Lark U Free Legal Clinics

Following the successful Lark U Business Resource Forum that was held in February, the Lark Street BID would like to now offer free one on one consultations with an attorney to our neighborhood businesses. If you are a small business owner or manager of a business located on or near Lark Street you are eligible to take advantage of the Lark U Legal Clinic.

Attorneys will be able to answer your business questions relating to contracts, intellectual property, commercial leases, incorporating your business, protecting your assets, and other legal matters.

The first legal clinic will be held Wednesday, March 16th at the Lark Street BID office at 245 Lark Street. Appointments to see an attorney can be made by calling the Legal Project at 435.1770. There are a limited number of appointments so be sure to reserve your space! Appointments start at 5:30.

Additional clinics will be held on June 23, September 22, & December 22.

Beat Cop Meet & Greet

Just recently community policing officers have started making their rounds around Albany neighborhoods. Here in the Lark Street neighborhood we are luck enough to have two police zones converge offering us additional coverage.

The Lark Street BID and the Public Safety Committee would like to invite you to meet the officers serving the Lark Street community.

Join us on Tuesday, March 8th from 5-7pm in welcoming Officers Kevin Reedy, Tracy Condon, Dan Condon, and Dan Meehan to the neighborhood!

When: Tuesday, March 8 5-7pm
Where: The Lark Street BID office at 245 Lark Street, across the street from Ben & Jerry's.

Lark U

The Lark Street BID, in partnership with the Legal Project and the Community Loan Fund of the Capital Region, would like to announce the start of a series of business forums titled Lark U.

The first forum of the series will include a discussion of the resources available to the local business community. Some of the resources that will be reviewed at the forum include financial and legal resources and marketing and management assistance.

The forum will take place Tuesday, February 22nd from 5-7:30pm in the Trinity Church chapel.

Lark Street is for Lovers

Valentine's Day is almost here...time for roses, chocolates, and t-shirts!

We now have "Lark Street is for Lovers" t-shirts on sale. The cotton t's come in men's and women's cuts and are the perfect gift for your sweetheart. $20, limited quantities

Contact Sara-Becca at the BID to purchase yours.
            518.434.3861 x2
            bid@larkstreet.org

February 1st Friday

For any of you regular 1st Friday goers you might have noticed that we took a short hiatus from participating in the 1st Friday receptions here at the BID office at 245 Lark Street. Well, that hiatus is about to end. We are lining up our shows for the year and are very excited about each of the artists that we have coming up!


First up in February, we have Becky Holt & Ashley Blouin from Studio 209 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire...

studio 209

Studio 209 is located in the Button Factory, a building in downtown Portsmouth, NH occupied by artists and craftspeople. It has become widely known for its Annual “Open Studios” where various artists open their doors and welcome the public to view and purchase original artwork from the local artists.

Painter/Photographer Ashley Blouin and Painter Becky Holt, who have a shared love and passion for the inspirational art world, share a studio space on the second floor of the Button Factory overlooking Portsmouth’s main street- Islington Street. Ashley and Becky welcome you to come by and visit the infamous “Studio 209” anytime or inquire about “Open Studios” and our favorite “Wine Night!” Read more about the history of the Button Factory at http://www.buttonfactorystudios.com/building_history.htm.

becky holt

Becky was raised in Newburyport, Massachusetts and currently lives and works in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. She received a BFA from Alfred University’s School of Art and Design in 2008. Her work explores issues of environmental conservation and the integration of technology into everyday life. Becky is known for her recognizable large scale paintings, which have been displayed in local Restaurants and Coffee shops in downtown Portsmouth. Another unique feature in her work is her clever and humorous take on otherwise controversial subject matter. Becky’s work has exhibited internationally and can be view at: www.beckholt.com. 

ashley blouin

Ashley is originally from St. Albans, Vermont and currently resides in

Portsmouth, NH. She graduated in 2002 from Notre Dame College with BA in Biology and a BA in Fine Arts. Her work includes an independent study of portraits done with oil paint and more recent paintings done in a

“reversed painting” style using glass as a canvas. Lately, she has focused on photography and is in the infant stages of a “Juxtapose Series” looking at such symbols as “life and death” and “freedom and restraint.” She prints most of her photography on stretched canvas. Ashley can be contacted for freelance work at  ashleyblouin@homail.com. 

We hope you will join us on Friday, February 4th from 5-9pm!

Late Night Bus Service Offered

Capital Cruiser, LLC a local bus transportation company, is offering Late Night Bus Service to the Lark Street neighborhood. For the second year in a row, the company is offering $2.00 bus rides Friday and Saturday nights to the public while school is in session. 

The Weekend Late Night Bus Service connecting the State University At Albany campus with Madison Ave., Lark St., and Downtown Albany. The service will operate from 12:00 midnight until 4:00 am and is aimed at providing safe, reliable service for the General Public traveling late at night and not drinking and driving. 

Capital Cruiser states that "Our hope is to get the Students of UAlbany and College of St. Rose to visit and patronize the establishments along Madison Ave and Lark St. who haven't had any transportation available along these major streets. By offering this service, we hope to reduce the amount of students drinking and driving as well as providing a safe mode to get to and from the Campuses. Students safety is a big concern lately and we are also assisting the Albany Police and University Police with reporting any suspicious activities involving the general public and students. Students will be allowed to board the bus to keep out of harms way at anytime by flagging the bus down anywhere along the route." 

Right now, students and the general public have to rely on taxicabs in Albany to get to and from the Campuses, which is a major inconvenience and costly to all. For a mere $2.00, anyone can ride the scheduled service.  

For more information on the service and the schedule, please call 518.596.3321 or visit the website at www.capitalcruiser.com.

We have a winner!

After anxiously watching the poll numbers over the past 10 days, we at the Lark Street BID are happy to announce that our little Birdie has a name! Petula Lark was chosen as the favorite with 318 votes!

The bird naming journey began in November when we asked the public to email us their suggestions for the bird's name. During the month of December, we received around 70 unique names and many more duplicated suggestions. The list was whittled down to our four favorites and again we returned to the public to help us. In the 10 days that the poll was open, over 630 people voted and for a few of those days it looked as if Sir Larksalot was going to win. After the special message that we received from Jacob and his connection to Petula Clark, the numbers soon started favoring Petula again.

Thank you to everyone who voted and a special thank you to Todd Palmiere who suggested Petula. 

Be sure to keep your eyes out for Petula Lark throughout the year to help us announce all of our big news & events!