Understanding your neighborhood and surroundings

1. Northside Neighborhood

The financial center of Hudson, anchored with the headquarters of two major corporations.

Locations of:

• Hudsomart Retail Store

• Mosque

• Damage sustained to the Abraham Lincoln Bridge, one of the major approaches to Hudson City.

2. City Center

This section has a concentration of local businesses and an arts/entertainment and tourism center.

Locations of:

• Hudson City Community Services, Inc.: This is the location of the social service agency where you work, a nonprofit community agency that provides services for individuals and families. Services include counseling, advocacy, and outreach for people of all ages, as well as after-school arts programming and academic enrichment for children and adolescents. Services are provided for free or on a sliding-scale basis.

• Hudson Hospital Center: A large urban hospital center with 1200 inpatient beds, emergency room, and ambulatory care service, the hospital is widely respected for its high-quality clinical care and contributions to research. Throughout its history, the Hudson Hospital Center has also placed strong emphasis on responding with compassion and sensitivity to the unique needs of the communities it serves, including areas with multiple social and economic challenges. The Hospital Center’s ability to serve these populations is enhanced through relationships with local community health centers, school-based clinics at area high schools, supports a wide range of community health-focused activities throughout the city.

• City Bistro Restaurant

• Buddhist temple

• Local Office of State Department of Social Services: Government office providing information and application for food and cash assistance and housing assistance. Eligibility is means-tested. There are also satellite offices in other parts of Hudson City, but the centers located in the Northside and Eastside neighborhoods are temporary closed due to the hurricane.

• Hudson City Coalition to End Homelessness: This community-based organization screens individuals seeking housing assistance, distributes housing funds, and engages in advocacy to raise awareness of homelessness and increase investment in homelessness prevention. A small staff works at the agency’s physical location, but intake and referral are conducted over the phone.

3. Westside Neighborhood

In addition to the apartment building where you live, this area includes important public and private educational, social service, and community entities.

Locations of:

• University of the Northeast (UNE): A private research university that offers a comprehensive range of undergraduate and graduate programs. The university is well-known for many of their academic programs, and the School of Social Work collaborates with several local community agencies as field education sites for their students.

• First Methodist Church: In addition to worship services, this historic building is the venue for several social service offerings, including a weekly food distribution site and neighborhood meal, mutual aid meetings, and a job preparation clinic.

• American Red Cross Local Chapter: For many years, the local chapter of the American Red Cross has provided the basic needs—food, clothing, shelter, emotional support—to city residents whose lives have been disrupted by emergencies. With a small corps of employees and hundreds of volunteers, the chapter responds to an average of 5 emergencies each day, including fires, floods, building collapses, and power outages. They also help residents and businesses prepare for emergencies by offering hundreds of lifesaving courses and emergency-preparedness training programs and resources. As a charitable organization, the Red Cross relies on donations to fund its humanitarian services.

4. Eastside Neighborhood

This is the location of major damage from the hurricane, including massive flooding of buildings and major infrastructure (roads, bridge, subway stations).

Locations of:

• The Hudson City Office of Emergency Management (HCOEM): This local government office plans and prepares for emergencies, educates the public about preparedness, coordinates emergency response and recovery, and collects and disseminates emergency information from state, regional, and federal officials. HCOEM maintains a unit of emergency management personnel, including responders, planners, watch commanders, and administrative and support staff, to identify and respond to various hazards. Given that disasters are low-probability events, it has been difficult to substantiate the benefits of concentrating on mitigation and preparedness; however, elected officials turn their attention to scrutinizing the HCOEM during these times of acute emergency.

• Homeless Shelter: Each year 10,000 persons in Hudson City experience homelessness. Each night, over 2,000 homeless individuals sleep in the Hudson City shelter system. Others are doubled-up with friends or relatives or sleeping in parks or other public places. This shelter was evacuated during the first 3 days of the hurricane. Residents were relocated to temporary shelters throughout the city. This shelter was able to reopen three weeks after the hurricane hit Hudson City, but the shelter staff and advocates for people experiencing homelessness have been unable to account for all the individuals affected. There are also ongoing concerns about the health and safety of those not securely housed.

• Temple Shalom: This synagogue provides worship, fellowship, and spiritual education to Hudson City’s considerable Jewish population. The leadership is also active in advocacy for civil rights, anti-poverty, and other social concerns.

Other Government & Public Services (Not on map)

• City Housing Authority (CHA): Aims to provide decent and affordable housing for low- and moderate-income residents throughout the city. More than 50,000 residents live in 20 public housing developments throughout the city.

• Hudson City Transit (HCT): The HCT has the responsibility for a unified mass transportation system which includes a subway, bus, and commuter train line.

• Police, Fire and Medical Rescue: There are approximately 1,500 sworn police officers in Hudson City. At its largest, there were slightly more than 2,000 police officers serving the city; however, city budget cuts during the Great Recession and eroding public support for law enforcement due to concerns about racial inequity in policing contributed to reductions in the size and stature of the police department. In addition to these sworn officers, Hudson City maintains a fire and medical rescue division, whose personnel are charged with first response to fires, public safety and medical emergencies, and disasters. While this division has struggled to recruit workers since the COVID-19 pandemic took several lives, Hudson City has approximately 700 uniformed firefighters, EMTs, paramedics, and dispatch personnel.

• Food: There are over 50 emergency food distribution sites in Hudson City, including congregate meal locations and commodities providers. There are also many supermarkets located throughout the city, although some located in the Northside and Eastside neighborhoods have closed due to flooding.