4 Months Late, Work On Washington Street Has Begun. But Is There A Contingency Plan?

Our friends at Colarusso just began their first portion of last year's biannual NY State DOT CHIPs-funded street repaving project.  I say last year because the repaving is typically done every odd-numbered year in the fall, and Robert Perry told the council early last fall that over $600,000 in CHIPs funds had been secured, Colarusso was the only bidder for the project and that they would begin work in November.  Well, better late than never, I guess.

A Committee and A "Bureau" Barely Treading Water

According to a discussion at the Parking Committee meeting a few nights ago, the Amtrak parking lot is presenting some issues that are flummoxing the city.  The lot appears to be more popular than ever, resulting in the single person Parking Bureau having issued more parking permits for the lot than the limited number of reserved spaces in the lot can accommodate.  Apparently, this is forcing permit holders to park in numbered (non-reserved) spaces and eventually being ticketed for doing so.  The city charges $1,000 for a one-year permit.

Our DPW, Leading By Example and Showing Every Truck Driver The Way To The Bottom

Installed by DPW, ignored by DPW and 
unenforced by HPD.

Here are two series of pictures showing our DPW garbage truck and a private hauler truck doing something that the city supposedly does not want any trucks doing.  

Welcome To The "I HAVE NO IDEA" City

A few weeks ago, in front of the municipal parking lot on Warren Street that is closest to 4th Street, I came across one of the two longtime HPD Parking Enforcers.  We were talking in front of the lot with the very old MUNICIPAL PARKING sign along the sidewalk that has been increasingly leaning to the west for several years.  You know that sign, don't you?  It's the one that looks like it was installed in the late 1970s and has never been touched since by DPW.  

"Relative" To What, Mr. Perry? Molasses?

Last September during his monthly report, DPW Superintendent Robert Perry made his only mention of National Grid's gas line replacement project, 2 months after the work had begun.  He referred to the upcoming work on 3rd Street and on 3 blocks of Warren Street.  He concluded with this:  "They (NG's contractor Mullen) have some pretty heavy equipment that comes through and makes relatively quick work of it.  When I have a schedule, I will let everyone know."  Perry has not mentioned anything about National Grid's major project since then, let alone offering "a schedule" to "everyone."  Apparently our DPW Superintendent doesn't care how long the project takes, nor does he think the council and Hudson resident need to know.  "Whatever!"

Hudson Needs More Properties Owned by Limited Liability Corporations (LLC's)!

Not slush!  Ice!

Late this afternoon, nearly 48 hours after the snow stopped falling on Saturday night, there were 2 long sections of icy sidewalk along the south side of the 700 block of Columbia Street. The inch or two of snow that had fallen there, shaded from the sun enough to not completely melt, had obviously been untouched by the property owners. Of course, the hundreds of pedestrians walking there yesterday and today had no choice but to walk on it. So, who are the lazy, disrespectful, code violating bums who didn't shovel their sidewalks themselves or pay someone do it for them?

It Never F'n Ends!

As they do every winter, DPW has recently been removing some of our public trash can receptacles to the DPW garage on Dock Street to give them the attention they deserve.  The wooden slats are revarnished, as are the few wooden lids that remain.  The more common and ugly black metal lids (how about pink, purple or red?!) are repainted to create a blank canvas for the local graffiti artists and sticker-crazed lunatics, some of whom still rail against Covid masks and the World Health Organization.  Ho-hum.

Is It Time For Term Limits For Common Council Members?

 

With the upcoming return of City Hall offices to 520 Warren Street, it's worthwhile, I think, to consider what one Common Council member recently had in mind about the garbage bag vending machine that some of us can't live without and everyone has an opinion about. 

It Can't Ever Happen Here! (Part One)

One morning about two weeks ago, from a block away, I noticed the rear end of a tractor trailer sticking out of N. 7th Street onto State Street.  The driver was obviously having a difficult time negotiating the tight turn from one street not meant for tractor trailers onto another much narrower one, likely doing their best to return to the truck route they had turned off of just one block east.  The end of the 53-foot trailer inched forward and was out of sight within 15 seconds. (The utility pole with the streetlight, seen adjacent to the trailer, replaced a pole that was destroyed two months ago by a turning truck!) 

You Think We've Got Challenges Now?

Here is what I have recently heard through the grapevine about four upcoming employee retirements at our Department of Public Works, two of which HUDseen reported on a few months ago.

Charlie Webster is the long-time, friendly head maintenance worker who has the unenviable task of keeping our parks and other public areas looking decent.  You may also know him as the worker driving to his next city property in need of attention in the van with the Hudson Department of Youth logo on the sides that he began driving over a year ago.  Don't be fooled, though -- Charlie works for DPW.  Well, he does until April 4th, or so he tells me.  His maintenance assistant, whose name I do not know, will be taking over the steering wheel from Charlie.

New Pile, Same Old Nonsense

It's only the truck route at its narrowest!

Just $18,000 In Fines For Ignoring "Recognizable Hazards" That Led To One Easily Preventable Death

Readers may recall the tragic news from a year and a half ago about a sanitation worker who was killed in Hudson due to a garbage dumpster falling on him.  I remember it well, if only because it didn't make much sense to me.  How was it possible that the worker found himself below a raised dumpster before it fell on him, I wondered.  Did the worker make an unwise and unsafe choice?  Was he just not paying attention while failing to follow safety protocols?  Or was something else at play?  

While stranger circumstances have killed sanitation workers (it is a very dangerous occupation), this tragedy seemed odd to me, as if there were more to the story than the few details I had read about.  I also remember thinking to myself at the time that it would be interesting to read an inspection report about the fatal accident if one existed.

You Would Think That Someone At City Hall Would Care

Today

Some things make no sense whatsoever.

For much of the last half of 2023, the city-owned Washington Street lot at the intersection of Washington & 7th Streets was the staging ground for Mullen & Sons, the contractor for National Grid that is still working on the huge gas line replacement project in town.  Pipes, huge piles of concrete mix, a dumpster, machinery, vehicles and random stuff were stored in the lot.  When Mullen vacated the lot sometime in late November or early December, a partially shrink-wrapped pallet of 20 or more boxes was left behind in the lot, a few feet from the exit driveway for the Columbia County DSS building.  It has been such a lovely sight for the past 3 months for anyone walking or driving past it, and it's only gotten lovelier with each passing day. (The DSS exit, also known as Railroad Avenue, is a popular path for residents headed to and from the back of Oakdale Park, especially dog walkers.  It is also used by many walkers as a shortcut to and from Fairview Avenue via Spring Street.)

The Perfect Complement and Warning...

... For the new 5-foot-wide sidewalk in front of City Hall!

Childless Hipsters From Brooklyn Need Only Apply

HAY, Truck Driver! Are You Lost Or Did Your GPS Get You Here?

 

This morning on State Street
(aka THE ALTERNATIVE TRUCK ROUTE)

Sure! Why Not?

I've Run Out of Clever ONE WAY Headlines

A day or two after Hudseen posted an article on February 28th about the missing ONE WAY sign at 5th & State, DPW installed another "permanent" ONE WAY sign in the concrete on the sidewalk.  That would have been ten or eleven days ago, not even two weeks. 

Early this afternoon, with what looked like the result of a fresh strike, the ONE WAY sign was flat on the sidewalk once again after being struck by a vehicle.  It must have been quite an impact.  This, of course, was the ONE WAY sign welcoming drivers to one way 5th Street, not PREVENTING them from driving in the wrong direction on it.

Is He The "Do Something," or the Do Nothing, Common Council Member?

Anyone wondering how our common council gets its work accomplished -- or, more likely, doesn't get much accomplished -- would benefit from tuning into the video of February's informal council meeting.  HUDseen has already shined a spotlight on one council member's feeble attempt to get something "really important" brought in front of the council at that meeting.  That was a member from the 4th ward.  What about the 3rd ward where we have two new members, one of whom, like 4th ward representative Rich Volo, has returned to the council after a two-year hiatus?  I'm thinking of Shershah Mizan.  What does he want to get accomplished?  What's on his mind?  What does he have to say at meetings?  Can anyone understand what he is saying when he so rarely does speak? 

Hey, Look! There Is Still No Dumpster on The Sidewalk!

How Windy Was It Today?

The other half of the round stained-
glass window wound up behind the trees,
against the wall.

Got Litter?

Climate change brings more storms to our planet, including more wind, like today.   Today's gusts worked a number on many garbage cans in our alleys, on our sidewalks and elsewhere, just as the many recent gusty days have been doing.  Recycling bins, and their contents, don't fare very well, either. 

 

How To "Improve" A Dangerous Intersection By Making It More Dangerous, Hudson Style

It's new.  But is it improved?

It has been about 5 months since the improvements to the intersection of Fairview and Green Streets, a.k.a. the Stewart's corner, were completed. The improvements were made as a result of the city's deal with Stewart's to allow them to expand their store and gas station. Changes were needed primarily to make the busy intersection pedestrian-accessible (forget about friendly!), so crosswalks and associated pedestrian signals were installed. 

The 8 (!) new traffic lights on a long horizontal pole are all controlled by a camera on the pole to increase traffic flow efficiency and cut down on wait times at red lights, especially for turning vehicles. There is a lot more stuff in the intersection for drivers and pedestrians to pay attention to, especially overhead, some of it being superfluous and confusing. There is also something important missing that existed prior to the changes which made the intersection safer.

Have DPW and National Grid Given Hudson Its First Bicycle Lane?

Go ahead and laugh! 

A Simple Litmus Test For Our Esteemed Mayor

Welcome to Hudson!  Again and 
again and again....

I don't know about you, but for the past few years I have been wondering exactly why the award-winning "sign" found along 9G/South 3rd Street is even there if it is so difficult, if not impossible, to read while driving by.  What is Hudson City Hall trying to tell the thousands of drivers and passengers who pass by the "sign" each day headed into our fair city?  

Catching a glimpse of the "sign" at 20 or 30 mph raises all sorts of questions:  Is it an advertisement for a bowling alley in town?  Is the "sign" hoping to direct drivers to the high school?  Is Hudson known as the rusty city?  Did something exciting happen in this town in the 1980's and 90's?  Did Hudson become a ghost town recently?  What's wrong with the mayor in this town, if there even is one at City Hall?  Is it possible he or she is blind?  Are all upstate cities so sloppy?  What the hell is a "bow team" anyway?  Does Hudson have a big Alcoholics Anonymous chapter that they need to warn people about?  Is Hudson a city full of drug-addled pranksters, even in City Hall?  (There is a D.A.R.E. sign just beyond, after all!)  And last, but not least:  What happened to Hudson?

Coming Soon To A Riverside Park Near You!

 

Hudson Is Now A Little Tidier and More Respectable

Is this progress?  What did it take to get 
this done?

Readers of Hudseen are likely aware of my disdain for the city's use of plastic bags to cover its fire hydrants that have gone out of service.  You may even have been introduced to Hudseen over a year ago by an article on the topic!  To my pleasant surprise -- and possibly yours as well -- I think that I have finally found the right people to help get to the bottom of this issue and to right this wrong.  It was not easy, and our mayor was most definitely no help. 

Hey, Look! The Dumpster Is Finally Gone!

Today and tomorrow...

4 or 5 months ago

2 months ago

And Then There's This...

2 parking violations, but no tickets will be issued
for two days.  Whose street is it, anyway?

This afternoon, it appears that Mullen had to park a piece of machinery of theirs on Warren at 5th Street for the weekend.  They had to leave most of it in a NO PARKING ZONE and just enough of it in a metered parking space to render the space unusable, unsafe and free of revenue in the form of quarters -- FOR THE ENTIRE WEEKEND in downtown Hudson.  So very thoughtful of Mullen, isn't it?  Even when they aren't working, they are disrupting downtown parking.  For how much longer?

Mullen does stuff like this because no one at City Hall is paying attention or cares to -- it is as simple as that.  No one at City Hall told Mullen they were not to do this.  So they did it.  Why wouldn't they?

Unusable metered parking space

"It Will Be A While" (Longer). Do You Think That Anyone At City Hall Cares How Much Longer?

National Grid's contractor, Mullen & Sons, busy on 
Warren Street this morning.  Still busy!

Yesterday morning, 6th Street between Warren and Prison Alley was closed to traffic due to excavation in the street by National Grid's contractor Mullen & Sons.  This morning at the intersection of 6th and Warren, with 6th street opened up again to traffic, I spoke with a worker for Mullen.  He and his crew were preparing to dig up the street again as National Grid's gas line replacement project continues into its 5th or 6th month on Warren Street.  I started by asking him if he knew how much longer they were planning on working on Warren Street.