A Wednesday morning update for residents of The Friendly City.
What happened.The Planning Board's July 21 hearing on the Hudson Housing Authority's plan to replace Bliss Towers didn't close, so comment is still open. The board heard from 13 people that night, nearly all in support, and continues the hearing August 11. Residents can still submit written comments to board clerk Linda Fenoff (lfenoff@cityofhudson.org) or through the board's online portal until then.
Why it matters.Planning Board Chair Ron Bogle explained why: "This is a very important process for the planning board. … rather than having public comments in the midst of that process, we conclude the process with public comments. So it gives the community the last voice in … this process." No vote has been taken; the board is still weighing scale, site design, soil conditions, and funding certainty alongside the support voiced at the hearing.
Where it’s headed.The hearing continues at the Planning Board's August 11 regular meeting. Written comments are accepted until then.
Disclosure: This digest is published by me, Peter Spear, and I am a member of the Hudson Planning Board.
What happened.After a building partially collapsed on Columbia Street, the city's code enforcement officer proposed rewriting Hudson's vacant-building law so rehabilitation and securing a structure come before demolition, which would become a last resort. He's also proposing that any lot cleared by demolition be graded and maintained afterward, rather than left as a fenced, overgrown pit.
Why it matters.Current code lists demolition as the first compliance option for a property on the vacant-building registry, before an owner is asked to consider rehabilitation. The officer pointed to the collapsed building at 225 1/2 Columbia Street, which he had been about to place on that registry, as the kind of case the reordering is meant to address.
Where it’s headed.The proposed language goes to the Legal Committee next, to be drafted into a local law for a full Council vote.
Briefly noted, from the same meetings.
Citing a small staff and a growing pipeline of large projects, the code enforcement officer proposed requiring an independent inspector, chosen by the city but paid for by the developer, on projects over $5 million or taller than three stories. The Hudson Housing Authority has already volunteered for this on its Bliss Towers plan.
Common Council Safety Committee · Aug 3 →A resident asked the Safety Committee what to expect for Bliss Towers truck traffic. Officials said that data doesn't exist yet; it comes later in the Planning Board's review. Committee members discussed steering trucks away from Warren Street, toward routes like Third Street or the Colarusso causeway.
Common Council Safety Committee · Aug 3 →This week
| Thu Aug 6, 5:30 PM | Services Committee | City Hall |
| Mon Aug 10, 5:30 PM | Code and Infrastructure Committee | City Hall |
| Tue Aug 11, 6:00 PM | Planning Board | City Hall |
Dates and deadlines mentioned in this week’s meetings.
Not in the Record
This digest is built from meetings’ YouTube captions. Two kinds of meeting are not in it yet.
On YouTube, but no captions yet
| Sep 30, 2026 | BEA 2027 Budget Planning Meeting Legal Budget 9/30/26 |
| Sep 30, 2026 | BEA 2027 Budget Planning Meeting Mayor's Office 9/30/26 |
| Sep 30, 2026 | BEA 2027 Budget Planning Meeting Assessor 9/30/26 |
| Sep 30, 2026 | BEA 2027 Budget Planning Meeting Housing Department Budget 9/30/26 |
| Aug 10, 2026 | Common Council Code and Infrastructure Committee 8/10/26 |
| Jul 10, 2026 | Historic Preservation Commission 7/10/26 |
| May 19, 2026 | Hudson City School District: 5/19/2026 Board of Education Meeting |
| Nov 13, 2025 | Hudson City School District: 11/13/2025 Board of Education Meeting |
| Nov 10, 2025 | Special Meeting Common Council 11/10/25 |
| Nov 6, 2025 | BEA-November 6, 2025 |
| Sep 29, 2025 | Common Council Special Meeting 9/29/25 |
Gossips of Rivertown, Trixie’s List, HUDSeen, and Hudson Common Sense.
A weekly conversation between Peter Spear and people he finds fascinating working in and with THAT BUSINESS OF MEANING.
Hello,
This is an experiment in civic engagement.
It automatically gathers public meeting captions from City and School YouTube videos, turns them into readable transcripts that are added to the Public Archive, then summarizes them into this email, the Weekly Digest.
I am a member of the Planning Board, ran for Mayor in 2025, and run the FUTURE HUDSON account.
I review it lightly, and mistakes will happen. Please send corrections and questions.
Thank you.
Peter
P.S. I am also writing essays on civic design in Hudson. Two so far, with more on the way:
Weekly Digest
A Wednesday morning update for residents of The Friendly City.
A Wednesday morning email for residents of The Friendly City. Make it make sense.
The Hudson Weekly Digest