The curious case of a "church" and its dumpster

 

Holy trash!

This dumpster and its contents, located in the 600 block of Rope Alley behind a "church," are a real puzzle.  The so-called church is a real puzzle, too.  Both are suspicious puzzles.  Even the name of the "church" is suspect:  The First Church of God in Christ in Hudson.  But I am suspicious of most religions. 

God and Christ must be so proud

There hasn't been a service held inside the "church" since there was a fire on the top floor in early July of 2019, a few days after I warned Hudson Code Enforcement that it appeared there were at least a dozen migrant workers living in the building.  I was told by Craig Haigh that there was one apartment upstairs and that there was no way his department could control how many people lived in the building.  I would often see the men, each with an apple picking bucket, exit the building's side door in the morning, enter a white van and return in the early evening in the van and head straight inside the building's side door.  They never used the front door.  Then the fire, and the inhabitants and occasional Sunday service were no more.

You call this a "church"?

After the fire, a CEO Order To Vacate sign appeared over the front door, then a building permit, and soon a few dumpsters on the sidewalk in front were filled with demolition debris and a piano.  For at least the past year there has been little to no work inside the building, though the gabled roof portion of the building was recently retiled. Last week a window fell and smashed in the alley and most of the glass was swept up 3 days later.

The temple of what?

Back to that dumpster, which is often overflowing.  Even when the "church" was functioning one day a week, why did they have a dumpster that needed emptying once, sometimes twice, a week?  And since the fire effectively closed down the "church" 3-1/2 years ago, what does a vacant building need a dumpster for and why is it still filling up with trash?  Especially one that fills up so quickly and contains no construction or demolition material.  If we can rule out the "church," then whose dumpster and whose garbage is it, anyway?  Who pays for that dumpster?

Ready for more!

The dumpster is used by all sorts of people who simply drive up and throw their bags of trash in it -- it is never locked, and the word has been out for years.  My hunch, though, is that the dumpster is primarily used by the people or person operating the unlicensed (illegal) car repair "garage" found in the driveway at the end of Prospect Street a short walk away.  That "garage" does not appear to have a dumpster of its own.  Used car parts and other evidence of car repair activity can often be found in the dumpster, as shown here:

Used auto parts, regularly
seen in a "church" dumpster

The "church," known as 64 N. 6th Street on the tax rolls, was assessed for $635,000 last year and it is wholly exempt from property taxes for religious purposes.  The property description report for 64 N. 6th Street on the Columbia County Tax Service Agency website mentions nothing about living quarters in the building - nothing about bathrooms, a kitchen or bedrooms -- as there would be if there were "an apartment" in the building.  The Code Enforcement-issued Building Permit presently posted over the front door expired last month.  It appears that no one lives there.  No church services have been held there for three and a half years.  The owner pays no property taxes.  The dumpster in the back is still in heavy use.

Is it just me, or does it seem like Hudson Code Enforcement (and possibly the Assessor's office and HPD) isn't paying enough attention to the long-inactive "church" at 64 N. 6th?  Can a property owner really pay no taxes on a building supposedly operated for religious purposes that hasn't held a religious service for over three years and appears to have no plans to resume services any time soon?  How much down time do they get?  At what point should the owner of 64 N. 6th be told:  "Show us that you are serious about utilizing this building for religious purposes again or start paying taxes on your $635,000 property!  Is the building/church active?  If not, why is your dumpster so active and full so often?"

"Church" vehicles, some unregistered

There were 5 vehicles parked behind the "church" this morning, near a bunch of other crap.  3 of those vehicles were not currently registered with the DMV. The old brown Cadillac has been parked there unmoved for at least a few years without a valid NY State registration.  The registration on the windshield is from April of 2020 and there is a NY State inspection sticker from 1995 (no typo!).

I live very close to the "church" -- fortunately not next to it.