Learn about Albany’s lost 93 acres
Under construction: This period photograph shows the grounds where the Empire State Plaza was built. On Nov. 3, the New Scotland Historical Association is hosting Dr. David Hochfelder, who will lecture on the subject.
To the Editor:
In 1962, New York State seized 40 blocks in downtown Albany for construction of the Empire State Plaza. During the next 2½ years, the state tore down 1,150 buildings, displacing roughly 400 small businesses, 3,300 households, and 7,000 people — over 5 percent of the city’s population.
This project ignited a vast range of emotions and consequences that many of us can still recall and which, to some extent, still linger. The speaker for our November program, Dr. David Hochfelder, is an historian, an associate professor at the University at Albany, and an integral part of a project entitled “98 Acres in Albany – 40 Blocks, Thousands of Stories.”
At this program, Dr. Hochfelder will share some of these stories from a time that forever changed Albany.
This highly informative and interesting program will be presented on Sunday, Nov. 3, at 2 p.m., at the Wyman Osterhout Community Center in New Salem on Old New Salem Road. Admission is always free.
On the same day and at the same location, please take the opportunity to take in the exhibits at the New Scotland Historical Association Museum, which will be open for a half-hour before the program.
Judy Kimes
Publicist
New Scotland
Historical Association