Collections : [New York State Modern Political Archive]

The Albany County Civic Center Collection documents the policy decisions that went into planning an arena in downtown Albany. Originally named the Knickerbocker Arena, it was later known as the Pepsi Arena and the Times Union Center.

The Citizens Budget Commission contain information on the financial outlook of New York City from the 1930's to the 1990's.

The Conference of Large City Boards of Education Records include some of the day-to-day operations of the Special Task Force on Equity and Excellence in Education as documented through files kept by Eugene Samter, Executive Director of the Conference. The collection also includes Samter's testimony from the 1976 Levittown vs. Nyquist case argued before the New York State Supreme Court.

Born in Leavenworth, Kansas, Schein was a pioneer in the development of educational television and radio in New York State. During graduate study at Boston University, he became active in fundraising to help establish Boston's educational television station, WGBH and served on the Massachusetts Citizens Committee on Educational Television. In 1955, Schein came to Schenectady and served as associate producer and first president of the Mohawk-Hudson Council on Educational Television, where he produced instructional programs for in-school use broadcast over WRGB-TV. Schein led the effort to launch the second public television station in New York State, Schenectady's WMHT in 1962, and was executive director and later general manager. He was instrumental in the addition of the all classical music radio station WMHT-FM in 1972 and the Radio Information Service (RISE), a radio reading service for the blind and print handicapped in 1978. He retired in 1986 as general manager, after concluding negotiations for the acquisition of Channel 45, WMHQ. The collection contains newsletters, programs and schedules, meeting minutes, photographs, and Schein's files as president of Mohawk-Hudson Council on Educational Television, and files as executive director and general manager of WMHT.

The Environmental Advocates of New York Records document the legislative activities of the organization from the 1980s through the late 1990s. The collection consists of correspondence, notes, meeting minutes, reports, memorandums, publications, news clippings, promotional material, as well as administrative files.

The Ernest Curto Papers document Curto's service in the New York State Assembly, as a representative of Niagara County (N.Y.), where he served from 1946-1964. The collection includes correspondence, subject files, and legislation from his tenure.

Eunice Baird Whittlesey was born in Yorkville, New York. She married Joseph I. Whittlesey on August 30, 1947, and had one daughter, Anne Whittlesey Donlan. Mrs. Whittlesey graduated from the University at Albany (then known as the New York State College for Teachers) in 1944. Mrs. Whittlesey began her professional life as an English, Speech and Drama teacher in Connecticut and Massachusetts. She has also held several prominent positions in the New York State and national Republican parties.

The Freda R. H. Martens Papers contain reports and papers about her work in higher education in both California and New York.

The papers of Jackson Davis document his environmental activism and work with environmental organizations.

These records document the day-to-day activities and interests of the Knolls Action Project (KAP).

The records of the League of Women Voters of Albany County (LWVAC), include material produced by the LWVAC as well as material that was produced by the League of Women Voters of New York State and the League of Women Voters of the United States. The most comprehensive series in the collection is the Administrative Files. There are meeting minutes, annual reports, and Board of Directors lists from 1940-2001. A large portion of the LWVAC collection relates to the two main purposes of the organization: voter service and "study and action." Records relating to voter service include pamphlets with information about candidates and citizen voting rights published by the LWVAC and material used to increase voter participation. Records related to "study and action" include material used by the LWVAC to inform citizens about public policy issues locally, statewide, and nationally. A strength of the LWVAC collection is the amount of material related to various public policy issues and how they affected the local community.

The NAACP Schenectady Branch Records document concerns for discrimination in housing and employment and for the recruitment of black professionals from colleges and universities to the area. The records also show the Branch's involvement with area social service providers, labor unions, and other community organizations, as well as with General Electric, as the area's major employer.

The New York State Executive Advisory Commission on the Administration of Justice Records is composed of materials retained by Vincent O'Leary, a past president of the State University of New York at Albany and member of the commission. The collection provides insight into the inner workings and public exchanges of the commission members as they discussed and dealt with problems associated with the criminal justice system.

The Public Employees Federation (PEF) was founded in 1979 to represent members of the Professional, Scientific, and Technical (PS&T) bargaining unit of New York State. PS&T employees had formerly been represented by CSEA, the state's largest public employee union. PEF founders believed that the concerns of the PS&T unit were not adequately represented by CSEA, the majority of whose members were non-professional state employees. PEF's stated mission is to "provide the leadership necessary for PEF members to achieve employment security, higher wages, better working conditions, and improved retirement benefits." Materials in this collection document PEF activities at both the state and division level. There is extensive coverage of executive board activities from 1978 through mid-2000, annual conventions, committee meetings, and contract negotiations. Also included are files for PEF Division 169, PEF's Environmental Conservation Division. These include correspondence, agendas and minutes for labor/management meetings, material on committees, and administrative files. This collection also documents the activities of reform groups and political parties within PEF (most notably, the Statewide Coalition for a Democratic Union) and PEF's relationships with its national affiliates, the Service Employees International Union and the American Federation of Teachers. Particularly strong is the collection of bulletin board postings, which includes almost everything posted on Division 169 PEF bulletin boards from 1979 through 2000. There are also official PEF publications, including a near-complete run of PEF's official monthly newsletter to members, The Communicator.

This collection contains the Preservation League of New York State's official newsletters, annual reports, materials for and from its annual awards ceremony, correspondence, various publications and manuals created by its members, grant materials, directories of members and preservation programs and organizations, and a timeline of the Preservation League's history ranging from 1975-2002.

The Robert D. Helsby Papers include materials that document his work as first chair of the New York State Public Employment Relations Board from 1967-1977 and include publications on labor relations, New York's Taylor Law and collective bargaining.

The Saratoga Springs Open Space Project worked for the preservation of open space in Saratoga Springs. It supported the creation of nature trails, scenic walkways, and biking paths as well as vigorously opposed sprawl and loss of open space by organizing opposition to unsustainable development. In addition, the organization coordinated several programs aimed at aiding the development of Saratoga Springs and maintained a special interest in the development of the downtown area. The collection includes administrative files, grant files, material related to programs and issues, documentation of trails, and subject files.

A public benefit corporation formed to plan, design, construct and provide financing for facilities required by the SUNY system.

The Business and Professional Women's Club of Albany, New York, (BPW) was founded in 1934 with 22 charter members as a chapter of the Business and Professional Women's Clubs of New York State, Inc. (founded in 1919) and a member of the National Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs, Inc. The objectives of the club, according to its by-laws, were "To elevate the standards for women in business and in the professions; To promote the interests of business and professional women; To bring about a spirit of cooperation among business and professional women of the United States; [and] To extend opportunities to business and professional women through education along lines of industrial, scientific, and vocational activities."

The Environmental Clearinghouse, Inc. also known as ECOS, is a regional environmental organization founded in Schenectady, New York in October 1971 by members of the Junior League of Schenectady, Inc. and supported since 1974 by membership contributions, donations, and volunteers.

The Glove Cities Area Joint Board of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (ACWA) was founded in Gloversville, N.Y., 1954. This Joint Board originally had jurisdiction over the clothing workers unions in Gloversville and Johnstown, N.Y., and nearby villages. These locals were primarily locals of glove and leather goods workers.

United University Professions (UUP) is the union and collective bargaining agent for the faculty and non-teaching professionals of the State University of New York (SUNY). UUP (initially named SUNY/United) was created by the 1973 merger of the Senate Professional Association (SPA) and the State University Federation of Teachers (SUFT).

The Willowbrook Review Panel was a Federal monitoring group established by the U.S. District Court in 1975 and dismissed from its duties in 1987. The Willowbrook Review Panel Records provide extensive documentation of the Panel's main function: monitoring implementation of the 1975 Willowbrook Consent Decree in New York State which set new standards for the care of the facility's residents.