Response from the Mayors

Linda Mussmann's Facebook post, in which she alleged that Mike Tucker "blamed the statement [in the DRI application] about the relationship of Colarusso and the city on the 'then Mayor'--Tiffany Martin Hamilton," prompted a response from Tucker, which Gossips has already published, and also a response from the former mayor, Tiffany Martin. Her statement appears below.

As former mayor of the City of Hudson, I was actively involved in the City's successful DRI grant application. Based upon recent public comments concerning the DRI grant application and certain statements contained therein, I feel it is necessary to clarify one particular statement in the DRI grant application that was made in error.

Specifically, a statement in the DRI application reads as follows:

"Though accommodating the operational growth of the business has been a challenge to address in terms of the impact on waterfront businesses and the environment, City officials and neighboring business owners support the expansion of Colarusso."

To the extent this statement suggests that the City and neighboring business owners support the expansion of Colarusso's business operations at the waterfront, it was in error. Rather, the statement should have made it clear that, while it has been a challenge to the City of Hudson to balance the competing needs of those involved in the business operations at the waterfront with environmental concerns, City officials and neighboring business owners recognize Colarusso's legal right to continue existing operations in compliance with local laws.

Tiffany Martin's statement was accompanied by a statement from the current mayor, Rick Rector, saying: "I have reviewed the statement from former mayor Tiffany Martin regarding the DRI application and am in agreement."
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Meeting Canceled

In the midst of all the brouhaha over how the administration of Hudson Development Corporation will be carried out until someone is hired to replace Sheena Salvino, Gossips just learned that the HDC meeting scheduled for 6 p.m. today has been canceled for want of a quorum. The meeting is to be rescheduled. When it is, Gossips will report that information.
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The Response from CEDC

Late last night, Gossips reported what Fourth Ward supervisor Linda Mussmann had posted on her Facebook page about the possibility that Mike Tucker, president of CEDC (Columbia Economic Development Corporation), might take Sheena Salvino's place at HDC (Hudson Development Corporation) and about Tucker's role in drafting the City's DRI application, which contained several controversial statements. This morning, Tucker, on behalf of CEDC, sent Gossips the following statement to clarify the situation and correct misconceptions.   

In an effort to provide transparency to the Board of Supervisors at its Economic Development Committee meeting, I reported that the Chair of the Hudson Development Corporation (HDC) had contacted me yesterday morning inquiring if Columbia Economic Development Corporation (CEDC) would be able to provide short-term administrative support services to HDC during the transition resulting from the departure of Sheena Salvino. I indicated to the Committee that neither the CEDC or HDC Boards had taken any action on the request. CEDC currently provides administrative services to the Columbia County Industrial Development Agency, Columbia County Resource Corporation and the City of Hudson Industrial Development Agency. I would not characterize the discussion as announcing that either CEDC or I are planning on "taking over" HDC, but simply reporting in an open forum that the request had been made.

Further, in response to a question from a Supervisor as to who was responsible for submitting the DRI application, I indicated that while CEDC and I participated in staff roles, the application was submitted by the Mayor on behalf of the City. I never denied CEDC's or my participation in drafting the DRI and I did not "blame" the former Mayor for any of its content.

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A Preview of What May Be Revealed Tomorrow

Tomorrow at 6 p.m., Hudson Development Corporation is holding its regular monthly meeting. In announcing this earlier today, Gossips speculated that information would be forthcoming at the meeting about how HDC was planning to move forward after the imminent departure of its executive director, Sheena Salvino. 

Tonight, while Gossips was at the Common Council Police Committee meeting, there was meeting of the Board of Supervisors Economic Development Committee at which HDC's announcement of its plans was preempted. Fourth Ward supervisor Linda Mussmann reports this on her Facebook page:

Tonight at the County Economic Committee Meeting it was announced that Mike Tucker/CEDC was planning on taking over Hudson Development Corporation--(HDC the author of the DRI application) for the City of Hudson--some of the language included in the application has caused a lot of controversy--the statement regarding the embracing of Colarusso in the Hudson waterfront--was for some--a false statement. When I said I had concerns because of Mr. Tucker's role in the writing of the DRI application and the inclusion of the false statement--he denied that he had anything to do with it and blamed the statement about the relationship of Colarusso and the city on the "then Mayor"--Tiffany Martin Hamilton.

Mussmann refers her Facebook readers to this Gossips post from May 26: "The Origin of the Language."

If what Mussmann reports is true, this seems to be a very unwise move on the part of the beleaguered HDC Board if the goal is to regain the community's trust.
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Update: Mike Tucker issued a statement in response to what Mussmann reported. Click here to see that response.

Unconditional Love

MICROPOLITAN DIARY

Dear Diary,

The rain and an early morning run-in with the wretched trash bag vending machine in front of City Hall hadn't put me in the best of moods today, and this afternoon, while doing some errands, I muttered "Jackass!" at two people who, going the opposite direction, had gotten into my lane when I was trying to execute a left turn to go to PetSmart. (Of course, the windows were rolled up and the A/C was on, so the offending drivers had no notion of my displeasure, unless they were able to read lips.)

After our visit to PetSmart, we stopped at the little ice cream parlor on Fairview Avenue that doesn't appear to have a name. I hadn't had lunch, and Joey needed a treat, so I got a soft serve vanilla kiddie cone for us to share. The deal is I eat as much as I want, and then Joey gets the rest. But while I was still licking the fast-melting cone, Joey decided to join in. After that, it was all his.

Ice cream consumed, we headed back to Hudson. On the way, we stopped at Fairview Wines & Spirits for a bottle of wine. (Joey is always welcome there.) When we were leaving, the rain, which had been in remission since we had arrived at PetSmart, decided to come down in torrents. I thought about staying in the store to wait out the downpour, but decided against it. Instead Joey and I headed for the car.  

Once we were out of the rain, Joey, in his seat beside me in our tiny car, decided to shake himself, as dogs will do, and I, soaked to the skin for the second time today, got even wetter. My response was to laugh uncontrollably. That, in my opinion, is proof of the unconditional love our dogs teach us.

"Micropolitan Diary" is Gossips' homage to and blatant imitation of "Metropolitan Diary" in the New York Times. The term micropolitan was coined (by Gossips) because Hudson is a metropolis in microcosm.
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If You Missed It

Dan Udell documented yesterday's Mrs. Greenthumbs Day Garden Tour. To view the video, click here.

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Meetings of Interest in the Week Ahead

There's a meeting worth attending every day this week, and Tuesday appears to be the day when you might wish you could be two places at once.

Today, Monday, July 23, two Common Council committees meet. The Fire Committee meets at 5:30 p.m., and the Police Committee meets at 6 p.m. No agenda is available for either meeting, but there is always the possibility that at the Police Committee meeting concerns may again be voiced about the Hudson Police Department's participation in the Shared Services Response Team and about there being no police commissioner since Martha Harvey resigned almost a year ago. Both meetings take place at City Hall.

On Tuesday, July 24, there are three meetings taking place at almost the same time.

• At 5:30 p.m., the new Tourism Board meets at the FASNY Museum of Firefighting, 117 Harry Howard Avenue. The reason for this unusual meeting location is that Jamie Smith Quinn, the executive director of the museum, is one of the members of the Tourism Board. Those attending the meeting are asked to use the main museum entrance.
• At 6 p.m., the Hudson Development Corporation is holding its monthly meeting. Accused of operating with inadequate public input and no transparency, the HDC board is now scheduling its meetings for the early evening instead of at noon. At tomorrow's meeting, the last before the departure of HDC executive director Sheena Salvino, it is expected some plans for moving forward in her absence will be revealed, as well as new appointments to the board. In two executive sessions last week, the nominating committee interviewed potential candidates to replace the four board members who resigned in May. So far, Gossips has learned of one new appointment: Mark Morgan-Perez, who served on the Housing Task Force. The HDC meeting takes place at 1 North Front Street.  
• At 7:30 p.m., the Greenport Planning Board meets at Greenport Town Hall. The agenda for this meeting is not yet available, but Gossips has received word that the proposal by East Light Partners to install a solar array on land adjacent to the Hudson Correctional Facility will be on the agenda. There was concern that the array, to be located on what was identified in the Conservation Advisory Council's Open Space and Natural Resources Inventory as "farmland of statewide importance," would be visible from the Dr. Oliver Bronson House and Olana. Last week, East Light Partners held a public information session at the Hudson Area Library, which Gossips was unable to attend. I have been told by someone who did attend that the site plan has been altered to allay the concerns about visibility from these two National Historic Landmarks, but East Light Partners have not responded to requests for information about the new plans. It appears that showing up at the Greenport Planning Board meeting is the only way to learn what's being proposed.

 

On Wednesday, July 25, the Common Council Legal Committee holds its regular monthly meeting at City Hall. No agenda is available for this meeting. With the vacant building law awaiting the mayor's signature (the mayor will hold a public hearing on this law on Wednesday, August 1, at 3 p.m.) and the zoning amendment affecting R-2 and R-2H districts sought by Stewart's ripening on the aldermen's desks, it's not clear what the Legal Committee intends to tackle next. 

On Thursday, July 26, there are two meeting of the Hudson Community Development and Planning Agency.

• At 1 p.m., the HCDPA Board will hold its regular monthly meeting, rescheduled from July 12. This will be the last meeting before the departure of HCDPA executive director Sheena Salvino, and some information should be forthcoming about HCDPA's plans to move forward in the absence of an executive director.
• At 2 p.m., the HCDPA Board will hold a special meeting to open the sealed bids received for the strip of vacant land in the 200 block between Columbia Street and Prison Alley.

On Friday, July 27, the Historic Preservation Commission holds its second meeting of the month at 10 a.m. at City Hall. There is no agenda available as yet for this meeting, but the HPC may continue its review of the proposal to construct an accessory building on Partition Street behind 17-19 Union Street.

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This Week at the ZBA

Often the first information about new projects in Hudson, especially those not located in a historic district, comes at the Zoning Board of Appeals, and this past week's ZBA meeting provided news of a few interesting projects. The first is 514 State Street.

This building is one of the many buildings in Hudson that were part of Phil Gellert's vast "Northern Empire." In recent years, Gellert has been selling his property in Hudson, and this building now has a new owner. Kristal Heinz, who is representing the new owner, was at the ZBA meeting on Wednesday seeking an area variance for parking. The rehabbed building will have seven units--two on each of the three floors and one in the basement. The plans include creating three offstreet parking spaces behind the building. (Currently there are none.) Hudson's zoning requires one offstreet parking space for every dwelling unit, so the building is four short, and an area variance is required.

Heinz was also representing the owner of 248 and 250 Columbia Street at the meeting. 

What's being sought for this project is a lot line adjustment to make the two lots, which are now of different sizes, of equal size. Unfortunately, once the two lots are of equal size, the two houses now there, two among the very few on that block of Columbia Street that survived urban renewal, will be demolished.  

Two new structures will be built on the lots, both to contain rental apartments.

The third proposal of interest involves constructing a new building with a residential unit over a two-car garage in the first block of Partition Street, behind 17-19 Union Street. Variances are needed from the ZBA for setbacks and for lot coverage.

The project, which is also before the Historic Preservation Commission, once again puts the desire to build secondary dwellings in alleys and backyards to create affordable new housing in conflict with the desire to preserve the character of Hudson's alleys. (Although Partition Street is a street, it has the character of an alley.) The project as proposed also involves the elimination of an old stone retaining wall to create offstreet parking spaces and replacing it with a "veneered stone" retaining wall.

The ZBA will hold public hearings on these three projects, as well as a proposal to build an 8-foot fence at 939 Columbia Street and a proposal to construct a solar carport at 65-67 North Third Street, on Wednesday, August 15, at 6 p.m.
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Tomorrow Is Mrs. Greenthumbs Day

The Mrs. Greenthumbs Day Garden Tour happens tomorrow from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.--rain or shine! There are twenty-one gardens on the tour this year. The map below is all you need to chart your course from garden to garden throughout the city.

You can click on the map to enlarge it and print your own copy. Or you can pick up a copy of the map at any of the following places:

• Nolita Café, 454 Warren Street
• The Secret Gardener, 250 Warren Street
• Hudson Hall at the historic Hudson Opera House, 327 Warren Street
• Hudson Area Library, 51 North Fifth Street
• Pondside Nursery, 5918 Route 9G

Balloons mark the entrance to each garden.

The garden tour is free, but there will be an opportunity at each garden to show your appreciation by making a contribution to the Hudson Parks Conservancy. 

From 5 to 7 p.m. on Sunday, the Hudson Parks Conservancy is hosting a Parks Party at The Secret Gardener, 250 Warren Street. The party celebrates the launch of the Hudson Parks Conservancy, whose goal is to partner with the City of Hudson in maintaining and improving Hudson's parks, to ensure that these most democratic of spaces enrich the lives of all Hudsonians and are a source of community pride. Click here for more information about the Parks Party and to RSVP.
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SNAP and Farmers Markets: Crisis Averted

Photo: Amy Brown

Last week, Gossips reported that a change in a government contract would result in farmers markets, including the Hudson Farmers Market, not being able accept SNAP benefits after July 31. What happened was this. A not-for-profit called Farmers Market Coalition had been running the program that funds the equipment used at farmers markets to scan SNAP cards. Last November, the contract for this program was up for renewal, and the federal government chose a different contractor for this program, a group called Financial Transaction Management, LLC. The new contractor decided to replace the software vendor that processes SNAP benefits, Novo Dia, with its own provider, and as a consequence Novo Dia, unable to cover the costs of the software, announced it was going out of business. Its service to farmers markets would end on July 31. Without Novo Dia's technology, farmers markets could not accept SNAP benefits.

Yesterday, though, it was announced that the not-for-profit National Association of Farmers Market Nutrition Programs would fund Novo Dia at least until the end of August. It is expected that the extension will allow time for a new system to be put in place so there will be no disruption in the ability to use SNAP benefits at farmers markets. Click here for more information.
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OutHudson Awards Gala

Last night, OutHudson held its second annual awards gala at Helsinki Hudson, recognizing notable entries in this year's OutHudson Pride Parade. There were awards in seven pre-announced categories and also some special awards. The winners in the seven categories were:

Best in Theme (Superheroes): KS Fitness

Screen capture: Dan Udell Video

Most Kitschy-est: The Gossips of Rivertown

Photo: Beth Schneck Photography

Most MARVEL-ous: Camphill Hudson

Photo: Catherine Dodge Smith

RainBOWIE-est: Five and Diamond Rainbow Girls

Photo: JD Urban Photography

Most Villainous: Girlgantua

Photo: JD Urban Photography

Most Gender-bending: Lil Deb's Oasis

Photo: JD Urban Photography

Most OUT-rageous: Poke the Bear

Photo: JD Urban Photography

Lifetime Achievement awards were given to Carol Lavender and Peter Frank for their tireless work in organizing the Pride Parade in Hudson for the past nine years. A Judges' Choice award was given to Luci and Jes Cunningham and the whale.

Photo: Lance Wheeler for Columbia-Greene Media

    
A Participation Award was given to the Flag Day Committee. This year, in the spirit of unity, OutHudson Pride marchers had a contingent in the Flag Day Parade on Saturday, June 9, and the Flag Day Committee marched in the Pride Parade the next Saturday, on June 16. 

Rich Volo, a.k.a. Trixie Starr, one of the three founders of OutHudson and the principal organizer the Pride Parade since 2010, was the emcee for the awards gala. Much to his surprise, he was the recipient of an award for being "Hudson's Hometown Homo Hero." The award was presented by Andrea Elliott, wearing a flared polka dot dress and the iconic Trixie Starr wig and sunglasses.

Photo: JD Urban Photography

There were two Honorable Mention awards. Talbot and Arding were honored for being "The Cheesiest."

Screen capture: Dan Udell Video

The Wigstockers contingent was declared "Best in Show."

Photo: JD Urban Photography

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Disappointing News

The Register-Star reports today that Andrea "Cricket" Coleman, who was elected as Columbia County coroner in November with the support of 55 percent of the voters, has resigned, after serving in that position for fewer than seven months: "Coleman, elected in November, resigns as coroner."  
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Of Interest

Yesterday, Tuesday, July 17, the New York Times published an article about Antonio Delgado's early and brief rap career as "AD the Voice": "A Congressional Candidate Used to Be a Rapper. Will It Matter?" The following is quoted from that article:

In 2007, Mr. Delgado released a rap album featuring lyrics that criticize capitalism and America's history of racial injustice. They include frequent use of a racial epithet common among black rappers, and criticize some of the founders as "dead presidents" who "believe in white supremacy."

[John] Faso is trying to use the lyrics against him, saying they are "inconsistent with the views of the people of the 19th District and America."

Today, Wednesday, July 18, the Times published an opinion piece by its editorial board titled "Voters, You're Too Smart to Fall for John Faso's Bigotry." The editorial begins:

Representative John Faso must think very little of his constituents in New York's 19th Congressional District in the Hudson Valley and the Catskill Mountains.

He's counting on their being bigots.

Both the article and the editorial are recommended reading.
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The City's Business

Last night at the Common Council meeting, eighteen resolutions were passed unanimously, one was tabled until the Council had more information, a local law was enacted, and another was placed on the aldermen's desks.

Among the resolutions passed, the following are of interest.

• The Council voted to sell the vacant lot at 67 Fairview Avenue for $35,000 to the owner of the business next door, Stella's Pizzeria. In 2013, the City paid $26,000 to demolish the house that stood in the site (shown in the photograph below), an amount that was then charged to the absentee owner of the house in property taxes. In 2017, the property, then a vacant lot, was seized for nonpayment of property taxes, and in November 2017 it was offered for sale at auction with the minimum bid being the amount then owed in back taxes: $52,215.15. There were no bidders for the property.

Photo: Scott Baldinger

• The Council voted to support the route of the Empire State Trail through Hudson. Before casting his vote, Alderman Rich Volo (Fourth Ward) asked for confirmation that no parking would be lost on the two blocks of Allen Street included in the route.

• The Council voted to support the efforts of Friends of Oakdale Lake and a design project to be undertaken by the Hudson Valley Initiative at Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Preservation, and Planning.

• The Council adopted the Strategic Housing Action Plan. Before the vote was taken, Alderman Rob Bujan (First Ward) wanted to know why the resolution hadn't gone to the Housing and Transportation Committee before coming to the full Council for a vote. Council president Tom DePietro gave two reasons: (1) the chair of the Housing and Transportation Committee, Tiffany Garriga (Second Ward), was a member of the Housing Task Force that created the document; (2) the goal was to "get it in place before this round of CFA grants." There has not yet been word that the City or any of its agencies will be applying for grant funding for any housing related projects in the CFA (Consolidated Funding Application) process. What DePietro didn't mention was that the Housing and Transportation Committee hasn't met for a couple of months, its meetings for June and July both being canceled. 
• The Council approved the new fifteen-year, nonexclusive franchise agreement with Mid-Hudson Cable. DePietro stressed that the franchise agreement relates only to cable TV service.
• The Council approved a land swap with HCDPA (Housing Community Development and Planning Agency). The City gets the lot that is Thurston Park, in the 200 block of Warren Street, and HCDPA gets the half of the lot at the end of Warren Street that belonged to the City to create a single developable lot. The idea is to build something on the site to replace the two buildings, visible in the photograph below, that were demolished during urban renewal.

• The Council also approved the issuance of serial bonds, in an amount not to exceed $360,000, to purchase air packs for the Fire Department.
• The Council also passed two resolutions relating to the application for a grant from Empire State Development to do a parking study. The first determined that such a study would be a Type II action under SEQR; the second authorized the mayor to apply for the grant.   

The law the Council enacted last night was Local Law No. 4 of 2018, the vacant buildings law, which will require owners to register uninhabited buildings and pay a fee for each year a building remains unoccupied. Before the Council voted, Bujan proposed amending the law to double the annual fee for vacant buildings, increasing the fee from $250 to $500 in the first year, $500 to $1,000 in the second, $1,000 to $2,000 in the third, $1,500 to $3,000 in the fourth, and from $2,000 to $4,000 in the fifth year and every subsequent year. The aldermen agreed to the amendment and voted unanimously to enact the law as amended. The next step for the law will be a public hearing held by the mayor before signing or vetoing the legislation.

By a motion and a second, the aldermen agreed to lay Local Law No. 5 of 2018--the "Stewart's proposal--on their desks and to send it to the Hudson Planning Board and the Columbia County Planning Board for review and a recommendation. DePietro reminded the aldermen that the recommendations of the planning boards are "advisory not binding."

At the end of the meeting, Mayor Rick Rector spoke about the thirteen projects that have been approved for DRI (Downtown Revitalization Initiative) funding. Rector explained that a state representative will be assigned to each of the projects and "we have to have the money upfront," in other words, the City has to spend $9.7 million before it will be reimbursed $9.7 million. "The fun starts now," said the mayor.

Dan Udell's video of last night's Council meeting can now be viewed by clicking here.

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A Moment from Tonight's Council Meeting

Gossips will report fully on tonight's Common Council meeting, but for now I want to share just one moment. After a motion and second to lay proposed Local Law No. 5--the law that would amend the zoning in R-2 and R-2H districts to allow the expansion of "two historic nonconforming uses"--on the aldermen's desks, Council president Tom DePietro invited comment on what he said "has come to be called the 'Stewart's proposal.'" 

Michael LeSawyer, whose house is situated midway between Stewart's and Scali's, the "two historic nonconforming uses" that would benefit from the zoning amendment, complained about the inequity of the amendment: "Stewart's can do anything they want, Scali's can do anything they want, but I can't." He went on to say that if he was subject to the constraints of living in an R-2 district, he expected some benefits.

John Rosenthal (Fourth Ward), who as chair of the Legal Committee is principally responsible for crafting the proposed amendment, reproved LeSawyer, telling him, "Everybody has to balance their concerns with wider community concerns." To which LeSawyer countered, without missing a beat, "The community wanted a dog park."

To recall what happened most recently in the decade long effort to build a dog park in Hudson, click here and here. 

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The Future for Oakdale Lake

At tonight's Common Council meeting, the aldermen will be voting on a resolution "supporting the efforts of The Friends of Oakdale Lake"--in particular supporting a design project to be undertaken by the Hudson Valley Initiative at Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Preservation, and Planning.

The idea for the project originated with Tamar Adler, who realized, when she started taking her two-year-old son to Oakdale, "both what a treasure we have in Oakdale and how badly certain things were needed there. It was easy for me to see that some of its underuse was the fault of perception issues: even the most basic understanding of how humans interact with their environments dictates that we need clues, encouragement, and to see other people doing what we might want to do." Adler suggests that "human interventions in the form of docks, platforms, stairs, free paddle boards or paddle boats, natural/ecological water quality improvement etc. can keep humans in excited and regular interactions with this/these [natural] spaces."

Adler's enthusiasm for Oakdale and her desire to see its many "lovely and promising attributes" enhanced and appreciated led her to the Hudson Valley Initiative, a program of Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Preservation, and Planning, which "facilitates applied research into complex spatial, ecological, and economic opportunities in the Hudson Valley." The Hudson Valley Initiative was interested in working with Hudson on a vision for Oakdale's future.

The Hudson Valley Initiative project will cost $10,000, for the stipends, travel expenses, and material expenses of the graduate students who will undertake the studies, conduct the workshops, create the renderings, and write the report. As of this afternoon, all but $120 of the $10,000 has been raised--the first $5,000 in large donations, and the remaining $5,000 through a GoFundMe campaign. Adler says of the proposed study: "This is not 'outsiders' coming and designing something which will then be built, but a group whose specific goal is site-specific, community-specific, collaborative work. Their specialty is helping to tease out a vision in collaboration with a community."

To learn more about the goals of the project, check out "Oakdale Lake: Ideas for Design and Use" and visit the Friends of Oakdale Lake website.
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Sunday Is Mrs. Greenthumbs Day 2018

In 2014, a group of people--mostly gardeners but not all--decided to revive a tradition that had started more than a decade earlier: Mrs. Greenthumbs Day, honoring the memory of Hudson's most talented, most exuberant, and most famous gardener, Cassandra Danz, who had a local radio show, appeared on national television, and wrote books as Mrs. Greenthumbs.

Mrs. Greenthumbs Day was and is observed with the most democratic of garden tours. People with gardens they love, work hard at, and are proud of open their gardens to fellow gardeners, gardener wannabes, and garden appreciators. The garden tour is a unique opportunity to view gardens hidden behind buildings and fences and to get inside gardens that can only be tantalizingly glimpsed from the street.

Now a biennial event, Mrs. Greenthumbs Day returns this year on Sunday, July 22. Twenty-one gardens in Hudson will welcome visitors from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The gardens are clustered together in different locations throughout the city, making walking from garden to garden on this self-guided garden tour, a pleasant stroll around town. The map below shows the locations of all twenty-one gardens. Balloons will mark the entrance to each garden.

Click on the map to enlarge it and then print it out, or email  Gossips to request a pdf of the map. On the day of the tour, maps will be available at Nolita Café, 454 Warren Street; The Secret Gardener, 250 Warren Street; and the Hudson Opera House (Hudson Hall), 327 Warren Street.   

The garden tour is free and open to all, but there will be the opportunity at each garden to show your appreciation by making a contribution to the Hudson Parks Conservancy to support its effort to restore and enhance our city's parks.

When the garden tour is over, garden "tourists" are encouraged to come to the Parks Party, from 5 to 7 p.m. at The Secret Gardener, 250 Warren Street, to celebrate the launch of the Hudson Parks Conservancy. The goal of the new organization is to work with the City of Hudson to enhance the city's public parks and make them sources of community pride that enrich the lives of all Hudsonians. A donation of $40 is requested for the party, which can be paid at the door. Click here to RVSP.
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The Great War: July 16, 1918

The banner headline of the Columbia Republican for July 16, 1918, proclaimed: "AMERICANS SMASH THRU GERMAN DRIVE." The subhead elaborates: "After Enemy Had Crossed the Marne River at Chateau-Thierry, the Americans Drove Them Back in Counter-Attacks, Captured 1,600 Prisoners, Cut Off Their Retreat and All Germans on the South Bank of the River Are in Danger of Capture."

Elsewhere on the front page it is reported that "Seventy-Five Boys Left Monday," and at the bottom of the page, there's a picture of those seventy-five "boys," posing on the steps of the Columbia County courthouse.

The second page of the newspaper--the editorial page--also has an item worth sharing: a comment about the seventy-five young men from Columbia County who left the previous day, on their way to war.

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What's Happening to America?

MICROPOLITAN DIARY

Dear Diary,

Am I so old, or has the country--even the part of the country that listens to NPR--been frighteningly "dumbed down"? This evening, some national news was interjected into NPR's special coverage of Donald Trump's summit with Vladimir Putin. Ari Shapiro (I'm pretty sure it was Ari Shapiro) reported that Sears had closed its last store in Chicago and then stated, in a perky manner that suggested listeners would be surprised by the news, "Sears actually was started in 1893 as a mail-order company."

"Micropolitan Diary" is Gossips' homage to and blatant imitation of "Metropolitan Diary" in the New York Times. The term micropolitan was coined (by Gossips) because Hudson is a metropolis in microcosm.

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Meetings of Interest This Week . . . and a Gala

The calendar was free of meetings and events today, but that's hardly true for the next three days.

On Tuesday, July 17, there are three meetings of interest, but one of them won't be open to the public.

• At 1 p.m., the nominating committee of the Hudson Development Corporation (HDC) board of directors meets to interview potential new board members. It has been announced that this meeting will be held in executive session. In May, four members of the board--Seth Rapport, Kristal Heinz, Duncan Calhoun, and Brian Stickles--resigned after Common Council president Tom DePietro, who serves on the board ex officio, asked the city attorney to "look into how does one get rid of an LDC [local development corporation]." The whole crisis of confidence grew out of discontent and mistrust regarding HDC's handling of the Kaz redevelopment project.  
• At 5:30 p.m., the Common Council Finance Committee meets at City Hall. The agenda for the meeting can be viewed here.
• At 7 p.m., the Common Council holds its regular monthly meeting at City Hall. A number of resolutions introduced last week will be voted on at the meeting, and presumably Council president Tom DePietro will allow the public to comment on the proposed zoning amendment that would allow Stewart's and Scali's to expand in exchange for some unnamed amount of money from Stewart's in the form of a host community benefit agreement. Also to be voted on at the meeting are the resolution to adopt the Strategic Housing Action Plan and the resolution to support the route of the Empire State Trail through the city.

On Wednesday, July 18, there are meetings all day, not all of them open to the public. The good news is that the day ends with a gala.

• At 12 noon, the HDC governance committee meets to discuss planning for agency administration--something necessitated by the imminent departure of HDC director Sheena Salvino. There is no indication that this meeting will be held in executive session.
• At 1 p.m., the HDC nominating committee meets again to interview potential new board members. It has been announced that this meeting will held in executive session.
• At 5:15 p.m., the Common Council Public Works and Parks Committee meets at City Hall. The main business of this meeting is always to receive DPW superintendent Rob Perry's report.
• At 6:00 p.m., the Zoning Board of Appeals will hold a public hearing on a request from Hudson Mainstay, at 437 Warren Street, for an area variance for five offstreet parking spaces behind the building. After the public hearing, the ZBA will conduct its regular monthly meeting.
• At 7:00 p.m., OutHudson holds its Awards Gala at Helsinki Hudson. There will be live performances, much banter, and the presentation of awards to the most fabulous entries in the 2018 OutHudson Pride Parade. Awards will be given in the following categories: Best in Theme: Superheroes; Most Kitschy-est; Most MARVEL-ous; RainBOWIE-est; Most Villainous, Most Gender-bending; and Most OUT-rageous. A $5 to $10 donation is suggested.

On Thursday, July 19, the Common Council Economic Development Committee meets at 6:00 p.m. at City Hall. No agenda is yet available for this meeting.
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