PHNA Boundaries: N: Washington Ave; S: Cortland St & Woodlawn; E: Lake Ave; W: Up to Manning Blvd & West Lawrence

A Neighborhood to Discover;

A Place to Call Home —

Pine Hills

SPRING 2018

www.PineHillsNA.org

THE PINE HILLS

NEIGHBOR

* New to the neighborhood?

* Issues on your street?

* Have news for our residents?

Come to a Pine Hills

Neighborhood Association

monthly meeting!

Meetings are held

the 3rd Thursday of the month

at 7pm in the

Hanner Center for Excellence &

Lasallian Mission

LaSalle School

391 Western Ave.

(unless otherwise noted)

- UPCOMING MEETINGS -

Programs are subject to change,

please check our website for updates:

pinehillsna.org

March 15

Landlord/Tenant Relationships

Paul Lundberg, PHNA Board member

and award winning landlord

Zach Garafalo, Tenant

Representative from

United Tenants of Albany

April 19

School Board and Library

Board budgets

May 17

Christopher Spencer

Director, Planning Department

www.PineHillsNA.org pinehillsna@gmail.com

Comfort Food

On a dreary, chilly Sunday afternoon in late January, I found a warm, inviting

refuge in our neighborhood. Despite the unenticing freezing rain coating

Western Avenue sidewalk, several tables in one of our neighborhood’s new-

est dining establishments (it opened mid-November) were occupied with hap-

py patrons. Located in the former Ginger Man location (an historic 19th cen-

tury era building near the Washington Tavern), the Cuckoo’s Nest has already

been reaching its capacity according to co-

owner Kaytrin Della Sala. “I wish it was a

bit bigger” was her response to my ques-

tioning of the space. Della Sala and her

partner Devin Ziemann also run Crave, a

popular counter-service establishment

within a stone’s throw. Thus they’re famil-

iar with the neighborhood and successfully

identified a need in this section of the Pine

Hills: a cozy establishment serving comfort

food, yet casual enough for kids to enjoy (yes...there is a kids menu). Pine

Hills residents will see Devin out and about in the neighborhood participating

in area cleanup events and is happy to get involved in the community. Con-

sider the comfort of the Cuckoo’s Nest as a refuge on the next foul weather

day, or set aside May 5 for their special Kentucky Derby Day.

-Jonathan Duda

Madison Ave Traffic Calming to be Completed this Summer

We recently checked in with the City of Albany's Coordinator of Traffic Engi-

neering, Bill Trudeau to learn about the progress of the Madison Avenue lane

reconfiguration project. This was a 2-phase project, with Phase 1 (Allen St. to

Partridge St.) completed in the fall of 2016. Last summer, work on the pro-

ject continued with Phase 2: Partridge St. to Lark St. Contractors completed a

significant amount of curb and side-

walk work along the corridor, un-

derground traffic signal replacement

work and new pole foundations at

all intersections along the corridor,

pedestrian traffic signal poles have

been installed at each intersection

within the project limits, and re-

placement traffic signal poles were

installed at Ontario St, Quail St, and

S. Lake Ave.

To view the plan for completing the

project, check out page 4

Support our 2018

business & organization members!

Hon. Judy Doesschate Albany Elks Lodge #4

Chris Van Doren Police Athletic League (PAL)

St. Andrews Episcopal Church

PINE HILLS

Saturday, April 28

Our first neighborhood-wide sale coordinated and

promoted by the Pine Hills Neighborhood Association

2 ways to register:

1. Online: www.pinehillsna.org

2. Call Eric: 518-396-7309

“Little Place of Great Peace”

These five words made up one of the many descriptive phrases uttered

by Liz Bishop while standing in front of the nearly 100 attendees in the

gymnasium of the Police Athletic League on February 11. She was refer-

ring to the “unique sacred space” sharing the same roof: Our Lady of

Lourdes Grotto. Not only were they gathered to acknowledge the 160th

anniversary of the apparitions at Lourdes, but to publicize the Save the

Grotto campaign. The Grotto is a replicate of the one in Lourdes,

France. to return it back to its splendor which many of those present

remember.

Numerous projects are in need of completion in order to attain the goal

of opening the space up again for devotions and services. These projects

include the construction of a wall to separate it from the DePaul apart-

ments, upgrade electric wiring, cosmetic improvements, and the replace-

ment of the fount mechanism that provided an ambient sound of water.

Ms. Bishop painted a poignant picture of football players praying before

games, students seeking help with Regents exams, and couples beginning

their lives together in the Grotto. Father Brian Slezak concluded the

presentation (which also included a short film with interviews of sup-

porters) stating they’re in the early stages of planning and seeking sup-

port, suggestions, and input. This was preceded by a mass at St. Vin-

cent’s where Bishop Sharfenburger in his address about the Grotto stat-

ed, “This is a gem.” One of many sparkling throughout our remarkable

neighborhood.

Visit www.albanygrotto.org to see how you can help “Save the Grotto”.

Become a part of this exciting event!

Join our planning committee this year!

Contact us at:

info@uppermadison.org or

518-992-5363

Midtown Pine Hills

Community Dinner

Wednesday, April 4th ~ 6:30pm

First Lutheran Church ~ 646 State Street

In Case You Missed It

Our president, Virginia Hammer, was fea-

tured in a segment on ABC Channel 10 last

November. The appreciation piece acknowl-

edges her solid commitment to the commu-

nity highlighting her successes over the

years, not only for our neighborhood, but

for the City of Albany itself. Yes, she certain-

ly is an inspiring woman!

View the segment here:

http://news10.com/2017/11/08/inspiring-

women-of-the-capital-region-virginia-

hammer/

Residents had the opportunity to speak di-

rectly with common council members repre-

senting the Pine Hills during a discussion/

Q&A session at our January meeting. Topics

ranging from our school system to building

codes were raised along concluding with

many ideas with potential solutions.

L to R: Owusu Anane, Ginnie Farrell, Joe

Igoe, Alfredo Balarin, Judy Doesschate.

You Can Help our Theatre to Thrive

Pine Hills residents know that

rain, snow or sun, it must be

vacation days when they see

parents and children going up

the steps to the magic castle the-

ater portal. For over 25 years,

Steamer No. 10 Theatre, housed

in the old firehouse on Western

Avenue, has been the home of

children’s theater in the Capital

area. Since its beginning as a

children’s theater, Steamer No.

10 has become an institution in

the arts arena, expanding from offering just productions pre-

sented by adults to children, to a teaching venue where many

of the presenters are the children themselves. It has also ex-

panded to link in partnership with other theater arts endeavors

such as “Theater Voices”, the Madison Avenue Street Fair, and

most recently, the Pine Hills Film Colony. Under the direction

of Ric Chesser, Steamer No 10 continues to evolve as a center

for the arts in our community, and provides an eclectic menu of

entertainment.

It has not been without struggles—especially as funding for the

arts has been seriously shrinking and the general economic cli-

mate has retracted. In spite of those factors, residents will have

noticed that work on the Castle (the magical entrance to the

theater) has been moving forward with support from the

Friends of Steamer 10, our local Assemblywoman, and the work

of the Steamer No. 10 Board.

In February of 2016, a small group of community residents vol-

unteered to come together as the theater Board of Directors,

and this group is now making an appeal for both new board

members, and volunteers who are willing to see that the thea-

ter thrives. Sustaining an institution such as Steamer No 10 really

takes effort and the participation of “a village” for the many

tasks needed. Watch for the announcement of a “Steamer No

10 Community Meeting” planned for April, where volunteers,

potential Board members, and arts supporter community mem-

bers can join to help assure the future of our own “magic king-

dom”.

Carol June-Washington,

President of the Board of Directors, Steamer No. 10 Theatre

THE PINE HILLS BLOG is a contribution to the neighborhood by students of the College of St. Rose.

Hosted via the Times Union, the postings are researched and written by students.

“Albany High Gives Back with “Hoops Against Hunger” “Multi-Million Dollar Apartment Moving Forward”

“329 Ontario Street: An Address that Lives in Albany Lore”

blog.timesunion.com/pinehills

THE PINE HILLS BLOG

CONTACT US

PineHillsNA@gmail.com

FOLLOW US

www.facebook.com/PineHillsNA

_______________________________________________________________________

Name

_______________________________________________________________________

Street address

_______________________________________________________________________

City State Zip

________________________ ______________________________________________

Phone Email (used for PHNA email list only)

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION

Mail to: John Hammer, 52 S. Allen St., Albany, NY 12208

Or fill out the online application and

pay via credit card at:

www.pinehillsna.org

Membership Dues

(check one and enclose check payable to: PHNA)

Household $10

Student $5

Senior (65+) $5

Business or Not-for-Profit Supporter $25

Business Sponsor $75

Institution $125

Comments, corrections? Send to newsletter editor, Jonathan Duda at: webmaster@pinehillsna.org

“The History of Here” —

The Pine Hills that is!

After seven years of researching, interview-

ing, and writing, local author and Pine Hills

resident, Akum Norder, has released her 100

years of discoveries and accounts with her

own house as the

heart of the story.

Akum has been

actively promot-

ing its release

throughout the

Capital Region at

various libraries

and venues in-

cluding a kick-off

celebration at

her own house

on February 2nd

where neigh-

bors, family, and

friends gathered

to hear a reading

from the author herself. You can grab

copy online at Amazon or directly through

the publisher, SUNY Press. Or support your

local bookstore, The Book House in Stuyve-

sant Plaza. Once you delve into the first few

pages, you’ll undoubtedly be inspired to

stroll along our streets and immerse yourself

into Akum’s compelling story!

-Jonathan Duda

As long as the weather cooperates, work will resume in

April 2018. Contractors will finish up the curb and side-

walk work, continue with traffic signal equipment installa-

tion, mill old asphalt on entire length of pavement, plant

new trees in areas designated on the plans, pave two

courses of asphalt, and install temporary pavement mark-

ings after each pavement course. Once all of that is com-

plete, they will install permanent pavement markings, in-

stall permanent traffic signs, and activate new traffic signal

equipment. We were curious about the plan for temporary

pavement markings especially after the final layer of as-

phalt was put down. Mr. Trudeau explained that it's built

into the plan because of construction phasing and the need

for consistency of pavement markings. The temporary

markings are planned because all of the paving will likely

not be completed in one day. The final permanent liquid

epoxy markings will then be installed on the entire final

length of the road. That's the current plan-- which could be

subject to a few tweaks along the way.

We can expect to be using the re-done roadway as de-

signed sometime during the summer of 2018.

Thanks to Mayor Sheehan and Bill Trudeau for moving

forward with a vision that came out of the Pine Hills

Neighborhood Association! We look forward to a safer,

smoother Madison Ave. in our terrific walkable and bike-

able neighborhood.

-Leah Golby