Unsurprisingly, I found it really difficult to understand exactly what Dewan said, and I have no doubt that there were others who had the same difficulty. But Rob Perry did not. He knew right away that Dewan asked him, "Hey Rob, the streetlights... when it's out, who should we call?" (Who is "we," and is Dewan referring to the streetlights on Green Acres Road in the Town of Greenport where he owns a ranch house where his wife and children most definitely live but he claims not to? Or is he talking about streetlights near 9 Columbia Street where he rents a house with others and claims to live full time while his wife and children live over a mile away, well beyond Hudson's border?)
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This crash occurred recently at 7th & State. During 2023's Winter Walk, a mother holding her child was struck by a car at this intersection; somehow no one was hurt or killed (but that will mess your brain up, no doubt, even if you don't hit your head on the ground!). Police Chief Mishanda Franklin mentioned this "accident" in her HPD report the following month, adding that there was no pedestrian crosswalk at the intersection and that the driver blamed the incident on "poor lighting." |
"Just send me an email with the address and the pole number," our Great Communicator on Zoom answered, without offering any other info for Dewan or the other council members. (No one can call you, Rob, and actually speak to you, or stop by your office that isn't in City Hall?). Rob did not hint that his department was having trouble with repairing our new LED streetlights, and, surprise surprise, neither Dewan nor any of his useless cohorts asked Rob if there was a problem that they should be aware of regarding DPW repairing broken LED streetlights. ("Are the new LED lights a problem to fix, Rob?") Also, no one bothered to ask Rob why there was no information on the DPW's webpage about who one is expected to inform to get broken streetlights fixed and if that is ever going to happen in his lifetime.
Rob Perry, with that pretty $117,000 salary of his, couldn't care less if a streetlight is out or has been for months or years. Do you remember about two years ago when Dewan's 2nd ward partner in crime, Mohammed Rony, asked Rob Perry at a meeting why so many of the city's fire hydrants were out of order and when the out of service fire hydrant in the middle of the 200 block of State Street would be working again? I remember it like it was yesterday! Rob told Rony and the council that there was nothing to be concerned about with an out-of-service fire hydrant, or even a dozen or more of them, since there were plenty of other working FIRE hydrants in town still working! He actually fucking said this, implying that there was no need to fix any out of service FIRE hydrants, or at least to have any sense of urgency to fix them and make them available for a fire. And Rony accepted the answer without any apparent hesitation, as did the rest of his sleepwalking/sitting compatriots. (And the Hudson Fire Department was also good with what Rob said!). Perry might as well have told Rony: "Leave me alone! Stop asking me annoying questions that are no business of yours. I can handle this, jerk! Who do you think you are?"
Perry also mentioned some bullshit then about not being able to acquire parts for our old and busted fire hydrants but showed no real concern about that problem either! Go have a look at the "fire hydrant" on N. 4th in front of Padrona if you want to peek into our DPW Superintendent's puzzling and bloated-ego mind! That so-called fire hydrant is right at the top of Perry's priority list, no doubt: "Find a replacement plastic garbage bag/cover for hydrant on 4th Street that has been out of service for 8 years. Have foreman install when he has the time. Discard old cover, send to landfill. Purchase another case of plastic FIRE hydrant covers for the next 8 years. Make sure color is black. Also, purchase another case of matching black plastic zip ties to secure covers to broken and useless hydrants. Check to be certain hydrant is still broken and out of service before covering."
Meanwhile, several months (seven? eight?) after National Grid handed responsibility of every streetlight in town to DPW, there is still no information or instructions on the DPW webpage regarding streetlights which are out. You know, like what to do if you see one out at night, who to contact, how to be helpful and keep people safe, who will get it done -- you know, those kinds of basic things. Alas, we get fucking nothing. Absolute zero! Rob Perry apparently took over the responsibility of all of the city's street lights several months ago since he said out loud that he wants to be emailed directly, not his clerk, after all. (One wonders if Dewan Sarowar first looked on the DPW page to get that information he had to pry out of Rob at the meeting. One wonders if Dewan has ever looked at the DPW webpage). Hell, I can't find any information about non-functioning LED streetlights on the entire city website.
I'm beginning to think that Rob Perry is not interested in hearing from residents with complaints about much of anything, particularly streetlights being out for days, weeks or months.... quite possibly years, too. He simply doesn't want to be bothered. He CAN'T be bothered. He makes far too much money to stoop to the level of the common Hudson resident and their whining.
Perhaps strangely, though perhaps not, prior to DPW (er... Rob Perry) taking over control of the streetlights, there was a helpful tidbit on the website suggesting who to contact (National Grid) if you see an out light. The information was not at all easy to find and it wasn't on the DPW page, and since that obsolete information was replaced months ago, nothing has replaced it. Because Rob Perry does not care about you or our streetlights. It's also noteworthy that years ago at a meeting I heard Police Chief Ed Moore mention that his night patrol officers would occasionally perform a "streetlight audit" and let National Grid know about any lights they noticed to be out. I'm thinking that was never common practice or it just died out completely sometime recently under our current chief's watch. Just more meaningless words from a city official.
Judging by the complete lack of information or concern coming from City Hall, it should be no surprise that at least 3 of our new highly efficient (when on, of course) LED streetlights have been out for months. The only two streetlights found in the 500 block of Rope Alley have been dark for at least 3 months and the alley has been fucking pitch dark every night. If I'm uncomfortable walking in that alley when it is so unilluminated (which I am), I can't imagine what it would be like for a woman walking there alone. If Rob doesn't understand that unlit roadways -- especially alleys --increase danger (vehicle crashes, including pedestrians, crime, etc.), do you suppose that Mishanda Franklin does? Ha! If so, why hasn't she forced the issue on her cohort Rob Perry? Does she not like to talk to him or email him? ("You mean I have to talk to him? Please, God, no!") Does our police chief not even know to email Rob about out lights that her officers tell her about? Or is she still contacting National Grid about our streetlights? ("What do you mean the lights are the city's responsibility now? No one told me, and it doesn't say that anywhere on the city website! Who is fixing them now?").
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| I took this picture recently one night in Rope Alley looking east from Dodge Street, with a flash. The lead picture, from the same spot, was made without a flash. Talk about dark. (The only light in both pictures is coming from the Galvan apartment building under construction two blocks away!) |
Does anyone at City Hall actually speak to one another? Does anyone want to speak to Rob Perry unless they absolutely have to? Does anyone working at City Hall know where Rob Perry's office is located or what his phone number is? (BTW, Perry uses his personal cellphone for his job. Our City Clerk recently told me that Rob Perry has never been issued a cellphone from the city for which he has been working for about 15 years!)
The other logical conclusion one can readily make, from a purely objective perspective (if that is possible), is that both Rob Perry and Mishanda Franklin (and probably Kamal Johnson) really don't care about you or anyone else's safety, life, or quality of life. They're too busy doing...what exactly? And where? (For Rob, it's not at City Hall!)
Do you think the following is unrealistic? Do you think Kamal Johnson would say this is unrealistic?
A 40-year-old mother of three was stabbed to death in the middle of the 500 block of Rope Alley while walking her dog alone last night at 9:00 in the pitch dark alley where no streetlights were illuminating the entire length of the block. Suspect is at large, with a sprawling manhunt ongoing with the entire Hudson police force. NY State troopers involved as well. Officers seen knocking on doors in the area early this morning. Police Chief Mishanda Franklin says they have no leads. Both she and the DPW Superintendent, Rob Perry, deny knowing that both streetlights had been out for months. Kamal Johnson wrote on Facebook that there will be an investigation about the lights, says his thoughts are with the dead woman's family and children. Local State Street resident says he informed the city at least twice by email that the lights had been out for months, even as recently as two weeks ago. Says he warned DPW, HPD and the mayor's office that the darkness was dangerous and unacceptable. Husband of victim nearly attacks DPW Superintendent at the grisly scene of the crime, was held back by others. Lawsuit against the city certain to be arriving soon.
Tell me that stranger, more fucked up, regrettable shit hasn't ever happened in this country, this state and this area!!!
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| What's the issue with one busted streetlight for months or years? The city is full new working streetlights! Not a problem! |
"Oh, Mr. HUDseen," you ask, "what about that non-functioning, unilluminated light on 3rd at Warren that you wrote about on July 18th, just 6 months ago? Surely, Rob Perry has fixed that one by now, hasn't he?" No, of course he hasn't! Why the hell would he fix it or mention anything to the council about his 6-million-dollar budget department's inability to repair it for several months? BECAUSE ROB CAN'T BE BOTHERED, AND HIS BOSS, THE MAYOR, IS TOO BUSY ON FACEBOOK AND, AT THE SAME TIME, FLIRTING WITH HIS GIRLFRIEND CONVENIENTLY SITUATED IN THE OFFICE HE FOUND FOR HER RIGHT NEXT TO HIS!
That's right, that streetlight on 3rd Street is still out after all these months, and I'm not kidding, either. Soon it will be a year... UNLESS...
If Dewan Sarowar emails Rob about that 2nd ward streetlight, it will be interesting to see how long it takes our DPW Superintendent to get off his ass to do something about it or explain to the council and the public why he can't fix that light (and others) and when he realistically thinks it (and the others) will be fixed. Don't hold your precious breath.
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| It's the year 2025, and this streetlight has been dark for at least 7 months. It's possible that it has never been turned on since being installed this past summer, and you can be certain that City Hall doesn't give one crap. |
Someone at City Hall, or possibly a few officials, know about this dark streetlight and corner (ON THE TRUCK ROUTE! AT WARREN STREET!), but they still don't care one bit. They don't care about the streetlight, and they don't care about you or your loved ones. (I'm thinking that is the non-working streetlight that got Dewan's attention and forced him to ask Rob Perry for information that every council member should have been thoroughly and clearly informed of 6 or 7 months ago by Our Great Communicator on Zoom. ("All the city's streetlights are now DPW's responsibility. If you notice one is out, or on all the time (day burners, they call them), please do not contact National Grid anymore. Do not contact me or try to find my office. Go to fucking hell with your complaints, because I do not care. The new LED lights were not my idea.")
Here is the original article about that streetlight, from July: PSA.
PEOPLE: OUR COUNCIL IS COMPLETELY IN THE DARK ABOUT WAY TOO MUCH IMPORTANT STUFF!
Think the following scenario is also unrealistic and could never take place here in Hudson? Do Rob Perry, Kamal Johnson and Mishanda Franklin feel the same?
Last night at about 10 minutes past midnight, a man walking his dog across South 3rd Street just south of the intersection with Warren Street was run over and killed by a car headed south on 3rd that continued out of town. No witnesses are known. The pet was also killed. HPD has watched 2 surveillance videos of the hit-and-run killing but can't seem to identify the license plate of the vehicle. Police Chief says they are desperately looking for more surveillance cameras and for input from the public with leads. Streetlight at the corner was out at the time and the corner was quite dark, possibly leading to the tragedy. Three local residents said they had informed DPW and HPD about the light being out for so long, one of them having sent 4 different emails with pictures and calling DPW twice. Said claimed that she had been told twice over the phone that "They're working on it," while she never got responses from her emails. She added: "They told me that they were 'working on it' for 4 months, or however long it's been. That's just wrong, someone isn't doing their job.
Another resident at the scene, visibly shaken by the tragedy, said he was sure that the nearest streetlight was not even turned on once after it and all the other new LED lights were installed in the entire city 6 or 7 months ago. Says he knew something was going to happen sooner or later, but he didn't think it would be this tragic. "I knew the guy, I think he just moved to Hudson like two months ago. He was my neighbor, Jerry, and we said hi every time we passed each other. Seemed like a nice guy, always had a smile and his girlfriend seemed really nice too. I was hoping to get a coffee with them soon. What a waste, what a stupid fucking waste. This city is so screwed up, they can't get anything done, and they were asking for trouble. I hope the city gets sued out the wazoo for this, 'cus they deserve it, no matter what they might say about that light. That light should have been fixed long, long ago! I called DPW once, but I decided I wasn't going to waste my time again -- and I knew one other neighbor who sent emails, too. A woman at DPW told me that they were "working on it." You think someone would have taken us seriously. And the craziest thing is that the old light they replaced with the dead bulb was always on and the corner was not dark, especially on 3rd over there. Look how dark it is compared to the other side of Warren right now. Like how fucked up is that? Do they even know how to fix the new lights they bought? Sounds like the start of a stupid joke doesn't it. Real funny, right? They'll probably figure out how to turn it on tomorrow, right?"
He continued: "If you're going to install a new light, get it to bloody hell work or hire someone to fucking do it. It's a goddamn streetlight; they act like it doesn't matter if it's on or off at night. How many others around town aren't on tonight that they don't give a crap about for months and months or forever? What kind of city operates like this? is the city bankrupt? That could have been me under that sheet over there in the street, or both he and me. Or him and his girlfriend. Look at all that blood. It's horrendous. They can't even find Jerry's dog, just his leash. I heard a cop say the dog may have stuck to the car as it sped off. I have to go; this is too upsetting. Sorry. Good bye."
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| This new LED streetlight at 6th & Columbia has been on 24/7 for at least a few months, and possibly much longer. Think Rob Perry cares? Think he would care if it were off 24/7? |
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