most of the route was originally designated as part of an unsigned legislative route in the 1910s. in 1924, the portion of modern ny 2 between the hamlet of latham and downtown troy became part of ny 9. the rest of the highway was designated as ny 96 as part of the 1930 renumbering of state highways in new york. ny 96 was renumbered to ny 2 in 1942. from 1942 to 1970, ny 2 continued south along the hudson river from troy to albany. it was extended to latham in 1985, replacing a section of ny 7 that had been realigned onto a new parallel freeway to the north.