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Old causeway still top issue
  
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By Jamie Larson
HUDSON — As public comments on Hudson’s Local Waterfront Revitalization Program roll in, the arguments of the opponents to certain aspects of the plan have become clearer and more defined.
The New York Department of State and the city have extended the public comment period to March 15.
The greatest area of contention resides in the south bay with its waterfowl, leopard frogs, phragmites and sewer system runoff. Malcontents challenge the document’s support of rehabilitating an old causeway, which bifurcates the wetland, for use as a truck route from the Holcim deep water port on the river to Route 9G.
Many of the cast of characters which has emerged over the past month to lodge comments against the official plan have been recast from the protest that stopped St. Lawrence Cement from building a massive plant on the edge of the bay a decade ago.
Loudest among them are Taghkanic based writer and consultant Sam Pratt, owner of the Basilica Industry on the waterfront Patrick Doyle, and former First Ward Alderman Carole Osterink. The regional advocacy groups Scenic Hudson and Friends of Hudson have also lodged official comments questioning the logic of the causeway’s use as a truck route.
Once more than 15 feet deep, the history of the south bay has been shaped and partially destroyed by the city’s industrial past. In the 1800s, a substantial portion of the north and east sides of the bay were filled in with earth to build factories and what is now Route 9G.
Railroad trestles were built east to west across the bay to run coal to the Hudson Iron Company’s furnace, and later to bring limestone to the Hudson Portland and later St. Lawrence Cement companies. The comparatively less active, but still busy, Holcim port sits in the footprint of those long gone engines of commerce.
The construction of the rail line along the river’s edge cut across the entire mouth of the bay, severely limiting the flow of water coming in and out of the wetland from the river as well as limiting public access.
Osterink, Doyle and many others support a plan to create a public road on the north side of the bay through the old L&B furniture factory property that would eliminate the need for the causeway to carry the heavy truck traffic and would also create a southern entrance to the waterfront for visitors.
Hudson Mayor Richard Scalera, who supports use of the causeway, agrees that the alternate plan is more ideal but the city does not have the $5.9 million necessary to buy the factory property. Scalera also pointed out that pollutants and runoff from truck traffic on the southern edge of the bay would run as freely into the wetlands as it would from a private road in the middle.
“I knew the main focus of the comments would be on the causeway,” Scalera said. “There was nothing there that was earth shattering. I’m convinced the use of the causeway is the right thing to do.”
While Hudson debates, the O&G trucking company plans. Last week O&G representatives updated the Greenport Planning Board on their proposal. They wish to have the proposed new route cross 9G and continue up the causeway into Greenport where it can then meet up with Route 9. Reservations about the route from the planning board center around the danger of creating two new intersections in the middle of two fast and busy roads.
Pratt’s heavily researched comments also support the abandonment of the causeway plan but take a wider stance in calling for the Holcim port to be closed. Pratt said much of the proposed zoning in the LWRP is shortsighted and the document should be a vision for Hudson’s future not predicated by the politics of the present.
Pratt said he supports mixed use planning but a loud and dusty heavy industrial sight can not coexist with recreational parks, natural habitats and commercial districts. He believes the port’s continued operation in the center of the LWRP’s busiest area will end up hindering economic development not supporting it.
According to Pratt, believing that a large industrial company can come to Hudson and re-employ all those who lost their jobs when the KAZ and L&B factories closed is a “fantasy that the 1950s are coming back to Hudson.”
“It’s the wrong quest. Heavy industry left Hudson flat,” Pratt continued, “We have to get behind small business. What we need are better jobs for better wages.”
Scalera said the port is an industrial resource that is a draw for businesses and O&G creates local jobs. He feels it’s Pratt’s call for the closing of the port that’s fantasy. “Sure and then we can turn all of Columbia County into Disney Land,” the mayor said, “I think we can have the best of both worlds.”
“The plan fundamentally misunderstands what a LWRP is all about,” Pratt said. “It’s not about specific concerns, but a general map for the future.”
To reach reporter Jamie Larson, call 518-828-1616, ext. 2269, or e-mail jlarson@registerstar.com.
The New York Department of State and the city have extended the public comment period to March 15.
The greatest area of contention resides in the south bay with its waterfowl, leopard frogs, phragmites and sewer system runoff. Malcontents challenge the document’s support of rehabilitating an old causeway, which bifurcates the wetland, for use as a truck route from the Holcim deep water port on the river to Route 9G.
Many of the cast of characters which has emerged over the past month to lodge comments against the official plan have been recast from the protest that stopped St. Lawrence Cement from building a massive plant on the edge of the bay a decade ago.
Loudest among them are Taghkanic based writer and consultant Sam Pratt, owner of the Basilica Industry on the waterfront Patrick Doyle, and former First Ward Alderman Carole Osterink. The regional advocacy groups Scenic Hudson and Friends of Hudson have also lodged official comments questioning the logic of the causeway’s use as a truck route.
Once more than 15 feet deep, the history of the south bay has been shaped and partially destroyed by the city’s industrial past. In the 1800s, a substantial portion of the north and east sides of the bay were filled in with earth to build factories and what is now Route 9G.
Railroad trestles were built east to west across the bay to run coal to the Hudson Iron Company’s furnace, and later to bring limestone to the Hudson Portland and later St. Lawrence Cement companies. The comparatively less active, but still busy, Holcim port sits in the footprint of those long gone engines of commerce.
The construction of the rail line along the river’s edge cut across the entire mouth of the bay, severely limiting the flow of water coming in and out of the wetland from the river as well as limiting public access.
Osterink, Doyle and many others support a plan to create a public road on the north side of the bay through the old L&B furniture factory property that would eliminate the need for the causeway to carry the heavy truck traffic and would also create a southern entrance to the waterfront for visitors.
Hudson Mayor Richard Scalera, who supports use of the causeway, agrees that the alternate plan is more ideal but the city does not have the $5.9 million necessary to buy the factory property. Scalera also pointed out that pollutants and runoff from truck traffic on the southern edge of the bay would run as freely into the wetlands as it would from a private road in the middle.
“I knew the main focus of the comments would be on the causeway,” Scalera said. “There was nothing there that was earth shattering. I’m convinced the use of the causeway is the right thing to do.”
While Hudson debates, the O&G trucking company plans. Last week O&G representatives updated the Greenport Planning Board on their proposal. They wish to have the proposed new route cross 9G and continue up the causeway into Greenport where it can then meet up with Route 9. Reservations about the route from the planning board center around the danger of creating two new intersections in the middle of two fast and busy roads.
Pratt’s heavily researched comments also support the abandonment of the causeway plan but take a wider stance in calling for the Holcim port to be closed. Pratt said much of the proposed zoning in the LWRP is shortsighted and the document should be a vision for Hudson’s future not predicated by the politics of the present.
Pratt said he supports mixed use planning but a loud and dusty heavy industrial sight can not coexist with recreational parks, natural habitats and commercial districts. He believes the port’s continued operation in the center of the LWRP’s busiest area will end up hindering economic development not supporting it.
According to Pratt, believing that a large industrial company can come to Hudson and re-employ all those who lost their jobs when the KAZ and L&B factories closed is a “fantasy that the 1950s are coming back to Hudson.”
“It’s the wrong quest. Heavy industry left Hudson flat,” Pratt continued, “We have to get behind small business. What we need are better jobs for better wages.”
Scalera said the port is an industrial resource that is a draw for businesses and O&G creates local jobs. He feels it’s Pratt’s call for the closing of the port that’s fantasy. “Sure and then we can turn all of Columbia County into Disney Land,” the mayor said, “I think we can have the best of both worlds.”
“The plan fundamentally misunderstands what a LWRP is all about,” Pratt said. “It’s not about specific concerns, but a general map for the future.”
To reach reporter Jamie Larson, call 518-828-1616, ext. 2269, or e-mail jlarson@registerstar.com.
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The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of registerstar.com.
ArtView wrote on Feb 2, 2010 8:00 AM:
" The road should be done the right way, not the cheapest. We should move forward with long term goals that will improve the Hudson/Greenport ecology and economy. That would mean a road that travels on the north side of the bay through the old L&B property. "
eddieBrown wrote on Feb 2, 2010 8:14 AM:
" The term "malcontents" describes them perfectly. These folks just love to read their name in the paper. Face it, the South Bay has been studied till everyone is blue in the face. There is nothing of any environmental significance down there- just storm water run off and weeds. If they wanted to save the South Bay, they should have done something 175 years ago. "
Mary Mary wrote on Feb 2, 2010 8:32 AM:
" Is this an article reporting news or is it an editorial? Use of words such as "malcontents" and "cast of characters" are full of "opinion" and should be left out of a news article. "
Homer Simpson wrote on Feb 2, 2010 12:14 PM:
" Is Sam Pratt part of the Republican congress? Because he is only against anything, never in favor of anything. Has he ever worked to make something happen, rather than not allow it to happen? The jobs quote is pretty funny, since he has worked consistenly against projects that would bring jobs to the community. Blue collar jobs of course. He only likes white collar jobs for this area. "
Reusethematerialgirl wrote on Feb 3, 2010 9:28 AM:
" All of us who love and/or live in Hudson have particular current views of it, and visions for its future. Let's not let the debate become WHO thinks what is best; But what is best for Hudson 50 years from now? Somethings (many things!) here are worth preserving, worth improving, worth fighting for. So-called "malcontents" might have your- and Hudson's- best interests in mind. "
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gavdar wrote on Feb 2, 2010 7:37 AM: