New York news

• Optimism about future of Scotia's Mohawk Avenue

  08-01-2019 23:43 via timesunion.com
  SCOTIA – Anne Brenner remembers the good old days when Mohawk Avenue in her hometown seemed to have it all."There was just a sense you could come here and you could buy a dress, go to the tailor, get your hair done," said Brenner, 57, harkening back to her youth when places like Swire's department store were in vogue.Over time, that "that all went away" and so did she, and the area became a magnet for insurance companies and more service-orientedMore recently, the business district along t
  
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• NJ Shoppers Look Fondly on Sears as Liquidation Looms

  08-01-2019 23:31 via nbcnewyork.com
  
  There's been a lot of back-and-forth about the future of Sears, but as of Tuesday, the Sears in Hacksensack -- which has been open since 1932 -- is safe, for now. Jen Maxfield reports.
  
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• Saratoga contractor accused of grand larceny

  08-01-2019 22:57 via timesunion.com
  CHATHAM - A Saratoga contractor was arrested after cashing checks totaling $90,000 but failing to complete any of the work he was hired to do, State Police said Tuesday.Nicholas Scialdone, 52, was arrested Jan. 5 for grand larceny, a felony, police said.
  
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• Floating Billboard Irking NYC Locals Is Illegal, City Says

  08-01-2019 22:56 via nbcnewyork.com
  
  A brightly-lit floating billboard that’s drawn the ire of locals who say it evokes the worst of Times Square is also operating illegally, the city claims.
  
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• New York Attorney General's investigation looks into Troy land sale

  08-01-2019 22:49 via timesunion.com
  TROY – The state attorney general's public integrity unit has subpoenaed personnel files, deeds and other records to present to a Rensselaer County grand jury that is to hear testimony Jan. 24 in an investigation of a city land transaction, city and county officials said Tuesday.The records are required to be returned to the attorney general's office or the grand jury by Jan. 17, officials said.
  
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• Lin-Manuel Miranda, Colleagues Save Iconic NYC Bookstore

  08-01-2019 22:39 via nbcnewyork.com
  
  Lin-Manuel Miranda can add “literary hero” to his growing list of accolades.The mastermind behind “Hamilton” and “In the Heights” musicals, as well as a handful of his "Hamilton" colleagues, announced...Photo Credit: NBC 4 New York
  
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• Woman Gives Birth to Baby Girl Inside NYC Taxi Cab

  08-01-2019 22:38 via nbcnewyork.com
  
  A woman wound up delivering her baby inside a yellow taxi cab on the Upper East Side Tuesday morning.Photo Credit: News 4 NY
  
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• Men's shop moves from downtown to Saratoga National

  08-01-2019 22:34 via timesunion.com
  SARATOGA SPRINGS — The National, a classic men's clothing shop downtown, will temporarily relocate its store to Saratoga National Golf Club while its current location at 385 Broadway is under construction.The National will host a moving sale beginning Wednesday, Jan. 9, and running through Sunday, Jan. 13, its last day of business downtown. It will reopen on Feb. 6 in the Golf Shop at Saratoga National in the clubhouse at 458 Union Ave.
  
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• DA won't prosecute Ellazar Williams on menacing charge

  08-01-2019 22:12 via timesunion.com
  ALBANY - The 19-year-old city man who was facing charges after he was shot and paralyzed from the chest down by an Albany detective last year won't be prosecuted.Albany County District Attorney David Soares on Tuesday declined to prosecute the case against Ellazar Williams, who was shot by Detective James Olsen on Aug. 20 following a brief chase that ended behind the former Tony Clement Center for Education at 395 Elk St.Williams faced charges of felony menacing a police officer and misdemeanor
  
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• Albany DA declines to prosecute Ellazar Williams on menacing officer charge

  08-01-2019 22:12 via timesunion.com
  ALBANY - The 19-year-old city man who was facing a charges after he was shot and paralyzed from the chest down by an Albany detective last year won't be prosecuted.Albany County District Attorney David Soares on Tuesday declined to prosecute the case against Ellazar Williams, who was shot by Detective James Olsen on Aug. 20 following a brief chase that ended behind the former Tony Clement Center for Education at 395 Elk St.
  
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• Sheriff: Greenfield man shot teen in the arm on Christmas

  08-01-2019 22:06 via timesunion.com
  GREENFIELD — A man who allegedly shot a teen in the arm on Christmas night was arrested following an investigation, Saratoga County Sheriff's Office said.William M. Allen, 24, of Hyspot Road allegedly shot an 18-year-old man in the upper arm when a shotgun was accidentally discharged within the house, deputies said. The victim was treated and released for a non-life threatening injury at Albany Medical Center, deputies said.
  
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• Sheriff: Greenfield man shoots teen in arm on Christmas

  08-01-2019 22:06 via timesunion.com
  GREENFIELD - A man who allegedly shot a teen in the arm on Christmas night was arrested following an investigation, Saratoga County Sheriff's Office said.William M. Allen, 24, of Hyspot Road allegedly shot an 18-year-old man in the upper arm when a shotgun was accidentally discharged within the house, deputies said. The victim was treated and released for a non-life threatening injury at Albany Medical Center, deputies said.
  
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• Chief: Albany cop found prostitute via website before shooting

  08-01-2019 21:59 via timesunion.com
  Christofer M. Kitto left Turning Stone Casino in the early morning hours Monday after making plans through a website to meet a prostitute in Utica.But the rendezvous ended abruptly at the Lincoln Avenue home when Kitto reportedly acted in self-defense and fatally shot a man who attempted to rob him at knifepoint.Utica Police Chief Mark Williams said Kitto apparently arranged to meet the woman at her Lincoln Avenue home through a website called skipthegames.com, but before things got started 35-y
  
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• Chief: Albany cop found prostitute via website before encounter went awry

  08-01-2019 21:59 via timesunion.com
  Christofer M. Kitto left Turning Stone Casino in the early morning hours Monday after making plans through a website to meet a prostitute in Utica.But the rendezvous ended abruptly at the Lincoln Avenue home when Kitto reportedly acted in self-defense and fatally shot a man who attempted to rob him at knifepoint.Utica Police Chief Mark Williams said Kitto apparently arranged to meet the woman at her Lincoln Avenue home through a website called skipthegames.com, but before things got started 35-y
  
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• Albany cop found prostitute via website before encounter went awry

  08-01-2019 21:59 via timesunion.com
  Christofer M. Kitto left Turning Stone Casino in the early morning hours Monday after making plans through a website to meet a prostitute in Utica.But the rendezvous ended abruptly at the Lincoln Avenue home when Kitto reportedly acted in self-defense and fatally shot a man who attempted to rob him at knifepoint.Utica Police Chief Mark Williams said Kitto apparently arranged to meet the woman at her Lincoln Avenue home through a website called skipthegames.com, but before things got started 35-y
  
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• NYPD: NYC Garbage Truck Struck Woman in Hit-Run Death

  08-01-2019 21:48 via nbcnewyork.com
  
  A city sanitation truck struck and killed a woman in an early morning hit-and-run in the Bronx Tuesday, police say.Photo Credit: NBC 4 New York
  
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• NJ Resident Shoots Alleged Teenage Car Burglar: Officials

  08-01-2019 21:38 via nbcnewyork.com
  
  A New Jersey resident shot a teen who was allegedly trying to burglarizing his car early Tuesday morning, officials said.
  
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• 3 arrested on drug charges in Whitehall

  08-01-2019 21:25 via timesunion.com
  WHITEHALL - A trio was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly possessing large quantities of heroin mixed with Fentanyl following an incident that occurred on Monday in the village, New York State Police and Whitehall police said.Dayshawn Mitchell, 23, of Brooklyn was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell after he was allegedly found with 50 grams of the drug, police said. Laura J. Bishop, 31, of Rutland, Vt. and Victoria Walton, 30, from Fair Haven, Vt. were
  
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• Nearly 60 Capital Region attorneys face suspension

  08-01-2019 20:45 via timesunion.com
  ALBANY – Fifty-nine attorneys in the greater Capital Region are facing suspension because they repeatedly failed to register and pay registration fees.The attorneys were among 2,601 lawyers with delinquent registration statuses because they did not register or pay dues over the periods of 2014-2015 and 2016-2017 or 2015-2016 and 2017-2018. They face suspension by the Appellate Division of state Supreme Court, Third Department, based in Albany, which listed its plans on its website.Presidin
  
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• New York sends billions more to DC than it receives

  08-01-2019 20:28 via timesunion.com
  AlbanyNew York already sends much more in taxes to federal coffers than it gets back in federal spending, and federal tax law changes for 2018 by the administration of President Donald Trump is unlikely to reverse that.For every dollar that state residents paid in federal taxes and fees in 2017, 86 cents flowed back to the state in federal expenditures, according to a joint report issued Tuesday by the state Budget Office and the Rockefeller Institute of Government, a not-for-profit think tank.T
  
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• Police Search for Suspect in Alleged Subway Station Ambush

  08-01-2019 20:23 via nbcnewyork.com
  
  Police are searching for the suspect in connection to an alleged ambush at a subway station in the Bronx on New Year's Day.Photo Credit: NYPD
  
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• Arrest in Case of NYC Woman Found in Laundry Bag on Street

  08-01-2019 19:54 via nbcnewyork.com
  
  A 59-year-old man was charged with murder in connection to the 2012 death of his girlfriend, whose body was found inside a laundry bag on a Brooklyn street, prosecutors announced Tuesday.
  
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• Dozens of recruiters to attend Times Union Job Fair

  08-01-2019 19:48 via timesunion.com
  Several dozen recruiters will seek to interview job candidates at the upcoming Times Union Job Fair. The event, which is free to job seekers, will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 21 at the Albany Marriott Hotel, 189 Wolf Road, Colonie.
  
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• 2019 Governors Ball Lineup Announced

  08-01-2019 19:12 via nbcnewyork.com
  
  Drum roll please. Without further ado, the lineup for the 2019 Governors Ball music festival has been revealed and features some old friends of the festival.Photo Credit: Getty Images for BacardiThis story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.
  
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• Clifton Park man charged with sex offenses

  08-01-2019 19:11 via timesunion.com
  AClifton Park car salesman and convicted sex offender is facing three felony charges after Colonie police said he messaged police investigators posing as a 14-year-old boy.
  
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• United Way expands to Columbia, Greene counties

  08-01-2019 19:06 via timesunion.com
  ALBANY - The United Way of the Greater Capital Region is adding Columbia and Greene counties to its charitable footprint, the association's board of directors announced Tuesday.
  
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• New York's liberal activists outline agenda for 2019

  08-01-2019 18:56 via timesunion.com
  ALBANY — The annual "People's State of the State" address from the Capitol steps on Tuesday rehashed many liberal principles from the past 30 years, but now the grassroots activists are feeling emboldened by the new makeup of the state Legislature.In advance of the new legislative session kicking off on Wednesday, a coalition of progressive organizations and labor unions voiced their continued support for action on criminal justice reform, expansion of voting rights, state investments in h
  
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• Lawmakers, civic groups push for JCOPE replacement

  08-01-2019 18:54 via timesunion.com
  ALBANY — Civic groups and lawmakers are pressing Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to include in his Democracy Agenda support for a constitutional amendment that would create an independent ethics panel.In a press conference at the New York State Capitol on Tuesday, they credited Cuomo for including voting and campaign finance reform in his agenda, but noted the absence of significant ethics enforcement reform in his package.The Anti-Corruption Constitutional Amendment, first authored by Sen. Liz Krueg
  
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• NYC Garbage Truck Possibly Involved in Woman's Hit-Run Death

  08-01-2019 18:27 via nbcnewyork.com
  
  An early morning hit-and-run Tuesday claimed the life of a woman in the Bronx.Photo Credit: NBC 4 New York
  
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• SPCA Chapter Offers Free Pet Food to Federal Workers in NY

  08-01-2019 18:23 via nbcnewyork.com
  
  A local Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is providing free pet food to federal workers impacted by the government shutdown.Photo Credit: Pexels/CC
  
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• Two Niskayuna Ethics Board members set to be reappointed

  08-01-2019 17:50 via timesunion.com
  Attorney Vincent Valenza and therapist David Olsen are set to be re-appointed to Niskayuna's Ethics Board at Tuesday's Town Board meeting despite criticism about some personal connections between Ethics and Town Board members by the Town Supervisor and Clerk.
  
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• 4 Tri-State Spots Make Yelp's Top 100 Places to Eat for 2019

  08-01-2019 17:22 via nbcnewyork.com
  
  If you're looking for a new spot to eat, you're in the right place.Photo Credit: Thomas Hawk/Flickr
  
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• Prosperity Partnership starts mentorship program

  08-01-2019 17:04 via timesunion.com
  MALTA - The Saratoga County Propserity Partnership has set up a small business mentorship program called Circles of Seven, also known as C7, that pairs established business owners with proteges.
  
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• NYC Guarantees Comprehensive Health Care for All

  08-01-2019 17:03 via nbcnewyork.com
  
  New York City will begin guaranteeing comprehensive health care to every single resident regardless of someone's ability to pay or immigration status, an unprecedented plan that will protect the more than half a...Photo Credit: AP
  
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• Capital Region cities sue opioid drug makers

  08-01-2019 17:02 via timesunion.com
  The cities of Albany, Plattsburgh, Schenectady and Troy announced Tuesday they have filed lawsuits against the manufacturers and distributors of opioid painkillers, alleging the companies misled health care providers about the risks of addiction and failed to control or report suspiciously large orders of opioids that flooded communities.The lawsuits allege that the drug companies are responsible for creating a public nuisance and seek to abate the epidemic, in part, by recouping costs associate
  
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• De Blasio Unveils Health Care Plan for Undocumented and Low-Income New Yorkers

  08-01-2019 16:42 via nytimes.com
  The mayor’s announcement, first on national television, came as the Democrat-controlled State Legislature is weighing some form of universal health insurance.
  
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• De Blasio to Unveil Health Care Plan for Undocumented and Low-Income New Yorkers

  08-01-2019 16:42 via nytimes.com
  The mayor’s announcement on national television comes as the Democrat-controlled State Legislature is weighing some form of universal health insurance.
  
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• Missing Georgia Mom, 16, and Her Two Kids May Be in Brooklyn

  08-01-2019 16:30 via nbcnewyork.com
  
  A 16-year-old mom and her two kids have been missing since last month and could be in Brooklyn, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children says.Photo Credit: National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
  
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• Listen Up: Microdosing for Work Edge, Tri-State Flu Uptick and Ophelia's

  08-01-2019 16:29 via nbcnewyork.com
  
  Find out more about the microdosing trend, an uptick in tri-state flu cases and Ophelia's in this Jan. 8 edition of Listen Up.Photo Credit: WNBC
  
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• Couple with history of car fraud charged again

  08-01-2019 16:13 via timesunion.com
  A couple with a lengthy history of defrauding car buyers has been charged again with similar crimes.State Police charged Kimberly and Timothy Shaffer with multiple felonies after an alleged victim complained that the couple falsely advertised and sold a car with an inoperable odometer and fake DMV paperwork.
  
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• State Police ask for public's help in 1988 cold case

  08-01-2019 15:29 via timesunion.com
  State Police are asking for the public's help in solving a 1988 double homicide in Washington County.On Sept. 12, 1988, a trapper checking his traps off of Lily Pond Road in Hartford found the body of a man and called Washington County Sheriff's deputies. When deputies investigated, they found a second man's body.An initial State Police investigation determined that the two men, Frederick Pauling, 57, and James Checkush, 37, had been dead for several days.
  
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• NYC Mayor Guarantees Health Care for All

  08-01-2019 15:02 via nbcnewyork.com
  
  New York City will begin guaranteeing comprehensive health care to every single resident regardless of someone's ability to pay or immigration status, Mayor de Blasio announced on MSNBC Tuesday, his spokesman...Photo Credit: Getty Images
  
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• Commercial Real Estate Transactions

  08-01-2019 15:00 via nytimes.com
  Recent commercial real estate transactions in New York.
  
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• NYPD Searching Pennsylvania Landfill for Missing Dad

  08-01-2019 14:55 via nbcnewyork.com
  
  The NYPD has traveled to a Pennsylvania landfill in their ongoing search for a missing Staten Island father who has been presumed dead, law enforcement sources say.Photo Credit: Reading Eagle/Michael Yoder & The Aware FoundationThis story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.
  
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• Wintry Mix Mucks Up Sloppy Tuesday AM Commute for Some

  08-01-2019 14:26 via nbcnewyork.com
  
  A messy wintry mix quickly moved into the tri-state area and made for sloppy commutes Tuesday morning, especially for those who live north and west of Route 280, Storm Team 4 says.This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.
  
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• Dean Skelos heads to prison Tuesday in Senate corruption scandal

  08-01-2019 14:08 via timesunion.com
  NEW YORK (AP) — Former New York state Senate leader Dean Skelos is due to report to prison Tuesday to begin serving his four-year and three-month prison term for a corruption conviction.Skelos, a 70-year-old Republican, is expected to report to the federal prison at Otisville, New York, by mid-afternoon.
  
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• Statewide consumer optimism robust amid stock declines

  08-01-2019 14:04 via timesunion.com
  ColonieRecent stock market declines and sagging retirement funds have not dampened New Yorkers' sunny outlooks on the economy going into the new year, according to poll by the Siena Research Institute.Overall optimism remained strong in December among all categories of state residents, regardless of age, income or political affiliation, with many people telling pollsters they intend to buy cars, furniture and electronics, said Don Levy, director of the institute.He said the telephone poll of 500
  
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• Consumer optimism robust, unless you live upstate

  08-01-2019 14:04 via timesunion.com
  COLONIE - Consumer optimism is sky high in New York - unless you live upstate.The new Siena Collge Research Institute's New York State Index of Consumer Sentiment found consumer sentiment on their ability to spend money was up slightly during the fourth quarter of 2018 from the previous quarter, reaching 93.9 points.
  
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• Sleeping Subway Rider Gets $500 Facebook Ransom Demand

  08-01-2019 13:46 via nbcnewyork.com
  
  Authorities are looking for a man who allegedly snatched a backpack from a 19-year-old straphanger snoozing on a subway Christmas day and then sent him a Facebook message demanding $500 ransom for the car title...Photo Credit: Handout
  
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• Woman, 77, dies in Amsterdam fire

  08-01-2019 13:25 via timesunion.com
  One woman was killed when a trailer caught fire Monday night in the Pine Meadow Trailer Park on Route 67, according to the Montgomery County Sheriff's office.
  
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