Albany The Capital of New York

Albany is the capital of the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2000 census, it has a population of 95,658. It is the county seat of Albany County. The City of Albany lies 145 miles (233 km) north of and slightly east of New York City, and slightly to the south of the juncture of the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers. Albany has close ties with the cities of Troy, New York and Schenectady, New York, forming what is generally known as the Capital District, which in turn makes up the bulk of the Albany-Troy-Schenectady Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Albany was one of the earlier permanent settlements in the thirteen original American colonies and is the second oldest chartered city in the United States. Modern-day Albany is built on the site of the Dutch Fort Orange and its surrounding community of Beverwyck. The name of the city was changed to Albany when the land was taken by the English, in honor of the Duke of Albany. It was formally chartered in 1686 via charter issued by Governor Thomas Dongan.

Albany is a major regional educational center, and is home to Siena College, Albany College of Pharmacy, Albany Law School, Albany Medical College, College of Saint Rose, Excelsior College, Maria College of Albany, Sage College of Albany and the University at Albany, part of the State University of New York system.

History

Albany was one of the earlier permanent settlements in the thirteen original American colonies and is the second oldest chartered city in the United States. 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 company constructed Fort Nassau, its first fur trading post near present-day Albany. 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.

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 1686-07-22. The “Dongan Charter” 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 1797, 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 Hotel 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, the tallest building in New York State outside New York City. Four other smaller towers, the Legislative Office Building, 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 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.

Mayors of Albany

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 Mayor; he was first elected in 1993 and is currently serving in his fourth term of office.

Geography

Albany is located at 42°39′35″ North, 73°46′53″ West (42.659829, -73.781339)GR1.
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 is water. The total area is 2.15% 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.

Albany is the hub city of the Capital District, which itself is a large component of the Albany-Schenectady-Troy Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) which was ranked the 56th most populous in the United States of America in the 2000 Census, with a total population of 825,875.

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.

Albany International Airport, located in Colonie, serves Albany and the greater Capital Region with air service across the US and to one Canadian destination.
Albany-Rensselaer Amtrak station (located right across the river in Rensselaer) was Amtrak’s fourteenth busiest station as of 2004 and serves as a connection point for many Amtrak trains.

Greyhound, Trailways, and Peter Pan/Bonanza buses are all served by a downtown terminal which is not far from most state office buildings and is convinent to most CDTA lines.

Sister cities

Albany has four sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI):
Nassau, Bahamas
Nijmegen, Netherlands
Quebec City, Quebec
Tula, Russia
Albany-Tula Alliance
Albany-Tula Alliance (from Russia)

Demographics

As of the censusGR2 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. 21.7% of the population and 16.0% of families were below the poverty line. 28.8% of those under the age of 18 and 12.5% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Performing and Fine Arts

While an oft-discussed “Smallbany” mentality may lead locals and visitors alike to conclude that Albany’s culture is lacking or provincial when judged against that of New York City or other large metropolitan areas, the city does indeed possess an active and fruitful artistic community which may be rated as being of equal or superior quality when compared to cities of similar size, despite its not being well known outside its inner core.

Over the past decade, the City has invested effort and advertising resources to cultivating venues and municipal zones that can attract after-hours business once the large commuting worker population has left Albany for the day. Pearl Street, Broadway and Lark Street now serve as the most commercially active arts and entertainment areas in the City, and summer concert series are sponsored by the City and local businesses at the Corning Preserve, Tricentennial Square and the Empire State Plaza. Albany’s independent and underground artists, musicians and writers actively work in a variety of clubs, bars and coffee houses located throughout the City, many of them outside of those more commercially active areas. Metroland, the alternative newsweekly of the Capital Region, has generally provided a central focal point for previewing, reviewing and interviewing independent local artists and performers for much of the past quarter century.

The Albany Symphony Orchestra Capital Repertory Theatre and Albany Insitute of History and Art provide major outlets for both locally composed, created and curated works, as well as traveling exhibitions and shows. The recently renovated Palace Theatre and the The Egg both provide mid-sized forums for music, theatre and spoken word performances. The 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 regional cultural draw, focusing on fine arts, natural history, and the economic, political and social histories of New York State. Additionally, there are several small, private art galleries and antiquarian book shops in Albany, mainly clustered around Lark Street between Washington Avenue and Madison Avenue. Albany also has two independent film theatres, as well as performing and fine arts venues associated with the University at Albany and College of St. Rose.

Sports

NCAA Division I 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 Championship. 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.

Nearby Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy and Union College in Schenectady both play at the Division I level for men’s and women’s ice hockey, while the rest of their programs are Division III. (RPI offers scholarships for its men’s team under a special dispensation granted by the NCAA to certain Division III schools with significant historic presence in a particular sport; Union is a non-scholarship Division I hockey program).

Siena College, located in the Albany suburb of Loudonville, also 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

Albany River Rats (AHL affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes and Colorado Avalanche, was an affiliate of the New Jersey Devils until 2006)
Albany Conquest (af2 arena football)
Albany Patroons (CBA basketball)
Tri-City Valley Cats (New York-Penn League “short A” baseball, affiliate of the Houston Astros based in nearby Troy.)

Defunct professional teams

Albany Firebirds (Arena Football League, winners of the 1999 Arena Bowl; moved to Indianapolis, Indiana, later folded.)
Albany Attack (National Lacrosse League, moved to San Jose, California and became the San Jose Stealth.)
Albany-Colonie Yankees (Eastern League baseball, AA affiliate of the New York Yankees from 1985 to 1993, playing host to several key players of the parent club’s eventual late-1990s dominance.)
Albany A’s/Albany-Colonie A’s (Eastern League affiliate of the Oakland Athletics in 1983 and 1984, superceded by the Albany-Colonie Yankees.)
Capital District Islanders (AHL, forerunner to Albany River Rats when affiliated with the New York Islanders.)
Albany Patroons/Capital Region Pontiacs (original version from 1982 to 1993 was a dominant team in the league and a starting point for several notable NBA coaches such as Phil Jackson who coached the Chicago Bulls and currently the Los Angeles Lakers; moved to Hartford, Connecticut, then folded before being revived in 2005.)

Education

Colleges and universities in Albany include Albany College of Pharmacy; Albany Law School; Albany Medical College; College of Saint Rose; Excelsior College; Maria College of Albany; Sage College of Albany; and the University at Albany, part of the State University of New York system. Siena College is located two miles north of the downtown area in Loudonville. The University at Albany Uptown Campus, sandwiched between Washington and Western Avenues in the western part of the City is the second largest poured concrete structure in the world after the Pentagon.
Albany City School District.
Albany Free School - founded in 1969 by Mary Leue, is the oldest inner-city independent alternative school in the United States.
Albany Academy for Girls - the oldest independent day school for girls in the United States.
Albany Academy - alumnus include author Herman Melville and Joseph Henry.
Doane Stuart School - the area’s only co-educational independent school and the only known merger of Catholic and Protestant schools in the United States.
Christian Brothers Academy - founded in Albany in 1859 by the Brothers of Christian Schools, now located in the nearby town of Colonie.

Media

Newspaper

Albany is served primarily by the Albany Times Union which in 2006 celebrated its 150th year in publishing. The newspaper ranks among one of the most influential in the state. In some markets within the Albany metropolitan area, it competes with the Daily Gazette, which is published in Schenectady. The Business Review, which was formerly titled The Capital District Business Review, covers the Albany business community.

Albany Times-Union, the main newspaper for the Albany area.
Metroland, the major alternative newsweekly in the Albany area.