Plattsburgh (city), New York
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| City of Plattsburgh | |
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| Nickname: "The Lake City (La Ville sur le Lac)" | |
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| Coordinates: | |
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| County | Clinton County, New York |
| Government | |
| - Mayor | Donald Kasprzak |
| Area | |
| - City | 17 km² (6.6 sq mi) |
| - Land | 44 km² (17 sq mi) |
| - Water | 3.9 km² (1.5 sq mi) 23.4% |
| Population (2000) | |
| - City | 18,816 |
| - Density | 612.8/km² (1,587.1/sq mi) |
| Time zone | Eastern (UTC-5) |
| - Summer (DST) | Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-4) |
| Website: www.cityofplattsburgh.com | |
- For the neighboring town of the same name, see Plattsburgh (town), New York.
Plattsburgh is a city in Clinton County, New York, USA. The population was 18,816 at the 2000 census.
The City of Plattsburgh is located entirely within the original boundaries of the Town of Plattsburgh and is in the North Country region of the northeastern part of the state.
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[edit] History
Plattsburgh was founded by Zephaniah Platt in 1785 after he was granted the land by George Clinton.
The community set itself off from the Town of Plattsburgh by incorporating as a village in 1815. The city government was established in the former village in 1902.
With its significant location on a major water thoroughfare and close to the U.S.-Canadian border, Plattsburgh has been the site of a number of historic events including the Revolutionary War's Battle of Valcour and the War of 1812's Battle of Plattsburgh. The city has a museum dedicated to the War of 1812, called the War of 1812 museum. In more recent times, the city has been distinguished primarily by its United States Air Force base and SUNY Plattsburgh, although it is also a node for tourists headed to the Adirondack Mountains.
During the Cold War, military functions took a prominent role in Plattsburgh, which was home to Plattsburgh Air Force Base (PAFB) and was the location of the Strategic Air Command's primary wing on the U.S. East Coast due to its geographic desirability. The base's location in the Champlain Valley (protected by the Adirondack Mountains) ensured consistent, year-round weather that was safe for take-offs and landings. The 380th Bombardment, Aerospace, and Refueling Wings, all stationed at PAFB, included B-52 Bombers, air-refueling "tankers" and FB-111s. With a sparse civilian population in Plattsburgh, the base had a great deal of land surface and was one of only four military bases in the United States with a landing strip large enough for a Space Shuttle landing.
Despite its geographic desirability and numerous awards for performance excellence, PAFB was closed on September 29, 1995 in a round of national base closures in the early 1990s as the Air Force began to pare down its post-Cold War missions. The base property is now managed by the Plattsburgh Airbase Redevelopment Corporation (PARC) and is used by a number of industrial manufacturers and commercial airlines.
Throughout much of the 1980s, when the Canadian dollar was strong relative to the U.S. dollar, Plattsburgh was a favorite tourist location for vacationers from Montreal and southern Quebec. Bilingual signs, in English and French, are found in parts of the city. The city beaches and camp grounds were regularly crowded and Plattsburgh attracted enough retail stores and outlets to build a second large indoor shopping mall, Champlain Centre North, in addition to several outdoor shopping centers. Champlain Centre North caused an older mall, Champlain Centre South, to become a dead mall; it has since been converted into a power centre with a 115,000sq ft Lowes Home center. However, with the closing of PAFB and the strengthening U.S. dollar in the 1990s, Canadian tourism has declined. Today, city residents rely mostly on new industries expanding on the former airbase as well as established manufacturing plants. One being Bombardier and the other the Georgia-Pacific paper plant. The GP plant is housed in the former LOZIER Auto factory built at the turn of the century on the former (lakefront) Anderson Farm.
In 1984, the city was awarded the first-ever American team in the QMJHL, called the Plattsburgh Pioneers and featuring an all-American roster. However, the team was a failure on and off the ice, and folded after 17 games.
[edit] Notable residents
Plattsburgh has been tied to a number of famous and infamous people. John Henry Hopkins, Jr., a former rector of Plattsburgh's Trinity Episcopal church was the author of the well-known Christmas hymn "We Three Kings." John Lloyd Young, star of Broadway's Jersey Boys is a Plattsburgh native. Recent former residents of Plattsburgh include Doug Raaberg, holder of a world circumnavigation record in the B-1B; Michael P. Anderson, one of the seven astronauts who died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, and Eric Harris, one of the two shooters at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado.
[edit] Recent events
In August of 1996, the rock band Phish, which was based across Lake Champlain in Burlington, VT, held the first of its seven weekend-long festivals at the former Plattsburgh Air Force Base. The festival, called The Clifford Ball, attracted 65,000 fans from all over the country and featured seven sets of music by the band. Fans camped out onsite in tents and RV's, creating community of fans that became the ninth largest city in New York over the weekend.
In 1999, the City of Plattsburgh elected Dan Stewart(R), New York State's first openly gay mayor.
On April 20, 2002, there was an earthquake a few miles southwest of Plattsburgh in Clintonville 16:03, 5 November 2006 (UTC). It measured 5.1 on the Richter Scale, and was felt as far south as Pennsylvania and as far north as Maine.
On January 2, 2006, the Latin inscription on the city seal was corrected. The phrase was garbled when another revision was made 60 years earlier. The seal now correctly says "Ipsa Sibi Praemium Virtus" which in English is "Virtue is its own reward.” The seal and phrase were originally chosen by the City's Common Council, from a contest held in the 1920s. The mistake was corrected by Dr. Ann Tracy, a Latin scholar and distinguished teaching professor of English at the State University of New York College at Plattsburgh, and Plattsburgh City Clerk Keith Herkalo, after a new city police officer asked what the phrase meant.
[edit] Geography
Plattsburgh is located at (44.695365, -73.458593)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 17.0 km² (6.6 mi²). 13.1 km² (5.1 mi²) of it is land and 4.0 km² (1.5 mi²) of it (23.40%) is water.
Plattsburgh is located on the western shore of Lake Champlain in the northeastern part of the state of New York.
The Saranac River flows through the city into Lake Champlain.
The Northway, Interstate 87 is a north-south major highway west of the city. US 9 and NY 22 are additional highways traversing the city from north to south. NY 3, NY 190, and NY 374 approach the city from the west.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 18,816 people, 7,600 households, and 3,473 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,438.6/km² (3,728.2/mi²). There were 8,010 housing units at an average density of 612.4/km² (1,587.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.41% White, 2.46% Black or African American, 0.52% Native American, 1.49% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.68% from other races, and 1.38% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.12% of the population.
There were 7,600 households out of which 22.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 31.1% were married couples living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 54.3% were non-families. 40.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.10 and the average family size was 2.83.
In the city the population was spread out with 16.5% under the age of 18, 27.7% from 18 to 24, 23.5% from 25 to 44, 18.1% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 86.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $28,846, and the median income for a family was $46,337. Males had a median income of $35,429 versus $26,824 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,127. About 13.6% of families and 23.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.0% of those under age 18 and 13.0% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Transportation
- See also: Plattsburgh (Amtrak station)
Plattsburgh is traversed by Interstate 87, which connects Montreal with Albany and points south.
Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides service to Plattsburgh, operating its Adirondack daily in both directions between Montreal and New York City.
The city is served by Clinton County Airport. A new airport terminal is under construction on the former Air Force Base. It will be known as Plattsburgh International Airport. It is at the southern edge of the city, near exit 36 off I-87, (route 22).
The closest major American city (as the crow flies) to Plattsburgh is Burlington, VT, which is accessible by ferry.
[edit] Law and government
Donald Kasprzak (R,C) is the current mayor of the city. He took office on January 1, 2007. Kasprzak was elected November 7, 2006 with 51% of the vote over his opponents, Kevin Duniho(D) and Mike Drew(R,I).
Donald Kasprzak - Mayor
Mike Drew - Ward I, Mayor Pro-Tem
James Godfrey(D) - Ward 2
George Rabideau(R) - Ward 3
William Sabourin(D) - Ward 4 (resignation effective March 16, 2007)
Amy Valentine(D) - Ward 5
William Provost(D) - Ward 6
[edit] External links
- Official website for the City of Plattsburgh
- Community website for Plattsburgh and surrounding area
- Plattsburgh Press-Republican (daily newspaper)
- SUNY Plattsburgh (State University College)
- Plattsburgh Fire Fighters (local Fire Department)
- searchable satellite photos of Plattsburgh
- Plattsburgh City School District
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
