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| Another temporary ONE WAY sign replacing another "permanent" one that was run over again |
According to the DPW foreman, the ONE WAY sign on the southwest corner of 5th & State that was knocked over by a vehicle last week was last knocked over in August. On the pavement in the street, you can still see portions of some of DPW's faded spray-painted letters from 6 months ago next to the same newly spray-painted letters made in preparation of digging up the sidewalk. Again!
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| A great day to lounge in the park! |
Yesterday in the late afternoon on a spring-like day, one HPD police officer responded to my call about a person passed out on a bench in the 7th Street Park. 10 minutes later at the police station, after the officer had interacted with Michael Madison and left the park, she told me that she didn't ticket Michael Madison for drinking alcohol in the 7th Street Park because the vodka bottle on the ground next to the bench he was passed out on was empty, so she could not determine if it was his or if he had been drinking from it. I guess the same was true for the two empty beer cans underneath his bench.
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| The 9G speed trap, where HPD regularly enforces the lowest hanging and most inconsequential fruit |
Where are you much more likely to find a Hudson police officer in their patrol vehicle by the side of the road doing their best to enforce the city's speed limit and watching for drivers making moving violations such as failing to stop at a red light or stop sign? Is it:
The weathered old brick (and pallet) building known as 357 Columbia Street, classified as "Other Storage" in online county tax records, was last sold in 2019 by the owners of the much missed Bonfiglio & Bread cafe. Someone under the cleverly titled moniker 357 Columbia LLC, located at 228 Park Avenue South in Manhattan, bought the large storage unit for $245,000. One wonders why.
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| Last year, at last! |
Regular, long-time Hudseen readers likely remember the article from last February, titled YOU CAN'T MAKE THIS STUFF UP, about the installation of two traffic signs that showcased Hudson City Hall's bumbling, dysfunctional and incommunicative nature. It's one of those stories that tends to stick in the brain. It still gets read regularly to this day, and for those of you who haven't had the pleasure, you can read it here: (YOU CAN'T....) If you can believe it, the sad saga has recently been revived, getting better or worse depending on your perspective. Like the original embarrassment, this continuation of it should concern us all, too. It shows all too clearly, once again, a City Hall still unable to get out of its own way and uninterested in getting things done respectfully or properly. This kind of bunk rarely happens elsewhere, and where it does occur (or has occurred) is often in corrupt municipalities. In my estimation, it is a huge red flag about what is going on at City Hall. Read and draw your own conclusions.
Moments after the officer passed the boxes, I easily kicked them to the curb.
Early on Friday evening while in the 7th Street Park, I noticed a line of four double parked cars (with an available space in the middle) in front of the Chinese takeout restaurant Food Sing -- definitely the most I've ever seen there at one time. This was, of course, on a busy Warren Street between two busy -- and very close -- intersections, one being a turn in the truck route. It was a mess for several minutes because of the narrowed road in the dark, with cars (some having just turned right off of Park Place) suddenly having to stop to let oncoming traffic pass. An unnecessary, but common, crapshow, if you will.
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| National Grid's contractor is not working on Warren Street today. |
While National Grid had a large pole replacement crew on Green Street today creating another double pole situation or three, the company's contractor that has been busy digging up the sidewalks and replacing National Grid's gas lines on Warren Street for the past three months was nowhere to be found. On a warm, blue-sky weekday you'd think they would be busy trying their best to get their disruptive project finished. You would also think that the city would demand it of them. Ha!
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| Crossing Warren at 3rd Street. |
Years ago at a council meeting, I asked DPW Superintendent Robert Perry why there were so many intersections in town lacking pedestrian curb cuts/ramps and if DPW had a plan to create more. He responded that it was the property owner's responsibility to install them, not the city's responsibility. The takeaway for me was that the city really doesn't care if intersections are lacking curb ramps for pedestrians since they aren't making property owners install them where they are lacking.
The sauna business at Oakdale Park seems to have taken on a life of its own, free from the park's rules and any oversight from the city. This should come as no surprise since our Youth Department is in charge of maintaining the park -- yes, even in the winter.
The 30mph speed limit sign at the entrance to Hudson on 23B has been on the ground for at least 3 months. At least it's been facing up!
HPD and DPW take our speeding problem seriously, don't they? They are on it like flies on poop!
Columbia Street is not only our vexing truck route, but also a place where pedestrians can be made to feel especially ignored and unwelcome, even non-existent. Here is just one example of many.
The red underneath the ice and snow on the sidewalk in front of the Hudson Youth Center on South 3rd Street that y ou can see in the pictur...
