Paul Nelson

Albany

Municipal and Police Reporter at Times Union (Albany)

municipal and police reporter covering Schenectady city and county

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Articles

Schenectady basketball camp, league at Jerry Burrell Park set to return this summer

1 day ago | timesunion.com | Paul Nelson

SCHENECTADY — Rashaun Freeman fondly recalls growing up on Schenectady Street in the Hamilton Hill neighborhood and walking to nearby Jerry Burrell Park, where he honed his basketball skills and stayed out of trouble. “When I go in those parks, and see nothing going on, it breaks my heart, it’s a big deal to me,” he said last week during a joint appearance with Interim City Parks Director Bill Macejka at the City Council Committee meeting.
Schenectady man pleads guilty in dog cruelty case

1 day ago | timesunion.com | Paul Nelson

SCHENECTADY — The city man who left a severely abused and emaciated female pit bull at a gas station last month has admitted to abandoning the dog, according to his attorney. Police affectionately named the brown and white dog Lavender. The 31-year-old man pleaded guilty in City Court to misdemeanor overdriving, torturing and injuring animals under the state Agriculture and Markets law, the court clerk said.
Five new homes destined for sites of notorious Electric City eyesores

5 days ago | timesunion.com | Paul Nelson

SCHENECTADY — One of the worst “zombie properties” in the county on Landon Terrace, as well as a forlorn warehouse on Rankin Avenue that sat vacant for a long time, are among a group of blighted properties that Habitat for Humanity is poised to turn into a dream home for a family. Those two once-squalid properties are among five that Habitat for Humanity on Thursday announced will soon be transformed.
Schenectady Democrats spar on role race plays in selecting candidates

6 days ago | timesunion.com | Paul Nelson

SCHENECTADY — For the second time in less than a month, Black politicians and activists assembled on the steps of City Hall to denounce the Schenectady Democratic party for what they see as the party’s spurning of Black candidates and disrespect for the Black vote in Schenectady County.
Schenectady will soon issue fines for dumping bulk items with no sticker

1 week ago | timesunion.com | Paul Nelson

SCHENECTADY — Now that most property owners have received their allotment of three free bulky item stickers in the mail, after a four-month grace period the city will begin imposing a fine on those who leave those usually heavier goods at the curb without the required sticker.
Retrial in Rotterdam double murder case set to begin anew on Monday

1 week ago | timesunion.com | Paul Nelson

SCHENECTADY — A Rotterdam man charged in the 2023 stabbing deaths of his mother and stepfather will be retried inside a Schenectady County courtroom beginning Monday with jury selection. Anthony Lewis Jr. faces two counts of first-degree murder and other felonies in the killings of Cathy Guillaume, 65, and 73-year-old Robert 'Bob' Guillaume at their Fern Avenue home around the Fourth of July holiday in 2023.
Arrest made in fire at Gloversville factory building

2 weeks ago | timesunion.com | Paul Nelson

GLOVERSVILLE — City police have made an arrest in the fire that destroyed a former glove factory on Tuesday, according to Mayor Vince DeSantis. The teenager was taken into custody on Wednesday.
Ferocious fire that leveled vacant Gloversville factory being investigated as arson, mayor says

2 weeks ago | timesunion.com | Paul Nelson |Jim Franco

GLOVERSVILLE — Mayor Vince DeSantis said the raging blaze that gutted a historic former glove and knitting mill factory building, and heavily damaged two other nearby businesses in the heart of this Mohawk Valley city, appears to be suspicious even though the investigation into its cause is continuing. "How does a fire start by itself? Here's a building that's supposed to be vacant, nobody's in it, nothing going on in it, no machinery, no electricity.
Schenectady killing on Hamburg Street self-defense, district attorney says

2 weeks ago | timesunion.com | Paul Nelson

SCHENECTADY — The homeowner who shot and killed a man last week during an apparent home invasion at a Hamburg Street residence will be charged with a gun offense but not murder, according to Schenectady County District Attorney Robert Carney.
Judge rejects suit seeking to void Schenectady candidate's petitions

2 weeks ago | timesunion.com | Paul Nelson

SCHENECTADY — A judge has ruled that there is insufficient evidence to void the designating petitions that City Council hopeful Kim Wiggins collected and submitted to election officials as she sought to get herself and other Democrats on the ballot. City Council President Marion Porterfield, in a lawsuit, petitioned the court seeking to invalidate the petitions of Wiggins and her running mates, who are running on a joint ticket endorsed by Schenectady Democrats.