The answer to Debra Brenner’s concern about the economy? Dried beans.

A pound costs a fraction of the cost of a similar amount of hamburger and, once hydrated, more servings. It’s a solid way to stretch a food dollar.

“I spread the love,” the Halfmoon woman said Tuesday in the parking lot of a Market 32 in Clifton Park. She visits Aldi and Trader Joe’s, wherever she can find a lower price. “A dollar here and a dollar there.”

She’s not alone. A Siena Research Institute poll released Tuesday based on data collected in November shows consumer sentiment ticked up slightly in the last quarter of 2025 from the third quarter, but still remains well below the level researchers say indicates a balance between positive and negative feelings.

Sentiment is higher in New York than the rest of the nation. Where New York sentiment is 68.8 — 7.2 points below the balance between positive and negative — sentiment in the rest of the nation dropped to 52.9, more than 23 points below average.

“Consumer sentiment has seen a sustained decline since the 2024 election, with the national index falling 21.1 points and New York dropping 9.3,” according to Travis Brodbeck, SRI’s associate director of data management. “Over the last year, current ratings and future expectations have both fallen by more than 20 points nationally, far outpacing the single-digit declines in New York.”

That means people aren’t feeling so well about their economic situation. Brenner’s situation? “Personally? Probably not better,” she said, although she noted she retired recently and is pretty glad she’s a vegetarian, because beans are definitely cheaper than meat.

Across the parking lot, Jennifer Rushia of Clifton Park scooted out of the store with a couple of things.

“I really didn’t worry until last year, then I started paying attention,” she said. “I’m spending $50 to $70 more than I usually would.”

Now she’s checking price labels, and buying store brands instead of name brands.

But the sentiment in New York, once below the nation’s is now more upbeat, and that’s a change, the Siena poll shows.

“While the national index was typically higher than New York’s before the pandemic, we are now seeing the largest gap on record in the opposite direction, with the nation trailing New York by 15.9 points,” Brodbeck said. “In other words, the break-even point between optimism and pessimism in New York is within reach, but nationally there is much more ground to make up.”

However, the New York numbers are buoyed by optimism in downstate New York, where the optimism rating was 71.9, compared with 63.4 upstate. Upstate still feels more optimistic than the rest of America, but not by as much.

Food and fuel costs are behind much of the concern, the survey reports, with paying for them major concerns in 20% of the upstate respondents. In particular, 49% say they are worried about food prices; another 26% are concerned about fuel.

“I did see gas prices are down, that’s a good sign,” said Kate Kosineski of Niskayuna as she filled up at a Stewart’s Shops location in Clifton Park.

And at the next pump Andrew Fayette was pretty happy about them, particularly because the Volkswagen Passat he drives gets much better mileage than the Jeep he drove until a week or two ago.

“I wouldn’t say I’m totally confident,” he said. “Economically, I think we’re headed toward an oligarchy.”

Fayette said he and his family do better than most, but understands that food, and fuel, can be critical costs.

However, while people are concerned about their daily expenses, they still plan to spend, the poll reported.

“While consumer sentiment is depressed relative to a year ago, spending intentions are down but remain resilient,” Brodbeck said. “Nearly one in five New Yorkers say they have plans to purchase a vehicle, furniture, or a major home improvement, four in 10 intend to buy consumer electronics, and just under 11% say they [are] looking to buy a home.”

“These robust buying plans highlight a disconnect,” he added. “Consumers remain pessimistic about the broader economy, yet they continue to spend.”

ALBANY (AP) — Ahead of a tough reelection fight, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul unveiled an agenda aimed at bridging the divides in the Democratic Party — moving to fight President Donald Trump and capture progressive excitement surrounding Mayor Zohran Mamdani, while also tending to anxiety among moderates about public safety and protests outside synagogues.

In most states, governors use their annual State of the State addresses to detail their upcoming legislative plans for the year, boosting their own records while charting a path ahead.

For Hochul, however, her speech this year carried additional significance, as the centrist from Buffalo faces challenges from both her political left and right in a heavily contested election cycle.

Her own second-in-command, Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado, has assailed her for months and launched an unusual primary challenge against his boss, casting Hochul as a reactive executive unable to meet the political moment during Trump’s second term. Republican Bruce Blakeman, a Trump-aligned county official in New York’s City’s suburbs, has also announced a run for governor, bashing Hochul over the state’s high taxes and cost of living.

At the same time, the governor is under mounting pressure from the progressive wing of the Democratic Party to help steward Mamdani’s ambitious agenda at the state Capitol and raise taxes on the state’s richest........

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