More Improvements At City Hall Revealed!

You may recall in past winters that the sidewalk in front of City Hall on Warren Street was always clear of snow, slush and ice before, during and after snowfalls.  Except for the marble steps, DPW didn't have to worry about clearing snow at City Hall, thanks to a radiant heating system below the sidewalk.  If there was one thing we could count on in this world, it was a 10-foot-wide sidewalk in front of City Hall always free of snow and ice.  The pride of Hudson!  Sadly, this appears to not be the case anymore. 

It seems that there are no radiant heating pipes below our new "improved" (and half as wide!) City Hall sidewalk to melt snow, so DPW's salt and shovels will now have to do that work when they can get to it.  Out with old, in with new, I guess.

Yesterday by 4:30, as the snowfall was winding down, salt, but no shovels, had been applied to the two inches of snow on the sidewalk.  (picture above)

At 9:00 this morning, the uncleared snow, slush and icy chunks of snow were still waiting to be cleared away by a human well after yesterday's meager snow.  Technically (legally?), like the rest of us, the city has 24 hours after snowfall to clear snow and ice from sidewalks.  Otherwise, Craig Haigh might have something to say.  

15 hours later in front of City Hall,
 a narrow, slushy and icy sidewalk

You may also recall last February or March after a snowfall when DPW blocked access to the new stairs at the entrance to Promenade Park.  At the subsequent Informal Common Council meeting, Robert Perry was forced to explain that the new stone steps in the park (for both the 2 short flights near the sidewalk and the 3 longer flights in the middle further ahead) were too expensive, precious and too sensitive to be salted.  Therefore, everyone visiting the park had to use the ramps or climb up and down the grassy (and snowy) hills on either side of the 3-tiered staircase in the middle (I guess the message was that shoveling the stairs couldn't happen easily, quickly, or at all.)  By 4:00 yesterday, DPW had not touched any of the snow in the park and none of the snow-covered stairs were off limits.

DPW used salt where a broom
would have been more effective

The salt that DPW did apply to the massive amounts of snow in front of City Hall yesterday included being spread on the grand marble steps to the entrance.  15 hours later, small piles of salt could still be seen (and stepped on) on the ancient, expensive, precious and not easily replaceable marble steps.  Someone at DPW felt that it was adequate to spread salt on the marble steps and the new concrete sidewalk and get to what snow remains later.  Did DPW forget to order shovels for this winter?

By 11:00 this morning, DPW had tended to the walkways at Promenade Park, though selectively.  While all the ADA ramps had been cleared of snow, none of the stairs had been.  No shoveling, no salting.  Unlike a year ago, though, there were no chains or signs blocking access to the stairs.  Unsurprisingly, plenty of, if not all, visitors to this popular park (our crown jewel?) opted to climb the snowy stairs anyway, eschewing the winding and time-consuming ramp to the south, leaving their footprints behind as evidence.  I guess the new stone steps are too precious for even a shovel to touch them and that Robert Perry has decided that park patrons treading on snow- and ice-covered stairs at the entrance to a very popular public park is, after all, just fine.  I wonder what the city attorney Andy Howard would have to say about this, if anything.

Are the slippery stairs too precious for a shovel
or broom but safe enough for humans to walk on?

It is worth noting that today, for the first time in several years, DPW actually cleared a path from the top of the untouched stairs all the way to the lookout fence, something I never thought I would see in my lifetime. It's a welcome gesture that says "We love you and want you to enjoy our park (if you've made it this far without falling), even in the winter.  We hope you enjoy the lovely view and do so safely.  Please come back often."  It's too bad that the untouched snow remaining on all of the stairs offers a gesture more like a middle finger to anyone visiting the park.  Of course, as Robert Perry no doubt is well aware, snow often turns to slippery ice.  That's not so much a middle finger as it is a childish and mean "HA, HA!  You fell and hurt yourself and you are headed to the hospital.  Boo hoo on you."

Will we ever have a Parks Department that understands this type of nonsense and disrespect is unacceptable and not good for the city?