HUDseen: 3 Down, 8 To Go! Literally, TO GO!

5 years wasting away. How much longer?

It has been precisely 5 years to the month since 11 "stormwater planter" sidewalk trees were installed in the 400, 500 and 600 blocks of Union Street. The project has turned out to be a complete failure and waste of time and money, something that was obvious to me long ago.

The trees, and the new infrastructure necessary for them, were installed thanks to funds from the New York State Environmental Facilities Corportation, an actual state department in Albany, believe it or not. "Making Water Quality Projects Affordable for All Communities," is what they claim to be about. The idea, as I understand it, was for the trees to live off and purify the stormwater sent their way, making the planet a healthier place to live for all animals. Sounds great in theory, I suppose. Can you imagine all the salt and other unwanted contaminants that the trees have to deal with, though?

The City of Hudson didn't pay a dime to get the trees in the ground, though DPW did sign a contract with the EFC that made the city responsible for maintaining the trees and the new surrounding infrastructure. As I understand things, DPW Superintendent Robert Perry agreed to this project after being approached by EFC.

Sidewalks were altered, special open storm drains were created where street meets curb, holes were dug for the trees and metal grates were installed to protect the new trees. But the trees never showed signs of flourishing or healthiness, just barely holding on. They were supposed to survive on a regular diet of stormwater street runoff and, unsurprisingly, they have all been covered in lichens and had brittle branches for years.

Last year, the tree in front of 501 Union was run over by a vehicle and Galvan covered the stormwater planter structure altogether with a grate of their own while renovating the building a few months later. The basin for that tree was almost always full of water and litter.

10 sickly trees left.

Last week, I noticed that two of the trees were gone, their stumps covered with orange cones. A merciful effort, if you ask me, and likely the work of DPW or a nearby resient sick of looking at the sick trees every day. What will become of those stumps and holes in the ground, and how long will the cones remain on the sidewalk sticking out like sore thumbs?

8 sickly trees left.

Oh, no! More orange cones!

Appropriately, even the EFC's sign on the sidewalk describing the benefits of the trees is a decaying, unreadable, ugly insult that needs to go. I can only assume that our DPW is not responsible for maintaining that sign. (Look! It never got tagged!)

Try to read all about the failed tree experiment on Union Street!

If the idea is to replace the missing, dead and dying trees, I sure hope the city isn't planning on paying for any of it. This was a bad idea from the start and will never succeed, no matter what trees are used or how much proper attention is given to them. It would be interesting to see if the EFC has convinced any other municipalities to try their stormwater planter tree experiment and how they fared with them.

A special stormwater tree standing in water thanks to a
clogged drain pipe. It doesn't stand a chance.

If, on the other hand, the plan is to abort this project altogether, who will pay to return the sidewalks to the way they were and remove the open storm drains and any other now-useless infrastructure?