Yes it's true ethanol is bad for small engine carburetors, that is if you leave it in several weeks.
I use e10 in my equipment most of the time without any problems but I only buy what I need, I will leave some in fuel tank for a week but always shut off fuel and run engine till gone in carb. I've done this for many years, we have a member who owns a mowing service a he uses ethanol all the time.
I looked and see you can get non-ethanol in NY which I would advise if you keep gasoline on hand, I have a gas station 2 miles from me so it's not an issue to run and get fuel when I need it.
As far as premium gas you don't need it, if you look for ethanol free you might need to go above 87 octane to get it, around here you can get e0 in 87 octane.