Albany nightlife needs a massive makeover

Today in The 518

• We all agree: Albany’s nightlife needs a massive makeover

• 518 Day of Giving raises $200K for local charities

• Feel Good Friday: Once homeless chess prodigy finds success

• Your best bets this beautiful Memorial Day weekend

Albany nightlife needs a massive makeover

It was the diss heard on national TV.

“Good luck finding something to do in Albany,” said ESPN commentator Rebecca Lobo, during a broadcast of the NCAA women basketball’s Sweet 16 tourney, which was played at the MVP Arena.

Lobo’s spicy commentary has spurred some Common Council members to reconsider the city’s grueling permitting process for live entertainment. Business owners have complained that the 2012 law makes it hard for them to bring in bands and other live acts.

Just to host a DJ, a business needs approvals from the following: Planning Department, Albany Police Department, Albany Fire Department, Division of Buildings and Regulatory Compliance, the Law Department, all common council members, any area business improvement districts or neighborhood associations. They forgot to add the bathroom attendant and the clean-up crew to this list 🙄

Is the city intent on regulating fun out of everything? Longtime residents lament the steady decline of Pearl Street, which was once much livelier.

“This is just an opportunity for us to look back at the way Albany used to be and how it was thriving and the things that made our downtown successful and bringing those things back,” Common Council member Sergio Adams told NEWS10. Adams plans to formally introduce his ordinance at the next council meeting on June 17.

C’mon guys, keep Albany boring should not be our unofficial motto. Feel free to wade into this 🔥 debate here.

Dirtbag on dirt bike arrested for hit and run

Sorry, we should say “alleged dirtbag.” The man who police believe ran over UAlbany freshman Alexa Kropf has been arrested after a search of his home. Austin Breyette, 25, of Watervliet was brought into custody in connection with April 26 incident, along with another fellow. After waking up from her coma, Alexa has started speaking and is recovering well but slowly, her family says.

518 Day of Giving raises $200K for local charities

Thanks to the 834 donors who made the inaugural 518 Day of Giving a resounding success. Just over $200K was raised for 108 charities throughout the Capital Region. You can see who raised the most here, and also make a contribution (donations are still being accepted). Silly us, we thought 518 Day was meant to celebrate all of the amazing subscribers of The518.com 😉 We love you!

“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees... I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again." —F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

Don’t let the threat of thunderstorms dampen your Memorial Day weekend. Eat your 🌭 in defiance!

Restaurant roundup: closings & openings

After almost 50 years in Albany, Caffe Italia holds its last dinner service on Saturday, before moving to Guilderland. Loan holders for Gaffney’s Restaurant and Bar in Saratoga are suing for $2.96 million, and want to force the nightclub into foreclosure. Blackbirds Bike Cafe in Voorheesville is opening this Wednesday. Yay, we love bike cafes! Speaking of cafes, Cannoneer Café just opened in Watervliet. And DeFazio’s Pizzeria is now running the menu at the Pizza Garden at Indian Ladder Farms. We’re big fans of DeFazio’s wood-fired pies.

Affordable housing in the Capital Region? Not so much

Capital District Regional Planning Commission just released its study of affordable housing in the four-county area. The news is not good. The fair market rent for a one-bedroom apartment in the Capital Region is now $1,079, and $1,313 for a two-bedroom. But wages aren’t keeping up. The problem is most acute in Rensselaer and Schenectady counties, where renters face the biggest rent deficits—their hourly wages are not enough to cover basic housing costs. Read the full report here.

Chess prodigy goes from homeless to college success

As a teen, Omar Cunningham developed a love for the game of chess, and became something of a local prodigy. Unfortunately, an unstable family life led to a substance abuse problem and homelessness.

Today, Omar is sober and a proud graduate of Hudson Valley Community College, thanks to SHIP, the Albany County Sheriff’s Homeless Improvement Program. He’s now a business major at UAlbany, and wants to open a chess center for disadvantaged kids in Albany’s South End.

Here’s Omar talking about how chess is a metaphor for life—64 squares on the board and infinite possibilities. The Times Union also has a nice writeup of his story and the SHIP program. Bravo Omar 👏

⭐ = The 518 picks

Movies Under the Stars: The Lion King | Dance performance at 7:30p, movie at 8:30p, Friday. Free. SUNY Plaza Park, Albany. Watch the Disney classic under the stars.

New York State High School Ultimate Frisbee Championship | 9a-4p, Sat-Sun. Free. Bethlehem Central High School. Watch the most talented young Frisbee-letes compete.

25th Annual Black Creek Fiddlers’ Reunion | 10a-10p, Fri-Sun. $20-$40. Altamont Fairgrounds. Where else are you gonna hear Appalachian string-band music in the Capital District?

⭐ Memorial Day Parades | Albany’s annual Memorial Day celebration starts at 9:30 am., at the corner of Central Avenue and Partridge Street. More info here. For other parades around the Capital District, check here and here.

Tom McCormick Memorial Car Show | 10a-2p, Sat, $5. Bethlehem Area YMCA. An open car show to benefit the long-standing YMCA member.

⭐ Khraungbin | 8p, Sun. $41 and up. Saratoga Performing Arts Center. Houston’s Khraungbin brings its soulful, global fusion sound to SPAC’s outdoor stage.

Hattie’s 17th Annual Crawfish Festival | 11a-6p, Mon. Saratoga. Free (but food costs extra). Come for fresh crawfish, fried chicken, gumbo, live music, and more.

⭐ Albany’s Biggest Popup Market | 10a-4p, Sun. 173 Spruce Street, Albany. Free and pet friendly. Come for the huge variety of vendors, crafts and food options.

East Durham Irish Festival | 10a-10p, Sat-Sun. $27.86 and up. 16 and younger free. Come experience the best of Irish culture, music & dance.

518 Girls Night Out x Wolf Hollow Brewing Co. | 6p, Fri, $29. WHBC in Schenectady. Good drinks, good people, good vibes. Admission includes beer & food.

⭐ GottaGetGon Folk Festival | 9a-4p Fri-Sun, $40-$70. Saratoga County Fairgrounds. Huge family-friendly folk music festival put on every Memorial Day weekend since 1970.

Albany All-Stars Roller Derby | 7p, Sat, $20.20. Washington Avenue Armory, Albany. Watch the fierce Albany team take on the Ladies’ Death & Derby Society.

⭐ 4th Annual Miles on the Mohawk Race | 8:30 am, Sun, $65. Mabee Farm, Rotterdam Junction, NY. Gorgeous 10-mile, point-to-point race along the Mohawk River.