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?)
Soon after my heads up/warning email to Kamal Johnson, Rob Perry, Mishanda Franklin and others -- including a picture of the flat roof over the back of the building from the top of the stairs -- I noticed that either the door or the frame had been straightened out, allowing the door to fully close, as all doors are supposed to be able to do! And the door was LOCKED, as this door should be at all times when not in use. (Why would anyone be using the roof, stairs and the door when not fleeing the building in an emergency or using it to get roofing supplies to the roof? It's not an alternative entrance to the second floor of City Hall, is it?)
(Why the hell did they repair the door to make it lockable? Did someone tell Rob Perry to make it happen, convincing him it needed to be done even though he was aware of the situation? Apparently, he didn't have the repair done on his own since the door is still always unlocked.)
Here are images taken on a few of those occasions (I had taken many more pictures, in October and November, but seem to have erased them. Heck, they were all essentially the same image anyway.)
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| Closed but not locked, as usual. |
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| Wednesday, December 18th at 2:30 pm |
The stairs leading to the roof over the back of the first floor of City Hall is regularly used by the DPW clerks and, when he is forced to come to City Hall, their boss, DPW Stuperintendent Rob Perry. Since the door is lockable from both sides, the roof, stairs and door are not part of an emergency exit. Plus, there are no signs indicating it is an emergency exit. Therefore, the door should be fucking locked at all times!
That path from the alley to the second floor of City Hall is nothing more than DPW's convenient entrance and exit to their offices (there is a door to the offices up there). I'm sorry, no one, absolutely no one, should be walking on the roof of City Hall to get to and from work, no matter how much or little money they are paid. Use the fucking front or side door to the building like everyone else. Be a smart, responsible and mature grown up and set a good example for everyone. You do not live in a vacuum. Act like you are part of a community and that you give a crap about the well-being of the building you and others work in, and that the entire city relies on. You have no special privileges. Is that understood, or do we need to send you home or to the principal's office?
When the issue of repairing City Hall's roof rearises at a council meeting (it's been a while), a council member with some cohones and a brain should ask Rob The Slob Perry an important, if rhetorical, set of questions: Are these necessary roof repairs anywhere near the path which you and your employees are known to use when you are regularly walking on the goddamn roof, and will you be paying for them if they are? While we're on the subject of using the roof for your personal, secretive path to and from the DPW offices where you do not even have a desk, Mr. Perry, how do you justify anyone, including yourself, regularly walking on City Hall's roof to get to and from work? How long have you been doing this AND allowing others to do the same? Do you and your family regularly walk on your house's roof? Would you if you could?" (You mean a council member asking a department head questions that might make them feel uncomfortable or get them the grilling they deserve? What on earth are you talking about, HUDseen? That doesn't happen here in Hudson!)
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| Thursday evening, January 9th, Hudson City Hall "closed," but open and available for arsonists, kids out having fun, burglars, vandals, the homeless, psychos and snoopers of all stripes. "Sure, go ahead, do your best to burn the building to the ground. Just open the unlocked door and head up the back stairs to the roof with your lighter and lighter fluid. No one will ever catch you, and the mayor won't be bothered by it. Not to worry -- his friends (and personal landlord) at Galvan will provide him with another City Hall somewhere nearby." |
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| While inside the DPW offices a few months ago, I made an extremely rare sighting of our DPW Superintendent, the guy who does not actually have an office there. He immediately ducked out the back before I could finish asking him my question. He then used this door, the roof, the stairs and the unlocked gate door to exit City Hall to get to his car parked out back. Rob had likely just entered the DPW offices (not his offices, mind you!) using the same means. Why use the inside stairs or the front or side City Hall doors like everyone else? He makes enough money to do whatever the fuck he wants to. Someone else will pay to repair the roof damages he and his employees cause. |
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Monday afternoon, Dec. 23rd, with City Hall roofs and 2nd floor windows and door open for business. Smokers especially welcome! |
The lead picture was taken on a Saturday afternoon in mid- December, and the pictures of the open door and accessible staircase were taken after I swung the unlocked door open.
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| Is that door to the DPW offices unlocked at all times, too? |
Perhaps the most disturbing thing of all is that our so-called mayor, with an office on the second floor, is likely aware that DPW uses the roof to get to and from the second floor and that the door at ground level is unlocked at all times. It would be just as disturbing if he were to claim to be unaware of this. Hell, maybe Kamal uses the unlocked door, outdoor stairs, roof and secret DPW office door to get to and from his office, too. It wouldn't be one bit surprising, now would it?
This isn't a story simply about an unlocked door leading to the roofs of City Hall that is a cause for concern. The real cause for concern is that situations like this -- which HUDseen finds regularly, and that sensible people would characterize as just stupid, unacceptable and unconscionable -- are too common here in Hudson. The stupidity, lack of attention and lack of accountability at 520 Warren Street are all getting worse, offering the opportunity for some real trouble for all of us. It's not a matter of if, just when.
Tuesday, January 14, 6 pm. Un-fucking-locked!
Goodness gracious, please get rid of this useless "mayor." He is no help. A city manager might show our DPW Superintendent the door, too. The front fucking door, so everyone can wave goodbye!
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