Albany Mayor

Financial woes for cities in New York's capital region are mounting. WAMC's Capital Region Bureau Chief Grant Ashley joined Lucas Willard on Midday Magazine to discuss financial struggles and downgraded credit ratings on the S&P Global Scale in Albany and Schenectady.

The violence comes a year after one teenager was killed and nine were injured during Independence Day weekend in 2025.

Mayor Dorcey Applyrs said the 2025 deficit is actually $19.6 million, and that poor budget management oversight by former Mayor Kathy Sheehan's administration and unbudgeted expenses contributed to the deficit.

Applyrs, the city’s former chief auditor, told reporters that she was unaware of the budget deficit until just before she became mayor. Applyrs says the city has a roughly $15 million structural deficit for FY 2025 and expects a $22 million deficit for FY 2026.

The Albany County Legislature is set introduce a resolution next week directing all county agencies to not cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or Border Patrol. Local Republicans have been vocal in their opposition.

Capital Region lawmakers are among the more than 500 state legislators across the country to release a joint statement decrying the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents. The statement in response to the Minnesota killings comes as the magnitude of the Immigration Customs and Enforcement operations in the Capital Region is unknown.

The Albany County Legislature is scheduled to hold a public hearing Tuesday on bolstering the availability of affordable housing.

Mounds of snow line the streets, and Albany Mayor Dorcey Applyrs has declared a snow emergency will take effect Tuesday night. The delayed announcement comes after other local municipalities installed states of emergencies over the weekend.

Edna Mae-Davis Howard has long been known as the “community grandma” of Albany’s Arbor Hill neighborhood. This week, the 99-year-old was honored by new Mayor Dorcey Applyrs.

As part of efforts to bring nightlife back into the city, Albany Mayor Dorcey Applyrs wants to expand a downtown hospitality program. WAMC’s Sajina Shrestha reports that a similar program in Schenectady could serve as a guide.