Monday Headlines: E-Bike Bonanza Edition

Wireless Hope, in Schenectady, reads at first like every other bodega-adjacent electronics shop: phone screen repairs, a case of secondhand Xbox 360 games, the works. I got panhandled twice just walking in and out. But before the counter sat rows of e-bikes — including Class-3 models that are flatly illegal to ride anywhere in New York outside the five boroughs, on plain display, no digging required.

That’s notable because two months after state Attorney General Letitia James urged New Yorkers to report shops selling illegal e-motos — souped-up, unregistered mopeds masquerading as e-bikes — her office has fielded exactly one complaint statewide. Wireless Hope is that complaint.

The store’s Facebook page advertises “off-road” bikes with illegal voltage, alongside tips for unlocking street-legal bikes to hit 42 mph. A clerk confirmed the shop sells Class 1, 2, and 3 bikes; the owner didn’t respond to requests for comment.

James’s advisory came days after a teenager died riding an illegal e-moto in Manhattan — one of three such deaths in the city this year. You can read more about what we found here.

Elsewhere in the Empire State:

• A retracted Hunter College and Open Plans study attacking Waymo’s safety record, plus the research director’s new techno-thriller novel about terrorists hijacking self-driving cars, have intensified the fight over robotaxis expanding in NYC. (Gothamist)
• Top Republicans, including former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, former Gov. George Pataki and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who is running for governor, called on New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani not to attend Friday’s 9/11 ceremony at Ground Zero. Mamdani attended, and a new poll found 74 percent of NYC voters think he should. (Gothamist)
• New York’s Corrections Department is seeking proposals for a new 3,000-bed, $750 million prison — the state’s largest — just years after Gov. Hochul closed nearly a dozen facilities amid a shrinking prison population and a corrections officers’ strike. (The New York Post)
• Flock Safety cameras are coming to The University of Buffalo. (The Buffalo News)
• Gov. Hochul’s running mate, Adrienne Adams, made her fourth campaign appearance in Buffalo at a new field office, discussing her path from New York City Council speaker to the gubernatorial ticket. (BTPM)
• The Yates County Sheriff’s Office is holding its last car-seat check event of 2026, offering free inspections and child ID cards. (Finger Lakes Daily News)
• With two months until the midterms, Rep. John Mannion (D-Onondaga County) and Republican challenger Kailee Buller are both leaning into affordability messaging in the 22nd Congressional District. (Central Current)
• Syracuse’s Strathmore neighborhood turned porches into pop-up galleries for the 25th-plus annual Art on the Porches festival, drawing hundreds to see work from nearly 40 local artists. (Syracuse.com)
• Two 18-year-olds riding a two-wheeled electric vehicle were critically injured when it collided with a car in Kingston Friday; one was airlifted to Westchester Medical Center. (The Times Union)
• James’ campaign has spent heavily on hotel stays and travel over the years, a pattern that continues to draw scrutiny as she heads toward reelection. (The Times Union)
• Pro-business groups including the Empire Center, Lawsuit Reform Alliance and Upstate United are using a new poll to lay groundwork for a liability-reform push in Albany’s next session, building on this year’s auto insurance overhaul. (State of Politics)
• State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins says she’s confident Democrats will reclaim their supermajority this November, needing just one more seat after losing it in 2024. (State of Politics)
• Rhinebeck’s Porchfest returns Sept. 19 with 46 acts across village porches, raising money for park improvements. (The Daily Catch)
• Cold Spring’s mayor says the village was “crushed by overtourism” over the weekend, with restaurant lines, vehicle congestion and two mountain rescues complicated by radios that don’t link state parks staff to county 911 services. (Highlands Current)
• A Putnam County sheriff’s deputy who pulled over a car for an obstructed license plate in Patterson found the uninsured, unregistered vehicle’s driver — a Connecticut man with no pistol permit — with a loaded handgun on the floor. (Mid Hudson News)
• Ulster County Comptroller March Gallagher told legislators her office’s use of an undisclosed video recorder to investigate alleged misconduct at UCAT, the county bus system, complied with county law, though lawmakers suggested the underlying surveillance policy needs updating. (Mid Hudson News)
• The New York City Council passed the final piece of its SCOOP Act, requiring the Sanitation Department to investigate any block that gets seven dog-waste complaints in a week and issue fines up to $250. (Bronx Times)
• Rep. Nick LaLota (R-Long Island), a Trump-endorsed incumbent with a big fundraising edge, faces Democratic challenger Chris Gallant in a competitive 1st Congressional District race that could help decide House control. (Newsday)
• Long Island drivers are feeling the pinch as gas prices climb, part of a months-long run-up tied largely to Middle East tensions that’s pushed prices well above last year’s levels. (News 12 Long Island)