Featured in the article is art restorer and Hudson resident Margaret Saliske.
COPYRIGHT 2017 CAROLE OSTERINK

Observing Women's History Month

This morning, in celebration of Women's History Month, Assemblymember Didi Barrett announced the release of the fourth volume of Women's History in the Hudson Valley: Ten Stories from Columbia and Dutchess Counties. The booklet tells the stories of ten women from our region who, during the past three centuries, made significant contributions in various fields. Among the ten women featured in the 2017 booklet is Mary Shepherd Hallenbeck.

Commenting on the release of the booklet, Barrett said, "This year marks the 100th anniversary of women winning the right to vote in New York State. It was an extraordinary accomplishment resulting from ordinary women coming together to form a grassroots movement for suffrage. Too often women's history and women's stories are forgotten; my office has published these volumes each year to ensure that in our region they are forgotten no more."

The booklets are distributed in collaboration with the Mid-Hudson Library System. Copies of the booklet are available at the Hudson Area Library, 51 North Fifth Street. The booklet is also available online, as are the previous three volumes.
COPYRIGHT 2017 CAROLE OSTERINK

Sunday Afternoon Serendipity

There is a delightful little book called Mirrored Memories: A Glimpse into the Photographic Collections of the Columbia County Historical Society, which was published in 1991 and may now be out of print. One of the photographs that appears early in the book is this one, showing Zebulon Hunt's Stove Works Store on Warren Street in Hudson.

In the book, the photograph is dated c. 1860s, but this afternoon I stumbled upon a little item in the Daily Star for June 14, 1858, which gives the photograph a much more precise date.

Surely, the photograph that made it into Mirrored Memories is the same one hailed as "one of Forshew's last and best" in the Daily Star. If only the editor of the Star had been more precise in his identification of the people in the picture, perhaps naming them from left to right, although it's unlikely he could have imagined that people 160 years later would be curious to know who these men and boys were. 

The caption indicates that Z. Hunt's stove works store was located at 299 Warren Street. Today, there is no 299 Warren Street, and even if there were, this picture was taken before 1888, when all the house numbers on the west-east streets were changed. I decided, in preparing this post, to figure out which building on Warren Street was the location of Z. Hunt's stove works store in 1858, and I managed to do it without too much difficulty. It is 541 Warren Street.

I came to this conclusion in the following way. Comparing the pre- and post-1888 numbers that I knew, I was able to generalize that, in the 500 block, you could add 240 to the pre-1888 number to get today's number. Doing that, of course, yields 539, and 539 is now a vacant lot--or rather a pocket park. It's not likely, though, that the missing building was Zebulon Hunt's stove works store, because the building to the right in the 1858 photograph is a three-story building, and the building to the right of 539 today, where Mexican Radio is located, is a two-story building.

So the missing building is likely the one that housed S. W. Worth Paints in 1858.

There is also visual evidence that 541 Warren Street was the location of Z. Hunt's store--in particular the spacing of the windows. The three windows are not evenly spaced across the facade. The two at the right are closer together. The third window at the left lines up with the door that gives access to the upper floors, which today has been converted into a window.

Addendum: I consulted the Hudson Tap Book, the record of when every building in Hudson was connected to the municipal water supply. One of the best things about the Tap Book is that it gives both the current building numbers and the pre-1888 numbers. The Tap Book confirms that 541 Warren Street was 299 Warren Street (actually it says 299½, but no 299 is listed), and the building was owned by Z. Hunt when it was hooked up to the water system on May 17, 1875. 
COPYRIGHT 2017 CAROLE OSTERINK

Waterfront Development in 1851

During the summer of 1851, a couple of items in the Daily Star indicate that the newspaper's editor, Alex. N. Webb, although he lived on the north side of town, was keeping an eye on the development happening at the mouth of South Bay, the Hudson Iron Works. On May 22, he reported:

On August 15, the Daily Star announced that the Hudson Iron Works were "fast approaching completion":

Although the Daily Star never reports exactly when the iron works commenced operation, four months later, on the last day of 1851, the activity there is spoken of as if it has been going on forever, with effects that are not altogether beneficial to the residents of Hudson.

COPYRIGHT 2017 CAROLE OSTERINK

Thinking of Spring and Gardens

There may still be snow on the ground, but tomorrow is the vernal equinox, the first day of spring. If gardens are among things that bring you joy in spring, something of great interest is happening on the second day of spring, Tuesday, March 21. Hudson's own Secret Gardener, Ben Eaton will be speaking on the topic "Historic Gardening in Columbia County" at the James Vanderpoel House "Below Stairs," 16 Broad Street, in Kinderhook. The event, which is presented by the Columbia County Historical Society Volunteers, begins at 7 p.m. Eaton's lecture will be preceded by a preview of the ten-minute film 60 Tortillas, by local filmmaker and organic gardener Gretchen Wall. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, visit the CCHS website.
COPYRIGHT 2017 CAROLE OSTERINK

Seeking and Not Seeking Public Input

Yesterday, the folks at Henry Hudson Hall, formerly the Hudson Opera House, shared the news that more than 6,000 people had responded to the Hudson Area Visitor Survey. The survey results are expected to be published in late spring. "This data," the message continued, "will be invaluable . . . when it comes to creating an environment that's conducive to tourism and visitorship."

The response to the survey was gratifyingly good, but the response to the organization's name change, which was announced on Monday, has been anything but good. In an interview on WGXC on Wednesday, Gary Schiro, executive director of what had been the Hudson Opera House and is now Henry Hudson Hall, acknowledged that he and the board knew "not everyone is going to like it," but it seems there isn't anyone who likes the new name. Since the announcement, there have been several posts on Facebook decrying the new name and calling for the staff and board to reconsider, each one garnering a long string of comments in passionate agreement. Byrne Fone, author of Historic Hudson: An Architectural Portrait and part of the original group that formed the not-for-profit to purchase the building back in 1992, weighed in from the idyllic Dordogne to express his objections to the name. 

Among the interesting facts that emerged from the WGXC interview was that although nine focus groups had been held to establish that the name Hudson Opera House was a barrier to people immediately grasping the mission of the organization, the new name, Henry Hudson Hall, was never tested with a focus group before it was announced on Monday.
COPYRIGHT 2017 CAROLE OSTERINK

More Perspective on Stella

On Thursday, we published photographs to compare the amount of snow that fell during Winter Storm Stella with what fell during the Blizzard of 1888. Today, we recall another great snowstorm in Hudson history--one that took place in December 1969. Bob Tomaso, who grew up on Eighth Street, sent Gossips these pictures of the aftermath of that storm. 

Tomaso recalled it was days before the streets were passable after that storm in 1969. He also told Gossips that there were many big snowstorms in Hudson in the '60s and '70s, and things were much worse on city streets in those days than they were in the aftermath of Stella.
COPYRIGHT 2017 CAROLE OSTERINK

Photos courtesy Bob Tomaso

Repealing and Replacing and You

In a memorable Freudian slip, Paul Ryan once declared, "We won't give up destroying the health care system for the American people."

While the folks in Washington are hard at work repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act, Rob Bujan, who has more than twenty-five years of experience in the healthcare consulting world, is offering free town hall meetings to outline the health insurance delivery system--"from pre-ACA, to the current state, and into the future." Bujan promises "a nonpartisan fact-driven presentation that outlines what you need to know to make educated decisions in this time of change in the world of health insurance."  

No matter how you get your insurance: Medicare, Medicaid, NY State of Health Premium Subsidy Program, directly from a carrier, or through your employer, these town hall meetings will be of interest to you. Bujan is providing these meetings as a public service to the community and assures there will be "no cost, no sales pitch, nothing to buy--just good solid facts."

There are two opportunities to attend one of these town hall meetings in Hudson. The first is on Wednesday, March 22, from 6 to 7:15 p.m. in the main floor gallery space at Camphill Hudson, 36o Warren Street. The second is on Saturday, March 25, from 10 to 11:15 a.m., in the Blue Room on the third floor at Camphill Hudson, 360 Warren Street. Click on one of the dates above to go to the appropriate Facebook page and RSVP.
COPYRIGHT 2017 CAROLE OSTERINK

A "Must Do" for the Weekend

Winter Storm Stella is over, and the city is digging out from the snow. It's time for everyone who's been hunkered down at home to get out, and just in time, too, because this weekend is the very last weekend for Fairview Cinema 3. Appropriately, for its final weekend, our only independent, locally owned hometown movie is showing, as its final film, The Last Picture Show.

Peter Bogdanovich's 1971 critically acclaimed film is based on a semi-autobiographical coming of age novel by Larry McMurtry. The cast includes Timothy Bottoms, Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd, Ben Johnson, Eileen Brennan, Ellen Burstyn, Cloris Leachman, Clu Gulager, Randy Quaid, and John Hillerman. If you don't know the film, you can click here to see the trailer. 

The Last Picture Show will be shown tonight, tomorrow night, and Sunday at 7 p.m. There are also matinees on Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m. Head out to Greenport (it's just over the border) sometime this weekend to see a classic movie, have some popcorn, bid a fond farewell to Fairview Cinema 3, and wish Bruce Mitchinson the very best in whatever lies ahead.

COPYRIGHT 2017 CAROLE OSTERINK

Save Your Quarters

Photo: Paul Trantanella

So, this morning, I agreed to meet someone for coffee at 10 a.m. at a coffee shop on Warren Street. I pulled the Gossipsmobile out of its spot on the odd side of my street, where it had been parked since 8 o'clock on Tuesday night, and drove to my destination, where I was able to park on the even side of the street, where the snow had been cleared, except for the wall of snow that remained along the curb. I walked five car lengths, in the street, to a spot where someone had shoveled a break in the snow wall, then walked the same distance back on the sidewalk to insert a quarter in the parking meter for my car's space, then went to my destination. Not a Herculean effort, but on arriving home, I discovered that twenty minutes after I'd made it, Mayor Tiffany Martin Hamilton released this statement:

Metered parking in Hudson is suspended today. Any tickets issued for meter violations since Tuesday will be voided. If you have received a ticket for a meter violation since Tuesday that you have already paid, please bring the ticket to the parking bureau so a refund can be processed. Stay safe out there! 

COPYRIGHT 2017 CAROLE OSTERINK

Stella in Perspective

David Voorhees reminded me earlier today that, among historic snowstorms, Stella was really not all that catastrophic:

Tuesday's snowstorm was nothing compared to the Blizzard of 1888, which lasted three days with 80 mile per hour winds, and dropped more than 60 inches of snow in some parts of the Northeast. Albany's official tally was 47.7 inches, Saratoga topped that with 58 inches, New Jersey had 46.7 inches, topped by sleet. The death toll was over 400 people.

To provide a visual comparison of Stella and the Blizzard of 1888, Paul Trantanella took this picture on Tuesday night, after it stopped snowing and he had finished shoveling the sidewalk in front of this building on Warren Street.

Photo: Paul Trantanella

Compare it with this picture, which shows a sidewalk on Pearl Street, near Maiden Lane, after it had been cleared of the snow that fell during the Blizzard of 1888.

Photo source: All Over Albany

COPYRIGHT 2017 CAROLE OSTERINK

Business Support for Sanctuary

The Common Council is poised to vote next Tuesday on the resolution declaring Hudson a "welcoming and inclusive city." This morning, in the run-up to that vote, the Columbia County Sanctuary Movement released an open letter, signed by twenty-eight business owners in Hudson, declaring support for the resolution. That letter is reproduced below. (Click on the image to enlarge.)

The letter reads in part: "It is in the interest of our businesses, the City of Hudson, and area residents to ensure that all community members and guests, including immigrants, are welcomed and safe while living, working and visiting our great city." 

The following businesses signed on to the letter: Antigo, Carrie Haddad Gallery, Casa Urbana, Colonia, Fern, Five and Diamond Vintage, Golden Grain, Hidden Gears, Hudson Clothier, Lil Deb's Oasis, Limner Gallery, Look, Mark Jaeger Antiques, Moto Coffee Machine, Musica, Oak Pizzeria, Peggy Polenberg Real Estate, Rev Cafe, September Gallery, Sideshow Vintage, Spruce, Taste of the Caribbean, The Inn at Hudson, Timothy Doyle Antiques, Valley Variety, Verdigris Tea & Chocolate Bar, Warren Street Market, Wm. Farmer and Sons Boarding & Barroom.
COPYRIGHT 2017 CAROLE OSTERINK

And Then There's This . . .

Bill Williams on 98.5 The Cat is reporting that a car crashed into a house at the corner of State and Sixth streets just after 8 a.m. this morning. 

According to the report, "Streets in the area around the crash were closed due to limited space, due to high snowbanks." Judging from the pictures, there seems to have been a nice wide path from the street to the house, which allowed the car leave the street and smash into the house instead of a snowbank.

Photos: 98.5 The Cat

COPYRIGHT 2017 CAROLE OSTERINK