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St. Teresa of Avila Church in April 2008
The final mass at St. Teresa of Avila on New Scotland Avenue is scheduled for Sunday, September 27, at 10 a.m.
According to the St. Teresa of Avila Web site, the closing celebration of the Eucharist will culminate 89 years of the parish, as the church at 435 New Scotland Ave. mergers with St. Catherine of Siena “to become Mater Christi.”
Solemn vespers will be sung on Saturday afternoon, Sept. 26, at 4:30 p.m., and the final mass (the only mass of the weekend at St. Teresa) will be on Sunday at 10 a.m. A parish reception will follow the final mass.
Chris Ringwald and Chris Boldiston put up a new sign at New Scotland Elementary seeking donations to fund trees and shrubs at the newly renovated school, with a little help from Ian and Mitchell.
A new fund-raising drive is underway in the neighborhood.
The PTA Grounds Committee at New Scotland Elementary School is seeking to plant trees and shrubs around the recently renovated school (the former PS 19), and needs your help.
Donations can be sent to:
PTA Grounds Committee
New Scotland Elementary School
369 New Scotland Avenue
Albany, NY 12208
For more information, e-mail ringwc@sage.edu.
Civic officials broke ground Monday morning for the future John J. Back branch of the Albany Public Library on New Scotland Avenue next to the Engine 11 firehouse.
A healthy contingent of neighbors and local schoolchildren came out and showed their support, attending the event under clear blue skies. Library Board of Trustees President Dennis Gaffney served as Master of Ceremonies and delivered opening remarks. John Bach’s daughter, Ellen Bach, spoke of her father’s love for this neighborhood and for the public library. Mayor Jerry Jennings, Common Council President Shawn Morris and Council members Cathy Fahey, Jim Sano and Dominick Calsolaro were also on hand and were joined by Interim Library Director Timothy Burke and New York State Dormitory Authority Executive Director Paul T. Williams Jr.
More coverage at the Library’s Web site: Library Celebrates Groundbreaking at New Scotland Avenue Site
A groundbreaking ceremony for the new branch of the Albany Public Library — the John J. Bach branch — on New Scotland Avenue next to Engine 11 is scheduled for this coming Monday, May 11, at 11 a.m.
The public is invited to attend the event to celebrate the project to build the 8,500-square-foot branch between Oakwood and Maplewood streets, according to the Library’s Web site.
Construction continues on the project. More photos after the jump…
Join us for a special participatory discussion of what your neighborhood means to you. We are convening a visioning meeting to kickoff a small planning process — as a way to “get ready” for the City of Albany’s Comprehensive Plan project which is getting underway, as well as to help us focus our ongoing neighborhood association efforts.
The meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 15, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Sage College of Albany Campus Center.
Everyone is invited to share what they believe are the best aspects of our neighborhood, and offer their ideas for “what you would like your neighborhood (and city) to be like in the next 5 to 10 years.” The meeting format will be a brief presentation followed by facilitated discussions in small groups, and will reconvene as one large group wrap-up and reporting session.
Please invite your neighbors, and bring ideas for how to get more residents involved in thinking about our future. For more info, please contact Jennifer Viggiani, Chair, at jvigg2005@yahoo.com.
What do you want your neighborhood to be in the next 10 years? What Could it Be Like? What Should it Be Like?
The Helderberg Neighborhood Association will sponsor one of its “special” additional neighborhood meetings on Wednesday, Oct. 15, to do some brainstorming about what we residents and business owners would like to see our neighborhood be like in the coming years — a visioning meeting. The meeting will be participatory in nature, so please bring your thoughts and ideas with you. It will be held from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Sage College of Albany, Campus Center at Academy Road, where our regular HNA meetings are held.
The idea for holding a special, participatory discussion on what we would like to see for our neighborhood, and ultimately, for the greater city, is in part, a response to and preparation for the beginning of the City of Albany’s city-wide comprehensive plan and planning process that is underway in its initial stages. Further, October is National Planning Month per the American Planning Association, and our neighborhood is a great, walkable, livable neighborhood that is a model for other neighborhoods and outside communities — if we can sustain all of its great qualities. Here are some suggested topics for the October meeting, for a robust discussion on these and other issues that participants are encouraged bring to the table:
- Is our great neighborhood prepared for the changes going on in the city? We are fortunate to be receiving significant public investments in public buildings in our neighborhood: the renovation of School 19 is nearly complete, with a January 2009 anticipated opening; and the John S. Bach Library construction next to the fire house on New Scotland Avenue is slated to be open in 2010. And likewise, some amazing private investments are occurring as we speak: the $500 million expansion of St. Peter’s Hospital at one end of our neighborhood, and the same large scale investment is underway at Albany Medical Center and the Park South neighborhood to the other end.
- Are we ready to embrace potential changes at the St. Teresa of Avila Church and School campus, located in the heart of our neighborhood?
- Will our small, locally owned and operated businesses be able to adjust and thrive amidst all the changes happening around our neighborhood?
- How can we support the growing numbers of our neighbors who are earning a living working out of their home?
- How can we support the folks near or into retirement being able to continue to live their lives in our great neighborhood?
- Is there enough green space for our children in the neighborhood and the city?
- How can we secure enhancements to our neighborhood and the greater city for pedestrian and bicyclists to safely travel? How can we support mass transit in Albany?
- Can we reduce/manage the commuter traffic, by encouraging more employees to live in our neighborhood and city?
- Ultimately, how can we work with and improve our relationships with the City of Albany and other partners and neighborhoods to keep our great neighborhood going, and to support the strengthening of not only our neighborhood, but the whole city?
As our neighborhood has never been the subject of any comprehensive study or analysis, it seems like a great opportunity to meet and share ideas about why we moved to this neighborhood (and/or decided to stay in this neighborhood), what we like and love about our neighborhood, and what are the issues and concerns we have today and looking to the future. This meeting could be a great discussion for us to start to really focus as a group on what our shared goals are — and maybe we’ll find constructive, doable ways to keep improving this great neighborhood — by working together.
If you would like to help us prepare or have suggestions for this visioning discussion, please contact Jennifer Viggiani at 489-3824 or jvigg2005@yahoo.com.
Originally published in the September-October edition of the HNA Reporter newsletter.
The Helderberg Neighborhood Association’s annual fall picnic is scheduled for this Wednesday, Sept. 17, from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.
The new location is the grassy lawn in front of Sage College of Albany at the intersection of New Scotland Avenue and Academy Road.
The picnic is moving from its traditional spot next to Engine 11 because of the Fall 2008 anticipated groundbreaking for the construction of the new library branch.
Everyone in the neighborhood is invited, and we encourage all to bring a dish to share (remember to label your plate with your name, address and phone number).
Our local business have been very generous (as always) in donating for our traditional picnic raffle. A 50/50 raffle is also planned.
If you are unable to walk to the picnic, parking will be available at the Campus Center parking area (off Academy Road) — it’s the same lot we use on our regular HNA meeting night.
The rain date for the picnic is Saturday, Sept. 17, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Luanne M. Ferris photo, Times Union
While this article by Times Union writer Tom Keyser, with great accompanying photos from Luanne M. Ferris, could likely describe many blocks in our wonderful neighborhood, it uses Grove Avenue as an example and does a great job capturing why many of us live in the Helderberg Neighborhood.
Please following this link: http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=702822&category;=LIFE&newsdate;=7/13/2008&TextPage;=1
New Scotland Avenue Neighborhoods 