HUDseen: Welcome To DSON, NY (and Back To HUDseen!)

How much did city taxpayers pay for DPW
to create this asphalt patch a few months ago?

This is what we get after 4 months? What is
this patch hiding? A SHITSHOW!

In late August or sometime in September, this lovely portion of South 3rd Street along the truck route -- and a major artery through, in and out of town -- was patched by DPW because the street was literally coming apart in chunks. It had been failing since very early in the year, but DPW essentially ignored it until things got really ugly. In this case, patching the street was a band-aid solution to a MUCH DEEPER AND MORE SERIOUS PROBLEM. When patch begins to fail so quickly and mud can be seen seeping up ONTO THE STREET FROM BELOW, anyone can clearly see there is something going on below the street that requires much more effort than a half inch of asphalt patch. Something is wrong STRUCTURALLY WITH THE STREET, and our DPW Superintendent is well aware of this fact, as he has been since 2017. And yet, Rob Perry feels that the best approach is to simply patch a structurally compromised street as if there were just a few annoying potholes to fill.

The real problem that should concern all Hudson residents is that ROB PERRY is ignoring and neglecting the headache and expensive, time-consuming effort it will take to fix the portions of 3rd street, like this one, that still have, in his own words, "issues with the subbase." In other words, much, if not all, of South 3rd was repaved by Colarusso in 2017 leaving alone the faulty foundation that Rob Perry and Colarusso were well aware of. He doesn't want to deal with it and he doesn't want any discussion of it at meetings. This situation is far too difficult and awkward for our $117,000 DPW Superintendent to explain in any sensible, logical or reassuring words. So he does, essentially, nothing to solve the problem.

The portions of 3rd Street which are crumbling and failing because they have no support don't need a half inch, or even one inch, of patch. The whole fucking thing needs to be dug up to two feet below and COMPLETELY FUCKING REPLACED AT THE COST OF TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS. DPW did exactly this twice in recent years - the first time directly adjacent to the patch job shown here near Warren, our latest South 3rd street failure to appear! The work took days for each project!

Through the CHIPs program, the State DOT paid Hudson DPW to pay Colarusso for the repaving work we hired them to do on several streets in 2017, including South 3rd from Allen to Warren.

When was the last time Rob Perry leveled with the council, the mayor or the residents of Hudson that the situation below our crucial South 3rd Street is a nightmare, and an expensive one? Has he provided any pictures during any recent DPW reports explaining how a half inch of DPW patch (purchased from Colarusso!!!!) covering a failing portion of the truck route has solved the foundation problem two feet below the street? Has one council member or our so-called mayor, Kamal Johnson, asked Rob Perry what the heck is going on with South 3rd Street and why just a few months after DPW put down about 150 square feet of asphalt patch over a crumbling 7-year-old street that the patch is a wavy, crumbling, cracked mess that oozes mud every time it rains? Why is the asphalt patch doing exactly what the concrete below it was doing most of this year, necessitating the patch? Has anyone asked our DPW Superintendent what his plan is with that horrible portion of South 3rd Street now that cold weather is upon us for the next several months and the asphalt plants are closed for the same amount of time? Was his plan all along to patch it and do nothing else? When was the last time a council member asked Mr. Perry how much DPW has already spent on replacing portions of South 3rd Street starting 5 years after Colarusso repaved the street in 2017? (The answer is NEVER!).

I watched the most recent informal council meeting, but I didn't hear either of the first ward council members ask Mr. Perry what is going on with the ugly portion of South 3rd Street in their ward that was patched a few months ago. I didn't hear this: "Yes, Mr. Perry, I noticed that your recent patch job of a large failing portion of South 3rd Street is already failing itself. The large patch in the northbound lane near Warren is a concern to me, as I assume it is to you if you are aware of it. It's wavy, it's cracked and chunks of your patch are already loose. Is this normal? Are you aware of this? Has your foreman informed you of the situation? Is this typical for DPW work, even something as simple as asphalt patch? Why is there mud on and around your patch on one of our most important and busiest streets? What is your next step to fix the street instead of just patching a much more serious problem than simple potholes?

Why haven't you fully explained what is going on underneath the entirety of South 3rd Street? Isn't there a problem with the foundation of the entire two blocks? Did you forget to inform the council and the public about it or are you intentionally not informing us of what is going on underneath the street? Mr. Perry, when and how will that continually worsening and ugly mess be cleaned up and the problem solved permanently? Do you even have a plan for all of South 3rd Street that has issues with the foundation? How much of the street is problematic even if it looks okay, at least that you are aware of? Is all of South 3rd problematic that DPW hasn't already replaced? Oh, and finally, please tell us what, if anything, you had done underneath South 3rd Street this year besides that failing patch. Thank you for your time and please take as long as you like to answer my questions as clearly and completely as possible. We are in no rush to leave, as I presume you aren't either. We need answers instead of silence."

Instead, we get silence!

Welcome to Hudson! We are screwed!

Hi, Kamal! I'm as glad as you are that you can once again enjoy reading HUDseen! My posts will be less frequent this time around, but don't you worry, for I will continue to figure out a way to connect you to the never-ending nonsense here in Hudson that I see just about every day