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Summary

Abstract:
Jeanne Casatelli is a native of East Greenbush, New York, who has fought sprawl in her hometown for more than twenty years.
Extent:

2.6 cubic ft.

6 Digital Files

Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Identification of specific item, series, box, folder, Jeanne Casatelli Papers, 1966-2002. M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University at Albany, State University of New York (hereafter referred to as the Casatelli Papers).

Background

Scope and Content:

The papers document Casatelli's interest in issue-based grassroots organizations in the late 1990s and early 2000s through her involvement in Community Action Network (CAN). CAN opposed the widening of U.S. Route 9 and 20 in East Greenbush through a vigorous campaign of public education and political action. The papers provide near-complete documentation of this campaign, including letters, e-mail, press releases, position papers, contact lists, and notes.

Information on another organization of which Casatelli was a member, Citizens for Riverfront Action (CRA), is limited to CRA's involvement in coordinating Scenic Hudson's Great River Sweep in the community of Rensselaer.

Not included in this collection are Casatelli's files on CAN's effort to save the Defreest-Church house from destruction by developers. The house, which was constructed in the 1830s, was eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places because of its links to the Anti-Rent War of the mid 1800s. It was demolished in November 2002 to make way for a Target store parking lot. Casatelli transferred her files on the Defreest-Church house to the Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter for use in potential litigation.

Since both CAN and CRA are grassroots organizations, there is virtually no information on organizational structure or membership, and no formal records of meetings. One exception is an undated statement of purpose for CAN in Series 2, Box 1, Folder 5.

Biographical / Historical:

Jeanne Casatelli is a native of East Greenbush, New York, who has fought sprawl in her hometown for more than twenty years. She is a founding member of East Greenbush's Community Action Network, a grassroots organization whose stated purpose is "to promote good planning and the protection of natural, historic, and civic resources in accordance with principles espoused as Smart Growth, New Urbanism, and Quality Community." (Community Action Network of East Greenbush Statement of Purpose, undated, Series 2, Box 1, Folder 5.)

One of CAN's most visible activities was their campaign to prevent the widening of a stretch of U.S. Route 9 and 20, also known as the Columbia Turnpike, which passes through East Greenbush. New York's Department of Transportation (DOT) wanted to widen the road by a total of 34 feet, converting it from four lanes to five lanes. Casatelli and CAN argued that DOT's plan was not in keeping with new regulations that favored context sensitive design for highway projects, nor with the recommendations of Lt. Governor Mary Donahue's Quality Communities Task Force. CAN saw the rebuilding of Route 9 and 20 as an opportunity to develop a community-oriented "main street" in the suburban town of East Greenbush, which lacked a traditional town center. They argued that the road could be redesigned to comply with DOT's safety requirements without being widened to five lanes, and sought the input of nationally-renowned highway designers to support their position. CAN's campaign was unsuccessful, and the road was widened.

Casatelli is also involved in Citizens for Riverfront Action, an organization dedicated to protecting and providing access to the Hudson River in Rensselaer.

Acquisition information:
All items in this manuscript group were donated to the University Libraries, M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives, by Jeanne Casatelli in 2002 November .
Processing information:

Processed in 2005 by Aimee Morgan.

Arrangement:

The collection is organized into five file series.

Physical location:
The materials are located onsite in the department.

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PREFERRED CITATION:

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Identification of specific item, series, box, folder, Jeanne Casatelli Papers, 1966-2002. M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University at Albany, State University of New York (hereafter referred to as the Casatelli Papers).

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