Watervliet (/wɔːtərˈvliːt/ waw-tər-VLEET or /wɔːtərvəˈliːt/ waw-tər-və-LEET) is a city in northeastern Albany County, New York, United States.

In 1710, Derrick van der Heyden operated a ferry from the Bleeker Farm (near 16th Street) across the Hudson River to Troy.

[6] In the mid-1700s, the area of Watervliet was also known as Bought, or Boght, named after the Dutch word "bocht," meaning "bend" or "corner."

The location of the future city was taken by the village of Gibbonsville (1824) and its successor West Troy, and the hamlet of Washington (later Port Schuyler).

Colonie would split off in 1895, and the city of Watervliet was incorporated in 1896 at the same time that Green Island became a town of its own.

[citation needed] In the early 19th century Watervliet became a major manufacturing community much like its neighbors Cohoes and Troy, thanks to bell foundries.

[6] This land was used as the site for the Watervliet Arsenal, founded in 1813 during the War of 1812, and is the sole manufacturing facility for large caliber cannon.

[citation needed] John C. Heenan, U.S. heavyweight boxing champion and contender for the world title in 1860, was once employed at the Arsenal.

[6] The Albany and Northern Railway was built in 1852 connecting Watervliet to Albany, with a depot on Genesee Street; a few years later a new depot was built on Canal Street (Central Avenue) but was abandoned in favor of returning to the original location in 1864.

[16] The church was closely modeled on the Upper Basilica in Lourdes, and many Watervliet residents considered it a defining piece and landmark of the city's architecture.

[17] In March 2012, a developer filed a proposal to rezone the property from residential to business status so that it could raze the church (as well as an attached rectory, former school building, and six private residences) in order to make way for a Price Chopper grocery store.

[14][18] Some members of the community responded to the proposal to raze the church with criticism and legal challenges,[19][20][21][22] but on November 20, 2012, the Watervliet City Council voted unanimously to allow the rezoning.