New York Focus obtained and analyzed a proposal presented by Senate leadership to the chamber’s Democratic caucus.
Experts say the state needs to spend at least $1 billion a year to cut pollution from buildings. Legislators are trying to get the governor closer to that figure.
New York state legislators have just days to question phone hacking, forensics, and fusion centers before the budget passes.
The governor’s projected price tag is five times higher than estimates by the legislature and outside researchers—but she hasn’t said how she arrived at her figure.
Striking employees of United Metro Energy say management replaced them with workers who weren’t certified to operate the Brooklyn oil terminal, increasing the risk of an oil spill.
Budget negotiations center on one crucial question: should New York save or spend?
Advocates organizing for similar laws say loopholes in Hochul’s proposal make it “virtually meaningless,” and are encouraging the governor to withdraw the measure.
How the three budget proposals from the governor, Assembly and Senate stack up.
A group of 14 citizens, organized by Republican politicians, argue that the new district maps approved by the state legislature and Gov. Hochul violate the state constitution.
Cuomo vetoed a bill to expand oversight of the prison medical system. Will Hochul take a different tack?
The power industry is pushing a pair of little-noticed proposals that could shift the course of the state’s climate action.
Both chambers are set to release budget proposals that will represent a mixed bag for New York’s undocumented population.
The move comes after New York Focus reported on widespread violations of campaign finance law and the Board’s lack of enforcement.
New York’s prison agency is interpreting key provisions of a landmark parole reform law to keep more people locked up. A lead sponsor of the legislation calls it “appalling.”
Incarcerated survivors face a broken system for reporting abuse, frequent retaliation, and little accountability for staff perpetrators.
“I don’t want the ‘jump-out boys’ back out on the street,” said retired NYPD commander Corey Pegues, who disagrees with the mayor’s plan to bring back the controversial NYPD units.
The court ruled retirees who opt-out of the switch to Medicare Advantage plans can keep their current insurance free of charge. The Adams administration is appealing the ruling.
Circumventing a law designed to close the so-called LLC loophole, donors to campaigns across the state are using multiple companies to give far over the $5,000 cap.
The prison agency has done little to update policies on transparency, masks, social distancing, or vaccination.
In six of eight rural counties, panels of children’s attorneys have lost more than half their lawyers over the past decade.
In 2016, the NYPD and federal prosecutors staged a massive “gang bust” that derailed the lives of dozens of young people — including me — while failing to improve public safety. Why is Eric Adams doubling down on this failed strategy?
Since taking office last July, enforcement counsel Michael Johnson has not taken action against any campaigns that failed to file required campaign finance reports.
Many have described the New York City mayor’s “blueprint” to address gun crime as occupying a novel middle ground. But it mostly copies the policies of his predecessor and relies heavily on tough-on-crime tactics.
Banned for a century, contract labor could return to New York’s prisons.
In the first year of the pandemic, four out of five appointments at state-licensed clinics were held virtually—allowing providers to tackle long-standing barriers.
Orange County DA David Hoovler has repeatedly spoken at Republican Party political events — in apparent violation of the ethics rules of the prosecutors’ association he led.
ConEd customers have seen their electricity bills double or even triple over the past month, and the company just reported over a billion dollars in annual income. Activists say a publicly-owned utility would deliver more affordable power.
The state health department has delayed implementing a landmark staffing law, as nurses say they’re overwhelmed and hospitals point to a workforce shortage.
Defendants given desk appearance tickets may not be assigned a public defender until 20 days after their arrest. That means crucial evidence in cases involving possible jail time could go missing.
A 2019 reform following corruption scandals was supposed to cap political donations and unveil the people behind companies giving cash. Records show it hasn’t.
Governor Kathy Hochul says she will finally fill vacancies on the state’s parole board, opening the potential to shift from presumptive detention.
“By April 1, it will be out or modified. It will not be this program,” one legislator predicted.
The shooting occurred in the program’s pilot area, but even there, police still respond to four out of every five crisis calls - more than twice as many as the city had initially projected.
During the first eight weeks of omicron, only one jail system administered enough tests to screen every incarcerated person even once, a New York Focus analysis found. Most didn’t come close to that rate.
The city’s Department of Housing Preservation & Development continues to work with construction companies that have been found liable for wage theft.
The law leaves key decisions to an agency with a history of dragging its feet on implementing water quality legislation.
Adrienne Harris was approved to lead New York’s Department of Financial Services by a wide margin, as a progressive push to block her nomination sputtered.
But if he loses his appeal and Gov. Kathy Hochul declines to grant him clemency, he will likely be sent back to prison.
Putting more police officers and metal detectors in schools won’t solve the crisis of youth gun violence. We need to invest in community-based programs to address the root causes of the violence.
Hochul proposed raising the cap on Medicaid spending, which Cuomo created, and boosting reimbursement rates, which Cuomo cut.