Monday Headlines: Commuted Sentence Edition

Is a commuter tax coming to Albany?

If the immediate uproar from state elected officials is any indication of their constituents’ feelings, then no.

The Albany Common Council is considering a new payroll tax applied to the wages of people who commute to Albany for work rather than residing within city limits. The capital city’s well-documented fiscal woes prompted the proposal for an additional .03 percent tax, but revenue raisers like this rely on state approval, something that the region’s delegation to the state house appears unlikely to provide.

State Sen. Pat Fahy, who has represented Albany in the statehouse for more than a decade, panned the idea on X while noting the city’s precarious position.

“This is the wrong approach—and while I appreciate the efforts to look at different sources of revenue, it sends the wrong message,” she wrote.

Assembly Member John McDonald, whose district includes towns like Cohoes where residents would likely be affected, said it wouldn’t have his support in the state Legislature.

The legislation has enough support to pass locally but would rely on state approval to be enacted. With its prospects looking slim, Albany will likely continue to evaluate ways to raise revenue to meet a budget gap in 2027 that projects at roughly $35 million.

Elsewhere in the Empire State:

• Rochester has launched an online traffic-safety dashboard showing motor vehicle crashes and fatalities, including collisions involving pedestrians and cyclists, with filterable data dating to 2023 and an interactive map as part of the city’s Vision Zero initiative. (WXXI News)
• Democrats in Geneva are criticizing a campaign mailer from Republican Assembly candidate Mark Benjamin targeting his opponent, Democrat Phillip Fleming, who is LGBTQ+, and calling the mailer offensive. (Finger Lakes Times)
• Steuben County officials are urging drivers to slow down and give snowplows plenty of room this winter, warning that blowing snow, icy roads and spreading equipment can limit visibility and make passing dangerous. (Finger Lakes Daily News)
• “No Kings” rallies took place at more than a dozen locations across upstate New York on Oct. 17, with organizers distributing voter information and encouraging residents to make plans for early voting ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections. (The Times Union)
• A sheriff’s patrol car was involved in a two-vehicle crash on Syracuse’s North Side, according to a report from syracuse.com. (Syracuse.com)
• State DOT scheduled overnight closures of several Route 17 ramps in Goshen from Oct. 18 through Oct. 23 to accommodate construction, with closures running from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. and detours posted for motorists. (Mid Hudson News)
• A fatal shooting at the 53rd Street and Seventh Avenue subway station in Midtown has renewed riders’ concerns about crime and quality-of-life issues in the subway system, with commuters describing their unease the day after the Oct. 17 killing. (amNewYork)
• A super PAC supporting Gov. Hochul’s reelection reported receiving $4.34 million in contributions and began airing ads attacking Republican challenger Bruce Blakeman, adding to the spending and advertising surrounding New York’s gubernatorial race. (The New York Post)
• A city investigation found that a school bus carrying six nonverbal autistic students in Brooklyn took more than four hours to reach school after the driver went to incorrect addresses and the bus’s GPS was inoperable; parents used AirTags to track their children while school staff struggled to reach the bus company. (Gothamist)
• Thirty-nine percent of American families reported spending nothing on vacations over a 12-month period, according to Federal Reserve data, as rising costs for necessities lead more households to prioritize bills over travel. (News 12 Long Island)