Quality of Life

Community Services & Recreation
The City of Albany's civic facilities include an award-winning Library/Community Center, the first Senior Center in Alameda County, a Teen Center, a Child Care Center, and City Hall.
The City boasts eight parks and playgrounds on 17.5 acres, including a "tot lot," picnic facilities, and lighted ball courts and sports fields. There is also a community swimming pool.

Albany has a year-round recreation program, conducting activities for young children, teens, and senior citizens. The recreation staff works with community groups to put on such annual events as the Solano Stroll, an annual mile-long celebration of food, fun and music which attracts over 50,000 people from throughout the Bay Area.

The Albany Waterfront is home to a portion of the newly created Eastshore State Park, the San Francisco Bay Trail, and one of the last sandy beaches to be found in the East Bay. The waterfront provides spectacular views of the Golden Gate Bridge to the many recreation users who frequent this area west of the I-80 freeway.

Click here for more information on Albany Community and Recreatin Center.

Regional Arts & Entertainment
Popular regional attractions include Albany’s own Golden Gate Fields racetrack; Oakland, home to basketball's Golden State Warriors, the Oakland Athletics baseball team, and the Oakland Raiders football team; and the world-famous city of San Francisco, only fifteen minutes away via the Bay Bridge. Next-door neighbor Berkeley provides theatre, symphony, and opera, and dozens of other performance venues.

Schools & Library/Community Center
The Albany Unified School District provides high-quality education in four elementary schools, a middle school and a high school. In addition, there is a popular continuing education program attended by thousands of adults yearly. Albany student test scores at the middle and high school levels are among the highest in the state. (See City Profile for API scores). Local parent groups are actively involved in their children's education, ensuring that it meets the high standards of academic rigor and attention to diversity expected by the multicultural and highly educated community. The community's commitment to education is demonstrated by its strong support at the polls for tax increases to fund new school programs and facilities. In 2004, Albany residents approved, by 80%, a $13 million bond to fund school modernization improvements.

In the adjoining Community Center, the City of Albany offers art and ceramics classes, community meetings, and a variety of recreational activities. The art gallery is booked for months at a time, and often with local artists.

City Government
Albany is governed by a five-person Council, from which a Mayor is selected. City Departments include the City Administrator, City Clerk, Community Development & Environmental Resources, Finance & Administrative Services, Fire & Emergency Medical Services, Police, and Recreation & Community Services.
The City of Albany takes pride in providing a wide range of municipal services within a sound financial framework, and has won awards of excellence in financial reporting for the past three years. The Police Department helps to maintain one of the lowest crime levels in the Bay Area by providing comprehensive, timely response through community policing. The Fire Department maintains a three minute response time for fire and emergency medical service calls.