Friday Headlines: Drunk Trolley Edition

Albany’s Advisory Council on Nightlife Economy has issued 22 recommendations to boost the going-out experience in New York’s capital city, and some ideas are outright novel.

One idea from the Mayor Dorcey Applyrs-created panel is a trolley connecting the city’s entertainment districts on Lark Street, the Warehouse District, Pearl Street, New
Scotland Avenue and other “nightlife hubs” that, in addition to being a car-free alternative to drunk cross-city travel, is an experience unto itself.

The advisory council also proposed more collaboration between the city, the Albany Parking Authority and business and property owners to make parking in Albany more accommodating. The council posited that many residents don’t know where they can park when visiting certain neighborhoods and that by recognizing underutilized parking infrastructure, nightlife turnout can be boosted and even lure people from outside of the city.

The new panel also proposed the creation of a permanent council on nightlife, public safety and transportation. It would be populated by representatives from nightlife and hospitality businesses, the Albany Police Department, the Albany Parking Authority, transportation providers, city departments and Albany County,

Elsewhere in the Empire State:

• New York State Police say 45-year-old Christopher Perciful of Watertown, walking eastbound on State Route 126 in Champion in dark clothing, was struck and killed by an SUV around 4:24 a.m. Tuesday; the driver, 53-year-old Jeramie Palladino of Carthage, remains under investigation. (Democrat and Chronicle)
• A federal judge ruled that border patrol didn’t have grounds to pull over an undocumented man in Central New York. (Syracuse.com)
• A stretch of Route 262 in Genesee County reopened after a chip-seal treatment failed to adhere to the pavement, leaving vehicles — including a tractor-trailer — stuck in tar and gravel; crews later applied chip stone as a temporary fix while the county and contractor Midland Asphalt work out a permanent solution. (Democrat and Chronicle)
• Congressional candidate Anthony Constantino marched in Massena’s Labor Day parade wearing a United Steelworkers T-shirt, but union officials say he wasn’t invited and are furious, while his campaign insists it had permission and was welcomed. (The Times Union)
• A new Empire Center poll showing 67 percent support for limiting workplace-injury liability has legislative sources bracing for a fight over New York’s Scaffold Law next budget cycle if Gov. Hochul wins reelection and takes up the issue, as business groups push tort reform while labor advocates warn of leaving injured workers with fewer options. (State of Politics)
• Poughkeepsie Common Councilmember Christopher Grant was arraigned on a felony attempted-assault charge tied to a 2025 incident at a festival he organized — a second pending case on top of felony charges from an alleged domestic incident at this year’s same festival. (Poughkeepsie Journal)
• Dutchess County’s new 25-year transportation plan, which we covered in depth, finds cars still dominate travel (81 percent of trips) despite a flat population, while the county’s $1.5 billion in expected highway funding and $1 billion in transit funding won’t be enough to maintain its roads and bus system. (Highlands Current)
• Long Island Reps. Tom Suozzi and Laura Gillen touted their support for permanent World Trade Center Health Program funding in January, then voted against the Senate compromise bill funding it weeks later, drawing a “hypocrite” attack from House Republicans’ campaign arm. (The New York Post)
• Sand-colored Tesla Cybercabs — with a driver still behind the wheel, unlike the fully autonomous versions in Texas and Florida — have been spotted testing on NYC streets; the city’s TLC says its rules don’t currently allow autonomous for-hire vehicles and Tesla hasn’t applied for a state AV testing permit. (Gothamist)
• With its electric bus rollout stalled by reliability problems, the MTA plans to seek proposals for 650 new compressed-natural-gas buses, a step back from its 2040 zero-emissions fleet goal that Chair Janno Lieber says still depends on electric or hydrogen technology “panning out.” (The City Reporter)