Government

See also: Government of New York and List of mayors of Albany, New York Gerald Jennings, mayor of Albany since 1993 Albany City Hall, an 1883 Richardsonian Romanesque structure, is the seat of Albany's government.

Albany has a mayor-council form of government, which currently functions under a charter adopted in 1998. The 1998 charter completely overwrote the original 17th-century Dongan Charter. However, in an effort to keep Dongan in effect, the new charter was applied strictly as an amendment to Dongan, meaning Dongan is technically still in effect, giving Albany the distinction of having the oldest active city charter in the United States and "arguably the longest-running instrument of municipal government in the Western Hemisphere." The mayor, who is elected every four years, heads the executive branch of city government. The current mayor, Gerald Jennings, was first elected in 1993. The Common Council represents the legislative branch of city government and is made up of fifteen council members (each elected from one ward) and an at-large Common Council President. The current president is Carolyn McLaughlin; she began her term in January 2010.

While Albany has its own city government, it has also been the seat of Albany County since the county's formation in 1683 and the capital of New York since 1797. As such, the city is home to all branches of the county and state governments, as well as its own. Albany City Hall sits on Eagle Street, opposite the State Capitol, and the Albany County Office Building is on State Street. The state government has offices scattered throughout the city.

Albany is in the 20th Congressional district, represented by Paul Tonko (D) in the United States House of Representatives. The city is represented by Chuck Schumer (D) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D) in the United States Senate. On the state level, the city is in the 44th district in the New York Senate, represented by Neil Breslin (D). In the New York Assembly, the western portion of the city is in the 109th district, represented by Patricia Fahy (D) and the eastern portion is in the 108th district, represented by John T. McDonald, III (D). As the seat of Albany County, the city is the location of the county's courts including Family Court, County Court, Surrogate Court, Supreme Court, and Court of Appeals. Albany is the site of a United States district court for the Northern District of New York courthouse.

Politics

Albany politics have been dominated by the Democratic Party since the 1920s; Daniel (Uncle Dan) O'Connell established a political machine in the city with the election of William Stormont Hackett as mayor in 1922. Prior to that, William (Billy) Barnes had set up a Republican machine in the 1890s. Barnes' success is attributed to the fact that he owned two newspapers in Albany and that he was the grandson of Thurlow Weed, the influential newspaper publisher and political boss. O'Connell's organization overcame Barnes' in 1922 and survived well into the 1980s (even after his death), as the machine put forth candidates for whom the electorate dutifully voted. In many instances, votes were outright bought; it was not uncommon for the machine to "buy poor folks' loyalty and trust with a fiver".

Gerald Jennings' upset in the 1993 Democratic mayoral primary over Harold Joyce, who had the Democratic Party's formal endorsement and had only recently been its county chairman, is often cited as the end of the O'Connell era in Albany. Albany continues to be dominated by the Democratic party as enrollment in the city was 38,862 in 2009 compared to Republican enrollment of 3,487. This gives Democrats a 10–1 advantage in the general election. Every elected city position has been held by a Democrat since 1931.

Religious life

The First Church in Albany (Reformed) is the oldest congregation in Upstate New York.

Like most cities of comparable age and size, Albany has well-established Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish communities. Albany is home to the oldest Christian congregation in Upstate New York and the Mother Churches of two Christian dioceses. As of June 2010, eight churches or religious buildings in the city were listed on the National Register of Historic Places, one of which—St. Peter's Episcopal Church on State Street—is a National Historic Landmark.

Established in 1642, the congregation of the First Church in Albany (Reformed), also known as the North Dutch Church (located on North Pearl Street), is the second-oldest Reformed Church in America. The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (Eagle Street and Madison Avenue, built 1852) is the cathedral of the Roman Catholic diocese, led by Bishop Howard J. Hubbard, and the Cathedral of All Saints (South Swan Street and Elk Street, built 1888) is the cathedral of the Episcopal diocese, led by Bishop William Love. The city is home to eleven Catholic churches and six Episcopal churches.

A significant Jewish presence has existed in Albany since as early as 1658, and today includes many synagogues; there are two Conservative, a Chabad-Lubavitch, an Orthodox, and two Reform synagogues. Albany is also home to one of the few Karaite synagogues outside Israel. The city has a membership of between 12,000 and 13,000.

Exact numbers on religious denominations in Albany are not readily available. Demographic statistics in the United States depend heavily on the United States Census Bureau, which cannot ask about religious affiliation as part of its decennial census. It does compile some national and state-wide religious statistics, but these are not representative of a city the size of Albany. One report from 2000 offers religious affiliations for Albany County. According to the data, 59.2% of Albany County residents identified as Christian: 47% are Roman Catholic, 8.4% are mainline Protestants, 2.7% are Evangelical Protestants, and 1.1% are Eastern or Oriental Orthodox Christians. Residents who practice Judaism make up 4.2% of the population and Muslims represent 0.2%. Note that these values are county-wide; city values could be significantly different.

Media

Main article: Media in New York's Capital District WTEN (headquarters pictured), WXXA, and YNN broadcast from within city limits.

The Times Union is Albany's primary daily newspaper and the only one based close to the city; its headquarters moved from within city limits to suburban Colonie in the 1960s after a dispute with Mayor Corning over land needed for expansion. Its circulation totals about 73,000 on weekdays and 143,000 on Sundays. Serving Albany to a lesser degree are The Daily Gazette, based in Schenectady, and The Record, of Troy. Metroland is the alternative newsweekly in the area, publishing each Thursday, while The Business Review is a business weekly published each Friday. The Legislative Gazette, another weekly newspaper, focuses exclusively on issues related to the Legislature and the state government.

The Albany-Schenectady-Troy media market is the 63rd largest in the country in terms of radio and the 57th largest in terms of television audiences. It is a broadcast market with historical significance. The pioneering influence of General Electric in Schenectady directly contributed to the area emerging as the birthplace of station-based television with WRGB; the station was also the first affiliate of NBC. In 1947, the region was home to the first independently owned and operated commercial FM radio station in the United States: W47A. WGY was the second commercial radio station in New York and the twelfth in the nation. The Capital District is home to ABC affiliate WTEN, CBS affiliate WRGB, Fox affiliate WXXA, and NBC affiliate WNYT; Time Warner Cable hosts Your News Now, the area's only local 24-hour news channel. The area has numerous radio stations.

Transportation

Albany-Rensselaer Amtrak Station See also: Streets of Albany, New York The Port of Albany-Rensselaer adds $428 million to the Capital District's $70.1 billion gross product. Albany International Airport

The Northway (Interstate 87 north of the New York State Thruway) connects Albany by car to Canada at Champlain; Autoroute 15 continues into Quebec, linking Albany to Montreal. Interstate 90 connects Albany to both Buffalo and Boston, via the New York State Thruway and the Massachusetts Turnpike respectively, both of which use I-90 (the NYS Thruway partially, the Massachusetts Turnpike fully). South of Albany, I-87 becomes part of the Thruway and ends at Interstate 278 in the Bronx. Albany is literally at the crossroad of I-87 and I-90, creating a junction between Buffalo and Boston, and Montreal and New York. Interstate 787 links Albany to Watervliet, Colonie, and Menands; by way of Route 7, I-787 connects to the Northway, offering Saratoga County residents a rather direct, albeit congested route to and from Albany during rush hour.

Albany, long an important Hudson River port, today serves domestic and international ships and barges through the Port of Albany-Rensselaer, located on both sides of the river. The port has the largest mobile harbor crane in the state of New York. The New York State Barge Canal, the ultimate successor of the Erie Canal, is in use today, largely by tourist and private boats.

With the closure of Union Station on Broadway, area passenger-rail service is provided by Amtrak at the Albany-Rensselaer station in Rensselaer. In 2009, the station saw more than 720,000 passengers, making it Amtrak's second-busiest in New York, behind New York's Penn Station.

Albany's nearest airport is Albany International Airport in Colonie. Six major airlines service Albany: Air Canada (which offers the airport's only international destination, Toronto), Cape Air, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, United Air Lines, and US Airways; Million Air is the local fixed base operator. In 2010, Albany had the highest average airfare in New York, though the per-mile cost on its busiest routes was second-lowest in the state.

The Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA) provides bus service throughout Albany and the surrounding area, including Schenectady, Troy, and Saratoga Springs. The city was once served by an urban streetcar service maintained by the United Traction Company. As in many American cities, after the advent of the automobile, light rail services declined in Albany and were replaced by bus and taxi services. Greyhound Lines, Trailways, and Peter Pan buses all serve a downtown terminal.

Sports

Main article: Sports in New York's Capital District Siena guard Ronald Moore dribbles toward the basket in a game against Loyola in January 2010.

Albany has no major league professional sports teams, and minor league teams have low support. The only minor league team currently active are the Albany Devils ice hockey team, which moved to the city for the 2010–2011 season. They play in the American Hockey League and are affiliated with the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League. The Devils replaced the Albany River Rats, who played in the Capital Region from 1990 to 2010, when they relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina.

The Albany Firebirds played in the Arena Football League from 1990 to 2000, while a second team, originally known as the Albany Conquest and later the Firebirds, played in af2, the AFL's developmental league, from 2002 to 2009. The Tri-City ValleyCats short season minor league baseball team have played at the Joseph L. Bruno Stadium on the Hudson Valley Community College campus in North Greenbush since 2002. Prior to the ValleyCats' arrival, the Albany-Colonie Diamond Dogs (1995–2002) played at Heritage Park in Colonie; due to financial pressures, and facing impending competition from the ValleyCats, the franchise folded in 2002. The local basketball team is the Albany Legends (International Basketball League), who play in the Washington Avenue Armory. The Albany Patroons were two basketball teams that played at the Armory. Both folded due to financial problems.

With the large number of local colleges and universities around Albany, college sports are popular. The University at Albany's Great Danes currently play at the Division I level in all sports. The football team is a member of the Northeast Conference (NEC), while all other sports teams play as members of the America East Conference (AEC). In 2006, UAlbany became the first SUNY-affiliated school to send a team to the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament. UAlbany has also hosted the New York Giants training camp since 1996. The Siena Saints have seen a rise in popularity after their men's basketball team made it to the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship (March Madness) in 2008, 2009, and 2010. All 18 Saints teams are Division I and play in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). Although Siena's campus is in nearby Colonie, the men's basketball team plays at the TU Center.

Sister cities

Albany has five official sister city agreements and two other twin-city relationships. The city of Nijmegen, Netherlands connected with Albany following World War II. With the help of the catholic university in Albany, the Catholic University of Nijmegen (Radboud University Nijmegen) rebuild it's partly destroyed library, with over 50,000 books being donated to the Dutch university. To show its gratitude for post-war assistance, the city sent Albany 50,000 tulip bulbs in 1948; this act led to the establishment of the annual Tulip Festival. Most of the other connections were made in the 1980s during Mayor Whalen's term in office as part of his cultural expansion program. The official sister cities are:

Nassau, Bahamas; Nijmegen, Netherlands; Quebec City, Canada; Tula, Russia; and Verona, Italy.

The additional twin-city relationships are with:

Ghent, Belgium Extremadura (province), Spain.

Notes

^ In this instance, assiduity means, "the quality of acting with constant and careful attention." ^ The State University of New York at Albany (its official name) is also known locally as the University at Albany, SUNY Albany, UAlbany (especially when talking about athletics), and simply SUNY. ^ The Dongan Charter incorporated Albany three months after New York City's charter was ratified. However, the latter forfeited its charter during Leisler's Rebellion, making Albany's the oldest effective charter in the country. ^ This name would later be adopted by the city of Schenectady, to the west. ^ James Stuart (1633–1701), brother and successor of Charles II, was both the Duke of York and Duke of Albany before being crowned James II of England and James VII of Scotland in 1685. His title of Duke of York is the source of the name of the province of New York. ^ The Plan of Union's original intention was to unite the colonies in defense against aggressions of the French to the north; it was not an attempt to become independent from the auspices of the British crown. ^ A rough grid pattern was established in 1764, aligning the streets with Clinton Avenue, which marked the northern border of Albany at the time. Patroon of the Manor of Rensselaerswyck Stephen Van Rensselaer II followed the same directional system north of Clinton Avenue on his lands, however the two systems were not related otherwise, which is why cross streets north and south of Clinton Avenue do not align. The stockade surrounding the city was taken down shortly before the Revolutionary War, allowing for expansion. De Witt, city surveyor at the time, continued the grided pattern to the west and renamed any streets that honored British Royalty on his 1794 map. Hawk Street is the only road that retained its original name; the rest were named after birds and mammals. ^ "The Colonie" made up the current area of Arbor Hill and was the more urban part of the Manor of Rensselaerswyck, which surrounded Albany. It is the source of the name of the current town and village of Colonie. ^ Grondahl summarizes it as, "This hard-line position of isolationism on the part of the machine was a curse economically – but a strange blessing unintentionally in architectural terms. While downtown went to seed and plans for large-scale construction and improvements came to a virtual standstill in Albany without federal money, pockets of the city's historic housing stock escaped the wrecking ball." ^ The Empire State Plaza was originally known as the South Mall; the South Mall Arterial is the only remnant of that naming scheme. ^ For example, the Plaza has four traffic tunnels, two intended for through traffic, and two for local traffic (only the outer, local traffic tunnels are in use); the Arterial ends abruptly between Jay Street and Hudson Avenue just west of South Swan Street (42°39′6.17″N 73°45′43.54″W / 42.6517139°N 73.7620944°W / 42.6517139; -73.7620944); the east end of the Dunn Memorial Bridge ends abruptly in Rensselaer (42°38′33.33″N 73°44′44.78″W / 42.6425917°N 73.7457722°W / 42.6425917; -73.7457722); and Henry Johnson Boulevard, which would have extended as part of the Mid-Crosstown Arterial, ends abruptly at Livingston Avenue (42°39′49.92″N 73°45′30.58″W / 42.6638667°N 73.7584944°W / 42.6638667; -73.7584944). ^ In 2009, Bank of America (which now owns FleetBank, the bank that eventually bought Norstar) consolidated its operations in an office building on State Street, leaving the former train station vacant. Mayor Corning made great efforts to save the building, which had been owned by his great-grandfather's railroad a hundred years before. He was able to do it when governor Rockefeller brought state money in to purchase the building. ^ The percentages listed here were calculated using the raw population data given by the Census Bureau divided by the total population, rounded to the nearest hundredth. Note that these percentages were calculated using the total population value of 97,856 as the divisor, not the 94,233 people claiming one race. ^ These values were given in 1999 dollars; here they have been adjusted for inflation. ^ Albany was home to 12 charter schools until the closing of New Covenant Charter School in 2010. It was announced in July 2010 that the Harriet Gibbons High School, an alternative high school for at-risk ninth graders, would close after a negative report from the State Department of Education demanded the elimination of ineffective programs. ^ The Accountability and Overview Report puts the class of 2009 at 513 students and the Comprehensive Information Report states that 416 of them graduated. ^ Christian Brothers Academy was located in various Albany locations throughout the 19th century and then moved to the University Heights neighborhood in 1937. The school moved out of the city to Colonie in 1998 and has remained there since.