What will this new year bring? Here’s a sampling of what we might expect
It was nice knowing you, 2025. You were fine, but with due respect, we’re moving on. It’s 2026, baby!
What will this year bring? Here are questions, big and small, important and not so much, likely to be answered.
Will Antonio Delgado and/or Bruce Blakeman make Kathy Hochul sweat?
Until recently, a Capital Region enthusiast could delight in the possibility of a governor’s race featuring a Democrat from Schenectady (Delgado) and a Republican (Elise Stefanik) from outside Albany. Alas, that provincial dream, such as it was, died when Stefanik ended her campaign six days before Christmas.
In truth, such a contest was already improbable, given that Delgado — who is, don’t forget, still the lieutenant governor — seems to be mounting what can kindly be described as an under-the-radar primary challenge. And his attempt to drum up progressive angst over Hochul’s supposedly centrist ways suffered a blow when she endorsed Zohran Mamdani, who, of course, is New York City’s new socialist mayor.
Hochul may come to regret that endorsement, as Blakeman, the Nassau County executive and presumptive Republican nominee, will try to hang it around her neck. Hochul, in turn, will make President Donald Trump his albatross in what promises to be a difficult year for Republicans. The governor remains vulnerable in a state that has yet to warm to her, but she enters the race with enormous financial and structural advantages.
Prediction: Hochul beats Blakeman by eight percentage points.
Will a soccer stadium be the big winner of Hochul’s $200 million giveaway?
A new stadium for the Buffalo Bills, aided by more than a billion dollars from taxpayers, is expected to open in the summer. I’m not sure if that makes the governor, who has faced deserved criticism over the handout, more or less likely to support the proposal for a soccer stadium in downtown Albany.
But the $200 million that Hochul has set aside for downtown Albany will be spent on something. And in an election year, the governor will want the money to make an attention-grabbing splash. A home for a soccer franchise would do the trick, even though most economic analyses say stadiums are a poor use of taxpayer money.
The $500 million plan for the “Parking Lot District,” though, includes 1,000 proposed housing units, a population influx that would lift Albany’s moribund downtown. The deal could be structured so that most, if not all, of the requested $100 million or so in state money goes toward the apartments, allowing Hochul to tout both the stadium and progress on her statewide housing goals. A win-win, as they say.
Prediction: The stadium plan gets the money.
Will we witness the beginning of the next New England Patriots dynasty?
Just in time for that new stadium outside Buffalo, the team from suburban Boston is suddenly great again.
Prediction: This year, the Pats lose the AFC Championship game, but they win the Super Bowl in 2027 — annoying much of America while delighting Mark O’Connell, the new bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany.
Will the 6-7 craze finally fade among the youth of the Capital Region and beyond?
If you don’t know about it, then a) count your blessings and b) your exposure to middle-schoolers (and younger) is presumably limited. Basically, as recently detailed by the Times Union’s Lilli Iannella, the craze entails an up-and-down hand gesture and a knowing “6-7” incantation at the mere mention of either digit. It’s all harmless and utterly meaningless, which, in a way, is the point.
Prediction: The craze will fade, as all youth phenomena eventually do, but tortured middle-school math teachers will continue to suffer through snickers when they stumble upon the numbers.
Will civility and decorum return to American politics?
Obvious answer: No.
Politics is downstream of culture. So when Hochul curses in her press releases as some sort of grim attempt at authenticity, she’s really just holding up a mirror and showing us what we’ve become. Also, Trump wouldn’t know decorum if it bit him in the… let me be civil here… rump.
Will the Central Warehouse at long last disappear?
We’ve been told that the demolition of Albany’s biggest eyesore is underway, although you wouldn’t know by looking. The Central Warehouse, which opened as a cold-storage facility in 1927, appears strong and immortal.
I agree it’s time for the warehouse to go, but count me as skeptical toward claims that the building, as Hochul put it, “is the only thing blocking us from our true potential” or that its destruction will, as County Executive Dan McCoy claimed, lead more people to move to Albany. Yes, the warehouse is ugly, but, c’mon, it’s hardly to blame for all of the city’s problems.
Prediction: At least part of the building survives to celebrate its 100th birthday.
Well, that’s all for today. Thank you for reading. Happy New Year!
