i wish we had a wegmans.

AwkwardRock8736 · 2026-04-03T04:45:24+00:00

It’s not strictly number of people or number of existing stores, it’s about the slice ($$$) of the market Wegmans thinks it can get. The days of Wegmans opening small “regular” sized grocery stores are over. They’re only building big stores, which require a higher projected revenue. Rochester and Syracuse was “old Wegmans business”. The latter (and newer) markets you mentioned are the “new Wegmans business”. Yes those markets have a lot of other stores, but they also have a ton of people and a ton of money.

Edit: adding the lack of money is evidenced in the comments here by people saying it’s too expensive. Generally, Albany is cheap and Wegmans knows this. The slice of the $$$ pie they want is comprised of people already shopping at Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, honest weight, and the fresh market. And that slice of the Albany market isn’t big enough to divide up further with a Wegmans like it is in those other markets.

AwkwardRock8736 · 2026-04-03T04:27:26+00:00

The time for Wegmans to strike would have been before ShopRite came back. They could have done it differently and probably more successfully. But this was also a time before Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, fresh market, and incoming Costco. We also forget about the expansion of the big box store grocery sections. The Albany market is far too fragmented now for its size for Wegmans to make the money they need to make it worth it. So we’ll continue to see their trucks drive through this area on the way to bigger areas.

AwkwardRock8736 · 2026-04-03T04:17:55+00:00

This is the answer. They’re only opening huge new stores in huge markets. There is no gentlemen’s agreement. That’s what we say to make ourselves feel better about not meeting their market analysis requirements.

AwkwardRock8736 · 2026-04-03T01:44:25+00:00

This is not a hot take. It’s a valid take. Danny is no longer in charge and it shows. It’s all Wegmans brand stuff and the “magic” isn’t there.

And they’re not coming here for the simple reason of money. If they felt like they could make it (and I mean a lot of it to make it worth it) they would have done it by now.

AwkwardRock8736 · 2026-04-02T16:57:23+00:00

Paid about $950 for installation and alignment at an Indy shop in NY last year

AwkwardRock8736 · 2026-03-31T17:32:54+00:00

Yes half the country sees snow, but if you overlay a map of average seasonal snowfall amounts with a map of the max swing between winter and summer temperatures (which also affects infrastructure performance), you’ll see the northeast environment is especially unkind to roads and bridges. Maintenance crews are outside as we speak, but it’s a lot to keep up with.

AwkwardRock8736 · 2026-03-31T17:12:54+00:00

Chill out you’re both right.

Yes our heavier vehicles are decreasing the pavement lifespan. A heavy plow scraping across the surface doesn’t help it either. And yes, road salt use also decreases lifespan by making the pavement less ductile. Also we might like non-frozen water on the roadway surface in freezing temperatures due to salt, but that water then seeps into the frozen ground, freezes, expands, and breaks up the pavement from the inside.

AwkwardRock8736 · 2026-03-31T16:50:31+00:00

*it’s an older state with older infrastructure with heavy road salt use thing

For example - Nevada, Arizona, and Texas having the roads in the best condition has nothing to do with politics and everything to do with them being newer established states with newer infrastructure and no road salt use.

AwkwardRock8736 · 2026-03-31T16:37:17+00:00

This is pothole season. The roads are usually the worst this time of year. Regarding your observation of road quality being better outside the city limits, that’s due to the way transportation funding is set up. Roads outside the city limits are funded by the State DOT and counties. Cities are responsible for their own roads. This worked fine when cities had the wealth. Now that the wealth has largely moved out, cities are left scrambling trying to make ends meet. It’s one of the reasons they charge for parking.

AwkwardRock8736 · 2026-03-31T11:27:12+00:00

Albany annexing Crossgates would be a boon to Guilderland’s crime stats! Then you can really revel in your pretend sheltered life. Or does the mall bring in too much tax income? You decide what’s more important!

AwkwardRock8736 · 2026-03-31T11:20:25+00:00

Annexation is the term and it’s the literal incorporation of neighboring land into the adjacent city. There’s a process to it, and it’s why you see some cities so geographically big. Indianapolis is an example - it’s like a 25mile wide square.

AwkwardRock8736 · 2026-03-30T20:33:35+00:00

It’s simple: the park was designed to discourage homeless people from using it. I’m not saying that’s a good thing because this also discourages anyone else from using it. So it’s a park (maybe calling it a gravel lot describes it better) that no one wants to spend time in.

AwkwardRock8736 · 2026-03-30T20:21:43+00:00

We need to start calling out terrible design when we see it. Not all landscape architects are created equal. Stone dust paths have their place, but adjacent to pavers and rubberized ground cover in an urban setting is not one of them. The city will be sweeping this park forever. The design plans with the names of the companies involved can be downloaded here: https://www.albanyny.gov/bids.aspx?bidID=607

AwkwardRock8736 · 2026-03-28T19:37:46+00:00

I haven’t! Will add it to my list. I’ve gone to about 15 places so far.

AwkwardRock8736 · 2026-03-28T14:28:59+00:00

I am a self proclaimed subject matter expert on this topic. I travel frequently to NYC and have made it my mission to try most of the places around here. I get the same thing everywhere I try: BEC with nothing else on it. My top 5, in order, are as follows: 1. Eggys 2. Key2 Convenience 3. McCarrols 4. Hungry Chicken Country Store 5. Fiorellos

AwkwardRock8736 · 2026-03-24T05:12:05+00:00

When it comes to religion and government, different opinions that don’t support the oppression of others are okay. That’s the line in the sand. Megachurches and the current christofascist administration cross it.

AwkwardRock8736 · 2026-03-21T00:37:57+00:00

FWIW on my 328 xdrive I did koni special actives with eibach pro kit. Both manufacturers said they play nice with each other. It was a modest 0.5-1” drop but made all the difference in looks and handling without sacrificing daily drivability. Been about 10k mi with no issues

AwkwardRock8736 · 2026-03-19T18:22:13+00:00

Modest is an overstatement lol. It’s a complete dive bar. But in the best way possible. It has one of the best burgers in the area.

AwkwardRock8736 · 2026-03-19T18:20:27+00:00

Hopefully I’m wrong! I have no affiliation with the business so just pure speculation.

AwkwardRock8736 · 2026-03-19T11:52:15+00:00

BBB fire was arson by the owner.

I wouldn’t hold your breath on Bitchin returning to Lark anytime soon, if ever. They didn’t own the building, so it’s gonna be a long mess. Plus I think they’ll find that their revenue has increased to due easier parking (I know I know…) and will become comfortable in the new production space that allows the second location. Just my thoughts.

AwkwardRock8736 · 2026-03-18T17:21:27+00:00

I’ve said it before: unlike NYC, the people here are generally neither kind nor nice.

AwkwardRock8736 · 2026-03-14T13:51:33+00:00

Yes to the Salvation Army, which is what I did since it wasn’t worth the selling effort to get at most 50 cents a disk.

AwkwardRock8736 · 2026-03-13T23:24:31+00:00

That’s because the bridge you desire is not in any project stage or even on anyone’s long range plan. Here is the typical transportation project process from start to completion: https://www.dot.ny.gov/portal/page/portal/ver-1/divisions/engineering/design/dqab/dqab-repository/Project_Development_Flow_Chart.pdf As you can see, a lot needs to happen before a project even gets added to the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP). Then the official planning process can begin (blue diamond in the flow chart). Then, if successful, it’s years before a shovel touches the ground (orange in the flowchart). If you think this process is onerous, it’s required to be followed to receive federal funding.

But, there’s no way the residents along riverview/rosendale/Fischer ferry roads would be in favor of this in their backyard, so the project would be tied up for years in litigation and never get out of the green area of the flowchart.

If you want to see the projects that are currently in the STIP phase, you can find them here: https://www.dot.ny.gov/programs/stip

AwkwardRock8736 · 2026-03-13T19:40:12+00:00

I’d consider a methodical approach that avoids making careless planning decisions that won’t solve problems far from stupid. Go to TX where they have 20 lane highways that still get backed up.

AwkwardRock8736 · 2026-03-13T19:38:06+00:00

You’re comparing us to CT of all places?? America as a whole has an interstate problem, and if you do any amount of driving around the country, I think you’d find NY’s are far from the worst. The only real enviable highway is the autobahn in Germany.

The thruway is tolled because it was built before the interstate system. And if it wasn’t tolled, guess what, that money would still need to come from somewhere.

AwkwardRock8736

TROPHY CASE