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We’re About to Know a Lot More About NYPD Misconduct

Two years after the repeal of a state law that kept police performance records secret, documents narrating alleged NYPD abuse are starting to become public. But it could still be years until they’re all released.

Chris Gelardi   ·   June 30, 2022
Forged Signatures Found on Petitions for Candidates Backed by Queens Machine

New York Focus reached four voters listed as signatories who said they never signed. A review of other signatures suggests they might not be the only ones.

Sam Mellins   ·   June 28, 2022
Will Eric Adams Let Landlords Buy Their Way Out Of Energy Upgrades?

Recent transmission projects could enable building owners to get out of upgrading their buildings for a decade, if Adams doesn’t intervene.

Colin Kinniburgh   ·   June 27, 2022
Corporate PACs Fail to Disclose Cash Behind Attacks in Primary Races

With less than a week left before the primary, two groups boosting moderate Democratic candidates for the state legislature have not submitted disclosures required by campaign finance law.

Sam Mellins   ·   June 22, 2022
Robert De Niro’s Astoria Film Studio Backs Out of Promise to Hire Union Construction Workers

“We’re basically being blocked out in the process of even trying to bid on the work,” said one union leader.

Sam Mellins   ·   June 22, 2022
The Failure to Ban Gas in New Construction is a Bad Sign for New York’s Climate Law

The state’s own expert council, tasked with planning the law’s implementation, told the legislature to pass a gas ban this year. They were ignored.

Pete Sikora   ·   June 21, 2022
How Lobbyists Killed a Bill to Protect New York Elections, With An Assist from the NAACP

New York elections could soon be more vulnerable to hacks, after lobbyists, the NAACP, and the Assembly elections committee chair teamed up to kill an election security bill.

Sam Mellins   ·   June 16, 2022
City Employee Health Plan Could Switch to Lower-Cost Company Under New Proposal

Hundreds of thousands of city workers and their dependents could have their healthcare shifted to a cheaper plan by 2024, documents show.

Sam Mellins   ·   June 15, 2022
Our Group of Freelancers Took on Albany’s Byzantine Legislative Process. Here’s How We Won.

An organizer for the Freelance Solidarity Project describes how getting a bill passed through Albany takes “running into a brick wall repeatedly, waiting for a tiny crack to show.”

Eric Thurm   ·   June 15, 2022
Jail Visitation Ban Drives Big Profits for Sheriff on Phone Calls

More than two years into the pandemic, the Broome County Sheriff’s Office is still prohibiting all jail visits. That helped rake in more than half a million dollars last year.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg   ·   June 14, 2022
Electrical Workers Union Fights to Expand Fossil Fuel-Powered Crypto Mining in New York

The IBEW opposes a bill awaiting signature by Gov. Kathy Hochul that would put a moratorium on new fossil fuel power plants for the crypto industry.

Paige Oamek   ·   June 14, 2022
NYPD “Business Improvement” Officers Dismantled a Homeless Encampment During a Memorial for a Dead Resident

As part of an initiative by Mayor Eric Adams, the city has swept the encampment where Jose Hernandez would often sleep nearly 10 times this year.

Chris Gelardi   ·   June 14, 2022
The State Police Sent You a Friend Request

Twice this year, Kathy Hochul has ordered a State Police-run fusion center to beef up its social media monitoring. Documents show that analysts create fake accounts to do that work.

Chris Gelardi   ·   June 13, 2022
Nursing Home Industry Cozies Up to Hochul, Disclosures Reveal

After New York Focus revealed that Hochul had failed to disclose the individuals behind corporate donations to her campaign, she provided that information for recent donors — revealing major support from a nursing home industry powerhouse.

Sam Mellins   ·   June 7, 2022
This Is Not The First Time Maloney Has Snubbed His Party, Local Democrats Recall

Maloney’s announcement that he will exit his old district for a slightly safer seat alarmed Democrats—and rang a familiar bell back home.

Lee Harris   ·   June 3, 2022
Hochul Stores Billions in Slush Funds, Continuing Cuomo-Era Budgeting Practices

The comptroller sounded the alarm that the budget includes $18 billion in “unnecessarily opaque” spending, most of it under Hochul’s control.

Sam Mellins   ·   June 2, 2022
New York Labor Bills Are Stuck in Limbo

The Assembly Labor Committee has emerged as a bottleneck for unions’ top legislative priorities.

Maxwell Parrott   ·   May 31, 2022
This Bill Could Save 100 Lives a Year for $1 Million. Will The Assembly Pass It?

A bill to increase kidney donation rates is stuck in the “traffic jam” of the Assembly.

Sam Mellins   ·   May 26, 2022
Big Oil Wants New York’s Cow Manure

Biogas credits are incentivizing the expansion of factory farming in New York—and might end up increasing carbon emissions.

Tracy Tullis   ·   May 25, 2022
Exclusive: Here Are the New NYPD Gun Units’ Trainees. Many Have Histories of Excessive Force Complaints.

Adams promised they’d be different. But a roster compiled by New York Focus shows that officers who trained for the new teams allegedly beat, harassed, and illegally arrested people while previously working on plainclothes teams.

Chris Gelardi   ·   May 23, 2022
Why Starbucks Workers Had To Wait Six Months To Get Help From The US Labor Board

Buffalo workers were the first to unionize - but labor law went unenforced during their elections.

Maxwell Parrott   ·   May 17, 2022
New York Prisons Set to Ban Most Packages from Family and Friends

At the urging of the correction officers union, the prison agency is restricting packages to private vendors that charge steep markups and have limited selections.

Emily Brown and Rebecca McCray   ·   May 12, 2022
Corporate Campaign Donors Identify Themselves Following New York Focus Reporting

After New York Focus reported that the elections board wasn’t enforcing a landmark transparency law, it sent delinquent donors a letter requesting that they comply. Thousands did within weeks.

Sam Mellins   ·   May 11, 2022
Construction Industry “Flaggers” Report Pervasive Wage Theft

Black and Latino nonunion flaggers on public construction projects say they’re paid just a third of wages they’re legally entitled to.

Amir Khafagy   ·   May 11, 2022
Eric Adams Wants Weapons Detectors in the Subway. Would That Bring Safety or ‘Absolute Chaos’?

“Expect delays, expect secondary screening, expect frustration, and expect to miss your train from time to time.”

Chris Gelardi   ·   May 10, 2022
Perspective: It’s Time to Take a Clearer Look at Bail Reform

In the raucous debate over bail reform, simple facts have fallen out of sight.

Bryce Covert   ·   May 9, 2022
Retired Judges and Advocates: Don’t Let Cops Interrogate Kids Without a Lawyer

A bill in the state legislature would prohibit police from interrogating minors before they consulted with a lawyer.

Chris Gelardi   ·   May 6, 2022
Workers Accuse Ultra-Fast Delivery Startup of Wage Theft

Before the Russian-funded delivery startup collapsed, Buyk sold itself as a way for workers to escape the gig economy. Former workers say it failed to deliver.

Amir Khafagy   ·   May 5, 2022
Bill to Stop Foreclosures Heads to Hochul, Under Heavy Pushback from Banks

The state legislature has passed a measure intended to counter a court ruling that made it easier for lenders to win cases against homeowners.

Sam Mellins   ·   May 3, 2022
Environmental Hazard or Economic Boon? Legislators Spar on Bitcoin Mining in New York

Legislators opposed to a bill enacting a temporary moratorium on proof-of-work cryptocurrency mining are warning that it could harm New Yorkers often excluded from traditional financial markets, sources say.

Sam Mellins   ·   April 27, 2022
An Upper East Side Assembly Candidate Accepted Over $10,000 in Illegal Corporate Cash

After New York Focus reported on illegal contributions to candidate Russell Squire, his campaign announced it would return the money.

Sam Mellins   ·   April 25, 2022
Zoning Laws Are Blocking the Conversion of Hotels into Affordable Housing

The state’s grand plan to convert unused hotels into affordable housing hasn’t gotten off the ground. Lawmakers just boosted funding — but developers and housing advocates say that won’t help without lifting onerous zoning restrictions.

Sam Mellins   ·   April 19, 2022
Prison Officials Block Most Requests from Terminally Ill New Yorkers for Medical Release

Officials routinely refuse to send requests for medical release to the state parole board, frustrating advocates and raising questions about the murky criteria for medical release.

Victoria Law   ·   April 14, 2022
Labor Experts Dismissed the Quixotic Amazon Union Drive on Staten Island. Then They Won.

“I told the workers beforehand that they would lose based on the ‘numbers.’ They said they knew the workers. They were right!”

Luis Feliz Leon   ·   April 13, 2022
What’s In New York’s $220 Billion State Budget?

A comprehensive tracker of the issues at stake in New York’s budget.

Sam Mellins   ·   April 11, 2022
How New York State Just Rolled Back Criminal Justice Reforms

The final budget made changes to bail law, discovery law, pre-arraignment detention, involuntary commitment and more.

Chris Gelardi   ·   April 9, 2022
Hochul Opposes Rental Voucher Program On Basis of Inflated Cost Estimate, Sources Say

The legislature wants to spend $250 million to combat homelessness. Hochul says it’ll actually cost $6 billion.

Sam Mellins   ·   April 6, 2022
Hochul, Plastics Industry and Green Groups Battle Over Recycling Proposal

Rather than try to improve Hochul’s proposal, some environmentalists want to scrap it and instead concentrate on a forthcoming bill from Assemblymember Steve Englebright.

Tracy Tullis   ·   April 4, 2022
Bitcoin Mining Gets Three Month Reprieve From Hochul’s Regulators

Green groups charged that Kathy Hochul is punting the issue until after the primary.

Peter Mantius   ·   April 1, 2022
Judge Rules New York’s District Maps Unconstitutional, Orders Legislature to Draw New Ones

Democrats immediately said they would appeal the decision.

Vaughn Golden   ·   April 1, 2022
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