The Answer To The "Garbage Can" Price Quiz! Subtitled: Why Is Our Cash Treated Like Trash?

When I first saw the image of one of our new "polycarbon garbage cans" which Rob Perry (via Zoom, of course) introduced to the council at January's informal meeting after the products were purchased, a few things came to my mind.  First of all, why.  Second of all, did he really buy some "garbage cans" in a new style without running it by anyone first, particularly the council or the City Treasurer.  Third, why don't the slats on the "garbage cans" look anything like the slats on the wooden receptacles we have had forever and which Mr. Perry annually takes pride in letting the council know that his workers do such a wonderful job of maintaining every winter when they have the time to sand and paint them and make them look nice again.  Last, I wondered, since Mr. Perry didn't offer the cost of our new "garbage cans" he felt we needed, how much did these "garbage cans" cost us. 

There Was A Time When Things Were Done Properly and Respectably. Not No More! DPW Has Gone To The Dark and Ugly Side!

 

Yesterday afternoon and this morning (Thursday) in the rain, I took pictures of each keyed padlock found on ten of our public trash receptacles in and near the 400 block of Warren Street.  Each and every one of the locks designed to secure and lock the lids was unlocked.  This failure by DPW to actually lock the padlocks after the receptacles are emptied is a new development.  (Rob Perry also has a new and much younger sanitation crew.)  As recently as a year ago, the two workers that I regularly saw emptying the trash cans each carried a key on a long chain which unlocked every padlock on every receptacle as each worker had one key for all the Master padlocks securing every one of our trash receptacles.  Those two workers have either retired or been moved to other tasks.

Will We Be So Lucky? Don't Count On It!

Anyone who, like me, regularly walks the long portion of so-called sidewalk in front of the former Citgo gas station and convenience mart at 718 Columbia Street (now known as Lucky's) has to be thinking:  Will they replace the entire pathetic death trap sidewalk at the same time they replace their paved lot after their new gas tanks are buried and ready to fill the new gas pumps?  My thinking is that the only way that sidewalk will be replaced this month or next is if CRAIG HAIGH AT CODE ENFORCEMENT TELLS THE OWNER THEY MUST DO IT NOW OR THEY WILL BE IN BIG TROUBLE.

It's HUDseen Quiz Time Again!

HUDseen recently made mention of our new public trash receptacles which DPW Superintendent Rob Perry decided the city needed to replace our longtime, classy and trusty wooden receptacles with.  With his introduction to the new receptacles during January's informal meeting (after they had been paid for and delivered), Perry claimed that the new "garbage cans" were made of "polycarbon."  Actually, it turns out, he was just making shit up again.  The new RECEPTACLES are made of "recycled plastic," which is not polycarbon at all, though it does sound so much nicer, doesn't it?  Try to keep the word plastic out of it if you can -- it sounds so cheap!  Perry did not mention how much the city spent on the new "garbage cans"/trash receptacles that he felt we needed.  But he did say that the plastic slats will hold up better over time and are less apt to be vandalized than the wood slats.  (Actually, the wooden slats were rarely, if ever, vandalized. The lids were regularly tagged and stickered, not the slats!  But that's not important to Perry!)

Over Two Years Later, That Stop Line On Paddock Place Continues To Reveal Our DPW Superintendent For Who He Really Is!

7 months after DPW Head Honcho, Rob Perry, clearly fed disinformation (lied!) to Vicky Daskoulidi and the entire common council as he spoke at a council meeting regarding his plans to remove a stop line on Paddock Place -- then did his best to remove the line -- it is now back to 100 percent visibility in the street and once again being ignored by all motorists approaching it.  Black, white, what does it matter -- it's not a stop line if there isn't any stop sign to read, is it?   

Progress in Hudson, it's really, truly happening!  You just have to get out there and find it!

New Warren Street Business Occupying a Long Vacant Space! Yay! More Waste & Litter That Need A Home Far Away! Hooray!

Priorities and More Assuring First-Class Communication From Our DPW Superintendent. Lucky Us!

A new, 8-foot black metal bench appeared at the end of the peninsula in the Riverfront Park sometime late last year or possibly last month.  I think it stands as a symbol of how poorly things operate in Hudson City Hall, particularly as it relates to our Department of Public Works and the person in charge there.  There isn't much done in the public sphere that DPW and Rob Perry aren't involved with in some manner.  Figuring out how Perry is involved with things is not always so easy... or sometimes even possible.  Our Great Communicator Always on Zoom is as elusive, dismissive, concerning and puzzling as any city official can possibly be without being shown the door.

Who Do You Suppose Owns The Sliver Of Property Known As 425 Warren Street? Do Rob Perry And Kamal Johnson Even Know? Do They Even Care Who Owns It?

Why, of course, 425 Warren, the strange space adjacent to Finch, is owned by The City of Hudson, as it probably has been forever.  (Except for final picture, all pictures were taken Friday morning, several days after our most recent precipitation fell from the sky.)

Did You Know That We Have "WHEELIE BINS" Here In Hudson? Neither Did I!

 A few days ago, I came across this interesting piece on the BBC's online news site which references our city. Thankfully, it doesn't have anything to do with tourism, whales, politics or housing.

George Romney: Rare sketch portrait found in US wheelie bin

Union Street Is Just Fine Remaining A Two Way Street...

                                       

... Especially in the winter when vehicles ON BOTH SIDES OF THE STREET are forced to be parked two or three feet from the curb!

This Is How Much Mishanda Franklin, Rob Perry and Kamal Johnson Each Give A Crap About The Safety And Well Being Of Our Four Parking Enforcers, Visitors To The City and Every Resident of Hudson

None of the white stuff is snow anymore. 
It's all ice.  Think Rob Perry cares?  He 
doesn't have to walk there, fill a meter or 
check a meter to write a ticket, does he?

See and read more by clicking below:

What "Inconvenience"? What "Mobilization"? "Who Are You With?"

Today at about noon, soon after gingerly walking on the thick ice covering the entire width of the sidewalk in front of Foley & Cox in the 300 block of Warren Street, a quick online property search indicated that the Galvan Initiatives Foundation owns the parcel known as 317 1/2 Warren Street where the store is located.

"Have You Spoken To Code Enforcement About It?"

I imagine that I'm not the only Hudson resident who occasionally wonders how frequently people fall on our obscenely dangerous sidewalks, especially this time of the year and especially this winter with all the bouts of rain, sleet and snowfall, along with the thawing and freezing, that have created so many ICY, SLIPPERY, DANGEROUS SURFACES TO WALK ON.  Recently and for at least the next few very cold nights and days, following snow and rain, the situation on our sidewalks is and will continue to be horrendous!  Combine ice with horribly neglected sidewalks and sidewalks made of non-compliant materials and you have a true shitshow, a more dangerous situation which can more readily and easily injure and kill -- a situation that City Hall doesn't do a thing about year after year after year.  Well, they do TALK a lot about it, don't they?

More BOOTS, MONEY, CONFUSION, UNHELPFULNESS, UNCOORDINATION and DUMB IDEAS! Welcome To Hudson In The Year 2025!

Since publishing last week's piece which focused on the city's resumption of BOOTing vehicles, I have seen at least three more BOOTed vehicles parked around town. The city, particularly HPD, seems to be BOOT batty -- they have a lot of catching up to do, it seems. But there is too much of a mystery about how the BOOTing (and TOWing) process is resolved for vehicle owners who have a string of unpaid parking tickets that get them the BOOT in the first place.

The WHATEVER WHATEVER Superintendent Slob Making over $117,000 A Year!

During DPW Superintendent Rob Perry's DPW report at the July 8th, 2024, informal council meeting, while he was far away from City Hall, he showed the council and the public a sideways picture of the new service window that his department had recently installed in the newly created Code Enforcement Offices on the west side of the Firestation on Washington Street.  He then explained the sideways picture as best he could (not apologizing for it, of course!) while council members and the public had their heads turned to one of their shoulders:  "We also completed the reach through, or the pass through, or whatever they call it, at Code Enforcement.  They still have to do some painting or whatever, but basically we're almost done with that."  Then he moved on to his next issue and picture (it was upright!). 

(Two sentences, each including a "whatever"! This may be a "whatever" record for any City Hall official!)

Okay, Now Who The Hell Is To Blame For This Mistake?! Something Tells Me DPW Was Somehow Involved!

Thanks to Luizzi, the DRI building contractor currently on winter break who the city hired to improve walking surfaces on the city's west end, there is no shortage of much needed new smooth curb ramps for pedestrians and vehicles on Front Street. Luizzi does ramps, for sure, and they appear to do them well! And they all seem to be in the right places!.

Just Some Observations On A Cold and Lonely Night With More Snow On The Way

The large, partially boarded up house on 8th Street near Columbia Street and with the number 50 on it has been vacant for, I believe, at least one year, possibly two.  Craig Haigh at Code Enforcement deemed the building to be Vacant and Unsafe sometime early last year, the same day I saw DPW boarding up the lower windows on the north side of the house. The CEO's red warning sign was stapled to the house after at least one person was found to be squatting inside, having gained entry through a back door.  I imagine the interior was full of code violations and other scary stuff.  One wonders if the property owner was sent a bill for all the plywood and nails or screws we bought for them, as well as for all the work DPW did to secure their lovely house. Or if the owner even thanked the city for doing them the favor. Or if they paid the bill!  Of course, if nothing changes soon, at some point all the plywood will fall off and need to be replaced. Can you imagine living across the street or next to this place? Oh, wait, people actually do live on 8th Street, even across from 50 8th Street! OH JOY!

In The City Where Time Has Been Standing Still For Several Years.....

...keeping things looking decent and respectable, if it EVER happens, often takes a long, long time! 

Well It's About Friggin' Time! What On Earth Was The Delay?

Over the course of the past year or two at informal council meetings, it hasn't been uncommon to hear Police Chief Franklin mention the issue of the city's inability to BOOT vehicles with outstanding parking tickets.  Recently, the discussion has switched to the resumption of BOOTing scofflaws.  I never quite understood what the problem was in the first place, nor why the important activity of collecting much needed revenue from scofflaws -- some of them owing a substantial amount of money to the city -- had ceased.  Recently, though, I think the council passed a new code related to the BOOTing of vehicles, something having to do with regulating tow operators.  Well, whatever progress was made recently regarding forcing scofflaws to pay up seems to have freed up the obstruction keeping revenue out of the city's bank accounts. 

A Good One Just Quit And Another Good One Will Be Retiring Very Soon. Who Is Next? (The Ship Teeters A Bit More!) [With Addendum]

Late last week in the early afternoon, I called HPD to let them know about a traffic situation which I felt warranted their attention. I do this a lot, as you might imagine. (Over the years, HPD has written MANY parking tickets thanks to my calls, even though I get no god damn recompense!  The nerve!).  Not too surprising to me, an HPD dispatcher did not answer the phone.  Instead, once again, it was an actual police officer, a recent trend that should have us all concerned.  Specifically, it was officer Luis Martinez.  In spite of yet another police officer answering the phone at HPD, I was glad to hear Martinez's voice.  Sadly, it turns out that I will likely never hear his voice or see his face again.  No one around Hudson will, either.