Dear Diary

Wednesday, August 30, 2023 -- I decided to buy the newspaper at Citgo yesterday.  The NY Times is so expensive now ($4) that I only buy it once a week.  It was such a pleasant early evening that I thought I'd stop by the park and read a bit of the gloom and doom before returning home.  What a mistake that was, I should have headed straight back home!  

You Can Lead A Horse To Water...

The most (and perhaps only) recent improvement in the City of Hudson to allow pedestrians to more safely cross some busy downtown streets appeared a few years ago in the form of 5 pedestrian crossing signals.  This idea had been talked about at meetings for years, and it finally happened, thanks mostly, or entirely, to alderman Dominic Merante.  Perhaps the most important of those signals was installed at both ends of the crosswalk connecting the sidewalk along the north side of the 7th Street Park and the so-called sidewalk in front of the Citgo gas station and convenience store in the 700 block of Columbia Street, along our lovely truck route.  This signal is particularly helpful for park patrons desperate for a beer and some smokes.  When it is working, of course.

True Story

Yesterday morning in the 300 block of Warren Street, I noticed a very young HPD officer with a parking ticket machine in hand, his police bicycle and a parked car nearby, while talking to someone about a ticket that the machine had just printed.  At first, I thought the ununiformed person was the owner of the vehicle getting the ticket, but he was not.  That person turned out to be the newest HPD parking enforcer, in training.  I thought it was really odd (and potentially interesting) that the new hire was not being trained by a HPD parking enforcer, but rather a police officer, so I stood nearby and listened.

Trying to Understand The DPW Water Department's Approach To Their Work

As I reported at the time, there was a water main break below South 4th Street at Cherry Alley on July 9th -- precisely 51 days ago.  During July 10th's Common Council meeting, DPW Superintendent Robert Perry told us that the pipe had been temporarily patched and that the permanent fix would have to wait for a special pipe saw from the Village of Catskill.  Apparently, that pipe saw has still not made it to this side of the river for use below South 4th Street.  At the subsequent meeting one month later, Mr. Perry failed to mention anything about the situation regarding the main break or the much needed saw.  When the pipe repair work does finally begin, it will be the Water Department performing the task.  The mysterious DPW Water Department.

The Sure Sign Of A Slob: Instead Of Fixing Something Broken And/Or Dangerous, ....

This cone showed up on the sidewalk 
of the 700 block of Warren Street 
in March, 5 months ago

... just cover it with something else (preferably made of plastic) and forget about it!  Or just ignore the problem altogether by doing nothing at all.

Once Again, Words Fail Me

 

Why Bother Informing Any Businesses That Their Customers Will Be Without Parking Spaces For Two Weeks?

 

As a follow up to a recent Hudseen article, I thought I should report what a business owner along the 700 block of Columbia might have to say about the National Grid gas line replacement work there, what with all the machinery, dump trucks, noise, dust, slow traffic, cones, off-limit parking spaces, and what not.  Today, I walked into a longtime business (with no available parking spaces out front anywhere in sight) and spoke with the owner.  Let's just say that the owner was a bit disappointed in how the roll out of the project was (not) handled.  Most of what the owner told me did not surprise me one bit.  This is, after all, National Grid we're dealing with here! 

Evidence Of How DPW Is Part Of The Sidewalk Problem, Not The Solution

Ugly! Disrespectful! Lame!

The issue of our horrendous sidewalks seems to be intractable -- an embarrassment and absurdity with no end in sight.  You can only wonder how the situation got to be as bad as it is and how Hudson City Hall can't seem to keep the issue in its crosshairs.  They talk and talk, even form a committee, yet year after year little to nothing is accomplished.  It is as if the rot is inside City Hall, debilitating any efforts that may come along; as if the city can't get out of its own way, even years after a DOJ intervention.

Why Would The City Bother To Tell Us About Any Of This?

Preparing to replace gas lines
in the 700 block of Columbia Street

You may have noticed that National Grid's gas line replacement project has been in full swing along Green Street for the past week or so. In addition to the traffic delays and no parking being allowed on all of Green Street, as of yesterday all the metered parking spaces along Columbia Street between Park Place and 8th Street on both sides of the street are blocked off for the continuation of the project. There is no indication anywhere as to how long the Columbia Street work will last or when it will begin in earnest.

What Holes In The Truck Route?

During the two most recent Informal Common Council meetings, DPW Superintendent Robert Perry mentioned that the city was dealing with some sinkholes and other water-related infrastructure issues that have appeared on and under our streets and alleys due to the heavy rains we have been having of late.  Last month he mentioned the South 4th Street water main break which had occurred a few nights prior to the meeting.  This month he did not mention that break or the effort to repair it.  And so, the mess on and below the street remains, and no one outside of DPW is quite sure when the repair job will begin or end.  There are other subterranean issues that DPW should show more urgency to as well. 

Words Fail Me (with update)

Hello, OSHA?

Methinks That No One At City Hall Is Paying Attention (with update)

It's not just that this plastic cover is on its side on the sidewalk exposing electric wires to any curious child's fingers and everyone's eyes.  The bigger issue is the fact that for years the cover, as ugly as it is, has not actually been secured to the concrete, thus allowing it to fall or be pushed over.  So, you see, this had to happen.  DPW allowed it to happen.  DPW made it happen.

Have They Given Up On The City?

A few weeks ago, 2 old friends from Virginia visited for the night, their first time in Hudson.  We took a few walks, including through the 7th Street Park.  They were not impressed with the sidewalks or the park.  One friend's comment was, "Bill, what's up with this park?"  I did my best to explain how screwed up things are in Hudson and how little accountability there is at City Hall.  "Is there corruption in this city?" he asked, in all seriousness.  I told him that there most likely was, and that Hudson has a long history of corruption, bad actors and dysfunction.

It's Official!

Soon enough, the property with the narrowest sidewalk found along all of Warren Street will be Hudson City Hall!  Hoorah!  

Off To A Fantastic Start At The Stewart's Corner!

After finishing the previous article, I decided to ride to the intersection of Green Street and Fairview Avenue to see how things were progressing.  I'm glad I did.  It was entertaining, to say the least.

Removing One Lane Is An Improvement?

The contractor "improving" the Stewart's intersection was busy this morning applying crosswalks and other pavement markings. They had already installed the double yellow line on Green Street, but not where I expected it to be.

It's As If City Hall Has No Idea What A Quality Of Life Issue Is

Here are a few pictures taken over the past few weeks of the garbage that Galvan allows (forces?) its apartment complex residents at 227-235 State Street to leave on the ground.  Galvan used to provide the tenants with an actual garbage dumpster that was regularly serviced by a private trash hauler, but that dumpster disappeared late last year.  And the City of Hudson is fine with this.  Would they be just as accepting if every apartment building and complex in Hudson were to do the same as Galvan?

Saturday's View From The Bridge

 

It's A Good Thing The City Has A Rainy Day Fund!

Today's installment of What The Heck Is Robert Perry Up To Now? will focus, once again, on the mess our DPW Superintendent created in the Washington Street lot across the street from the temporary location of City Hall in the Firehouse Station. While this is the 8th Hudseen article about this expensive, time-consuming and regrettable debacle, I won't focus so much on the mess in the lot itself as who is involved with the cleanup and how Mr. Perry communicates to others about his mess that the New York State DEC wants cleaned up this year.

We All Deserve Better Than "No Comment" and "We Have A [$600,000] Bid On The Streets Already"

Most, if not all, locals who drive an automobile or ride a bicycle would likely agree that the worst stretch of street to be found in downtown Hudson is on Columbia Street between 3rd Street and 7th Street.  That busy 4 block stretch of the truck route is a mess, full of patches from years of DPW repairing sinkholes and other problems, cracks, and dips in the road.  Clunk, Clunk, Rattle, Rattle, Boom.  This should come as no surprise to anyone, since all the heaviest road-legal trucks on the planet make their way along Columbia Street, on their way to escape Hudson, leaving their damage behind for us to drive over and into, repair and to pay for. 

What Does It Matter?

This is what we get in lieu of actual code enforcement from our Code Enforcement Office and DPW (and the Mayor's Office, which supposedly governs these departments to make sure they are functioning properly, effectively and not wasting our money):

One Month Later...

... and DPW has done nothing about permanently repairing the water main break on S. 4th Street.  That's not entirely accurate, actually -- they have added cones and caution tape!

An Infrastructure Project Not Worth Mentioning By Our DPW Superintendent

National Grid's contractor has been busy this week tearing into Green Street to replace gas lines. The trench is about 20 inches wide and goes from near Fairview Avenue (at Stewart's) all the way to State Street. For at least two days, traffic has been one way at the bend in Green Street, so there are backups.  No parking is allowed on Green Street during the week. This is a major infrastructure project that DPW Superintendent Robert Perry is well aware of, but that DPW is not physically involved with.

Weird. Really Weird. Kinda Spooky, Too, If You Ask Me.

Have you ever wondered where the DPW street sweeper dumps its contents when it is full or done for the evening?  Neither have I.  I never had to wonder, much like you, because the thought never crossed my mind.  But years ago, I happened to see the sweeper enter the vacant lot halfway down the hill of East Court Street and exit a few minutes later.  In fact, DPW dumps all sorts of things in that lot, including snow, so I assumed that the city owned the property, even if it was an odd location for city property.  It seemed like a strange location for DPW to be dumping anything, it being so far removed from other DPW facilities, but I never gave it much thought.  That is, until last week.

The Wealthy Live and Think Differently Than The Rest Of Us

Stately, Indeed!

It has been over two weeks since the portion of sidewalk in front of 519 State Street was removed.  This is a vacant building, though as of the beginning of the year it was not on the CEO's list of vacant buildings.  Tax records show the name of the owner as Casa Stately, LLC.

I Got Dem Ol' Oakdale Country Garbage Blues, Mama!

The Do Nothing City Hall

The two new breweries located near 7th and State were doing brisk business in the early evening this past Saturday, as they often are on the weekends.  Parking was tight, of course, and, as is more common lately, some drivers parked where they pleased, regardless of signs, safety, crosswalks, yellow curbs or propriety.

$2 Air, Cigarettes, "Flammable Unregulated Waste" and Gasoline

Beware The City Hall That Doesn't Care!

According to tax records, 550-552 Columbia Street is owned by J & J Digs, Inc., located on 22nd Street in Brooklyn, NY.

"Get Me And My Big Rig The Hell Outta Here!"

On Saturday afternoon while on my bicycle, I passed a 53- foot Shop Rite tractor trailer headed west in the 500 block of Warren Street.  About one minute later, I turned around to head west and see where the truck had made it to.  I expected the truck to be approaching 3rd Street to get back on the truck route, but it was no longer on Warren.  At 5th Street, I looked toward Union Street and there it was, having a tough time making the left turn off of South 5th to get onto Union.

Hey DOJ, When Are You Returning To Hudson For A Sidewalk Inspection? (with update)

In front of 519 State Street for the past ten days

10 days ago, on Tuesday, July 25th, a contractor took over the sinkhole issue in the street in front of 519 State Street that DPW had originally responded to.  Apparently, it was not a DPW issue after all, and the homeowner had to hire a contractor to fix the leaky pipe that had caused the sinkhole. DPW had already dug the hole in the street, and the contractor ripped up a portion of the sidewalk, likely to get at the service pipe to the house.

A Sinkhole Of Another Sort, Of City Hall's Own Making

My June 1st Hudseen article focused on a trash receptacle left in the street for a few days in front of 605 State Street.  The trouble then was a combination of 3 things:  the trash hauler not placing the empty container back on the sidewalk where they found it; the property owner not removing it from the street back to their property; and, of course, the City of Hudson not caring one way or the other about any of it.  Unsurprisingly, the nonsense and quality of life issues regarding the trash receptacle at 605 State continue. 

What Can One Expect From An Underfunded Code Enforcement Office?

Hudseen has posted two articles on the subject of the disgraceful property known as 210 - 212 State Street -- one in March, and a follow-up one month later.  The first conclusion I made in April was that there was a serious lack of proper attention to the property's 2 houses by the Hudson Code Enforcement Office, which long ago deemed the property Dangerous and Unsafe and to Be Vacated.  The signs indicating these designations are either no longer attached to the houses or are so faded that they are unreadable.

"Whatever!" City Hall Proclaims. "It's Not Our Problem!"

752 Warren Street (at the corner of 8th) is essentially located across the street from the Hudson Code Enforcement Office, located at 751 Warren Street.

Why Bother Issuing A Ticket?

This morning, I watched as the driver of a flat bed tow truck parked his vehicle on the sidewalk along N. 3rd Street at Columbia.  The driver and the passenger of the truck did not park there because a disabled vehicle was waiting for them.  No, rather, the two men decided that parking on the sidewalk was their only option if they wanted to get food and drink at the nearby bodega.  And that is exactly where they went after they parked their truck on the sidewalk, turned off the ignition and walked diagonally across the intersection.