Buzzing again: How the Electric City found its spark ⚡️

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Hey 518 readers! It’s going to be a scorcher ahead of the Fourth of July weekend. Starting Wednesday, daytime highs will soar above 90 degrees with the humidity expected to peak on Thursday, before cooling off over the weekend (but just a bit).

Today, we’re taking you to downtown Schenectady, where a revival years in the making is doing wonders for the city.

🍨 Tickets are going fast for our Sundae Morning event, held right here in The 518’s historic row house. It’s your chance to eat ice cream in the morning, guilt-free!

🎟️ The 518 Dinner Club is meeting again in downtown Troy. We just can’t quit Troy, y’all!

📜 Finally, we have a mea culpa to make: Here is Phat’s statement on an Instagram post that really missed the mark. We’re sorry and are committed to doing better.

—Phat X. Chiem & Karley Sullivan

Buzzing again: How the Electric City found its spark ⚡️ 

Even though we live in downtown Albany, we’re finding ourselves in Schenectady a lot lately.

Catching a play at Proctors. Checking out the Titanic Immersive Experience. Grabbing a beer at Frog Alley and a slice at Lily P’s Wood Fired Pizza Co.

We’re not the only ones noticing a change in the vibe. Last week’s Albany Business Review talked about how Schenectady’s Restaurant Row is heating up with the addition of several new hotspots—Solstice Kitchen, and the soon-to-be-opened Time Cocktail Lounge and the second location of The Ruck.

Toni’s Wine Bar opened last fall. And the all-you-can-eat sushi joint Hokkaido opened earlier this spring. We’ve been wanting to try both of these places!

"Schenectady has been awesome for a long time, but I think it's only getting better and better, and we just wanted to be a part of it," Solstice owner Laura Loverro tells ABR.

There’s more:

• The $105 million Capital Region Aquatic Center proposed for lower Erie Boulevard was recently approved.

• The Electric City Community Grocery, which will be located inside the Wedgeway Building on State Street, is expected to open by the end of the year. It’s the first downtown grocery store in over 20 years.

• The city launched the inaugural Electric City SummerFest concert series in May, bringing crowds to Broadway and Liberty on Thursday nights this season.

• GE Vernova wants to invest $180 million into its Schenectady operations over the next few years, bringing new jobs to the area

While Schenectady’s revival seems like an overnight success, it’s been years in the making. It also didn’t happen by accident. The city paired a strong cultural anchor, Proctors, with a development structure that could move projects quickly. 

The Schenectady Metroplex Development Authority gave investors and business owners a single place to go for financing, approvals and problem-solving. That kind of coordination helped turn State Street from a struggling corridor into a restaurant and entertainment hub.

Proctors gave downtown a reason to gather. Its Broadway shows, events and steady stream of visitors helped support nearby restaurants, hotels and apartments. More recently, Mohawk Harbor transformed former industrial land into a mixed-use waterfront destination with housing, dining, offices, hotels, and Rivers Casino.

Equally important has been civic confidence. Local business leaders, developers and institutions have repeatedly chosen to invest in Schenectady and then sell the city’s comeback story through efforts like the “New Schenectady” campaign. Perception matters. A city can improve, but it also has to be able to tell that story well.

Albany does not need to copy Schenectady exactly. The capital city is larger, more complex and more dependent on state government. But Albany can borrow the playbook: pick visible anchors, speed up approvals, convert underused buildings into housing, and make downtown feel alive at night.

The Downtown Albany Strategy, part of the Championing Albany’s Potential initiative, already points in that direction, with money for transformative projects, housing and public spaces. And Mayor Dorcey Applyrs just scored $44.4 million in new funding from the state.

It’s all about execution now. We’re rooting for you, Albany! 💪 

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🚨 Sadly, the autistic 7-year-old boy who went missing in Menands was found dead this morning in a neighbor’s pool. [WAMC]

🗳️ After three months of canvassing voters, Ranked Choice Voting Albany volunteers have collected over 3,000 voter signatures on their petitions, well over the 2,400 needed. The group will be submitting the signatures to the Albany City Clerk’s office on Wednesday at 11:30 am. The submission is the first formal step in the process to change the city’s system of elections. The group will hold a press conference on the steps of City Hall on Wednesday at 11 am.

“This is basically a major people-powered, volunteer movement to bring a much-needed, non-partisan upgrade to Albany's elections,” says Dorian Solot, one of the volunteers and our neighbor.

🍗 The TU dining critics have been busy this year—here are their 8 favorite dishes from around the Capital Region. The pork Milanese at Noah’s looks darn tasty! [Times Union]

☕️ The 7 Brew Coffee location in Rensselaer is officially open this week (although they’ve been giving away free drinks for days now).

🏊‍♀️ Just in time for the coming heat wave, the Knickerbacker Aquatic Center in Troy is set for its grand opening on Thursday at 10 am. Here’s a sneak peak of the renovated facility, which now features an 8-lane Olympic-size pool and splash pads. [News10]

The Tobias Ten Eyck House, c. 1755, set on 87+ acres of lush field and forest, preserves a rare artifact of the Hudson River Dutch vernacular architecture. With the acreage, it’s really a steal!

The house retains an exceptional degree of original detail, including the preserved gambrel roof, double-width plank floors that are over 200 years old (!), original plaster walls, hand-wrought hardware and hinges, and a built-in corner cupboard with scalloped shelves and delicate plate grooves. The entrance hall is flanked by a comfortable sitting room on one side and a generous library with built-in shelves and window seats on the other, each anchored by a wood-burning fireplace. The bathrooms and kitchen are pristine and comfortable, with tastefully updated fixtures.

Beyond the house stands a handsome red barn, and the view unspools across the gorgeous landscape bisected by Coeymans Creek. Can you say summer swimming?

The deets: 4 bd, 2 ba, 2600 sf., 87+ acres (yes, you read that right) . Asking: $625,000. Days on market: 6. See the full listing here.

Note: The 518 Weekender now publishes on Thursdays. Watch your inboxes! 

SUMMER FUN

🎆 The Times Union is out with their annual 4th of July guide for where to watch fireworks throughout the Capital Region and beyond.

📜 The NYS Museum has unveiled its latest exhibition, “Revolutionary New York,” looking at New York’s central role in our nation’s founding story. Don’t forget the Expedition: Dinosaurs on the 4th floor.

🎟️ The Albany Institute of History & Art is bringing back its Free Summer Admissions Program! From July 1 to Aug. 31, kids 12 and under, plus one adult, get into the museum at no charge. While you’re there, don’t miss the wonderful Blanche Lazzell exhibit.

💜 Pick a purple bouquet for just $10 at the U Pick Lavendar Days at Slate Hill Lavender Farm in Sharon Springs.

🎡 Get early tickets to the Altamont Fair and save some bucks.

WEDNESDAY

👟 The Historic Albany Foundation invites you to the 250th Albany American Revolution Walking Tour. Join City Historian Tony Opalka and Derek Baranski for an engaging stroll through one of Albany’s oldest and most layered neighborhoods: the Pastures Historic District.

📜 Step inside the 1798 home of Revolutionary War General Abraham Ten Broeck and explore the stories of America in the place where they unfolded. Guided tours all week—but free on July 4th with Cider Belly donuts!

📚️ Albany’s Urban Aftermath Books closes its Hamilton Street shop for good on July 4th. Grab books for just $1 each and relive the magic one last time.

THURSDAY

🎸 Rock the Block in Cohoes welcomes U2 tribute band Unforgettable Fire. (Btw, there are no shows for Electric City SummerFest or Alive at Five this week.)

🔔 Did you know that the carillon atop Albany’s City Hall is one of the few in existence that’s not owned by a church or university? Get to the park across from City Hall at 5:30 pm to hear the bells toll at the annual Carillon Concert.

FRIDAY

🐎 Pony up cause it’s the Fourth of July Festival at the Saratoga Race Course.

🎸 Break out your tie dye when Grateful Dead tribute band The Wheel plays at Mixed Breed Brewing.

🎆 Saratoga Lake’s annual fireworks show at Brown Beach is always a fantastic sight to see.

🤠 The North & South Dakotas, the Capital Region’s favorite folk and bluegrass band, play Wolf Hollow Brewing in Schenectady.

SATURDAY

🎆 The biggest fireworks show in the Capital Region—the NYS 4th of July Celebration—kicks off at 5 pm at the Empire State Plaza with Sugar Ray headlining. The fireworks go off at 9:15 pm.

🎇 Clifton Park hosts an all-American Fourth of July parade and festival, culminating in a fireworks show. Also, the Clifton Park Freedom Mile is a 1-mile road race on the parade route!

🇺🇲 The Waterford 4th of July Celebration features Johnny Rabb’s Big Band and a fireworks show.

🎆 Saratoga's 2026 All-American Celebration is a festive, family-friendly affair.

🧑🏾‍🌾 On July 4th, Soul Fire Farms is offering free tours of its growing fields and agroforestry gardens—but there’s already a waitlist.

SUNDAY

🇺🇲 Get to Albany’s Irish American Heritage Museum for a free America 250 concert with The Little Zippers.

🚗 The 2nd annual Waterford Car Show is officially rolling up to Sugarloaf Pond.

ON VIEW

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