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.
Notable residentsPlattsburgh 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 Russell Pope, the architect who designed Plattsburgh's City Hall, was a famous architect whose work includes the Jefferson Memorial. 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.
Recent eventsIn 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 English distinguished teaching professor at Plattsburgh State University, and Plattsburgh City Clerk Keith Herkalo, after a new city police officer asked what the phrase meant.
GeographyPlattsburgh is located at (44.695365, -73.458593)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 17.0 km˛ (6.6 mi˛). 13.1 km˛ (5.1 mi˛) of it is land and 4.0 km˛ (1.5 mi˛) 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.
DemographicsAs 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/km˛ (3,728.2/mi˛). There were 8,010 housing units at an average density of 612.4/km˛ (1,587.1/mi˛). 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.
TransportationPlattsburgh 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 37 off I-87, (route 22).
Law and governmentJack Stewart(D) is the current mayor of the city, appointed and sworn in on July 7, 2006 after former Mayor Dan Stewart (R) - no relation - was appointed to the New York State Board of Corrections. Jack Stewart's term will expire at the end of 2006 when the winner of a November 7 special election will be elected to serve the remainder of Dan Stewart's term that ends in 2007. Jack Stewart is not seeking to be elected in November. Donald Kasprzak was elected 11/7/2006 by a 2/3rds margin over Kevin Duniho
Jack Stewart - Mayor
Mike Drew - Ward I, Mayor Pro-Tem
James Godfrey - Ward 2
George Rabideau - Ward 3
William Sabourin - Ward 4
Amy Valentine - Ward 5
William Provost - Ward 6
