The Amended "Good Cause" Eviction Law

At the Common Council meeting on Tuesday, the amended "good cause" eviction law was laid on the aldermen's desks. The Council is expected to vote on the law in December. The major change in this version of the law from the law as it was passed by the Council in September is the elimination of transfer of ownership as a "good cause" for evicting tenants.

Predictably, there were many attending the Zoom meeting who wanted to comment about the law. Steve Dunn expressed concern about "deleting paragraph 9," the paragraph that makes transfer of ownership a "good cause" for eviction. He noted that, in cities that have passed the legislation, the paragraph had not been deleted. To Gossips' knowledge, only two cities have actually passed the legislation: Albany and Newburgh. It can be assumed that the Albany law includes paragraph 9, because it was Albany's law that was copied to create Hudson's original version of the law. The version of the law that Newburgh passed on October 25 also includes paragraph 9. Newburgh's law can be found here. Dunn also mentioned Ithaca and said Ithaca "has deferred until the Attorney General offers an opinion." Dunn concluded, "Hudson does not have safety in numbers." He also predicted that, if the legislation were to be enacted, "The only tenant housing left over time will be subsidized housing."  

Gossips found this article, published on Tuesday, November 16, in The Ithaca Voice, reporting on the state of the law in Ithaca: "Good cause eviction legislation falters temporarily, will be considered again in December." The law being considered in Ithaca does not include transfer of ownership as a "good cause" for eviction. From the article, it appears that Ithaca is pretty much in the same place as Hudson is when it comes to this legislation.

Kristal Heinz objected to what she considered the thinking behind the legislation: "the notion that all the landlords here are from out of town and trying to take advantage" of renters in Hudson. She predicted that, as a consequence of the legislation, "Landlords will not take chances with people, preferring people who seem to be short-term and moving on to home ownership." 

Rebecca Garrard, who is the legislative director for Citizens Action, insisted that "Hudson is not going rogue." She argued, "The law exempts owner occupied property, so if you want to buy a property and move into it, you can." She also maintained that it is "clear in the legislation that, if property taxes go up or improvements have been made, you can exceed the 5 percent [cap on rent increases]." Garrard said of the legislation, "This is going to allow landlords to be profitable but not in a way that is predatory."

Heinz insisted that the conversation about the legislation "should be expanded and should not be rushed into." Alderman Rebecca Wolff, who initiated the legislation, insisted it was "important not to catastrophize the landlords' plight," asserting, "This law is one of the many tools that the City has to address the situation . . . [of] people not being able to stay where they are."

Fourth Ward supervisor Linda Mussmann called for more time to discuss the law, alleging, "In fact, it is a kind of taking." 

Alderman Tiffany Garriga (Second Ward) ended the discussion, noting that "the majority of the people on the call are tenants and people who work with tenants," claiming that "only a few landlords keep speaking up," and suggesting that those landlords were "slumlords that don't wanna do the right thing."

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Planning Board Tonight

The agenda for tonight's special Planning Board meeting is now available on the City of Hudson website. Click here to access it.

The first item on the agenda is the Planning Board's consideration of the settlement agreement with Verizon in the lawsuit brought by Verizon over the conditions that the Planning Board attached to its site plan approval for Providence Hall, 119 Columbia Street.

On Tuesday, the Common Council passed a resolution accepting the Verizon settlement agreement. Of the nine members of the Council present (Jane Trombley [First Ward] and John Rosenthal [Fourth Ward] were absent from the meeting), seven voted to accept the agreement, and two voted against it. Explaining her nay vote, Tiffany Garriga (Second Ward) declared, "I will not let any body or corporation bully me." The other nay vote was cast by Rebecca Wolff (First Ward).

Also on the agenda for tonight's special Planning Board meeting are Colarusso and its applications for conditional use permits; the redevelopment of the Pocketbook Factory by PBF Hudson LLC; and the continuation of the public hearing on the conversion of 26 Warren Street from a B&B into a hotel.

The meeting, which will take place on Zoom, begins at 6:00 p.m. Click here to join the Zoom meeting.

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Hold Your Recyclables

Public Works superintendent Rob Perry made this announcement this afternoon:

Due to a COVID outbreak and associated mandated quarantine, there will not be sufficient staff to collect recyclables on Thurs 11/18/21.

Please hold all recycled materials until next Friday 11/26/21.

COVID-19 Update

The Columbia County Department of Health just released its numbers for today, and the news is not good. There has been another death from COVID-19, bringing the total to 106, and since yesterday, there have been 38 new cases. The number of active cases being reported today is 29 more than yesterday, from which it can be inferred that, since yesterday, 8 county residents have recovered from the virus. There are 38 more county residents in mandatory quarantine today than yesterday, and there are 2 more hospitalized. Of those hospitalized, 1 is in the ICU.  

The New York Forward dashboard is reporting a positivity rate for Columbia County from Monday to Tuesday of 8.2 percent and a seven-day average of 5.7 percent. By comparison, the positivity rate for the Capital Region for the same 24-hour period was 9.4 percent and the seven-day average was 5.8 percent.

A year ago today, the CCDOH reported 11 new cases of COVID-19. The total number of cases was 862, and the number of active cases was 93. There were 369 county residents in mandatory quarantine, 21 were hospitalized, and 3 were in the ICU. The total number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 at this time last year was 44.

The Plan Is Now Public

At the Common Council meeting last night, Michelle Tullo, Hudson's Housing Justice Coordinator, presented the Affordable Housing Development Plan, recently completed by Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress. Tullo's summary of the plan noted that the greatest need in Hudson was for low- and moderate-income housing and reported that 1,000 households in Hudson are "housing cost burdened," that is, their housing costs represent more than 30 percent of their income. The strategies identified in the report include: developing new multi- and single-family affordable housing; rehabbing abandoned properties; redeveloping vacant parcels for new housing units.

 

The plan includes a "Short List for Development"--vacant properties where multifamily rental apartment buildings and houses for home ownership could be constructed. Not surprisingly, three of the ten sites are owned by the Galvan Foundation.

 

The sites suggested for multifamily apartment buildings include:

• The vacant lot at Fourth and State streets. The Council is already working on an RFP/RFQ for a developer for this site. 

• 604 Washington Street--the lot across from the Central Fire Station. This is the lot that Galvan tried to acquire in its proposed deal to give 400 State Street to the City for use as City Hall. It is also the lot being eyed as possible parking for the redeveloped Pocketbook Factory.

• The vacant area on East Court Street, behind St. Mary's Catholic Church, where the City currently dumps snow in winter and cleans out the street sweeper throughout the year.

• 1 Hudson Avenue, the site of the former Gifford-Wood building, which last we heard was on the market for $7.625 million.

• The former John L. Edwards School, which is already being considered by a developer, although nothing has been heard about that plan for months.

The Affordable Housing Development Plan also includes some potential sites identified for "Home Ownership," where presumably single-family homes might be built.

• 620 State Street, the site of the original Hudson Orphan Asylum, which was demolished early in 2018. The site is owned by the Galvan Foundation. In one of his early presentations to the Planning Board of the buildings proposed for 75 North Seventh Street and 708 State Street, Walter Chatham included elevation drawings of the buildings in their context, to demonstrate that they were compatible in mass and scale. Included in the drawings was the demolished Hudson Orphan Asylum. Chatham told Gossips at the time that the plan was to build a new structure on the site that replicated the original building.

• 451 Warren Street, the vacant lot at Warren and Fifth streets that is owned by Galvan. This seems an unlikely spot for single-family houses, right on Hudson's main commercial thoroughfare, but years ago, before there even was a Galvan Foundation, one of Eric Galloway's several LLCs or not-for-profits proposed a commercial building for the site, facing Warren Street, with three or four town houses behind it, facing Fifth Street.

• 25 North Fourth Street, the vacant lot at Fourth and Columbia streets, owned by the Galvan Foundation. This was one of Eric Galloway's earliest acquisitions in Hudson. It is situated just across Long Alley from the vacant lot at Fourth and State owned by the City of Hudson.

• Mill Street--It's not clear exactly what property on Mill Street owned by the City of Hudson is being considered. Much of the open space on Mill Street is designated park land. Hudson Development Corporation owned a lot on Mill Street--228 Mill Street--which was sold in August 2020. 

• Rossman Avenue--The City of Hudson owns three parcels on Rossman Avenue, but where exactly they are is hard to tell. The parcels don't seem to have street numbers.

Update: A reader identified the City-owned Rossman Avenue parcels for me. One is the location of the water treatment plant and the area around it, which includes the house, once the residence provided for the Superintendent of Public Works, which the Common Council ad hoc Properties Committee has been talking about selling. Obviously, that's not one of the parcels being considered for affordable housing. The other two are actually on Rossman Avenue, near the top, on the left as you are ascending the hill toward the water treatment plant and Mt. Ray Estates. The two parcels are outlined in red on the images below.

• 514-516 Columbia Street is a single vacant lot owned by the City of Hudson.

The complete Affordable Housing Development Plan is available at the City of Hudson website. Click here to access it.

Mayor Kamal Johnson will hold a virtual town hall meeting about the plan on Tuesday, November 23, at 6:00 p.m. Click here to join the Zoom meeting.

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Missing Dog

To Gossips readers in the vicinity of McKinstry Place, the hospital, the cemetery, Mt. Ray Estates, and beyond . . . please be on the lookout for this dog.

He ran off last night at about 1:00 a.m. from McKinstry Place, heading up toward the hospital. If you see him, please contact his distraught human at 805 402-2279. The dog needs his seizure medication. 

Update: Nicholas has been found! Here's the message from his human that appeared on Facebook about an hour ago:

GOOD NEWS! We found Nick with the help of a very amazing concerned citizen who reached out to the sheriff's office. He made it to Maple Lane in Greenport from our house next to the hospital. He's very muddy and cold but seems healthy and happy!

An Apparent Attempt to Run Away Foiled

For everyone who saw the notices on Facebook last night that two Hudson High School students were missing, here's the follow-up story as told in a press release from the Hudson Police Department.

On Monday, November 15, 2021 at 5:15 p.m., a Hudson woman reported to HPD that her 15 year old son had not arrived home from school and she was concerned. Shortly thereafter the Columbia County Sheriff began investigating a report from a Greenport woman that her 16 year old daughter had not come home from school either. Both juveniles are students at Hudson High School.

Police agencies responded and coordinated the investigation. Hudson High SRO Deputy Zach Sahotra began a search of the school grounds. The Deputy was able to locate video that showed the two students, together, exiting the school property west toward a wooded area. HPD officers and Detectives joined State Trooper Justin Bell and Troop K bloodhound Tilly to search the area and trails behind the school. Patrols from HPD, Greenport PD, Columbia County Sheriff’s office, and NY State Troopers continued to check stores, public buildings, abandoned buildings and trails throughout the night. Temperatures dipped down to 28 degrees.

At daybreak Tuesday, November 16, 2021, HPD established a command center at their station and initiated various strategies to locate the young people. Detectives checked cell phone information, while patrols conducted interviews and tried to develop leads. Information was put out statewide via the police information network as well as social media. Teams were established to check all possible locations.

One team made up of Chief Ed Moore and Sgt Nick Hodges was assigned to check along the river north of the city. At around 9:25 a.m., about two miles north of Hudson, the youths were spotted in a wooded area next to the railroad tracks. After a brief pursuit on foot, the youths were taken into protective custody by the officers. They were brought back to an awaiting ambulance from the Greenport Rescue Squad where they [were] brought to Columbia Memorial Hospital and evaluated. They were later released to their parents.

“Despite frigid temperatures and strong wind they were in pretty good shape. They had one thin blanket and a small amount of food with them. After spending the night in some woods adjacent the tracks, they had plans to leave the area. What’s really encouraging was the outpouring of support and information sharing on social media. While young people may get lost and forgotten in a big city, our community banded together to demonstrate that we care, and together we are going to locate these kids.” Chief

COVID-19 Update

The Columbia County Department of Health has released its numbers for today, and it seems the pandemic is having a resurgence. Since yesterday, there have been 27 new cases of COVID-19. The number of active cases being reported today is 22 more than yesterday, from which it can be inferred that, since yesterday, 5 county residents have recovered from the virus. There are 53 more county residents in mandatory quarantine today than yesterday, but the number hospitalized and in the ICU remains the same. There has not been a death from COVID-19 in Columbia County since Tuesday, November 9.

The New York Forward dashboard is reporting a positivity rate for Columbia County from Sunday to Monday of 15.7 percent and a seven-day average of 6.0 percent. By comparison, the positivity rate for the Capital Region for the same 24-hour period was 7.3 percent and the seven-day average was 5.6 percent.

A year ago today, the CCDOH reported 9 new cases of COVID-19 and one death. The total number of cases was 851, and the number of active cases was 102. There were 130 county residents in mandatory quarantine, 25 were hospitalized, and 4 were in the ICU. The total number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 at this time last year was 44.

Devastation Along the Dugway

In the past few days, a lot of trees have been cut down along the Dugway, which is now the route of the Empire State Trail between Mill Street and Harry Howard Avenue. The devastation has raised concern among many. The photographs below were provided to Gossips by Hilary Hillman of the Conservation Advisory Council.

The trees were in National Grid's right of way. They had to come down because National Grid is replacing its old, outdated utility poles in that area and installing new poles in a different location. The power lines had to be moved because, in their original location,  they were overhung by large cottonwood trees, and there could be disturbances in electric service should any limbs from those trees fall onto the power lines.

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Of Interest

This article was first published more than three years ago, but it was recently referenced on Facebook by Strong Towns: "Two Perspectives on the Housing Crisis: Affordable Housing vs Housing Affordability." It is relevant to the current conversation in Hudson around affordable housing. 

COVID Closes Another County Building

It's not a building that most of us visit often, if ever, but it was announced today that the county building at 610 State Street was closed today and would be closed tomorrow because of COVID-19 exposure. After a thorough cleaning, the building is expected to reopen on Wednesday, November 17. 

This pandemic is far from over.

COVID-19 Update

The Columbia County Department of Health has released its numbers for today. Since Saturday, there have been 42 new cases of COVID-19. The number of active cases being reported today is 18 more than on Saturday, from which it can be inferred that, since Saturday, 24 county residents have recovered from the virus. There are 59 fewer county residents in mandatory quarantine today than on Saturday, but 1 more is hospitalized. None of those hospitalized is in the ICU. There has not been a death from COVID-19 in Columbia County since Tuesday, November 9. 

The New York Forward dashboard is reporting a positivity rate for Columbia County from Saturday to Sunday of 5.4 percent and a seven-day average of 4.8 percent. By comparison, the positivity rate for the Capital Region for the same 24-hour period was 5.8 percent and the seven-day average was 5.6 percent.

A year ago today, the CCDOH reported 7 new cases of COVID-19. The total number of cases was 842, and the number of active cases was 111. There were 139 county residents in mandatory quarantine, 27 were hospitalized, and 1 was in the ICU. The total number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 at this time last year was 43.

Wondering About Hudson Connects

The last time we heard anything about Hudson Connects, the project that is getting the lion's share of the City's DRI (Downtown Revitalization Initiative) funds, was on September 22, when the folks from Arterial held their Public Workshop 2. Gossips reported at length about that workshop at the time: "The Streets of Hudson." Since then, the website meant to keep people informed about the project, HudsonConnects.com, which for several months was merely a landing page, was gone live. Exactly when that happened is not known. The website promises to let you see the presentation from that September workshop, but when you click to download a pdf of that presentation, what you actually get is a pdf of the presentation made to the Common Council on December 15, 2020. Check it out by clicking here. 

At the September workshop, it was said that Arterial would make another presentation to the Historic Preservation Commission in October. That didn't happen. On Friday, the HPC has its second meeting for November, and there's no word that Arterial will be presenting. In September, David Lustberg of Arterial said they anticipated presenting their final plans to the Common Council in December, and the goal was to begin construction in Spring 2022.

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Meetings of Interest in the Week Ahead

As we move deeper into the darkness of autumn and impending winter, here is what's happening on the meeting front.

• On Tuesday, November 16, at 5:30 p.m., the Common Council holds a public hearing on proposed Local Law Introductory K of 2021. This law would affect buildings in R4 residential districts that were constructed as commercial buildings and portions of buildings that have had commercial uses in the past and have not subsequently become dwelling units. It would allow the following types of businesses to be established in such nonresidential buildings: retail stores and bank; personal service and other service businesses; eating and drinking establishments. The R4 districts, which are primarily west of Third Street, both north and south of Warren Street, appear in pink on the zoning map below.  

The public hearing will take place on Zoom. The link will be published on the City of Hudson website prior to the hearing. Scroll down to the calendar.

• Also on Tuesday, November 16, the Common Council holds its regular monthly meeting at 6:00 p.m. Gossips has heard that the Affordable Housing Development Plan will be presented to the Council at this meeting, but there has yet been no confirmation of this. What is on the agenda is the amended "good cause" eviction law, the zoning amendment to allow certain businesses to be established in buildings or parts of buildings that previously had commercial uses in R4 districts, and legislation being advanced by Alderman Tiffany Garriga (Second Ward) to allow the honorary naming of streets. The link to the Zoom meeting will be published on the City of Hudson website prior to the meeting. Scroll down to the calendar.  
• On Wednesday, November 17, the Zoning Board of Appeals holds its monthly meeting at 6:00 p.m. This is the only city meeting currently taking place in person, so if you are interested in what's happening with the ZBA, mask up and head over to City Hall, 520 Warren Street. The agenda for the meeting, which can be found here, includes no fewer than nine requests for a variance to continue using a residence as a short term rental.
• Also on Wednesday, November 17, there is the Comprehensive Planning Workshop, organized by Michelle Tullo, Hudson's Housing Justice Director, and conducted by students from Albany Law School, in the Community Room of the Hudson Area Library, 51 North Fifth Street. The goal of the workshop is explain "how a comprehensive plan affects the development of a community and what is the role of citizens in shaping Hudson's planning process." This is an in-person event. Masks are required. Space is limited. Click here to register.
• On Thursday, November 18, the Planning Board holds a special meeting. The main item on the agenda will be Colarusso. It would seem to be time for the Planning Board to make a positive or negative declaration in the SEQR process. At its last meeting, however, the Planning Board postponed voting on granting site plan approval to the redevelopment of the Pocketbook Factory so that the attorneys could work out an agreement to memorialize public access to the garden being planned as part of the project. That, too, is expected to be on the agenda for this meeting. The meeting will take place on Zoom. The link to the Zoom meeting will be published on the City of Hudson website prior to the meeting. Scroll down to the calendar. 

• On Friday, November 19, the Historic Preservation Commission holds its second meeting of the month at 10:00 a.m. The meeting will take place on Zoom. Click here to join. 
• At 5:00 p.m. on Friday, November 19, there will be a special meeting of the Common Council, at which the three solar companies that responded to the RFEI (request for expressions of interest) in developing a solar farm on City-owned land along the North Second Street Extension will make presentations to the Council. As Gossips has noted elsewhere, all three companies have their eyes on the capped landfill rather than the sites recommended by the Conservation Advisory Council. The meeting will take place on Zoom. Click here to join the meeting.

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Considering the Most Recent Election

On November 5, three days after the 2021 election, Gotham Gazette reported that voter turnout in New York City was just under 20 percent. Here in Hudson, we did a bit better than that. According to statistics provided by the Columbia County Board of Elections, there are 4,502 registered voters in Hudson, and 1,353 ballots were cast, giving Hudson a voter turnout of 30.05 percent. Some wards did better than that. In the Fifth Ward, it was 38.28 percent; in the First Ward, it was 33.6 percent. Some wards did worst. In the Third Ward, it was 29.35 percent; in the Second Ward, 26.32 percent; in the Fourth Ward, 21.46 percent. It is interesting that the Fourth Ward, where everyone seeking a city office was running unopposed, had the city's lowest voter turnout.

Of interest, too, is that of the 1,353 voters who cast ballots, 278 didn't bother to vote in the mayoral race, and 334 didn't vote in the Council president race--either voting for the candidate on the ballot or writing someone in. By comparison, in the race for city treasurer, only 177 voters skipped over that column.

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Preparing for Winter in 1871

On this day, 150 years ago, the following item appeared in the Hudson Daily Star.

COVID-19 Update

The Columbia County Department of Health released its numbers at 2:00 p.m. today. Since yesterday, there have been 22 new cases of COVID-19. The number of active cases being reported today is 9 more than yesterday, from which it can be inferred that, since yesterday, 13 county residents have recovered from the virus. There are 41 more county residents in mandatory quarantine today than yesterday, but there is one fewer hospitalized and none is in the ICU. There has not been a death from COVID-19 in Columbia County since Tuesday, November 7.

The New York Forward dashboard is reporting a positivity rate for Columbia County from Thursday to Friday of 3.9 percent and a seven-day average of 4.5 percent. By comparison, the positivity rate for the Capital Region for the same 24-hour period was 4.1 percent and the seven-day average was 5.2 percent.

A year ago today, the CCDOH reported 10 new cases of COVID-19. The total number of cases was 831, and the number of active cases was 120. There were 175 county residents in mandatory quarantine, 27 were hospitalized, and 3 were in the ICU. The total number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 at this time last year was 43.

Mark Your Calendars

There are a couple of community workshops coming up, conducted by students from Albany Law School and organized by Michelle Tullo, Hudson's Housing Justice Director. The first, which takes place from 6:15 to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 17, deals with comprehensive plans and how they affect the development of a community. The second, which takes place from 6:15 to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, December 1, deals with the SEQR (State Environmental Quality Review) process. Both workshops will be held in the Community Room at the Hudson Area Library, 51 North Fifth Street. For more information and to register for the workshops, go to http://hudsonarealibrary.org/calendar/. Click on the event date.

COVID-19 Update

After taking Veterans Day off, the Columbia County Department of Health has released its numbers for today. Since Wednesday, there have been 32 new cases of COVID-19. The number of active cases being reported today is 6 more than on Wednesday, from which it can be inferred that, since Wednesday, 26 county residents have recovered from the virus. There are 18 fewer county residents in mandatory quarantine today than on Wednesday, and there is 1 fewer hospitalized. Of those hospitalized, 1 is in the ICU. There has not been a death from COVID-19 in Columbia County since Tuesday, November 9. 

The New York Forward dashboard is reporting a positivity rate from Wednesday to Thursday in Columbia County of 2.4 percent and a seven-day average of 4.5 percent. By comparison, the positivity rate in the Capital Region for the same 24-hour period was 4.9 percent and the seven-day average was 5.2 percent.

A year ago today, the CCDOH reported 18 new cases of COVID-19. The total number of cases was 821, and the number of active cases was 117. There were 193 county residents in mandatory quarantine, 27 were hospitalized, and 2 were in the ICU. The total number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 at this time last year was 43.

The Future of Hudson

For several months now, Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress has been working on an Affordable Housing Development Plan for Hudson, and for several weeks now, mostly in meetings of Hudson Community Development and Planning Agency (HCDPA), it has been reported that the plan is complete and is being reviewed by one or another group. At the last HCDPA meeting, it was indicated that the Affordable Housing Development Plan would be presented to the Common Council "next week," which would seem to mean it will be presented at the Council's regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, November 18. There was also mention of the mayor holding a town hall about the plan. So far, there have been no official announcements of either the presentation to the Council or the town hall, and it seems the document has been seen only by those most closely involved with its development.

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