Time To Take A Break From The Craziness

 

Unless something truly irresistible to share comes along, HUDseen hopes to be back at it in mid-to-late September.

In the meantime, do not forget: 

Your Tax Dollars (Not) At Work

 

At least we know the solar panels work,
even through a clear plastic bag!  For now!

This All Makes $ense, Doesn't It?

 

You may have noticed that the contractor hired by the city to install dozens of curb ramps on a few downtown city streets has been busy on North 5th for the past two weeks.  As of today, Vosburgh & Sons, an excavation company - and, as far as I can tell, not a paving company -- seems to be finished with installing several corner ADA-compliant curb ramps at three intersections along 5th Street (Prison Alley, Long Alley, and State Street) that the Department of Justice told us several years ago were needed.  Included in the DOJ's list of intersections that needed ramps were the non-compliant and missing ones at the intersection of 5th & Columbia.

Garbage, Garbage, Garbage Everywhere! Garbage Over Here and Garbage Over There!

 

I'm pretty sure no Front Street residents asked for or demanded public trash cans as a requirement for the new DRI sidewalk along Front Street.  Rather, I think that Arterial, the designer for the DRI Streetscape project, just thought the dark black trash cans would look nice and serve a purpose.  Because, of course, people enjoying the view from the new benches along the sidewalk will be producing candy wrappers and empty soda cans and coffee cups like you won't believe.  

Do You Think Code Enforcement Cares? How About Sean Roland? How About The Planning Board?

The contractor handling the Pocketbook Factory hotel project, ARCO MURRAY, is well aware that they are not to begin work before 7 am, a rule that is in writing somewhere from the Planning Board's approval of this project.  No work and no noise until after 7 in the morning, a reasonable rule, especially given how close the project is to so many houses.  As far as I can tell, there are no special weekend rules regarding noise.  Work can, and does, begin on Sundays at 7 am (and sometimes before). 

Is This Not A Problem Yet For The Folks In London? How About For Rob Perry or Kamal Johnson?

 

As if it needs repeating on HUDseen:  National Grid, the utiltiy company that supplies Hudson with all of its electricity and natural gas and that owns all of Hudson's wooden utility poles and the electric lines attached to the top of them, including the pole shown above leaning ominously over Prison Alley, is headquartered in London.  Not London, NY (there isn't one).  Not London, Ohio (there is one).  But London, England.  You know, the city and country found across the Atlantic Ocean in Europe.

Signs? What Signs? And What Else Is HE "Forgetting"?

Fifty-four weeks ago, on August 3rd, 2024, two cars met at the intersection of 4th & Columbia after the driver on 4th Street ran the red light. (I overheard the driver say that he "didn't see the red light.")  The car with the green light, traveling east on Columbia (it's a good thing it wasn't a tractor trailer ON THE TRUCK ROUTE), careened over the curb near Helsinki, knocked over sign pole with 3 signs on it, narrowly missed a tree, then wound up back in the street.  That car was likely also totaled, with its axle being bent by the impact with the curb.  DPW removed the signs right away and, a month or two later, installed a white stop line for 4th Street traffic at an intersection with its fair share of collisions.  (Don't you love how it took another crash there to get a stop line installed!  Thank goodness for the crash!)