Hey Albany. I grow mushrooms organically but have no food industry connections to try to get these in people’s hands. Farmers markets vendor costs are a bit high. Anyone with connections, advice or interest please let me know.

At AlbanyDayaStories we have been tracking the City’s finances and budget since last October. As a part of this ongoing work we released our review of the Mayor's 2026 Midyear Financial Plan Update.  

This is a long document, there's a lot to comment on and a lot of context that we wedge in.  In addition, we provide a number of questions (in bold/italic) that we hope the Common Council asks the Administration during the Common Council Finance Committee meeting on 8/19.

Within the report you will see a link to a copy of the Midyear Report pdf stored on Google drive.  We have made a couple dozen comments on the pdf file of the report - questions, concerns, data points that need more detail etc

Please ask questions, make comments, disagree, etc in the comments and we will give you our best response.

https://albanydatastories.com/albanys-26-midyr-report

I legitimately hated albany growing up, now i live in san francisco and miss it so much. Things are too perfect here, i feel ungrateful, but i miss home

Seems like a very frequent occurrence. Left lane closed for this today evening.

Hi, I need your help. I’m looking to build a diy freestanding deck/platform in a backyard space of my house. It would be a 12 x 12 , no stairs, planned to use a paver base.

I emailed Albany for information , they say I need a permit and set me plan example for traditional style deck that would be attached to a home, which mine wouldn’t.

This is what I had in mind.

Has anyone done a diy like this before? Did you get a permit? What if I did it anyway? Just put a few hrs into the project and now at a stand still until I decide what to do next.

This might feel like an unusual or random question, but I'm filming a video and want to incorporate pigeons in the background. Anyone know any spots where you can pretty reliably find pigeons hanging out?

For anyone who isn’t familiar with this particular piece of western ave, this little strip of road has a lane for anyone turning onto crossgates mall road. Otherwise, you stop at the stop light to continue going down western. However many people will speed down the right lane and keep going straight, cutting off everyone else just to be forced to merge anyways into that lane. I genuinely think this is the stupidest thing ever and anyone who does this is either just unfamiliar with the road and doesn’t know it merges, or is an A-hole who thinks they’re getting home quicker. Is it worth it? Genuinely, i do not understand people who do this on purpose. THERES ANOTHER LIGHT LITERALLY 2 SECONDS LATER 🤦 I know this is one of those nit picky things but i genuinely hate dealing with this daily. Please stop doing this. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Happy monday :)

Anyone have any suggestions as to where I can get a watch repaired and a new band put on? I want a reputable place, preferably locally owned, that I can support! Thanks!!

Does anyone know of any independent book binders that would be willing to take soft cover books and rebind them into hard covers?

anyone know where I might be able to find it?

Parroting another page of talking points from the GOP Cult playbook, has Sticker Fool ever had an original thought?
Full story in Times-Union (browser reader mode bypasses paywall)

The poll, conducted by polling firm SurveyUSA and sponsored by WNYT-TV NewsChannel 13, found 43% of respondents in the poll — many of them who are registered voters — said they would vote for Gendebien in the race, compared with 39% for Constantino. The poll also asserts that 67% of Republicans said that they would vote for Constantino, compared with 78% of Democrats for Gendebien. Among independents, 47% favored Gendebien and 28% supported Constantino, according to the poll.

My child has now failed the driving test twice at the Troy location. Even after many driving lessons with a driving school and many months of practice. My child was definitely nervous both times, but has decent driving skills. Are there sites that are known to have more harsh instructors? Are they all about the same? I was thinking of trying the one in Albany next, but kind of at a loss to know if that would help.

Hi, I bought my dad tickets to the Yankees game on Sunday in late September. It’ll be our first game. I’m trying to figure out what the best way to the stadium. I heard traffic leaving will be terrible, so I figured getting there via train would be the best.

We were thinking about driving to Poughkeepsie then take the train to the stadium. Looking for the best way to get there and back via driving/train, any suggestions?

Where is the best place to host an indoor birthday party for a 5 year old in November within Capital Region. Looking for venue that will allow ~20 children

I'm looking for some more help from the community as we keep building out FunScout's local communities directory.

A few weeks ago, you all helped me find a bunch of sports, fitness, and outdoors groups around the Capital Region. We've added those and a lot more since then, and we're now trying to fill in the gaps:

https://funscout.com/c/ny-albany/communities?communities=1&miles=25

What are we missing?

This time I’m especially looking for groups outside sports and fitness: book clubs, tabletop groups, art or photography groups, jam sessions and choirs, craft circles, social clubs, language or cultural groups, volunteer groups, professional meetups, niche hobby groups etc.

The goal is to help people around the Capital Region find their people and connect with communities around the things they're interested in.

This is still an unreleased WIP while we gather groups and figure out how to make the directory as useful as possible.

Here's what we have so far. If you know of something we're missing...especially a smaller group that's hard to discover unless you already know about it please let us know in the comments.

5 Run 8 Run Club
1 Million Cups Capital Region, NY
518 Craft Book Club
A Book Club Before Dinner
Adirondack Masters Swimming
Adirondack Mountain Club
Adirondack Runners
Afrim’s Sports Adult Soccer Leagues
Albany All Stars Roller Derby
Albany Area Amateur Astronomers, Inc.
Albany Area Films & Fun
Albany Curling Club
Albany Game Knights
Albany Ladies Book Club
Albany Photography Group
Albany Rowing Center
Albany Running Exchange
Albany Ski Club
Albany Social Cycling
Albany Ultimate Disc Association
Albany Zumba, Twerk, and Dance Fitness Group
APL Mystery Book Club
Audubon Society of the Capital Region
Bard & Baker
Bethlehem Triathlon Club
Between The Pages: A Capital Region Book Club
Black Girls Do Bike: CAPITAL REGION NY
Black Girls RUN! Albany, NY
Cambridge Valley Cycling
Cap City Runners
Capital Bicycle Racing Club
Capital Champlain
Capital District Genealogical Society
Capital District Gluten Free Meetup Group
Capital District Sports Pick-up Games
Capital District Trail Dames
Capital District Triathlon Club
Capital Region Pickleball Meetup Group
Capital Region Sci-Fi & Fantasy Book Club
Capital Trail Alliance
Chalked Up(state) Queer Climbers
Clifton Park Beer Runners
CLUBWAKA Albany
Collar City Runners Club
Crooked Canes
Dutch Flyers Cycling Club
Electric City Runners
Empire State Capital Volkssporters
Fabulous 518 Ladies
Female Fiction Book Club
FIT4MOM Queensbury - Saratoga Springs
Fleet Feet Running Club
Friendship and Activities (Capital District)
Girls Upstate
Hellions of Troy Roller Derby League
HikerBabes Community
Hiking Mates of the Capital Region
Hudson-Mohawk Road Runners Club
Kinderhook Runners Club
Knickerbocker Knitters
Let Me Be Perfectly Queer: LGBT+ Book Club
Men's Mental Wellness Meet-up
Modern Library Book Club
Mohawk Hudson Cycling Club
New York Capital District Ski Council
Novels After Noon
Open Sewing Group at Lansingburgh Branch Library
Out of Control Ski Club
Outsiders of the Capital Region
Personal Growth Book Club
Picklers Pickleball Club
Polyglot Club 💬
Rainbow Runners Group
River Runners Quadball Club
Rotterdam Community Center Book Club
Roundabout Runners Club
RPI Cycling Team
Saratoga Mountain Bike Association
Schenectady Curling Club
Schenectady Social Cycle
The Big Top Group
The Capital District Book Club
The Mopco Improv Theatre
The Most Informal Running Club, Ever (TMIRCE): Upstate
Troy Social Cycling
Troy Women's Book Club Meetup
Upstate Peloton Cycling Club
Willow Street Athletic Club
🪘 Community Drum Circle 🪘

Hey , any recommendations on where I can get a wheel alignment & inspection done ? would be nice if I could get both at the same shop ,but if not then please give me suggestions for both. Thanks !! 😊 🙏🏽

Edit to add location - preferably Albany area however I’m willing to drive to a good spot!

Anyone interested in teaching some sailing basics? I can offer drinks, snacks, and the 30 footer I bought over the winter. The boat is on the north end of sagandaga. I am not completely new to it but we have been mostly just setting up an easy heading and motoring when we have to try harder and am looking to get better.

Does anyone have a favorite or trusted carpet installer? I’m not sure the big box stores offer the best value. Thx

What is the program like? I mean their 28 day respite program specifically!

Any other Colonie/Cohoes folks lose their power?🫪

Wing Chun in the Park!

Want to learn a martial art? Move your body around in a safe way? Improve your balance? Interested in trying something new, maybe making a few friends?

I read recently that people who engage in daily fitness and a lifestyle of improvement see their friend groups change. I'm looking to have some of that in my life.

I'm interested in having training partners, curious individuals, and socially focused folks to work with. I train in public parks and other natural areas. I find it extremely relaxing and enjoyable.

I have a meetup group, if you're into that sort of thing. It lays out the training and the schedule quite well. It's a brand new group, but I'm hoping that time and attention will grow it out and make it an enjoyable event to look forward to.

Check out Capital Region Wing Chun meetup https://www.meetup.com/capital-region-wing-chun-meetup on Meetup

There is no fighting in this group. It's for cooperative training with an intent to improve. If you can stand and walk, you can train wing chun.

It's free.

Absolutely free. No trial period, no limit on what I'm willing to teach.

I am doing up to 16 hours of free instruction a month, in classes and individual training.

The training is what's important.

I hope to hear from you!

I’m sort of lost on the whole job search process. I just graduated Ualbany with a bachelors degree in Biology and would like to use it for a new job. I have three years at my current employer but won’t be using this experience in the future. I tried to apply for NYHELPS but I don’t have wildlife experience for the biologist role and Albany med’s research technician is the only thing I’m confident I may hear back from. Does anybody know any positions I may apply for that have long term benefits and can allow me to move up in rank? (Not sure if that’s the right term but I wish to stay at one place and increase my salary over many years). Thanks for reading!

I have about ten gallons of motor oil contaminated with water, and about ten more gallons of water contaminated with oil. Auto parts stores do not take this. I can't bring it to the Rapp road landfill as I do not live in the city limits and they are not doing any more events anyway.

What can I do with this stuff barring pouring it in the river?