A Little Background…

Mill Street is a one-block cul-de-sac in the 4th Ward on the Empire State trail. It begins at 2nd Street. Unless you live there, are going on the trail, are going to the Dog Park, or Charles William Park, you are probably not familiar with Mill Street.There are 11 homes – some Habitat for Humanity and some older homes. The homes face an open field that once belonged to the Hudson City School District. It is now City property with the limitation that it can only be used for recreation or for educational purposes. The field slopes down and is below the level of the street. This field floods whenever there is heavy rain. This is the proposed site for the Kearney Development.

Flooding

The intersection of Mill Street and 2nd Street floods whenever there is heavy rain. Exiting Mill Street by car during these flooding events is impossible. This is the only exit from Mill Street by car. At a recent Public Hearing, a long-time resident reported that when it floods, he cannot exit, even in his truck. He also reported that his home, one of the older ones, did not flood until recent years. As we all know, we are experiencing more severe weather events in the last 10 years or so.

Accessibility

There is no public transportation to Mill Street. Warren and 2nd Street is approximately a half a mile away up a very steep hill. There one can access our rudimentary public transportation which takes us up to the stores on Fairview. To live on Mill Street and access shopping, work, and any services pretty much requires a car. 

Proposed Development

The proposed development is for 70 units. Proposed parking is for 57 spaces. The developer stated that this is more than adequate because typically in low-income developments .4 or .5 spaces per unit is adequate because not everyone will have a car. So from the outset, the developer is assuming that at least 13 households (probably more, because some households may have 2 cars) will be housed in an isolated development with no reasonable access to employment, grocery stores or services. Additionally, those with cars will be unable to exit Mill St. when it floods and the intersection at 2ndStreet is impassible. This is a textbook example of poor planning. Isolated housing without reliable transportation options sets vulnerable residents up to fail.

My Position

I oppose this plan. It is bad location that ill-serves the most vulnerable. I grew up in a low-income housing estate. Here’s what was different. Two minutes from my house I had access to excellent public transportation into city center – where there were employment opportunities. We also had a full-service grocery store less than 5 minutes from our home on foot. None of us had cars, but we did have buses and trains. We were not isolated. As Council President, I will press for affordable housing that is built where people can thrive, not where they will be cut off. I will push the city to adopt smarter planning standards and to rigorously evaluate future projects for access, safety, and resilience to climate risks. We need more affordable housing in Hudson…but it must be housing that works for the people who will live in it.