Last week, the downtown SUNY Albany campus hosted the second annual SUNY Showcase, welcoming businesses from up and down Central to the Avenue to show their wares.
"The students all need restaurants, laundromats, drycleaning, etc. and they may not know it's available right on Central," said Jerry Parker, Assistant Provost for the University at Albany.
This year marks the second annual showcase, and the atmosphere was fun and festive. Local restaurants offered ice cream and other nibbles, while other businesses offered coupons and discounts. The balloon man provided giant balloon columns, and a cariacature artist sketched excited students, adding to the fair-like feeling.
As an added bonus, the Central BID offered zip drives packed with Central Avenue menus, and links to the BID website, said BID Executive Director Anthony Capece. The drives are a quick, inexpensive way to provide the students with greater access to the Avenue, he said.
The growing alliance between the BID and the SUNY campus is win-win. The students are an untapped market for many local businesses, and the students benefit because the close proximity of so many shops, restaurants, autos an services means they don't have to travel far to get what they need.
SUNY will continue to hold the event, and is even considering making it part of Orientation next year to ramp up attendance, Parker said. "We want to have a greater presence in the surrounding neighborhood and community," Parker said.
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