Just When It Seemed the End Was in Sight

The Times Union is reporting today about a new strain of the coronavirus in the United Kingdom that appears to be 70 percent more transmissible than the one we're dealing with now: "Cuomo: U.S. should ban or restrict travel from U.K. due to new coronavirus strain."

Buyer's Remorse

Hudson is buying a new giant ladder truck for the Fire Department. The discussion of replacing Tower 32, the KME Aerial Cat, acquired in 2001, has been going on for quite a while. In 2012, Nick Haddad, then an alderman representing the First Ward, calculated that in the ten years since the ladder truck had been acquired, the City had spend $150,000 in repairs--an average of $15,000 a year. This information was shared at a Council meeting at which Fire Department budget transfers were being approved to amass $15,449.59 in the account designated for maintenance and repair of equipment. About $9,000 of that amount was needed for repairs to Tower 32. 

At the end of 2014, a capital reserve fund was proposed for major capital projects that were "on the horizon." Among them was the purchase of a new ladder truck. The plan was to allocate $200,000 for the fund in 2015 and $200,000 in subsequent years. City treasurer Heather Campbell and then Council president Don Moore were advocates for establishing a capital reserve fund; Mayor Bill Hallenbeck was adamantly opposed, because it would require an increase in property taxes, estimated to be about $40 a year on a house assessed at $250,000. At the end of 2015, however, a capital reserve fund was established, with an initial contribution of $150,000. Campbell told Gossips there have been two subsequent contributions to the fund: $100,000 in 2017 and $100,000 in 2019. The fund now amounts to $352,702, which will be used to offset a portion of the expense of a new ladder truck.

In December 2019, the Common Council unanimously passed a bond resolution authorizing "the acquisition of a ladder truck at an estimated maximum cost of $1,440,000 and authorizing the issuance of serial bonds . . . in an aggregate principal amount not to exceed $1,087,500 . . . to finance the cost thereof." On December 31, 2019, the Hudson Fire Department announced it had awarded a contract to E-One to build a new aerial truck for the City of Hudson. The equipment is being built to the department's specifications, and delivery of the truck is expected early in 2021.

At the Common Council Finance Committee meeting this past Tuesday, during the discussion of the City's revenue loss and expenditures in 2020, Alderman Rebecca Wolff (First Ward) suggested that the purchase of the ladder truck should be canceled. City treasurer Heather Campbell told her the contract had been in place for a year. It was also pointed out that the Council had unanimously authorized the purchase and the issuance of bonds for the purchase in December 2019. Nevertheless, Wolff made the same suggestion during the regular meeting of the Common Council.

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COVID-19 Update

The Columbia County Department of Health has released its numbers for today. Since yesterday, there have been eleven new cases of COVID-19 and 24 recoveries, reducing the number of active cases by thirteen to 106. Since hospitalization rates are now the principal factor in determining the response to the virus, it is good to know that the number of county residents hospitalized and in the ICU has not changed for the past four days.

With eleven positives out of 111 test results received, the positive percentage rate for today is 10 percent. The seven day average, according to Gossips' calculation, based on the numbers reported by the CCDOH, is 8 percent--that is, 154 positives out of 1,946 test results. The New York Forward dashboard, however, is reporting a positivity rate of 5.1 percent for the past 24 hours and a seven day average of 4.5 percent.

Where the New Cases of COVID Were This Week

As it does every Friday, the Columbia County Department of Health has released its breakdown of COVID-19 cases by municipality and congregate housing facility (nursing homes and prisons). In the past week, there have been 154 new cases, 58 more than last week.

This week, there were very few localities that did not see new cases of COVID-19. The largest number of new cases was in Kinderhook, which had 23 new cases. The other municipalities with new cases in the double digits were Hudson with 19, Chatham with 17, Greenport with 13, and Claverack and Valatie each with 10. Following that, Copake and Taghkanic each had 8, Ghent had 7, Stockport had 6, Ancram 5, Livingston and Stottville each had 4, Clermont, Hillsdale, and Stuyvesant each had 3, Elizaville and Philmont each had 2, and Austerlitz, Canaan, Gallatin, Germantown, New Lebanon, Niverville, and the Firemen's Home each had one new case of COVID-19.

    

As always, in the list below, the first number is the number of cases reported last Friday; the second number is the number of cases reported today. These are total numbers of cases since the first case was reported in Columbia County on March 20. The number of actives cases in the county today is 119, 37 more than last Friday.

Austerlitz  4 | 5

Ancram  19 | 24

Canaan  21 | 22

Chatham  50 | 67

Claverack  65 | 75

Clermont  18 | 21

Copake  42 | 50

Craryville  5 | 5

East Chatham  2 | 2

Elizaville  10 | 12

Gallatin  9 | 10

Germantown  23 | 24

Ghent  61 | 68

Greenport  107 | 120

Hillsdale  32 | 35

Hudson  103 | 122

Kinderhook  95 | 118

Livingston  41 | 45

New Lebanon  25 | 26

Niverville  9 | 10

Philmont  18 | 20

Stockport  20 | 26

Stottville  5 | 9

Stuyvesant  40 | 43

Taghkanic  14 | 22

Valatie  41 | 51

Nursing Homes

Barnwell  144 | 144

Firemen's Home  1 | 2

Ghent Assisted Living  46 | 46

Ghent Rehab & Nursing  1 | 1

Livingston Hills  6 | 6

Pine Haven  51 | 51

Prisons

Hudson Correctional Facility  2 | 2

COVID-19 Update

The Columbia County Department of Health has released its numbers for today. Since yesterday, there have been 30 new cases of COVID-19 and 44 recoveries, reducing the number of active cases by fourteen to 119. Eleven county residents are hospitalized with the virus, but none is in the ICU. There have been no new deaths from COVID-19 in Columbia County since Tuesday, December 15.

Since the number of test results received was not published yesterday, we will calculate the positivity rate for the past two days based on the total cases and the PCR tests reported on December 16 and today. Those numbers indicate 64 positives out of 161 test results for a whopping 40 percent positivity rate. We can only hope the CCDOH got its numbers wrong somewhere along the line. Using the numbers provided by the CCDOH, the seven day average is 6.5 percent. 

The New York Forward dashboard, however, reports the positivity rate for Columbia County was 4.4 percent in the past 24 hours and 4.2 percent for the seven day average. It is now the eighth day that Columbia County has had a seven day average positivity rate of more than 3 percent.

Following Up: 75 North Seventh Street

In August, Dan Kent of the Galvan Foundation informed the Common Council in a letter that Galvan was "withdrawing from proceeding further with the 75 North 7th Street Project."

That was on a Tuesday. The next day, Charles Gottlieb, the land use attorney who is part of the Galvan team for the project, was before the Zoning Board of Appeals to appeal an interpretation of the city's zoning code made by code enforcement officer Craig Haigh.

Nothing much has happened regarding the project in the ensuing months, but at the ZBA meeting this past Wednesday, it was announced by ZBA chair Lisa Kenneally that Haigh had withdrawn his objection to the project after consulting with assistant city attorney Jeff Baker, and as a consequence the appeal had been withdrawn. 

What's next for the project is not known.

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You Can Choose Your Friends . . .

but you can't choose your family. 

Yesterday, the Times Union and the Register-Star reported on the arrest and arraignment of six people allegedly involved in a drug trafficking ring in Columbia County. Among the suspects was Duhamel Johnson, identified by the Times Union as one of the two leaders of the ring and identified by the Register-Star as the brother of Mayor Kamal Johnson. The Register-Star went on to report:

Kamal Johnson declined to comment on his brother's arrest, but had this to say.

"Why? He is an adult. Do you contact every person who was arrested and ask their siblings for a statement?" Kamal Johnson said.

In response to that, one might point out that not everyone who is arrested is related to an elected official.

Johnson is not the first elected official in Hudson to have siblings who have had run-ins with the law. Last December, two of Alderman Calvin Lewis's brothers were arrested in raids that resulted in the discovery of illegal drugs and eight illegal handguns. Asked by a Register-Star reporter to comment, Lewis criticized the manner in which the raids had been carried out.

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About That Snow

Snow removal is expected to begin at midnight tonight. Here is the information that has been posted on City of Hudson website. 

NO PARKING SIGNS

On the afternoon of Friday, December 18, orange no parking signs will be placed to facilitate snow removal. Look out for the signs and do not park on the same side of the street as the no parking sign.

PARKING SUMMARY

12/18: 8 AM - Midnight: Park on Both Sides (unless otherwise posted).

12/19: Midnight - 8 AM: park on odd side (unless otherwise posted). Parking on both sides allowed in municipal lots.

PARKING DETAILS

Unless otherwise posted, cars can park on either side during the day. On Saturday, December 19, midnight - 8am, cars must be parked on the odd side (unless otherwise posted).

Cars parked on streets that do not have alternate side parking should observe regular parking rules.

Please look out if your car is parked on a street posted with orange "no parking signs," which prohibit parking on that side of the street until the signs are lawfully removed by the Department of Public Works (DPW).

Residents are encouraged to park in municipal lots. Locations include Warren and 3rd, Union and 6th, Columbia and 6th, and S. Front Street Amtrak lot. Overnight parking is allowed on both sides in all municipal lots through Sunday, December 20. All other rules for parking lots are in effect, do not park in fire lanes or block entrances. While coin parking meters are suspended, payment is still required for Amtrak lot parking.

RESPONDING TO SNOW

DPW staff have been working overtime shifts on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday responding to the snow. Initial priorities include keeping roads open, clearing sidewalks on city-owned buildings, and clearing crosswalks. Snow removal will begin on Friday night and continue on Saturday night.

Building owners and occupants have 24 hours after a snowfall to clear the sidewalk in front of the building according to the Hudson city code. For buildings on Warren Street, they have 12 hours.

Following Up: 162 Women Making a Difference

Are you curious to know who the 162 women are who have been recognized by the Columbia County Women's Alliance as women making a difference? The website presenting the honorees is now live. Click here to see bios and photos of them all. Humility does not prevent me from revealing that I am honored and proud to be included among them. 

COVID-19 Update

Yesterday, Jack Mabb, director of the Columbia County Department of Health, made this statement: "As of today, the county has experienced 215 new positive cases of COVID-19 since December 1. At the beginning of the pandemic, it took us around 2½ months to hit 215."

That was yesterday. Today, the CCDOH is reporting 28 new cases of COVID-19 since yesterday and only two recoveries. That would seem to increase the number of active cases by 26 to 131, but the CCDOH is reporting 133 active cases. Today's report from the CCDOH does not include the number hospitalized and in the ICU.

Today's report also does not include the number of test results received, so it is not possible to calculate the positivity rate for today or the seven day average positivity rate. The New York Forward dashboard gives the positivity rate for Columbia County as 4.5 percent for yesterday and 4.2 as the seven day average. It is now the seventh consecutive day that seven day average positivity rate has been above 3 percent, but this is the first time it's been above 4 percent.

Following Up: The Great Preservation Bake Off

Last week, Gossips announced that Pooky Amsterdam's cookie creation "Crown of New York City" had been chosen by the Preservation League of New York State as its winner and entry in The Great Preservation Bake Off. 

Yesterday, the overall winner was announced, and, alas, it was not the "Crown of New York City." Instead it was a three-foot-tall replica of the U.S. Customs House in Lower Manhattan, created by Bill Schutz of Creative Cakes and submitted by Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts. 

No Snow Emergency in Hudson

The following notice appears on the City of Hudson website:

As of December 17, 2020 9:30 AM, there is not a snow emergency for the City of Hudson. Normal alternate side parking rules are in effect.

PARKING GUIDE

12/17: 8 AM - Midnight: Park on Both Sides 

(unless otherwise posted)

12/18: 8 AM park on even side (unless otherwise posted). 

Parking on both sides allowed in municipal lots.

Unless otherwise posted, cars can park on either side during the day. Tonight, cars should be parked on the even side. On Friday, December 18, midnight - 8am, cars must be parked on the even side (unless otherwise posted).

Cars parked on streets that do not have alternate side parking should observe regular parking rules.

Any streets posted with orange "no parking signs" prohibit parking on that side of the street until the signs are lawfully removed by the Department of Public Works (DPW).

Residents are encouraged to park in municipal lots. Locations include Warren and 3rd, Union and 6th, Columbia and 6th, and S. Front Street Amtrak lot. For Friday, December 18, overnight parking on both sides in all municipal lots. In other words, tonight people can park on both sides within municipal lots. All other rules for parking lots are in effect, do not park in fire lanes or block entrances. While coin parking meters are suspended, payment is still required for Amtrak lot parking.

The DPW is in Phase 1 of snow response, which focuses on keeping roads open, especially for emergency vehicles. DPW staff have been working over the night, will continue throughout the day, and overnight tonight. 

Fiscal State of the City

On Tuesday, at the last Common Council Finance Committee meeting of the year, city treasurer Heather Campbell reviewed the City's financial state in the year of the pandemic. Of the City's major revenue streams, revenue from parking is 50 percent of what was budgeted for 2020, revenue from building permits is 84 percent of what was budgeted, and revenue from sales tax, lodging tax, and mortgage tax is 67 percent of what was budgeted. Of those tax revenues, sales tax is 71 percent of what was anticipated and lodging tax is just 21 percent of what was expected, but, as evidence of the pandemic-driven real estate boom in Hudson, revenue from mortgage tax is 110 percent of what was budgeted.

Campbell reported a $1,757,660 decline in revenue in 2020 and predicted the City would end the year with a revenue loss of between $1.5 and $1.8 million, which will have to be made up by drawing on the fund balance. The 2021 budget that was passed in November was balanced with, according to Mayor Kamal Johnson, "just over a half million" from the fund balance. In September, Campbell told the Finance Committee the fund balance at that time was $2,748,452. It doesn't take advanced math skills or even a calculator to realize we are getting very close to running out of money in the fund balance.

On the expense side, Campbell reported that spending in 2020 was the same as it was in 2019. The amount for 2019 was $9,302,222; the amount for 2020 was $9,280,823. In 2019, there was $300,000 in CHIPs (Consolidated Highway Improvement Project) expenditures, which did not occur in 2020, so in actuality, spending in 2020 was $278,000 more than in 2019.

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A Hundred Women Making a Difference

At the end of November, the Columbia County Women's Alliance announced that, in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment, it would honor one hundred women in Columbia County who were making a difference and invited nominations.

Today, the CCWA made this announcement:

In celebration of the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote at the federal level, the Columbia County Women’s Alliance will announce its 100 Women Making a Difference in Columbia County honorees on December 17th, at 7:30, via Zoom!

With an abundance of joy, pride and admiration, we will recognize and toast 162 outstanding women who contribute so much to their families, organizations, neighbors and communities and make Columbia County such a special place to live.

We will also be launching our website at https://www.ccwomensalliance.org/100-women-nominees after the meeting which will have photos and a short bio of our honorees.

The CCWA aims to be a countywide, non-partisan, diverse, and collaborative alliance of women and community organizations committed to a just, humane, and equitable society, working to elect women to positions of power, and supporting alliance members in their work for social justice.

A link to the Zoom meeting was not provided with the press release, but the list of the 162 women was. Rather than list all 162, I encourage readers to visit the website tomorrow, after it goes live.

COVID-19 Update

The Columbia County Department of Health has released its numbers for today. Since yesterday, there have been 23 new cases of COVID-19 and fifteen recoveries, which would seem to increase the number of active cases by eight to 106, but the CCDOH is reporting 105. The number hospitalized and in the ICU has not changed since yesterday, nor has the number of deaths.

With 23 positives out of 483 test results received, the positive percentage rate for today is 4.8 percent. The seven day average, according to Gossips' calculations, is 3.9 percent--that is, 121 positives out of 3,104 test results. It is now the sixth consecutive day that Columbia County has had a seven day average of more than 3 percent.

Plans for the Streets

Last night at the Common Council meeting, James Ribaudo of Arterial made a forty-minute presentation of the new street designs being proposed for the BRIDGE District. This project, sometimes known as the Connectivity Project, is being funded by slightly more than $4 million of the City's $10 million in DRI money.

Ribaudo defined three goals of the project: (1) celebrate the historic integrity of Hudson; (2) make the streets safe for all; (3) reconnect to the waterfront. Relevant to the first goal, Ribaudo introduced the materials palette, consisting of granite setts, granite pavers, concrete tinted and scored to look like granite, and engraved granite bands "at specific key spots."    

In contrast to the "simple, timeless materials" that "do not compete with the historic architecture that is so rich in Hudson," the furniture palette being proposed is modern, to acknowledge that "Hudson is also a modern city."

The goal of reconnecting to the waterfront is to be achieved at three points: Henry Hudson Riverfront Park, Promenade Hill, and at the end of Dock Street, where Kite's Nest has a community garden and "the Shacks" are to be developed as the "Historic Fishing Village." 

The presentation included a visual of only one of those connections: the entrance to Promenade Hill. 

Ribaudo spoke of "pulling features" of Promenade Hill "out to the street." Part of that effort is the row of boulders separating the street from the shared-use path and the sidewalk, reminiscent of what has been thought of by some in the past as the Colarusso School of landscape design. He also spoke of "pockets of green to pull the park across the street."

What seems problematic about this particular design is that it perpetuates the "existing little pocket park" on the northeast corner of Warren and First, which came into existence during urban renewal. In the summer of 2018, the City and HCDPA (Hudson Community Development and Planning Agency) did a land swap. The City got the lot in the 200 block of Warren Street where Thurston Park is located; HCDPA got the portion of this lot at the corner of Warren and Front that it didn't already own. The idea was to construct a building (or buildings) there to replace the buildings that had been there prior to urban renewal, thus completing the street wall and also increasing the city's available housing stock. The photograph below shows what the row of buildings at the end of Warren Street once was like.  

One wonders if anyone working with Arterial remembered this or bothered to share it with the planners. 

Also troubling was the absence of any mention of the Second Street stairs. Once a DRI project on its own, the Second Street stairs got rolled into the larger connectivity project early on. In the past, Gossips has voiced concern how this slick rendering of the stairs reimagined to provide universal access, which appeared in DRI documents, would translate into reality.

The grade difference between Cross Street and Allen Street is not insignificant, and designing an integrated ramp and stair for this site seems a monumental challenge, one that Arterial appears not to have addressed at all. Can it be the idea has been abandoned?

When the presentation was complete last night, Alderman Tiffany Garriga (Second Ward) said she was impressed with the samples that were shown. She also said she wanted bus shelters and worried about "people getting stuck in the cracks in the granite pavers." Alderman Jane Trombley (First Ward) declared the plans "beautiful," adding, "It's very exciting." She expressed the desire for stop signs on Union Street at First Street. Alderman Dominic Merante (Fifth Ward) called it a "great presentation" and then asked about signal boxes at crosswalks.

Ribaudo said they would be collecting further feedback, but it wasn't clear if that feedback was to come from the public or only from the Common Council. If from the public, no means of providing that feedback was given. There will be another presentation to the Common Council on January 11, and the final plan is expected to be ready by the end of January.

The entire presentation can be seen on YouTube. Click here to access the Zoom recording of last night's Common Council meeting. The presentation begins at 5:08 and ends at 46:10.

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New COVID Stats Released

This morning, following data was published on the Columbia County Board of Supervisors Facebook page. The data was compiled on Friday, December 11, by the Columbia County Department of Health.

COVID-19 Incidence Rate by Town

Incidence rates are a measure of COVID-19 cases by rates per 100,000 population stratified by the town population. This presents a more accurate picture than listing the number of cases. Incidence rates below 1.0 are desirable.

Ancram  0.95

Canaan  1.23

Chatham  1.26

Claverack  1.18

Clermont   0.92

Copake  1.33

Craryville  0.40

Elizaville  0.63

Gallatin  0.50

Germantown  1.18

Ghent  1.13 (without assisted living cases)

            1.98 (with assisted living cases)

Greenport  2.57  

Hillsdale  1.87

Hudson  1.88

Kinderhook  1.18

Livingston  1.12 (without nursing home cases)

1.81 (with nursing home cases)

New Lebanon  1.08

Niverville  0.54

Philmont   1.30 (without nursing home cases)

5.00 (with nursing home cases)

Stockport  0.71

Stottville  0.22

Stuyvesant  1.97

Taghkanic  1.07

Valatie  2.25 (without nursing home cases)

   15.17 (with nursing home cases)

Columbia County 

1.92 (overall incidence rate as of 12/11/20)

1.97 (overall incidence rate as of 12/13/20)

According to the CCDOH, incidence rates below 1.0 are desirable. Only eight of the 24 localities now have incidence rates below 1.0. The highest incidence rates are in Greenport (2.57) and Valatie (2.25), followed by Stuyvesant (1.97), Hudson (1.88), and Hillsdale (1.87). What is most stunning is that the overall incidence rate for Columbia County went from 1.92 to 1.97 in just two days at the end of last week.

Our behavior makes a difference. Let's be careful to protect our friends and neighbors as well as ourselves.

A Visit from St. Nicholas

Last night, Mayor Kamal Johnson attended the Common Council Zoom meeting dressed as Santa Claus.

Happening Today

The 1199 SEIU members at Columbia Memorial Hospital are holding an informational picket today from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. and from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The picket will take place on the street outside the hospital, near the entrance to the Emergency Room. You can join the picket to show your support for the union workers. All participants will be required to wear masks and social distance.

COVID-19 Update

The Columbia County Department of Health has released its numbers for today, and the worst of the bad news is that since yesterday there have been two deaths from COVID-19. Also since yesterday, there have been fifteen new cases of COVID-19 and eighteen recoveries, so the number of active cases is now one fewer than it was yesterday. There are eight fewer county residents hospitalized with the virus today than yesterday, and none is in the ICU.  

With fifteen positives out of 364 test results received, the positive percentage rate for today is 4 percent. The seven day rolling average, according to Gossips' calculations, is 3.8 percent--that is, 116 positives out of 3,072 test results. It is now the fifth consecutive day that Columbia County has had a seven day average of more than 3 percent.