As long as you have the frequency you should be fine, you do not need the PL.
The distance to Ray Brook does not mean anything, the antennas on the tower there are "local" transmitters not for day to day operations or regular dispatching.
If you are not hearing the State Police then there may be a problem with your scanner. Are you having trouble hearing any other agencies?
On the other hand there may be nothing wrong with your scanner, as the Troopers operate on the individual County frequencies and a lot of communications between the individual Troop Car and the State Police Dispatcher is done via computer, which the State Police incorrectly call their MDC (mobile data computer) in the cars AVL. The AVL (automatic vehicle locator) is part of the MDC system.
It also depends on what tower they are using. There are no less than 8 different tower locations that are used by Troop B. You should not have any issue hearing the Belfry site in Mineville Essex County, and especially Rand Hill in Plattsburg. Other sites include Blue Mountain in Hamilton County, Mt Pisgah in Saranac Lake, Whiteface Mtn, and Gore Mtn in North Creek Warren County.
Troop B communications can routinely be heard in the northern area of Troop G.
So bottom line, there are multiple transmitter sites for the State Police which could be part of your RX issue, but there is a great deal of communications that goes on via computer. I would check and see how well you receiver some other agencies. What are you using for an antenna?
Please excuse the rambling response.
Good luck