On the Money Side of the Street, 10.18.08

I enjoy being on time to work. I couldn’t care less if I'm not, but I enjoy settling in when I'm supposed to be there. It makes my whole day better.

There's no clear cut easy way to get here from my house though. Even though it is a perpetual cluster fuck, I have found that Central Ave has been the best route thus far. But lately, it is under constant construction. Let me rephrase that: constant obstruction. These men in orange vests take time from their smoking to lay a brick or two, then stand back, exhausted, light up and admire their work.

I was excited that they were mending the brain-jarring potholes that used to knock teeth loose every morning, especially when I rode the shocks-free bus. Such repair is not only necessary, it’s imperative. What I don’t understand, though, is the aesthetic overhaul that they are giving parts of Central Ave. The biggest reason I do not get this is because I thought we were in a recession and times were tough—why is this money being spent? I know my boyfriend and I are a little broke right now, so we prioritized: we fired our landscaper and mowed the lawn ourselves. We had to let Consuelo go and bought a cheap dishwasher. My Boboli pizza had shredded mozz instead of the fresh stuff last night. You know, you make sacrifices. And I think that increasing the overall aesthetic of a dump of a street should not be a priority. I had my heart set on the bonsai maze in my back yard, but it will have to wait.

Fixing the sidewalks is one thing, but is the Hannaford Plaza more enticing with some evenly-spaced brick columns holding up nothing? Columns are supposed to support stuff, right? The only thing these columns will hold up are drunken bums waiting for the 55 bus at 3 a.m. And make sure that turf grass looks nice, otherwise he’s not gonna be comfortable going to the bathroom while he waits! And the brick crossways across random intersections—stunning, just stunning. Was there some big sale on bricks that I was unaware of?

Downtown Albany looks great, but those repairs were done during better times and help out with tourism and downtown businesses. You know, sans the bronze statue of the man on the bench. But Central Avenue? I'm not saying give up on such an important and well- traveled path, but maybe you could start with cleaning up some of the garbage. That seems a little cheaper than useless columns. Then, when we get someone smart in office and the economy is better, you can have your columns and I can have my bonsai maze. Deal?