Thursday Headlines: ICE ICE Baby Edition

For nearly nine years, Buffalo let ICE park for free on a dozen spots on South Elmwood Avenue, right by the agency’s downtown headquarters — a “law enforcement vehicles only” designation that, per records obtained by The Investigative Post, was never actually anything but an ICE perk. This month, without fanfare, the signs came down. The spots are now open to anyone willing to feed the meter at $2 an hour, which means the city left roughly $400,000 in parking revenue on the table over the life of the deal.

Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan’s office is framing this as bookkeeping, not politics — “we simply don’t have enough on-street parking… to dedicate 12 public spaces to free parking for a government agency,” his statement says — but it lands amid a year in which ICE arrests in Buffalo have more than doubled compared to the Biden years, with nearly 90 percent of those picked up having no criminal record.

Elsewhere in the Empire State:

• Rochester officials are moving ahead with a study aimed at figuring out how to restore the three historic Olmsted-designed bow bridges in Genesee Valley Park, whose ownership and maintenance responsibilities are split among the city, county and state. (Democrat and Chronicle)
• Rochester is turning a former parking lot on Driving Park Avenue into a Miyawaki forest, with more than 600 native trees and shrubs planned for the site as part of the city’s tree-equity and climate efforts. (Rochester Beacon)
• Broome County Executive Jason Garnar’s proposed 2027 budget calls for another cut to the county property-tax rate while directing more than $60 million toward infrastructure and adding funding for seniors and child care. (Press & Sun-Bulletin)
• Ithaca is lowering the speed limit on most city streets from 30 to 25 mph, with 116 new signs going up this fall; some state-owned roads will remain at higher limits. (Finger Lakes Daily News)
• Rep. Claudia Tenney and Democratic challenger Alissa Ellman have agreed to a televised Oct. 20 debate in the 24th Congressional District race. (Finger Lakes Times)
• Two cars collided at the stoplight leading into Tivoli this week, the latest crash at an intersection that residents and officials have long identified as a trouble spot. (The Daily Catch)
• Ulster County lawmakers questioned Comptroller March Gallagher over her investigation into possible wrongdoing at Ulster County Area Transit, including her use of a personal recording device during the inquiry and whether county policies governing surveillance need to be updated. (Hudson Valley One)
• New York’s 140-year-old Scaffold Law is back in the affordable-housing debate, with business groups pushing for changes and Gov. Hochul signaling interest in the issue. (State of Politics)
• Two Poughkeepsie City Council members are seeking to end the city’s contract with Flock license-plate readers, while county officials are also being asked to reconsider the system’s use across Dutchess County. (Mid Hudson News)
• A woman accused of threatening to shoot passengers on a Metro-North train sparked a panic that led about 60 riders to leave the train and walk along the tracks into Grand Central; she was later charged with making a terroristic threat and a threat of mass harm. (amNY)
• The MTA is updating its track-worker safety rules following the death of construction flagger Moet McCullum, who was struck by a D train near Yankee Stadium earlier this month. (The Daily News)
• Federal election officials are questioning more than $18,000 in potentially excessive or impermissible contributions to Rep. Nick LaLota’s (D-Long Island) campaign, which says it is already refunding or reattributing the money. (Newsday)