Albany Mayor Dorcey Applyrs has drawn criticism from political opponents for traveling to Martha's Vineyard for an Association for Enterprise Opportunity event the day after a gas pump explosion at a city facility critically injured a firefighter and a city employee.
Albany Fire Battalion Chief Wayne Brennan and 20-year city employee Anthony Hughes were airlifted to the hospital in critical condition following the blast. State Sen. George Borrello (R-Chautauqua) questioned Applyrs' decision to be more than 200 miles away so soon after the incident, stating that leadership requires presence at such times. Borrello recalled being on scene immediately after a 2017 blaze that destroyed part of the village of Faulkner.
Applyrs' office issued a statement expressing sympathies late in the day, after the event on Martha's Vineyard had concluded. The mayor later addressed local media in a press conference three days after the explosion. "The mayor has been in contact with both victims’ families, and the safety of the city’s workforce remains her top priority," said mayoral representative Zipporah Hommel. Hommel stated that Applyrs was in "consistent communication" with city officials and had visited the scene after the incident. Hommel also noted that Applyrs attended the event to "shed light on the economic burden local municipalities have been forced to bear in the midst of a nationwide affordability crisis, rising healthcare costs, and increasing need for supportive services, affecting economic mobility for cities across the country" and that she would "continue to utilize her national network as the City of Albany works towards long-term financial stability."
State Assemblywoman Jodi Giglio (R-Suffolk) called the mayor's travel a "disgrace to the city workforce and the emergency services workers," adding that the mayor should be present to investigate the cause of the explosion. David Laska, a spokesman for the state Republican Party, characterized Applyrs' actions as "tone-deaf to the working class."