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Author: John Wolcott

Center, NY/Karner, NY Old Development Never Finished in the Pine Bush

Center, NY/Karner, NY Old Development Never Finished in the Pine Bush

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by John Wolcott Join us on a visit to a forgotten locale at the crossing of Old Karner Road with the AMTRAK tracks. This was bypassed when New Karner Road was built and then after a while the crossing was closed. This place was the location of the railroad stop half way between Albany and Schenectady established in 1831 when the first chartered passenger railroad in the Western Hemisphere was constructed here and for it’s first several years ran only…

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NYS Climate Action Council

NYS Climate Action Council

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by John Wolcott ALBANY, NY: Here is a brief review of the Summary of the State Climate Action Council’s first public meeting on January 25, 2010 at the N.Y. State Museum was held pursuant to Gov. Paterson’s Executive Order 24. This was the first State Climate Action Council Public Outreach Meeting pursuant to Gov. Paterson's Executive Order 24 concerning measures to be taken to combat global warming. It's not too bad and compares well with California's unilateral actions and goes…

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Storm Over the Mountains

Storm Over the Mountains

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by John Wolcott This will be but the latest of several Overview Hikes SPB has sponsored over the years, to points around the rim of the Albany Inner Lowland Basin. We will view the Pine Bush from various points in and near Thacher Park. The hike is free and the public is cordially invited Most of them have been to High Point, Thacher Park and Pinnacle Mountain. We see no reason to discontinue these events now in spite of State…

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Walk, Hike, and Bike the Pine Bush

Walk, Hike, and Bike the Pine Bush

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Walk, Hike, and Bike the Pine Bush Walk, Hike, and Bike the Pine Bush The Pine Bush is a beautiful place to walk. The soft, rolling sand dunes are a walker’s dream. You can take a bus to the Pine Bush from downtown Albany. The Pine Bush is the perfect spot for outdoor activities. Save the Pine Bush sponsors walks almost every month of the year. Join us! – Ed. Announcing Albany’s Newest Bicycle Path by Jerry Mueller, Mar./Apr. 91…

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Mayor Jennings’ Bankrupt Pine Bush Policy And Loss of Words Exposed

Mayor Jennings’ Bankrupt Pine Bush Policy And Loss of Words Exposed

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Mayor Jennings’ Bankrupt Pine Bush Policy And Loss of Words Exposed   Mayor Jennings’ Bankrupt Pine Bush Policy And Loss of Words Exposed by John Wolcott Should anyone concerned with preserving the environment vote to re-elect Jerry Jennings for the Mayor of Albany at the next mayoral election? I don’t think so. Jerry Jennings was quoted in the Gazette as claiming that he has supported a policy of “containment” in the Pine Bush. I suppose that Mayor Jennings was in…

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The Emperor’s New Plan

The Emperor’s New Plan

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The Emperor’s New Plan The Emperor’s New Plan by John Wolcott The Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission has as much of an acquisition plan as a certain famous emperor once had a new suit of clothes. Land owner and grassroots environmentalists alike are impatient with the Commission’s having published a map showing "Full Protection" parcels without a clear, systematic plan to acquire them. This has turned out to be merely a wish list and an unrealistic one under the circumstances….

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Show Down Over Roundup

Show Down Over Roundup

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Show Down Over Roundup Show Down Over Roundup by John Wolcott Invading black locust trees are crowding out and over shadowing native Pine Bush plants including the blue lupine which is essential to the survival of the Karner Blue. Black locust trees, along with bulldozer happy developers, are one of the many threats to the survival of the Pine Bush. Black locusts, like developers, are extremely difficult to eradicate from the Pine Bush. Jerry Mueller has been cutting down one…

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The Albany Pine Bush Management Commission

The Albany Pine Bush Management Commission

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The Albany Pine Bush Management Commission The Albany Pine Bush Management Commission The Pine Bush Management Commission was created by the New York State Legislature to study and manage the Pine Bush in response to Save the Pine Bush’s lawsuits with the City of Albany over the landfill. Members of the Commission include the executives of the municipalities which include Pine Bush. The City of Albany, the Town of Colonie, the Town of Guilderland, the County of Albany, New York…

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Pushing and Pulling West: Pending Extensions of the Boundaries of the Pine Bush Preserve

Pushing and Pulling West: Pending Extensions of the Boundaries of the Pine Bush Preserve

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Pushing and Pulling West: Pending Extensions of the Boundaries of the Pine Bush Preserve   Pushing and Pulling West: Pending Extensions of the Boundaries of the Pine Bush Preserve By John Wolcott A Little Background When I first started mulling over the notion of a Pine Bush Preserve in 1971, it was with the thought of the opportunity to set aside a large, more or less, continuous bi-city forest for the benefit of car-free city dwellers, stretching between Schenectady and…

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New Light on an Old Road – Part II

New Light on an Old Road – Part II

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New Light on an Old Road – Part II New Light on an Old Road – Part II (Continued from March/April 1998 Newsletter) by John Wolcott The new information revealed by this almost destroyed map, about old trails and roads in the Pine Bush is utterly amazing and startling. I had already known that part of the "Old Road to Schenectady" left Albany by a route up near Madison Avenue, and that it went over the UytKyck off Curry Road….

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New Light on an Old Road

New Light on an Old Road

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New Light on an Old Road New Light on an Old Road by John Wolcott Save the Pine Bush board member John Wolcott has discovered evidence of a forgotten foot path through the Pine Bush that in the 1600’s and 1700’s ran parallel to the main Albany-Schenectady Road, the Maquas Padt. Here is Part 1 of a two-part article on what John found. "A Map of the Lines Run Pursant to the Direction of the arbitrators, as Claimed by the…

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John Wolcott Versus The Dump – Skewering An Inane Document

John Wolcott Versus The Dump – Skewering An Inane Document

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John Wolcott Versus The Dump – Skewering An Inane Document John Wolcott Versus The Dump Skewering An Inane Document By John Wolcott Editor’s Note: Save the Pine Bush board member and dedicated enemy of deception John Wolcott has provided a blow by blow commentary on the "Summary of the 2nd Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Extension of the Albany Interim Landfill". This is the legal paperwork required before the City of Albany can start throwing trash and…

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Willow Street Again

Willow Street Again

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Willow Street Again   Willow Street Again SPB Sues over Sewers Built in the Preserve DEC Caves in to Developer by Lynne Jackson Ten months after filing a ground-breaking suit that forced a developer to remove water lines from the Preserve along Willow Street in Guilderland, Save the Pine Bush has filed a second suit against the same defendants, this time seeking removal of the sewer lines. Lewis B. Oliver, Jr., attorney extraordinaire for SPB said, “We were successful in…

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The Thruway Authority Comes Across Royally

The Thruway Authority Comes Across Royally

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The Thruway Authority Comes Across Royally The Thruway Authority Comes Across Royally by John Wolcott The Thruway Authority has just completed a hikers’ underpass under the new bridge that carries Route 155 over the Thruway. This was done in response to a proposal presented to the Thruway Authority by Save the Pine Bush and the Sierra Club-Hudson Mohawk Group in May 1999. This hikers’ underpass reconnects two unpaved surviving portions of the colonial Kings Road, the road opened for wagons…

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The Uyt Kyck Drumlin In The Schenectady – Albany Pine Bush

The Uyt Kyck Drumlin In The Schenectady – Albany Pine Bush

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By John Wolcott By way of an etremely simplyfied explaination s drumlin is a major and fairly popularly known outwash feature of glaciial retreat. Over hundreds of thousand of years there have been four major glacial periods on earth when glaciers formed and spread north from the South Pole and south form the North Pole. Then there were interglacial warmer periods. There were miner fluctuations of re advance and re retreat. The fourth North American Glacial Advance; the Wisconsin moved…

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The 1996 Clean Water, Clean Air Bond Act

The 1996 Clean Water, Clean Air Bond Act

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The 1996 Clean Water, Clean Air Bond Act The 1996 Clean Water, Clean Air Bond Act What It Is, What It Isn’t, And What Some Of It Might Be An Exposé by John Wolcott First of all, New York State’s "Clean Water, Clean Air Bond Act" is, on the surface, just about what it’s title says it is. Unlike the Environmental Bond Act promoted by Governor Cuomo in 1990 (which was defeated by the voters- ed.) , Pataki’s Act is…

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A Brief Historical Note on the Six Mile Waterworks (Rensselaer Lake)

A Brief Historical Note on the Six Mile Waterworks (Rensselaer Lake)

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A Brief Historical Note on the Six Mile Waterworks (Rensselaer Lake) A Brief Historical Note on the Six Mile Waterworks (Rensselaer Lake) by John Wolcott The section of the Pine Bush where the proposed aquatic park would be located is a remaining portion of an early conservation area. This was one of the first tracts, if not the very first, in the state, specifically set aside for forest and water conservation. For this reason there is some additional historical significance…

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Land Crunch in the Pine Bush

Land Crunch in the Pine Bush

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Land Crunch in the Pine Bush Land Crunch in the Pine Bush by John Wolcott We’d Rather Have Been Wrong Save the Pine Bush knew that unresolved difference between development desires and acquisition wish lists were heading toward a major clash in the Pine Bush. Even so the present situation of 85 "hot spots" has taken us by surprise in its extent and immediacy. It proves us more right than we thought we were, whereas we’d rather have been wrong…

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Save the Pine Bush

Save the Pine Bush

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The walk in the Pine Bush on May 26 hosted by John Wolcott and Mark Plaat found no butterflies, and blue lupine just beginning to flower. The walk led by Lynne Jackson and Daniel Van Riper on June 2, however, saw the lupine in full bloom and the first butterflies scattered here and there. Some two dozen enthusiasts, many armed with high powered cameras, marched up and down the dunes demanding that the little beggars come out of the brush…

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The 1914 Pine Bush Preserve – What became of it?

The 1914 Pine Bush Preserve – What became of it?

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The 1914 Pine Bush Preserve – What became of it?  The 1914 Pine Bush Preserve What became of it? by John Wolcott In 1914, Albany almost benefitted immensely from the City Beautiful movement. This was part of the Progressive movement, then afoot around the country with its strong public spirit, open, honest better government and conservation bent. This, temporarily, influenced even traditionally conservative Albany. Albany in 1912, commissioned an architect, Arnold W. Brunner, and a landscape architect, Charles Downing Lay,…

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Save the Pine Bush

Save the Pine Bush

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by John Wolcott The next piece in the puzzle of “Where is Trader’s Hill?” is an amazing very old parchment map in the Albany City Engineer’s collection. It is the only map known to show Margriets Bergh, and was drawn in January 1773 by Jeremiah Van Rensselaer from a survey done by himself in 1772. This survey and map were ordered by the City in an effort to correct a series of mistakes in a former survey of it’s bounds….

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Blues Connection

Blues Connection

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by John Wolcott Click on map to see larger image Now: you can see it at a glance. The top topo map displayed here, is of the Karner Dune Field, the Type Locality of the Karner Blue Butterfy, in the Pine Bush, as it was way before Rte. 155 appeared. A unified field, fully connected west to east. This dune field is a grouping of sand dunes within the much larger Schenectady-Albany “Dune Belt.” All. of the cultural information has,…

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Buy High Point

Buy High Point

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by John Wolcott . Looking southwest from Guilderland, Colonie, Albany, and Mt. Rafinesque, overlooking Lansingburgh, a long dark and clearly outlined, straight line of mountains are seen on the intermediate horizon. Beyond this on the further horizon, are seen, if at all, a hazy, greyish blue, outline of distinct separate humps of mountains. It is said that the nearer mountains are called the “Helderbergs” because they can be seen, relatively more clearly, from the above named places, and the word…

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Moratoriums

Moratoriums

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by John Wolcott Guilderland just enacted six-month moratorium on development in the western part of town. The Town of Colonie is considering a moratorium in certain segments of town. As both Guilderland and Colonie contain Pine Bush, one would have expected the Pine Bush to have been included in the moratoriums as both town supervisors are on the Pine Bush Commission, but the Pine Bush was left out. Colonie, at least, has some conscientious citizens and an environmentally responsible board…

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Avila Keeps Advertising

Avila Keeps Advertising

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by John Wolcott Have you seen the ads in the newspaper for Avila House? They say, “The reasons for moving to Avila House keep piling up!” Well! The only thing piling up is their hypocrisy. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany is acting disgracefully. It is devastating what had been one of the most beautiful spots in the entire Pine Bush – a place where thousands of butterflies once lived. And to top it off, the logo for the Avila…

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Early Reference to the Pine Bush Discovered in the Dutch Records of Beverwyck

Early Reference to the Pine Bush Discovered in the Dutch Records of Beverwyck

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by John Wolcott This year is the three hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the chartering of the community of Albany as the village of Beverwyck. With this in mind, let us quote a reference to the Pine Bush from the records of Beverwyck, January 7, 1753: “The Honorable Abraham Staets having requested that the description of the lot here-to-fore granted to him might be entered here, this is granted and it is situated as follows . . . on the…

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Save the Pine Bush

Save the Pine Bush

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The Pine Bush is located in the Capital District, between Albany and Schenectady. The boundaries are Fuller Road on the east, Route 5 (Central Avenue) on the North, Route 146 on the west, and Route 20 (Western Avenue) on the South. The Pine Bush is located in three municipalities-Albany, Guilderland and Colonie. The Pine Bush originally encompassed 58,000 acres extending from downtown Albany to Rotterdam. Now, there are only 5,800 acres remaining. Key Black Line: The Pine Bush Commission’s study…

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Save the Pine Bush

Save the Pine Bush

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The Pine Bush has played an important historical role in the development of Albany and Schenectady and is enshrined in the literary heritage of the United States. The Song of Hiawatha by William Wadsworth Longfellow is sung by the Indian brave from the Vale of Tawasentha located in the Pine Bush. George Washington wrote of the Pine Bush in his diaries while traveling in upstate New York during the Revolutionary War. In Moby Dick, Herman Melville describes the dark beauty…

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Before “Development”

Before “Development”

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Before "Development" Before Photo by John Wolcott Previous Next Back to Exhibit Index Vegetarian Lasagna Dinner Pine Bush Hike Current Newsletter About Save the Pine Bush Virtual Photo Exhibit  Action Alerts Volunteer Nights Articles in Date Order Links Articles by Subject  Save the Pine Bush Home Email Save the Pine Bush Page written and maintained by Save the Pine Bush Volunteers õõ

Save the Pine Bush

Save the Pine Bush

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Save the Pine Bush has a traveling exhibit. We bring it to fairs, schools, and especially every year to the Albany Tulipfest, held on Saturaday and Sunday of Mother’s Day weekend in May. If you don’t have a chance to visit our exhibit in person, we have put the pictures and captions in our exhibit on the web for your enjoyment. The photographs linked to this page are spectacular, and, are quite large (between 60K and 140K). Click on the…

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Exploring Bus Service to the Pine Bush

Exploring Bus Service to the Pine Bush

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Exploring Bus Service to the Pine Bush Exploring Bus Service to the Pine Bush by John Wolcott One can reach the Pine Bush from Albany by bus. However, it is, at one point, difficult and unsafe. At another point, it is awkward, and, as yet, uncertain. A couple of weeks ago, I tested part of the bus system in person. I took the Number 12 Crossgates bus to Wall-Mart on the Washington Avenue Extension. This is the nearest stop to…

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Equinox – Earth Day – Every Day

Equinox – Earth Day – Every Day

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by John Wolcott   Join us in celebrating the approximate original time for Earth Day. Earth Day was proposed in San Francisco in 1969, at a UNESCO Conference by John McConnell, who felt this natural event was appropriate for the occasion. It was also appropriate that Earth Day was first celebrated the next year, 1970 by the City of San Francisco named after the Saint whom many consider the Patron of the environment. The U.N. followed the example of San…

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7

7

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History Mauled Again – City Did Dirty Deal Selling Historic Site History Mauled Again City Did Dirty Deal Selling Historic Site Feb./Mar. 95 by Lynne Jackson I have been reading this book, The Fifth Discipline in which the author, Peter M. Senge, says that it is often the structure of the situation that makes people behave in certain ways. In a given situation, according to his theory, widely different people will do the same thing. This is obviously what happened…

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The Way We Were

The Way We Were

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by Tom Ellis   ALBANY, NY: Don Rittner was the guest speaker at the June 20 SPB dinner.  Don was introduced by John Wolcott who said Don took Albany by storm in 1973 with his archaeological research of the Isaac Truax Tavern on the King’s Highway that George Washington stopped in six times.  He said Don also has the distinction of being fired by Albany Mayors Erastus Corning and Tom Whalen. Don titled his presentation, “The Way We Were.”  Using a PowerPoint,…

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New York State Historic Archaeological Site Inventory Form

New York State Historic Archaeological Site Inventory Form

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New York State Historic Archaeological Site Inventory Form Stanford Home Hearing Information Hearing Notes January 23 Hearing Canadians are Coming! Archeological Information Photos – Outdoor Photos – Indoor Bonding Editorial Preservation   Donate Contact   New York State Historic Archaeological Site Inventory Form NYS OFFICE OF PARKS, RECREATION & HISTORIC PRESERVATION (518) 237-8643 For Office Use Only–Site Identifier Project Identifier USN A09303.000240 Your Name Louise Basa and John Wolcott Date September 1, 2006 Address Basa: 1220 Waverly Place, Schenectady, New…

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Notes from the Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission

Notes from the Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission

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by John Wolcott Suburbs by any other name are suburbs just the same, and need to be solidly opposed by environmentalists and urbanists. Pine Bush sites that are within the City of Albany boundaries are disconnected from the real urban city, besides being in a globally rare eco-system. This applies to the sites of the high tech research facilities being built at the University of Albany. These sites are right next to the “Ship of Academia” (otherwise knows as the…

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Save Holy Innocents Church, Albany, New York

Save Holy Innocents Church, Albany, New York

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Letter to the editor, Times Union, July 21, 2015 Photos by John Wolcott of Holy Innocents Fate of Albany’s historic Holy Innocents church unclear An opportunity to save the former Church of the Holy Innocents Seriously Endangered Church of The Holy Innocents Section of former Church of Holy Innocents collapses Read excerpts from a book about Holy Innocents Floor Plan of the Church of the Holy Innocents Read the story of Holy Innocents Church in Albany, New York, and why…

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An Albany County Environmental Mystery

An Albany County Environmental Mystery

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by John Wolcott A great unanswered environmental acquisition mystery of the Capital District is the long failed Albany County Historic and Nature Preserve and Historic and Nature Preserve Trust Law of 1976. This law was never implemented. About the only thing ever done with this well designed and well intended law was to place the Ann Lee Pond and one or two other properties, already owned by the county, in the projected preserve system. This law, however, specifically authorizes acquisition…

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Guilderlandt

Guilderlandt

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by John Wolcott by John Wolcott Two hundred years ago, the Town of ”Guilderlandt” was organized and set up by an act of the State Legislature. The Dutch language, at the time, was losing out to English and becoming poorly used. The Indians were continuing to lose out to non-Indians, and the environment would, eventually, lose out. The founders of Guilderland are generally assumed to have had the name “Gelderland” in mind when they named the Town, with a mixed…

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“Farmers” Sue Albany Pine Bush Management Commission

“Farmers” Sue Albany Pine Bush Management Commission

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by John Wolcott The Albany Pine Bush Management Commission was sued last summer by a group of individuals accusing the Commission of “conspiring to reduce the value of their land.” The Times Union characterized the plaintiffs in the law suit against the Commission as “several farmers”. Actually, there are several individual plaintiffs but out of these seven we only know three of them to be farmers for a certainty.Their lawyer is Paul Wein whom we all remember from two Pine…

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Newsletters Articles Ordered by Subject

Newsletters Articles Ordered by Subject

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Search Newsletter Archives: What is Full Protection, Partial Protection and who is the Pine Bush? – By Lynne Jackson – June / July 2022 Newsletter A Tribute To Lew Oliver, our wonderful lawyer The Pine Bush’s Most Famous Resident – The Karner Blue Butterfly Save the Pine Bush Victories and Fights The Thruway Authority Comes Across Royally, Dec 99/Jan 00Save the Pine Bush is 25!, Mar/Apr 03 Legislation regarding standing in court We Need the Environmental Access to Justice Act,…

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