Spring Dispatch: On Hudson's historic basketball run, the pain of thawing out, and what's coming this spring
It’s the first day of spring, and I’m finishing this piece from a hotel room in Binghamton.
Last night, the Hudson Bluehawks defeated Tappan Zee 54-45 at Visions Veterans Memorial Arena in Binghamton — and tonight, they play for a state championship. The first in program history!
I was in that gym last night, and I want to tell you what it looked like. Hundreds of Hudson fans in blue and gold packed the stands — many of them there because of the spectator bus organized by Greater Hudson Promise Neighborhood and Friends of Hudson Youth. Kids held up giant printed photos of players’ faces. The team had a framed printout of Elijah Walker, a teammate out with an injury, with them on the bench. People of all ages from all corners of our little city were cheering so loud and so hard that it didn’t feel like a high school basketball game. It felt like something bigger. It felt like Hudson showing up for its future.
If you can get to Binghamton tonight, go. The Class A State Championship tips off at 7:45pm at Visions Veterans Memorial Arena. The Bluehawks are playing Westhill, a team traveling from just over an hour away — all the more reason to pack the stands with Bluehawk fans. This is Hudson history. You don’t want to miss it.
The Bluehawks are a big reason this isn’t a full essay this week. Last week I interviewed the coaches and players for a piece that made me fall in love with this program. This week I watched them in Troy, then Binghamton, and I will again tonight — and somewhere in there I also had grand jury duty, a shattered laptop screen (thanks, Cliffy), and a reptile-themed ninth birthday party for Poppy. An extensively researched piece didn’t happen. What I have instead is this: a dispatch, a few local stories I’ve been tracking, and some news about what I’m offering this spring.
The happenings of this past week — locally and beyond — have me vacillating between joy and despair. As I watched hundreds of Hudson fans in blue and gold rise to their feet for these kids, our country bombed a girls’ school in Iran. As I cheered Keith Robinson into the Section II record books, the Epstein survivors still waited for accountability. As I walked through the cemetery in a t-shirt on our first warm day of the year, ICE disappeared four of our neighbors just outside its gates.
I know this dissonance is a shared experience right now. But it is hard to stay soft to the world — to let ourselves feel the full weight of it.
A couple of weeks ago, I was talking to my friend Anna about it, and she called it “the pain of thawing out.” I’ve thought about it constantly since. She said it’s good to unfreeze, to allow yourself to be open and exposed. And I believe her — not only because she’s brilliant and a therapist and a dear friend, but because letting myself feel the hard stuff is what motivates me to show up, to connect, to try to make a better world for our kids. And along with that comes the capacity to feel all the beautiful too.
Paying attention to Hudson is part of how I do that. Here's what I've been tracking this week — topics that will likely become full-fledged essays in the weeks to come.
Short-term rental legislation. Hudson has been wrestling with the Airbnb question for years, and last fall we finally landed somewhere: if you live in your home at least 50 days a year, you can rent it out for up to 60 days. Owner-occupied only. That’s the law.
This month, there was a proposal to double that limit to 120 days. It just got dropped — and the reason is interesting. Of the 13 registered short-term rental owners in Hudson last year, most were only renting 15 to 30 days anyway. The proposal would have affected almost nobody, so the Legal Committee shelved it.
Thirteen licensed short-term rentals in all of Hudson. This immediately makes me wonder: how many unlicensed ones are there? Michelle Tullo, the Housing Justice Director, monitors this, and the Council just asked her office to make it easier for residents to report violations online.
The Hudson / Catskill Housing Coalition is still pushing for a full vacancy study before any housing decisions get made. I think that’s right. It’s hard to create policy without a comprehensive picture of what we’re actually working with. I want to dig into this more — the licensing numbers, the enforcement question, what a vacancy study would actually tell us. Consider this a preview.
The Hit and Walk. On the afternoon of February 20th, Council President Margaret Morris drove over a parking block and into the side of Magic Hill Mercantile on Warren Street. One of the store’s co-founders came outside to talk to her. She waved him off and crossed the street to go to the Maker, where police approached her while eating a salad and having a coffee.
This became common knowledge as two videos of the incident have circulated widely online. On body cam footage, Morris told the responding officer she’d tapped the building after sliding on ice, and questioned whether she was responsible. The building owner picked up a piece of Morris’ car off the ground. The Hudson Police Department handled it as a standard property-damage accident.
Morris eventually issued a statement. Fifth ward council member Claire Cousin gave her perspective: that Morris apologized for wanting to avoid a confrontation, not for causing damage to a local business. Constituents have been demanding accountability, and some have called for her resignation.
Several people have reached out asking me to write about this. For now, I am sitting with it. I care about how our elected officials behave, especially when they have done something wrong. I trust people more when they show accountability for their actions. And I also believe in being compassionate when people mess up. I want to write about this more carefully once the dust settles.
Civic explainer series kickoff. Even though I grew up in Hudson and I consider myself plugged in politically, I still find myself confused about the roles of the various governing bodies: the Mayor, the Common Council, the Planning Board, the Industrial Development Agency (IDA), to name a few. How are decisions made? Who has power? Where are the pressure points for people who want to influence what goes on in Hudson?
I want to start mapping that. If you’re newer to paying attention, or you’ve been watching for years and just want a clearer picture of how Hudson works — this series is for you. I’m writing it for myself too.
Beyond this writing project, I also have some upcoming spring offerings in the same spirit — remembering and supporting each other in Hudson.
Gravestone tending and remembrance sessions — Cedar Park Cemetery, April and May.
It’s warming up, and I’m back in the cemetery! This is for anyone with a loved one buried at Cedar Park. Instead of tending stones alone, I’m inviting you to tend with me. I bring the cleaning supplies, a small altar, tea, and chairs. You bring your person — their memory, maybe a photo, maybe just the ache of missing them. We clean the stone together; I’ll teach you how to do it so you can come back on your own. I walk you through a simple remembrance ritual — some questions, some time to just be there. You leave with before and after photos, a new skill, and the feeling of having shown up for someone you love. Sessions are one hour, with up to three attendees per session. Spots are limited and will be posted soon.
May We Gather — Four gatherings in May
This small group coaching circle is for people who are between things. Last fall I ran a version of this group, and the transitions in the room were all completely different — a new business, retirement, motherhood, the unexpected end of a career. Nothing in common on paper. But the feeling — especially the grief, that particular mushiness of not knowing who you are right now — resonated through everyone. This group will meet four times in May (dates TBD). We’ll share, witness each other, do simple exercises and rituals, and build skills to support ourselves through whatever we’re in the middle of. Readings and writing prompts between sessions. Twelve people max — spots will be posted soon.
I get to do the things I love and call it work. The writing, the stones, the people navigating their transitions. I love all of this, and I'm not taking it for granted.
If this Substack is useful to you — if it helps you understand Hudson or feel less lost, less alone, or more equipped to show up — please consider becoming a paid subscriber. Every single one of my paid supporters makes a difference as I continue to grow this project!