Gov. David Paterson isn’t bothering to hide his disdain for Albany, a place he spent more than two decades of his career, as he’s headed out the door.

Early into what will be an afternoon-long co-hosting stint with WFAN’s Mike Francesa, Paterson lamented about what he sees as an unprecedented level of nastiness that has become the norm in state politics.

“I think the caliber of people I work with in Albany 25 years ago, and I am sorry to say this, is far superior than it is now,” Paterson said.

“I think people are more nasty. And there are more ways to be nasty – blogs, and 24 hour cycles.”

Paterson also told a funny story about dialing a wrong number in the Capital Region and reaching an elderly woman living in Clifton Park assisted living residence.

Instead of hanging up, the governor ended up chatting with the woman, and invited himself to her senior center, where he held a town hall. (Oddly, we’re having a hard time here at YNN recalling when, exactly, that event took place).

UPDATE: Paterson spokeswoman Jessica Bassett e-mails: “The town hall meeting at Coburg Village was at 7 p.m. on 10/21/2008. It was an open press event.”

Paterson is now discussing the challenges of being both black and blind. He hasn’t yet said word one about sports, but the day is young.

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