Chinatown, Albany
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Central Avenue, in
Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...
, is an 18 km stretch in Albany County, of the 26 km Albany-Schenectady Turnpike, which runs from Lark Street in the city of Albany, westward through the towns of
Colonie, New York Colonie is a town in Albany County, New York, United States. It is the most-populous suburb of Albany, and is the third-largest town in area in Albany County, occupying approximately 11% of the county. Several hamlets exist within the town. ...
and
Niskayuna, New York Niskayuna is a town in Schenectady County, New York, United States. The population was 23,278 at the 2020 census. The town is located in the southeast part of the county, east of the city of Schenectady, and is the easternmost town in the county. ...
, to the city of
Schenectady, New York Schenectady ( ) is a City (New York), city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-most populo ...
. In Albany County it is called Central Avenue, and in Schenectady County (Niskayuna and Schenectady) it is called State Street. The entire route is designated as a part of
New York State Route 5 New York State Route 5 (NY 5) is a state highway that extends for across the state of New York in the United States. It begins at the Pennsylvania state line in the Chautauqua County town of Ripley and passes through Buffalo, Sy ...
, which stretches to the Pennsylvania state line and terminates at Central Avenue's east end.


History

Albany, on the
Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...
, and Schenectady, on the
Mohawk River The Mohawk River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 3, 2011 river in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is the largest tributary of the Hudson R ...
, are anchor points on the
Mohawk Valley The Mohawk Valley region of the U.S. state of New York is the area surrounding the Mohawk River, sandwiched between the Adirondack Mountains and Catskill Mountains, northwest of the Capital District. As of the 2010 United States Census, ...
transportation route between the Atlantic Ocean and points west of the mountains which span North America from Georgia to Maine. Albany is the farthest north an ocean ship can sail up the Hudson, and Schenectady is the easternmost point of navigation on the Mohawk (due to
Cohoes Falls Cohoes Falls (, "a boat is in the water/is actively submerged") is a waterfall on the Mohawk River shared by the city of Cohoes and the town of Waterford, New York. History Cohoes historian Arthur Masten incorrectly wrote in his 1880 history tha ...
). Connecting these two points with an overland route has always been important in trade and travel. Originally, there was a footpath and canoe portage used by Indians called the Iroquois Trail. Around 1660, the Dutch cleared a road between the two cities, called King's Highway, which still exists in places as King's Road in Albany and Albany Street in Schenectady. In 1797 a new, perfectly straight and very wide thoroughfare was created called the Albany-Schenectady Turnpike (later, Albany-Schenectady Road, at the turn of the 20th century). This was the major way to travel, and for trade to ship, between the Atlantic Ocean and the Great Lakes region, including all points in between along the Mohawk River before the opening of the
Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east–west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigability, navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, ...
(1825) and the
Albany and Schenectady Railroad The Mohawk & Hudson Railroad was the first railroad built in the state of New York and one of the first railroads in the United States. It was so-named because it linked the Mohawk River at Schenectady with the Hudson River at Albany. It was c ...
(1831). Central Avenue has, since then, been the main thoroughfare for commerce in the city of Albany. Originally the street was called "The Bowery." (Dutch settlers named it "Bouwerie", an older Dutch term for a farm road). The name dropped out of favor due to the pre-
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
decline of the neighborhood along the Bowery in New York City. On July 15, 1867, Albany's Common Council officially renamed the road Central Avenue, though the term had unofficially been depreciated well before.


Management

The Central Avenue corridor is currently managed by a
Business Improvement District A business improvement district (BID) is a defined area within whichever businesses elect to pay an additional fee (or assessment) in order to fund projects within the district's boundaries. A BID is not a tax, as taxes fund the government. BID f ...
called the Central District Management Association, Inc.


Chinatown

A
Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...
( zh, c=奥尔巴尼唐人街, p=ào ěr bā ní táng rén jiē) is located around Central Avenue in the downtown district with 303 Central Avenue being the location of the Chinatown mall. According to Tsui in her book, Albany's Chinatown is classified as a "commercial Chinatown" with
Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
,
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
, and
Orlando Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...
cited as examples in this category. Since its establishment around 2009 according to some sources, the Chinatown has been a "work in progress". The city of Albany has around 989 Chinese, about 1.2% of its population, according to the 2010 U.S. Census data with a total Asian population of around 3,000. The first Chinese to arrive in Albany was not well documented until the first Chinese business was registered in 1877 located at 668 Broadway. From 1886 to the 1920s, Albany's Chinese population grew, where the number of Chinese laundromats grew from 9 to about 24. Like the rest of the country, the
Chinese Exclusion Act The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was a United States Code, United States federal law signed by President Chester A. Arthur on May 6, 1882, prohibiting all immigration of Chinese laborers for 10 years. The law made exceptions for travelers an ...
kept the population in this city small. It was documented that most of the original Chinese population who migrated to Albany, did so through the
Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...
, a common migration route for those who settled in the Capital District from
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. Many of the first Chinese residents of Albany lived around Green Street and Hudson Avenue. By the year 1920, the city was home to only two Chinese restaurants on Green Street. Later on, the famous "Oriental Occidental Restaurant" opened at 44 State Street but closed and is now the "... site of Jack's Oyster House." Albany's history until the 21st century showed a lack of reputation as a cultural hub, that in 1982, then-New York City Mayor
Ed Koch Edward Irving Koch ( ; December 12, 1924February 1, 2013) was an American politician. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and was mayor of New York City from 1978 to 1989. Koch was a lifelong Democrat who ...
derided Albany as “a city without a good Chinese restaurant.” However, due to the flourishing
nanotechnology Nanotechnology is the manipulation of matter with at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometers (nm). At this scale, commonly known as the nanoscale, surface area and quantum mechanical effects become important in describing propertie ...
and
high-technology High technology (high tech or high-tech), also known as advanced technology (advanced tech) or exotechnology, is technology that is at the cutting edge: the highest form of technology available. It can be defined as either the most complex or ...
sectors, the city will be getting a new Chinatown by early 2013 to service the metropolitan area's growing Chinese community, to be located at 303 Central Avenue, featuring a
teahouse A teahouse or tearoom (also tea room) is an establishment which primarily serves tea and other light refreshments. A tea room may be a room set aside in a hotel, especially for serving afternoon tea, or may be an establishment that only ser ...
and a variety of Asian stores, according to an article from Biz Journals. This Chinatown will supposedly be a "work in progress".


See also

*
New York State Route 5 New York State Route 5 (NY 5) is a state highway that extends for across the state of New York in the United States. It begins at the Pennsylvania state line in the Chautauqua County town of Ripley and passes through Buffalo, Sy ...


References


External links


central AvenueCity of AlbanyCentral Avenue Blog
{{Coord, 42, 41, 57, N, 73, 48, 42.4, W, display=title Streets in Albany, New York Transportation in Albany, New York