Historical Timeline

The New York Bar Foundation Board of Directors Meeting sign

2020

  • 3 New Fellows Circle of Giving are added: President’s Circle, Kay Crawford Murray Circle, and the John Jay Circle
  • The Foundation adopts the Racial Justice Rule of Law report
  • The Foundation initiates special COVID19 fundraising efforts and out of cycle grant program
image of pages of strategic plan

2018

  • Adopted 3-year Strategic Plan with Rule of Law Theme

2016

  • Recognized for Philanthropic efforts by New York Nonprofit Media (NYC)
  • Initiated Firm Challenge fundraiser
group of young people standing with board members

2015

  • Established Young Lawyers Friends of the Foundation Giving Group
  • Recognized for Governance by VCG Governance Matters

2014

  • New Foundation website launched
  • Adopted 3-year Strategic Plan

2008

  • The New York Bar Foundation Endowment established

2007

  • Lifetime Achievement Award created
two men holding sign

2006

  • The New York Bar Foundation Legacy Society established

2005

  • The Chair and Vice Chair of The Fellows hold ex officio seats on the Board of Directors
  • Foundation Web site launched

2004

  • Foundation’s first employees, a Director of Development and Secretary hired
  • The Fellows Pro Bono Program begins
several people sitting at a table in a board meeting

1998

  • District Chairs of The Fellows are created for each of the 12 judicial districts in New York State

1990

  • The Bar Center is rededicated upon completion of expansion program
photo of building

1986

  • The Foundation and Association conduct a $6.8 million capital campaign  to acquire 5 and 6 Elk Street, expand the Bar Center

1980

  • Four distinct Grant Committees established
large gathering of people

1976

  • Inaugural Annual Fellows Dinner held

1974

  • The Foundation is renamed The New York Bar Foundation
  • The Fellows of The New York Bar Foundation established
New York State Historical Site sign located in front of NYSBA Headquarters at 1 Elk Street, Albany New York

1971

  • The Bar Center at 1-4 Elk Street is formally dedicated

1965-68

  • The Association purchases 1-4 Elk Street and, together with the Foundation, raises $1.9m to construct the Bar Center

1953

  • The Foundation (and the NYSBA) moves from a room in the State Capitol to 99 Washington Avenue, Albany. The Foundation renovates the building and develops a law library for members at this site.

The New York State Bar Center

The New York State Bar Center is owned by The New York Bar Foundation and is leased to the New York State Bar Association. The structure occupies One through 6 Elk Street in Albany, New York. Facing Academy Park, the Bar Center was formally dedicated on September 24, 1971, and rededicated on November 10, 1990 as part of $6.8 million expansion program.

The design of the Center combines a new structure with five 19th century townhouses that together form a single, multifunction complex. This combination of 19th century architecture and award-winning contemporary design led Ada Louise Huxtable, the design critic of The Wall Street Journal and former design critic of The New York Times, to write that the Center “…is one of the neatest architectural achievements in the country…it is a sophisticated triumph in the most delicate, complex and poorly understood art of the environment: urban design.” The project won the 1969 Progressive Architectural Award from the American Institute of Architects.

Widespread acclaim has been received for preserving a portion of the historically significant Elk Street/Academy Park neighborhood, including the U.S. Department of the Interior’s designation of the Bar Center on the National Register of Historic Places.