A Quality Of Life Issue That Ithaca Understands and Acts On But Hudson Does Not

 

The first of the graffiti currently on the wall of the house adjacent to the pocket park in the 200 block of Warren appeared at least 3 months ago, possibly much longer.  Someone has added more paint since.  That wall seems to be a popular target for taggers -- an attractive canvas, if you will.  Perhaps the most prized canvas in town.

A few weeks after the Hamas attack on Israel in October of 2023, nearly two years ago, graffiti related to the attack appeared on that wall when it was a solid light green color (and word-free).  At the time, I wondered how long the graffiti would remain.  Years, I thought.  No more than 4 months later, the entire wall was repainted, no doubt done on the property owner's own initiative, without any assistance from City Hall.   The so-called public park was once again barely respectable, not a complete disgrace and embarrassment fit for a bankrupt city. 

In our sister city of Ithaca, NY, where a city manager now presides over things, for decades they have approached graffiti like the blight and quality of life issue that it is.  They have zero tolerance of it.  Hudson City Hall is 100% tolerant of graffiti.  Ithaca deals swiftly with graffiti, wherever it rears its ugly head.  Hudson City Hall ignores it, doesn't even notice it, doesn't care about it or how long it sticks around.  Ithaca's City Code is explicit about graffiti.  Hudson's City Code doesn't even mention the subject ("Search Results for Graffiti:  No results found").  Graffiti, whether seen in an alley, inside a public park or on the wall of a house, is all the same:  not a problem.  Not an issue.

Once authorities in Ithaca notice graffiti on private property, they notify the owner that they have twenty days to remove it or they will be fined every subsequent day it remains.  It is as simple as that, as it should be.  No graffiti is allowed anywhere in our city, period!  It's on your property and everyone with eyes can see it -- get rid of it now or go see the judge in a few weeks.   

Had the same situation with the graffiti we have in the pocket park on Warren Street been in Ithaca instead, it would have disappeared within weeks of first being noticed by authorities.  Ditto on a garage in an alley.  Ditto on the wall of a property owned by the city's largest property owner.

Can you imagine Hudson City Hall threatening Galvan 
with a fine if they fail to make a wall of theirs graffiti-free?

Yet, while authorities here in Hudson (who would that be anyway?) who notice graffiti on private property may think it is unwelcome and may want to do something about getting rid of it, they can't. Plain and simple (it being the complete opposite of Ithaca):  It ain't gonna happen here, because graffiti isn't on anyone's radar at City Hall. (Taggers love to know this!!!)  If authorities in Hudson had a zero-tolerance policy for graffiti, the code would have been amended years ago to reflect that stance. And so, that graffiti on private property looming brightly over a public park for months could possibly remain for years to come until it fades away to nothing.  Even if more graffiti is added to what already exists on that wall, Hudson City Hall can't do a thing about it.  Ithaca figured out long ago that this is unacceptable and no way to operate a respectable city. 

Even worse, no one in Hudson City Hall appears to want to do anything about graffiti since there is nothing in our code allowing HPD or Code Enforcement to do anything about tagged private property! If it's not in the code, it's not an issue!  The best anyone -- residents, City Hall, park patrons -- can hope for is that someday soon the owner of the property next to the pocket park, without any involvement from City Hall, decides (once again) that the graffiti on the wall of their house needs to be painted over.  Or we can all do our best to ignore it.  And say, "What does it matter?  What the fuck is a little more graffiti, even if it is facing a public park and everyone walking by on the sidewalk can see it?" 

Nothing more than a reflection of the dysfunction 
inside City Hall.

It should also be noted that while HPD can arrest someone for spray painting the street, a park bench or a house, they are essentially powerless to get the graffiti removed (short of community service, I suppose).   Graffiti, wherever it appears, is vandalism.  But you wouldn't know it by walking around Hudson.  Or chillin' in a public park on Warren Street while reading the Hudson City Code.  

If you don't deal with all types of vandalism properly (i.e., zero tolerance, like Ithaca), you should expect the worst in all facets of the community.  For soon enough you will start to notice all sorts of other things that are unwelcome and cause for concern that most cities and towns large and small find unacceptable and deal with properly, swiftly and respectfully.  Like Ithaca, NY.  And maybe even Chatham, NY.   First it's graffiti, then it's potholes that are ignored for months.  Like these two:

Then, perhaps it is this, in a public park with a walking surface that defies description:

This pallet of bags of mulch has been in the park 
for at least 4 weeks.  Waiting for whom to do what 
with it?  Who put it there?

What gives, DPW?  Did you run out of brown paint?