Minutes of Meeting of the Social, Economic, and Neighborhood Working Group on December 13, 2001. Milne 200, Downtown Campus, SUNY-Albany.

The Social, Economic, and Neighborhood Working Group met to discuss possible projects and events for the Albany Heritage Semester. The following suggestions and reports were made in the course of the meeting:

• John Logan of the Mumford Center for Comparative Urban and Regional Research at SUNYA reiterated that the Center would be involved in documenting the development of Albany neighborhoods between 1880 and 1950 utilizing census data and neighborhood mapping software.
• Wes Balla Curator of History at the Albany Institute of History and Art discussed the rich photographic resources (including the Morris Gerber collection) that the Institute could contribute to various exhibits and projects.
• Jim Wilson, Director of the Rathbone Gallery of The Sage Colleges, reported on a planned exhibit on Albany’s Jewish neighborhoods scheduled for Spring of 2003 but noted that the resources for the exhibit could be utilized in various formats previous to that date (a CD-ROM, an Acadia publication, and so on).
• Jack McEneny (New York Assemblyman) noted the various resources available for preparation of exhibits and events (Urban Cultural Park report and chronology, material prepared for the Albany Tercentennial celebration, and so on). Jack also expressed his willingness to deliver one or two lectures on various aspects of Albany history, including one on the impact of the Irish Famine on Irish immigration to Albany and another, possibly, on the Civil War era in Albany.
• Marggie Skinner expressed interest in working on recent history projects, including the oral history project as well as an Acadia book. She is well connected to the various Albany neighborhood associations since she is past president of the Albany Neighborhood Association. She agreed to act as a liaison with these organizations to facilitate the oral history project.
• Dick Andress, of the New York State Library, was interested in a project focusing on those who built the New York State Capital. He was also interested in developing a database of Albany newspapers, Albany-based publishers and authors, and libraries in Albany neighborhoods.
• Tom Carroll, Executive Director of Hudson Mohawk Industrial Gateway, suggested projects focusing on Albany’s labor history, the Erie Canal and bell manufacturing in the Albany area (particularly on a project on bells and the meaning of “time” in the community in the 19^th century).
• Bill Bouchard, of Hartgen Archaeological Associates, Inc., noted that he and his firm had been involved in unearthing archaeological evidence pertaining to old Albany boarding houses and he suggested that a project/presentation/lecture on the social history of these boarding houses and immigrants might be worth pursuing.
• Brian Keough, Curator of SUNYA Archives, expressed interest in working on programs focusing on Albany clergy, as well as on the Underground Railroad in Albany.
• Gerald (Gerry) Zahavi reported on two projects that the Department of History at SUNYA will be working on for the Heritage Semester (and beyond). The first is titled “Capital Voices, Capital Soundscapes.” It is an oral/aural history project devoted to preserving the oral history of the city as well as collecting sound artifacts (private recordings, old radio programs, recorded public speeches, and so on) related to Albany’s past. A second project will be an on-line Encyclopedia of Albany History with several thousand entrees. A prototype is currently in the works. Coding and database assistance will come from programmers at Case Western Reserve University who worked on the on-line Cleveland Encyclopedia. Several possible funding sources are currently being explored.
• In addition to the above, the group discussed several possible speakers (including Brian Greenberg, Harold Rubin, Steve Dunn, and Steve Leibo), possible funding sources for proposed programs, and contacts that might be useful for specific projects.
• The group proposed sharing e-mail addresses and setting up a listserv. [This was subsequently done. Those interested in joining the listserv should contact Gerry Zahavi at gz580@albany.edu].