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Albany, New York

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For other uses, see Albany (disambiguation).
City of Albany, New York
Albany as seen from across the Hudson River
Albany as seen from across the Hudson River
Flag of City of Albany, New York
Flag
Location in Albany County and the State of New York
Location in Albany County and the State of New York
CountryUnited States
StateNew York
CountyAlbany
Founded1614
Incorporated1686
Government
 • MayorGerald D. Jennings
Elevation
200 ft (60 m)
Population
 (2007)
 • City95,993
 • Metro
848,879
Time zoneUTC-5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
Websitehttp://www.albanyny.org/

Albany is the capital of the State of New York and the county seat of Albany County. As of the 2000 census, Albany had a population of 95,993.

The City of Albany lies 136 miles (219 km) north of New York City[1], and slightly to the south of the juncture of the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers.

Albany has close ties with the nearby cities of Troy and Schenectady, forming what is known as the Capital District. This area makes up the bulk of the Albany-Schenectady-Troy Metropolitan Statistical Area with a population of 848,879, making it the fourth largest urban area in New York State.

The Albany-Schenectady-Amsterdam, NY CSA, consists of the Albany-Schenectady-Troy MSA, the Glens Falls MSA, and the Amsterdam MSA. Using this definition, the area has a population (as of 2005) of 1,145,666, making it the third largest metropolitan area in New York State.

Albany is built on the site of the Dutch Fort Orange and its surrounding community of Beverwyck. The English acquired the site from the Dutch in 1664 and renamed it Albany, in honor of James II, Duke of Albany. A 1686 document issued by Thomas Dongan granted Albany an official charter.

Today, Albany remains a center of government and education.

History

Albany is the fourth oldest continually-inhabited city in the United States (behind Santa Fe, NM, St. Augustine, FL, and Jamestown, VA), and the second oldest state capital (behind Santa Fe). The original native settlement in the area was called Penpotawotnot. Its colonial history began when Englishman Henry Hudson, exploring for the Dutch East India Company on the Halve Maen (or Half Moon) reached the area in 1609. In 1614, the Dutch company constructed Fort Nassau, its first fur trading post near present-day Albany and left Jacob Eelkens in charge. Commencement of the fur trade provoked hostility from the French colony in Canada and amongst the native tribes, who vied to control the trade. In 1624, Fort Orange was established in the area. Both forts were named in honor of the Dutch House of Orange-Nassau. Nearby areas were incorporated as the village of Beverwyck in 1652.

New York State Capitol Building, completed in 1899 at a cost of $25 million was the most expensive government building of its time. Three teams of architects labored on it.
Capitol viewed from the east.

When the land was taken by the English in 1664, the name was changed to Albany, in honor of the Duke of York and Albany, who later became King James II of England and James VII of Scotland. Duke of Albany was a Scottish title given since 1398, generally to a younger son of the Scottish King. The name is ultimately derived from Alba, the Gaelic name for Scotland. Albany was formally chartered as a municipality by Governor Thomas Dongan on July 22, 1686. The "Dongan Charter"[2] was virtually identical in content to the charter awarded to New York City three months earlier. Pieter Schuyler was appointed first mayor of Albany the day the charter was signed.

In 1754, representatives of seven British North American colonies met in the Albany Congress. Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania presented the Albany Plan of Union, the first formal proposal to unite the colonies. Although it was never adopted by Parliament, it was an important precursor to the U.S. Constitution. Albany native Philip Livingston was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. William Alexander, a general in the Revolutionary War, died in Albany in 1783. Several US Navy ships have since been named USS Albany in honor of the City's historical and military importance.

In 1777, the state capital of New York was moved from Kingston to Albany, about 50 miles north. The State Capitol building was constructed between 1867 and 1899 and inspired by the Hôtel de Ville (City Hall) in Paris, France. Notable architectural features include its "Million Dollar Staircase."

The City's location on the Hudson River made it a center of transportation from the outset. In 1807, Robert Fulton initiated a steamboat line from New York City to Albany. On October 26, 1825 the Erie Canal was completed, forming a continuous water route from the Great Lakes to New York City. The Mohawk and Hudson Railroad between Albany and Schenectady, New York opened on September 24, 1831 and subsequently became part of the New York Central Railroad. Erastus Corning, a noted industrialist and founder of the New York Central, called Albany home and served as its mayor from 1834 to 1837. His great-grandson, Erastus Corning II, served as mayor of Albany from 1942 until 1983, the longest single mayoral term of any major city in the United States.

Between 1965 and 1978, the Empire State Plaza was constructed in Albany's Midtown, west of Downtown and south of the Capitol building. It was, and remains, controversial, in large part because it required the demolition of several historical neighborhoods and the forced removal of their inhabitants. The Plaza was conceived by Governor Nelson Rockefeller and is now named in his honor. The Erastus Corning Tower stands 589 feet (180 meters) high and is the tallest building in New York State outside New York City. Four other smaller towers, the Legislative Office Building, the Cultural Education Center (which houses the State Library and Museum), the Justice Building, and the impressive performing arts center known as "The Egg" make up the rest of the Empire State Plaza. The design of the Empire State Plaza is based loosely on the National Congress complex in the Brazilian capital of Brasilia.

Chester A. Arthur, 21st U.S. president, is buried in Albany Rural Cemetery in Menands, north of the City.

Albany City Hall was completed in 1883.

Mayors

Main article: List of Mayors of Albany, New York

From Albany's formal organization in 1686 until 1779, mayors of Albany were appointed by the royal governor of New York, per the provisions of the original City Charter. From 1779 until 1839, mayors were chosen by the New York State's Council of Appointment, typically for a one year term that began in September. After 1840, Albany's mayors were directly elected by the city's residents. Albany has had 74 mayors since its inception. Gerald D. Jennings is the current Democratic mayor; he was first elected in 1993 and is currently serving in his fourth term of office. No Republican has been elected since 1921.

Geography and climate

The Albany skyline as viewed from across the Hudson River

Geography

Albany is located at 42°39′35″N 73°46′53″W / 42.65972°N 73.78139°W / 42.65972; -73.78139Invalid arguments have been passed to the {{#coordinates:}} function (42.659829, -73.781339)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 21.8 mi² (56.6 km²). 21.4 mi² (55.5 km²) of it is land and 0.5 mi² (1.2 km²) of it (2.15%) is water. The Pine Bush, located on the far edge of the city with Guilderland and Colonie is the only sizable inland pine barrens and sand dunes in the United States and home to many endangered species including the Karner Blue butterfly. Four lakes exist within city limits, including Buckingham Lake, Rensselaer Lake, Tivoli Lake, and Washington Park Lake.

Climate

Albany has a humid continental climate, with cold, snowy winters, and hot, wet summers. Snowfall is significant, with annually about 63 inches, but much less than the lake-effect areas to the north and west. Albany is far enough from Lake Ontario to avoid significant lake-effect snows, but does receive some. Albany is close enough to the coast to receive heavy snow from Noreasters, and the city gets the bulk of its yearly snowfall from these types of storms. Winters are often very cold, with temperatures occasionally dropping below zero. Summers in Albany can contain stretches of excessive heat and humidity, with temperatures above 90 F and dew points near 70. Severe thunderstorms are not uncommon, as the city is located in a conducive area for severe weather near the Mohawk Valley.Tornadoes are rare but not unheard of.

Monthly Normal and Record High and Low Temperatures
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Rec High °F 65 68 89 92 94 99 100 99 100 89 82 71
Norm High °F 31.1 34.3 44.5 57.3 69.8 77.5 82.2 79.7 71.3 59.7 47.5 36
Norm Low °F 13.3 15.7 25.4 35.9 46.5 55 60 58.3 49.9 38.8 30.8 20.1
Rec Low °F -28 -21 -21 10 26 36 40 34 24 16 5 -22
Precip (in) 2.71 2.27 3.17 3.25 3.67 3.74 3.5 3.68 3.31 3.23 3.31 2.76
Source: USTravelWeather.com [7]

Transportation

  • Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA) provides bus service throughout Albany and surrounding areas (including Schenectady and Troy and provides management for the local airport and rail station (see below).
  • Albany International Airport, located in nearby Colonie, serves Albany and the greater Capital Region with air service across the US and to one Canadian destination. There is very limited direct public transportation service between the airport and downtown Albany.
  • Albany-Rensselaer Amtrak station (located right across the Hudson river in Rensselaer, hence the station's name) was Amtrak's fourteenth busiest station as of 2004 and serves as a connection point for many Amtrak trains.
  • Greyhound Lines, Trailways, and Peter Pan/Bonanza buses are all served by a downtown terminal which is not far from most state office buildings and is convenient to most CDTA lines.

People and culture

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 95,658 people, 40,709 households, and 18,400 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,474.6/mi² (1,727.5/km².) There were 45,288 housing units at an average density of 2,118.4/mi² (817.9/km².) The racial makeup of the city was 63.12% White, 28.14% Black or African American, 0.31% Native American, 3.26% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 2.15% from other races, and 2.98% from two or more races. 5.59% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 40,709 households out of which 22.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 25.3% were married couples living together, 16.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 54.8% were non-families. 41.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.11 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the city the population was spread out with 20.0% under the age of 18, 19.3% from 18 to 24, 29.2% from 25 to 44, 18.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 90.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $30,041, and the median income for a family was $39,932. Males had a median income of $31,535 versus $27,112 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,281. About 16.0% of families and 21.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.8% of those under age 18 and 12.5% of those age 65 or over.

Nightlife and entertainment

The Egg, a performing arts center in the Empire State Plaza, is a major cultural attraction in Albany.

Albany's geographic situation as a "Crossroads City" (roughly equidistant between New York, Montreal, Syracuse and Boston) also makes it a convenient stop for nationally touring artists and acts. The Palace Theatre [8] and the The Egg provide mid-sized forums for music, theatre and spoken word performances. The Times Union Center (previously the Knickerbocker Arena and later Pepsi Arena) serves as the city's largest musical venue for nationally and internationally prominent bands, as well as trade shows, sporting events and other large-scale community gatherings. The New York State Museum is a major cultural draw in Albany, focusing on fine arts, natural history, and New York's economic, political and social histories.

In recent years, the city's government has invested marketing and financial resources to cultivate venues and neighborhoods that can attract after-hours business, as well as public art installations. Pearl Street, Broadway and Lark Street now serve as the most commercially active entertainment areas in the City. Lark Street is most closely identified with the City's contemporary cultural identity, and is often noted as being "Albany's Greenwich Village". Technically the westernmost border of the Center Square neighborhood and located one block east of Washington Park, Lark Street is home of many independent shops, coffee houses, restaurants, art galleries, antique shops, bars, and a tattoo parlor. Although the southeasternmost strip was rebuilt in 2002-2003 to place new roadways, trees, and sidewalks in front of the new shops in the active portion of Lark Street, some local residents have protested the neglect of the northwestern side of the street (crossing west of Central Avenue), which runs down into the less-affluent Arbor Hill neighborhood.

Summer concert series are sponsored by the City and local businesses at the Corning Preserve, Riverfront Park, Washington Park, Tricentennial Square and the Empire State Plaza. Metroland, the alternative newsweekly of the Capital Region, generally provides a focal point for previewing, reviewing and interviewing local artists and performers, as well as traveling events that pass through Albany.

Last call is at 4:00 AM in Albany, unlike the earlier 2:00 AM in most areas of the nation. This is often attributed to the historically high density of industrial facilities and the demand of second and third shift patrons. New York law allows bars to be open until 4:00 AM (However, local municipalities can override it to an earlier time.) This law was designed to accommodate the thriving late nightlife of New York City, but the state's "Capital City" has adopted it as well.

Festivals

  • The Tulip Festival, or the Tulip Fest as it is locally known, is set in Albany’s Washington Park. This traditional Albany event marks the beginning of spring as thousands of tulips bloom in the Park in early May. Tulip Fest is a celebration of Albany’s rich Dutch heritage, and draws both local and regional attendance.[3]
  • Lark Fest is an annual community festival that includes painters, photographers, jewelers, sculptors, ceramicists, glass artists and live shows on several stages. The event has an average attendance of 55,000 people, with peak attendance of 80,000 in 2006. [3]
  • Alive at Five is a concert series held downtown on Thursdays throughout the summer. [3]

Artistic community

Albany possesses an active artistic community and culture that is often regenerated by students at the region's colleges and universities, the region's many nonprofit cultural organizations, and by former residents of regional megalopolii such as Boston and New York relocating to take advantage of Albany's affordable, historic housing and commercial spaces. The Albany Symphony Orchestra, Capital Repertory Theatre [9], Albany Institute of History and Art [10] and the Palace Theater [11] provide outlets for locally composed, created and curated works, as well as traveling exhibitions and shows. There are several small, private art galleries and antiquarian book shops in Albany, mainly clustered around Lark Street between Washington Avenue and Madison Avenue. Also on Lark Street there is the annual Art on Lark which is an outdoor sidewalk gallery featuring artists exhibiting and demonstrating their original work. This annual Sidewalk Art Show and Sale celebrates local artists and musicians.[3] Albany also has one independent film theatre (the Spectrum 8) one chain theater (The Madison), as well as performing and fine arts venues associated with the University at Albany and College of St. Rose.

“Smallbany” mentality

File:Downtown CBD.JPG
The Corning Tower and other blossoming towers in the Albany CBD

Albany has often been referred to as "Smallbany" by locals and visitors alike, with varying degrees of affection or derision.[4] Local media have reported on the "Smallbany mentality" and its effects on the local arts and music communities. [5] Former New York City Mayor Ed Koch's dismissal of Albany as "a city without a good Chinese restaurant" provides one nationally-reported example of the so-called "Smallbany mentality"[6], which has also been reinforced by references to Albany in sitcom or film scripts as a provincial backwater. Albany's reputation for cultural mediocrity may also stem from its documented status as the "most average city in America:" the region's demographics more closely mirror national averages than those of any other city, making Albany an ideal and popular standard test market for new business and retail products.[7]

Notable residents

Architecture

The Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza (commonly known as simply the Empire State Plaza and less formaly as The South Mall) is a complex of several state buildings, notably [The Egg] in downtown.

Albany City Hall is the seat of government of Albany, New York. It houses the office of the mayor, the Common Council chamber, and the City and Traffic Courts. Designed by Henry Hobson Richardson in his trademark Richardson Romanesque style, the granite building was constructed between 1880 and 1883. Albany City Hall is known for its pyramidal-roofed clock tower, which contains the nation's first municipal carillon. The largest of the instrument's 60 bells weighs 11,200 pounds, and the carillon is still played regularly.

The New York State Capitol is the state capitol building of the U.S. state of New York. Housing the New York Legislature, it is located in the state capital of Albany on State Street in Capitol Park. The building, completed in 1899 at a cost of $25 million (roughly half a billion current dollars), was the most expensive government building of its time. It is a National Historic Landmark. The Capitol was constructed between 1867 and 1899 and inspired by the Hôtel de Ville (City Hall) in Paris, France

The Alfred E. Smith Building, officially known as the Alfred E. Smith State Office Building and sometimes called simply the Smith Building, is a structure located in downtown Albany, New York across the street from the New York State Capitol and One Commerce Plaza. The building's namesake, Alfred Emmanuel Smith, was a four-term governor of New York State and the Democratic Party's nomination for the 1928 Presidential Election. The Art Deco skyscraper has 34 stories and at 388 feet (118 meters) is Albany's second tallest structure (after the Erastus Corning Tower). Completed in 1928, it houses offices of the New York State government. The building underwent an extensive renovation that began in 2002. This modernization, which cost at least $103 million, is now finished

Albany is also home to streets filled with Brownstone or rowhouse style buildings and homes, namely in the Lark Street neighborhood.

The Quackenbush House is Albany's oldest standing building (circa 1736).

Schuyler Mansion is the popular, modern-day name for the large brick edifice built just inside Albany's southern boundary line in 1761. Situated on a large and commanding stretch of land, this Albany landmark was the home of General Philip John Schuyler.

Sports

NCAA college athletic programs

  • University at Albany: Currently plays at the Division I level in all of its sports, though for most of its history it was a Division III school, with a brief stay at the Division II level in the late 1990s. The football team is a member of the Division I-AA Northeast Conference, while all other sports teams play as members of the America East Conference. In 2006, Albany became the first SUNY affiliated school to send a team to the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament. The men's Lacrosse team has also played in its NCAA Division I Championship Tournament, the first University at Albany team to do so. Albany has hosted the New York Giants summer training camp since 1996.
  • The College of Saint Rose: The St. Rose Golden Knights play at the Division II level. They have consistent and significant post-season success in Men's and Women's Basketball and Baseball. St. Rose plays in the Northeast Ten Conference.
  • Nearby Siena College, located in the Albany suburb of Loudonville, plays at the Division I level in all sports, although it discontinued its Division I-AA football program in 2003. It is a member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference for most sports, with field hockey playing as a member of the Northeast Conference.

Minor league professional teams

Defunct professional teams

Times Union Center

The Times Union Center

The Times Union Center (originally named the Knickerbocker Arena and later the Pepsi Arena) is a major regional athletic venue located in downtown Albany. It has a seating capacity of up to 17,500 for sporting events. The Siena College Men's Basketball team plays its home games there, and the Center is also home to the Albany River Rats (AHL) and Albany Conquest (af2). The Times Union Center has hosted NCAA Division I hockey and basketball postseason tournaments, among many other sporting events. In May 2006, the Times Union acquired naming rights to the facility. Between 1998 and 2006, it was known as the Pepsi Arena.

Education

See also the list of high schools.

Trivia

Media

Main Article: Media in Albany, New York

The Albany Times Union is Albany's primary daily paper and the only one based close to the City; its headquarters have been located in nearby Colonie since the 1970s after a dispute over land needed for expansion with then-Mayor Erastus Corning 2nd. The newspaper celebrated its 150th year of publishing in 2006. Serving Albany to a lesser degree are the Daily Gazette (which focuses primarily on Schenectady) and Troy Record. Metroland is the most notable alternative newsweekly in the area, publishing each Thursday, while The Business Review (nee Capital District Business Review) is a business weekly published each Friday.

In terms of broadcast media, Albany is considered a medium market (Arbitron market 64 in radio, Nielsen market 55 in television), however the market has several traits which set it apart. The pioneering influence of General Electric in nearby Schenectady directly contributed to the area emerging as the birthplace of station-based television (WRGB) and one of the earliest FM radio stations (today's WRVE), in addition to a powerful 50,000 watt AM station (WGY). In addition, in the early 2000s the greater Albany market was considered to have the highest concentration of FM stations east of the Mississippi River.

The Albany Metro area has affiliates of many of the major television networks including WRGB-CBS, WTEN-ABC, WNYT-NBC, WXXA-FOX, WMHT-PBS,WCWN-CW, WNYA-My Network TV, and WYPX-i. In addition, the area has a cable-only news channel, Capital News 9, which features local news 24/7. On the radio side, the Capital Region has two News/Talk radio stations, WGY and WROW. Both feature a mixture of local and syndicated programming. There are also 2 Sports Talk stations, WOFX, which features some FOX Sports Radio programming, local programming, and Play-by-Play, and WTMM, an affiliate of ESPN Radio. In addition, WAMC, aka Northeast Public Radio, is an NPR affiliate which serves the Albany area. The market is one of the few that possesses a female-oriented talk radio station in WEEV, though that station has no local content.

Albany and its environs ranked against other cities

  • Forbes ranked Albany-Schenectady-Troy as the third best place in the country with the best education and named Albany a Top IQ Campus as part of its 150 Places to Live Rich. (2005)
  • Albany-Schenectady-Troy is one of the healthiest communities in the nation according to Self Magazine. (2006)
  • Small Times magazine ranked University at Albany's College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering as the best in the country for micro and nanotechnology. The school was tops in education, facilities and industry outreach. (2006)
  • MSN Money named Albany-Schenectady-Troy as the seventh fastest-growing region that is still cheap. (2005)
  • Popular Science named Albany among its top cities for technology. (2005)
  • Crystal IS made Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500 – a ranking of the fastest growing tech companies in the U.S. On2 Technologies, Albany Molecular Research and AngioDynamics are among the fastest growing New York companies. CORESense, Inc. was named New York’s Rising Star Award Winner. (2005)
  • Albany Molecular Research and Intermagnetics General both made Red Herring’s Small Cap 100 list for bioscience. (2005)
  • The American Institute of Architects named Albany as one of five communities in the country that will participate in a program that helps local leaders and residents plan for a sustainable future through affordable housing, green buildings, walkable neighborhoods and other efforts, the city announced Wednesday.
  • Forbes ranked Albany the 18th best place to live and do business. (2006)

Sister cities

Albany has four sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International. (SCI)]:[8]

See also

List of city nicknames in the United States

References

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ [2]
  3. ^ a b c d "Albany Special Events" (HTML). City of Albany Office of Special Events & Volunteer Services. Retrieved 2007-04-02. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  4. ^ [3]
  5. ^ [4]
  6. ^ [5]
  7. ^ [6]
  8. ^ "Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI)." Retrieved June 3, 2006.

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