Students Tour New Mildred Elley School on Central

This school year, Mildred Elley Admissions Director Maria Neal greeted new students with some unlikely school supplies: hard hats.

Students from Mildred Elley and Austin School of Spa Technology donned yellow hard hats to tour the school's new facilities and get a first look at the brand-new space on Central Avenue. Construction crews still worked around the tours, moving through and adding finishing touches to the brand-new classrooms, labs, library, and student lounges.

Mildred Elley and Austin will merge in the newly-renovated building at 855 Central Avenue, where the beauty school will be housed on the first floor, and the Mildred Elley classrooms and common areas will be located upstairs. The new school will offer three times more space than the old school, with more room for programs like barbering, nail tech, business, medical assisting, hospitality and the new additions like the LPN program, Neal said.

Students will also enjoy a more campus-like atmosphere in the new space, where the common areas like student lounges, computer labs, and the bookstore will encourage students to mingle and relax. The new facilities are "more collegic feeling," Neal said.

Students who have visited are "pumped" to see the new space, and they're already looking forward to opportunities for cross-training, she said. Austin students can take business classes upstairs, and Mildred Elley students can explore new career options downstairs, she said.

Mildred Elley offered students goody bags with coupons from a number of local businesses including Carmine's, Gateway Diner, Rosen's Uniforms, Hoffman's Car Wash, Geico, and Bruegger's Bagels.

Austin students will begin classes September 8, and Mildred Elley students will return to school on September 15.

Historic Office Space: Carrow rehabs 4 Central for leasing

Today, Carrow Real Estate Services announced their plan to rehab the $1.95 million commercial property at 4 Central Avenue in hopes of securing new tenants for the building.

Carrow took over ownership of the four-story building in the spring, and is currently looking for tenants to occupy 40,000 square feet of vacant space, said Rudy Lynch, Carrow Leasing and Sales Consultant. The building has four existing tenants that are renegotiating their leases with plans to stay on, he said.

Ideally, Carrow would secure one large office tenant for the space, Lynch said.

Carrow will embark on a complete gut and rehab inside, much like the nearby 855 Central project, Lynch said. "Hopefully, we can clean that up," he said. Carrow is currently soliciting bids for interior demolition.

4 Central is a beautiful old building with lots of character that you can't find in newer construction, Lynch said. The fourth floor features exposed beams, an open floor plan, and great views. Crews will restore the historic building, preserving its best features, and cleaning up some of the spots that have begun to show wear.

For additional information about the property, please contact Rudy Lynch, 518-462.7491.

Larkfest Turns Corner: Street festival includes Central Avenue

This year's Larkfest 2008, the popular one-day festival that takes place on Lark Street in Center Square, will be expanded this year to include a section of Central and Washington Avenues.


The Central BID and the Lark BID have partnered together to add the Townsend Park triangle to the outdoor festival, which will bring increased exposure and opportunities to Central Avenue businesses.

"It's something we've thought about for a while," said Anthony Capece, Executive Director for the Central BID. "The CBID is always looking for ways to improve Townsend Park to the benefit of everyone in that area", he said. "The BID met with the Lark Street BID leadership about expanding Larkfest, and they liked the idea", he said. "We are gald to help play a part of their very succesful event". "We (Lark & Central BID) enjoy a great relationship and certainly have shared interests in the improvement of both blocks.


"It was a way to get businesses, who really are a part of this neighborhood, involved," said Mary Spinelli, Director of Operations for the Lark BID.

The annual festival is summer's last hurrah, with live music and food vendors lining the sidewalks and crowds rocking the street. It is one of the largest in the Northeast, and welcomes between 60,000-80,000 visitors annually.


The Central BID is encouraging Central Avenue businesses to participate in the event, and trying to guide them on how to take advantage of the event's heavy foot traffic, Capece said.

"I'm really thrilled to have it come around the corner and up the block," said Susan Taylor, Manager of the Great Finds store at 250 Washington, which will be open for the festival. "It's a nod toward being part of the community."


Larkfest offers a number of different entertainments for visitors. There's a family zone on Hudson Street that includes activities for the kids, a hometown stage which focuses exclusively on local offerings including Knotworking, Christo Lewis, and Jazzhands as well as local fashion show, Discard Avant Garb. Radio station powerhouse WEQX sponsors acts on the two main stages including Tom Morello "The Nightwatchman," Eric Hutchinson, and the Sense Offenders.


This year, because of the expansion the event will add a fifth stage in Townsend Park, which should bring visitors around the corner to Central Avenue. The new stage will feature fantastic feats by Cirque de la Nocturne, and more local music.

"The more we can bring people together, the more we can improve the city, and not just the individual districts," said Spinelli.

Larkfest will take place along Lark Street, Central Avenue and Washington Avenue on Saturday, Sept. 20 from 10am-5:30pm.

Watkins Spring--100 years of work, horse shoes to auto service

Congratulations on 100 Years.

Watkins Spring Company Inc. has been tending to your transportation since the 1890's when the crew was fixing horse shoes. Today, the business tends less to equine and more to align, offering front end service as well as springs and brakes for both cars and trucks. This year, Watkins celebrates 100 years in business--at the same location on Central, and even though the business has expanded over the years, the original blacksmith shop that started it all remains open and working.

The garage and parts store has built out in both directions from the original blacksmith shop, and it would take someone with know-how to lead you through the maze of garages that sit headquartered at 368 Central. Luckily, second-generation owner, Thomas Kingston has agreed to lead me through and tell me about his family's landmark business.

Watkins Spring Company was run by the Watkins family from 1908 until the early 1950s. Then, Owen Watkins, son of the founder, went into business with Samuel Kingston, Kingston's father. Samuel ran the business until his death in 1975. His son, Kingston has run the business since then.

"I never wanted to do anything else," he tells me of his decision to go into the family business.
Kingston grew up in these garages, and pedaled his bike up and down the Avenue to retrieve parts for his father and the other mechanics in the shop. In those days, Watkins Spring was in the center of Albany's automobile corridor, with dealerships and garages located on every block. Kingston recites the names that have all disappeared or moved away, DeNooyer Chevrolet, Windows Pontiac, and the list goes on. Today, Kingston said, many of those dealerships have closed or moved further up Central, but his shop is still going strong, doing as many as 20 alignments a day and working with many well-known entities including the City of Albany, Rotterdam, Halfmoon, Colonie Central School District, University at Albany, and the New York State Police.

Kingston's customers are loyal, and much of the business is word-of-mouth, he said. "We try to specialize in just a few things and really do them right," Kingston said.

Kingston leads me through his business with evident pride. The shop was at a busy hum, with mechanics moving trucks in and out of the alley behind the shop, and scrambling down into galleys beneath the cars. In the blacksmith shop, a mechanic is hard at work at ancient equipment. The shop doesn't manufacture as many parts anymore, but they do some, mostly for antique cars and trucks, Kingston said. Past the blacksmith shop is a storage area filled with springs. Watkins Spring caters to every kind of vehicle, from school buses to Cadillacs. The springs look like skis, varying in length and thickness and stacked sideways in racks. Kingston pulls a thick wedge of metal forward. It looks more like a fender than a spring. This is for a bigger rig, he says, something like a garbage truck. While further down the line, there are more delicate springs--delicate by comparison, that is. These are for smaller vehicles, he says, like jeeps.

Past the spring storage room, is another storage room, then the parts shop, then we emerge on Central half a block away from where we entered. Watkins extends from 368-372 Central, skirting the VFW. Parking lots abut the shop at each end.

We return to the front reception area, where Kingston's daughter Reagan runs the office, but on the way, we make a stop at the mural that's become a city landmark. The two-story bear has decorated the side of the VFW for 50 years, Kingston said, and has become a point of reference for people. "They say, 'Oh, by the bear?'" The smiling grizzly was part of a logo for Bear Alignment, a top-rate alignment system in the 1950s, and Kingston's father had the mural painting on the building to show that they used their products. The brand is now defunct, but the bear remains in its place of honor, greeting customers for the last half-century.

Back in the reception area, surrounded by historic photographs of Central Avenue, Kingston considered the business's longevity. The key to the business's long-term success is customer care, he said. "We got people who know what they're doing and they do it well." Kingston stresses that he also takes good care of his 16 employees, many of whom have been there for 20 years or more and have built a rapport with customers--and cars.

"They might forget the customers' name, but they remember what kind of car they drive," Reagan said. This makes customers feel comfortable with them. "Customers like to see the same faces," she said.

Francis Walter has been bringing his vehicles to Watkins Spring for 28 years. "I am absolutely confident in the work they go and the fairness of the price," he said. "They can handle any vehicle, and they know me. That's a nice added benefit."

The Central Avenue spot remains a good location for the business, he said, but parking remains an issue. Right now, vehicles waiting for repair are parked in the alley behind the shop, but sometimes the business is pressed for space, he said. Kingston wants to talk with surrounding businesses about how to negotiate the crunch.

Overall, Kingston is confident that the business will stick around for a long time to come. "We want to continue to grow," he said. Someday, he plans to pass the business on to one of his children or grandchildren, but he refuses to speculate too much about what the future holds, allowing that he's got plenty of time to decide. "That's some years away."

For now, Kingston plans to keep doing what he's been doing since he was a kid--fixing vehicles. Kingston puts in 14 hour days at this garage, cramming two lifetimes of work into these 10 bays, and he's still going strong.

"I still enjoy it," Kingston said.

Saso's teaches the art of sushi

Making your own sushi is fun--and messy. At least that's what the beginners who joined Saso's make-your-own sushi lunch program are discovering.

Saso's Japanese Noodle House is teaching customers to make their own lunches this summer, and when students walk into class the first thing they want to know is why there's plastic spread across the floor, said Kathleen Saso, co-owner of the restaurant. "I say, 'Oh, you'll see,'" Saso says. These sushi-novices quickly learn the ropes, but not without some initial spills.

The first class, offered on the last weekend of July was well-attended, and students said they had a great time, Saso said. They began by mixing vinegar and adding it to the sushi rice to make it sticky. They also learn to slice cucumbers and other ingredients, and to construct and shape the fragile rolls with a bamboo mat, Saso said. Each student works with their own recipe, and the class fee covers instruction, the cost for ingredients, and a bamboo mat that each student can take home--not to mention lunch. "At the end, the students get to eat what they've made," Saso said.

The class is taught by Yasuo Saso, the restaurant's sushi chef and co-owner, who has been in the restaurant business for 30 years. Kathleen Saso said her sushi chef husband has a great deal of experience and makes sushi-making look much easier than it is. It's only when the students get to work that they realize the skill and talent that goes into it. "They say, 'You don't have to worry about losing us as customers,'" Saso said with a laugh.

Saso's has been a fixture on Central Avenue for 12 years. Business is always slower in the summer, and the Sasos hope these courses will reach some new customers, Saso said. The restaurant also offers private group lessons, she said.

Saso's is located at 218 Central Avenue. The next classes are being offered August 9 and August 23 from 11:30am-1:30pm. The cost of the class is $50. To register, please call 436-7789. Saso's is open Tuesday through Saturday for dinner beginning at 5pm.

Road construction reaches halfway point

The ongoing road construction project on Central Avenue has reached the halfway point, reports Deidre Rudolph, City Engineer. The $13 million road rehabilitation project that extends from King Road to the city line began last fall, and the city plans to wrap up by late spring or early summer of next year, Rudolph said. The project also encompasses parts of Everett Road.

The ambitious project includes repaving the roadway, adding new sidewalks and curbs, and installing new signage and drainage, Rudolph said.

In addition to making the road smoother and easier to navigate, the project will also make the area much more pedestrian-friendly. The new sidewalks will make it easier for walkers to get to and from the many shopping centers and other businesses in the area, and link adjacent neighborhoods to the Avenue. So far, crews have put in sidewalks on the south side of the street, and are currently working on the north side. These wide walkways with fresh curbs are appealing and make the area much more approachable. The work has gone pretty smoothly, and local businesses have been very supportive, Rudolph said.