Register-Star Copyright 2021, Columbia-Greene Media Volume 237, No. 251
Serving Columbia and Dutchess counties since 1785
All Rights Reserved
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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2021
Dear Santa, all I want for Christmas this year is...
see pages A7 & A10
TOP 10 STORIES OF 2021 COUNTDOWN Through the end of the year, the Register-Star will be featuring it’s top 10 stories of 2021 based on HudsonValley360.com’s website analytics, which measures readership.
— see page A5 —
IDA approves $25.6M factory redevelopment By Natasha Vaughn-Holdridge Columbia-Greene Media
HUDSON — The city Industrial Development Agency voted unanimously Monday to approve the pocketbook factory redevelopment project. The proposed restoration of the factory at 549 Washington St. is estimated to cost $25.6
million and will include a hotel with 40 guest rooms, a wellness center, a restaurant and bar, a public indoor lounge and outdoor courtyard as well as commercial spaces for the arts, retail and creative office, and nonprofit uses. The project is being developed by owners Sean Roland
and Gabriel Katz. The IDA met Monday to consider taking a vote on the proposed project. A group of community members called the Hudson Community Benefits Alliance sent a letter to the IDA earlier which included a number of requests for the project.
Columbia Economic Development Council President and CEO F. Michael Tucker said he encouraged them to meet with the IDA and the consultants to begin a review of the provisions, which were applicable to the IDA. Tucker said he also See IDA A2
FILE PHOTO
The former pocketbook factory is located at 549 Washington St.
Racist stickers found in 3 county communities By Natasha Vaughn-Holdridge Columbia-Greene Media
PHOTO COURTESY OF HATE WATCH REPORT
The White Lives Matter sticker found in Hudson.
HUDSON — Several “White Lives Matter” stickers were found in Columbia County over the weekend. According to the Anti-Defamation League, White Lives Matter is a white supremacist phrase that originated in early 2015 as a racist response to the Black Lives Matter movement. Over the weekend stickers from the group were found in Hudson, Stockport and Valatie. “Speculating about what’s going on, is it one person is it two people? It’s hard to say,” local activist Michael Richardson said. “Knowing that there were three stickers put up, in three very different places, suggests that somebody is putting stickers out there trying to recruit.” The sticker found in Hudson was reported to Hate Watch Report, and online
“Speculating about what’s going on, is it one person is it two people? It’s hard to say. Knowing that there were three stickers put up, in three very different places, suggests that somebody is putting stickers out there trying to recruit.” — LOCAL ACTIVIST MICHAEL RICHARDSON tool used for reporting and receiving news about hate or extremist groups, Richardson said. A local resident found the sticker affixed to a bench in Hudson at the boat launch parking lot. Hudson Mayor Kamal Johnson said he had seen a white lives matter sticker in Valatie affixed to a gas tank. “I think it’s disappointing,” Johnson said Monday. “I don’t really have strong thoughts because it’s just a piece of paper,” Johnson said. “I try not to
go too deep into these things because I don’t want to encourage people to do more than just stickers.” Richardson said another sticker had been found recently in the brickyard in Stockport. He said it differed from the one that had been photographed in Hudson. The stickers have URL addresses for a White Lives Matter site. The site contains a number of videos of stickers See STICKERS A2
Heat pump fire spreads, leaving 2 homeless By Bill Williams Columbia-Greene Media
GREENPORT — Two people are homeless after fire caused considerable damage to their Greenport home on Friday night, Greenport Fire Chief John Onufrychuk Jr. said The two were at home when a heat pump in the basement caught fire about 5:29 p.m. The residents called Columbia County 911 and evacuated the two-story wood-frame, home at 31 Frese Road, Onufrychuk said. When the first Greenport firefighters arrived, they found heavy smoke in the
basement and immediately requested mutual aid assistance from Hudson Fire Department. Crews went to work fighting the fire, which had completely engulfed the basement by this time. A second request made by fire officials called for more mutual-aid assistance, and four more companies from Columbia and Greene counties responded. Officials also requested additional manpower and tankers to the scene. National Grid was requested to disconnect power. The utility did not arrive at the house, Onufrychuk said.
Partly sunny Partly cloudy
HIGH 42
LOW 28
Windy in the afternoon
44 26
See FIRE A2
BILL WILLIAMS/COLUMBIA-GREENE MEDIA
Multiple fire companies were called to a house fire in Greenport on Friday night.
n STATE
n WEATHER Page n SPORTS FORECAST FORA2 HUDSON/CA TODAY TONIGHT WED
Onufrychuk ended up pulling the meter himself to disconnect power to the structure. “The firefighters with hoses kept getting jolted from the water hitting the electrical components, so it had to be done,” Onufrychuk said. The fire had also spread into the walls in the kitchen. The kitchen floor was sagging, because the supports below it were badly damaged, Onufrychuk said. A site was established to fill tankers at S. 3rd St. and Deer Alley in Hudson. Officials reported the fire was
n INDEX
Girls basketball
Chancellor choice
Catskill tops Maple Hill in Patroon showdown PAGE B1
Oswego president named interim SUNY chief PAGE A6
Region A3 Opinion A4 State/Nation A6 Obituaries A6 Sports B1 Classified B4-5 Comics/Advice B9-10
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