Piazza described a years-long ordeal to get someone to either pay for the storage space or take its contents off his hands. According to Piazza, after obtaining eviction orders for the space in 2008 and 2010, he could have, legally, put the contents of the storage unit on the curb. Instead, he said, he made repeated attempts to reach the Hudsons, both officially and informally through mutual acquaintances. Growing weary of his fruitless efforts to settle the issue, Piazza said he looked into handing the archive over to the Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame (where Hudson was inducted, with the rest of The Band in 1994), but the rock mecca wasn’t interested. Last year, producers from the reality TV show “American Pickers,” which chronicles antique experts’ quest for hidden treasures among old junk, expressed interest in the building a segment around Hudson’s archive. Piazza said he told the producers to get in touch with Hudson, then never heard back.
Garth Hudson.
“I’m a businessman, just make me a reasonable offer and come get your stuff,” said Piazza. “They never made an offer, they never came forward, they never responded to anything.”
Finally, Piazza said, he sent the Hudsons one last e-mail informing them that if they didn’t respond, he would consider the storage unit abandoned and sell its contents. Not long after, he placed an ad in the paper advertising the sale of Garth Hudson memorabilia. That, Piazza said, touched off a frenzy of media interest that left him fielding (and for the most part ignoring) inquiries from media outlets from New York City to Japan. But Piazza, who has won praise for helping revitalize Midtown and promoting the city’s arts and cultural resources, said he’s gotten tired of being portrayed as the bad guy in what he sees as a straightforward case of a tenant failing to pay rent.
“Every newspaper in the world’s calling me and I’m thinking, ‘What the hell is going on?’” said Piazza. “All these people say they love Garth, they want me to help him, maybe they should help him and kick in.”
Mr. Piazza is an astute businessman and great proponent of the arts in Kingston. I have no doubt that he has followed the letter of law in this regard, and am also sure he has bent over backward to settle the issue. Being a “rock star” doesn’t give you the right to ignore your obligations. And then crying about the consequences is nothing more than childish. Shame on you, Mr. and Mrs. Garth.
Years ago we were approached by the Hudsons to rent a home we owned. Instinct said not to do it and we were so glad we rejected them. Mutual friends warned us to stay away. Mr. Piazza has every right to reclaim his space.