A jewel in the area. The business owners are friendly and treat you like friends and family. It…read moreoffers many activities for families who live in the area or are traveling through the area. Schools are welcome for pre-arranged field trips. The mall has none of the International or Nationally recognized giants which gives it a local flavor. It's definitely evolving the last few years into an appreciated asset to the area.

We always have a great time at via port rotterdam mall. The aquarium is awesome, the local…read moreIs great for the little ones and adults, the ninety nine headlamp great food!!! Fun fun fun!

I grew up in the area and have been going to Mohawk commons for most of my childhood. I've had…read moreincredible experience shopping here. I even worked in this shopping strip for a few years while attending college. There are decent amount of shops and businesses. Target, Marshall's, market 32 (formerly price chopper), bed bath and beyond, Lowe's, Old Navy, Ulta beauty (prior Barnes & Nobles), Panera Bread, Taco Bell, etc. you got a good amount of shops, fast food restaurants to grab quick bites after errands. I've seen the Mohawks commons strip developed since 2007, there are so many shops closed down, new shops opened. It's a very safe shopping strip in Niskayuna/ Schenectady. I haven't seen any dangerous activities around here and always had wonderful experiences running errands at Mohawk commons.

Dreary modern strip mall that I patronize all the time because that's what we do in modern life. Go…read morewhere the stuff is. The site was formerly an indoor Mall, also called Mohawk Mall, and before that the Stanford Heights golf course, and before that part of the historic Duncan-Schuyler-Stanford farm (the old Stanford mansion was gutted and moved when 'Mansion Square' across the street was added to this mess). It's also the site of one of the northernmost original fingers of the pine bush. So the atrocities that have been heaped upon this site have been many and over a long, long period. Traffic control here is a little weird and they're always late on fixing potholes after the winter, so be extra cautious coming in from the main entrance. Better yet is to sneak in via the back entrance off Consaul, opposite the (relocated) Ingersoll home, with the soon to be closed Oswald Heck center on your right as you come in, facing the back of Bed Bath and Beyond. In any event, here's what's here now: to your left as you come in from Balltown (see my individual reviews for almost everything here, sadly): Visionworks and Five Guys, Price Chopper and Marshall's, Bed Bath and Beyond, a shoe store, Target, and a Taco Bell; in front, Party City, Ruby Tuesday's, and Lowe's; to your right, a video game store, Panera, a Chinese takout place, three cell phone stores, SuperCuts, Eastern Mountain Sports, PetSmart, Old Navy, and newly replacing Barnes and Noble, a Gap and some store catering to young people I've never heard of before (Styla? something like that). It's your usual mix of anchor (grocery, discount department, and home improvement) stores, a few services, fast- to fast-casual restaurants, and other suppliers of the stuff of daily ephemeral needs. For this, we sacrificed our natural history, the cultural history of three countries, open space, and a nice indoor mall where at least you didn't freeze once you got in. Progress, I tells ya, Progress.

i friggin love this place. so many different awesome goodies. last time i went i got some sheep's…read moremilk soap that cured this mysterious rash i had on my chest. i also love the nonna's cookies, the ice cream, and the hair clips.

It was a very Electric City Christmas for many on my shopping list this year, and I have…read moreSchenectady Trading Co. to thank. A welcome addition to the Schenectady small business retail scene, it's very on-brand, and I'm here for it. I was able to get quite a few Schenectady-centric Christmas gifts here, and since I always try to support local makers and businesses first, this shop made it super easy - lots of one-stop-shopping potential. My haul included: - two ornaments for the Christmas trees of my Schenectady born-and-raised sisters who no longer live in the 518 - a cute little crocheted elf for my 5-month old niece made my a local granny - a rather stunning wooden bowl, handmade by a local engineer/former colleague of the owner who parkates in woodworking as a hobby - Electric City themed gifts for my boss, who's a Schenectady guy at heart, including a wooden/metal hybrid bottle opener with "ELECTRIC CITY" boldy branded on the front, a pint glass with a cool 70s-esque, retro font ("ELECTRIC CITY"), matching sticker (for the laptop!), and a coaster, but not just any old boring coaster. This one had an illustrated scene printed on glossy enamel depicting a Schenectady police officer playing basketball with a child. Not only did this fit my theme, but the I knew the coaster I chose (there were several different ones) would be significant because his father is a retired Schenectady cop. I guess the pictures on the coasters were part of a public art project, where Schenectady-themed scenes were drawn and then selected to appear on merchandise for the Greenmarket and other items, like these coasters sold here. This is a rough Cliffs Notes version of the project, but it was cool learning about it, knowing it was part of something bigger and community focused. It's the little touches like that which make gift giving feel so special, and I know I wouldn't have found any of those beautiful, thoughtful, local gifts without a shop like Schenectady Trading Co. It would have been even better if there was a small card with a write up about the art project, so I could have gifted the coaster with a bit more "purpose." I like it when I can include a write up about the artist or project or whatever interesting element might need further explaining to make the gift even more interesting. Aside from my local finds, there's plenty of other merchandise, and items that stuck out were a selection of Tough Traveler bags (hometown favorite!), "Electric City" and "Schenectady, Light Up the World!" apparel, a cool assortment of Schenectady inspired vinyl stickers, chocolates from Schenectady-based chocolate shop, Uncle Sam's, and quite a few other odds and ends. I'm thankful that shops like this exist, backed by business owners who have an appreciation for the city and realize there's a need for some Electric City gift giving magic. Wishing them lots of luck, and excited to see what type of programming the owner has in mind down the road (she hinted on wanting this to be more than a retail shop, with poetry nights and books clubs and other outlets for mental stimulation - bring it on!)

Shopping for women, men, children this is a great store to shop at. Lots of trendy clothing at…read moreoutlet prices... I shopped here before Christmas and bought gifts for my grand kids and also for myself! Great discount outlet prices! Just bought an umbrella today priced at $15 on clearance for $4 to take on vacation! Can't beat that... This outlet was previously located in Rotterdam Mall and is now located in Mohawk Commons. Lucky for me!

I love their selection! The women's section has so many different things to offer, I love summer…read moredresses and the gap shorts are my absolute favorite. I frequent here when I go to old navy for my nine month old. Gap factory has baby stuff but I feel like it's such a limited selection, and doesn't get updated as much as I would have liked. In the winter is when I stock up on baby's summer clothes, the shorts for little ones were adorable here . Going here later today to pick up a gift for my friends two year olds birthday. They never dissapoint!

Had a very good ezperience at marshall's. Lots of attentive to detail and helpful workers.read more

This is a standard-issue Marshall's, which is to say it's the Ocean State Job Lot of cast-off…read moreclothing and a few miscellaneous odds and ends, everything cheap but the stock quite unpredictable. Some major pluses for this particular location though: unlike EVERY other Marshall's I've been in, and I do mean every one (maybe a dozen over the years) this one was very neatly kept without stock being flung everywhere. Only a few things were out of place. Maybe I just went on a good day, but that makes it a little more attractive to come back to. And the staff were actually pretty perky, not at all like the usual "I hate this job and can't wait to be out of here" vibe I've gotten at other Marshall's and similar locations. I still can't take Marshall's above a three star rating because of the so truly random nature of the store that makes it difficult to shop at -- it's closer to a thrift store with new stuff instead of used than anything else I can think of -- but top marks for this location in its category and perhaps the promise of a fourth star in the future if some miracle bargain befalls me on a future visit.

They paved paradise and put in a parking lot…read more Well, if not paradise, at least an important part of local history. Named after the great Stanford Mansion, this development project tore out old growth trees, but at least they kept the original mansion. Well, kinda. Now it's a bank. Perhaps, if developing this historic property brought prosperity and growth to a stagnating community, the project might be justifiable. But this shopping plaza is a flop. It brought the Tilted Kilt which closed in less than a year. And it brought a Walmart neighborhood market which will be closing soon. There's a vitamin shop. A mattress store. The bright spot is a a Chipotle, and maybe a FroYo parlor. But that's not saying much. The second star is for the fact that Mansion Square can stand as a warning against this kind of shortsighted development in the future.

BJ's Wholesale is my happy place. Never busy -- feels like I've got my own private Costco, but…read morewithout the bumper cars in the aisles. Shelves are always stacked high, everything clean enough to eat off the floor (not that I tried... yet). The workers? Absolute gems. Friendly, helpful, and actually look like they want to be there -- rare find these days. Only hiccup is the deli counter, which sometimes moves slower than a sloth on vacation. But hey, the prices and offerings are worth the wait (and where else can you get enough cold cuts to feed a football team?). The crown jewel? Mobile checkout. Scan, pay, bounce. No waiting, no lines, no nonsense. Straight in, straight out -- like shopping on "easy mode." BJ's, you've officially got me spoiled.

This is not a bad place overall there's a few things that make it so that I am not excited about it…read moreand the reason why it lost a couple stars. First off let me start off by saying that the appearance of this place is not horrible, but not good either I understand that you're walking into basically a warehouse turned into a grocery store. My only issue is that it's still looks unkept in a lot of areas. They do have a machine that goes around and does inventory and it does not care that if There's a customer in its way it just plows right through you. I had my cart and was looking at ribs and it came around the corner and kept coming until it hit me not hard, but in other words, it wasn't moving from its path, which is strange to me because I see it move other times and I'm not exactly a small person. Another thing that I'd like to add that lost a star for me is the fact that you would think that with this you're buying in bulk to save money. I was looking at the ribs there and we ended up purchasing the ribs. We ended up getting less than what we originally planned . Also, it was hard to find what we were looking for because they were all over the place one was in one section another, and another section instead of just having them all together. And then when we went to another store, I found ribs that were actually cheaper and a better quality, but because we already purchased them, we did Not Buy the ones that were there. Overall, it does have pretty much everything that you're looking for it's just a matter of how much you're willing to spend and is it really bulk or are they saying bulk but not meaning bulk. Check it out if you're ever in the area make a decision on your own. It's not a horrible place. Just some things that could be improved. Thank you for listening.

I went in to browse and found some lovely books for my grandsons and a birthday card for my sister…read more What a large assortment of stunning items for almost everyone I know. Free membership that doesn't expire. Discounted items (including book shelves of them as well) from holidays and their book selection offers. Helpful, kind present people working there. It's downtown Schenectady so street parking. (Best to go on Sunday)

The Open Door is Schenectady's locally-owned independent bookstore and gift gallery, serving the…read morecapital region for 50 years. We carry a wide selection of literature for adults and children, including those of local and regional interest, as well as an expansive variety of toys, gifts, jewelry, stationery, personal accessories and home goods. Located in the heart of downtown Schenectady on the Jay Street Pedestrian Mall, they are around the corner from Proctors Theatre and many restaurants. There is lots of parking. The knowledgeable staff is wonderful to deal with in person or by telephone. The store even offer a frequent shopper rewards card. I had to pick up a book I ordered. Like many people, I prefer to support small businesses rather than Amazon and large mall bookstores whenever I can. The store was packed with great displays of books and gifts artfully arranged. I am always impressed with the space and attention devoted to books etc. for children. Before I checked out with the book I ordered, I selected a children's board book, three greetings cards, a stained glass frame for a 5 X 7 photo, and an adorable pair of llama socks for my young granddaughter. Great retail therapy!

Mon - Friday 12-6pm Saturday 10-4…read more Sunday is closed. If they're closing early, they will post on Facebook I like this store because you can find discounted items like stuff from target at a cheaper rate.

UPDATE; when I shopped in this store the next week an employee made good on my poor experience and…read morelet me pick a replacement item out of the bins. They also were very apologetic and kind. Will update my review accordingly. Honestly after having shopped here for awhile I'm disappointed that this store could be selling potentially dangerous food products to its customers. Went in here on a Thursday when it was $2.00 and purchased many items like clothes, cd's, and a couple food items (cheerios and panettone bread). Went to open the panettone bread today and there was a large chunk missing out of the bread and someone had very deceptively re sealed the box with packaging tape on the bottom. I understood that no refunds are given and all sales are final and no returns. I took it back anyway feeling they would want to know about this. We just received a response of oh wow and sorry. I did expect that they would refund the $2.00 as this was very deceptive to resell a food product that had been opened and very discreetly resealed but no refund was given. I urge all customers here not to purchase food items as they may be potentially dangerous. if they have been resealed. I'll still be a customer for other items here but will never purchase food because of the safety of how food is handled.