Cover photo by Leif Zurmuhlen

Please choose a category: Goods & Services Food & Drink Arts & Entertainment Media Note to readers: The Best Of selections were compiled by Metroland staff members; Readers’ Poll results can be found at the end of each section. In addition, the best answers to our free-form Readers’ Poll questions appear under the heading "You Said It."

Best Fundraising Campaign We Love to Hate
NYPIRG Campaigners
Coming soon to a front door near you

NYPIRG, we love you. But we cannot emphasize how much we hate that you drop your fundraising campaigners off in our neighborhoods to hit us up for cash. These kids are relentless. When we tell them we do not have $10, they ask us if we have $5. If we say we don’t have $5, they want $1. And lately, we’ve noticed, they will even hit us up for spare change if we refuse to give them a buck. No, we won’t let you wait while we check under our couch cushions for change, and no we’re not going to see if there are pennies in the little change cup on our dresser. No, you can’t come in, you can’t make a phone call, you can’t use the bathroom and you can’t have any old furniture or lamps we don’t want anymore (yes, these are all actual requests from NYPIRG solicitors). NYPIRG, we respect what you do, but we refuse to give you a dime as long as you keep sending your missives to panhandle us door to door.

Best Fundraising Campaign We Hate to Love
WAMC Fund Drive
(90.3 FM)

We hate uninvited solicitation (see NYPIRG entry above). But we can’t help but let the damn radio drone on and on and on when WAMC holds its on-air fund drives. Though we complain incessantly about telemarketers, door-to-door campaigners, junk mailers and panhandlers, we just can’t seem to tear ourselves away from 90.3 FM when Alan Chartock pleads with us to “Keep the Flame Alive.” OK, OK—how much did you say you want us to make that check out for, Alan?

Best “There Goes the Neighborhood”
North Swan Street Redevelopment
North Swan Street Neighborhood, Albany

This neighborhood is too dangerous, the city of Albany tells us. There are too many absentee landlords. Drug dealers hang out on the street corners hawking their dope, and though the architecture is beautiful and historic, it’s way too run-down. What to do? Use eminent domain to buy up all the real estate. Bulldoze it. Rebuild it as modern (read: cheaply built) low- and moderate-income housing. Cross our fingers and hope the bad element disappears. Good going, Albany. Umm . . . can you say “watch the problem move to another neighborhood?”

Best Pissing Match
Sheldon Silver vs. George Pataki

While a tardy budget always damps our ability to find political infighting amusing, we nonetheless love watching two parts of the state’s biggest power triangle bitch-slap each other in the press and in courtrooms. The litigious figure in this squabble is Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who recently got legal authority to sue Gov. George Pataki over Pataki’s ability (and willingness) to veto the Legislature’s spending plans and then reroute money to pet projects. There probably isn’t a good guy in this fight, but we relish any challenge to Pataki’s ruthless control of the state’s purse strings.

Best Imitation of an Energizer Bunny
C.B. Smith
Rensselaer County

No matter how badly he gets beat up in the press by Rensselaer County Republicans (and sometimes even fellow Democrats), political gadfly C.B. Smith does not stop. He’s uncovering corruption this week. He’s running for county executive next. Now he’s running for a county legislative seat. Just like the bunny on the commercials, he just keeps going, and going, and going, and going . . .

BEST ARTIST TURNED POLITICIAN
Linda Mussmann

Hudson’s not losing an artist, it’s gaining a mayor. Well, at least a mayoral candidate. It seemed obvious to those around her that a more mainstream political move was in her future, but Mussmann has only recently gazed into her crystal ball, quivered, and acquiesced to the potential of an official insider position.

Best Unfunny Annual Joke
The State Budget

Once again, the braniacs who comprise our fine state government’s executive branch have mired spending proposals in political infighting, pork-barrel squabbles and “my veto is bigger than yours” contests. The 2001-02 state budget is already more than 100 days late, and could break the 1997 record for the tardiest spending plan ever. This running gag long ago lost its humor value and became a pathetic testament to the juvenile nature of New York politics.

Best Bizarre Attempt to Return to Politics
Jim Coyne
Albany

Once voted in these pages as Albany’s Best Local Felon, he’s trying—once again—to make a comeback. Former County Executive Jim Coyne served time in federal prison for corruption, but he doesn’t seem to think that should stop him from representing the good people of Albany again. He ran for county clerk, and lost, in 1997. This year, we hear, he’s challenging incumbent Helen Desfosses for her seat on the Albany Common Council. This, in itself, isn’t so bizarre—Coyne can shoot for the political stars, for all we care. The fact that Coyne apparently has the support of longtime cronies of Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings, however, we find very bizarre—not to mention disturbing.

Best Grass-Roots Resistance
Citizens opposed to the Pittsfield Civic Authority

Pittsfield city government and business leaders came to the people bearing a gift: a new downtown baseball stadium. “Sign on the dotted line,” they said. But some skeptical citizens read the fine print, and discovered that “baseball stadium” really meant “unelected civic authority composed of the mayor’s friends who don’t even have to live in the city and who have limitless power to take your property and built whatever the hell they want on it.” Outmuscled and outspent, but not outnumbered, the people of Pittsfield spread the word and voted the civic authority into oblivion.

Best Public Official
Sen. Thomas Duane (D-Manhattan)

Since he first took office in 1998, Sen. Duane has been a strong advocate for legislation on gun control, health-care protection, sexual-assault reform legislation, HIV and AIDS legislation, reform of the Rockefeller Drug Laws, and alternatives to incarceration. In 2000, he sponsored the Hate Crimes Protection Act and the Work Study Internship Bill, both of which passed on the Senate floor. This year, he is fighting for the Dignity for All Students Act. Need we say more? Did we forget to mention that he is the Senate’s first openly gay and openly HIV-positive member? His record speaks for itself.

Best Public Official (“I’m Goin’ to Disney World!” Division)
John Sweeney
U.S. Representative (R-N.Y.)

The well-orchestrated Republican effort to block vote recounts in Florida was led by none other than our esteemed congressman, who gave new meaning to Mickey Mouse politics.

Best Mother of all Governors
Jane Swift
Governor, Massachusetts

Swift, who inherited the job when Paul Cellucci headed north for an ambassadorship, made national news when she gave birth to twins shortly after becoming governor. Some observers wonder how well she’ll balance running the state with being a mother to three young children, but the real question should be how she’ll balance her two jobs without abusing the perks of her office—something she was accused of frequently during her tenure as lieutenant governor.

Best “This Land Is Our Land”
Indian Ladder Farms

The Albany County Land Conservancy worked out a plan to buy development rights to the well-known family farm and apple orchard in New Scotland, which, if completed, will ensure the farm’s future viability—and will ensure that big developers won’t carve up the natural beauty of this Helderberg paradise into subdivisions and strip malls. Hey, Sam Walton, howd’ya like them apples?

Best “OK, That Frees Up My Hands for My Burger and Fries!”
Cell Phone Legislation

While we applaud any attempt to make roadways safer, the state government’s impending ban on holding cell phones while driving is pretty weak. Drivers can still use hands-free cell phones, and the legislation does nothing to arrest other unsafe road habits, such as fumbling with cassette players and pounding down Big Macs.

Best Place to See Legislators Rock Out
Savannah’s
1 S. Pearl St., Albany

When the Budget Blues Boys (featuring Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley and Assemblyman Bill Parment, among others) hit this downtown nightspot, look out.

Best “With Cops Like These, Who Needs Criminals?”
The Schenectady Police Department

Best Political Whitewash
The Cleanup of the State Education and Capitol Buildings

Hyperkinetic announcer (in thick Australian accent): It’s amazing! Ordinarily you’d just chuck a public building this dingy! But don’t head for the dustbin just yet. With this new miracle product, we’ll get this record-holding, weight-bearing colonnade good and shiny as new! These columns are so clean, you could eat off ’em! Now, how much would you pay for a product of such unparalleled grime-busting power? Don’t answer yet, because for one low price, we’ll also hand-polish the Capitol! Never again will you be embarrassed by an unsightly or stained seat of government. Act now, and we’ll even delay payment until the budget is passed!

Best Advertising Client
The God Billboards

Does anybody else feel a little ripped off that where once the Man Upstairs announced his intentions with cool stuff like burning bushes, pillars of fire, columns of salt, and parting seas, we now get smart-alecky billboards? Are we to believe He’s hired a PR firm? What, His cell phone’s on the fritz? His ISP’s down? The ASPCA get on his ass about the frogs-and-locusts thing? C’mon, man, would God really use the same means of promotion as drive-time DJs?

Best Subdivision in Need of a Classical Education
Terramere
New Scotland Avenue, Slingerlands

OK: “Terra,” that’s Latin for land; “mere,” Old English for an expanse of water. Therefore, terramere means, basically, landlake, which makes no sense. Why not Malbueno? Or how about Negroblanc? Anybody for Nuevoancien? Would you buy a lot at Linguistic Contradiction Estates? How about a mock Tudor with three-car garage at Faux-Fancy Nonsense Arms? I mean, what the hell’s a landlake? And what the hell body of water are they talking about? The Bethlehem Town Pool? We propose the name P.T. Barnum Gardens. Because nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public. And we propose caveat emptor. Look it up.

Best Dance Club (Tie)
Sneaky Pete’s
711 Central Ave., Albany

Bar One
11 N. Broadway, Schenectady

Two clubs that couldn’t be more different—Sneaky Pete’s in Albany is big and flashy, and Bar One in Schenectady is small and chic—yet both spots offer the essentials for successful body-rocking: talented DJs, atmosphere, and the latest grooves. Sneaky Pete’s specializes in big-city techno and brand-name talent while Bar One tends toward the adventurous (from goth to trip-hop), but at either place, the beat will make your night.

Best Decadent Dance Club With a Dance Floor the Size of a Twister Mat
Rome
286 Lark St., Albany

You know that E! channel TV show Wild On, where hosts visit the most hedonistic vacation hot spots and nightclubs in the world? If Rome were in a tropical locale instead of downtown Albany, there’s no doubt in our minds that we’d see it there. Sometime after midnight, the teensy bar area of the Saigon Grille Vietnamese restaurant (known to dance patrons as Rome) attracts droves of Lark Street bar hoppers ready to get down to Lil’ Kim, the Black Eyed Peas, Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Lopez and the like. The shirts come off (off the boys, that is), the inhibitions are dropped and the grinding is out of control. Let the dance party begin.

Best Bartender
Bob Miller
Justin’s, 301 Lark St., Albany

He’s not your warm-and-fuzzy, saccharine-sweet bartender (we don’t much like those), nor is he the hipster, rock-star type bartender that seems to be all the rage at most Lark Street establishments these days. He’s just a really good, professional bartender who handles the Friday-night rush hour at Justin’s with finesse and treats his customers with respect every time they visit. He’s got class, competence and just the right measure of reserved good humor to make the bar at Justin’s feel like a good bar should.

Honorable Mention: There was a groundswell of support among some staffers for Rock from Desperate Annie’s (12-14 Caroline St., Saratoga Springs) for his appropriate measures of grumpiness and aloofness, and his ability to cut through the throngs to get to a customer in desperate need of a beverage.

Best Window Display
Bombers Burrito Bar
258 Lark St., Albany

Inside, the vibe is dorm-lounge casual, the burritos are fat and the prices are reasonable. Outside in the window displays, kitsch is elevated to a sort of funky surrealism. We like the goofy Fourth-of-July picnic with plastic steaks and hot dogs, and stars and stripes aplenty. And we love the gallery of Barbies in pieces, in nooses, in the jaws of sharks. Violence against women? Violence against consumerist icons? Sheer nonsense? Who cares? A walk down Lark Street should be full of such visual provocations.

Best Beach
Lake Taghkanic State Park
1528 Route 82, Ancram

Less than an hour from Albany and never too crowded, this park boasts two beaches, hiking, biking, picnic grounds, boat launch and rental, a playground, basketball courts, beach volleyball, a huge lawn to sit on, showers, tent and trailer campsites, cabins and cottages. There are wheelchair-accessible pavilions, cabins and concessions. And did we mention that it’s less than an hour from Albany?

Best Snowboarding/Skiing
Stratton Mountain
61 Middle Ridge , Stratton Mountain, Vt.

In the past five years, Stratton Mountain has kicked into high gear, turning an ordinary ski resort into one tireless mountain. It simply has it all. You’re not going to find more berms, banks, jumps, spines, tubes, hits, kickers, half pipes and tabletops anywhere in the area. Plus, it offers some of the best all-mountain riding in the East. Not to mention the nightlife, which kicks ass, and that it hosts the prestigious U.S. Open Snowboarding Championships each year. Stratton isn’t the cheapest lift ticket in town, but you can find plenty of deals to make the one-and-a-half-hour trek worth every free-riding minute.

Best Cross-Country Skiing
Pine Ridge Cross Country Ski Area
143 Plank Road, Poestenkill

We just can’t wait for that first good snowfall of the year, that day when we can finally ditch our NordicTracks and experience some real cross-country skiing at Pine Ridge. More than 38 kilometers of groomed trails twist and turn over the river and through the woods and across fields and meadows and bogs and marshes. Are you a novice nordic skiier? Plenty of trails for beginners at Pine Ridge. Expert? They’ve got that covered, too, with plenty of hilly terrain to keep you on your toes. We’re counting the days till winter.

Best Community Pool
Lincoln Park Pool

It’s big, it’s cold, it’s round, and it’s free. That’s why we love it here. Where else can you walk to at 6 PM on a hot, sticky summer night to take a quick dip? What other swimming pool in the area is accessible to everyone? What other pool has gradually deeper, like a lake, as you wade in? With the reconstruction of the bathhouse well underway, and the bathrooms nearly remodeled, this place tops the list.

Best Tennis Courts
Washington Park

On one side, you’ve got a mean game of hoops going down. Directly across from that, skateboarders are ruling the roost. And on the opposite side, the handball courts always host fierce competition. In the midst it all are the tennis courts. There are groovy, ’70s-style seats to rest on in between sets and a water fountain that actually works. The courts are generally well-kept and certainly well-lit, so you can play tennis up to 11 PM. All this and they’re in the heart of Washington Park, which makes it easy to walk to, free and accessible for all. Who could ask for more?

Best Place to Walk Your Dog
The Corning Preserve
On the Hudson River, From Albany to Troy

The Corning Preserve is a beautiful place to take a wander with your pooch. The Hudson River’s beauty, and the large, park-like setting make it a hit with dog-loving folk—who share that love with cyclists, runners, walkers, in-line skaters and aficionados of any other method of locomotion one can dream up. And while you have to keep Patches on his leash while you’re there, as per law, the trail goes on for miles, so he’s sure to get the exercise he needs.

Best Place to Get Your Dog Confiscated
Washington Park

More specifically: right by the statue of Moses, just beyond the guy selling nickel bags, about 15 yards from the kid with the box cutter in the thigh pocket of his cargo pants. Finally, an end to the marauding packs of wild dogs that have for too long disrupted the peace in this otherwise idyllic setting.

Best Golf Course (Public)
Stadium Golf Course
333 Jackson Ave., Schenectady

Rarely does a golf course that gets as much play as this course maintain the quality and integrity in July that it had in May. Usually the public courses are dry, brown and virtually unplayable, but this gem is lush and green throughout the season. The track is fairly simple for the more accomplished golfer, but you can find trouble in some of the narrower fairways, and the long-par threes can also be fraught with danger. The course is impeccably maintained, and recent changes make it very nice to play.

Honorable Mention: Saratoga National Golf Club (Union Avenue, Saratoga Springs). This fairly new course has all the makings of a world-class facility: difficult layout and beautiful greens. The greens fees are pricey but worth the experience.

Best Golf Course (Private)
Mohawk Country Club
1849 Union Street, Schenectady

As golf continues to be the fastest-growing sport, we should be creating more courses like this—a perennial winner in this category. Once you make the turn off Union Street and head up the long driveway, you’ll feel as though you’ve left Schenectady and entered another world. The club offers many amenities, but the course is the true jewel. Impeccably maintained and appointed from the first tee-box to the 18th green, it’s thoroughly enjoyable; but bring your “A” game, otherwise this course will eat you up.

Best use of a white elephant
Afrim’s Sports Complex
Albany Shaker Road, Colonie

Once the Colonie Athletic Club, this newly refurbished former tennis facility and gym is now home to four indoor soccer fields, two of which are made of a long, thick, high-tech synthetic turf (based with sand and recycled tire pellets) and are fully lined. The other two fields are traditional indoor turf with Plexiglass dasher boards. This is a soccer player’s Nirvana. Especially in January, when the snow is flying, this facility allows you to maintain your skills. Many leagues at all levels, including a “Soccer Mom” league, play at various times throughout the year. Baseball, football and other team sports also use this facility for practices during the inclement weather. Currently, the building has locker rooms, a snack bar and a soccer shop, but in the near future, look for a full service restaurant, workout facility and walley-ball courts (indoor volleyball). What a great use for a broken-down eyesore of a building. Now what about that Armory in downtown Albany—maybe an aquarium?

Best Mountain Biking
John J. Boyd Thacher State Park
New Scotland

Not sure if you want a grueling five-hour ride or an easier, yet still demanding, ride on the trails? Thacher Park is your answer. The wooded state park is home to miles of trails where you can experience muscle-screaming inclines, log hopping, creek crossings and killer downhills. Some of the park’s trails connect to the Long Path—which goes up into the hinterlands of Canada—so you can ride for miles, and there is a shorter loop that accommodates anyone who’s just not into a punishing ride.

Best Bike Path
Mohawk-Hudson Bikeway

The perennial favorite, the Mohawk-Hudson Bikeway is hard to beat. Made up of five separate trails, it hugs the Hudson and Mohawk rivers between Albany and Niskayuna. The surface varies from gravel to pavement to dirt, and, all-told, runs about 50 miles. Whatever your outdoor joy—inline skating, biking, walking or just plain picnicking—the Mohawk-Hudson gives you a good excuse to get into the great outdoors.

Best Rural Park
John J. Boyd Thacher State Park
New Scotland

Thacher Park is the gem of our area, offering miles upon miles of wooded, grassy, rocky—some downright precipitous—and just plain-old-beautiful terrain. If it’s walking you want, you can follow the Indian Ladder Trail (a trail used by our region’s native inhabitants) along cliffs and under waterfalls; hike to the top of a hill offering views of the Catskills and Albany, or stroll through the woods on a nature trail. The park also offers trails for mountain biking, picnic areas with grills (some have softball diamonds) and a pool.

Best Casual Bike Ride
Saratoga National Historical Park
route 4, Stillwater

This spectacular 10-mile ride offers everything to the casual bike rider. Once you step on this hallowed ground, you feel a sense of history. Set on the site of one of the most important battles in the Revolutionary War, the ride takes you on a tour through history, offering amazing views of the Hudson River, battlefields and a natural beauty that second to none. There are paths off the main road that allow for exploration, historical markers all along the way explaining what happened in the area, deer so docile they don’t even run when they see you ride by, and bluebirds nesting in the barrels of cannons. Check out the battleground museum and gift shop before or after your ride. Or bring a lunch: There are plenty of picnic tables for those who want to savor the whole day. Call ahead and see when they have their re-enactments. You will ride away from this amazing piece of property in awe of what you’ve just experienced.

Best Scenic Drive (near)
Wherever You Go, There You Are

Living in the urban areas of our region, as many of us do, basically any drive in the country is a pretty one. Just pick a direction, and go.

Best Scenic Drive (Far)
Route 73 from the Northway to Lake Placid

This 30-mile drive through Keene Valley and on up to Lake Placid offers splendid views as it winds through the Adirondacks. Mt. Marcy, the highest peak in the state, is visible off to the east and south, but the steep terrain closer to the road is what makes the drive so exhilarating. It’s lovely in any season—certainly in the fall, with the colors bursting out all over—but there’s something serenely gorgeous about the road in winter, with woods draped in freshly fallen snow and sunlight sparkling on the Au Sable River.

Best Snow Tubing
The New Course at Albany
65 O’Neill Road, Albany

Rolling terrain makes for interesting (and scenic) golf, and when blanketed by a fresh snowfall, it naturally converts to the ideal landscape for two of our (and our kiddies’) favorite winter pastimes: cross-country skiing, and snow tubing. Adventurous tubers can follow the skiers out into the course for an endless supply of exciting hills, but a couple of heavily sledded snow bowls right next to the parking lot should keep your youngsters happily in motion until you finally pry them away from the slopes with the promise of hot chocolate.

Best City Park
Central Park
Schenectady

A repeat winner, Schenectady’s gem of green space edges out the region’s other municipal parks on the sheer variety of recreational opportunities: swimming, ice skating, tennis, baseball/softball, paddle boating, picnicking and romping in the playground. Add the performance stage and the snack bar—not to mention acres upon acres of lovely landscape to look at, stroll in or lie down on and stare at the blue sky from—and you’ve got yourself one helluva park.

Best Public Ice Skating
The BIG Arena
900 Delaware Ave., Delmar

Two full-sized ice rinks, a store, skate sharpening, a snack bar, a game room, party facilities . . . and did we mention, two full-sized ice rinks? A repeat winner, the BIG arena still makes our blades sparkle.

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