Meeting Reminder

The Common Council Legal Committee meets tonight at 6:15 p.m. in City Hall. Under consideration are two alternative laws to address the problem of substandard sidewalks in the city: the first would authorize the City to "remedy deficient sidewalks and assess the cost of same as a lien against the real property of the adjoining landowner"; the second would establish a Sidewalk Improvement District and levy an annual maintenance fee on all property owners, which would be used for the repairing and replacing sidewalks within the district.

Another new law being considered has to do with short-term rentals, commonly referred to as Airbnbs. The law would limit ownership of short-term rental property. According to the proposed law, an individual would be able to maintain his or her home as an owner-occupied bed & breakfast, but no could own more than one property used for short-term rental that is not owner-occupied. The link to the draft of that law can be found on the Common Council page on the City of Hudson website. 
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The Future for Cement

Both presenters at the Future Hudson event on Saturday made reference to the St. Lawrence cement battle, successfully waged from 1998 to 2005. The massive cement plant's potential to pollute the environment of the Hudson Valley was a major impetus that brought people together to fight the project that threatened to stymie Hudson's future. 

In the days since Saturday, Bloomberg and CNN Business have reported that a coalition made up of the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC) and Climate Action 100+--a coalition that manages more than $33 trillion in capital--is pressuring cement makers "to accelerate efforts to reduce their emissions." Among the four cement companies being asked to commit to being carbon neutral by 2050 is Lafarge Holcim, the company St. Lawrence Cement was evolved into. CCN Business quotes the CEO of IIGCC as saying, "The cement sector needs to dramatically reduce the contribution it makes to climate change. Delaying or avoiding this challenge is not an option. This is ultimately a business-critical issue for the sector." Bloomberg quotes the CEO of the Ethos Foundation, a member of the coalition, as warning, "Construction material companies may ultimately risk divestment and lack of access to capital."
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The images accompanying this post are from Sam Pratt's "Hudson 101: The Cement Plant Battle."

Russian Hacking in Florida, and Now This

In May, NPR reported that the governor of Florida revealed at a news conference that Russian hackers had breached the election systems in two Florida counties in the 2016 election but offered assurances that "no data were tampered with and vote tallies were not affected": "Florida Governor Says Russian Hackers Breached 2 Counties in 2016."

Nothing like this could happen in Columbia County, because our voting machines are not connected to the internet. The machines scan paper ballots, and after the election those paper ballots are counted by hand to confirm the machine count. The machines are not susceptible to cyber attack, and it's hard to imagine them being tampered with in any way. I've been a poll inspector for more than a decade and know first-hand what happens with the machines before and during an election and what happens with the ballots during and after an election. In the Pre-Lat process, which takes place a few weeks before an election, bipartisan teams test the machines to make sure they are functioning properly. When the machines are opened on Election Day, bipartisan teams check to make sure the ballot box is empty and print out "zero tapes" to confirm that no votes have been registered on the machine. When the polls close, bipartisan teams make sure that every ballot that has been fed into the machine is delivered safely to the Board of Elections. After the election, bipartisan teams do a hand count of the ballots to confirm the accuracy of the results reported by the machines. All along the way, there are checks and balances in place to ensure that every ballot issued is accounted for and no ballot not lawfully issued ends up in the voting machine. 

From my experience as a poll inspector, I know that elected officials are prohibited from working as poll inspectors--not just in their own municipality but anywhere in Columbia County--and candidates for office and their close relatives cannot serve as poll inspectors in elections when they are on the ballot. So imagine my surprise when I learned this morning that the person newly hired to be the Republican Voting Machine/HAVA Specialist, the person who with his Democratic counterpart has responsibility for maintaining the voting machines, is on the Town Board in Germantown and is running for reelection this year. 

When asked about the situation, Virginia Martin, the Democratic Commissioner of Elections, told Gossips: "He cannot have anything to do with Germantown elections. We will make sure he doesn't." Martin went on to say, "He will be at all times working with his Democratic counterpart who will ensure that he does not touch anything having to do with Germantown elections. That's exactly how bipartisan administration works." 

Still, perception matters, and in this era of uncertainty and fear on the national level about the integrity of our election process, this seems an unfortunate move on the part of the Republicans of Columbia County.
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Meeting Rescheduled

The Common Council Fire Committee meeting scheduled for today at 5:30 p.m. has been rescheduled for next Monday, July 29, at 5:30 p.m. The Police Committee meeting will happen today at 6:00 p.m., as scheduled.

Back to Glenwood Boulevard

The post about Mrs. A. Tremaine McKinstry and her ill-fated cab ride to downtown Hudson from her home on Glenwood Boulevard prompted Jack Connor to share this picture of Glenwood Boulevard around 1919, which was part of an exhibition at the library last winter created by Friends of Oakdale Lake.

The photograph confirms the condition of the street a hundred years ago. Curiously, it appears that there was a sidewalk along that side of Glenwood Boulevard a hundred years ago, which doesn't exist today.

Connor also informed me that the vacant lot, which I had identified as 83 Glenwood Boulevard, was actually 81 Glenwood Boulevard. That suggests that the house on the right in the picture below, now bearing the number 85, was 83 Glenwood Boulevard, the home, according to the 1920 census, of Augustus Tremaine McKinstry and his wife, Helen.

Connor also provided this information about the houses and their early connection to the lake: "When the plot was originally developed, there was a road to the lake that went across the driveway on 81, through the back lot of 83 [85], across where the playground is now located, and followed the gravel trail to the little peninsula that juts into Oakdale. You can still see the remains of the trail in the path from the playground into the woods."

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Meetings and Events in the Week Ahead

The heatwave is over, and it's a good thing. There's lots to do in the week ahead.

• On Monday, July 22, from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m., Assemblymember Didi Barrett and Congressman Antonio Delgado host the grand opening of their new Hudson district office at 420 Warren Street.

At 5:30 p.m. on Monday, July 22, the Common Council Fire Committee meets at City Hall, and at 6:00 p.m. the Police Committee meets in the same place. Update: The Common Council Fire Committee meeting scheduled for today at 5:30 p.m. has been rescheduled for next Monday, July 30, at 5:30 p.m.

• On Tuesday, July 23, the board of the Hudson Development Corporation (HDC) meets at noon at 1 North Front Street. It's expected that once again the acquisition of the CSX property will be a topic of discussion, and it's always possible that plans for moving forward with the redevelopment of the Kaz site may be discussed.  

At 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 23, the DRI Committee meets at 2:30 p.m. at City Hall. When this committee last met, on July 9, it was decided that on July 23 the committee would be interviewing firms selected from the eight that submitted responses to the RFQ for the renovation and restoration of Promenade Hill.

At 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 23, the Tourism Board meets at 1 North Front Street. It is expected the board will continue its discussion of how to proceed given the Common Council's desire to control all revenue from the lodging tax, a part of which had originally been allocated to the Tourism Board, which was empowered by the law that established the lodging tax "to take all reasonable steps it determines desirable, necessary and proper to market the City of Hudson as a destination for overnight and daytrip visitors."

• On Wednesday, July 24, the Common Council Legal Committee meets at 6:15 p.m. at City Hall. On agenda will undoubtedly be the draft legislation to address sidewalks and short-term rentals. The proposed laws can reviewed at the City of Hudson website and written comments are invited.
• On Friday, July 26, members of the Historic Preservation Commission will make a site visit to Willard Place at 9:30 a.m., and at 10:00 a.m., there will be a public hearing at City Hall on the proposal to erect a fence in front of 10 Willard Place. Following the public hearing, the HPC will conduct its regular meeting.

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On the Topic of Historic Preservation

The Future Hudson event "To Preserve or Not to Preserve?" was short one presenter yesterday, with no explanation, but Dan Udell was there to document the discussion. His video can be seen by clicking here.

News of Oakdale Lake . . . Now and Then

On Monday, Friends of Hudson Youth announced the second annual Oakdale Lake Picnic, to take place on Thursday, August 8, from 4 to 6 p.m.

I was reminded of the upcoming picnic yesterday when I came upon this article on the front page of the Columbia Republican for July 22, 1919. In 1919, Oakdale Lake, an artificial lake that was created as an amenity for the "Farrand & Watson building tract," the section of Hudson we now know as "the Boulevards," had been in existence for only five years.

 

According to the 1920 census, Augustus Tremaine McKinstry, who was featured in a Gossips post last July, his wife, Helen, and their daughter June, who was two years and ten months at the time of the census, lived at 83 Glenwood Boulevard, a house that no longer exists. The house numbers on Glenwood Boulevard skip from 81 to 85, and it does appear that there may be a house missing.

Interestingly, the newspaper account indicates that the taxi "drove to her home on Oakdale boulevard from the State road entrance," which would have been Fairview Avenue. (Was Glenwood Boulevard originally called Oakdale Boulevard, or did the newspaper make a mistake?) It has always seemed odd that the house numbers on Glenwood, Parkwood, and Oakwood boulevards begin at Fairview Avenue and go up as they approach the rest of the city rather than the other way around, but this story is evidence that access to this neighborhood from North Sixth Street--the only direct connector from "downtown"--was an iffy proposition when this early 20th-century suburb was created.

Today, there is easy access on North Sixth Street to Oakdale Lake and beyond. So, mark your calendars and plan to attend the Oakdale Lake Picnic on Thursday, August 8--which, for what it's worth, is the 45th anniversary of the day Richard Nixon announced to the American people his intention to resign as president. 
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Back to the Drawing Board

On July 10, Gossips reported that the Hudson Housing Authority was abandoning its current plan to develop more income-based housing and would be issuing a new RFQ (request for qualifications): "News from HHA."

Last night, Amanda Purcell reported essentially the same news on HudsonValley360 and confirmed that the HHA Board of Commissioners will not meet again until September: "HHA plans to seek new requests for proposals."
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Troy News with a Hudson Connection

Redburn Development, the group that transformed a historic industrial building at 41 Cross Street into chic hotel, is doing a lot of rehabbing of historic buildings in the Capital Region. Among those projects is a building at 701 River Street in Troy, which is being transformed into Collar Factory Lofts. Work on the $16 million project began in September 2018. 

Tonight, a reader shared the news that the building, still under construction, was on fire.

About an hour ago, Channel 13 News reported that the fire was had been contained, but it was unclear how bad the damage was.

The Times Union updated its report on the fire at 9:23 p.m.: "Firefighters battle large blaze at Troy building."
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Work Begins

As regular readers know, the remediated brownfield that was the site of Foster Refrigerator is to be a trailhead for the Empire State Trail at the front and a dog park at the rear.

Earlier this week, the work on the trailhead started and is expected to be completed by mid-August--probably before the development of the dog park gets the green light from the Common Council.

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Stewart's Here and There

This week, the second of the two houses in the way of Stewart's expansion at the corner of Green Street and Fairview Avenue was leveled, giving passersby a better idea of the size of the footprint of the new Stewart's gas station and convenience store.

Meanwhile, in the Village of Altamont, a similar request from Stewart's for a zoning change, a process that began back in April 2015, is not enjoying such smooth sailing. In October 2015, the Altamont Board of Trustees refused to make the change. Stewart's persisted, and in December 2018, with new members on the board, the zoning amendment was approved. Similarly, the amendment to our zoning to accommodate Stewart's was approved by a Common Council made up almost entirely of new members after being dismissed by the previous Council. But the Altamont story doesn't end there. 

In May 2019, a group of Altamont residents filed a lawsuit against the Board of Trustees and Stewart's over the zoning change. One of the two bases for the lawsuit was that, in making the zoning change, the Board of Trustees failed to comply with SEQR process. Yesterday, the Altamont Enterprise reported that Stewart's is now resubmitting its request for a zoning change, so the board can get it right in the do-over: "Rezone redux: Stewart's reapplies to village board as lawsuit hovers."
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Future Hudson This Saturday

Future Hudson holds the fourth of its community discussions this Saturday, July 20, from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Community Room of the Hudson Area Library, 51 North Fifth Street.

Although the title of this event--"To Preserve or Not to Preserve?"--seems to suggest a quandary, the description provided does not: "This event explores the role that historic preservation can play in helping communities respect the past while creating a future for all residents." The speakers for the event are Liz McEnaney, executive director of the SS Columbia Project and adjunct assistant professor with the Hudson Valley Initiative of the Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP); Morgan O'Hara of MASS Design Group; and Josh Simons from the Benjamin Center for Public Policy at SUNY New Paltz. The discussion will be moderated by Larry Bowne, architect and associate professor of architecture at Syracuse University. This program in the Future Hudson series is funded in part by Humanities New York with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

On Saturday, when it's expected to be beastly hot, spend part of your afternoon in the cool of the library, located in the historic Hudson Armory, contemplating the role of historic preservation in the life of our community.

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Dog Park Clears a Hurdle . . . One More to Go

Last night, the Common Council Public Works and Parks Committee--Eileen Halloran, Dominic Merante, Rich Volo, and Shershah Mizan--voted unanimously to move the resolution authorizing the development of the dog park to the full Council. The resolution will be introduced at the informal meeting of the Common Council on Monday, August 12, and voted on at the Council's regular meeting on Tuesday, August 20.

At the meeting, Rob Perry, superintendent of the Department of Public Works, provided a sheaf of documents--communications with the Department of Environmental Conservation going as far back as 1999--identifying the nature of the contamination on the site and confirming that the remediated site can only to used for passive recreation--one example of which is a dog park.

There were questions about such things as the hours for the dog park (dawn to dusk), liability (owners are responsible for the behavior of their dogs, as they are anywhere else in the city), and maintenance (DPW will mow the grass, as they are doing now, and carry away the trash). Annabel Taylor, who spoke for the dog park committee, also presented the proposed rules for the dog park, which are basically the following eight: 

1. Park is open from dawn to dusk.
2. Use at your own risk.
3. Dog owners must immediately clean up after their dogs.
4. Dogs must display a valid license and have proof of up-to-date rabies vaccinations.
5. Dogs must be removed from the dog park at the first sign of aggression toward a human or another dog.
6. No food, dog treats, alcoholic beverages, or smoking are allowed in the dog park.
7. Children under 14 years of age must be accompanied by an adult. Children are not allowed to chase or taunt dogs.
8. People unaccompanied by dogs are not permitted in the dog park.

Alderman Tiffany Garriga (Second Ward), who attended the meeting, asked about plans to deal with aggressive dogs. The dog park committee explained there had already been one workshop on dog park etiquette presented by dog behaviorist Jennifer James, aimed primarily at recognizing signs of trouble and taking steps to avoid it, and more such workshops are being planned. Members of the dog park committee with experience at other dog parks noted that regular users of dog parks become adept at recognizing problem dogs and keeping their dogs out of bad situations.

In anticipation of the Council passing the resolution in August to authorize the development of the dog park, a new Facebook group has been created for dog owners looking forward to taking their pups to the park: Hudson Dog Park. Click here to access the page and join the group.
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Meeting Reminder

At the informal Common Council meeting on June 8, a resolution authorizing the mayor to enter into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the construction and governance of a dog park, to be developed on the remediated brownfield that was Foster Refrigerator Corporation, at the corner of Second and Dock streets, was referred to the Public Works and Parks Committee. That committee meets tonight at 5:15 p.m. at City Hall. Dog owners who want a dog park in Hudson should come to the meeting tonight, if they can, to show their support.

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Written Comments Sought

At the last Common Council Legal Committee meeting, on June 26, three proposed new laws were discussed: one that would regulate houses maintained as short-term rentals and two alternative plans for ensuring the safety and maintenance of sidewalks in the city. At last night's Common Council meeting, Council president Tom DePietro announced that all three laws are now online on the City of Hudson website. The public is invited to review the draft laws and submit comments to him at councilpres@cityofhudson.org.
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Let's Be Careful Out There

This morning, a driver lost control of her car on State Street near Fourth, hit a parked car, and then flipped her own car. A reader provided this photograph of the outcome. There are no reports of anyone being injured in the incident.

Update: It seems to be the day for hitting parked cars. Minutes after this incident on State Street, another driver struck two parked cars on Green Street. Bill Williams of 98.5 The Cat reported that story on Facebook: "Vehicle takes out 2 parked cars in Hudson." In this instance, one person was taken to Columbia Memorial.
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Last Night at City Hall

Dan Udell has posted his video of last night's Common Council meeting on YouTube, and it can be viewed by clicking here.

A segment of interest begins about nine minutes in, when Council president Tom DePietro, with obvious disdain and skepticism, presents one of several new resolutions before the Council. The resolution would authorize the mayor to apply for a grant to do master plans for the improvement of Seventh Street Park and Henry Hudson Riverfront Park. The grant money for the project would come through the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) from the Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) in the Consolidated Funding Application (CFA) process. DePietro pointed out that he had not signed the resolution because "it's not clear where it came from and what it's doing."

Alderman Kamal Johnson (First Ward) wanted to know where the required match ($7,500) would come from. He was told the Finance Committee had already approved taking it from the general fund. Alderman Tiffany Garriga (Second Ward) wanted to know, among other things, what improvements would be made to the two parks. 

Mayor Rick Rector explained that the grant, if awarded, would provide an opportunity to look at riverfront park in the context of the connectivity project that is the major part of the DRI (Downtown Revitalization Initiative), the new Ferry Street Bridge to be constructed in 2020, and the redevelopment of the Dunn warehouse and to create a master plan that would integrate all the elements at the waterfront. The grant would also fund the development of a master plan for improvements to Seventh Street Park, something that has been a topic of discussion in the city for years. 

Photo: The Urban Prospector

In the end, the Council unanimously approved the resolution authorizing the mayor to apply for the grant. 

Chief Ed Moore's comments about the violent incident that happened in Hudson on Monday night begins about 21 minutes in.
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Ugly Things Happen in Our Little City

Last night, a member of Hudson's LGBTQ community was brutally beaten near the corner of North Second and Columbia streets, in the altercation that turned physical. The attack is being characterized by some as a hate crime. Roger Hannigan Gilson has a report about the incident on his blog The Other Hudson Valley, which includes a video of the incident captured by a bystander: "Suspect Caught in Beating of a Gay Man."

Tonight, at the Common Council meeting, HPD Chief Ed Moore reported that the suspect had been apprehended at 5:50 p.m. today and charged with felony assault. It has not yet been determined if he will be charged with a hate crime. "We will get to all the facts in this matter," Moore assured the Council. He went on to say, "The victim will recover, and the attacker is in custody." 

Update: At 9:48 p.m., HudsonValley360 updated its report about the incident: "Judge sets $1,000 bail in assault case." The report is accompanied by a disturbing photo of the victim.
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On the Cutting Edge of Word Use

It's been noted here and elsewhere that the first definition of cocktail appeared on May 15, 1806, in a newspaper called The Balance and Columbian Repository, published here in Hudson. The editor of The Balance was Harry Croswell, who also, using the pseudonym Robert Rusticoat, was the publisher of The Wasp.

Some of the earliest occurrences of the word capitalist were also in a Hudson newspaper--the Hudson Northern Whig--on March 7, 1815, and on September 17, 1816. 

Last night, a reader alerted me to another occasion when a Hudson newspaper was cutting-edge in its use of words. Once again, the newspaper was The Balance. Merriam-Webster reported a spike in people looking up the meaning of the word folderol after Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg, on May 22, used the word in speaking of the fourth iteration of Theresa May's Brexit bill. (For Gossips readers not familiar with the word, it means something nonsensical or trivial.) Of the origin of the word, Merriam-Webster explains: "Folderol comes from fol-de-rol (or fal-de-ral), nonsense syllables commonly used as a refrain in songs. Although the non-musical sense was thought to have originated in 1820, recent findings show it in use earlier in the 19th century." One of those recent findings was the following, which appeared in The Balance, published here in Hudson, on January 8, 1805:

If I should contract debts in the States after I become a Spanish subject I make myself liable in Augustine, but as it is now you may whistle what tune you please for your own amusement, but let me beg you not to trouble me with any more of your folderol--for I will not answer you--Yours, &c. Obadiah Potter 

Thanks to Matt Lynch for bringing this to our attention
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