Keep up to date with Historic Albany Foundation
Advocacy 2022
/Because of the recent newspaper articles, Historic Albany Foundation would like to take this opportunity to clarify our mission, advocacy, and preservation efforts in the coming year(s). For the remainder of 2022 and 2023 (at least), we will be located at, and doing business as usual at, our location on Lexington Avenue.
After a successful year of good works in 2021, Historic Albany Foundation is looking forward to renewed and refined advocacy efforts for the new year. As an organization will be focusing on the following four mission-driven projects
1. The Van Ostrande-Radliff House (48 Hudson Avenue)
As you may have recently read in our announcement and in the press, HAF is the recipient of a $500,000 Environmental Protection Fund grant from the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation through the Regional Development Council’s CFA process. This money will pay for the restoration of the roof and the exterior of the house, presenting it as the Dutch house it started out as in 1728.
In addition, HAF has announced that we will be making 48 Hudson Avenue our future home. It is our hope, within the next two years, to be able to utilize the entire building to include the HAF offices and Architectural Parts Warehouse, an expanded Tool Library, as well as programming, workshop and meeting space that could be shared with other community organizations. Securing this round of funding has made this goal much more tangible as we move ahead with additional fundraising.
The idea of moving our administration offices and the Warehouse is something that our organization has been considering for a few years. As we look toward our 50th anniversary in 2024, we are looking at ways to strengthen our mission, our outreach to the community and the neighborhoods that depend on our work, and to offer new, expanded, and different programming, all within our own building. And where better to do that than in the oldest surviving building in Albany, that we are restoring. As construction begins and progresses this year, we will keep everyone updated through our newsletters, website, and with onsite tours.
2. A Better Lexington Avenue
One of HAF’s main advocacy efforts is our own neighborhood: Lexington Avenue and the surrounding streets of West Hill.
HAF leadership has been working with the Albany Police Department, City of Albany Code Enforcement Department, the City of Albany’s Neighborhood Stabilization Coordinator, other stakeholders, and business owners to try to make our neighborhood a better and safer place to live, work, and visit. Over the next month, HAF and our neighboring constituents will be applying for a Love Your Block grant to help stabilize our neighborhood, with the help of various City of Albany Departments. Outreach efforts will start to take place now over the winter months, with code sweeps, cleanups, and neighborhood watch events happening throughout the spring and summer months. HAF is taking the lead on these efforts and looks forward to working with members of our immediate community to make a Better Lexington, and beyond for everyone.
3. Annual Restoration Faire
The Restoration Faire is an annual program hosted by Historic Albany to provide assistance to property owners looking to purchase and restore historic buildings in the City of Albany. Over the past several years, the event has hosted in-person and online programming including webinars, Q & As, and a dedicated Facebook group for networking.
The in-person programming includes lectures, demonstrations by seasoned contractors, clinics with expert speakers, and open houses in partnership with the Albany County Land Bank. The Faire traditionally focuses on all phases of rehabilitation beginning with planning and purchasing, design and permitting, stabilization if needed, construction and finishes, and the all-important component: funding. Previous programs on vacancy prevention assistance, permitting, funding, and neighborhood resources remain available and will be updated as offerings change. This program is an annual partnership between Historic Albany Foundation, the City of Albany, and the Albany County Land Bank.
4. The Tool Library
New this year! Historic Albany Foundation and its Architectural Parts Warehouse have been planning and fundraising to launch a Tool Library from our location at 89 Lexington Avenue this spring - thanks to grants from the County of Albany and Bloomberg, Inc., as well as private donors. The aim of this project is to help residents of the Capital Region by providing tools they may not be able to afford/have space for, provide basic safety training, and to conduct workshops to teach people DIY, tool safety, and preservation skills.
Who will Benefit From This?
> Low Income Families & First Time Buyers
For many low-income families and first-time homebuyers, creating an arsenal of tools is expensive, time-consuming, and confusing. The Tool Library will help ease the financial pressure, and democratize access to tools.
> The Environment
Tool lending libraries promote a sharing economy that has a major positive impact on the environment. Instead of tools being purchased for one use, tools are shared in the community, reused, and regularly maintained.
> Local Preservation
By empowering individuals through training, we want to put preservation back in the hands of the public.
> The Community
We want to foster a community-minded program where people can volunteer, learn from each other, interact, and share their experiences. We are looking forward to partnering with many organizations across the Capital Region to reach as many individuals as we can.
You may have noticed that much of this newsletter focuses on the nuts and bolts of preservation. Can we prevent a gaping hole on a block by stabilizing a building instead of tearing it down? Where is the potential for giving an old building new life? How can we give a new owner the tools (figuratively and literally!) to reveal the beauty and comfort in their home and perform routine maintenance? In 2022, we’ll work with our neighbors and community organizations to find ways for more people to enjoy old homes and for old buildings to breathe a new life. Albany’s buildings tell a lot of stories, many of them are just waiting for the next chapter to be written.
Happy New Year!
Want to learn more or have any questions? Email us here
#WhereinAlbany Bleecker Place, Mansion Historic District
/Last week’s #WhereinAlbany was two tremendous twins located on Bleecker Place (not to be confused with Bleecker Street located in the Pastures).
The houses on this street were built 1849-51, and there are 15 properties of a similar, simplistic style with touches and nods to Greek Revival & Italianate architecture; both popular in the country at the time.
Some of the homes feature eyebrow dormers (“small arched window that projects into the roof to allow light into an upper story”) as well as simple wooden cornices and pitched roofs. They are 3 bay, frame houses.
Did you know?
This street is part of the Mansion Historic District which was designated in 1982 in the south of the city, so-called due to proximity to the New York State Executive Mansion, the official home of Governors since 1875. This neighborhood was originally known for being the first suburban area in the city, with many wealthy families choosing to build their homes here during the last 18th Century. It borders the South End Historic District.
From Wikipedia: Bleecker is a Dutch-language occupational surname. Bleecker is an old spelling of (linnen)bleker ("linen bleacher"). Most if not all people listed below are descendants of Jan Jansen Bleecker/Bleeker, who came to New Amsterdam in 1658
A Study into Arbor Hill: Introduction
/When I began my internship earlier this year at The Historic Albany Foundation, I wasn't sure what topic my research would be focused on. Albany is full of spectacular architecture, which is one of the reasons I was drawn to the city, and to applying to intern with HAF. Keeping my social justice minor in mind and with my slight knowledge of the history of redlining in Albany, myself and my internship supervisor landed on the area of Arbor Hill. This neighborhood is located in the northeast section of Albany and dates back to the 17th Century. In more recent history, the neighborhood felt the impact of redlining - the now illegal practice of withholding services (financial/healthcare/insurance) from those who lived in ‘hazardous’ areas, often affecting those of racial and ethnic minorities the most acutely.
This brings us to “A Study of Arbor Hill”. I wanted to explore the beginnings of this neighborhood, its 200-year journey to where it is now, and where its future might lie. Arbor Hill has always been an evolving community, from its lumber industry origins to its life as a residential hub. In this series of blogs I want to delve into the wealth of history, buildings, and stories that lie between Clinton Avenue and Tivoli Street.
In my first post, I will begin with Arbor Hill’s origin - originally a sweeping wooded landscape. After the conclusion of the French and Indian War (1754-1763) and the removal of the stockade around Albany, this area’s development began. In 1815 Arbor Hill was officially annexed into Albany city limits, with the Patroon, Stephen Van Rensselaer, granting land from the Dutch government. A prominent family (the Ten Broecks) staked their claim and left a permanent mark on the area with the construction of a mansion. Many others choose to build elaborate homes in a variety of architectural styles close by, these buildings an enduring monument that speaks to the prosperity of the time. The causes of this surge of development? Cose proximity to the prosperous lumber industry, and major water and trading route: the Erie Canal.
Photo credit: KIM PARKER
Albany from the East Side of the River, William Hart (1823-1894).
Photo credit - Albany INSTITUTE
“This brings us to “A Study of Arbor Hill”. I wanted to explore the beginnings of this neighborhood, its 200-year journey to where it is now, and where its future might lie….”
Next came the beginning of the Great Migration with thousands of African Americans moving from the rural south to cities in the North of the country to escape discrimination, followed by the Roaring 20s with all its economic prosperity. My second blog will focus on the time period following this: the global catastrophe that was the Great Depression. How would this change the course of Arbor Hill’s development and those who call it home? The steps the Government would take, both in Albany and in cities all around the country, would have a lasting impact for years to come.
I will then discuss the effect of redlining and how it relates to the present life of Arbor Hill, delving into the history of the red and white X placards that pop up in this area and beyond.
Finally, I will explore a few of the building’s stories, ending with a post about the multitude of projects, businesses, and organizations that focus on improving the community in present day.
Join me in my study of Arbor Hill.
By Liliana Surgent