When I wanted to donate a sofa and matching loveseat that were in very good condition, I contacted…read moreHabitat and left an email message. I received an email back in a reasonable amount of time considering how busy they must be. The person in charge of donations asked me to send a photo (which is totally understandable) before pick up was approved. Shortly after, an appointment time was set for pick up. I had the furniture placed in the garage as requested. The truck came within the designated time, and furniture was taken to the truck efficiently. I would say it was "professional operation." When it was picked up, one of the two men said, "This furniture is in great condition. Thank you for your kind donation and for thinking of us." I was happy to donate to a good cause and will continue to do so. Three years ago we donated oak kitchen cabinets when our kitchen was remodeled. I saw that they were sold for $550. I was pleased to help an organization with such an outstanding mission.

This review is for ReStore, the store front for used furniture and recycled fixtures and appliances…read morethat Habitat for Humanity runs in downtown Schenectady. Habitat itself is an outstanding organization and does great work. The H for H offices are located on Pearl, so this should be recategorized in Yelp as Home Furnishings / Retail Furniture, not Contractor Services. First off, hours: Thursday 10-6, Friday and Saturday 10-3. Tip: if you come early on Thursday, you'll have your best chance of getting pick of the new stock for the week, since they're closed the other days but continue to collect donations. So this is basically a thrift store specializing in furniture. It's everything you'd expect from a place that runs on donations. The stock is not by any means new or in style, but they do a good job in filtering out items so you don't have any dirty or unusually smelly items. Some of the items I looked at were broken or had significant flaws, but they for the most part seem to have filtered out truly unusable stuff. They do have a little bit of everything, and the repurposed fixtures (including doors and windows) are probably the cheapest you'll find anywhere. I had a little difficulty at first getting appropriate help - there were many volunteers but they had to find the chief guy in charge to do pricing for me, and they kept asking me the same questions about the items I picked out (as to whether they belonged in a set or not, like that matters for very used furniture) - but it's hard to quibble with volunteers on the basis of the service. They tried, even if they weren't as organized about things as they could be. Be patient with this sort of thing if you go in. If Design on a Dime ever does a Schenectady show, they'll love it here. I have a lot of fun speculating about previous owners of many of these items. (I really got a hoot about the five-piece living room set I saw on my most recent visit, where there was a built-in Stereophonic Console in the corner table unit. 1966, here we come!!) I also urge you if you do go, round up on your purchases and throw the extra money into the donation kitty. This group builds houses for people, and does it in a way that brings the people who will live in the house and own it into the building process. It may be unfortunate that this is needed, but it is, and doing a little shopping here can help this effort while helping yourself. One caveat: from the blank expressions I got when I asked if they check for bed bugs on the furniture upholstery, I'm going to guess that they do not do their own screening here. So given the reality of bed bugs and older pieces of furniture, I urge you to check for yourself. This is true for any used furniture these days. Update: adding a fourth star after multiple visits - the stock really does zing in and out (well, some of it) and Thursday mornings are definitely your best bet. The second floor, which I neglected earlier, has miscellaneous small fixtures, lamps, plumbing stuff, and so forth.

We adopted the cutest most loving,, and eccentric chihuahua mix from Homeward Bound nearly seven…read moreyears ago. He continues to be featured in their annual calendar as well as in our home. While their fee is a little higher than most, part of it is returned once the adopted puppy is neutered. In retrospect we regretted not adopting Diego's brother as well. My one issue was that because we are seniors, they were concerned as to how we would provide for our dogs as time progressed. We explained that our respective wills provided for immediate family, our daughter and husband, to assume guardianship in the event of our demise or incapacitation. Thank you Homeward Bound from us and Diego. He is in his forever home being loved.

Unfortunately, our experience with this organization was extremely frustrating…read more We are experienced and responsible dog owners who work from home, have a large fenced in yard, and have successfully adopted and raised several dogs. Despite all this, the process turned into what felt like an endless stream of emails about our dog's veterinary files, with repeated requests and questions that were often unclear or inadequately explained. The biggest issue was communication. Several emails were short and on the rude side, others incomplete and confusing, leaving us unsure about what information was actually needed. Rather than resolving things, each exchange seemed to generate another email and another question. A simple phone call could likely have clarified everything in a matter of minutes, but the volunteer in question, Tamara, didn't leave one nor do I have her last name. I completely understand and support careful screening by rescue organizations. The welfare of the animals should absolutely come first. But a thorough adoption process also needs to be clear, consistent, and respectful of prospective adopters' time. In the end, the process became so unnecessarily complicated that we decided not to continue. It's a shame, because we were genuinely hoping to give another dog a loving home. I hope the organization considers improving its communication with prospective adopters.

I've taken my kids here twice and we had a great time on both occasions. We did the Wednesday…read morenight, 6pm, free art studio with Ginger, who is a volunteer art teacher. The first time, we crafted fish sculptures using bottles, glue, fabric, and other materials. The second time the kids made hand puppets with socks, googly eyes, and crafting materials. Then they performed individual shows with them. The kids LOVED being creative, and expressing themselves through art. Ginger was extremely patient, fun loving, and fostered a safe learning environment. The 6pm classes are only an hour and a half, but were laughed through most of it. We'll definitely come back for other Wednesday evening events, and will try to get to some of their weekend ones as well. CREATE is one of those places that every parent should experience with their kid(s). Side note - it's also great fun for a bunch of teenagers or adults who want to bond though creative means.

A community art studio for everyone. We have frequented the Schenectady location. I am not sure…read moreabout wheelchair accessibility and the location is not friendly for kids. But the programming is great.

This is definitely the most comprehensive makerspace I've ever been to!…read more There's been some recent staff changes, and things seem to be in a bit of flux, but the space is amazing, and I personally would love to become more active here when I am in the 518. I'd like to see some new equipment, and have some of the existing equipment repaired or replaced. But, there's really good bones, here. Having opted for a family membership with my partner, we've brought my spawn here several times. The kids space is pretty well set up. It would be nice if it were staffed a little more. I'd actually say that's one of the things the space lacks, is clear staffing. Everyone I've met so far has been friendly, and helpful. Very nice. The location is really central. Parking is the only real pain, weekends are pretty convenient. Lots of nearby food and beverage. Nibble moved in right next door. It's a great space.

Such an interesting and beautiful space. Went for an event and was able to explore all of the…read moreinteresting things going on, from 3d printing to video game making to all sorts of clever crafting. I would love to see more event happen here. DJs, themes, random parties. I know it would tend to serve a niche audience full of tech geeks and hipsters, but bring it on!

Technically the "Edison Tech Center", a deucedly odd little museum /educational center that's more…read morelike a stored collection of old electrical stuff. I wish I could tell you in detail about it but it's almost never open -- only Fridays 3-6 (sometimes) and Saturdays 1-5. The few minutes we did get a gander it was like going to a geeky garage sale or seeing the inside of Doc Brown's garage. Unable to assess it as a museum per se but as an oddity it's definitely worth looking into if you're at all interested in the heritage of industrial artifacts of the Electric City. Park in the city lot on Broadway a half block away for free if staying less than two hours. They ask for donations. http://www.edisontechcenter.org/ for details.

I'd recommend this place to anyone that loves technical stuff. Cool things on display... I saw…read morethings I've only read about like a wire recorder and a Nernst lamp. It is not really a 'museum' as historic items are laid out for you to touch and examine (not good for small children). There are some tools around for self-learning like QR codes, books and print-outs, but since many items are not labelled I'd say to get the most out of this place bring your tablet or phone. There are lots of odd, but cool mysterious devices about. You could spend 10 minutes or 3 hours there depending on how in depth you want to research items. At times the volunteer staff was explaining items to visitors, or giving a short walk around to help people get started. There is a classroom area in the back which looks to be where people do classes and presentations. Finding it: the center is about a minute walk from downtown restaurants. They occupy a couple of old buildings but the public part is the facility on the far left. There are limited open hours so look it up before you go.

Umbrella provides vetted workers for home maintenance for seniors on a sliding pay scale from about…read more$59. a year to $575 per year. It also provides transportation to appointments for enrollees, if needed. Umbrella Staff is pleasant and interested in supporting Seniors who want to stay in their homes but need assistance maintaining the home. The office staff responds to requests by matching workers in Umbrella workers group with requests. They call you back with name of worker and contact information so you can schedule work. Many retired individuals work for Umbrella in spirit of volunteering. When we started the rate was $15. a hour; it was increased to $20. hour when we left. You provide supplies. I thought $15. was too low to attract and keep workers. You can tip is you like and I often did. If you need skilled labor such as an electrician or plumber the rates were much higher such $65. hour. My experiences: I used it for three years with mixed results. *The housekeeper was unstable. Kept her on too long. *The guy who painted our garage steps was not conscientious. Had to be redone. *The guy who stained our cedar fence was excellent, but he stopped doing work because of health problems. *Guy who painted iron railing did a great job. *The lady gardener was fantastic, and I was pleased she did gardening as requested for three years. I kindly called her the "Energizer Bunny." We no longer use umbrella because we have found people to do what is needed from referrals from neighbors.

5/1/2020 Ms. Marcine…read morePalkovic 22 Continental Rd. Schenectady NY 12306 NYS Office of the Aging NY Connects Program Empire State Plaza Albany, NY 12223-1251 Dear NY Connects The purpose of my letter is to inform you of the experience that I had with Umbrella of the Capital District's Manager, Ron Byrne, so your agencies can protect other Seniors. My father passed in 2013, Umbrella was recommended by a librarian at SUNY/SCCC. From 2013-2014, Elaine Santos was one of the managers, and then retired. Umbrella charged me for a home inspection, I did not receive any thing in writing. From 2013-2015, they charged me for home inspections. I was not told the credentials of the person who did the home inspections. The home inspection did not advise me that the garage roof needed to be reshingled. In the year 2015, Elaine Santos retired. Ron Byrne became the sole manager. In August 2015, he phoned to say he had a grant for home repairs. I sent pictures of painting that needed and a door frame that needed to be replaced. I was required to provide personal information. Sadly, I didn't receive any benefit from the yearly fee required. I didn't receive any benefit for the painting and door frame repairs from the grant Byrne received. The person who was suppose to do the repairs, was not a contractor, but a Schenenctady school maintenance man, Richard Osterhout. The materials are still sitting in my garage. Osterhout swept the area, he but didn't even start the work, then quit. When I asked why I was charged to sweep; they refused to answer or refund the money. To add insult to injury, Byrne refused to refund the money for the purchase of materials. To add insult to the degree of exploitation, after paying the required fee, noone showed up to snow blow. Byrne told me to pay out of pocket for snowblowing, in addition to the fee already paid to Umbrella. I phoned the office asking for the receipts for the yearly maintenance fees and the record of home inspections. The office refused to provide any record of the fees or home inspections. I contacted the NYS Attorney General's office. In Byrne's reply, to the AG's office, in an effort to discredit my statements, he had the workers write silly allegations meant to humiliate me that were untrue. The refund issue was never settled, the AG's office said there was nothing they could do to obtain a refund for the materials sitting in the garage or a refund on the yearly fee paid. The letter said they understood my frustration. Last year 2019, the garage roof started to leak, and I am told it needs to be replaced ASAP. I was never informed of this by the home inspections Umbrella charged me for, and the materials sit in the corner of the garage. have been told by two roofers that the garage roof needs to be reshingled this year-ASAP. I didn't realize when I paid Umbrella, they don't have to provide records or be accountable for the grant money the agency awarded them. Burned by Umbrella in 2015, Marcine Palkovic