Green Island | |
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| Town of Green Island Village of Green Island | |
 George Street looking south towards the former St. Joseph's Church | |
 Seal | |
 Location inAlbany County and the state ofNew York. | |
.svg) Location of New York in the United States | |
  Green Island Location in New York Show map of New York Green Island Green Island (the United States) Show map of the United States | |
| Coordinates:42°44′39″N73°41′29″W / 42.74417°N 73.69139°W /42.74417; -73.69139 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New York |
| County | Albany |
| Incorporation asvillage | 1853 |
| Incorporation astown | 1896 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Ellen McNulty-Ryan (D) |
| Area | |
• Total | 0.93 sq mi (2.42 km2) |
| • Land | 0.75 sq mi (1.94 km2) |
| • Water | 0.19 sq mi (0.48 km2) |
| Elevation | 23 ft (7.0 m) |
| Lowest elevation | 0 ft (0 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 2,934 |
| • Density | 3,927.0/sq mi (1,516.23/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| ZIP Code | 12183 |
| Area code | 518 |
| FIPS code | 36-001-30532 |
| FIPS code | 36-30521[3] |
| GNIS feature ID | 0951697[2] |
| Wikimedia Commons | Green Island, New York |
| Website | villageofgreenisland |
Green Island is acoterminoustown-village inAlbany County,New York, United States, some 8 miles (13 km) north ofAlbany. Green Island is one of only five such town-village amalgamations in New York. The population was 2,934 at the 2020 census, and theZIP code is 12183. While the town of Green Island was once an island, it was connected to the mainland on the west side of the Hudson River in the 1960s.
Green Island is also the smallest town, by area, in New York, covering 0.7 square miles (1.8 km2); by contrast, the largest towns in the state by area areBrookhaven, which covers an area of 531.5 square miles (1,377 km2) (though much of that is water), andWebb, which has the largest land area at 483 square miles (1,250 km2).[citation needed]
Today's town and village of Green Island is connected to the mainland on the west side of the Hudson River. However, it was once called Tibbett's Island[4] and is situated on land that was, in the past, an island. TheFirst (or South) Branch of theMohawk River delta once ran between the island and Watervliet, separating the island from mainland Albany County.[5] The river branch was filled in[6] during construction ofInterstate 787 in the 1960s.[citation needed]
Green Island was called by theNative AmericansPachanhanit orNehanenesick, and was owned by the natives Amenhanit, Aepjen, and Wanapet until they sold it in 1665.[7] The island was part of theManor of Rensselaerswyck begun by thePatroonKiliaen van Rensselaer, whose great-grandson (Colonel Kiliaen van Rensselaer) sold the island in 1708 to Colonel Pieter Schuyler. The island was sold, in 1714, to Hendrick Oothout. In 1796, the northern part of the island was purchased by George Tibbits, after whom the island received its name of Tibbits Island; while the southern portion of the island was sold by the Oothout family in 1833 to Daniel Cady. The next year, Cady sold the land to the Tibbits family.[8]
Much like its larger neighboring cities; Troy, Watervliet, and Cohoes; Green Island was a major manufacturing and transportation center. In 1823, theFederal Dam was built between Green Island and Troy, allowing for year-round navigation north on theHudson River toWaterford andLansingburgh. In 1834, a terminal was built on the island by theRensselaer and Saratoga Railroad, which the following year built the firstGreen Island Bridge for railroad use from Green Island to Troy.[8] The Rensselaer and Saratoga Railroad built its locomotive and car shops in 1842 in Green Island.[8][9] Even after theDelaware and Hudson Railroad (D&H) took over and consolidated operations to the Colonie Shops (just west of Watervliet), the Green Island Shops continued to be a repair shop and were frequently mentioned in trade magazines during the 1930s regarding their experiments with new methods and materials; such as light weight steel.[9] Green Island, population 800, was incorporated in 1853 as a village in thetown of Watervliet.[8][10] In that same year theGilbert Car Company had arailroad car factory built in Green Island after their Troy location burned, it too would experience a fire in 1862, and finally went out of business in 1895.[11] The town of Green Island was formed in 1896, which also created the city ofWatervliet,[12] a year after the division of the originaltown of Watervliet that created the town ofColonie.[13]
It was automobile manufacturing, and not the railroads, that would soon become important to Green Island whenThomas Edison; whoseGeneral Electric was located in nearbySchenectady and who frequently fished off the northern end of Green Island; introduced his friend,Henry Ford, to the village.[14] In 1919 Ford, Edison,John Burroughs,Harvey Firestone,Harvey Firestone Jr., and the manager of Ford'sUpper Peninsula of Michigan operations camped and fished on land in Green Island,[15] that would, in 1922, becomeThe Ford Motor Company's plant manufacturing radiators and springs.[14] At one point the plant employed close to 1,000.[16] The location was convenient because of the Federal Dam which was used to provide hydroelectric power to operate the plant. Edison also considered building a factory at Green Island as well, which Ford believed would use electricity generated at his hydro power plant.[17] The Ford plant served as Green Island's largest employer until it was closed in 1989.[18] Although the factory portion was demolished in 2004,[14] the dam remains active and continues to produce electricity, now owned by the Green Island Power Authority (GIPA). The cheap electricity supplied by GIPA has lured many businesses to Green Island's north end, including Zak Incorporated,Honeywell Friction Materials, Long Island Pipe Supply, General Control Systems, Crystal IS, theNew York State Department of Taxation and Finance,Sealy Mattress Company, Reliable Brothers, and Case Window & Door Inc.[18]
TheRensselaer and Saratoga Railroad: Green Island Shops andSt. Mark's Episcopal Church are listed on theNational Register of Historic Places.[19]
One of the Capital Region's most powerful political families first came to power in 1917 when John "Jack" McNulty Sr. was elected Green Island tax collector.[20] He took over as head of the Green Island municipal Democratic Party in 1919, a position that he held until his death fifty years later in 1969. His son, John "Jack" McNulty Jr., was elected to the post as his immediate successor. He would be succeeded by his sonMichael R. McNulty in the 1970s, marking the sixth decade the post had been held by a McNulty.[21] McNulty Jr. won his first election as town supervisor in 1949,[20] a position his son Michael would also hold. Jack Jr., his son Michael and his daughter Ellen McNulty-Ryan have each served terms as Green Island's mayor. Michael was also elected to Congress, representingNew York's 21st congressional district from 1989 to 2009 (numbered as the 23rd for his first two terms).
The town/village has its own electric company in the form of the Green Island Power Authority (GIPA) which owns and operates a hydroelectric power plant in the Hudson River off the island. GIPA was created in 1986 by the state and usedeminent domain to seize the former Ford Plant hydroelectric dam in 2000,[22] from then-ownerNiagara Mohawk.[23] GIPA sells the electricity into the state's wholesale market, administered by theNYISO, and then buys from theNew York Power Authority cheaper hydroelectric power generated atNiagara Falls.[24] This cheap power is credited with attracting manufacturers and high-tech industry to the island's historically industrial north end.[22] The hydro plant on the Hudson River has four turbines and generates approximately sixmegawatts.[22] As of 2008, GIPA's rates are approximately 40% cheaper for the residents and businesses in Green Island than the traditional utilities in neighboring communities.[24]
Green Island is located at42°44′39″N73°41′39″W / 42.74417°N 73.69417°W /42.74417; -73.69417 (42.744178, -73.694219).[25]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 0.9 square miles (2.3 km2), of which 0.7 square miles (1.8 km2) is land and 0.2 square miles (0.52 km2) (23.91%) is water.
Green Island is located south of where theMohawk River empties into theHudson River in Albany County, New York. To the west is the hamlet of Maplewood within the town of Colonie, to the north is the city ofCohoes, the city of Watervliet is to the south-west, and the city ofTroy inRensselaer County is to the east across the Hudson River.
The village of Green Island, in addition to the former island of the same name, has two other islands,Center Island (also known asStarbuck Island) andMcGill Island. Center Island is crossed by theGreen Island Bridge and directly east of the mainland and west of Downtown Troy. The River's Edge apartment complex lies to the north of the bridge. McGill Island is a small unpopulated island north of Center Island. It is frequently flooded.[26]
Places adjacent to Green Island, New York | |
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| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1860 | 1,600 | — | |
| 1870 | 3,135 | 95.9% | |
| 1880 | 4,160 | 32.7% | |
| 1890 | 4,463 | 7.3% | |
| 1900 | 4,770 | 6.9% | |
| 1910 | 4,737 | −0.7% | |
| 1920 | 4,411 | −6.9% | |
| 1930 | 4,331 | −1.8% | |
| 1940 | 3,988 | −7.9% | |
| 1950 | 4,016 | 0.7% | |
| 1960 | 3,533 | −12.0% | |
| 1970 | 3,297 | −6.7% | |
| 1980 | 2,696 | −18.2% | |
| 1990 | 2,490 | −7.6% | |
| 2000 | 2,278 | −8.5% | |
| 2010 | 2,620 | 15.0% | |
| 2020 | 2,934 | 12.0% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[27] | |||
As of thecensus[3] of 2000, there were 2,278 people, 1,073 households, and 580 families residing in the village. The population density was 3,262.1 inhabitants per square mile (1,259.5/km2). There were 1,188 housing units at an average density of 1,701.2 per square mile (656.8/km2). The racial makeup of the village was 96.88%White, 1.32%African American, 0.13%Native American, 0.35%Asian, 0.09% fromother races, and 1.23% from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 0.75% of the population.
There were 1,073 households, out of which 24.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.9% weremarried couples living together, 14.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.9% were non-families. 38.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.12 and the average family size was 2.83.
In the village, the population was spread out, with 21.2% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 32.1% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 15.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.9 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $32,500, and the median income for a family was $38,011. Males had a median income of $31,403 versus $27,422 for females. Theper capita income for the village was $17,795. About 10.8% of families and 10.0% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 13.3% of those under age 18 and 5.2% of those age 65 or over.
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