Legal description of Hudson's city boundaries

[jimrtex]

I pity a surveyor having to work with this one!

http://ecode360.com/13594835

Interesting, the alleys in Hudson are not subject to being surveyed. Nobody knows where they are supposed to be. All one knows is that they are 20 feet wide. So where the pavement is, rules. Surveyors just try to find some middle line for a block of the alley, using some metric, and take 10 feet from that on either side.

There are three different measurement systems used in the charter. Originally, the city of Hudson consisted of what is now Hudson, Greenport, and the part of Stockport south of what is now known as Stockport Creek. The proprietors must have had good lobbyists, because Hudson was always a city, and not a town with a concentrated population center.

Stockport was created first chopping off a bit of the northern portion of the city. Then Greenport was created. While a map would give the impression that Hudson was created from Greenport, it was actually the reverse process, with Greenport detached from Hudson. Most of the boundaries of Hudson are from the description of the boundaries of Greenport, which took over the old boundaries of Hudson on the north, east, and south, and most of those on the west. The only intact portion of the original city boundaries are on the west, where they are coincident with the county boundary. Note that the northwest corner of the city is described as being coincident with the Greene County line.

The next time the Hudson city charter was recodified, it included the boundary between Greenport and Hudson. This description uses chains and links. A chain is 66 feet (10 chains to a furlong, 8 furlongs to a mile; a square chain is 1/10 of an acre). A link is 1/100 of a chain, so an early form of decimal measurement. Directions used compass bearings (based on the 1820 magnetic declination).

The boundary starts at the southwest corner and proceeds to "the center of the old road passing through the farm formerly owned by Charles Evarts", which you will recognize as Ten Broeck Lane, which even in 1820 was an old road, and Charles Evarts no longer owned the farm.

The boundary follows the old road north to Columbia Turnpike at the south end of Paul Avenue, "thence, as the magnetic needle stood in the year 1895 at right angles from center of said old road south twenty-nine degrees twenty-five minutes east (S 29° 25' E) 16 1/2 feet".

So here we have switched to distance measures feet (and half feet), and bearing uses the 1895 magnetic declination. This part describes the boot heel around Cedar Park Cemetery which was annexed from Greenport.

Note that were it not for this annexation and the next, the ward boundary following Columbia Turnpike to the city limits would be quite clear.

"to the center of Paul Avenue; thence northerly along the center of Paul Avenue to the northerly side of the Union Turnpike; thence easterly along the northerly side of the Union Turnpike to the lands of the Knickerbocker Portland Cement Company; thence in a northerly course having a left-hand deflection of ninety-seven degrees forty-five minutes (97° 45')"

This is the beginning of the second annexation which includes the two tomahawks on the eastern city limits including the area between Union Turnpike, Graham Ave, and Fairview Ave, and the east part of the Boulevards. It kind of looks like two separate areas, but it is only one (the intersection of Graham and Fairview is outside the old city limits.

Note that Fairview is formerly Farmer's Turnpike, and that the city limit is on the western side of Fairview. This possibly has an effect on your ward descriptions.

The first part of the description along Paul Avenue and Union Turnpike is interesting because it does not include distances or bearings.

Then it switches to distance and deflection:

"thence easterly along the northerly side of the Union Turnpike to the lands of the Knickerbocker Portland Cement Company; thence in a northerly course having a left-hand deflection of ninety-seven degrees forty-five minutes (97° 45'), measured from the direction of the preceding course, 362 1/10 feet to an iron pin"

So we are going (north)easterly along Union Turnpike and make a sharp left turn (7 degrees more than a right-angle) which is the portion along Graham Avenue. At the point the description starts using distances in feet (and 1/10 of feet) and deflection.

The boundary continue across on Graham Avenue, and then makes a right turn on to Fairview Ave (Farmer's Turnpike) and proceeds northward with a couple of small bearing changes to the left. It then makes a left turn for 700 feet (just past Oakwood Boulevard) this returns to the original (post Greenport) city limit.

"measured from the direction of the preceding course, 700 feet; thence, as the magnetic needle stood in the year 1820 A.D., north eleven degrees and fifty minutes east (N 11° 50' E) 44 chains to a white oak tree standing one chain and 55 links from the northeasterly corner of the farm lately owned by Jonas White, and nine links westerly from the fence along the westerly side of the old road leading from Hudson to the print works;"

At this point it switches back to the old description using bearings based on the 1820 magnetic declination and using chains and links.

The old road (in 1820) leading from Hudson to the print works was Harry Howard. The print works were in Stockport (but at one time in Hudson) along Claverack Creek. They were for printing cloth. The Samuel Slater described them, though based on correspondence, rather than direct connection. Most printing was blue (from indigo) but the Hudson print works also could do "mad colors". I was disappointed to discover that mad is a reddish color from madder plant, and Hudson was not printing paisley prints in the early 19th century.

The white oak tree is in the middle of a baseball field at the high school. Grounders have been know to take an errant hop when they hit the stump.

"thence southerly along the middle of the Hudson River to the point of intersection of said middle line with the prolongation of the first course mentioned in the description, thence to the place of beginning."

Apparently, the  main channel of the Hudson is considered to be east of the Middle Ground?

Now the interesting part.

The Census Bureau did not follow the boundary in the city charter. If you look at the 1940 census map (which is based on a map from the Department of Public Works) there is a notch where the Cedar Park annexation began. You are coming north on Ten Broek Lane, and then the city limits go southward before turning to east. creating a triangular notch.

The census bureau cuts that triangle off. There is a property in that triangle, and they pay taxes to Greenport, not Hudson. But the census bureau included them in Hudson, and I believe that it accounts for the two persons in Census Tract 13, Block 4015.

You need to correct your map, and reduce the quota to 1680.2 and remove two persons from Ward 3.

[jimrtex]

I'm not sure about NY law, but if the Census made an error, Hudson may have to use that error. I IL the population of a city is what the Census says it is. If a city finds that the count is in error then there is a process to appeal and correct the error. Once the correction is certified to the state, then the city can claim that new population.

It violates equal protection to include persons living outside the corporate limits of Hudson when apportioning the Common Council.

Hudson already estimates the population of census blocks that are split by ward boundaries.
Census Tract 13, Block 4015 is split by a ward boundary.

[jimrtex]

I'm not sure about NY law, but if the Census made an error, Hudson may have to use that error. I IL the population of a city is what the Census says it is. If a city finds that the count is in error then there is a process to appeal and correct the error. Once the correction is certified to the state, then the city can claim that new population.

It violates equal protection to include persons living outside the corporate limits of Hudson when apportioning the Common Council.

Hudson already estimates the population of census blocks that are split by ward boundaries.
Census Tract 13, Block 4015 is split by a ward boundary.

Have we forgotten the 10% fudge factor? Sure, one needs a policy reason to diverge from perfect equality, but a good faith effort based on official government data, even if wrong, is good enough.

Shouldn't your map match your legal description?

Could you check the voter rolls for Greenport and find out if they have anyone on Paul Ave?

Now that you know that the census data is in error, can it be considered to be acting in good faith to use it?

[jimrtex]

I'm not sure about NY law, but if the Census made an error, Hudson may have to use that error. I IL the population of a city is what the Census says it is. If a city finds that the count is in error then there is a process to appeal and correct the error. Once the correction is certified to the state, then the city can claim that new population.

It violates equal protection to include persons living outside the corporate limits of Hudson when apportioning the Common Council.

Hudson already estimates the population of census blocks that are split by ward boundaries.
Census Tract 13, Block 4015 is split by a ward boundary.

Have we forgotten the 10% fudge factor? Sure, one needs a policy reason to diverge from perfect equality, but a good faith effort based on official government data, even if wrong, is good enough.

Shouldn't your map match your legal description?

Could you check the voter rolls for Greenport and find out if they have anyone on Paul Ave?

Now that you know that the census data is in error, can it be considered to be acting in good faith to use it?

Can you draw where you think the map is wrong. Is it part of the Columbia triangle or what specifically? In looking at the addresses included in ward 3 on the BOE documents, it lists Paul Ave, the odd numbers between 1-121 inclusive. That seems to match the map.

The 1891 map shows the boundaries prior to the annexations. This is the same as the boundaries were after Greenport was detached,



The boundary came up Ten Broeck lane to the east of Hudson Cemetery then along Paul Avenue between Columbia Turnpike and Union Turnpike. At that time Columbia Street only ran from Public Square (Park Place and Diamond Street to the junction of Columbia Turnpike and Union Turnpike). That is, "Columbia Street" was the connector between the street grid and Columbia Turnpike.

At this time, there would have been no question about the ward boundaries.

There were two annexations. The first was of Cedar Park Cemetery, which forms the bootheel at the southeast corner of the city. It started from Ten Broeck Lane, and then went around the cemetery CCW and returned to the old city limits at Columbia Turnpike and Paul Avenue. This may have contributed to the confusion about the Columbia Triangle because the city limits are along Columbia Turnpike (you have a similar problem with your ward boundary on Fairview Ave).

The second annexation was of residential areas, beginning northeast of Union Turnpike and southwest of Graham and east of Farmer's Turnpike (Fairview). It also included areas west of Fairview, including the eastern end of the Boulevards (Glenwood, Oakwood, Parkwood) at the area shown as the Fairgrounds. The Boulevards are partially within the original (post-Greenport) boundaries and partially without. Where the city limits return to the northward course just north of Oakwood is the original city limits. While it kind of looks like two annexations, it was one (Graham and Fairview) is outside the original city limits.

The 1891 map shows Farmer's Turnpike ending at the railroad tracks. This is wrong, it continued at least as far as Union Turnpike. The extension of Fairview south of present Columbia Street, but then Union Turnpike to Columbia Turnpike may have been added later.

The 1873 maps shows it clearer (the 5th Ward was created in 1885).





The 1940 census map based on a map by the Department of Public Works shows the notch.

[jimrtex]

Historical Documents

The charter of the City of Hudson was granted by the state legislature using ordinary legislation. To amend the charter, the legislature would pass a bill and a governor would sign it. It would appear in the session laws of New York state. Every couple of decades the whole of the charter would be collected into a single codified whole (this may be one reason New York has so few cities). Around 1915, they started putting all the special legislation for cities in a separate section (not general session laws). It may have even been possible for cities to initiate the change, subject to legislative approval. After municipal home rule was granted in the mid-20th century, the charter in effect was patriated to the city. After a change is made, the city is required to file the changes with the state.

1823: The first page has the city limits. Major Abraham's Creek is Stockport Creek, so the boundaries were Stockport Creek, Claverack Creek, Livingston Manor, and the Hudson River.

Page 11 in  the document, Page 6 in the PDF have the original ward boundaries established in 1815. The city was sliced from north to south lengthwise. Within the built-up area, 3rd Street was used.

1855: This has the city limits after the detachment of Greenport.

They start out just like the modern description, with the two long segments along the southern boundary, and then have 5 segments up Ten Broeck Lane ("the old road passing through the farm formerly owned by Charles Evarts"). This gets you to the north side of Union Turnpike (modern Columbia Street and Paul Avenue). There is then a long stretch 86 chains = 5676 feet (just over a mile) to the white oak tree at the northeast corner of the city.

The annexations were inserted in the eastern boundary.

This also includes the boundaries of the the four wards. It is really clear that the ward boundary runs out Columbia Turnpike.

1895: This is incomplete, but it does have the five wards (IIRC the 5th was split off in 1888).

[jimrtex]

I'm not sure about NY law, but if the Census made an error, Hudson may have to use that error. I IL the population of a city is what the Census says it is. If a city finds that the count is in error then there is a process to appeal and correct the error. Once the correction is certified to the state, then the city can claim that new population.

It violates equal protection to include persons living outside the corporate limits of Hudson when apportioning the Common Council.

Hudson already estimates the population of census blocks that are split by ward boundaries.
Census Tract 13, Block 4015 is split by a ward boundary.

Have we forgotten the 10% fudge factor? Sure, one needs a policy reason to diverge from perfect equality, but a good faith effort based on official government data, even if wrong, is good enough.

Shouldn't your map match your legal description?

Could you check the voter rolls for Greenport and find out if they have anyone on Paul Ave?

Now that you know that the census data is in error, can it be considered to be acting in good faith to use it?

Yes, if that is what what state law requires. There's a legal process to correct the error and it is probably not lawful to claim a different population until that process is completed.

New York law does not require use of the US Census.

There is a federal administrative process to get the census bureau to adjust its population counts.

There is a very poor mismatch between Ohio township boundaries and census blocks. Ohio estimates the population of cities and townships used in its redistricting.

There is no reason for Torie to disregard the actual city limits in his map of the wards which purports to represent the legal description.

[jimrtex]

I still not clear exactly where the map is in error.

Did you look at the census map? Do you have the original - it is larger than can be posted on the atlas.

How difficult would it be to track down the 1897 Session Laws, particularly Chapter 133. Or perhaps the bill SB 736? Surely they would have a copy in Albany, but I don't know where else.

The city purchased the Cedar Park Cemetery in 1895 (in his 1895 state of the city message, the mayor had suggested that it did not make philosophical sense for the city to be operating a burying ground or an opera house, but since they were, they should continue to do so). After the city bought the land they were being assessed property taxes by Greenport. So they applied to the legislature to annex the land to the city of Hudson (in 1897).

There is what purports to be a copy of the 1897 bill in the minutes of the Common Council, but it has one obvious error, and doesn't fully match the description in the city charter. See minutes for March 23, 1897; page 45 of 1897 minutes; PDF page 168 of the 1895-1903 minutes Hudson historical documents

The description in that bill just describes the annexed area, and runs clockwise from Columbia Turnpike and Paul Avenue and returning to that starting point, with the last northerly leg, being along Ten Broeck/Paul Avenue and within the current city limits.

The description of the city limits in the charter runs counter-clockwise, and is inserted into the original description. Since it runs in the opposite direction, the bearings are reversed (S49°20'E in the bill is
N49°20'W in the charter).

The problem is that while most of the distances are the same, about three are different by 500 feet, which makes the southward extension (in the charter) greater.

If you are driving south on Paul Avenue/Ten Broeck Lane from Columbia Turnpike, just as the road bears west, you will encounter a substantial two-story brick building, which I think may be (or was the mortuary). It is conceivable that their is (or was) an apartment for the mortician/night attendant.

As you continue, there will be a white clapboard farm house to the east (in summer it might be difficult to see because of trees, but you should be able to see it now).

I think that is the area outside the city limits.

As you go further south there will be a couple of ranch style houses to the east, but those are clearly in Greenport.

Some other tidbits from the 1895-1897 minutes. Charles Whitbeck was an alderman. William S Hallenbeck was the city clerk.

Some resolutions were the acceptance by the city of Clinton Street. The council passed a resolution requiring that residents along North 6th Street lay a sidewalk (at least two planks wide).

The light bill one year was $14,000 and it was suggested that if a electricity plant was built for $12,000 that it would pay for itself in three years. There was also a controversy about a lamp on Promenade Hill. It was noted that it was November, and noone ever went there, and it would be better to move the light to between 2nd and 3rd on Allen Street, which had the leafiest trees in the city.

[jimrtex]

Here is the complete description of the city boundaries. I will express all directions in degrees azimuth (measured clockwise from North). I am using 5.27°W as the magnetic declination for 1820, and 9.82°W for 1895.

The boundaries of the City shall be as follows: beginning at a point, as the magnetic needle stood in the year 1820 A.D., bearing north thirty-three degrees and twenty-five minutes west (N 33° 25' W) from a buoy standing at the southerly point of the flats in the Hudson River, which buoy bears south seventy-seven degrees and five minutes west (S 77° 5' W) 40 chains and 80 links from the southwesterly corner of Mr. Goodwin's dock in the City of Hudson, and north twenty-eight degrees and ten minutes west (N 28° 10' W) 29 chains from Black Rock, on the most northerly point of Mount Merino;

This is locating the starting point relative to a buoy south of the Middle Ground (or the shoal south of the Middle Ground). IIRC, passage of the ferry to Athens depended on the tides and the height of the river. If it was low, a much slower and circuitous route was required. The buoy was about 0.51 miles  WSW from Mr.Goodwin's dock (in South Bay), and about 0.36 miles NWbyN from Black Rock on Mount Merino.

thence from said buoy south thirty-three degrees and twenty-five minutes east (S 33° 25' E) 58 chains to a willow tree standing in the fence; thence south seventy degrees and ten minutes east (S 70° 10' E) 96 chains to the center of the old road passing through the farm formerly owned by Charles Evarts;

This is the southern boundary of Hudson:

141.31° 3828 feet (roughly southeast)
104.56° 6336 feet (east by south)

The old road is Ten Broeck Lane.

thence along the center of said old road north sixty-three degrees and twenty minutes east (N 63° 20' E) six chains and 60 links; thence north forty-four degrees and twenty minutes east (N 44° 20' E) 10 chains and 45 links; thence north fifty-five degrees and fifty minutes east (N 55° 50' E) six chains; thence north thirty-three degrees and fifty minutes east (N 33° 50' E) one chain; thence, as the magnetic needle stood in the year 1895 at right angles from center of said old road south twenty-nine degrees twenty-five minutes east (S 29° 25' E) 16 1/2 feet; thence south twenty-three degrees twenty minutes west (S 23° 20' W) 264 feet to lands of Everts Ten Broeck; thence south sixty-five degrees twenty-one minutes east (S 65° 21' E) 641 feet; thence south thirty-three degrees twenty-five minutes west (S 33° 25' W) 1,172 1/2 feet to a stone monument; thence south seventy-one degrees twenty-nine minutes east (S 71° 29' E) 457 feet to a stone monument; thence north eighty-five degrees thirty-six minutes east (N 85° 36' E) 553 feet to a stone monument near an elm tree, on the north side of Berridge's quarry road; thence along the northerly side of Berridge's quarry road, north nineteen degrees twenty-five minutes east (N 19° 25' E) 1,627 feet to the westerly side of the Columbia Turnpike; thence northerly along the westerly side of the Columbia Turnpike, north forty-nine degrees two minutes west (N 49° 2' W) 433 feet; thence continuing along the westerly side of the Columbia Turnpike north forty-nine degrees twenty minutes west (N 49° 20' W) 817 feet to the center of Paul Avenue; thence northerly along the center of Paul Avenue to the northerly side of the Union Turnpike; thence easterly along the northerly side of the Union Turnpike to the lands of the Knickerbocker Portland Cement Company; thence in a northerly course having a left-hand deflection of ninety-seven degrees forty-five minutes (97° 45'), measured from the direction of the preceding course, 362 1/10 feet to an iron pin; thence easterly on a course having a right-hand deflection of seventy-three degrees twenty-nine minutes (73° 29'), measured from the direction of the preceding course, nine feet to an iron pin; thence northerly along the southerly line of the lands of the Mechanical Handlor Company and the Albany Southern Railroad Company, said course having a left-hand deflection of ninety degrees sixteen minutes (90° 16') measured from the direction of the preceding course, 602 feet to the northerly side of the Farmer's Turnpike; thence easterly along the northerly side of the Farmer's Turnpike on a course having a right-hand deflection-of ninety-three degrees ten minutes (93° 10'), measured from the direction of the preceding course, 808 5/10 feet; thence continuing along the northerly side of said turnpike on a left-hand deflection of eleven degrees twenty-two minutes (11° 22'), measured from the direction of the preceding course, 274 7/10 feet; thence continuing along the northerly side of said turnpike on a left-hand deflection of five degrees sixteen minutes (5° 16'), measured from the direction of the preceding course, 306 2/10 feet to a point in the division fence between the lands of Arthur Farrand and the tract known as the "Fairground Boulevards"; thence northwesterly along said division line on a left-hand deflection of ninety-six degrees fourteen minutes (96° 14'), measured from the direction of the preceding course, 700 feet; thence, as the magnetic needle stood in the year 1820 A.D., north eleven degrees and fifty minutes east (N 11° 50' E) 44 chains to a white oak tree standing one chain and 55 links from the northeasterly corner of the farm lately owned by Jonas White, and nine links westerly from the fence along the westerly side of the old road leading from Hudson to the print works; thence from this white oak tree north seventy-four degrees twenty-five minutes west (N 74° 25' W) to the middle of the Hudson River or to the Greene County line; thence southerly along the middle of the Hudson River to the point of intersection of said middle line with the prolongation of the first course mentioned in the description, thence to the place of beginning.

[jimrtex]

In other news, somebody seems to be up to something on Robinson Street. I wonder what's going on?

Are you referring to the two houses with the brown roofs? The one on the right appears to have an absentee landlord. The parcel containing the house with the brown roof on the left doesn't come up with a property record - have the lots been merged?

This show the ward boundaries under my latest proposal. You didn't commented on equalizing VAPs.

[jimrtex]

This might be it.

City of Hudson Combined Sanitary System(PDF)(45 MB)

Grid N18, Page 194 of the PDF:



There must be large scale definitive zoning maps of the city. Do you know anyone on the Zoning Board of Appeals?

[jimrtex]

Could the chain measurement used in the city charter been 88 feet, rather than 66 feet

Any antiquarian surveyors?

It seems unlikely, but it's not impossible that rather than using an English chain of 66 feet, the surveyor could have used a Scottish chain of 74 feet, or an Irish chain of 84 feet.  In each case, the chain was equal to 4 perch in the local measure. The only way I can think of that a chain of 88 feet might have been used would have been by a weird combination of French and English units.  The French equivalent to the English perch, the perche, was either 18, 20, or 22 French feet (pieds) depending on the region but the pied was somewhat larger than the English foot and the perche used in the French colonies was 18 pieds.

I found my mistake.

Somehow I had switched to a False Mercator projection. At Hudson's latitude of 42.5°, the scale factor is sec(42.5°) or 1.356. I had somehow convinced myself that distances were off by a factor of 1.333, which would make a chain of 88 feet, which is 1/60 of a mile.

What I now don't know is where the city limits are. The Town of Greenport was created in 1837. Greenport surrounds the city of Hudson on 3 sides, and looking at a map it would appear that the city was created from the town. But in actuality, it was the other way around. The City of Hudson was chartered with a great deal of farmland. Greenport comprised all of the city outside a small area of a few square miles.

The definition of Greenport's boundaries were later incorporated in the City of Hudson's charter. In New York, city charters were (are) part of New York state law. Until well into the 20th Century, a city charter would be created, or amended by ordinary legislation. If a city wanted an amendment to its charter, it would go lobby the legislature.

So when Greenport was created, a survey would have been conducted and that description was placed into state statute, and later found its way into the city charter.

But is that considered de jure, or merely descriptive? The willow and the white oak tree are no longer around.

[jimrtex]

Here is the complete description of the city boundaries. I will express all directions in degrees azimuth (measured clockwise from North). I am using 5.27°W as the magnetic declination for 1820, and 9.82°W for 1895.

The boundaries of the City shall be as follows: beginning at a point, as the magnetic needle stood in the year 1820 A.D., bearing north thirty-three degrees and twenty-five minutes west (N 33° 25' W) from a buoy standing at the southerly point of the flats in the Hudson River, which buoy bears south seventy-seven degrees and five minutes west (S 77° 5' W) 40 chains and 80 links from the southwesterly corner of Mr. Goodwin's dock in the City of Hudson, and north twenty-eight degrees and ten minutes west (N 28° 10' W) 29 chains from Black Rock, on the most northerly point of Mount Merino;

This is locating the starting point relative to a buoy south of the Middle Ground (or the shoal south of the Middle Ground). IIRC, passage of the ferry to Athens depended on the tides and the height of the river. If it was low, a much slower and circuitous route was required. The buoy was about 0.51 miles  WSW from Mr.Goodwin's dock (in South Bay), and about 0.36 miles NWbyN from Black Rock on Mount Merino.

thence from said buoy south thirty-three degrees and twenty-five minutes east (S 33° 25' E) 58 chains to a willow tree standing in the fence; thence south seventy degrees and ten minutes east (S 70° 10' E) 96 chains to the center of the old road passing through the farm formerly owned by Charles Evarts;

This is the southern boundary of Hudson:

141.31° 3828 feet (roughly southeast)
104.56° 6336 feet (east by south)

The old road is Ten Broeck Lane.

This is where the Census Bureau has the boundary at. Note that the split between the segments is east of 3rd Street, close to the railroad tracks. This matches the 1940 Census Map (based on map from Department of Public Works), and an 1873 historical atlas.





On the other hand, the property tax assessor places the break on 3rd Street. The yellow parcels don't necessarily represent how the property is titled. Parcels on both sides of the city-town line have the same owner. The split may simply reflect the division between Hudson and Greenport for property taxes.



This map matches the 1888 and 1891 maps, but the 1888 map shows the railroad crossing the city limits at 3rd Street.

The red line represents the city limits. But the tax assessor map is based on Google Maps, and so the city limits are where Google thinks the city limits are, which is based on a pre-2010 census definition.

The tax map matches the city comprehensive plan, and a small inset on the sewer map. I'd guess that a zoning map would show the same (Any ZBA members?)

thence along the center of said old road north sixty-three degrees and twenty minutes east (N 63° 20' E) six chains and 60 links; thence north forty-four degrees and twenty minutes east (N 44° 20' E) 10 chains and 45 links; thence north fifty-five degrees and fifty minutes east (N 55° 50' E) six chains; thence north thirty-three degrees and fifty minutes east (N 33° 50' E) one chain; thence, as the magnetic needle stood in the year 1895 at right angles from center of said old road south twenty-nine degrees twenty-five minutes east (S 29° 25' E) 16 1/2 feet; thence south twenty-three degrees twenty minutes west (S 23° 20' W) 264 feet to lands of Everts Ten Broeck; thence south sixty-five degrees twenty-one minutes east (S 65° 21' E) 641 feet; thence south thirty-three degrees twenty-five minutes west (S 33° 25' W) 1,172 1/2 feet to a stone monument; thence south seventy-one degrees twenty-nine minutes east (S 71° 29' E) 457 feet to a stone monument; thence north eighty-five degrees thirty-six minutes east (N 85° 36' E) 553 feet to a stone monument near an elm tree, on the north side of Berridge's quarry road; thence along the northerly side of Berridge's quarry road, north nineteen degrees twenty-five minutes east (N 19° 25' E) 1,627 feet to the westerly side of the Columbia Turnpike; thence northerly along the westerly side of the Columbia Turnpike, north forty-nine degrees two minutes west (N 49° 2' W) 433 feet; thence continuing along the westerly side of the Columbia Turnpike north forty-nine degrees twenty minutes west (N 49° 20' W) 817 feet to the center of Paul Avenue; thence northerly along the center of Paul Avenue to the northerly side of the Union Turnpike; thence easterly along the northerly side of the Union Turnpike to the lands of the Knickerbocker Portland Cement Company; thence in a northerly course having a left-hand deflection of ninety-seven degrees forty-five minutes (97° 45'), measured from the direction of the preceding course, 362 1/10 feet to an iron pin; thence easterly on a course having a right-hand deflection of seventy-three degrees twenty-nine minutes (73° 29'), measured from the direction of the preceding course, nine feet to an iron pin; thence northerly along the southerly line of the lands of the Mechanical Handlor Company and the Albany Southern Railroad Company, said course having a left-hand deflection of ninety degrees sixteen minutes (90° 16') measured from the direction of the preceding course, 602 feet to the northerly side of the Farmer's Turnpike; thence easterly along the northerly side of the Farmer's Turnpike on a course having a right-hand deflection-of ninety-three degrees ten minutes (93° 10'), measured from the direction of the preceding course, 808 5/10 feet; thence continuing along the northerly side of said turnpike on a left-hand deflection of eleven degrees twenty-two minutes (11° 22'), measured from the direction of the preceding course, 274 7/10 feet; thence continuing along the northerly side of said turnpike on a left-hand deflection of five degrees sixteen minutes (5° 16'), measured from the direction of the preceding course, 306 2/10 feet to a point in the division fence between the lands of Arthur Farrand and the tract known as the "Fairground Boulevards"; thence northwesterly along said division line on a left-hand deflection of ninety-six degrees fourteen minutes (96° 14'), measured from the direction of the preceding course, 700 feet; thence, as the magnetic needle stood in the year 1820 A.D., north eleven degrees and fifty minutes east (N 11° 50' E) 44 chains to a white oak tree standing one chain and 55 links from the northeasterly corner of the farm lately owned by Jonas White, and nine links westerly from the fence along the westerly side of the old road leading from Hudson to the print works; thence from this white oak tree north seventy-four degrees twenty-five minutes west (N 74° 25' W) to the middle of the Hudson River or to the Greene County line; thence southerly along the middle of the Hudson River to the point of intersection of said middle line with the prolongation of the first course mentioned in the description, thence to the place of beginning.

[jimrtex]

I was reading about  the 2020 Census and came across something called the Block Boundary Suggestion Project, where states (and localities) may suggest census block boundaries to be used for the 2020 Census.

2020 Census (Redistricting) Program Phases

It is not clear how the program works. The Census Bureau only wants to deal with one person in each state, so it may be up to somebody in Albany whether Hudson could actually have input. And it might be that the person in Albany only wants to deal with Columbia County, and not each town and city. It is possible that the initial deadline is May 15, so any changes might have to be proposed VERY QUICKLY.

The 2020 Census will use prisons and correctional institutions as block boundaries, so HCI will be separate from the civilians on Union Street. They will also do the same for Colleges and Universities. I thought that they might do this for all group quarters, but it does not appear that they will do so. They will (probably) include Group Quarters in the PL 94-171 release.

I came across a "prototype" census block shapefile, but I am not sure of its meaning. It might be intended as a prototype for a county government to use, or it might be what the Census Bureau will use if they don't get any suggestion.

For Hudson, they have added the prison boundaries, and they have added the railroad (this was used in 2000, but removed in 2010).

They have removed unnamed streets from being  used as block boundaries, so for example all the blocks in cemetery have been eliminated (combined into a single block).

They also appear to have merged small unpopulated blocks. For example the triangle surrounded by Green-Columbia-State has been merged with a street south of Columbia. This eliminates part of a ward boundary from being along the block boundary.

[jimrtex]

Suggested Corrections Part 1.



(1) Eliminate internal roads within cemetery; or alternatively properly align. In any case, these roads should not be used as tabulation block boundaries. If available, consider using cemetery property line as block boundary.

(2) Eliminate wobble in Columbia Turnpike.

(3) Realign streets, correct names on Prospect Hill.

(4) Realign Rossman Avenue.

(5) Eliminate extraneous features (persistent shoreline of reservoirs).

(6) Eliminate extraneous street. Eliminate tabulation block.

(7) Correct city limits, including Ten Broeck notch.

[jimrtex]

Suggested Corrections Part 2



(7) Correctly align city boundary.

(8) Align road.

(9) Eliminate extraneous/misplaced driveway.

(10) Eliminate misplaced internal roads in prison. This is just busy work for prison officials to attempt to locate cell locations.

(11) Add road along southern fence. Presumption: Public access for visitors, suppliers, etc. is from E Court Street around west and southern side to main parking lot, or along road outside fence that continues out to Worth Avenue (ie this is public access to prison). Use portion of E Court Street north of prison as block boundary.

(12) Use railroad south of Union St west to Front Street as block boundary.

(13) Use prison as block boundary (already planned by Census).

[jimrtex]

The notch is in the city? That's the historic Bronson house there.

Would you please draw the exact line, and what language you are relying upon, and the explanation please?

Is that the two story brick building? Is it used in conjunction with the cemetery?

Or is it the white clapboard farmhouse just to the (southwest) on Ten Broeck (it is set back in trees, so go check before it disappears)?

[jimrtex]

Suggested Corrections Part 3



(7) Align City Boundary. City seems to belief the break is at 3rd Street - this does not match their map from the 1930s.

(14) Remove Extraneous Street. Eliminate block.

(15) What is former rail bed used for? It is currently still classified as RR, with Conrail name. It is also misaligned west of 3rd Street. It should not be used as block boundary, unless it is now considered to be extension of Front Street.

(16) Extraneous part of RR junction no longer exists. Eliminate block.

(17) What is this? It is classified as "Nonvisible Linear Legal/Statistical Boundary" Of what?

[jimrtex]

Suggested Corrections Part 4



(12) [not numbered on map] Use railroad as block boundary from Union Street to Front Street. When track splits west of 3rd Street, use northern track.

(15) Reclassify/realign former railbed, including connection from form rail junction north to current end of Front Street.

(15A) Remove former connection to mainline RR.

(18) Remove extraneous driveway - in any event it connects to Broad Street and not Front Street.

(19) Complete connection of railroads to mainline (both ends of wye).

(20) Eliminate spurious street north of Ferry, west of RR tracks.

(20.1) Eliminate Ferry Street through parking lot.

(20.2) Add extension of Ferry St to river. (everything north of Ferry + extension, west of RR tracks merged into single block.

(21) Is this part of 2nd Street, or Tanners Lane, or Montgomery St. Currently this is labeled as 2nd Street, which seems odd since there is only that small jog that is north-south.

(22) Does South Alley exist?

(23) West branch of Deer Alley parallels street grid, and not that little twig off Cross Lane.

(23.5) Does Tanners Lane connect to 3rd Street? If so, this segment should be reclassified as street. If not it should be removed. It is currently classified as a "P0001 - Nonvisible Linear Legal/Statistical Boundary" evidently to form a block boundary. Its use was eliminated for 2010. With RR tracks as block boundary, there is really no need for it (block would be bounded by Front and 3rd; Allen and RR tracks).

(24) Add loop on end of Willard. Do not use as block boundary.

(25) Eliminate non existent street. The spike will become part of the block to the north.

[jimrtex]

Suggested Corrections Part 5



(12) Use Railroad south of Union as block boundary.

(26) South end of Hudson Avenue is superfluous.

(26.5) Cherry Alley eon both sides of 4th Street is designated as an imaginary line for statistical purposes. At one time, someone must have decided it was needed to split the blocks. In 2010, the "imaginary line" was ignored (the census blocks on either side of 4th Street on the south side of Warren go all the way through to Union). But Cherry Alley appears to be very real. I would re-classify as a street, to be consistent with usage elsewhere in Hudson that the named alleys are considered to be streets.

(27) Possible connection of Cherry Alley to Warren (this may just be parking lot).

(28) Extraneous road west of hospital.

(29) Haviland Place appears to go further north.

(30) Extraneous street south of State.

(31) Two Extraneous streets between Long Alley and State St. 3 blocks merged.

(32) Extraneous street removed.

(33) Rope Alley appears to go through between 6th and 7th street.

(34) Trim ends of Joe Alley to actual extent.

(35) Use railroad north of State Street as census block boundary (divides Green Street from Glenwood Boulevard).

[jimrtex]

Suggested Corrections Part 6



(35) Use Railroad as Block Boundary.

(36) Eliminate extraneous tail on Railroad Ave

(37) Eliminate spurious north-south segment of Columbia Turnpike.

(38) Eliminate extraneous street. On left is census bureau location, on right is actual apparent location, but it appears that it is more a long driveway. I suspect that if any houses face it, they have Columbia St addresses.

(39) Make Oakdale Pond a census block.

(40) Delineate stream bed and use as census block boundary.

(41) Reinstate extension of Jenkins Parkway.

(42) Make census block (Jenkins Parkway to Fairview Ave, Bayley Blvd to Railroad).

(43) Remove extraneous road through parking lot. Eliminates corner census block.

[jimrtex]

Suggested Corrections Part 7



(44) Eliminate extraneous driveway, and census block.

(45) Use walkway from Warren St and Front Street to Promenade Hill as linear feature and extend to RR tracks. Use as a block boundary.

(46) Eliminate extraneous street and extension west of Front Street at State Street.

(47) Extend Dock Street definition westward and include extension to RR tracks. This will form the northern boundary of the Front Street block, which will extend from Ferry to Dock, between Front St and the RR tracks, with a possible split at Warren - see (45).

(48) Eliminate Front Street and imaginary statistical line.

(48.5) Eliminate many of the statistical boundaries. The Census Bureau may resist because this is boundary between Census Tracts 12 and 13. Generally, CT 13 is south of Warren, but west of Front Street it extends north to the remnant open water of North Bay and then out into the Hudson. In the eastern part of the city, the boundary is 6th Street and Glenwood Blvd, with the area to the south in CT 13.

Currently, the shoreline of the Hudson is delineated, as well as the main open-water estuary of North Bay. Both RR tracks are delineated, though only one is used as a block boundary. The center-line of the channel of the branch of North Bay along the RR tracks has also been delineated. (Construction of the RR has essentially dammed off North Bay and facilitated it being filled, or becoming marsh land.)

South of the estuary in CT 13, the blocks are: Hudson River proper; shore-line to RR tracks; and RR tracks to Front Street (imaginary line extended north of Dock St).

North of the estuary in CT 12, the blocks are: Hudson River proper; shore-line to estuary; estuary itself; and estuary to 2nd Street.

I would use Dock Street to cut across from Front Street to the RR tracks. Then the only statistical line that is needed is the line dividing the Hudson.

(49) Refine stream boundary. This currently looks like an extension of Mill Street west of 2nd Street. I propose defining the stream across Hudson so that it can be used as a block boundary. As a visible feature it qualifies.

[jimrtex]

Suggested Corrections Part 7 (details)



The types of lines are color coded:

Light Blue - Persistent shoreline: Hudson River, and North Bay open-water estuary.
Dark Blue - Centerline of small streams: North Bay immediately east of RR tracks, and creek to Underhill Pond and beyond.

Brown - Railroad tracks: Both tracks are delineated, only one is used for block boundary.

Gold - City Streets: Front Street and Dock Street
Beige - Extraneous street (delineated but not present in in reality): Front Street north of Dock St.
Green - Missing street (present in reality, but not delineated by Census Bureau): Dock St west of current delineated stub, west of Front Street.

Red - Imaginary lines for statistical purposes:

The line northward from Front St and Dock St, westward across the estuary, and out to the middle of the Hudson is the current boundary between Census Tract 12 and 13.
The line northward from the fake Front Street has no apparent purpose.
The line that connects the two segments of the Hudson shoreline across the estuary is not currently used, and the RR tracks are and can be used to close the estuary.



Color codes are by block group.

Green is CT 12, BG 1;
Purple is CT 12, BG 2;
Pink is CT 13, BG 1;

My proposal is to eliminate Front Street north of Dock Street (non-existent); extend the delineation of Dock Street to the west to reach the RR tracks; and eliminate all of the imaginary lines except from the RR bridge over the estuary to the middle of the Hudson.

Area A would be added to 12-2000 (north of Dock Street to stream), between 2nd Street and RR tracks.
Areas B and C would be added to 12-2004 (North Bay estuary). Area C is moved to use west track of RR as the block line.

If the Census Bureau insists in maintaining the census tract boundaries, then the imaginary lines from Front Street north and west to across estuary would have to be maintained.

Area A would be a new census block in CT 13, BG 1.
Area B would be a new census block in CT 13, BG 1.
Area C would be moved from 12-1007 to 12-1004.

[jimrtex]

Why create census blocks where nobody lives? Why is it necessary to use the river for its entire length through Hudson, rather than just sections of it where useful?  The blue line where I put the red arrow does not seem to relate to anything on the ground. If you want to create an empty census block, why not just use the intersection of an extension of Mill Street and 3rd Street? (Oh, actually there are two or three houses there on 2nd street in the southwest corner.) See below.

Oh, I called the redistricting project at the census bureau (301-763-4039), to learn how the process works, and what the deadlines are, and somebody took my phone number, and said somebody would call me back.



 

The entire country is divided into census blocks. Census blocks are the atom of census geography:

This is the census hierarchy. Each sublevel nests into the level above, and completely covers it.

USA
State (or equivalent)
County (or equivalent)
Census Tract
Block Group
Census Block

Entities such as cities can be aggregated from Census Blocks.

In Columbia County, the Census Tracts happen to coincide with the towns (and city), except Hudson and Kinderhook are each divided into two census tracts. Census tracts were originally created in the 1920s in large cities. The census bureau would tabulate data based on census tracts. Otherwise, New York City and Taghkanic would have the same level of detail. Eventually, census tracts covered the entire country.

Census tracts are (were) the smallest area for reporting statistical information. Before 2010, this was based on information from the long form, which was sent to about 1 in 6 households. That is, it is based on a sample. To have a meaningful sample it has to be of a certain size. If you had 50 households and surveyed 1/6 (8 households) your values won't be very good. Census tracts have an ideal population of 4000, with a range of 1200 to 8000. In high growth areas, census tracts are divided. In areas with substantial population decline, census tracts can be merged.

Census tracts are intended to be stable, so that data can be compared over time (measure trends). So somewhere in time, it was decided that Columbia County should have census tracts. The towns are generally of a size to qualify for their own census tract, and that was the simplest way to do it. Towns like Taghkanic are pushing the lower limit, and might have been put in a tract with another town. Hudson and Kinderhook were too big and were split.

Generally, the boundary in Hudson is along Warren, with the eastern boundary following 6th and Glenwood. They had to find a way to cut through to the western boundary, so they went up Front Street and out into the Hudson.

In 1990, when they divided the entire country into census blocks, they created what were then called Block Numbering Groups. Blocks within a census tract had a three digit number, and the hundreds digit was the block numbering group. Beginning with 2010, block numbers were increased to four digits, and the thousands digit indicated the Block Group (new name for 2010).

If you look at block numbers, they go:

1000, 1001, 1002, 1003, ..., 1013 (for example)
2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, ..., 2008 (for example)
...

Block Groups are intended to organize numbering of blocks, but they are also used for statistical data. If you wanted an estimate of the CVAP or the number of Bangladeshis, you can get that information for block groups, but not census blocks.

This map shows the block groups for Hudson. The numbers indicate the census tract and block groups. The notation "12.1" is not something the census bureau uses. It was something that I could quickly generate.

[jimrtex]

Suggested Corrections Part 1+



The thick yellow lines are lines that the Census Bureau currently knows about. They are generally streets and roads, but not all of them. Each line has as code associated with it, MTFCC, or MAF/TIGER Feature Classification Code. Census blocks are bounded by closed paths. Not all lines are used to define census blocks, but all census blocks are defined by the lines.

The 2010 block boundaries are thin black lines on top of the yellow lines. I have colored-coded changes. When I add new lines, I'll use a different color. There are new lines on  this map.

Red: Remove as lines, remove as block  boundaries.
Green: Possible new block boundary.
Gold: Misaligned.
Pink: Non-existent.
Blue: Keep line, but eliminate as block boundary.

(1) Cemeteries.

In Cedar Park Cemetery, particularly there are a bunch of census blocks. The roads are badly misaligned with reality, and there are other roads are missing.

I do not think that roads within a cemetery are: "Local Neighborhood Road, Rural Road, or City Street".
Using internal roads and driveways are just confusing. They might serve a purpose in a large apartment complex.

At minimum, they should not be census blocks. I would actually remove them as lines. Note there is another small block  at the north end of the old cemetery.

The green line is an existing line classified as a "Property/Parcel Line"  it is the boundary of the cemetery. The census bureau has what it calls "areal landmarks". They can be shown on census maps, and useful for orientation. If it can be used as a census block boundary, then we can draw boxes around Westwind and the Firemen's Home.

(2) There is wobble on Columbia Turnpike. It can be ignored for now.

(3) There is horrible mismatch of the streets on Prospect Hill, and Vanwinkle is spelled incorrectly. This can potentially lead to enumeration mistakes. Since none of the streets close polygons, it doesn't matter as far as creating census blocks.

(4) Rossman Avenue misaligned through water-plant (can be ignored, since does not result in problems identifying the location).

(5) These are classified "Perennial Shoreline". At one time Hudson had reservoirs on Reservoir Hill. They were replaced by the domed tank.

(6) Non-existent street, that forms part of block boundary. In 2000, this block was enumerated with 74 persons. I suspect that someone had tried to make the area between Worth Avenue and Worth Alley a "block" and it caused confusion.

This might help

Hudson block map (PDF)

[jimrtex]

OK, I am on top of this. The census bureau person who is in charge of this called me. It needs to be done by disk, not manually, by NY state officials, who were went a disk. The census blocks are generated from aerials. There have been substantial corrections for NY since the 2010 census. So what I need Jimrtex is a simple map showing the most important changes, to get more access. Other changes can come later. So if you would bifurcate the census blocks that I bifurcated below on an existing census map using an aerial to show the physical features, that would be great. I can send it to the US census bureau and to Latfor (the guy I talked to at Latfor seemed to know nothing about the program  (but per Colleen he might not be the right point person because they have the disk), and he asked me to send him a detailed email I want the map I am requesting from you attached, and will  copy Colleen on it, and bcc you.

With any luck they will send me a disk, or let me play with Hudson in Latfor's Albany offices. I doubt someone there will devote much time to Hudson personally. We shall see. Thanks.

Oh yes. The US census bureau only does physical features, not projections from a physical point. They are not surveyors. So I don't think we have a physical feature to divide Mill Street from the firemen's home, or crosswinds from the portion of the census block with 75 people that is currently split by the ward lines, or the homes on west Union near Worth Ave. from the prison facilities. That is too bad, but if no physical feature to use as a dividing line, we are screwed, or so I was told by Colleen at the US census bureau.



Oh, and please also bisect the big cahuna census block, even though I am not sure there is a qualifying physical feature (and I don't know exactly where the river front census block starts, but I ever confidence that you do), but maybe we can get away with it somehow. Thanks again Jimrtex. You sir, are going to continue to have a substantial impact on what actually happens in Hudson. Enjoy! I call you in the Hudson power circles, "my secret weapon of mass destruction."   They wondered who my mole was that was feeding me information. I told them my mole lived in Houston, and just had taken an interest in Hudson, and loved to solve puzzles, and apparently was as fascinated by Hudson as I was. That left them confused!

You may want to download QGIS:

QGIS download

The census program is built on top of it (I'm wondering whether a redistricting program could be built on top of it).

The Census Bureau only wants to deal with one person in each state. In addition, since the fundamental purpose is redistricting, they want a bipartisan effort. So they start out with the governor and the legislative leaders. In New York, the legislative leaders are corrupt, and Cuomo might or might not care. Perhaps if someone from the census bureau came to Albany, he and Cuomo could go out to eat, and share a nice$$$ bottle of wine.

Parts of the program suggest that work flow be done on a county-by-county basis. This presents a problem, since the big counties and NYC probably have better GIS than NYS, and the smaller counties probably have a hard time with paper maps (Hamilton). The folks in Albany probably have a hard time dealing with people in Columbia County since they work for different governments, and the Columbia County probably consider the city of Hudson to be one of many towns (and cities), while Hudson probably considers the county to be at best a peer.

The census bureau does permit the use of line-of-sight extensions up to 300 feet. That is what I am using on 3rd Street (to Mill Street) and Clinton Street to (Harry Howard.)  It does not permit them at T's, so no luck for 5th Street and Clinton, or Warren at Front. I think the walkway to Promenade Hill might qualify.

In the past, it appears that someone tried to create census blocks (if your model of a census block is  area with 5 to 50 houses). These "statistical lines" still exist, but for the most part were not used in 2010. So in some cases, I'm proposing to eliminate them, because they are not really needed for useful blocks. And in a few instances proposing to reinstate them as extensions of streets.

In the next year or so, there will be a program to define VTDs. In the past, the block-suggestion program and VTD definition program were combined, so the split is new.

From 2010, the census bureau did permit use of artificial lines. The directions suggested that the census bureau didn't like it, and you probably wouldn't like, and you would probably have nightmares of the census bureau strangling you, and your state might not let you, but you could. I think a case could be made for lines that have been in place for 130 to 160 years. In the case of the 5th street extension, you can now give a precise location because of the survey. The census bureau will create block boundaries for VTDs.