Is Anyone Protecting Our Protectors, Let Alone Us?

Notice all the slippery ICE surrounding both Code Enforcement vehicles parked in their regular spaces this morning out front of the CEO office, nearly two weeks after just 3 or 4 inches of snow fell on Hudson.  

You can't make this shit up. 

A DPW Water Plant Operator Injured Himself WHERE Last Year? Doing WHAT? And WHY Exactly?

Early last year, HUDseen had planned on publishing a piece about the 18 reported workplace injuries suffered by City of Hudson employees in 2023.  There was so much to write about that I was never able to get it all together properly.  Today, I begin a less comprehensive effort to focus on injuries to city workers which occurred last year that the city was required to include on OSHA Form 300, which the Hudson City is required to fill out annually and keep in its records should OSHA come knocking to perform an investigation about workplace safety at any or all departments at Citry Hall.  If someone is hurt and requires more than first aid, that injury, and a description of how and where it occurred, must be included on the form.  If any days of work are missed, that number must be indicated.  Fairly standard stuff.

To make things simpler (and shorter) for me and for my readers, I will begin by focusing on one or two of the injuries which stand out most to me and which I think are worth delving into with the little information that is on the form.  Future articles may focus on other less puzzling, but still interesting, injuries.

If It Looks Like The Work Of An Unsafe Slob, Chances Are We Can Thank Rob!

You may remember that there was a two-vehicle crash at 4th & Warren a few months ago caused by a driver who ran a red light which resulted in a) a ground-based traffic light and pole being demolished; b) a pick-up truck that caught fire after plowing over the traffic light pole; c) serious damage to the iron fence in front of the HOME store along the sidewalk on Warren which stopped the truck form progressing any further (a tree was next in line and it was charred!); and d) several weeks with a missing traffic light (and pole) because Rob Perry was not prepared to replace a pole and traffic light on Warren Street, likely because he never imagined a vehicle could possibly do such damage to a pole and light standing a foot from the curb. (Vehicles never make their way onto the sidewalks in Hudson!).  In other words, Rob Perry was completely unprepared for a vehicle taking out one of our many ground-based traffic lights.  Why not just wait and see if it ever happens!  Hmmm... what else is he unprepared for that just about any other Public Works Department in the country would be?

Rob Perry Doesn't Give A Flying Crap About You Or Your Well-Being! Who Else At City Hall Doesn't?

 

At this month's informal council meeting, perhaps our current most useless council member of all, Dewan Sarowar, who appears to live in Greenport with his wife and child or children, actually asked a question!  And it was not a completely useless one!  But the answer Dewan got is the real news worth reporting on here.

What Next?

When the lovely and welcoming "GOT MOLD?" sign at the Greenport Shop Rite entrance is finally replaced (and not a second too soon!), what do you suppose will take its place?  An ad for treating nail fungus or gangrene?  How about botulism or diarrhea?  How about all of them in succession!

Route 9, Where Pedestrians Are Treated Like Potential Roadkill

Let's face it, the only time a well-off person might find themself ambling along Fairview Avenue would be if they had gone for a walk and gotten lost. Everyone else who prefers to walk, OR MUST WALK, along Fairview Avenue receives a giant, white and icy middle finger every winter for at least a few days -- and sometimes weeks on end -- from both the City of Hudson and the Town of Greenport all the way across and back on the CSX overpass.

One Less Downtown Bank, One Less Drive Through ATM (The Last One?)

According to a recent letter sent to all Key Bank customers in the area, "The Hudson City Centre branch will close on April 11, 2025 at 3:00 pm... The Hudson City Centre branch will merge with our Greenport branch at 160 Fairview Avenue, Suite 40 in Hudson, NY 12534."  The letter offered no reasons for the closure, which will be a big blow and annoyance to their many customers in downtown Hudson, as well as to so many other non-Key Bank customers who rely on the bank's very convenient drive-through ATM.