And this is a surprise?

Do as I say but not as I do.Also why does the Village charge the Towners more for the parking permit. Maybe the town should issue parking permits at Rings Pond.What is good for the goose is good for the gander.

This is so funny! I think that there should be a full investigation into this matter. Did tbe mayor in fact bath his feet? is this vehicle owned by the aleged perpetrator?

Actually, in my opinion it is not funny at all. Assuming off of the above is true, this is an elected official blatantly disregarding rules that everyone else must follow. It is indefensible.

I'm sorry that Mary Hall and her boyfriend were treated this way. There is no reason for the way they were treated. If anyone talks to the village employees they will find the same attitude the Mayor exibited towards Mary and her boyfriend is the norm towards village employees. This is a small village and I'm sure that anyone who is informed knows exactly what I mean. There is nothing funny about his behaviour or attitude.

Mayor Gross? Tsk tsk. A picture speaks a thousand words. . .Leadership by example etc etc. Get it.

Where are all the comments from Mayor Joe's faithfuls?? Perhaps the sheeps clothing is starting to falter and they no longer want to have the public association. Also, being that a photograph is admissable evidence Mayor Gross needs to be cited for the blatant disregard to the local ordinance, and a fine fitting for a king be imposed. Seriously though, Mayor Gross has set a horrible example and has made a mockery of the Village COde that the Officers of the CoH PD are expected to enforce. Shame on you !

I'd like to know the background story because the picture of "the Mayor enjoying the cool water with friends...despite the sign prohibiting swimming bathing fishing or playing" merely shows him standing ankle deep in the water. And, I believe that this particular sign, which irks most anybody who grew up here swimming in the river, was installed by the previous administration. I am more annoyed at the village employee who gave a parking sticker to his friend from New Windsor who comes and lets his dogs poop in the park, and guess what? - he doesn't pick it up.

I am in not way defending Gross, but fair is fair.
No swimming from the dock. That means the dock. THE DOCK. The wooden thingy floating along side the pilings. The ramp is NOT the dock. The shoreline is not the dock. The sign is pretty clear. You can swim all you want, just not from the DOCK. I love when people fly off the handle before they are even half aware of the issue. Always ready with the tar and feathers, torches burning brightly, ready to storm what ever castle their imagination takes them to.

BTW, I live in the town, I don't live in the village. So before I get branded a sympathizer, I don't personally know Gross or any other village official. I don't care for politics in any form. Official misconduct is real, but I don't see it in this particular case. Sorry if I deflated anyone's balloon. Carry on.

Sure is nice to wake up with a few laughs I may send this off to Jay Leno, wow, funny!
Anyway, are we saying that Joe jumped from the dock onto the rampinto the water? I'm not understanding the reasoning of this call to justice. Does this mean we cant stand in the water? I understand that we are not allowed to play or swim from the dock because of inherent dangers but placing ourselves in the water away from the dock I really do not understand. We should be more concerned with dog droppings on our sidewalks and grasses that we constantly have to dodge not pictures of people enjoying our resources in a safe manner.

I was there. Joe asked them to move their pickup truck from blocking the ramp,complete with matress in the back. Her boyfriend replied "I dident F#*&in vote for you old man! I could not imagine having to explain to my nine year old (who was there) why he was speaking like that or why there was a matress and blankets in the back of the pickup truck. Nice couple

I really thought COH News was unbiased in its coverage. This should of been a letter to the editor signed by the person making these false accusations not an article that is written on one persons account of what happened in which was totally skewed. We need unbiased facts!!! Andrew tells it right.

Oh-Ho!! Now we know who the scallywags with the mattress in the back are! But, did they have a cooler and a spackle bucket? All the comforts of home...

Well kinda looks like people on the docks with there feet in the water to me ..If its stands for one , then its gotta stand for all, cant have it one way because who you are or who you know and gripe when its others that you don't want there..That's right I forgot who we are talking about, once again the Mayor and his followers.Oops my bad as the Mayor might have been bathing on Dock Hill and the heavy downpours could have washed him down to the River and near the docks .Read the sign and use common sense as its pretty clear as to what it means and most people obey it..The last problem some also have is to stereotype people by what they see..is that really fair because they had a mattress and blankets in the back of there truck, and is that any business of yours? And lastly does any of this give the Mayor the right to park on the grass with no permit, park with all the others who pay for the sticker that allows them to be there.

Is this an article or an editorial?

If it is an article then it is pretty irresponsible (not to mention borderline incoherent) journalism.

1. There was no reporter at the scene to try and get more details of the alleged incident.
2. The person took these photos but did not ask the Mayor for his side of the alleged incident.
3. The photos and story from a private citizen were then posted in a paper of record without any analysis of the alleged incident other than the hearsay of the person who sent the photos.

I don't feel one way or the other about the Mayor, but this is borderline slander. The photo "evidence" (with the exception of the jeep on the grass) is inconclusive without accompanying fact finding and analysis.

Just within this forum we've already heard a completely different version of events (also hearsay) about the interaction with the people who were allegedly told to get off the dock.

Why wouldn't a news organization try and get more facts about the alleged incident before publicly publishing something as laughable as this?

This is the most mickey mouse thing I've seen in a while. Pretty disappointing considering the lengths that this site has gone to to be a source of information for people in the Village and Town.

If you want to be in the business of muck-raking, then fine. But you have to make clear that that is what you're doing. You can't post hearsay and a an inconclusive photo on the main news page and present it as such.

If the Mayor was using the dock after telling people to get off of it, then that's pretty screwed up. If, however, as the photo suggests, he and his party were simply wading around the ramp area and the other party was told to move their truck from blocking the dock, that's a whole other animal.

Which is it? We'll probably never find out from this news source...

As an addendum I'll add the recollection that once when my kids and I were down at the river and standing on the docks, there were a bunch of kids swimming from the dock. A cop came by and told the kids to get out of the water and not swim from the dock. I asked the cop if it was OK that my kids and I were wading in the water off to the side of the dock where the ramp is and he said yes, and that they really just needed to discourage swimming as it presents a danger (and thus liability issues)

Ok, so I sent these photos to Nancy in order to let others see how the "Mayor" is un-professional and disobeying of village regulations. He wears swim trunks, shirt open, a towel on his neck and stares at people in the most creepy manor. Which by the way, I have never not seen him in grungy attire...should be part of his dress code to look presentable at all times. I don't even want to get started on that hoop-dee he calls a Jeep...have you ever seen the bungied down tarp on when it rains, unbelievable.
Anyways, when my boyfriend and I were relaxing on the dock watching the sunset, he in a rude manor, forces us to leave. Blatantly disregarding a handful of children running and jumping off the dock. He obviously noticed our truck was parked near by and wanted us to move. If he asked us politely and not looking the way he does, I may respect him a bit more... I guess having a pickup truck with a mattress and a blanket in the bed is SO unusual that people with no lives must bring it up in an argument that makes no sense of what is being talked about. This is about the people with "higher power" not following the rules of swimming in a very dangerous area with gasoline from boats, rusty objects and glass...letting children swim with goggles in it is totally un-safe. And without a doubt, to those who know us, we are a nice couple and we don't like people taking advantage of their power, but I guess as a Mayor of the Village of Cornwall on Hudson, anything goes. Way to go Mayor, jump on in off that dock, when you get a rusty nail in your foot don't go crying to anyone but yourself.

Ted this is a Cornwall on Hudson news website, not the NY Times...

Soo....do you mean that because it's Cornwall on Hudson we should have lower standards for reporting of events? I have to agree with Ted on this one; if news is going to be presented then one can't suddenly introduce he-said-she-said. Then it is just another 10th grade slam-book. Oh, wait, "He wears...[commentary on clothing]...that hoop-dee he calls a jeep...". You're right! It *is* a slam book! That's all I have for now - Wynn Gold says I need a hobby...

Thank you Ted Warren for pointing out the obvious about the surprising lack of standards in this "news article". This personal complaint should have been posted in letters to the editor if it was deemed worthy of publishing at all.

I will read all "News" from this source with a new filter - clearly there is a bias that leads the editor towards a political viewpoint, which in turn leads to questionable choices in what constitutes news and what is opinion.

The Mayor was contacted two times requesting a comment and calls were not returned. That in itself is a story. Is the Mayor beyond reproach? I think not. If he doesn't want to avail himself of offering up an explaination of his side of the story a good reporter goes with what they have. Maybe he knows the pictures spoke for themselves. Can we all park on the grass at Donahue Park?

i believe joe filed a report with the police on this matter.

Well J.B. I have no problem with the Mayor or anyone else swimming in the Hudson if it's allowed and they are safe. Just can't understand why he didn't answer a reporters questions regarding this story. It may have avoided this thread entirely. I also have no problem with anyone enjoying the afternoon in their pick up enjoying a beautiful day as long as they also are parked in a legal spot. If we all decide to park where we want we know where will that lead? The Mayor should follow the laws along with everyone else. I don't want to make a big deal of that either because I believe there are more important things to worry about then that but he should lead by example. As for Andrew's claim that foul language was used I definitely do not go for that especially with young children are around. Bottom line the Mayor should have given his side of the story as I realise there are always two sides to every arguement.

Joe asked the couple to move their truck because it was parked in front of the dock and they shrugged the request off he then asked them again and her boyfriend jumped into joes face and started spewing expletives.
I believe this will be my last post on this website as it is no longer a source for news but a source for slander and mean spirited comments.

Mary,

What the Mayor looks like, how he dresses, or the condition of his car have absolutely nothing to do with anything. If you have a hang-up about how you think a Mayor should look, that is clearly your issue. This website should not be a place for your rather mean-spirited judgments about other people. If someone was breaking the rules (and, ironically, it sounds more and more like you and your companion were the ones doing that) then it should be made an issue of. Otherwise, it should be kept out of a public forum such as this. It should certainly never have been posted by the person(s) who maintain this website as "news." It doesn't matter if it's the CoH paper or the NYT.

Patrick, I agree with you that the mayor should have at least said something, if for no other reason to avoid to silly sniping and name calling that is going on in this forum.

To participate in and stay informed about some truly important issues affecting this wonderful village, please attend the Village Board of Trustees meetings, the times of which are posted on this website and in the Cornwall Local.

'the voice of one crying in the wilderness', Carol, YOU ROCK!!!