What a comment. Let people have things. You seem like such an expert on the fiscal impact of this over the next 24 hours that it seems odd that you are unaware that the planners of this anticipated and planned resources to deal with this "mess".

Lark Fest is the worst day of the year. It makes parking a nightmare. The cops wouldnt let me get to my god damned house for a half an hour because they closed the street yet allowed drunk people to stumble and yell wherever.

I agree with ZingingCutie44. Would love to see we you got all of your facts from as you seem to be an expert on the fiscal impact of Larkfest in Albany. I know plenty of businesses (hotels, restaurants, attractions, etc) that plenty enjoy the attendance for the festival.

My previous comment was blocked. I was prohibited from crossing the street for a half hour TO GET TO MY HOME on foot because of this fest. Not to mention people vomiting and urinating ag all hours of the night.

I live here too and am willing to be inconvinenced once a year for such fun festival! It makes me happy to see the streets teaming with people.

Great. You must be fine with vomit on your sidewalk.

I drove up Madison Ave from downtown during the aftermath of Larkfest and this account of negative impact seems accurate. The chaotic congestion of cars was also causing dangerous traffic conditions.

Came home to two women peeing in in front of house. Every year it's same: loud, rowdy drunks @#$% and vomiting.

I came home to women urinating in front of house. Lots of drunk people doing unpleasant things.

I live near and went in the morning very exciting. At 8 PM walked up to check on the cleanup. DGS waited to the last vendors cleared and were at it, cleaning up the leftovers.

Cool cause I stepped on broken glass on my way to breakfast this morning.

Sadly, As the day gets later, Larkfest behaviors get worse. Public urination, vomiting, littering can be avoided if the attendees, business owners and vendors want to stop that behavior. Perhaps, the BID can make it a goal to turn this event into a more positive experience worthy of Albany's scarce tax dollars.

From what I am reading, it's not the "Larkfest" itself that is the problem - it's the public drunkenness that has become part of it. So, how about law enforcement choosing to deal with THAT issue, rather than banning the festival entirely?

The Lark Street BID did an excellent job this year.

StateStreetFighter, that’s a silly comment to make (about me liking vomit on my doorstep). Of course nobody wishes to have that experience - and it seems that you solely are bearing all the negatives for the whole neighborhood. Thank you for being the martyr for all of us. But in all seriousness, I agree with the comments from Active Citizen and dragonflower: in preparation for next year, let’s focus on making it more positive and less drunk.

While on the topic, let's address the broken glass on the sidewalks and the public urination that occurs all around Lark and Willett the other 364 days of the year.

I agree with an increased police presence and possibly maybe DGS crews working during the festival. This brings in people from all over the Capital Region which spend money in our city at local businesses, which brings in tax revenue for the county which would otherwise be going to Rensselaer, Schenectady, Saratoga, etc.

If you're worried about public drunkenness, et. al., then why don't we also cancel all holidays, esp. New Year's and Thanksgiving? The bars need to do a better job keeping an eye on how much their customers are having and maybe the city needs to step in to ensure bars have and are enforcing policies to make sure people don't get stumble-drunk.

I had an option before I read both sides of the comments because, I have experienced 20 Lark Fest's in a row, some better, some worse. Mostly it's been a sense of fun and special event day. There's always plenty of music echoing through out the neighborhoods and fair food to tantalize the taste buds as one strolls the promenade for the last rays of summer . We expect this festival, it is part of Lark. Police presence is a must and clean up has always been efficient. I miss seeing our Police Horses and wish they took them out more (like the old day's)! All in all, we can always do better, but why cut the nose to spite the face. Our dear Lark street has been having trouble all year with vagrant issue, not LARK FEST :)

If "vagrants" are the issue, police and DGS are not solutions. Job placement, mental health, housing, etc. are the issues at play.

It's not the fest, it's the drunk people leaving Larkfest. Lark Street might be well controlled and cleaned up in a timely manner, but for those who live west of Lark, the drunken, loud, unsanitary behavior is too much. Can you really call it a 'success' when people routinely vomit on other people's property once they leave Larkfest?

Hi all - Sorry I'm so late to this lively debate. Was busy cleaning blood off the corner of Lark & Lancaster where a guy got shoved through a window. So much FUN!!!

But seriously, having lived through some 15 Lark Fests on my block, it is getting worse, not better. Super cute that the new kids think we can "work to make Lark Fest better" but that ship has sailed. The property owners who live around Lark Street pay very high taxes and maintain a beautiful and safe neighborhood, so people can literally come in and POOP, PEE and VOMIT on it. (Not sure what kind of language gets banned from SCF.)

We are criticized for being "complainers" for asking for enforcement of laws on the regular - not just around Lark Fest (see ATV and Dirtbike complaints.) I am waiting for the "if you don't like it why don't you move" comment ... but you see, without us, the neighborhood is no longer desirable and festival-goers will have to find someplace else to destroy.

so true, Colleen

Colleen, if it's getting worse not better, then why not try to make it better? Have the bars keep an eye on their customers like they should be doing in the first place. Have more porta-johns. End the festival earlier. Many people enjoy this event. Just bc a few people get out of control and disgusting, doesn't mean we should torpedo the whole thing.

Well “ZingingCutie44” - because I use my real name on SCF, it should be easy for you to learn that I’ve spent 20+ years trying to make Lark Street better. Bad behavior at Lark Fest and in Lark Street neighborhoods will continue as long as the city fails to enforce quality of life laws.

Did you not catch my comment? It was all about the "quality of life" thing. And if you think I'm hiding behind a screen name, my name is Alana Klein and my phone # is 518/421-1678. If you'd like to meet to discuss solutions (even though I don't work for the city), I'm open to it.

Wow I have a feeling that it's my Gen X generation complaining about all of this stuff. I went to Lark Fest from my teenage years and well into my 20's if not longer. Since my young years I've lived right off Lark.

I refuse to be the get off my lawn person. I had fun back in the day and I'm not going to stop other people. People using the streets as a bathroom happens every weekend so that's hardly the issue here. Yes you need to plan around it if you live there.

Let people have their one day. The hammer was already put down on the St Patrick's parade.

See, this is the thing, W. Would you go to Saratoga and “use the streets as a bathroom”? We’ve set the bar so low in Albany with our “but we want to be the fun city” attitude. Too similar to the “boys will be boys” excuse. It’s disgusting and unnecessary. If you “let people have their day” (ie: break the law) then people who pee in the streets will be the only ones who come to Lark Fest.

W said not "Get off my lawn." W said "Let people have things."

Colleen: did you just co-opt an excuse from the #MeToo movement to make your case against public urination? Classy.

I thought the best part was 5:30pm right at closing. All the drunk people stumbling around, gals sitting on curbs crying, dudes fighting with each other, some @#$% on trash cans, while others walked around aimlessly. It was almost like a @#$% Apocalypse. Very entertaining. Just regret I didn't have my go pro with me. Next year for sure. Why would anyone want to cancel such entertainment!

I heard someone was stabbed yesterday at the event. True? or False?

I wouldn't go to Saratoga or anywhere else and do that. I'm betting some idiots do it every weekend though just like they do in Albany. It gets ramped up for one day for Lark Fest but I could walk around Center Square any weekend morning and find something disgusting.

That some people are raising disgusting pigs is another conversation. I don't see these things as any worse than they were in the past. I don't think as I get older that the neighborhood should age with me. Seems like there were actually a lot more hardcore things happening on Lark way back in the good old days. :) I'm sure people older than me were complaining about us.

I just don't get the outcry over one day when you're in the middle of a bar district. It's one day people. Go out, have a few drinks, grab some food and enjoy the music.

https://www.news10.com/news/local-news/man-stabbed-during-larkfest/1467732959

I just want to take a second to recognize that I posted my full name and phone number on this post. This is the second such post on which I have done so.

And despite all these "concerned" citizens, I have yet to receive a call or a text about either issue.

ZingingCutie44 - A) I have a job. B) My “concerns” are not likely to be allayed by texting or calling you. Carry on.

"I could walk around Center Square any weekend morning and find something disgusting": That's a significant civic problem, no?

412 Broadway I'd say it's a societal problem but getting rid of Lark Fest doesn't change it. When I was young I used to hang out on Lark, Pearl or other bar areas. I've always been able to figure out how to use a trash can or go inside someplace and use a bathroom. Of course I worked starting as a teenager so I think I always had a sense of not trying to make someone's job tougher by making a mess.

I have no idea if things are really so much worse or if as you age you think they are. I go to the Corning Preserve every day and on the weekend I'm astounded by the mess left after people picnic all day. Ten trash cans and garbage all over. That's really an eyesore if anyone wants to enjoy that, although is probably over for the season.

There are great neighborhoods all over this city and they each have their pluses and minuses. If you want to live around Lark you have to deal with bar patrons and Lark Fest and Tulip Fest. If you want to live up in the Helderberg area you have put in a little more effort when you want to eat out.

I went to my first Lark Fest probably over 30 years ago. It was always crazy and fun and a drinking event and I'm sure that 50 year old people living there at the time were out shaking their canes at all the kids. :)

Now what they really should cancel is the July 4th fireworks. Holy cow talk about a headache. No parking, streets at a standstill, motorcycles parked on the sidewalk in front of the house. Get off my lawn! And the sound scares my cat! Chill out a little people. Life is too short.

My only issues with lark fest is the poor cleanup! I love the event and it does bring revenue to plenty of businesses. Just needs to be cleaned up after more thoroughly. The public trash cans on lark were still full and unusable for the next two days, leaving a buildup of trash in the sidewalks as people would just set it next to the trash cans or where they saw fit... along with the leftover trash from Lark Fest, including vomit and broken glass.

Sounds to me like many of the people who live on and around Lark St. have problems with the festival. They have a right to be heard and not attacked for it. @Pint Sized, what does that mean
"The Lark Street BID did an excellent job this year." How do you know just what they did? I assume you are on the BID and are being a bid defensive? How do you know that the complaints of residents are not valid? For every person who complains on a site like this you can bet there are many more who are similarly unhappy. Perhaps making the festival better is a possible solution. But that won't happen when the people expressing concerns are hammered for bringing it up.
09/23/2018 · Flag

We never put anyone down here or said complaints weren't valid. Just giving credit where credit is due to the staff that put the event on. I (August the owner of Pint Sized) used to be on the BID board and have been involved directly with the festival in years past. I have seen all the hard work they put in, not just for Lark Fest, but year round to make Lark Street a vibrant corridor in the heart of the city of Albany. Its our opinion that these events are a marketing effort and reminder that helps folks remember Lark Street as an exciting place to visit. Its an important day for Lark Street. Everything could always use improvement. Check out the BIDs Facebook page to see pictures of them picking up the street the day after. The BID exists to improve the block and I just wanted to give them some props in this forum is all. Cheers!

Every perspective should be welcome in a dialog and I can appreciate yours Pint Sized, but it's a misnomer that this is a marketing tool for businesses other than bars, and even that is mostly post-Lark Fest and for one day. Just ask most of the restaurants and the retail places like La Luce, for example. The owner said Lark Fest doesn't bring more sales or business than any other day, despite the extra effort, staffing, etc. and she now has a broken front window that her insurance has to pay for because two drunk people at the Fest had a fight and one went through it. It's now her time, her hassle and her insurance premium and deductible that pays and she didn't make anything extra that day. It's understood that this increases bar business for a day, but the people who keep saying this results in money to hotels and other businesses in Albany, haven't checked their facts against the costs including for police and General Services overtime. Lark Fest is more about the "after party" than the actual event, but the event is what lays the ground work for the after party that causes a lot of issues and costs. If Lark Fest is intended to be a raucous 15-hour party followed by excessive trash, damage and overtime costs, let's just call it what it is, but continuing to portray it as an effective marketing tool that shows our community in a positive light, brings new business to the street for more than one day and genuinely helps the whole community is not accurate. Even if we keep working to improve Lark Fest, it's time to add new ideas, new events, and new strategies for our beloved Lark Street, including fixing her up, addressing the trash and negligent property owners, abandoned buildings, crumbling stoops and facades, etc. We are faltering behind the progress in Troy and Schenectady. This area rode on its glory days reputation a long time, but now needs a Renaissance. What you and others are doing (like Dove and Deer, Raw, B&G, Lark Hall, La Luce, Neon Dog, 3 Fish, Chris's Southern Connection, Yamaguchi, etc.) is great, and huge shout out to long-time staples: Elissa Halloran, Romeos, Daily Grind, El Loco, Ben and Jerry, Cottage Herb Farm, Alacrity Frame Shop, Capital Wine, Ramona's and others, but innovations (and parking options) are needed to bring business to our retailers so we can be a more vibrant, balanced neighborhood known for more than where to over-indulge and behave badly. We don't have to be a stodgy place that closes up at 5:00 PM, but we can do better.

Group meetings with the police was a nice touch only 7 short years ago. Sounds like we are in the loop all ready! We the people, can do this, together. In honor of those who've gardened before me in this fair place, I shall strive to try harder and bend a knee more for trash and weed pick-up. Remember, and tell your friends, "Don't feed the bears" (panhandlers) because WE live HERE

Thank you for your input. The City works closely with the Lark Street BID and Neighborhood Associations each year to improve the LarkFest experience, and we will certainly bring this feedback back to the BID when we debrief on this event in the coming weeks and begin to engage in discussions regarding next year's event. If there are any particular instances where there is still a large amount of trash or other cleanup that needs to occur as a result of LarkFest, please let us know here.

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I think it’s time to retire the people talking about retiring lark fest

Excellent points, Colleen. So many comments come from people not negatively impacted. It's not just Lark Street. Many streets are trashed during Lark Fest (Photos of Madison Ave. were horrendous), but only Lark is cleaned up leaving property owners to do the hours/days of clean up in other area. The BID needs to fix that. They did a little better with Art on Lark though it's more of a food truck, general market event than much real art. Creative, new, quality events are needed. Lark Fest is boring in it's predictability and I heard the same comments, from businesses, mentioned previously (i.e. Lark Fest doesn't bring customers despite them paying for extra staff and coverage). Some lost money, because their usual weekend customers didnt want to deal with Lark Fest. It probably depends what kind of business someone owns. We seem only to cater to those serving alcohol.

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