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?

Today, in the lot where there is almost always garbage on the ground, I spoke with one of the residents of 227 - 235 State.  He told me that Galvan didn't explain to tenants why they got rid of the dumpster that killed a sanitation worker, just to "go buy the blue bags from now on."  He and I did our best to identify all the creatures that appreciate the garbage not being in a dumpster anymore:  mice, rats, birds, squirrels, flies and other insects, skunks...  He also said that "everyone in town was putting their garbage in the dumpster," which probably convinced Galvan that garbage left on the ground for days at a time was a better, cheaper, and more sanitary alternative to a dumpster.  And they probably knew that Hudson City Hall would have no problem with the change.  

The last two pictures were taken today, a Wednesday.  If you focus in on the last one, you can see a used diaper that seems to have spilled out of a blue city garbage bag.  

The city code stipulates that placing blue city garbage bags out prior to Monday night in the north side of town, including State Street and Long Alley, is prohibited, and for good reason.  That section of the code, like much of the code, is trying to prevent quality of life issues that affect us all.  Of course, the code is only as worthwhile as the enforcement of it.

Those are slices of bread to the right

Craig Haigh is the City of Hudson Code Enforcment Officer.  His phone number is 518-828-3133.  You can try to talk to him or leave a complaint at that number, or stop by the Code Enforcement Office at 751 Warren Street.