The employees were very helpful and informative.......was taken in quickly.....I did have to make…read moresome follow-up visits though.

Amazing! They got me in for my 1st appointment for the application in 1.5 weeks! I just got off the…read morephone with Lesley for my application phone meeting and she was such a pleasure to talk with. Yes, the conversation takes a long time, but she was patient, kind and understanding. I started the call super depressed and spoke about how I am applying due to a suicide attempt. By the end of our 2 hour long application meeting I was smiling and felt inspired to keep going. Thank you Lesley for being you!

Very nasty experience with clerks of the court, seemimgly on power trips. police officers didn't…read moreseem to know procedure for court and needed instructions from the judge. it was amateur hour for the ADA as well (i was in her position at one point, but i simply felt bad for her). my client and i spent 2 hours for something that should have taken 15 minutes in and out.

Clean facility with professional staff. They are also open at all hours and days so that you can…read moreaccess their PO boxes or use the self service kiosk to ship packages and buy stamps. Good climate control for those cold 2AM trips to mail out a package. You can always find their flat rate boxes and envelopes on site and there is even a photo copier if you should need one. I don't think you can ask for much more from a Post office so that's why I gave them 5 stars. I mean, they are available, they do what they say when they say they will do it, I have little to no friction accessing and using any of their offered services. Yay USPS...

The Schenectady DMV is closest to me. It was a great…read moreexperience for my second visit there this year as well as for my first visit. Five Stars for both visits. I made an appointment since they are needed on M-W-F, but no appointment is needed on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Appt. times have a 45 minute window. I arrived twenty minutes before scheduled time of 10:00 am. Check in was quick and efficient. I completed my business in a little less than 20 minutes! The very large waiting room was modern, clean, well lighted, and well ventilated. The chairs were comfortable. They have handicapped desks available. The electronic appointment screen showed the numbers of next in line as well as the window to go to. The appts were also announced. Numbers are called out as well as window to report to. There was an easy view of the screen from all over the room. The transaction windows were spaced apart and private. The staff member I had was courteous and knowledgeable. I was pleased with the service I received. I was more pleased with the speed of my visit. I was in and out in less than 20 minutes! The parking lot is large with good handicapped parking. There are two entrances/exits to the lot. There are no steps. Easy in and out.

Unbelievably complicated and ultimately useless contact…read more Tried to cancel a DMV appt; the link DMV texted me did not connect. Called local phone and got nothing but run-around by robots. Finally got put through to another "chatbot" who eventually connected me to "JustAnswers" after I provided my credit card info for a (refundable) charge of $5.00. The live tech required a 9-digit confirmation number, but I had received from DMV only a 5-digit number. So he could not help. I'm still waiting for a call back from "JustAnswers" to verify a refund. Dealing in person with the DMV personnel is a breeze compared with this major waste of time.

The Scotia Library is easy to spot as you pass by Collins Park on Mohawk Avenue. (Especially in the…read morespring and summer when the flower garden is a popping!) Housed in the Abraham Glen House, which was built in the 1730s and a part of the National Register of Historic Places, this local gem went through a restoration in recent years. Schenectady County made sure historic renovation standards were met during design and execution of the renovation, which included a new addition providing space for community programs and events, as well as restroom, sidewalk and curb updates improving accessibility for visitors. The staff of the Scotia branch of the SCPL system is wonderful! The librarians are always incredibly kind - a truly warm and welcoming bunch. In my visits over the years, I have witness dozens of exchanges with patrons and community members and have been impressed with the interactions I've seen - full of knowledge sharing, question answering, resource finding, and all with a heavy dose of genuine human connection. I often find something new to appreciate during my visits to the Scotia library. Most recently, I enjoyed walking through local students' art that was on display and taking a stop at the jigsaw puzzle table, fit with a sign explaining the benefits of puzzling and encouraging patrons to take a break to put some pieces together during their visit. Though this is a smaller branch, it has a decent collection of reading materials to choose from the shelves. (If you ask me, though, the magic of any county library system is the ability to request from other branches and have them delivered to your local library for future pick-up.) The bulletin boards and announcement flyers are always displaying upcoming events in the library system and the community as a whole.

This review for the Scotia branch. This very tiny and cute branch library sits in an historic…read morebuilding, which was a private home from the early 18th century until the early 20th. It may be, as far as we can tell, the oldest library building in the state (dating to 1707 - the sign in front saying 1730 is inaccurate) - possibly the whole country. When it was converted into the Scotia Library in the 1920s, the librarian's family lived upstairs for decades, until it was converted into a small community/reading room after being absorbed into the Schenectady County system; it is now inaccessible because of safety and capacity concerns. Unfortunately the medieval basement, with its many odd additions and nooks and crannies, is also not open to the public, but if you ever get a chance for a tour, seize it. Because it's an old house dating back practically to the Dutch period that has had numerous alterations and renovations (there was once an attached small dairy barn), the layout is idiosyncratic. There's a reading nook opposite the circulation desk, and to get to the children's room in the back you have to meander through four different rooms. It lacks a bit of lounge space, and has only two computers for public access to both the catalog and internet resources. That said, there's a comfy and cozy vibe to the place the library patron may well find pleasing on uncrowded days, and the tiny collection does try to address general readership. The branch has suffered from funding issues, although it's still open five days a week (closed Wednesdays and Sundays), most days are only part-time. Check out the Schenectady County Public Library website (scpl.org) for current hours. You can still get interlibrary loan from any branch and return items from other branches here. I will add there's a huge advantage to patronizing this library for families: it's adjacent to Collins Park, with its large fields, lake (although the swim beach seems to be permanently closed for undisclosed reasons), and playground equipment and sports courts, and across the street from that is Jumpin' Jacks Drivein, for your summer gross fast food eating pleasure. Right now they're tearing up the roadbed on one of the Freeman's Road bridge spans across the Mohawk for replacement, so there's a whole string of cheap entertainment for the younger set right now. There's also a Dunkin Donuts right across the road from the library, although it requires navigating a somewhat weird crosswalk setup to get there, it can be done without reparking the car.

What a lovely library! Not the typical library from when I was a kid in NYC. This one has high…read moreceilings, lots of light and tons of space. Children's area is separate and colorful, the computer lab area seems to be well-kept and there are comfortable chairs here and there. Obviously, plenty of books to keep one occupied. Upon entering, it was comfortably air conditioned on a warm evening. Bathroom was cleaner than expected. Vibe was quiet-ish...but still noisier than libraries of my youth. Nobody was "sushing" anyone.

This review is for the "branch", not the county library system as a whole, and is relative to…read morepublic libraries in general. It's a medium-sized downtown branch and the flagship of the county library system, housed in a somewhat dreary and dated 1970s building that suffers from the nadir of institutional architecture. The new addition is supposed to open later this year and should make for a much nicer children's department and open up more space in front for adult readers. In the meantime the building is a bit depressing to linger in, and does not have a lot of the comforting aspects for the reader. The construction project has no doubt not helped. Free parking just next to the library, and it's in a neat downtown location across from city hall and catty-corner to the Jay walk. The collection is decent for a public library - not "downtown" quality, if you will, but as a very large library for a city this size and for a relatively small county, it's pretty nice. The county library system in general seems to function well (we've come from another part of the county so have some points of reference), and the staff are very nice and helpful. The collection does seem to be in need of sprucing up -- culling a number of older titles and adding new books more quickly. The computer facilities are below average, but they are entering the age of loaning e-books so I suspect this is a function of budget and not managerial foot-dragging. In any event it's a mixed bag with respect to ability to use the library for research as a whole. I'm a little torn as for rating this, since I can't quite give it five stars -- I've seen five-star public libraries and this is not one of them -- but in terms of patron service I think they're doing better than average for the country as a whole. Can you compare them to the brand new libraries in Saratoga County? Or do you compare it to the storefront library branches in the same county? Or to the smaller but swankier libraries in the towns in the same county system? I honestly don't know, but my sense is that the sheer (relative) size of the collection and the vigor with which it survives in a shrunken user base merits the fourth star. They're adding on: they're moving forward - full credit here where credit is due. For public institutions to actually expand in this day and age means there's something worth paying attention to about this place. That said, it is not a "destination" library, like, say, the Carnegie in Pittsburgh PA or the main branch in Berkeley CA, et alia - it's not the kind of library you'd go out of your way to visit if you were coming from out of town. It's an old armchair that's probably far more comfortable for its affable familiarity than it is for its design. Great to have for locals who can appreciate it. The attention of readers everywhere, however, should be drawn to the Whitney Book Corner, just down the street at 600 Union, which is the used bookstore operated by the Friends of the Schenectady County Library, which is really quite something and which we'll review separately now that there's a Yelp entry for it.

Long wait to get help. Do not answer the phone. The people that work there are very nice but they…read moreare understaffed. They do the best they can with the staff they have.

Changed from survivor benefits to my own. Was supposed to get a one time deposit of the difference…read morein August. It was sent to someones account, not mine. I have been there every month since. They did correct the account so I have received the monthly amount. Still waiting for the other. Always an excuse--requested the funds returned, supervisor requested the funds be returned, put in a request for funds, you should have it in 10 business days. every month go through the details and get another story.

Tours are held on Sundays! If you have a group of 6 or more, they'll open the lighthouse for a…read moreprivate tour, but you'll need to make a reservation ahead of time. It's a short and easy hike to the lighthouse, and the walk there is beautiful, especially with the river nearby. Once you reach the lighthouse, it's absolutely amazing! Learning about its history made the experience even more enjoyable and gave the visit so much more meaning. Make sure to take plenty of photos because there are so many beautiful views and photo opportunities along the way! There's also a small area where you can enjoy a nice lunch or have a picnic with friends or family. Overall, it's a beautiful spot with a great mix of nature, history, and peaceful scenery!

My boyfriend and I were in Kaaterskill Falls for our annual hike at the Rail Trail, when we…read morediscovered Saugerties Lighthouse. I don't even know how to be honest. But we like to drive around getting lost a lot, which is how we discover most places. The entrance is a little hidden, small parking lot. The trail is full of greenery. There is a mixture of bridges and dirt paths. Also we noticed little figurines hidden along the way. They are very cute! The views on the way to the lighthouse were as stunning as of the lighthouse alone. At some point you have to walk over the water - so it is wise to look at the tide schedule so you don't get wet or trapped. The lighthouse is dipped in history that you can read on their website (saugertieslighthouse.com). It is truly an incredible little place. I read there are tour and you can even stay there overnight! We definitely want to do either one or both in the near future. It was definitely an amazing find, which we will incorporate into our annual visits. Breathtaking location. The volunteers are doing a great job maintaining it. Definitely made for a memorable visit.

What a delightful and woefully under-enjoyed pleasure! Summer Sundays, there is a FREE weekly one…read morehour concert on the Carillon. This is some kind of magical bell organ- hopefully, another commenter can explain. Each week there is a guest performer. Programs are available on stands in front of City Hall. As the flyer says: "Bring a picnic lunch and listen to the bells of City Hall from one of the nearby parks." There are benches and lots of shade for blankets. Parking is readily available: you could even sit in your car! Thank you to the sponsors for funding this charming annual program.

This department is very unprofessional. The workers are constantly skipping my trash on purpose and…read more1 female employee named "Robin" is always rude to me, when I call to complain about their treatment. She constantly hangs up on me and very condescending concerning my concerns. She needs to be retrained in customer service.

As an Albany homeowner since 1999, I couldn't be more pleased with the services provided by the…read moreAlbany DGS. In many nearby towns garbage service is privately contracted and recycling has to be carted to the center. I only have to lug my garbage and recycling to the curb each week and the City takes care of it for me. I can't say that I like the smell of the dump wafting over to Central Ave on a hot day, but that's not really DGS' fault. Large item pickup has been a breeze. The hazardous waste drop off is really helpful. The newly offered all-in-one-bin recycling has cut down on my sorting time each week too. Even though it's a pain, I try to always bundle my cardboard and yard waste as per the city's instructions, although when I walk my dog on garbage night I see that not many people follow the guidelines. It really irritates me to see that. The folks who are out picking up trash before dawn have to put up with so much crap. The rental properties downtown seem particularly notorious for piling huge mounds of crap on the city's curb (especially at the end of the school year). The City still carts away all of these items. One night I saw someone had large pieces of wood sticking out of their garbage can with nails poking out on all sides. Imagine being a garbage collector in the dark hours of the morning having to deal with those unseen dangerous objects. I really appreciate what the garbage collectors, in particular, face on a regular basis. I'm not a huge fan of two lanes of snow being plowed into the end of my driveway on snowy days in the winter (or the one time right after I'd cleared it, a snow truck went by and I could see the driver laughing at me as plowed a fresh pile of snow in the my drive). That snow pushes over the curbs and onto the sidewalks, making them nearly as impossible to clear as the end of my drive. That being said, Albany is a big city and we get a lot of snow and the plows out there do a fine job of quickly and efficiently clearing the main roadways - especially when compared to some of the surrounding communities. It would be nice if the City could offer plowing/blowing assistance for sidewalks and driveways of the elderly - or coordinate trusted providers for paying homeowners. Right now plowing service prices are all over the map and it's hard to find a steady service from one snow storm to the next.