A History of the Center Square Association
by Harold Rubin and Clare Yates
The Center Square Association was officially organized on April 16, 1958 when 35 residents and guests met at the Westminster Presbyterian Church and agreed to organize to maintain their neighborhood as a desirable residential area.
The group was led by Elinor "Ellie" Posner (then Hemstead) of Lancaster Street, joined by John Holden, George Morgan and Townsend Rich of Chestnut Street and John C. Rice of the Greater Albany Chamber of Commerce. The invitation to the founding meeting was addressed to "property owners" on parts of Chestnut, Lancaster and Dove Streets.
The early by-laws reflect this tilt toward property ownership. While all residents of the defined area were eligible for membership, so too were property owners who did not live in the area. Tenants, however, could not hold office — President, Vice President, Recording Secretary, Corresponding Secretary and Treasurer. The Association's board, its governing body, included five officers, the past president and the heads of three standing committees.
The original efforts of the Association were directed to beautification, such as planting trees at $10 a tree, which became an annual event, and encouraging flower planting by promoting the sale of window boxes, at prices ranging from $1 to $6.50, depending on size and whether they were painted or made of wood or metal.
By 1963 Center Square had expanded, to an area bounded by State Street on the north, South Swan Street on the east, Jay Street on the south and Lark Street on the west, plus Lancaster Street from Lark Street to Willett Street, the same boundaries that apply today. The great majority of the buildings in Center Square are row houses, originally built as one family homes. Over the years many had been converted into two or more units, particularly the larger buildings along State Street and in the lower block of Lancaster Street. Yet, to this day there are many one family homes in the neighborhood. The area is diverse, including six churches, retail and service businesses, professional offices and apartment buildings, including the 91 unit Knickerbocker Apartments at 175 Jay Street.
With most Center Square buildings erected before 1900, the Association made a strong effort to provide protection for its "special" district. Its efforts were successful when the City established the Historic Sites Commission in 1964 (but with very limited powers). Ellie Posner was one of the five initial Commission members. The boundaries covered under the Commission's jurisdiction included all of Center Square, except for the south side of Jay Street, which was scheduled for demolition to provide a western highway exit from the Empire State Plaza, then under construction. When plans for that highway ended in 1972, the Commission's jurisdiction was extended for all of Jay Street.
With the completion of the Empire State Plaza next to Center Square in view, the Association recognized the potential pressure to commercialize the neighborhood for offices, to service the growing governmental center. Accordingly, when Albany held public hearings in 1967 on a draft zoning ordinance, to replace the existing 1922 ordinance, the Association organized a turnout of its membership to oppose the proposed commercial zoning which would have covered one fifth of Center Square bordering the Plaza. The Association's concerns were recognized, and most of Center Square was zoned for one and two family row houses under the ordinance enacted in 1968.
In 1971 the Association was successful in opposing the demolition of 312, 314, 316 and 318 State Street to make a two-level parking garage for the office building at 324 State Street that is now the home of the Art Department of the College of St. Rose. One of the leaders in this effort was Richard Randles, a State Street tenant, who objected to Center Square's exclusion of tenants from holding office. In 1972 the by-laws were amended to exclude non-resident property owners from membership and to enable all members, home owners and tenants alike, to hold office. In 1977 Ray Michaels, a tenant who later became a homeowner, became President of Center Square.
Subsequent amendments to the by-laws expanded the size of Center Square's board by increasing the number of standing committees and adding chairs of special committees and block captains (generally two per block) to the board. With these changes any resident of Center Square has ample opportunity to participate fully in the work of the Association.
In May 1970, the Association conducted a neighborhood clean up with the City providing a truck to remove the debris. Due to the successful mobilization of the residents to clean up their neighborhood, this became an annual event, which peaked in 1973 as 76 truckloads, including hundreds of aged appliances, were hauled off. The annual cleaning has been adopted by many neighborhood associations, coordinated by the City over a five week period every spring.
The Historic Albany Foundation (HAF), a dream of Elm Street resident Louise Merritt, was organized in 1974 in the Chestnut Street home of Bob and Dottie Meyer, by Hudson/Park and Center Square residents.
In 1975 Center Square and HAF held its first house tour to raise funds and to encourage the purchase of homes in the neighborhood. In later years the annual house tour was also sponsored by other downtown associations.
The funds raised by Center Square were put to good use in 1979 when the Association prevailed upon HAF to purchase 48-A Dove Street, a building in poor condition due to an earlier fire. Center Square helped finance the required stabilization of the building by making a $5,000 interest free loan to HAF. Hudson/Park also loaned $1,000, as did several neighborhood residents. When the building was finally sold at a loss several years later Center Square converted its loan to a gift. The new owners completed the rehabilitation, and the building has been fully occupied since then.
In 1975 Center Square joined with Hudson/Park and Mansion neighborhood associations to form the Capitol Hill Improvement Corporation to use federal funds for neighborhood improvement. Art Rheingold, a lawyer in Center Square, led the group in preparing the incorporation and organizational papers.
In 1976, Harold Rubin of Center Square joined with Tom Mayer, Director of the Neighborhood Resource Center (NRC) to form the Council of Albany Neighborhood Associations (CANA), which has become a major community force in Albany. CANA deals with citywide issues and those that cross neighborhood boundaries.
In December 1976 NRC and CANA, along with nine neighborhood associations, held the first of nine "Love Thy Neighborhood" conventions at the Westminster Presbyterian Church on Chestnut Street, where work shops were held and neighborhood issues discussed. Most subsequent conventions were held in churches located in Center Square — Westminster Presbyterian, Trinity United Methodist on Lancaster Street and Emanuel Baptist on State Street.
CANA's housing program, developed at the 1977 convention, supported at the community development public hearings by many neighborhood associations, led the City to increase housing rehabilitation funding from the first draft of $675,000 to the $1,045,000 final allocation.
The Association worked with the City on specific projects to improve the physical character and quality of living in Center Square. In 1967 Mayor Corning agreed to replace a Chestnut Street sidewalk damaged from a water main break with a new brick and concrete sidewalk. Annually thereafter for many years, one block of sidewalk was similarly replaced on the major residential streets in Center Square.
The parking regulations in Center Square worked to the disadvantage of residents. Overnight parking was limited to one side of each street, every night, presumably for street cleaning, which rarely occurred. At Center Square's request Mayor Corning had the parking regulations changed in the neighborhood to prohibit parking for just three hours a week on each side of the major residential streets (9AM to 12 noon), doubling the amount of overnight parking space available to residents. Parking space on Dove Street was also doubled when it was no longer declared a "fire lane".
When Lancaster Street residents were confronted with up to 800 cars an hour exiting the Empire State Plaza, the Association got the City to convert traffic on lower Lancaster Street from one-way going west to one-way going east, thus limiting entry to Center Square.
Throughout its history the Association's efforts to maintain and to improve the quality of residential living involved: opposing demolitions of buildings to make parking lots for non-residents; opposing housing conversions above those authorized under the zoning ordinance; opposing use of the neighborhood for a day time parking lot for non-residents; supporting efforts to bring all structures up to safety code. Often Center Square found it necessary to obtain relief by going to court.
A major obstacle facing neighborhood associations seeking court relief was the challenge that they did not have "standing" to sue. In Albany this issue was finally resolved in 1980 when CANA and the Association went to court to prevent the Fort Orange Club from demolishing the historic building at 116 Washington Avenue to add 8 parking spaces to its existing parking lot. While the suit was successful in requiring the City to conduct a full environmental impact study, the battle was lost as the building was ultimately demolished, but the court did specifically grant "standing" to Center Square as a neighborhood association. This decision serves as precedent for all neighborhood associations.
Through the efforts of Catherine Bacon, historian, Paul Steinkamp as photographer, and many others, the required information and pictures were obtained to place Center Square on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
The Association has continued the work begun in the early years to enhance the quality of life for those living in Center Square, including seeking City support to enforce the zoning ordinance, an ongoing battle. In just the last six months the Association has appeared at three Zoning Board of Appeals hearings when property owners appealed to add more dwelling units to buildings than are allowed under the ordinance. In one case the Association helped the City win an Appellate Division decision against a property owner who had illegally expanded a non-conforming use. Center Square works with the Historic Albany Foundation and the City to see that the historic building requirements are met, and that proposed "improvements" are those appropriate for a Historic District.
For the past two years the Association has worked with the Hudson/Park Neighborhood Association, the NYS Office of General Services (OGS) and the Albany Parks Department to develop a new Hudson Jay Park at the turnaround at the Plaza. The work has been long, but the park will open this spring for the use and enjoyment of the neighborhood residents.
The Association is also working with OGS and Hudson/Park on plans to improve the turnaround at the Plaza to make it safer and quieter for the residents who live nearby. The goal is to have OGS build a sound and light barrier between the roadway and the park. Meetings on this issue are ongoing.
Center Square participates each year in the City's Block of the Year Program. Block by block improvements have been made. Residents on each block prepare the proposed work plan and participate with City employees to get the work done.
Since 1991 Center Square and Hudson/Park host the "Hidden City Garden Tour" in the neighborhood. As many as 650 people have attended the event which features gardens of many sorts, lovingly tended to by their owners. This tour is Center Square's main fundraiser. Money raised is used to fund neighborhood beautification projects and for donations to worthy causes, such as the "Green Machine" (which turned out to be red) for the Lark Street BID.
The Association has worked for many years on parking problems. It is a member of the Downtown Parking Coalition. Now that the City has passed a local parking ordinance, the Association is working with our City Council representatives to make decisions about implementation of the new law and will work with the residents to explain the new system, which is different from the former residential parking system.
This year the Association is planning a full-scale tree project. Center Square will identify trees which are in trouble and see if they are treatable; and if not the Association will work with residents to replace them. It is also hoped to replace trees that have died in the last few years and have not been replaced.
A major project also being planned is to photograph each structure in Center Square. The availability of photographs will help with such problems as encountered last year when an absentee landlord purchased a building on State Street and decided to move the front door to his home in Clifton Park. When confronted by the City he denied that there had every been a front door. Luckily the Association had a photograph of the building and could prove the existence of the door. It has now been replaced and is happily back on State Street.
Anyone interested in participating in the tree or the photography project is welcome. Volunteers are always needed. Call Clare Yates at 449-1160.
In October of 1998, the Association celebrated its 40th Anniversary with a party at the University Club. Among those attending were Chuck and Nancy Liddle, founding members, several past presidents and many other former and current residents and County Executive, Mike Breslin, Assemblyman Jack McEneny
? and Alderman Richard Conti. The Center Square Association is the oldest neighborhood association in the City of Albany.
