The intersection of Ferry Street and Water Avenue on Tuesday evening, July 15, 2025.
Returning to Albany after a few days away, I wondered how far the city’s contractor had gotten with the Water Avenue “plaza street,” the last key element of the Albany Revitalization Agency’s $21.5 million Waterfront Project.
Not as far as the city had hoped, it turns out.
On a bike ride late Tuesday, I saw that the one block of Water from Washington Street to Ferry Street, now a single one-way lane, had been completed. But the second block, from Ferry to Broadalbin Street, was still unfinished and closed.
This phase of the project began on April 14, and the city said on social media at the time that the two-block closure between Washington and Broadalbin was expected to conclude on June 16.
The bike and I tried the new open section surfaced with reddish stone pavers. It felt almost like riding on cobble stones. Not exactly smooth, but maybe that’s the desired effect.
I noticed something else. There’s a big new sign — “Authorized Vehicles Only” — on what used to be the Ferry Street entrance to the old senior center parking lot, now the community center lot.
So that entrance and exit is closed, leaving only one point of public access and egress at Broadalbin, one block to the east.
Water Avenue used to be a handy route east and west along the riverfront to avoid the traffic signals and frequent congestion on First and Second downtown.
When the riverfront avenue was mentioned during the planning, the talk was always about creating a “plaza street that could be closed to traffic for special events,” which seemed like a swell idea. Nobody dwelled on the details, such a messing up traffic on non-event days as well.
Or I missed it if anybody did point that out. (hh)
People who live east of downtown on Water Street need to be able to continue to go right, and under the bridges, to go east on Water Street, rather then having to clog up the 1st and 2nd Street traffic lights only to go East on 2nd.
Going east on Water won’t be a problem once the street is finished and reopened. It’s going west from Ferry that is now impossible because of the one-way eastbound single lane in that block.
Hasso: Are you going to ask the City why there is a one-way east-bound-only lane on Water St. from Washington to Ferry?
Probably one of the reasons only authorized vehicles are able to access the “Senior” Center from Ferry St. is so Meals-on-Wheels workers can get parking spaces. The “Senior” Center is no longer a “Senior” Center, but seniors none-the-less still go there to take classes. And, many seniors cannot walk a long distance such as clear from Broadalbin to back door of what used to be the “Senior” Center.
By the way, a former long-time city councilor told me that when the Senior Center was built years ago, it was designated as a senior center (that must have had something to do with getting funding) and now Albany had no legal right to change the name and function of the Senior Center to a Community Center.
Considering the CURRENT Mayor & City Council passed an “act” that declared June to be pride month for PERPETUITY, you think they care?
They have shown themselves to be tyrant/dictators. Just the reason the 2nd Amendment was written.
Perpetuity? Come on. Anytime four council members want to cancel that, they can do it. Any time.
Perhaps it’s time to ‘charge’ the contractors for failure to complete on time. Taxpayers are more than exhausted with cost and time overruns.
It’s past time to bring accountability to city leaders(lol) and contractors.
Wholeheartedly agree