According to , the first Jewish settlers in the fast growing commercial center that became Albany arrived in the mid-1650s. This small community declined as trade diminished during the late 17th century and there was no organized Jewish community in the area during the 18th Century. As trade and immigration from Central Europe to Albany flourished during the early 19th century, the Jewish population increased and Albany's first synagogue was dedicated in 1841. Eastern European Jews, predominantly Poles and Russians, began immigrating to Albany in the mid- to late-19th century. As a direct result of this influx of newcomers, Silver cites the Jewish population in Albany in 1886 as being approximately 3,000. By the turn of the 20th century, this number reached 4,000 and continued to grow. According to Henry Brownstein, in , the Jewish population in Albany was around 13,500 by the late 1970s.

Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, Jews in Albany created additional synagogues along with fraternal and philanthropic organizations. This included a local chapter of B'nai B'rith, a home for the aged, a women's benevolent society, the Jewish Community Center, a YMHA and YWHA and more. An organized Jewish labor movement also began in earnest in the 1890s.

The Greater Albany Jewish Federation was originally called the Albany Jewish Community Council when it was established in 1952. It was renamed the Greater Albany Jewish Federation in 1978. It was again renamed in 1986 to the United Jewish Federation of Northeastern New York after it merged with other Jewish organizations in the region. It is a non-profit organization whose mission is to serve the Jewish community in the region.