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? 

For Shershah Mizan to return to the council, you've got to assume that he has a renewed sense of mission, hoping to accomplish something worthwhile, maybe even solving an issue that he failed to do his first time around.  Maybe his neighbors demanded that he return to the council to get something accomplished for them!  Perhaps he wants to solve a new issue affecting Hudson residents that he feels he can handle.  Maybe it's all of the above!  This is Shershah's second chance to leave his mark on Hudson, right?  Sure, that's got to be the reason that he, like Rich Volo, is back on the common council!  He's not just back for the prestige, the money and the health care, is he?  Surely, he's going to get important things done on a city council in a system that he is familiar with, right?  Heck, he's practically a veteran of City Hall!  We need people on the council who know how to get things done!  Reelect him!  Get him back in there for another 4 years to DO SOMETHING!

Well, if last month's meeting is any indication, I fear that Shershah Mizan, much like during his previous 4-year visit to the council, won't get much of anything accomplished this year or next.  One need only try to make sense of what he had to offer at the meeting, which, as far as I can tell, was his first time speaking up as a renewed council member.  It came in the form of, essentially, a complaint to Police Chief Mishanda Franklin after her HPD report, addressing her with this:  "At Columbia Turnpike that blinking light we have there.  It is one of the most dangerous intersections in the City of Hudson."

Mishanda:  Where is it, I'm sorry?

Shershah:  By the hospital.

Mishanda:  Yes. Prospect with the triangle.

Shershah:  Yes.  It is very dangerous in there.  Personally, I almost got hit so many times when I drive that way.  So many people they even don't stop in there.  So, I think we have to do something about that.

Mishanda:  Okay.  If you want to send me an email, I can do the same... (then Shershah interrupted the police chief and I have no idea what either of them said).  It is worth noting that the police chief is not the city official who can improve an intersection.  The official who should be approached about the triangle, or any other traffic safety issue, is HPD Commissioner Shane Bower, and he doesn't even work for HPD or show up to meetings.

Now we all know what has been on Shershah's mind for the past few years -- the triangle at the top of Columbia Street, the city's most poorly designed, dangerous, feared, accident-prone and cursed at intersection.  It's an issue nearly everyone is well aware of and everyone has given up on doing anything about.  But Shershah Mizan is unfazed -- at long last, he is going to be the person to get that ugly intersection fixed and safe for all!  Hoo-friggin'-rah!  

It appears that Shershah didn't discuss the issue of the triangle with anyone prior to bringing the issue up in front of the council -- not with his fellow members, including the council chairman, nor with the police chief.  (He also appears to not have done any research about the intersection -- how often are there accidents?  Are there any common factors contributing to the accidents?   Do you have any suggestions besides "do something?").  He's been away from the council for two years and apparently the triangle is his priority, yet all he can offer is that he thinks that something needs to be done about it.  He might as well have been speaking to a tree in the woods.

There can be no debate that the triangle intersection is an absolute nightmare - we've all known that for years and decades, from the first day we experience it.  However, there are two problems with attempting to improve the triangle, both of which Shershah Mizan should be well aware of.   First, there is nothing that can be done with that intersection besides literally removing it and starting over with a total reconfiguration from scratch.  Just adding a traffic light to replace the stop signs and the blinking yellow and red lights will only make things worse -- there is simply too much going on in too small a space, with too many intersections too close to one another.  What else can be done to solve the problem besides leveling the area and starting over?  Nothing!  

Second, and I think more troubling, is that we have been through this at council meetings before, and far too many times!  While I have no proof, I can almost guarantee that during his previous stint as a council member, Shershah Mizan brought up the issue of the triangle at least once to the council (or he was at least part of a discussion about it).  And where did his efforts then get him and us, and what improvements were made to the triangle?  Nowhere and nothing!  Every few years the issue of the triangle arises and every few years nothing changes at the intersection -- it's still a bloody mess.  What made Shershah Mizan think that his paltry effort would get him and the council anywhere this time around?  

Back to the council meeting:

The initial "discussion" about the triangle ended with a "send me an email" from the police chief.  Shershah had nothing else to add.

Then, Council chairman Tom Depietro had this to say:  "We are also going to bring this up to DPW, because obviously there's going to be a design element."  Tom was all for fixing the triangle!  He's on board, too!  Progress!  Action!  Words!  Let's do this!  

When the stories and laughs about the horrible triangle ended, it was our DPW Superintendent Robert Perry's opportunity to weigh in on the issue of the triangle.   Much like he would dismiss Rich Volo's worries about the Santa huts after his DPW report, Perry dismissed Shershah Mizan's feeble attempt to "do something" about the triangle before his report.  He presented his take on the triangle in his usual sarcastic, disrespectful, know-it-all, stop-bothering-me tone.  It worked.  Again.

Perry declared loudly (via Zoom or whatever the latest virtual technology is called):  "It's the safest intersection in the city.  There's no accidents there, because everybody knows it's risky and everybody slows down and pays attention.  It's an act of genius, really."

With that, there was laughter from a council member or two, but not from the council chairman, who said this:  "I guess that's your opinion, Rob.  What would it take to change it, do you think?"

Perry went on to tell the council that a rotary might work, but that it would cost millions, require a bunch of additional property with utilities needing to be relocated and land shifted, but that it would still be like a children's carnival ride.  Perry ended with this:  "This is not the first time this has come up.  It's about the 35th time.  I've got my routine down pretty well."  Shershah had nothing else to add.  He was shut down and out.  Dismissed.

There is nothing that DPW can do, or is interested in doing, about the triangle.  The police chief is equally unable and uninterested!  Same as 5 years ago.  Same as 10 years ago.  In Robert Perry's mind, there is no practical or economical way to fix the triangle -- it simply isn't going to happen.  The triangle, as they say, is what it is and that it is the way it shall remain.  Perry's forceful message and response to Shershah Mizan (and Tom Depietro) was essentially this:  "No can do.  Go away and don't bother me with this nonsense again.  I'm sick and tired of it.  Got it?"   

You would think that by now both Shershah and, especially, Tom would be well aware of how our DPW Superintendent feels about the triangle.  They have both been there before, perhaps multiple times!  (Had they forgotten?  Will we go through with this again in another 2 or 4 years?)  Shershah should know that if he has any chance to help improve the triangle, it's going to involve a whole lot more than asking our police chief "to do something" about it.  He might start by trying his best to speak to the correct city official about improving the triangle, not the police chief.   But he doesn't know any better, apparently having learned nothing since we last had the fortune of having him represent the third ward, and his feeble effort merely resulted in more wasted time and talk.  Alas, this is what we are in for now from much of this council:  Nowhere and nothing, with members making useless appeals, often to the wrong city officials.   In other words, making little or no progress while rehashing old issues that go nowhere.

I wonder if Shershah ever followed through with emailing Mishanda about the triangle.  Gee, I sure hope so!  Another work in progress!  Another victory notch for the city!  I'm also thinking that it will be the year 2026 when a new council member and the council chairman raise the issue of the triangle again, only to be shot down once again by the DPW Superintendent.  Or maybe Shershah will still be around then to try to "do something" about the triangle again!  Give him some time to forget what Mr. Perry told him last month so that he can approach the police chief about it once again two years from now.

If it's not an obscenely large VOTE FOR ME sign or two for all
to see on Shershah's front yard, it's the frame for those signs.
Don't you wish every front yard had one or the other at all times?
He cares about the community?