Albany Mayor-elect Dorcey Applyrs celebrates with supporters on Election Night with a real party on Nov. 4 at LaSerre in Albany. Her administration aims to bring a “a new vibe in an old city.”
Jim Franco/Times Union
Albany is not fun. Or, at least, it’s not as fun as it could, should and used to be.
That’s a subjective assessment, of course, because one person’s idea of a good time is not the same as another’s. If, by chance, you think that empty sidewalks are a blast, then Albany might be right up your alley. Woohoo! Look at all this space!
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Churchill, that’s unfair, you’re saying, and, OK, maybe you’re right. It isn’t that there’s no fun to be had in Albany. The Santa Speedo Sprint is fun. There are restaurants and bars, here and there, that are lively. McGeary’s and Lionheart on the Green both come to mind.
But I don’t think I’m alone in saying that the general mood in Albany is not one of mirth and jocularity. (Rebecca Lobo said as much on national television.) There’s a sense that Albany has lost something, that it’s become too quick to embrace pessimism and inertia, that it’s bureaucratic and, frankly, dull. You know, let’s go to Troy instead.
Can Mayor-elect Dorcey Applyrs change the mood?
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That’s a lot to put on any one person’s shoulders. If Albany is less fun than it used to be, there are many contributing factors, including changing habits and rising social isolation. (Get off the internet, kids. There’s a big world out there.)
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But Applyrs talked about making Albany more lively during the campaign, and, when I posed the topic of “fun” to her on Wednesday, she embraced the topic and the need for change.
“I really believe it’s a mentality and a mindset,” she said, noting that she often hears from residents who believe Albany’s glow has dimmed. “I’ve heard that loud and clear, and we are putting muscle into putting the lights back on.”
Applyrs said her transition team includes a commission on nightlife charged with studying how to, well, boost the city’s nightlife. And Applyrs noted that she’s trying to set a different tone just by being herself. “A new vibe in an old city” was how she put it.
On election night in November, for example, her campaign gathering was a real party, with Applyrs among those sweating on the dance floor. And the next mayor noted that her inauguration is planned as a multiday festival complete with a mayor’s ball, a kids’ party and a gospel brunch.
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The idea, Applyrs said, is about Albany celebrating itself. It’s about trading pessimism for optimism. It’s about feeling good about New York’s capital.
Some readers may consider all of this frivolous, and, when compared to safe streets and schools, maybe it is. But good cities aren’t just places to work and sleep. They are places to gather — where friendships and community are built and strengthened, and where small businesses can thrive as “third places” that help us care about a city.
Albany still makes it too hard for those places to open and survive. Business owners say the city doesn’t often feel welcoming, and some have chosen to go instead to Troy, Schenectady, or even Latham.
To be clear, fun isn’t just about nightlife or college students. Albany offers too little for families. You may have noticed that. Applyrs, with two young children, certainly has.
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She said that when her family visits a new city, she searches for family-friendly activities — with a preference toward the inexpensive. She told me she knows the importance of giving families something fun to do.
Again, in a city with many problems and priorities, that might sound frivolous. But I’d argue that the dearth of family activities is ultimately a drain on the economy, because it keeps parents from wanting to live here and makes it harder for companies to attract workers. An Albany that’s more fun would be better for the region. It would be better, period.
I probably shouldn’t end this column without mentioning the $400 million that Gov. Kathy Hochul has directed toward Albany revitalization. Some of that money will go toward giving the New York State Museum a makeover, to which I say, “Yes, please, and it’s about time.”
The rest of the money will be spent on … alas, we have no idea, given all the secrecy, although we do know that a downtown stadium for soccer and other events is among the proposals. Would a stadium district make Albany more fun? Absolutely, if it succeeds, but that “if” is significant.
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It isn’t clear, though, whether Applyrs will have much of a say in determining how the Hochul money is spent. That’s a story yet to be told.
But Albany has a new, relatively young mayor — Applyrs is 44 — who wants the city to be more vibrant. For the good of the city and region, wish her luck. Let’s have some fun.