Is Anyone Protecting Our Protectors, Let Alone Us?

Notice all the slippery ICE surrounding both Code Enforcement vehicles parked in their regular spaces this morning out front of the CEO office, nearly two weeks after just 3 or 4 inches of snow fell on Hudson.  

You can't make this shit up. 

A DPW Water Plant Operator Injured Himself WHERE Last Year? Doing WHAT? And WHY Exactly?

Early last year, HUDseen had planned on publishing a piece about the 18 reported workplace injuries suffered by City of Hudson employees in 2023.  There was so much to write about that I was never able to get it all together properly.  Today, I begin a less comprehensive effort to focus on injuries to city workers which occurred last year that the city was required to include on OSHA Form 300, which the Hudson City is required to fill out annually and keep in its records should OSHA come knocking to perform an investigation about workplace safety at any or all departments at Citry Hall.  If someone is hurt and requires more than first aid, that injury, and a description of how and where it occurred, must be included on the form.  If any days of work are missed, that number must be indicated.  Fairly standard stuff.

To make things simpler (and shorter) for me and for my readers, I will begin by focusing on one or two of the injuries which stand out most to me and which I think are worth delving into with the little information that is on the form.  Future articles may focus on other less puzzling, but still interesting, injuries.

If It Looks Like The Work Of An Unsafe Slob, Chances Are We Can Thank Rob!

You may remember that there was a two-vehicle crash at 4th & Warren a few months ago caused by a driver who ran a red light which resulted in a) a ground-based traffic light and pole being demolished; b) a pick-up truck that caught fire after plowing over the traffic light pole; c) serious damage to the iron fence in front of the HOME store along the sidewalk on Warren which stopped the truck form progressing any further (a tree was next in line and it was charred!); and d) several weeks with a missing traffic light (and pole) because Rob Perry was not prepared to replace a pole and traffic light on Warren Street, likely because he never imagined a vehicle could possibly do such damage to a pole and light standing a foot from the curb. (Vehicles never make their way onto the sidewalks in Hudson!).  In other words, Rob Perry was completely unprepared for a vehicle taking out one of our many ground-based traffic lights.  Why not just wait and see if it ever happens!  Hmmm... what else is he unprepared for that just about any other Public Works Department in the country would be?

Rob Perry Doesn't Give A Flying Crap About You Or Your Well-Being! Who Else At City Hall Doesn't?

 

At this month's informal council meeting, perhaps our current most useless council member of all, Dewan Sarowar, who appears to live in Greenport with his wife and child or children, actually asked a question!  And it was not a completely useless one!  But the answer Dewan got is the real news worth reporting on here.

What Next?

When the lovely and welcoming "GOT MOLD?" sign at the Greenport Shop Rite entrance is finally replaced (and not a second too soon!), what do you suppose will take its place?  An ad for treating nail fungus or gangrene?  How about botulism or diarrhea?  How about all of them in succession!

Route 9, Where Pedestrians Are Treated Like Potential Roadkill

Let's face it, the only time a well-off person might find themself ambling along Fairview Avenue would be if they had gone for a walk and gotten lost. Everyone else who prefers to walk, OR MUST WALK, along Fairview Avenue receives a giant, white and icy middle finger every winter for at least a few days -- and sometimes weeks on end -- from both the City of Hudson and the Town of Greenport all the way across and back on the CSX overpass.

One Less Downtown Bank, One Less Drive Through ATM (The Last One?)

According to a recent letter sent to all Key Bank customers in the area, "The Hudson City Centre branch will close on April 11, 2025 at 3:00 pm... The Hudson City Centre branch will merge with our Greenport branch at 160 Fairview Avenue, Suite 40 in Hudson, NY 12534."  The letter offered no reasons for the closure, which will be a big blow and annoyance to their many customers in downtown Hudson, as well as to so many other non-Key Bank customers who rely on the bank's very convenient drive-through ATM.

Have You Ever Wondered Who "Does Signs" In Hudson? Ever Wonder Who Does And Doesn't Work For The City? Have You Ever Wondered Why No One Seems Accountable To Anyone? Have You Ever Wondered Why Things Are So Screwed Up Lately And The Budget Never Stops Increasing?

Do you recall the NO PARKING ANY TIME sign which appeared on the lamppost out front of City Hall over a year ago near the end of the renovations to 520 Warren and which HUDseen mentioned a few times late this past summer and early fall?  It was the sign situated directly between a metered parking space and the new ADA ramp and accessible parking space big enough for a tractor trailer that might get used once a year that also took away half of the width of the sidewalk in front of City Hall.  There might as well have been an additional sign below it reading, WELCOME TO HUDSON.  ARE YOU CONFUSED? HA!  YOU DON'T KNOW THE HALF OF IT!  INQUIRE WITHIN ON THE SECOND FLOOR TO GET ALL THE SORDID DETAILS.  THAT IS, OF COURSE, IF ANYONE WILL TALK TO YOU OR HAVE ANY CLUE OR INTEREST IN WHAT YOU ARE ASKING ABOUT.  DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME ASKING TO SPEAK TO THE DPW SUPERINTENDENT WHO MAKES OVER $117,000 A YEAR, THE SAME CITY OFFICIAL WHO HAD THE ABOVE SIGN INSTALLED.  HIS CLERKS WILL TELL YOU IN A STRAIGHT FACE THAT HE IS "NEVER" IN THE DPW OFFICES.

"If I Were To Park Behind Your Vehicle, Mr. Parking Enforcer, How Much Would The Ticket You Issue Me Cost? And Can You Please Tell Me Why The Curb Is Yellow For Such A Long Stretch?"

 

While at work for hours on our streets 2 or 3 days per week, the veteran Hudson parking enforcer who owns this pickup truck typically parks it on North 5th Street in a metered space or, when one is not available or easily parked in, along the yellow curb on the west side of the street, also known to just about everyone as a NO PARKING ZONE, an area to respect and avoid when parking (whether there are NO PARKING ZONE signs or not) and which can get you a $25 NO PARKING ZONE ticket from a Hudson parking enforcer if you don't!  It's a convenient place to park, no doubt, if a bit, um, awkward for most!  If we were all only so fortunate!

It's Simple: There Should Be No Signs Like This Allowed In Hudson, Not Inside A Business Nor Outside!

By any standards of decency, sanity and civility, the obscenely bright,10-foot by 5-foot LED-illuminated, always changing, multi-color advertisement sign that showed up on North Fifth Street well over a month ago is a disgraceful, disrespectful obscenity that should not be allowed anywhere in Hudson.  Just ask the neighbors who live in the house they own directly across street.  I'd bet they can't heap enough praise on the lights and colors of the new "sign" they have trouble avoiding night and day.  This can't be acceptable, not even one of them.

DPWTF? Kamal Johnson WTF? City Hall WTF?

One weekend afternoon this past July or August, I noticed something about the metal gate door at the bottom of the outdoor metal staircase that leads to the back roofs of City Hall.  It was ajar.  And no one was inside City Hall.  A simple inspection revealed that either the frame or the door had shifted, preventing the door from BEING FULLY CLOSED.  AND, OF COURSE, PREVENTING THE DOOR TO THE ROOFS OF CITY HALL FROM BEING LOCKED! (How long do you suppose that had been the case?  Years?  Or just several months?)

Just Something To Keep In Mind For Future Reference!

During Rob Perry's DPW report at October's informal common council meeting, he said this, in typical Bizarro-Perry fashion:

"The lead service inventory is... uh ... what we've got is what we've got.  We're going to send it off to the Department of Health.*  They are communicating with EPA.  At this stage, we don't really know what the next steps are, you know, they haven't... [Perry does not finish the sentence or thought]. This whole process was of collecting inventory as much information as possible.  What the next phase is, is, you know, still to be determined."  (Taken directly from a YouTube video of the meeting.)

Who? Me? You Talkin' To Me?

I recently noticed this sign posted on the outside of a public, unisex restroom in the main entrance area of the county-owned building at 610 State, where the Columbia County Public Defender and Probation Offices are located.  The very specific and creepy sign can be found no more than 20 feet from the front door and directly adjacent to the security checkpoint.  I could see if this sign were posted on a bathroom door inside the Probation Offices, but posting it so conspicuously in the area where any member of the public might be found seems beyond weird and inappropriate.

Why not just post it on the front door for everyone to notice, not just those using the public bathroom?  

Do you suppose this sign will make the move to the door of a public bathroom inside 11 Warren Street when the time comes to transfer everything TO WARREN STREET?  Or will they simply revise the sign by removing the drug "marijuana" before reposting it?

There's A Right Way, And Then There's The DPW Way! HUDSON, We Have A Very Serious Problem!

It took about one week for DPW to replace a stop sign at the southeast corner of 7th & Columbia that had recently been knocked down. (There are far too many fast drivers taking that corner too sharply off of westbound Columbia!).  That's the new sign in the picture above.

Stop Sign? What Stop Sign?

 

Sunday afternoon.  The commercial van had been parked there for
at least two days (for some inexplicable reason, there are no overnight
rules on this portion of North 6th).

Sunday midnight.  

Can You Imagine The Headlines? Can You Imagine Kamal Johnson's Response (If He Were To Bother With One)? Can You Imagine The Lawsuits? Can You Imagine The Fucking Stupidity, Carelessness and Disrespect??

5-year-old Hudson girl electrocuted to death while playing with friends on Front Street sidewalk.  Mayor has no comment other than deflecting questions to city attorney.  DPW worker heard saying that they assumed the electric lines in the easily accessible streetlight base were not live.  City contractor also involved.  Base had been wide open for months.  Let the blame game begin.  Lawsuit certainly on the way, possibly more than one.  Lamp base is secured and inaccessible less than 24 hours after the preventable tragedy.

Do They Know? Do They Care?

If Rob Perry at DPW and Craig Haigh at CEO are aware of this long portion of lovely new Hudson-style, ADA NON-compliant sidewalk, do you think they gave the owner the thumbs up? Do you think they give a crap? How about anyone in the Hudson Mayor's Office, specifically our distracted, mostly useless and overpaid mayor, as well as his useful, underpaid and overworked aide and ADA-coordinator?

Why Does It Feel Like Columbia County Is Stuck in The 20th Century? OR "The Path of Civilization Is Lined With Tin Cans!" (E. Hubbard)

 

Back to one of HUDseen's favorite topics: garbage. And streets. And safety. And bicycling. And how Hudson City Hall and officials in Columbia County can't seem to pay attention to important details. You know, all the fun stuff to read and complain about!

How About Some Facts, HUDseen? What Kind Of "News Source" Are You Anyway?

HUDseen recently implied -- with a picture but NO ACTUAL EVIDENCE -- that the bodega at 2nd and Warren had closed for good.  It sure looked that way to me and there was no sign on the front indicating otherwise.  Thankfully, it turns out that the store merely underwent some much need renovations. (Galvan owns the building).  Apologies for offering misinformation (NOT disinformation!), but I like that place, and I guess my emotions got the better of me.

I just hope the bodega hasn't changed anything about their $7.00 turkey sub!  (I haven't been inside since it reopened).  For years, the turkey sub has been a nearly weekly lunch for me.  It has been consistently tasty, made fresh with all the trimmings whatever you want or don't want, large, less than ten dollars (!!!!), and IT IS NOT MADE WITH BOAR'S HEAD BRAND MEAT OR CHEESE!  In other words, this bodega offers, among other necessities, an affordable meal that Hudson desperately needs.  I'm likely not the only one in town who is relieved that this bodega has not closed. 

Perhaps the updated store will no longer offer cigarettes or tobacco products of any kind!  Wouldn't that be wonderful!

(For how many more years will the former Star Market in the 500 block of Warren remain empty?)

What Is It With Some Dog Owners In Hudson? Is It Time For Dog Poop DNA Testing?

This is the same location that a recent HUDseen article focused on showing several full dog poop bags on the ground in late November.

Introducing The Real Mayor of Hudson! [A rare HUDseen reposting for those who missed it the first time!]

I am reposting this article which was originally published on September 11th -- just prior to HUDseen's short hiatus -- to be sure every reader has a chance to read it.  I recently heard from a reader that another HUDseen reader had not been aware of this article because my blog went blank for a few months soon after it was published.  I'd hate to think anyone in Hudson doesn't have a chance to read this because it got lost in the shuffle.  If you have read it already, thank you.  Now go and spread the word to vote this guy out of City Hall and get us a city manager instead!

Two weeks ago, I spoke with that "other reader" who eventually did get to read the article.  His reaction to the article was pointed:  "Kamal should have resigned because of this."

Here it is, in early 2025, unchanged from nearly 4 months ago:

There's so much to say about this issue, so I will try my best to keep it short.  It's difficult to think this is happening in the year 2024, but it is, and the story needs to be told.

Our mayor's personal vehicle was issued seven parking tickets last year, 4 for parking on the wrong side of Union Street overnight and 3 for meter violations on Warren Street during the week.  Kamal Johnson didn't pay for a single one of those 7 tickets. 

How Much Did This Failure Cost Us? Has Rob Perry or His Foreman Learned Anything From It?

On Wednesday, December 18th, I noticed a DPW crew filling in a large hole in the westbound lane of Columbia Street at 4th Street that had been excavated several days earlier and where, during the same time, trucks and cars had not been allowed to drive while work was taking place (one lane was available through the intersection).  That day or the next, I believe, the final coat of asphalt was installed.  Trucks, tractor trailers and cars soon began rolling over it.  DPW was done with that project, it seemed.