Mining business Colarusso's sues Hudson over future of waterfront – Times Union
HUDSON – A gravel business with a dock on Hudson’s waterfront us suing the city’s planning board, claiming the board had overstepped its authority by mandating an environmental review of the business’ existing operation in the city.
The issue revolves around Colarusso’s right to continue to operate the dock and to expand a private haul road connecting the dock to the business’ mine in nearby Greenport. After a years-long review process, the Hudson Planning Board issued a decision in November mandating a thorough review of the entire operation, which the company is trying to get thrown out.
Colarusso’s bought the dock and a mine outside Hudson from the St. Lawrence Cement Company in 2014, three years after the city rezoned its waterfront with an eye toward public recreation. The dock was grandfathered in as a “non-conforming use” and could continue to operate as long as no improvements were made. The company also proposed expanding its haul road to two lanes, and the Department of Environmental Conservation gave the Greenport Planning Board the ability to review this proposal. Greenport ultimately decided to give the haul road a less-thorough review and approved it.
Opponents of the dock operation say as soon as Colarusso’s altered the dock’s bulkhead and installed 2,000 tons of rock along the shoreline in 2016, it lost its grandfathered status, and the entire operation – including the proposed haul road – could be reviewed by the Hudson Planning as though it was a newly proposed project.
Though the alterations were approved by the state Department of Environmental Conservation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Colarusso’s never informed the Hudson Planning Board beforehand.
Opponents have also argued the loud, dusty dock, situated a stone’s throw from Hudson’s waterfront park, is incompatible with contemporary Hudson.
Colarusso’s suit claims the Planning Board’s decision was “arbitrary, capacious, irrational, effected by error of law and grossly in excess of the (board’s) jurisdiction.”
Colarusso claims the decision on the haul road was already made by the Greenport Planning Board; that members of the Planning Board were biased against the project; and the board’s attempts to restrict the number of trucks on the haul road “amounts to an unlawful regulation of interstate commerce.”
Some Hudson residents, including Fourth Ward Supervisor Linda Mussman, have argued the haul road should be expanded. The dump trucks hauling gravel from Colarusso’s mine in Greenport to the dock currently pass through low-income neighborhoods in the city, and Mussman has said the pollution and noise amounts to an environmental justice issue.
This is the second time Colarusso’s has sued Hudson over the dock operation. The first lawsuit was decided in 2019 by state Supreme Court Judge Michael H. Melkonian, who sided with Hudson, writing that Colarusso’s “failure” to apply to the Hudson Planning Board for the improvements “cannot be condoned by the court,” according to the decision. “Simply put – by undermining the city’s zoning laws, (Colarusso & Son) commenced the project at their own risk.”
In the current suit, Colarusso’s points toward a second court decision by Judge Melkonian where he sided against Hudson. Hudson had sued Greenport, claiming the its Planning Board insufficiently reviewed the haul road and the Hudson Planning Board should take up the decision-making. Melkonian disagreed.
Paul Colarusso, the president of Colarusso’s, sent a statement when contacted by the Times Union saying the company was “compelled” to “assert our legal rights and to protect our business for the sake of our future and our employees.”
“All of the environmental impacts of our mine, the proposed haul road upgrade that is designed to remove truck traffic from crowded City streets, and the dock repair and operations, have been exhaustively analyzed by other federal, state and local agencies and found to be complete and compliant,” according to the statement. “There is simply no legal basis for the Board to demand any further analysis. The Board’s decision to delay the haul road improvements is unacceptable and it comes at the expense of the quality of life and the safety of City residents.”
Peter Jung, a gallery owner and activist who has fought Colarusso’s for years, had yet to read the complete lawsuit, but noted this was the second time the company had sued the Hudson Planning Board.
“Now they’ve filed a second lawsuit and it’s clear that they’re desperately trying to avoid a full and fair review process … just trying to run out the clock rather than just going through the process like any other normal applicant,” he said.
Victoria Polidoro, who had been serving as the Hudson Planning Board’s attorney, referred questions to Hudson’s corporation council, Cheryl Roberts, who referred questions to Hudson Mayor Kamal Johnson, who declined comment on the lawsuit. Hudson Planning Board Chair Stephen Steim also declined comment.
Colarusso’s dock in Hudson has continued to operate through the previous lawsuits and the two planning boards’ review process.
Roger Hannigan Gilson covers Columbia and Greene counties for the Times Union. He has worked as a reporter in the northern Hudson Valley since 2014 and spends most of his additional time outdoors. Drop him a note at roger.hannigangilson@timesunion.com.
