Then and NOW!

May 16th...

How's That DPW Budget Looking? Time To Raise Property Taxes Again?

Over the course of about a week in late July and early August, excavation and water pipe work took place on and under the upper 200 block of Columbia Street directly adjacent to the never-ending Hudson Islamic Center's mosque project.  Hudson DPW was not involved, the excavation work was done by a local contractor, and it was most definitely related to the always "in progress" mosque as a new sidewalk was being installed at the corner at the same time by the same contractor.

Has Anyone Seen Kenneth A. Ellsworth Recently? Has Craig Haigh Returned To Save Us? Hello, Is Anyone Working Today?

While the front door to the Code Enforcement Department offices on Washington Street was open yesterday at noon when I stopped by, nobody was inside to greet me.  Even though this hasn't been an unusual occurrence of late, yesterday it was a bit of a surprise to me if only because a new receptionist (full-time?) and a full-time code officer were recently hired to help Nick Fox straighten out the city.  Well, not only was Nick out, but so were his two new hires.  And where was part-time code officer James Schermerhorn and the other part-timer that has been around for a few years?  Do they both still work for the Code Enforcement Department?  It's difficult to know what the heck is going on there -- or who works there -- especially when no one is available to answer any questions or take complaints and you can hear a pin drop in the hallway.   Imagine if the City Clerk's Office were regularly "CURRENTLY OUT OF OFFICE"!

Why Was Our Mayor Being Given A Tour Today Of Vacant Columbia County-Owned 610 State Street?

Today at 12:20, three people -- one I recognized as a county employee -- escorted mayor Ferris into 610 State through a side door.  What could his reasons have been to feel the need to see the insides of the old building, whose department offices and employees were recently transplanted to 11 Warren?  Was he invited?  Or did he request a tour?  Was this a necessary use of taxpayer funds?  And why wasn't Nick Fox along for the tour of the nearly 150-year-old building?  

It's Now An Epidemic! An Ugly and Dangerous Epidemic On Our Sidewalks That Rob Perry is Fine With! Send In The Public Works Board, Please!

The number of sections of concrete sidewalks in town that magically turn into lumpy black asphalt and remain that way has gotten to obscene proportions in the past few years.  The most recent ugly and dangerous sidewalk code violation I've noticed is impossible to avoid and lumpy as hell (perhaps the worst of them all), waiting to put someone on their chin (slamming it into concrete, of course).  It appeared this week or last in front of Galvan's rental property at 17 North 3rd Street, a two-family most recently assessed at $150,000 that is 100% tax-exempt and appears to have been exempt since 2006.  The questions are obvious:  Who replaced the concrete sidewalk with asphalt and why?  Do they have a plan to replace the asphalt with the material it replaced?  Are they required to do so (if anyone is required to do anything in Hudson)? And why does the city not care that it happened and that the practice has become so common all around the city?  And, of course, why is 17 North 3rd completely tax-exempt, and does anyone at City Hall know it is?

8 Feet From The Curb, Two Feet Or Less From The Car Carrier Passing Through Town

Yesterday at about noon, I watched as a cement mixer turned off of Park Place to head east on Warren.  It couldn't have missed hitting mayor Ferris's new stop sign by more than 4 inches.  It may have been just two inches.  Prior to witnessing that near miss, I assumed that the first truck to destroy the new stop sign would be turning off of Warren, not onto it.  (The sign does not show any indications of being banged into.)

The picture above was taken last week.  Somehow the carrier did not make mincemeat of the mayor's stop sign.  From my vantage point, I wasn't able to see how close the rear end came to the sign, but it sure looks like it could have been inches moments after the picture was taken.

Has Our New Paid Parking System Reached The Level Of A Shitshow Yet? Or Is It Still Just A Disgrace?

Yesterday, on Columbia Street just west of 8th Street, three days after noticing one pair of paid parking signs dangling from a meter pole and another pair completely fallen off an adjacent parking meter pole also in the 700 block of Columbia, I came across yet more evidence that no one at HPD -- absolutely no one -- is supervising our new ambitious paid parking system or even cares if it fails miserably.