The Plan

Sharing Public Spaces: A Community Conversation

FOPS sponsored a Community Conversation January 20, 2023 titled “Sharing Public Spaces”. The panelists were Daniel Almasi: Director of Community Services, Dept. of Human Services, Claire Cousin: Supervisor, Hudson 1 st Ward, Columbia County Board of
Supervisors, Robert Gibson: Commissioner, Department of Social Services, Kamal Johnson: Mayor, City of Hudson, Chief Edward Moore: Chief of Police, City of Hudson, and Cheryl Roberts: City Court Judge, Hudson Mental Health Court, and Executive Director at Greenburger Center for Social & Criminal Justice. Katherine Kanaga, FOPS co-Chair, moderated the panel.

Sharing Public Spaces: Recap

FOPS sponsored a Community Conversation on January 20, 2023, titled “Sharing Public Spaces.” Our premise was that the park is meant to be safe and welcoming for all.

The 45 people who attended the panel learned a lot. Some key takeaways:

·      There has been a steep increase in calls to the police about conduct in the park in the last three years. Many, if not all of, these individuals have severe mental health and/or substance abuse issues. Chief Moore emphasized that we “can’t arrest our way out of the situation.”

·      Several recent initiatives are addressing the challenge of problematic behavior in the square:

o   A multi-disciplinary pilot (MDP) was started 9 months ago. Two case workers are now devoted to gaining the trust of people around the county who are not getting the services they need. The case workers, who are not assigned to specific individuals, regularly visit the square.           

o   A new Mental Health Court, presided over by Hudson City Court Judge Cheryl Roberts, addresses the challenge of defendants with multiple arrests by using a range of social and mental health services, parole, and addiction recovery services. Defendants are offered help as an alternative to incarceration, which has been ineffective with respect to repeat offenders.

o   There are plans underway for a Wellness Hub in Greenport, close to the Hudson border. This project, initiated by the Greenburger Center and supported by Mayor Johnson, will provide a range of solutions for people in stress, who often lack adequate housing. The hub will provide temporary shelter, showers, mailboxes to receive checks, a rest area and other amenities. The plan is for a detox center and case workers to be on site as well.  The hope is that building can commence in two years and the hub completed in five years.

·      Responding to concerns about gun violence in Hudson, Mayor Johnson spent two days in Troy recently to learn about the SNUG Street Outreach Program, a New York State initiative aimed at stopping gun violence. SNUG focuses on community engagement to mediate conflict, mentor youth, provide counseling, and work with local partners.

Things you can do:

·      If you have a concern about an individual with mental health issues, you can call the Mobile Crisis Assessment Team (MCAT) at (518) 943-5555. The MCAT is operated by the Mental Health Association of Columbia Greene Counties, which has an office at 713 Union Street. The MCAT phone is staffed from 9am – 11pm.

·      The Hudson Police will respond promptly around the clock to phone calls alerting them to unlawful or threatening conduct.  The police department phone number is (518) 828-3388.

·      Become a Certified Recovery Peer Advocate (CRPA).  Peer advocates facilitate outreach with individuals currently in a program or considering treatment. Utilizing their recovery expertise, professional training and lived experience, peers boost individuals' engagement in treatment and commitment to recovery. CPRAs also connect patients to community-based recovery supports. https://oasas.ny.gov/recovery/become-certified-recovery-peer-advocate

·      Become a Certified Peer Specialist (CPS) - https://www.academyofpeerservices.org/mod/page/view.php?id=11005

In the News: Recapping the Forum on the Park

By John Brigham (published in IMBY: https://imby.com/post/153722)

Why shouldn’t Hudson have the chutzpah to tackle crime and drugs in a city park in a way that is humane, communitarian, and respectful? That was the aspiration on January 20 when the “Friends of the Public Square” or FOPS hosted a forum at the library. 

Around fifty people turned out on a stormy night to hear from an array of officials with an interest in conditions in the 7th Street Park. The park houses a farmers market, kicks off parades in town, and attracts a number of individuals who seem threatening to some of the park users. 

The objective of the event was to work toward making the park welcoming for all to rest, relax, and feel safe. The impetus for the forum was complaints from citizens who did not feel safe in the park, notwithstanding newly painted benches and fewer fences. 

The lead organiser and moderator was Katherine Kanaga, a Hudson resident and citizen activist. About 50 people attended. Kanaga began with an introduction emphasizing what we are learning about people who use the park.

Kanaga introduced Hudson Police Chief, Ed Moore. He had charts to show that incidents in the park had increased dramatically in the last few years. In some cases the police have interacted with individuals hundreds of times. His message was that “you can’t arrest your way out of the situation.” 

From Social Services there was Bob Gibson and Dan Almasi who spoke of the people in the park who were taxing social services as suffering from a combination of mental health and other problems. They discussed the existence of case workers focused on the park and a “mobile crisis assessment team” funded by the county.

From politics, County Supervisor Claire Cousin, who also heads the housing coalition, called for a “lens shift” toward community engagement and public awareness. While Hudson’s Mayor, Kamal Johnson spoke of his background in mental health and his support for Cheryl Roberts as a judge and the executive director of the Greenberger Foundation.

For her part, Roberts, linked the problems in the park to long ago de-institutionalization of the mentally ill. She discussed her work as a local judge who hoped to bring social services to the individuals who came before her. She also introduced plans for a “wellness hub” in Hudson that would provide a number of services from mental health to laundry and temporary housing.

The panel ended with questions, comments, and a discussion of volunteer opportunities. There was discussion of the role of the schools, the continuum of care represented on the panel, and the need for the county to step up and support efforts represented on the panel. There was also a call for arrests, but it was not the focus of the evening.

Starr Whitehouse revealed the proposed concept design

On June 24, 2022, FOPS held a community meeting in the Public Square. The proposed concept design was revealed and can be seen below. The design comes directly from the results of the survey. The design will allow us to develop a detailed budget which is required in order to apply for a New York State grant. The Consolidated Funding Application (CFA) is due July 29, 2022.

FOPS expects to approach the project in three phases (all subject to funding): 1) the park infrastructure (plumbing, electrical, fountain pump…), pathways and hardscape; 2) the fountain; and 3) extending perimeter sidewalks and planting street trees.

Starr Whitehouse Presents Preliminary Design Concepts

On June 3, 2022, FOPS held a Community Meeting to gain public input on the preliminary concepts developed by Starr Whitehouse.

You can view the presentation below.

There was also a survey on the preferred options to which 115 participated. The survey results are also below.

Starr Whitehouse Chosen

The Friends of the Public Square Hudson issued a Request for Qualifications in March seeking a landscape architect firm to develop design options for the Public Square, Hudson’s 7th Street Park and to support grants applications. Four firms responded and a panel consisting of Mayor Kamal Johnson, two members of the FOPS board, and two experts on parks, has selected Starr Whitehouse Landscape Architects and Planners PLLC. Starr Whitehouse has an office on Warren Street, a short distance from the square, and is currently working on Hudson’s Promenade Hill Park Universal Access and Plaza Redesign.

FOPS is excited to begin the next stage of our plans for the park with this prominent landscape architecture firm.  Starr Whitehouse will collaborate with FOPS on community engagement efforts and has already begun working with us on grant applications.   

Landscape Designer Request for Qualifications

In March 2022, FOPS is sending out a Request for Qualifications for a landscape designer. A panel of 5 comprising of the Mayor of the City of Hudson, two members of the FOPS board, and two parks specialists will make the selection. The chosen landscape designer will be asked to develop two to three options, and further community meetings will be held to choose and refine the final option.

If you, or you know of someone, who may want to be included in the RFQ process, please see that attached RFQ. Municipal experience will be important.

Tree Inventory + Remediation

Thanks to a grant from the New York State Department of Conservation Division of Urban Forestry, Arborist Miguel Berrios was hired by the City of Hudson to create an inventory of all trees on public land across the city. To learn more, please click the button below:

Removal of the Fences

For as long as most people in Hudson can remember, the fountain in the 7th Street Park had been circled with two fences—a short one mounted on the outer edge of the basin of the fountain and a taller, more ornate one a few feet out.  The internal fence was evidently part of the “Bicentennial Inspiration Fountain” that the Kiwanis Club donated to the city in 1975.

The outer fence was added later, for at least one of several reasons.  The “high voltage” sign on it indicated a safety concern, related to wiring that was not up to code.  Another explanation was that the second fence was to keep out mischief makers who poured soap into the pipes to make bubbles.

Whatever the reason, the fences were a puzzling addition to the park.  They interrupted sightlines from one side of the park to the other and frustrated children attracted to the water spray in the summer.  They asked their parents why the fountain was fenced in, and there was no good answer.  Many Hudson residents and visitors to the park had the same question.  

When FOPS started talking about ways to make the park more welcoming, one thought was that the fountain should be repaired so that its faulty wiring no longer posed a safety hazard.  That possibility was put aside when the Supervisor of Public Works, Rob Perry, announced that the fountain was no longer operable.  At that point, there was clearly no need for the fence.  FOPS, which has a memorandum of understanding with the City, approached the DPW and the Mayor about removing the fences and they agreed.  DPW removed the fences on September 16.

The removal of the fences has opened up the center of the park in a way none of us expected.  The fenced-in area that looked so small is now a wide-open space, with a very large, round bench at its center.  The opening up of the park will continue as trees are pruned to remove dead or dangerous branches and other obstructions are placed elsewhere.