A Good Outcome

This may simply be an example of the Post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy, but on April 20, Gossips called attention to the crumbling wall at 501 Union Street, the "Apartments of Distinction" . . .

 

and today, I am happy to report, the wall has been repaired.

Of course, future plans for the building are still unknown.
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One Week from Today

On Thursday, May 30, James Howard Kunstler, author of The Geography of Nowhere and the blog Clusterfuck Nation, will deliver a talk here in Hudson called "The American Small Town Is Where It's At: Let's Get It Right." The event, which is part of the Future Hudson series, will take place at 6:00 p.m., in the Community Room of the Hudson Area Library, 51 North Fifth Street.

Well known for his scathing indictment of suburban-sprawl development and other land-use mistakes, one wonders if Kunstler will share an opinion about our own little example of suburban-sprawl development designed in accordance with New Urbanism precepts: the soon to be expanded Stewart's.
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The News We Love to Hear

It was just announced by Chief Ed Moore and Mayor Rick Rector that overnight alternate side of the street parking will be suspended on weekends for the summer, beginning at midnight on May 25--that's overnight this Friday to Saturday--and continuing through September 29. 

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What Is the Benefit?

During the years of the City's consideration and accommodation of Stewart's Shops' proposal to expand its convenience store and gas station at Green Street and Fairview Avenue, a project that involves demolishing two houses and losing at least six affordable apartments, the question was often asked by skeptics of the project: "How does this benefit Hudson?" Last night, we got the answer.

Libby Coreno, attorney for Stewart's Shops, appeared at the Common Council Legal Committee meeting last night to present the terms of the host community benefit agreement. The City would receive $200,000 from Stewart's to compensate for the impacts of the project on the community: $135,000 to $140,000 to be used for improvements to the intersection to enhance pedestrian access; the remainder--$60,000 to $65,000--to be used for planning and zoning studies. 

The article that appeared on Tuesday in HudsonValley360 suggested that members of the Common Council would be meeting with representatives of Stewart's Shops to "hash out" a community host benefit agreement, but if there was any hashing out, it didn't take place at last night's Legal Committee meeting. When Gossips asked how it was determined that $135,000 to $140,000 would be adequate to remedy the perceived problems at the intersection, city attorney Andy Howard said that the cost had been determined by the Planning Board and Stewart's. 

The Legal Committee asked Howard to prepare the host community benefit agreement document and unanimously voted to move the agreement on to the full Council for approval.
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Let's Be Safe Out There

This morning, someone on Facebook warned drivers to have their car registration and inspection current if they were planning to enter the city by way of Route 9G and South Third Street. While officers may have been glancing at the stickers on the windshield, what they were really interested in was whether or not the adults in the car had fastened their seat belts and children were in their car seats.

Gossips has learned that today the Hudson Police Department and the New York State Police participated together in the "Buckle Up New York--Click It or Ticket" campaign, conducting a road check on South Third Street near the border with Greenport, as part of a statewide enforcement effort. 

The 2019 Buckle Up New York campaign runs for two weeks--from May 20 through June 2. The Hudson Police Department will be actively participating in the effort during this period. So whenever you get in the car, remember to buckle up.
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This Friday at the Bronson House

"Get out the broom and sweep the place clean. Dust off the mat so the 'Welcome' can be seen."

Photo: Anthony D'Argenzio

Last Saturday, members of the board of Historic Hudson (at least one of whom remembers the words from the Mickey Mouse Club song used as the lede), reinforced by volunteers, swept the Dr. Oliver Bronson clean and did some other tidying up in preparation for the second annual Design Hudson showcase event this weekend. 

As it was last year, the Bronson House will be the setting for the opening night party, from 5 to 8 p.m., on Friday, May 24.

Also as it was last year, the Bronson House will be the setting for installations of furniture, art, and home decor created by Hudson businesses and artisans, juxtaposed with the historic architecture of Hudson's beloved National Historic Landmark.

For more information and to secure tickets to the event, go to VisitHudsonNY.com.

All the pictures used in this post (except for the first one) show last year's Design Hudson event and were borrowed from VisitHudsonNY.com.  

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In the Interest of Transparency

At last night's Common Council meeting, Council president Tom DePietro announced that the Council was hiring a secretary to take minutes at committee meetings and the informal meeting. Traditionally, the informal meeting was just that: an informal meeting. No action was taken, and hence no minutes were recorded. The city clerk recorded the minutes at the regular meeting. Traditionally also, committee chairs kept minutes at committee meetings and submitted them to the city clerk. 

It was been noted in recent years that no minutes exist for many committee meetings. DePietro explained that the secretary was being hired "in the interest of transparency." In the interest of transparency, Gossips details the record of committee meeting minutes for this Council.

• DPW and Parks Committee, Eileen Halloran, chair:  Meeting minutes exist for ten meetings in 2018 and three meetings in 2019 
• Economic Development Committee, Rich Volo, chair: Meeting minutes exist for ten meetings in 2018 and four meetings in 2019
• Finance Committee, Rob Bujan, chair: Meeting minutes exist for eleven meetings in 2018 and four meetings in 2019
• Fire Committee, Dominic Merante, chair: Meeting minutes exist for nine meetings in 2018 and three meetings in 2019   
• Housing and Transportation Committee, Tiffany Garriga, chair: Meeting minutes exist for one meeting in 2018 and no meetings in 2019   
• Legal Committee, John Rosenthal, chair: Meeting minutes exist for one meeting in 2018 and no meetings in 2019
• Police Committee, Kamal Johnson, chair: Meeting minutes exist for four meetings in 2018 and two meetings in 2019
• Youth, Education, Seniors and Recreation Committee, Kamal Johnson, chair: Meeting minutes exist for three meetings in 2018 and two meetings in 2019

DePietro's comments at the meeting indicated that Garriga, Rosenthal, and Johnson will be relying on the secretary to take minutes at their committee meetings. Halloran, Volo, Bujan, and Merante will continue to record their own minutes.
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HCSD Budget Vote

The polls closed at 9:00 p.m. tonight, and at the same time, the HCSD Board of Education began its special meeting at the Central Fire Station. By this time, it's probably known by someone in the media if the $49.8 million budget for the 2019-2020 school year was approved or not. The only thing I have to report is that when I voted at 8:20 p.m., just forty minutes before the polls closed, only 270 Hudson residents had voted before me. 
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Nine Not to Ignore: No. 7

In April, inspired by the NYS Preservation League's Seven to Save list of endangered sites throughout New York State, Gossips began its list of endangered buildings in Hudson. After a little hiatus, the list resumes today.

7  The Gifford-Wood Building

Tucked out of sight, at the end of a street that was created for no reason other than to give access to it, is the building that was constructed in 1910-1911 to be the new home of the Gifford-Wood Company. The company was established in 1814 by Elihu Gifford, the father of Hudson River School painter Sanford Robinson Gifford. In 1905, Gifford Brothers merged with William T. Wood & Co. of Arlington, Massachusetts, to form the Gifford-Wood Company. In 1911, the company moved from the building shown in the picture below, which stood at the intersection of State and Green streets, to the building at the end of Hudson Avenue.  

When the company made the merger and the move, it was headed up by Elihu's grandsons, Malcolm and Arthur Gifford.

The building was last used as a manufacturing plant for McGuire Overhead Door. McGuire closed the plant in Hudson in 2006, and since then the building has stood vacant. Recently, however, it went on the market with an asking price of $7,625,000. The online listing includes historic pictures of the building and of the tools created there, as well as a photograph of Sanford Gifford and some of his paintings. It also includes this description of the building's location:

The trends in the area include a roster of commercial uses that could be considered as part of an adaptive re-use initiative and/or redevelopment. Local development trends on Warren Street are for gentrification with new investment focused on building-up the Warren Street corridor with new investment in hotels, galleries, restaurants, stores, offices and more. The spillover of this gentrification has transformed older homes and commercial properties nearby to a less degree but generally the area is experiencing new investment originating mainly in New York City and perhaps Boston. The property is walking distance to the train station and the Hudson River waterfront. The site is located n a quiet section of the city of Hudson, the very close to Warren Street, the focal point of the community and the gentrification.

After thirteen years of standing vacant, it seems something new may be happening for this building. Of course, "adaptive re-use initiative and/or redevelopment" does seem to leave the door open for demolition. One can only wonder what its future will be.
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The Polls Open at Noon

The Hudson City School District budget vote and school board election takes place today, Tuesday, May 21. The polls open at noon and remain open until 9:00 p.m. Hudson residents vote at the Central Fire Station, 77 North Seventh Street.

The budget for the 2019-2020 school year is $49,792,463--just shy of $49.8 million. There are three openings on the school board and only two declared candidates: Willette Jones, whose name appears on the ballot, and Justin "Jelly" Elliott, who is asking people to write in his name.
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Stewart's Update

Amanda Purcell reports about the Stewart's Shops expansion today on HudsonValley 360: "What's next for Stewart's Shops on Fairview?"

Gossips has already published most of the information found in the article, but there are a few things that are new. Members of the Common Council are expected to meet with representatives of Stewart's Shops later this week "to hash out a community host benefit agreement for offsite traffic improvements at the corner of Green Street and Fairview Avenue." There is no starting date for the project, but Chuck Marshall is hoping to open the finished store in early fall.
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Meetings of Interest in the Week Ahead

In the week leading up to Memorial Day weekend, a few things are happening in Hudson.

• Tonight, Monday, May 20, at 5:30 p.m., the Common Council Fire Committee meets at City Hall.
• Also tonight, at 6:00 p.m., Mayor Rick Rector holds a town hall meeting on the second floor at TK Home and Garden, 441 Warren Street. This is a change from the venue previously announced.

• On Tuesday, May 21, the Hudson City School District holds its annual budget vote and school board election. Voters are asked to approve the $49.8 million budget for the 2019-2029 school year and elect people to fill three vacancies on the Board of Education. There is only one candidate on the ballot: Willette Jones. This morning, Gossips learned that Justin "Jelly" Elliott has declared himself a write-in candidate. The polls are open from noon to 9 p.m. The polling place for all Hudson voters is the Central Fire Station, 77 North Seventh Street.

• Also, on Tuesday, May 21, the board of the Hudson Development Corporation is holding a special meeting at noon at 1 North Front Street. It has been announced in advance that the special meeting will he held in executive session "for the board discussion of the terms and conditions of a real estate transaction." 
• Later on Tuesday, May 21, the Common Council Finance Committee meets at 5:30 p.m. in City Hall, followed by the regular meeting of the Common Council at 7:00 p.m. Among the resolutions before the Council is one authorizing the DRI Committee to issue a RFQ (request for qualifications) for a design firm to the redesign of the entrance to Promenade Hill.

• On Wednesday, May 22, the Common Council Legal Committee meets at 6:15 p.m. in City Hall. No agenda is available for this meeting.
• On Friday, May 24, the Historic Preservation Commission meets at 10:00 a.m. at City Hall. The agenda for the meeting is not yet available but may include revised plans for new construction at 211 Warren Street, where the early 19th-century building that once stood there had to be demolished last fall.

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Attention Dog People

Mark your calendars, tell your friends! Hudson's decade-old dream of getting a dog park is coming close to being a reality.

To get us and our dogs ready for this wonderful new experience, the dog park planners have arranged for dog behaviorist Jennifer James to do a presentation about dog park etiquette--everything you need to know to introduce your dog to the park, avoid problems, and ensure a pleasant experience for your dog and all the other dogs of Hudson. The event takes place on Sunday, May 26, at 2:00 p.m., in the Community Room of the Hudson Area Library, 51 North Fifth Street. For your best friend's sake, be there!
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Change of Venue

Tonight's town hall meeting with Mayor Rick Rector will take place in a new location: the second floor at TK Home & Garden, 441 Warren Street. The event begins at 6:00 p.m.

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Reviving an American Tradition

This afternoon, members of Friends of the Hudson City Cemetery and their friends gathered for a picnic at Hudson's burying ground. Departing from the tradition of dining among the departed, today's picnickers did not situate themselves among the tombstones. Instead, on this warm spring day, they gathered in the shade on the great lawn at the entrance to Cedar Park.  

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The Restoration Begins

Last month, Shanan Magee appeared before the Historic Preservation Commission seeking a certificate of appropriateness for the restoration of the facade at 723 Warren Street, the building constructed in 1921 as a movie house called the Park Theatre. On Friday, scaffolding appeared on the building, signaling that work has begun.

The plans for the restoration are relying on reading what survives of the facade, most details of which are still intact. Surprisingly, no period pictures of the building exist--at least no one has been able to find any. 

Two years ago, Gossips published an article that appeared in the Columbia Republican on May 3, 1921--a few days before the new movie theater's official opening--describing in some detail the interior of the building but saying little about the exterior. The article was not accompanied by a photograph of the building. If anyone has or knows of someone who has a photograph of this building, please contact Gossips. I will pass the information along to the people who need it.
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Another Video of the Debate

Yesterday, Indivisible CD19 released its video of Thursday night's debate, which can be viewed by clicking here. 

Those who want to hear more from Kamal Johnson can do so today, Sunday, May 19, at Lil' Deb's Oasis, where he will be holding a meet and greet from 2 to 4 p.m.

Those who want to hear more from Mayor Rector can do so tomorrow, Monday, May, 20, when he holds a town hall meeting at 6 p.m. at the Second Ward Foundation, 71 North Third Street. Tomorrow's meeting is the first of three town hall meetings with Rector scheduled before the primary in June 25. 
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Hudson on WAMC News

Our mayoral debate on Thursday rated coverage on WAMC's Midday Magazine today. To listen, click here.

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Good News for the River

HudsonValley360 reported yesterday afternoon that Wheelabrator is giving up its plan to create an ash landfill across the river in Smith's Landing: "Trustees: Wheelabrator abandons Catskill project."
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Marijuana and Columbia County

This morning, WAMC reported that the Columbia County Board of Health is advocating that the county opt out if recreational marijuana is legalized in New York: "County Board of Health Urges Opting Out of Recreational Marijuana Sales." On Wednesday, WAMC reported that Columbia County was second in the state in the number of arrests for marijuana possession: "Five NY Counties with High Marijuana Arrest Rates."
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