ALBANY — The proposal to build a downtown canal always felt like one of those grand plans likely to go nowhere, another of those cool ideas other cities pull off that wouldn’t happen here.
But that was before Gov. Kathy Hochul allocated $200 million for “high-impact projects” that would shake downtown from its doldrums and force the world to notice. Suddenly, supporters of Albany Waterway Inc. had new hope.
“If the governor is looking for something impactful, this is it,” said Albany attorney Bartley Costello, the group’s chairman. “This is something that could be done and should be done, because it will bring life into the city.”…