Mont Pleasant, Schenectady, New York

Mont Pleasant is a neighborhood of Schenectady, New York, United States. It is located in the south central part of the city and is the most populated of Schenectady's neighborhoods and has the most housing units as well.HistoryMont Pleasant was annexed by the city of Schenectady in 1903 from the neighboring town of Rotterdam. Mont Pleasant was once a vibrant blue collar neighborhood of immigrants, including Italians, Poles, and Jews in mostly two-family homes. Several ethnic churches and at least two synagogues and the Jewish Community Center (JCC) were built in Mont Pleasant. When General Electric and other area manufacturers downsized, Mont Pleasant's residents began to move to the suburbs and the number of owner-occupied homes declined. Mont Pleasant's Jewish congregations and the JCC moved to the suburbs of Niskayuna. The exodus from Mont Pleasant was vividly demonstrated in an Associated Press database of US Postal Service records released in 2009 which showed that 28% of residential units in Mont Pleasant were vacant, which was the third highest in the state of New York.DemographicsIn 2000 Mont Pleasant had a population of 9,303, which was a decrease of 3.9% from 1990; it is the most populated of Schenectady's neighborhoods. The largest decrease was by seniors at 17.4%, followed by pre-school children at 13.2% and adults at a 7.6% decrease. The only population segment to post an increase was that of school-age children between the ages of 5 and 19, that segment increased by 35.5%. The median age in Mont Pleasant is 40.4, second highest among Schenectady's neighborhoods.