Aliya Schneider is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media the Hudson Common Council September 15, unanimously voted to acknowledge the former Old Shiloh Baptist Church property as a historic landmark. The vote took place after Victoria Milne, the owner of the property, at 241 Columbia Street, urged the council to reject the resolution. Although public comment normally is limited during a formal meeting, Common Council President Tom DePietro allowed Milne to speak after technical issues prevented her from participating in the informal meeting. Milne argued the building should not be designated as a landmark. You can imagine this feels like an ambush and it has unfolded like a conspiracy. I do not want to own a designated building and I deeply resent the way preservation designation has been proposed to be forced on me against my will,” she said. “I am a multi-decade design professional. I disagree with the principles of historic preservation and I do not want to be governed by them.” Milne wants to place a plaque or piece of art on the structure instead of a designation. Milne alleges the building was of no interest until "a new person from out of town" bought it. Milne purchased the building in mid 2019 for $170,000, while living in Brooklyn. The building is of significant importance to Hudson's black community. The Rev. Edward Cross said the church had been a place of refuge in the city through economic depression, wars, segregation and racism. At the Common Council meeting, 2nd Ward Alderperson Tiffany Garriga asked Milne if she would consider working with Cross to revive the building as a church. Milne said that was not her plan for her investment. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.