Mold Remediation in Albany, NY

Scooters will Be Available in Capital Region Cities in October

ALBANY, NY (October 1, 2024) The Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA) will pilot an electric scooter program called SCOOT, beginning Friday, October 4, 2024. There will be pop-up events in Albany, Troy, Schenectady, and Saratoga Springs for people to give the scooters a try.

“CDTA is excited to add another option for customers to our growing mobility menu,” said CDTA CEO Carm Basile. “After working to find an operations vendor and updated technology, we’re excited to introduce SCOOT to Capital Region communities. We hope customers take advantage of this pilot program so we can learn what we need to do to formally add scooters to our menu of services and to have scooters readily available to customers in the near future.”

CDTA is working with DROP Mobility to launch updated software, a new website, and an updated mobile app. Customers will need to create a membership via the mobile app called “CDTA SCOOT.” Scooters will cost $2 to unlock and $0.25 per minute to ride.

SCOOT will be available in the City of Albany Friday, October 4, through Sunday, October 6. Scooters will then be available in the City of Troy from Friday, October 11 through Sunday, October 13. SCOOT will also be available in the City of Schenectady on Friday, October 18 through Sunday, October 20. The City of Saratoga Springs will pilot the scooters from Friday, October 25, through Sunday, October 27. The pilot will include 30 to 40 scooters each weekend, and they will be available from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Fridays, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturdays, and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays.

Customers must be 18 years old with driver’s license verification to rent an electric scooter. Scooters will only be allowed in a specific geofenced area in each city for safety and efficiency purposes. The geofenced areas are shown at https://www.cdta.org/scoot. Users will scan a QR code on the vehicle to begin the rental process, which will end with a photograph showing the vehicle returned to one of the SCOOT racks.

If a scooter leaves the geofenced area, the motor will shut down, and customers will receive a text directing them to return the scooter. Scooters must also remain on roadways, follow traffic laws, and they are not permitted on sidewalks in the geofenced areas. When not in use, the scooter must be locked to one of the SCOOT racks. Customers are encouraged to wear helmets when riding.

The SCOOT pilot program will help test the technology and provide CDTA with operating experience, looking toward the potential for this mobility solution to be more readily available in the future.

Anyone needing more information about SCOOT can visit https://scootcdta.com/ or contact CDTA’s Customer Service Center at (518) 482-8822. Customer service representatives are on duty 6:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. weekdays and 8:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Saturday and from 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. on Sunday and holidays.

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Recently we reported that Hallmark would be filming a new movie in the Capital Region. We can now tell you that filming started in Albany this week. If you live in the area, or just want to get a sneak-peek, here are some of the details shared by the producers.

Production for the Hallmark film "Like Nobody's Business" starring Rachel Lee Cook began filming in Albany this week and will continue through November 15th. Scroll down to see the exact filming locations, dates and times.

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The Locations Department for Hallmark posted signs around Albany to give residents the "heads-up" regarding the production and any impact the filming might have in the area. Here are some of the film production details:

Hallmark is working with Film Albany and City of Albany while filming scenes in the Capital Region. In an attempt to have a positive experience for all, producers share anticipated impact to the area below.

Traffic Changes: Temporary road closures and intermittent traffic control may be in place.

Parking Restrictions: Some parking spaces may be reserved for production vehicles. Please look for "No Parking" signs.

Noise & Lighting: Filming may require additional lighting and equipment setup.

Minnesota native Rachel Lee Cook is best known for her roles in "She's All That", "A Mid Summer Night's Dream", "Love, Guaranteed", "Dawson's Creek" and "Josie and the Pussycats".

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The CVS location near SUNY Albany will be closing starting in December, leaving customers and employees wondering where they'll go next.

If you've lived in the Capital Region the CVS that is located at 1170 Western Ave in Albany is one of the staple CVS locations. Now it will be shutting down for good on December 12, 2024.

WNYT spoke to a representative of CVS to confirm the information and that's exactly what they did. Where does this leave the community in that area when it comes to prescriptions? They'll now have to go to the Central Ave location near Westgate.

This is just the next in a long line of CVS stores that have already closed in 2024, and more are on the way. According to Time Out CVS has already closed 300 locations. In 2022 they announced they would be closing 900 in total.

It is always a pain when your neighborhood location closes. It leaves you now having to go well out of your way when maybe it used to be right next door. The community in this area of Albany has seen a lot of this recently. A lot of places are moving out since Saint Rose closed and I unfortunately don't think it is the end of it.

Reddit useres aren't happy about it either. This comment was left in r/albany just a day ago:

I was picking up my Rx today and they told me they’re closing Dec 12 and asked me where I want my Rx transferred to. This really sucks. I go to that CVS multiple times a week. I know Stuyvesant isn’t that far, but it’s a matter of walking vs driving.

The City of Albany needs to do something to stop businesses from moving out. How can we keep these long time places here instead of closing leaving yet another vacant building? I think the Mayor needs to step up here and provide us with real answers.

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CVS Pharmacy has announced that they will be closing another upstate New York location before the end of 2024.

If you haven't noticed yet it has been another rough year for many retail stores, restaurants, and pharmacies across the country leading some to announce they would be closing select locations.

Big Lots recently announced they would be closing various New York locations across the state including stores in Wappingers Falls, Kingston, and Poughkeepsie, New York. TGI Fridays abruptly closed locations across the Hudson Valley in Poughkeepsie and Newburgh. Denny's announced they would also be closing 150 restaurants over the next year starting with closing 50 by the end of the year.

Back in July, we learned that Walgreens would be closing a couple of its 475 stores in New York before the end of the year. Rite Aid has been closing stores since 2023 when they announced they had filed for bankruptcy protection and now another big-name pharmacy has announced they will be closing another location.

A few years ago CVS announced they would be closing about 10% of its U.S. locations, around 900 stores, between 2022 and 2024 to try and correct the company's struggling profits. Select locations have closed since then and now it appears that the 4th upstate New York location will be closing before the end of the year.

Back in June, the CVS Pharmacy in Troy, NY closed becoming the third store to close joining the CVS stores that used to be on Central Avenue and Madison Avenue in Albany, New York. We can now add the CVS Pharmacy at 1170 Western Avenue in Albany, NY to the list of stores closing according to WTEN.

The Western Ave CVS will close for good on Thursday, December 12th according to a company spokesperson who told WTEN, "Maintaining access to pharmacy services in the communities we serve is an important factor we consider when making store closure decisions. Other factors include local market dynamics, population shifts, a community’s store density, and ensuring there are other geographic access points to meet the needs of the community."

Customers who use this CVS location will have their prescriptions transferred to the CVS Pharmacy at 885 Central Avenue in Albany.