Friday Headlines: Twist And Turns Edition

Happy Friday! It’s been another busy week on New York’s streets, from transit safety and e-bike crashes to toll evasion, I-81 construction and the latest twists in state and city politics. Here’s what caught our eye heading into the weekend.

The latest news:

• After the death of MTA track flagger Moet McCullum, the MTA says it is strengthening safety rules for track workers, including requiring new protections around flagging and communication between workers and train crews. (The Daily News)
• Gov. Hochul pushed back on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s accusation that Mayor Zohran Mamdani sympathizes with Hamas, saying Netanyahu was “not telling the truth” about the New York City mayor. (WXXI News)
• The Ontario County Sheriff’s Office is warning residents about an increase in vehicle and property break-ins, including thefts from unlocked cars and cases where thieves obtained keys through unlocked homes. (Finger Lakes Daily News)
• A dispute between contractors working on Syracuse’s I-81 project has escalated to the point that the Onondaga County District Attorney’s Office is investigating whether criminal charges are warranted. (Syracuse.com)
• With less than six weeks until Election Day, NY-21 candidates Anthony Constantino and Blake Gendebien still haven’t agreed to a general-election debate, despite multiple offers from news organizations. (NCPR)
• The candidates in New York’s 18th Congressional District are trading attacks over each other’s families, residency and old social-media activity, with both calling the campaign’s increasingly personal tone “beyond the pale.” (WAMC)
• Albany has been designated by the state Comptroller’s Office as being under “significant fiscal stress,” with an $85 fiscal-stress score coming as the city faces an estimated $22 million budget gap this year and a projected $33 million gap next year. (WAMC)
• Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez visited Buffalo as part of a statewide Democratic turnout effort, meeting with Mayor Sean Ryan and training volunteers to reach voters who have not participated in recent elections. (State of Politics)
• Republicans in Hurley have selected their candidates for town clerk and highway superintendent as the party prepares for the November election. (The Overlook)
• A 35-year-old Poughkeepsie man riding an e-bike was killed after being struck by a pickup truck on Salt Point Turnpike, and the truck driver was later charged with vehicular manslaughter and leaving the scene. (Poughkeepsie Journal)
• State Police issued 287 tickets and impounded 39 vehicles during a crackdown on missing and obscured license plates and toll evasion on the Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge, while commercial-vehicle inspectors took 10 trucks out of service for safety violations. (The Journal News)
• The New York City Council passed a bill aimed at making it easier for low-income New Yorkers to enroll in Fair Fares, the program that provides half-price subway and bus rides to eligible residents. (amNewYork)
• A New York City Council bill would require delivery apps to provide data on how long e-bike and e-scooter workers take to complete deliveries, giving the city information it could use to address pressure on workers to make trips quickly. (amNewYork)
• The United Auto Workers has expanded its influence in New York by organizing white-collar workers at universities, museums and public-interest organizations, while its embrace of democratic-socialist politics has put it at odds with parts of the city’s established labor and political establishment. (The New York Times)