The Weekly Digest

What happened.Hudson cleared a real hurdle this week on its biggest housing project: the Planning Board gave the Bliss Towers redevelopment an environmental green light and scheduled the public hearing for July 21. Architect Alexander Gorlin's plan replaces today's 135 apartments with 166 in phase one, eventually 276 across both phases, and reopens a city street the urban-renewal era closed off. A 1.6-acre park sits at the center. The project team's case was the only one in the room, though. The Register-Star and Gossips of Rivertown have questioned a Planning Board member's prior service on the Housing Authority's own board; she said she has legal clearance and addressed it head-on. And the people whose apartments are being replaced, the current Bliss Towers tenants, weren't there this week.

Where it’s headed.Public hearing July 21 at 6 p.m., tentatively at the fire station. The Zoning Board takes up the townhouse variances June 17. If everything holds, the project closes with the state in December.

Disclosure: This digest is published by me, Peter Spear, and I am a member of the Hudson Planning Board.

What happened.The Council passed the county's 11 Warren Street parking deal Tuesday after cutting it in half. The original five-year agreement gave Columbia County 18 reserved weekday spaces at 90% of city rates; the Council amended it on the spot to two years, and required the county to pay, in writing, for moving the lost handicap parking space to a more accessible corner across the street. Two members still voted no. The amended deal now goes back to the mayor and the county; if Columbia accepts the changes, it's on. If not, it isn't.

Where it’s headed.Pending Columbia's sign-off. The shorter term keeps the county at the table for follow-up conversations about access to other county lots after hours.

What happened.Developer Ben Fain brought his waterfront project to the Common Council with a new name: Waterfront Village is now South Bay Hudson. The plan is the one the Planning Board saw two weeks ago, about 150 homes in a five-story residential building, a 16,000-square-foot grocery store, retail, and walkable internal streets on the long-vacant Kaz property near the Amtrak station. Council members pressed on density, on Mount Merino viewsheds, and on why housing is phased last when Hudson's housing need is acute. Two voices outside the chamber are worth carrying alongside that. The Tanner's Lane homeowners told a council member they fear being bought out, their houses had been drawn off some early renderings. And resident Matt McGee pointed out the project appears to erase part of Montgomery Street, named for the Revolutionary War hero, just as Hudson marks the 250th anniversary of American independence.

Where it’s headed.Rezoning petition stays with the Council in parallel with the Planning Board's environmental review. The team plans neighborhood-focused community events on Cross Street and Tanner's Lane.

What happened.The city treasurer presented Hudson's 2025 books Tuesday. The bottom line: Hudson's unassigned fund balance dropped another $160,000, far better than 2024's $1.3 million plunge, leaving about $1.39 million on hand. Government-finance guidance says the city should have closer to $2.6 million. Revenues climbed in lodging tax, sales tax, parking tickets, foreclosure penalties, and interest (renegotiated bank rates added $40,000). Costs climbed too: debt service was up $250,000 on the Ferry Street Bridge and DRI projects that carry interest while state reimbursements lag, and retirement costs rose $160,000.

Where it’s headed.External audit follows. The city issues new debt mid-June: long-term for the new fire pumper truck, plus 'callable' short-term debt for the bridge and DRI work that the city can pay off early once reimbursements land.

What happened.The Hudson Community Development & Planning Agency walked through a draft Request for Proposals for a vacant city-held parcel and made a call: the scope stays broad, commercial and mixed-use proposals are welcome, but the agency will state a clear preference for affordable housing. Any conveyance comes through a development agreement with conditions, not an outright sale. Counsel pushed for that clarity. Affordability is tied to Columbia County's area median income. For context: 100% of county AMI is roughly $113,000; 80% is $90,000; 50% is $56,000. Members floated a 60-100% AMI range, to be tightened in revision.

Where it’s headed.Staff revises the RFP and circulates between meetings. The board reviews the next version in June, then sets dates and an application timeline before publishing.

What happened.Near the end of Tuesday's meeting, a Whiteman Osterman & Hanna attorney, representing what appears to be Colarusso & Son, Hudson's waterfront-dock operator, told the Council his client is the only Hudson business harmed by the dock-operations law (§ 325-17.1) the Council introduced at its May 18 informal. The Council president agreed the law wasn't on this meeting's agenda and committed to a proper public hearing. The attorney urged the Council to get outside counsel before acting. The case for the law was made elsewhere. At the April 28 informal, residents and a local business owner described the change as a clarification, not a new restriction, that reaffirms the cap Hudson set in 2010 after defeating a multinational cement company's waterfront expansion. Neighbors near the rail tracks have raised gravel-truck traffic, dust, and safety at the crossings as the lived stakes.

Where it’s headed.The dock-operations law was already sent to the county and local planning boards for the month-long review. It returns to a future Council agenda with a public hearing.

What happened.The Public Works Board opened sidewalk season Wednesday with nine fresh Sidewalk Improvement District applications on top of last year's carry-overs and roughly $310,000 in the fund. Members scheduled a Thursday afternoon walk-through with the mayor to weigh priority sidewalk pieces on Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Streets, plus an attachment to municipal buildings, for a Request for Proposals that funds work this summer. A small tailwind: concrete pricing has fallen from about $15 to $10-12 per square foot, which stretches the budget a little further.

Where it’s headed.The board reviews the nine applications next week, sends letters to applicants, and brings sidewalk-priority recommendations to the Common Council before the county's July 1 tax-roll deadline.