The rumors are true: I have emerged from the apocalyptic swamp that was the past few months in order to once again tell you about new stuff in Albany that you may have missed. Welcome to the Tromping Around Report: COVID Concepts Edition.
A Teeny Weenie Wittle Art Gallery
WHO'S the cutest little art gallery? YOU'RE the cutest little art gallery! According to its website, "​Smallbany Gallery is a 1/12 scale gallery and installation space (currently under construction) that is focused on Albany and Capital Region emerging and underrepresented artists." You can submit your itsy bitsy ickle installations here.
Pizza From a Stranger's Apartment
One of the odder small businesses that has sprung out of our COVID haze: an Instagram-based pizza delivery service operated out of some dude's apartment. Apartment Pizza! The branding looks great, but the ordering process and menu seem deliberately opaque. Do you have to know the secret password? Does the owner review your Instagram selfies for sufficient hotness before bestowing a pizza upon you? Has this apartment ever been inspected by the relevant authorities to ensure that every surface is not generously besmeared with Salmonella? Your humble Albablogger has no idea. If you want to take a walk on the wild side, rumors suggest that you order by sending a DM. All of the cool kids are doing it!
A Grand New Market
Consider putting some money where your Black Lives Matter mouth is and heading down to the new South End Night Market this Thursday. The vendors include a number of small, local black-owned businesses, in addition to a few local farms and food vendors offering fresh produce and tasty treats to the neighborhood. It's held every Thursday from 4:00-7:00 outside the Radix Center at 153 Grand Street (on the corner of Warren and Grand). If you're too lazy to leave your apartment, it looks like they're currently also working on making products available for sale on their website.
Some More Downtown Apartments, Maybe
You know that ugly, boxy building near the plaza that's had an "Office space for lease" sign in the window since you were in kindergarten? What's that? You need that narrowed down some more? Specifically, the ugly, boxy building at the corner of South Swan and State has been bought by some Brooklyn investors who plan on maybe, possibly, turning it into a bunch of new apartments. According to the Biz Review: "The apartments would be one-bedroom units, according to plans filed with the city. Three units would be set aside to comply with the city's inclusionary zoning requirement for affordable housing ...
The building would also include shared work space, recreation rooms and a gym on the first floor." However, these plans are apparently not set in stone. Maybe they'll just leave that "Office space for lease" sign up for the next twenty years! Who knows! Personally, your humble Albablogger thinks that what Albany could REALLY use is for someone to turn an ugly, boxy building into an indoor tropical garden with a cafe in it to hang out in from November through April, but no one asked your humble Albablogger, did they?