First impressions

In the middle of their preliminary SDAT visit, I asked Alan Mallach and Erin Simmons for some first impressions of Albany. Obviously it was something of an unfair question, given that they hadn't even gotten to see all of the city yet, but I thought their responses were interesting to ponder:

• It's easy for those of us who know what we've lost to bemoan the state of historic preservation in the city. But apparently we're still doing better than many places. Mallach noted that many parts of the city "the quality of the buildings and the fabric is unbelievably good" and he was surprised how much was left. Simmons, whose background is in preservation, agreed, saying "this is like heaven."
• In a related point that feels like it should be obvious but I might have forgotten to list it if I were coming up with a list of the city's assets, Mallach praised all the panoramic vistas that result from our topography.
• A model of diplomacy, Mallach did also note that he had been trying think of any other city he knew of that was "blessed with two monuments to misguided '60s and '70s modernism" (the Empire State Plaza and the uptown SUNY campus).
• He also observed how strikingly the city is cut off from its waterfront, calling the pedestrian bridge "a gesture" that no one would end up at unless it had been their specific intended destination. Though he was not in the business of making recommendations—that will be up to the charette attendants and in conjunction with the team they assemble—Mallach did note that there is a nationwide movement to take down elevated waterfront highways and make boulevards out of them. (Though it's counter-intuitive, this does not actually automatically create traffic congestion. Often the opposite. In fact, in a San Francisco neighborhood that took down a highway they joke about all the previous traffic disappearing into a hole in the ground.)
• The Harriman campus is also an unusual opportunity for large-scale in-city development that many cities don't have.
• In terms of Albany's similarities to other cities, the obvious major issue is our concentration of vacant and abandoned properties. Luckily, Mallach wrote the book on dealing with them, so he should be able to offer some good advice.

Clearly, this is not exhaustive or even necessarily representative of what they will decide the SDAT's can focus on. But it's always interesting to hear people's first thoughts. If you're not a lifelong resident, what were your first impressions of Albany? What would you show a visitor if you had only a couple hours and wanted them to appreciate the city?

Comments

[T. Halkowski]

RE: 787 as a barrier between the city and the waterfront, there has indeed been a nation-wide movement to fix or undo such errors. You correctly note the SF example - the same was done by Milwaukee's former mayor - John Norquist.