What About Next Winter's Significant Snowfall? And The Following Winter?

The amount of snow that DPW and outside help dumped in the Firestation lot on Washington Street over the past two days from every street in the city is really impressive.  (Pictures can't convey how massive that pile is.)  I haven't seen a mound of snow there that large in several years.  What will be more impressive -- and should be to every Hudson resident -- is if DPW can do the same thing next year (and for the four years following) when the Pocketbook Hudson Hotel and Baths people have taken over most of the lot for their leased parking lot on city property.  I don't see how it would be possible for DPW to manage it, though.

I, For One, Am Going To Miss Galvan (If They Ever Actually Leave)!

About a month ago, at the southeast corner of Washington & 6th, Galvan opened a 38-space paved parking lot for tenants of their new apartment building located closer to 7th Street than 6th Street, the monstrosity known as the Depot Lofts that is not filling up with tenants nearly as quickly as Galvan and their pal Kamal Johnson had hoped.  Depending on how many grocery bags one is carrying, how much traffic there is, how dark it is, how old one's knees are, which way the wind is blowing, how many children are in tow, how hard it's raining or how much ice and snow are on the sidewalks, the time required to walk between the lot and the entrance door of 76 North 7th Street is, in my estimation, anywhere from 3 to 6 minutes for tenants paying for a parking space.  Of course, depending on the conditions, more or less the same amount of time is required to turn around and return to one's car parked in the lot.  (I'm not sure precisely what the monthly cost of a parking space in the lot several hundred feet away from the apartment building is, but I seem to remember it's no less than $150.  Whatever the price, it's a friggin' deal!  We should all be so fortunate to have such an option!)

Once Upon A Time

There was a time not too long ago -- at least on Warren Street -- when one or two DPW workers with shovels and ice choppers would push all the snow accumulated on the curb into the street ahead of the DPW plows and the enormous snow thrower taking away the snow already in the street.  I saw it happen on more than one occasion several years ago.  Sure, it's more effort, you need the manpower, it can be difficult if the snow has hardened to ice, and it does slow down the street clearing process a bit, but it sure makes a lot of sense for a number of reasons, doesn't it?  For one, allowing people easy and safe access to both sides of their vehicle is a good idea, especially in the downtown business district.  The last thing you want are walls of snow and ice at the curb lining our streets for weeks.  We like happy, uninconvenienced visitors spending their money downtown, not spending their time and money elsewhere or in the hospital!   Well, that old- fashioned, sensible and friendly approach to removing as much snow as possible to keep things tidy and safe once made sense, but it doesn't anymore!

All pictures taken this morning:

Earth To Hudson! Come In Hudson! Is Anyone There? Do You Copy?

 

During the most recent informal Common Council meeting, Margaret Morris asked a question of Captain David Miller that I thought I would never hear any council member ask of the police department.  (The question was a bit wordy and time-consuming, but hey, at least it was asked.) Though Miller had recently been the Acting Police Chief and Acting Police Commissioner while still wearing his Captain's badge, he was back to being solely our Police Captain.  The real Commissioner quit months ago and, at least for the time being, the position itself seems to have dissolved, perhaps never to reappear. Our actual Police Chief, Mishanda Franklin, as Miller noted at the beginning of his report, was back from her maternity leave "but I figured I would finish out the rest of the year here."

Here is Morris' q-u-e-s-t-i-o-n and Miller's response, taken from the video of the meeting:  

Good News For The New Year!

It might be a relief to HUDseen readers to know that at least one of the city's six installed $9,000 solar-powered parking kiosks continues to work for at least 36 hours with several inches of snow completely covering its only source of electricity. 

Is This The End Of The Firestation Lot Story?

 

Monday, 3 pm, Washington Street:  Now that HPD has gotten every last truck, valeted car, dumpster and piece of machinery out of what remains of the city-owned Firestation lot in preparation of DPW's massive street snow removal tonight, you have to wonder one thing.

Who Are The Professionals At City Hall?

Between 3:00 yesterday afternoon (when I took the lead picture) and 10:00 this morning, either DPW or HPD (or a combination of the two) posted a few wooden orange NO PARKING signs -- in the snow! -- among several parked cars in the "parking" area where for the past month the city has had no problem with valeted cars from the nearby Pocketbook Hotel being parked overnight and during the day.  Friday's snowstorm was the first major one since the PBH's valeted cars began showing up in the lot (the 4 inches that fell early in the month doesn't count as major).

So Much For Overnight Alternate Side Parking!

This morning, like most car owners in town, I dug my car out of the nine or more inches of snow that fell last night.  While I didn't need to drive anywhere, I did want to get my car parked on the other side of the street to avoid being ticketed tonight. Everyone who left their car parked on the odd side of State Street last night, like me, was obeying the overnight parking rule which allowed DPW to clear snow off of the even side of the street, right up to the curb.  The general idea is that with cars parked on one side of the street, DPW clears the snow off the empty parking spaces on the other side that Rob Perry expects us all to park in the following night, right?  We all want to do what is right by parking on the right (not wrong) side of the street!  The overnight parking rule on any street is not meant to allow DPW to clear traffic lanes of snow, it only allows them to clear the snow out of empty parking spaces.  Correct?

News From Our Sister City of Ithaca, NY!

I say sister city somewhat facetiously, if only because Hudson City Hall is basing its ambitious and expensive Sidewalk Improvement District project on Ithaca's own successful SID they implemented years ago.  Of course, besides dangerous sidewalks, Ithaca has the same troubling issues to deal with that we have here in Hudson: crime, unaffordable and inadequate housing, general affordability, staffing, parking, spending tons of money on old, failing infrastructure and increasing costs for city services.  Take garbage collection, for example.

How Coffee and Snow Reveal What HPD and DPW Can't Seem To Get Straight!

The downtown NO PARKING ZONE that is perhaps most commonly ignored by drivers is the lengthy one found on the west side of the south end of Park Place, at the intersection with Warren Street.  It's no coincidence that there is a popular coffee shop across the street.  Hang around there long and often enough and you'll see it all in that signless NO PARKING ZONE:  a parked car idling with no one inside, or maybe a passenger waiting; people parking there who then disembark and head straight across the street for their fix; customers returning to their illegally parked car with coffee(s) and treat(s) in hand; parked cars not idling, maybe with flashers on (as if that makes it okay to park there for  any amount of time), usually without anyone inside; 1, 2 or, in very rare instances, even 3 vehicles illegally parked because caffeine is required.  It's been scientifically proven that Caffeine Deficiency Syndrome often trumps parking rules, and the effects of the debilitating illness can be witnessed at Park & Warren just about every hour of every day from 7:00 - 4:00 (the other side of the street, where the coffee is sold, gets its fair share of illegal parkers, too).

$30,000/Year In Exchange For Another Bit Of Hudson's Soul

HUDseen hopes to soon provide more details and comments regarding the parking lot lease agreement recently signed by Gabe Katz of the Pocketbook Hudson (PBH) business complex at 549 (one way) Washington Street and our so-called mayor, Kamal Johnson, of Hudson City Hall (for only a few more days, thank goodness).  It's one of the last things Kamal will have put his signature to as our so-called mayor.  Consider it his parting gift, if you will, to the people of Hudson he so loved and cared for.  For now, though, due to time constraints, there is this to consider:

Pictures Of A City On The Brink Of Going Nowhere!

The rusted white van with all of the junk surrounding, above and inside it that has been parked LEGALLY AND UNTICKETED in the city-owned parking lot directly behind City Hall for the past eleven and a half months represents how bad things have gotten in Hudson (and inside City Hall) lately.  The van might as well have an image of Kamal Johnosn's face spray painted on its side. With his beaming smile, of course.  With the caption, Why Did You Think I Would Care About Anything?

Can Things Get Any Worse At City Hall (and On Our Sidewalks)?

 

The way I see it, Hudson City Hall's recent effort to begin to comply with the Federal DOJ's 2019 consent order to make certain sidewalks and curb ramps ADA compliant (and safe for everyone!) was a warmup -- a test, if you will -- for their much larger and more daunting task to at last replace nearly all of the city's sidewalks, officially known as the Sidewalk Improvement District project.  The so-called SID is still only in the discussion phase for the Public Works Board (PWB); it's difficult to say right now when the actual sidewalk work might begin.  And while these two sidewalk projects may overlap, they are distinct:  The feds told us over five years ago that we need to create safe sidewalks and curb ramps that lead to essential city services; the SID project, on the other hand, is a result of the people of Hudson being sick and tired of dangerous sidewalks everywhere they step. 

We Should All Be Very, Very, Extremely Concerned About The Future Of Hudson

For those of you, like me, who were sure that the city would never possibly be able to install dozens of kiosks around town by January 5th -- the date Captain Commissioner David Miller claimed the downtown business district would finally be free of parking meters to make way for "kiosks and digital" -- there is no need to be concerned anymore.  Everything is under control!  HPD's got it!

Only In Hudson. I'm Tellin' Ya, THIS CAN ONLY BE TRUE IN HUDSON!

 

The foundational building blocks of common sense, professionalism, communication, coherence and consistency go a long way for a municipality, don't they?   Sadly, it seems that Hudson City Hall is missing those important qualities in droves.  And things have only worsened in the past six years -- it's like no one has been paying attention.  Still.  Take parking tickets, for example.

Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock: The Meter Is Quickly Running Out Of Time For HPD and The Parking Bureau!

According to HPD's own announcement released on the city's website on November 17th, "effective January 5th, all of Warren Street will be designated as metered 2-hour parallel parking." It mentions nothing about parking kiosks. This came at least two weeks before parking enforcers began the process of removing the city's hundreds of trusty on-street parking meters to make way for an unrevealed number of $9,000 parking kiosks.  The announcement was a reflection of Police Commissioner's Order 2025-09, signed by HPD Captain and Acting Police Commissioner David Miller.  At the time, though apparently it is no longer the case, Miller was also the Acting Chief of Police.  He was Captain, Commissioner and Chief all at once.  Do I hear Corporal and Clerk?

How's That Budget Coming Along?!

There has been a floating dock in Oakdale Lakes' swimming area for the twelve years that I've been in Hudson (and likely a whole lot longer), though I've never seen it remain in the water beyond mid-November. It typically spends the cold months on the beach. Leaving the dock in the water this late in the year is an absolutely stupid and careless thing to do, unless of course you are a city with unlimited funds and with the ability and means to neglect expensive things and replace them at will.  

There Ought To Be A Law...

... criminalizing stupidity.

Didn't Craig Haigh Recently Request A Salary Raise?

 

The owner of the former church at 64 North 6th Street is a serial code violator when it comes to snow and ice on his long expanse of sidewalk, also known as a public right-of-way.  Though head Code Enforcement Officer Craig Haigh is told (reminded, really) of the property's dangerous violations at least once after every snowfall, nothing changes year after year.  It didn't take me long to come to the conclusion several years ago that Code Enforcement just isn't getting it done.  Either they can't or they just don't want to.

Brother, Can You Spare About Three-Quarters of A Million Dollars? I Need A Place To Park My Car!

During his brief HPD report at Monday's informal Common Council meeting -- while standing in for one last time (for now at least) for the actual Police Chief who is apparently back on the job of law enforcement at HPD following her second maternity leave in two and a half years -- Captain and Acting Commissioner David Miller had a few things to say about his department's continuing efforts to completely transform and expand the city's parking payment infrastructure through the use of parking kiosks.  What Dave Miller did not mention, nor was he asked about by any of the bumbling council members (including a few on the way out the door), was how many kiosks HPD was going to need to get the job done and done right.  Not one of the council members, including former Parking Study Committee chairperson Jen Belton, seems to grasp the difficulty and scale of this project, how much attention and serious work it is going to require over the long term, and, most importantly perhaps, how many expensive kiosks it's going to require to do the job that hundreds of parking meters have been quietly and efficiently handling for the past many decades.  

Here is what the person who is apparently in charge of arguably the city's largest, most ambitious and transformative project related to city revenue had to say about it.  It was very short on details.  Practically void of helpful details. No, it was completely void of any helpful details.  It wasn't an update on the project so much as an offhand comment:

Are These Improvements To The Neighborhood? Is This What Is Known As Curb Appeal?

I searched high and low in the Pocketbook Factory developer's site plans submitted to the Hudson Planning Board in 2021 (and still available online) but could not find any pictorial evidence of their green metal industrial-sized box along the 6th Street sidewalk that showed up two or three months ago.

9 Days After Just 4 Inches of Snow Fell...

 

... the message from HPD, the Parking Bureau, Rob Perry, his foreman, and Kamal Johnson is as clear as ice:  We don't give a flying poop about visitors, shoppers, local businesses, Hudson residents or anyone driving or parking on our streets.  We don't care if you wind up in the hospital or if your car is damaged.  We have more important things to worry about!  Like collecting yard waste bags in alleys and removing every one of the city's parking meters.  Got a problem?  Find someone who cares and whine to them!

The Damaging, Toxic, Ear-Shattering, Expensive, No Good Insanity of Our Truck Route

 

Keep in mind that there was a line of parked cars on the other side
of the street, as there always is in the 500 block of the truck route.  

How Is That Budget Coming Along?

This past Friday at 2:30 in the afternoon, I saw a DPW dump truck on Park Place take a turn up Prison Alley.  What do you suppose the two paid DPW employees ($20/hour at least) inside the truck were up to besides driving and riding?  Were they looking for potholes to fill?  No.  How about transporting snow from the three mounds of the white stuff that DPW had piled up 3 days earlier in the City Hall parking lot?  No, they were not told to deal with that. (One week later, those three piles are still inexplicably there, untouched, occupying parking spaces and waiting to be taken elsewhere.)  Were the two fellas in the diesel-guzzling vehicle looking for random piles of illegally dumped bulk trash to take to the county transfer station?  No, not that either.

Very Few Attorneys or Reasonable People Wouldn't Agree...

... that a city making no effort to keep both children and adults off of a frozen city-owned lake in a public park -- especially during early and late ice -- is either mismanaged or completely unmanaged.  And they're just asking for a lawsuit they will have no choice but to settle out of court, possibly for millions of dollars.  

Why Would He Tell A Lie About Work On A City Street?

I wouldn't be surprised if a majority of Hudson residents wouldn't be able to locate Railroad Avenue on a map of the city.  If it's not Hudson's most unknown street, it is certainly one of the city's least traveled by residents if only because the looped street primarily serves the Columbia County Department of Social Services building that is tucked in the woods between Oakdale Park and the CSX railroad tracks.  So, why was our DPW Superintendent forced last month to inform the Common Council about an issue related to the street that goes nowhere but in a circle, the first time I've heard him speak at any length about Railroad Avenue.  And, more importantly, why did he have to lie about what DPW was and wasn't doing with the street? 

Next Time, I'll Be Sure To Bring My F'n Binoculars and Anti-Anxiety Pills!

Lots more below...

Who Wins The Award For The Worst, Most Disrespectful Hotel In Hudson Year After Year? How About The Worst Former or Active Church?

Of course, by doing nothing about the dangerous code violations that cover long expanses of sidewalk surrounding the St. Charles Hotel along Columbia Street and Park Place numerous times every winter, Hudson Code Enforcement assists the St. Charles in their efforts to keep both of their sidewalks as full of snow and ice as possible for as long as possible after every snowfall.  Every winter!  Their award should be in form of broken shovel.

How On Earth Is This Acceptable? How Is This Good For Hudson Residents or For Anyone Besides The Pocketbook People?

HUDseen hopes to do a big dive into the unwelcome parking situations surrounding the Pocketbook Hudson Hotel and Baths -- on Prospect, on Washington, on 6th, and on all the other nearby streets that are also feeling the push-out effects.  For now, though, take a look at these pictures I took yesterday around noon of a delivery being made to the business complex.

How Much Does City Hall Value Its Public Parks and Their Patrons? You Be The Judge.

By tomorrow morning, the walking surface in the plaza of Promenade Park that is still covered in snow will have turned to ice.  It will be perhaps the worst of all winter walking surfaces: bumpy ice from all the footprints made in the snow over two days, designed to make park patrons wonder if it was worth visiting the park.  As in previous winters after snowfalls both large and small, we have DPW Superintendent Rob Perry to thank for this. 

How's That Budget Coming Along? or What Would Joe Ferris Do?

 

Any municipality that owns a large outdoor public parking lot and contends with snowfall, particularly occasional large amounts of it, has a problem to solve that is not unlike the issue of snow on the streets:  how to clear the entire lot properly, efficiently and as quickly and cheaply as possible after every snowfall without parked cars in the way of the snowplows.  This includes all the parking spaces in the parking lot, not just the driving areas.

It's Like They Don't Care! And Maybe They Don't.

While no details have yet been made public regarding Sunday's vehicle "accident" at 3rd & Warren involving a pedestrian, no one paying attention to what has been going at that intersection for years should be surprised that a pedestrian-related incident took place there.  If things don't change, someone else will get hit, and someone  may even die. But it likely won't be a driver or passenger in a multi-ton metal vehicle -- possibly one with 18 wheels -- who is rushed to the hospital.  Considering how busy that intersection along the truck route is with feet and wheels, it could be more than one person being hit and injured or killed.  It is well beyond time for City Hall to stop ignoring the dangerous situations for pedestrians there, one of which HUDseen focused on just TWO DAYS before the "accident."   I'm afraid, though, that getting anyone's attention to an issue as important as this is like pissing in the wind.