Why’s a Finance Titan Dropping $1 Million on Bronx Elections?
The whole thing is just — weird.
Zachary Groz contributed reporting.
The whole thing is just — weird.
Zachary Groz contributed reporting.
At New York Focus, our central mission is to help readers better understand how New York really works. If you think this article succeeded, please consider supporting our mission and making more stories like this one possible.
New York is an incongruous state. We’re home to fabulous wealth — if the state were a country, it would have the tenth largest economy in the world — but also the highest rate of wealth inequality. We’re among the most diverse – but also the most segregated. We passed the nation’s most ambitious climate law — but haven’t been meeting its deadlines and continue to subsidize industries hastening the climate crisis.
As New York’s only statewide nonprofit news publication, our journalism exists to help you make sense of these contradictions. Our work scrutinizes how power works in the state, unpacks who’s really calling the shots, and reveals how obscure decisions shape ordinary New Yorkers’ lives.
In the last two decades, the number of local news outlets in New York have been nearly slashed in half, allowing elected officials and powerful individuals to increasingly operate in the dark — with the average New Yorker none the wiser.
We’re on a mission to change that. Our work has already shown what can happen when those with power know that someone is watching, with stories that have prompted policy changes and spurred legislation. We have ambitious plans for the rest of the year and beyond, including tackling new beats and more hard-hitting stories — but we need your help to make them a reality.
If you’re able, please consider supporting our journalism with a one-time gift or a monthly gift. We can't do this work without you.
Thank you,
Brandon Bishunauth is an unlikely candidate to pick a fight with a bastion of old-time machine politics.
Our reporting spurred the disclosure of millions in spending and illuminated the networks behind the Bronx political machine.
Trump is poised to ramp up deportation activity in northern states like New York, which has few statewide policies limiting cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
Updates about an increase in emissions, violence within New York’s prison system, and a breakup of two nonprofits over cannabis in NYC.
Here are the major findings from a months-long investigation into what allegedly takes place inside the Queens Supreme Courthouse.
New York Focus education reporter Bianca Fortis reflects on the most important education stories in New York this year, and what to keep an eye on next year.