Delmar, New York

Delmar is a hamlet in the Town of Bethlehem, in Albany County, New York, United States. It is a suburb of the neighboring city of Albany. The community is bisected by NY Route 443 (Delaware Avenue), a major thoroughfare, main street, and route to Albany.

A census-designated place (CDP) has been established since 1980 by the U.S. Census Bureau for tabulating the population of what the census has defined as the boundaries of the urbanized area in and around Delmar. The population was 8,292 at the 2000 census, but it was not included as a CDP in the 2010 census.

In 2005, CNN/Money Magazine named the Delmar ZIP Code (an area larger than the Delmar hamlet or CDP) as one of the "Best Places to Live" in America, rating it the 22nd best place to live among what it called "Great American Towns."

History

Albany and Susquehanna Railroad's Delmar Station, 1907

Nathaniel Adams moved to the area in 1836 and two years later built a large hotel and made other improvements. When the first post office was built in 1840 he was the first post master. The Adams Hotel was Bethlehem's Town Hall from 1950-1980. In 1841 Nathaniel donated an acre of land for a chapel to be built so that those of the Dutch Reformed Church did not have to travel to Unionville to attend worship though this new church continued to be under the Union Reformed Church. In 1847 the members of the Reformed Church at Adams Station petitioned for their own organization separate from Union, and in 1848 this was granted by both the Union Reformed Church and the Classis of Albany. For Nathaniel Adams, Delmar received its early name of Adamsville.

Map of Delmar in 1891

After Adamsville received its post office mail began to get confused with the town of Adams, New York which also had an Adams Village. The name of the post office was changed to Adams Station in an attempt to relieve that confusion. The Albany and Susquehanna Railroad, which had a station on Adams Street north of Kenwood Avenue, however had chosen to change from Adamsville to Delmar. In 1892 a petition by area residents to change the post office to match Delmar was accepted.

The Patterson Farmhouse, United States Post Office, and Van Derheyden House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Porco trial

On Monday November 15, 2004, a court officer was ordered to the home of Peter and Joan Porco. Peter, a State Appellate Division court clerk, had not reported to his Albany office for work that morning. Upon entering the two-story home in Delmar, the officer discovered Peter's body near the front door. An Albany County medical examiner would determine that Peter, 52, had sustained massive head injuries causing his death. His wife Joan was also soon discovered by police officers. She was lying in the couple's bed and had suffered severe head and facial trauma. Their son, Christopher Porco would be tried in Goshen, Orange County, on charges of second degree murder for the murder of his father and second degree attempted murder in the severe wounding and disfigurement of his mother. The trial lasted 21 days and was one of the most highly covered Capital District news events in recent memory. The case against Porco received extensive coverage in local newspapers including the Times Union as well as in local television outlets. The case was also the subject of a one-hour documentary on 48 Hours Mystery entitled "Memory of Murder," broadcast by CBS on November 4, 2006 as well as an episode of the TruTV series Forensic Files that originally aired on July 17, 2009.

Geography

As a hamlet the borders of Delmar are indeterminate, though generally the unincorporated village is considered to be centered on the intersection of Kenwood and Delaware avenues. According to the 2000 United States Census, the CDP has a total area of 4.382 square miles (11.35 km²), all land. CDP's borders can change from census to census however. As of 2000 the border followed the Normans Kill to the north, and then for the western border it travels south on McCormack Road North to Cherry Ave Extension (New York Route 140) where it turns left and then right on to McCormack Road. At Bridge Avenue in the neighboring hamlet of Slingerlands the CDP's border turns left, and then right onto Albany County Route 52 (Cherry Ave/Elm Ave). The border then turns east (left) onto the Delmar Bypass (New York Route 32) to Elsmere Avenue (New York Route 335) where it then travels north. At the intersection of Elsmere Ave with Delaware Avenue the border turns east onto the later. At Salisbury Road the Delmar CDP border carves a small enclave by turning left onto said road and then right onto Normanside Avenue, then by turning onto Euclid Avenue it travels back southeast to Delaware Avenue once again. After another small jog on Delaware Ave the border turns left for Normanskill Boulevard opposite the Delaware Plaza. After turning right onto Bethlehem Court the border then travels in a straight northeastern line to meet back up at the Normanskill.

Several small creeks and streams flow through Delmar, generally north of Delaware Avenue they flow north to the Normans Kill; south of Delaware Avenue is Dowers Kill which is a south-flowing tributary of the Vloman Kill.

Demographics

Delmar Historical Populations

Year	Pop.	±%
1980	8,423	—
1990	8,360	−0.7%
2000	8,292	−0.8%
Sources: Censuses 1980; and 1990 and 2000.

As of the census of 2000, there are 8,292 people, 3,420 households, and 2,373 families residing in the CDP. The population density is 1,892.4 per square mile (730.9/km²). There are 3,501 housing units at an average density of 799.0/sq mi (308.6/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP is 96.61% White, 1.24% Asian, 1.18% African American, 0.12% Native American, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.25% from other races, and 0.58% from two or more races. 1.23% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 3,420 households out of which 33.3% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.0% are married couples living together, 7.4% have a female householder with no husband present, and 30.6% are non-families. 26.7% of all households are made up of individuals and 12.7% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.41 and the average family size is 2.94.

In the CDP the population is spread out with 25.4% under the age of 18, 4.5% from 18 to 24, 24.3% from 25 to 44, 28.9% from 45 to 64, and 16.9% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 43 years. For every 100 females there are 90.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 84.9 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP is $64,438, and the median income for a family is $83,219. Males have a median income of $57,038 versus $37,133 for females. The per capita income for the CDP is $35,363. 2.4% of the population and 1.7% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 3.0% of those under the age of 18 and 0.8% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Notable people

• Megyn Kelly (Born 1970), Fox News Channel anchor
• Eva Marie Saint (Born 1924) Actress