April 29, 2016
Family questions handling of Troy police fatal shooting investigation, Albany aiming to save $100k with new lights, the kindness of regular people
April 17 fatal shooting by Troy police (updated)
Friday morning the family Edson Thevenin -- the man fatally shot by Troy police during an incident near the Collar City Bridge -- spoke to the media about the case, saying Troy police have changed their story about what happened multiple times. Said Thevenin's wife, Cinthia, about the handling of the case: "They were just trying to wrap things up as quickly as they can and sweep it under the rung. They were hoping it would just go away and we wouldn't ask questions." [TWCN] [TU]
In light of the current dispute between state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Rensselaer County DA Joel Abelove over who should have jurisdiction to investigate the case, a look at an opinion piece Abelove wrote for Times Union this past August about the Andrew Cuomo executive order moving the power to investigate deaths of unarmed civilians at the hands of police to the AG's office: "I remain committed to handling all cases, including those involving law enforcement officers, with impartiality, fairness and honesty, without fear or favor -- but in a lawful and transparent fashion." Abelove continued to decline publicly commenting Thursday. A question in the case: Could Thevenin's car -- which police allege he used to pin an officer against another vehicle -- be considered a weapon? [TU+] [Troy Record] [WNYT]
Stabbing in downtown Troy
Troy police say they're investigating the stabbing of a woman near State Street and the Frear Alley (map) Thursday night. TPD says sounds of moaning led people to discover the woman -- she was taken to the hospital for surgery. [News10] [TWCN] [TU]
Albany apartment fire
A fire at multi-unit home in West Hill late Thursday afternoon has displaced 13 people. Residents say it appears a problem with electric wiring caused the fire. [News10] [WNYT]
Stuff to do this weekend
Alton Brown's Eat Your Science show is Saturday night at Proctors.
On your mark. Get set. Weekend!
There's so much stuff going on this weekend you may not know what to do first -- food, comedy, films, music, art, history -- baby animals. So. Much. Stuff.
After the jump, a little weekend roadmap to help you figure out how you're going to spend your precious 48(ish) hours. Planning something you don't see here? Drop it in the comments for the rest of us to see.
And whatever you're up to, have a fantastic weekend.
Recycled funk: Those stinky trees
Because of the #518funk situation this morning (which, we must say, we did not detect) -- and the season generally -- we figured it's a good time to recycle Ryan's post about the very distinct smell of flowering pear trees: What are those stinky trees? A clip:
[A]ll of the approximately 30 species of pear contain the aroma compound pentyl butanoate. I will spare you the biochemistry -- this is the compound that makes pears and apricots smell as they do. One the precursors of pentyl butanoate is butyric acid, which is present in butter, parmesan cheese and... vomit.
The callery pear was a trendy street tree for a while in many cities because of its appearance. Apparently its odor profile was much less publicized. Last year we asked Albany city forester Tom Pfeiffer about the trees:
"[The smell] was something I wasn't aware of," Pfeiffer said of the trees' rather distinctive odor. "Then we had a very warm spring day and I said, 'What is that smell? It smells like cat piss.' The temperature was about 90 and it just made that odor come out. These trees that we had so many of all of sudden... oh, my god, what did we have? So that fell off my list right about then."
It also turns out the pear trees don't hold up well under heavy snow. So between that and the stink, they've since fallen out of favor in cities.
Death Wish Coffee Vodka
The latest local beverage collaboration: Albany Distilling Company and Death Wish Coffee have teamed up to create a coffee-flavored vodka. And there's a release party for the product of the collaboration this Saturday, April 30 at Olde Saratoga Brewing Co in Saratoga Springs.
Vodka blurbage: "Our most recent joint project has been a long time in the making - Death Wish Vodka. This silky smooth coffee flavored vodka is balanced by roasted choclate and just a touch of sweetness."
The release party is from 2-6 pm. There will be samples of the vodka, and bottles available for sale, along with beers on tap from Olde Saratoga. Also lined up: music from The North & South Dakotas, Angels on the Fourth, and Better Pills. Tickets are $5 ahead / $10 at the door.
Bottles of the vodka will be available on retail shelves starting Monday, a spots such as Empire Wine and Exit 9 Wine and Liquor.
Earlier on AOA:
+ Death Wish Coffee gets a Super Bowl ad
+ The Brew Brew
photo: Optimum Exposure Photography / ADC
Coyotes and their exciting opportunities
From the state Department of Environmental Conservation's annual heads-up-there-are-coyotes-here-please-don't-feed-them announcement (emphasis added): "In most cases, coyotes avoid people as much as possible. In fact, coyotes provide many exciting opportunities for New Yorkers. Their howling and yipping at night can provide a haunting but harmless reminder of wildlife in our midst. However, if coyotes learn to associate people with food (such as, garbage or pet food), they may lose their natural fear of humans, and the potential for close encounters or conflicts increases." [NYSDEC] Earlier: About those coyotes
Blooming tulips, before and after
It's prime tulip season, so we put together another around of "sliding" before-and-after photos of the tulip beds in Washington Park.
The pre-bloom photos are from April 22. And the post-bloom photos are from Friday, April 29.
The tulips be at their peak this coming week. And thanks to the snapback cold a few weeks ago, it looks like many of them will be around for Tulip Fest.
Happy spring.
The 1 Monument Square project is off (again)
A rendering from one of the last iterations of the current project.
The development company behind the latest effort to build on the 1 Monument Square site in downtown Troy announced Friday that it's pulling out of the $24 million residential/retail project.
In statements, officials for the Kirchoff Companies criticized the city of Troy for what they described as "materially inadequate" info about underground utility lines that complicated construction at the site. And they had sharp words for a group that organized to oppose the project, questioning whether the group had the city's best interests at heart. [TU] [Biz Review]
That group, We Care About the Square, had argued that changes Kirchoff made to its original proposal -- including switching from two buildings to one -- had evolved the project to a degree that it significantly differed from what had first been pitched. In a statement posted on Facebook Friday, it called the proposed project "substandard." It continued:
"Anyone who has been listening to the debate knows that WCATS is a pro-development, pro-design, pro-quality group of invested citizens that values the extraordinary urban and architectural assets of Troy and wants to see the gap in River Street and our city's river façade completed in a manner that connects the downtown to the Riverfront, meets the highest standards of excellence in architectural design, and is of the construction quality the city deserves."
This ending wasn't really a surprise.
... said KGB about Drawing: What's something that brought you joy this year?