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Still going strong Life in the Village of Colonie By KATIE LEMBO lembok@spotlightnews.com COLONIE — For about $250 a year, the village does a lot for its residents. In fact, everything it does is maintained through this money. The village has garbage pickup. It has trash pickup. Leaves and branches are also getting scooped. Cook Park, the beautiful village park, is maintained and rented out all summer long.
“What you’re getting is great for what we pay,” village firehouse historian Steve Garry said. “While the price stays the same, the quality goes up every year.” Garry attributes this to the people doing these tasks. While some people may see trash pickup and anything to do with public work a menial job, these men and women are not just employees. They’re residents; they take pride in their
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The entrance to the picnic area/pavilion at Cook Park, which many think of as the center of the Village of Colonie
Jim Franco / Spotlight News
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At the intersection of Ike and Colonie Village: Northway doesn’t affect us as much By KAITLIN LEMBO lembok@spotlightnews.com COLONIE — The construction and ongoing development of the 176-mile Northway has disrupted a lot of places. What used to be connected by small, windy roads is now bypassed by 5/9/19, 6(59 AM Page 1 aoffast-paced, 1 bare, open road that cuts time in half. As the newest exit is being constructed, the anticipation of even more traffic is daunting for smaller places. However, Log the Village of In Colonie, literally smack dab in the middle of Albany and Schenectady, chugs along happily. Somehow,
the burgeoning bypass doesn’t hit the village. “The Northway has absolutely no impact on us at all,” Mayor Frank Leak said. “We are removed from much of the traffic.” However, the Northway has helped the village in some ways, village firehouse historian Steve Garry said. More than anything, the highway puts the village on the map, a small but mighty presence between the hustle and bustle of two of the area’s busiest metropolises. “The traffic is heavier because more people are coming through,” Garry said. “Businesses are doing well and people are coming through and seeing what we have here as they get on or off the Northway.” Garry owns two businesses in the village.
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While he cannot credit much of his businesses to the people the Northway brings through, he does credit the business’ central location (and the central location of the village in general) for some of the success. As the village begins at the west side of the Wolf Road and Central Avenue intersection, many of the businesses clustered along the busy corridor between Wolf Road and Price Chopper plaza enjoy the added benefits of the traffic. It’s just a stone’s throw from the Northway to Dairy Queen, Krause’s candy and Finkle Jewelers. ShopRite is a one-stop shop for groceries and fullservice gasoline. Those who need to complete shopping on their way home for anything under the sun can be done and back on the Northway within 10 minutes. Before 1957, the only way to Schenectady was Central Avenue. Route 5, as it’s also called, is a straight
shot to Schenectady; drive past Balltown Road and Route 7 and you’ll be at Proctors before you know it. However, that changed at the first extension of I-87. Built in segments, the Northway eventually cost around $208 million to build — a whopping $1.66 billion by today’s standards. Construction ceased in 1967 and travel between the northern tips of New York and the Capital District was never easier or quicker. However, the negative effects of such a bypass rested on the small towns that built around the former passageways. Like Route 66, many towns and villages settled around Central Avenue for the maximum potential of business the swaths of traffic offered. With the construction of the Northway, it’s easier than ever to go north, but it’s also bare — convenience isn’t as scenic. The odd thing about
the Northway is there is no easy access-point to Albany International Airport, even though signs adorn the southern part of the highway directing late travelers. The reason for this is the original plans to build another bypass; this was named Interstate 687 and was planned to join I-90 at exit 5A and I-87 at what would have been exit 3. I-687 was supposed to be the direct link from the airport to the two busiest roads. However, this never came to fruition due to changes in state and federal funding programs. It was removed from the area’s highway plan in 1973 and from the national plan in 1977. Construction has begun to build the much anticipated “Exit 3” that will be a direct line to Albany International. The $31 million road project calls for a new, direct
on-ramp from Route 155 at Exit 5 for southbound traffic eliminating the need for the existing frontage ramp and northbound, the on-ramp adjacent to the Times Union building will be extended to Exit 5 leading to Route 155. An estimated 40,000
vehicle a day use Exit 4 at the Northway and an estimated 102,000 vehicle travel over Albany Shaker Road at that location daily. The project is not only designed to make getting in and out of the airport easier and quicker but, in theory, will alleviate traffic
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Colonie
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7,793
by the numbers
The number of people who reside in the village as of 2010.
44.5
Is the average age of a village resident.
$239,300 According to Zillow.com, the average value of a home in Colonie is currently more than $230,000.
91.8 % The percentage of residents who have attained a high school education or higher.
$78,431
The median household income. United States Census Bureau
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The Kings Highway
Central Avenue still links east and west By DIEGO CAGARA cagarad@spotlightnews.com COLONIE — Central Avenue is a Colonie road that connects the city of Schenectady with State Street to the west and the city of Albany to the east with Washington Avenue. While this road may be known today
for being important in bridging both cities and its high traffic usage, it has an extensive history, stretching back to as early as the mid-to-late 17th century. According to Colonie Town Historian Kevin Franklin, Central Avenue used to be called the King’s Highway at that time. At the time, Franklin said that
Albany was the designated place for trade, the city then known as Fort Orange, a Dutch settlement that was originally built in 1624. Here, bartering for fur with Native Americans was common, for instance. “If you could intercept that trade before it got to [present-day] Albany, you could pick out the best furs and make more money,” he said, explaining this made King’s Highway a notorious area where robbers and highwaymen could attack. “It was contentious for a while as laws were broken.” Dutch settlers had intended the nearby Schenectady area to be a farming settlement at the time but Franklin said there was an underground fur trade profit system. King’s Highway was significant in establishing a link between the east (Fort Orange/ Albany) and west (Schenectady), through a mostly unsettled area of land. Schenectady later would become incorporated as a city in 1798.
By the 1680s, the English had taken over ruling the area from the Dutch. After the American Revolution, Franklin said people realized that their roads were in terrible condition and needed improvements. This caused King’s Highway to be replaced with a new turnpike called the AlbanySchenectady Turnpike, completed in 1799. This time, Franklin said “the roadbed was cobbles with sections of limestone with concave surfaces which were spaced the same distance apart for wagon or carriage wheels to ride upon.” A tollbooth was also established at its eastern entrance near where the present-day Stanford Bridge stands over Central Avenue, near Yardboro Avenue. Across from that tollbooth was the Elm Grove Inn, a tavern and hotel, run by Josiah Stanford (? - 1862) which he first rented in 1836 and later bought in 1840. Josiah became later famously
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Central Avenue
known as the father of Leland Stanford (1824 1893) who helped found Stanford University in 1885 in Stanford, California. The university was named after Leland’s only son, Leland Stanford Jr. who passed away at 15 from typhoid fever in 1884. Leland also became the Governor of California (1862 - 1863), president of the railroad network organization, Southern Pacific Company (1885 1890) and a U.S. Senator (1885 - 1893). The opening of the Elm Grove Inn — later abandoned and demolished in 1941 — and other similar taverns and hotels along the AlbanySchenectady Turnpike signaled how the turnpike contributed to the area’s growing commerce and appeal to outsiders. “Riding along the
turnpike was long and dusty, and people wanted to stop by the taverns and hotels there and maybe get a nice drink or whatever,” said Franklin, noting that railroads in the area preceded the hotels and taverns. “So numerous more taverns and hotels opened up along the turnpike.” During this time and through the early 20th century, the area also became populated with nearby cattle yards, butcher shops and railroads. Speaking of railroads, in September 1831, the Mohawk & Hudson Railroad, which largely ran along the AlbanySchenectady Turnpike, opened. This was due in part to the rising population and commerce around the area; it also helped Erie Canal travelers
to avoid Cohoes Falls, thereby cutting travel time from a day to less than an hour. It would be renamed the Albany & Schenectady Railroad on April 19, 1847 and later added to the New York Central Railroad on May 17, 1853. When asked when exactly did the AlbanySchenectady Turnpike become renamed Central Avenue, Franklin was not able to give a specific timeframe though, saying, “Albany may have called it Central Avenue before it officially was renamed that.
At some point in time, somebody said, ‘Okay, it’s Central Avenue.’ When that took place, I don’t know.” However, according to Pulitzer Prize-winning Albany writer William Kennedy’s 1983 book, “O Albany!” the turnpike was renamed to Central Avenue on July 15, 1867. Central Avenue is also now known as Route 5. Regardless, rail traffic would continue through the early 20th century when — according to a July 29, 1983 Schenectady
Gazette article named “Last Trolley Ended Runs 50 Years Ago” that Franklin provided — an electric interurban trolley system began operations along Central Avenue from Sept. 9, 1901 to July 28, 1933. It traveled along the south side of Central Avenue and trolleys traveled 15 minutes apart from one another. Once again, this new rail system was created to facilitate the area’s
increasing population and commerce but ironically, the former reason led to its closure. Fred B. Abele, a self-described “trolley enthusiast” who was interviewed in the article, said, “Growth of auto traffic, the many at-grade crossings and the need to widen Route 5 and relocate the tracks to the center contributed to [the trolleys’] end.”
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Central Avenue. Franklin said that because the electric trolleys were moved from the side of Central Avenue to the middle of the road, it would cause accidents as motorists did not stop in time for passengers getting on or off the trolleys. It was also a safety hazard as vehicles had to maintain distance from the traveling trolleys.
From those observations, in the late 1920s, four tunnels were constructed under Central Avenue, near schools, so that pedestrians, particularly schoolchildren, can safely cross Central Avenue without worrying about motorists and trolleys above. The four tunnels were located near the now-closed Roosevelt School in the
Stanford Heights area, near Maywood School, near the now-closed Colonie Village School which has been converted to a senior citizens center, and near the former Roessleville High School. Franklin said that during World War II, the American Locomotive Company of Schenectady was producing tanks which would be transported down Central Avenue until they reached the Port of Albany to be shipped out for the war effort. “If kids were in the tunnels when these tanks were rumbling down Central Avenue, the tanks probably weighed like 40 tons. I can’t imagine the noise those tanks made while traveling down Central Avenue and if you’re a kid in a tunnel crossing to school, you’re probably afraid it would crash down on them.” Onwards to the late 20th century, the areas around Central Avenue would continue growing,
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including how Colonie Center, a major shopping mall at the intersection of Central Avenue, Wolf Road and Interstate-87, opened in 1966. Franklin said he believes that improvements in transportation in the past few centuries benefitted Central Avenue and its surrounding areas overall. “Central Avenue has just got such a tremendous amount of history,” he concluded. “In terms of transport, you’ve got rail travel, you’ve got trolley travel, you have the Erie Canal and Hudson River nearby which technically are not really on Central Avenue, and you also have the turnpike. So you have a lot of transportation first that are going on within a couple miles of Albany and within Colonie. Transportation of people and goods westwards from Albany into the Mohawk Valley was a critical part of the growth of this area and this nation overall.”
Let’s go, Yankees! From 1985 to 1994, young ballplayers with dreams of playing in Major League Baseball would play in Colonie’s Heritage Park, home of the New York Yankees’ AA affiliate. Scores of future All Stars called Colonie home, like Derek Jeter and Hall of Fame reliever Mariano Rivera.
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Village is still going strong backyard and their neighborhood. Because, despite the swaths of businesses lining the village’s portion of Central Avenue, the side streets are even fuller with working-class men and women who are proud to call the village their home. It also houses children with a neighborhood safe enough to ride bikes while not being far from big amenities children love. “We have open government here, which is why this works so well,” Mayor Frank Leak said. “We have about 8,200 people who live in the village and they all love it here.” Even the village facilities are welcoming. Sitting in a residential neighborhood, Thunder Road is brimmed with trees and greenery. The road is well paved and maintained. The village hall, DPW headquarters, recreation center and firehouse are sprawled out in a line, after a 90-degree turn. It’s definitely industrial, but there’s
a welcoming feeling to it. People wave when you drive in. It’s not a sea of anonymous faces. It’s not common for a village to dissolve into a town in New York. Luckily for villagers, Colonie is thriving in that businesses are staying — they’re prospering, even. The Village of Colonie was incorporated in March 1921. Four weeks later, the first Board of Trustees meeting was held. That night, “the Village government borrowed $500 for the purpose of defraying expenses of the incorporation, created the office of Police Justice, set a tax rate of $3.00 per $1,000 assessed valuation, established the first Village budget at $1,285, and the Village was in business,” according to the village website. “The Village of Colonie was little more than twin ribbons of buildings on either side of Central Avenue, stretching from the traffic light on Wolf Road to the traffic
The amphitheater at Cook Park light on the western side of the Village.” It was only 10 years later when the village fire department was incorporated. From 1931 to 1939, several budget resolutions were passed, with the highest
Jim Franco / Spotlight News budget approval being $16,067. A more lighthearted passage in 1932? No swine in the village. The fire department is an institution for residents. Garry has lived in the village all his life and his family has called it
home for over a century. He’s a resident, business owner and lifelong member. “Everyone is involved somehow, whether it be with
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The schools are good too; the village is in the South Colonie Central School District. Forest Park Elementary houses about 310 students and is within the top 50 percent of state schools. The school was honored with a federal Blue Ribbon for School Excellence award in 1998 to 1999. From a business standpoint, the village is thriving as well. Garry owns two businesses in the area, one of them a selfstorage center. Because of its close proximity to major Capital District places, the business is doing great, Garry said. He does a lot of business with college kids in the area. His other business, a contracting organization, was formed by his father. His father’s business was the first in the area to have the big dump trucks and machinery, Garry said. He uses the contracting business to help maintain his self-storage; he does all the snow-removal and fixes on his own. “I’m loyal to this place,” he said. “I’m careful about who I do business with, but the connections you make here are usually good.”
Village is still going strong the fire district, the church or with village politics,” Garry said. “This is such a close-knit, tight community. We all know each other and more times than not, each other’s families.” Garry and Leak both love
Cook Park. In the vicinity is a pavilion, playground, baseball field and amphitheater. The baseball field is the home to a Little League team. All of the amenities are in very high demand.
Development has halted in the village — well, not necessarily halted. There’s only one farm left and the owners won’t sell until they retire. Most of the development in the village is re-development on already existing places. “It’s just a really great little community,” Garry said. “It’s a nice place.” Leak agreed. “Of all the businesses we host here, very
few leave,” he said. “I’m always here to talk to villagers. We keep things open and easy. That’s one of the big reasons why we’re still going.”
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Impact of the Tech Boom on Housing
Combining Census Bureau and Zillow housing data show rise in rental prices and home values in techrich areas
Zillow combines housing data and Census Bureau data to help understand the link between housing prices and the tech boom. During a recent Local Employment Dynamics (LED) Webinar Series, “Housing and the Tech Boom,” Aaron Terrazas, By EARLENE K.P. DOWELL a former Zillow senior economist who is now news@spotlightnews.com director of economic ou’ve heard of the research for a Seattle “Amazon Effect.” startup, showed how Zillow combines housing Now you can data and Census Bureau see it. data to help understand By combining U.S. the link between housing Census Bureau data and prices and the tech boom. their own housing listings, economists from Zillow, an online real estate search engine, have been able to show just how much rental South Lake Union, prices and home values once an industrial area have skyrocketed in areas adjacent to downtown across the country that are experiencing a tech boom. Seattle, underwent an
Y
The Amazon Effect
urban transformation with the development of skyscrapers, fancy restaurants and coffee shops. Although Amazon is the major contributor to the area’s tech rise, Microsoft, Facebook, Google, REI and more also have offices in the same neighborhood. To see how the Amazon headquarters affected Seattle’s housing market, Zillow economists looked at the Census Bureau’s Longitudinal EmployerHousehold Dynamics (LEHD) data, specifically the LEHD OriginDestination Employment Statistics (LODES) data set. LODES shows the relationship between where people work and where they live. By merging Zillow rent data with the LODES data, the group found that
rent around the Seattle metro area had increased 17 percent from 2011 to 2015, triggering a supply and demand challenge. This housing shortage was dubbed the “Amazon Effect” in an article by Gene Balk, a columnist at The Seattle Times.
Tucker identified 1,360 census tracts as home to Facebook employees within four census blocks of the company’s headquarters. Between March 2012 and 2013, Facebook employees’ home values jumped 21 percent compared to 17 percent in other parts of the Bay Area. According to Tucker’s study, homes appreciated $29,800 in neighborhoods near Facebook headquarters.
The IPO Effect
Zillow took a similar approach, using LEHD data, to see what happens to housing prices when a tech company goes public, which often creates a wave of instant millionaires. The study by Zillow economist Jeff Tucker, “Post-IPO, Home Values Grew Faster in Areas Home to Lots of Facebook Employees,” shows the impact of Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) on housing in the San Francisco Bay area.
More IPOs
Lyft recently went public, and other tech companies including Uber, Airbnb and Pinterest are also on the verge of going public. Because of that, Zillow decided to look at price elasticity and the California Exodus.
California housing has become so expensive that some data suggest people are moving out of California and moving to adjacent metropolitan areas, such as Dallas, Phoenix and Las Vegas where housing is cheaper. Zillow researchers looked into worker reallocation (inflows and outflows), using the LEHD Job-to-Job Flows ( J2J) data set. “People moving from one part of the country to another is a very important fundamental concept in real estate economics,” Terrazas said. Earlene K.P. Dowell is a program analyst in the Census Bureau’s Longitudinal EmployerHousehold Dynamics Program.
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