Building the Empire State Plaza and Displacing People

Hear about the building of Albany’s Empire State Plaza, and the related destruction of 40 city blocks, displacing about 7,000 residents and 400 businesses, to make room for it. David Hochfelder, a professor involved with UAlbany’s Public History Program, talks with Brea Barthel about the 14-year “urban renewal” project, putting it in the context of similar projects in New York state and beyond. For more information, with photos and oral histories, visit 98acresinalbany.wordpress.com. For a related video, documentary on “The Neighborhood that Disappeared,” visit wmht.org. (photo: from New York State Archives, as posted on 98 Acres site.)