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. 

By the look of the curb ramp work that the city's hired paving contractor left us two months ago, I'm thinking SID might actually turn out to be SAD (Sidewalks Awful and Dangerous).  I can only assume that the reason the city hired an excavation contractor from Rhinebeck to replace 36 of our curb ramps on 4 streets this past fall is because they came in as the low bidder for the job.  I sure hope that was the case, because it appears they had no fucking idea what they were doing, just as I figured several months ago.

Here are a few things I noticed about Vosburgh and their work while they were here and after they left:

They were often working in the rain and cold, not a good idea when working with concrete or outdoor paint.

Printed on the side of a black pickup truck of theirs was a list of 6 or 7 types of work they offer.  There was no mention of concrete or sidewalk work.  THEY'RE AN EXCAVATION COMPANY!  Their website also does not include anything about concrete work will do or have done.

When the project's boss (Mr. Vosburgh, perhaps) wasn't busy with his hands building our curb ramps, he was standing and watching others do the work while puffing away on his vape stick.  Let me tell you, we paid that guy a lot of money to vape all day!

According to the city's own announcement on its webpage regarding Vosburgh's project (36 ramps on 5th, 6th, 7th and Warren), the work was supposed to take 6 weeks, beginning in early August.  Actually, it took at least 12 weeks for the excavation company to finish their project, finishing in early November with the curbs being painted yellow.  The city's ADA Coordintator, Public Works Board member, Vosburgh's City Hall contact and Mayor's Aide Justin Weaver would agree with me that this project did not go smoothly at all.

Vosburgh!

Though the ADA curb ramp mats which Vosburgh installed are not made of metal, from the get-go they appeared to be rusted.  Let's face it, they're fucking ugly!  And they don't match the mats installed by other contractors around town (DPW does not install them).  Did anyone from City Hall communicate with Vosburgh BEFORE the project began about what materials they would be using?  Where was Rob Perry in all of this?  Nowhere to be found?  Incommunicado? "OUT"?

Not Vosburgh!

Just watching the small, rag tag Vosburgh crew in action -- one regular worker looked to be all of 17 -- gave me the distinct impression that this was their first or second job creating sidewalks or curb ramps. Ever.  Anywhere. 

Here is a picture of Vosburgh in the process of installing two of the four curb ramps at 6th & Columbia on Friday, October 10th.  A day or two earlier they had finished the two others on the south side of Columbia. Remember: this work took place in early October of this year, just two and a half months ago!

This picture was taken a few weeks ago, showing a 
 a painted portion of a very new curb ramp on North 5th.

The yellow paint Vosburgh covered our curbs in appears to have been of the grade that kindergarteners are given for art projects put on paper and cardboard.  That cheap paint was applied in late October or early November--no more than two months ago -- and much of it has washed away already.  It will likely all be gone within 4 or 5 months.  That paint was obviously not meant to be used outdoors, and certainly not on concrete.  We paid for this shit paint!  Notice also that the paint is a canary yellow, not even close to the orange yellow-colored caution paint that DPW applies to our curbs.  It's embarrassing.  Guess who will pay to repaint Vosburgh's crap paint work prematurely?  The answer is not Vosburgh!  Did the excavation contractor just have some leftover cheap canary yellow paint from a previous job they completed that had nothing to do with concrete?

These two pictures were taken weeks ago:

But what about the concrete Vosburgh mixed and poured two months ago?  What about the new curb ramps we paid Vosburgh to create for us so that no one -- especially the blind, elderly and disabled -- will fall flat on their face while trying to cross a street?  How long will the ramps look decent and remain smooth, uncracked and unbroken, do you suppose?  Well, folks, I'm afraid it's not looking so good for us.  Not at all. Actually, I'd have to say it's pathetic and SAD.  It looks as though Hudson City Hall has spent more of our money on shit concrete work.  They hired the wrong people to make our city more livable and walkable.  Again.

Yesterday afternoon, standing at the southeast corner of 6th & Columbia on Vosburgh's new curb ramp with a rusted-looking curb mat and missing yellow paint while I was waiting for a green light to turn red, something at my feet caught my eye.  A large chunk of the concrete curb ramp -- where it meets the asphalt of the street -- was missing.  

It's been just two and a half months since Vosburgh installed that concrete curb ramp and it has already broken apart.

Toward the end Monday's PWB meeting -- which board chairman Gary Purnhagen "attended" while driving his car (yes, he was seat belted) -- member, Mayor's Aide and ADA Coordinator Justin Weaver announced that "there are meaningful conversations now happening between the city, Luizzi and Creighton- Manning to wrap up that DRI project finally."  Luizzi, of course, was the DRI contractor whose $600,000-plus bill to the city is still being ignored because of the shit work they left us with in the early fall or late summer.  Luizzi did a whole lot of concrete work, including curb ramps, on the city's west end.

Soon after subtlety scolding member David Marston for not showing up often enough to PWB's monthly meetings (Marston, apparently, made a rare appearance on Monday), Justin graciously offered his thank yous and goodbyes.  All 3 of the other members expressed their gratitude to Justin for his work on the PWB.  Public Works Commissioner Tyler Kritzman ended with this:  "The city's going to miss you a lot... It's going to be tough to replace you."

If it's possible, future mayor Joe Ferris should not let Justin get away.  He was the only adult working in the mayor's office for the past several years.  Heck, he was likely the only PERSON working in the mayor's office!

North 5th at Prison Alley

The cone on the right disappeared weeks ago!
(Vosburgh had nothing to do with this partial new sidewalk)

HUDseen published an article at the end of July questioning Vosburgh's ability to get our curb ramps done right.  Read it here if you haven't already: How Long Will It Take?   One line I wrote might hit home:  "Let's hope they know what they're doing."