What About All Those Lightbulbs At The Pocketbook Factory? Are They Still On 24/7?

Now that HUDseen has been at it for well over one year, I thought I would occasionally revisit one-year-old articles to let readers know where things stand now and what has and hasn't changed regarding the issue or issues 12 months later.   There are SO many issues to keep track of these days in Hudson, the last thing that we should do is just eventually forget about them all. 

First up is the Pocketbook Factory (PBF) on North 6th Street, where renovations began in late 2022.  On June 10th, 2023, HUDseen published an article about the lights being on all the time inside the huge brick building.  These were hanging light bulbs that had been installed when work began on the building.  Responding to my complaint to him in early 2023 that the lights were on all the time, owner Sean Roland told me that they were on for security reasons and that this had been order by Code Enforcement Officer Craig Haigh.  For no sane reason, hundreds of lightbulbs would remain on 24/7 inside an empty building surrounded by a tall fence, illuminating the building and surroundings at night in a quiet residential neighborhood.  I referred to the situation coming from the building as a "nuisance" to the neighborhood, and you can read the article from a year ago right here: Pocketbook.

Lo and behold, well over one year later the hundreds of lightbulbs (at least two hundred in my estimation) are all still burning brightly 24/7. (It turns out that I first wrote about the PBF's lights issue in February of last year!)  Every weekday, whether there is a construction crew working or not, the lights are on.  Every single weekday night, in the wee hours of the morning until sunrise, the lights are on.  Every Saturday, Sunday and holiday when work is not taking place, the lights are always on.  Day in, day out, morning, noon and night, the lights are never turned off.  Yes, at least 16 months after I first noticed it, the hundreds of light bulbs in the Pocketbook Factory remain on all the time!  (Presumably, when a bulb burns out it is replaced.)  Imagine if everyone were so wasteful.

Earlier today, I stopped into the Code Enforcement Office across the street from the PBF.  I asked Craig Haigh if he had required the owners of the PBF to leave the interior lights on all the time.  Craig replied, "No, that's not something we would do.  But the owner does have every right to leave their lights on as long as they please."  I got the sense that Craig has been fully aware of the lightbulb situation for a long time.

I took the picture at the top late last night.  I took the pictures below yesterday afternoon while a few workers were inside.  The large crews which were so common early in 2023 are nowhere to be seen or heard anymore.  Work is continuing at a snail's pace, but boy is the inside of that empty building well lit!  ALL THE F'N TIME !!! 

Wasting electricity and money so flagrantly shouldn't be the privilege of the wealthy.  It affects us all in a negative way, whether it be from climate change, setting a poor example for everyone and especially children, or light pollution in a quiet residential neighborhood where people just want to sleep in the fucking dark like humans are supposed to do and is best for human health.

Of course, Sean Roland doesn't live anywhere near the PBF.  Wherever he does live, how do you suppose he would feel if his next door neighbor left a few floodlights on aimed right at his bedroom window every night and through the morning?  Would he just go buy another house to live in?  Or would he try to get his neighbor to stop being such a nuisance by reaching out to the Police or the Code Enforcement Office?

If anyone knows who Sean Roland is and you see him, please ask him why the lights are always on inside his Pocketbook Factory property on 6th Street.  If he tells you that the City of Hudson told him he must leave hundreds of lights on 24/7, tell him that Bill says, "You, Sean Roland, are full of bullshit!"