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Photo collage of Governor Kathy Hochul signing papers in front of the Capitol Building in Albany.
Here’s Every Bill That Kathy Hochul Vetoed in 2024

One hundred and twenty-four laws that almost were.

New York Focus   ·   January 3, 2025
Trump’s Education Priorities, Foundation Aid, and Mayoral Control: 2024 in Review

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.

Bianca Fortis   ·   December 30, 2024
Photo of Chris Bragg in front of a photo of the Capitol Building in Albany.
Albany Love, Secret Meetings, and Powerful Interests: 2024 in Review

Chris Bragg, New York Focus’s Albany bureau chief, reflects on how even the most familiar topics brought new twists to his coverage in 2024.

Chris Bragg   ·   December 29, 2024
Photograph of Julia Rock in front of a photo of a power plant.
Climate Change, Child Poverty, and a Whirlwind Tour of New York Policymaking: 2024 in Review

New York Focus reporter Julia Rock reflects on her varied coverage of state policy in an end-of-year wrapup.

Julia Rock   ·   December 28, 2024
New York’s Climate Law, Traffic Congestion, and a Second Trump Term: 2024 in Review

New York Focus climate reporter Colin Kinniburgh reflects on his environmental coverage over the past year and what’s coming on the beat in 2025.

Colin Kinniburgh   ·   December 27, 2024
New York’s Jails, Police, and Parole Boards: 2024 in Review

New York Focus reporter Chris Gelardi reflects on the criminal justice reporting that shined light on overlooked agencies and shady practices in 2024.

Chris Gelardi   ·   December 26, 2024
Black and white photo of three smokestacks overlaid with a diagonal yellow dotted line corresponding to modeled data of emissions decreases in New York State.
New York May Finally Put a Price on Pollution in 2025

The state is due to unveil a “cap and invest” program — its biggest effort yet to fund climate initiatives. But fears about hiking prices may limit its scope.

Colin Kinniburgh   ·   December 23, 2024
Photograph of Sam Mellins in front of a photo of Route 17 in New York, showing signs to Scranton and Syracuse.
New York’s Secret Senate, Highway Love, and Political Machines: 2024 in Review

New York Focus reporter Sam Mellins reflects on what he learned this year, and teases what lies ahead for 2025.

Sam Mellins   ·   December 23, 2024
A collage of a Rochester police car overlayed on the Rochester skyline.
Rochester Cops Were Offered Training on Discredited Diagnosis Connected to Daniel Prude’s Killing

A newly obtained document sheds light on how the disavowed diagnosis infiltrated the Rochester Police Department before Prude’s death.

Chris Gelardi   ·   December 21, 2024
Photo collage of Kathy Hochul hugging a young child, background image of tax forms.
New York State Council Issues Child Poverty Recommendations

An advisory group set up under a 2021 state law finalized its proposals to cut child poverty in half.

Julia Rock   ·   December 20, 2024
Photo collage of an injured worker - two other people are bandaging their arm up. A calendar showing several months in a year in the background.
New York City Delays the Most Workers’ Comp Insurance Claims in the State

The NYC Law Department, which runs the city’s insurance program, has been cited over 10,000 times for legal infractions each year since the pandemic.

Maxwell Parrott   ·   December 19, 2024
Photograph of an empty prison cell with the door open, showing an empty bed with no sheets.
In Brief: Why Has New York’s Prison Population Declined?

New York’s faster-than-average decarceration has led to dozens of prison closures.

Chris Gelardi   ·   December 19, 2024
A row of electric Lion school buses charge at a row of charging stations.
‘In a Bind’: Some New Yorkers Reject Transition to Electric School Buses, Despite Mandate

New York’s push for electric school buses by 2027 has districts across the state struggling with voter approval and funding.

Bianca Fortis   ·   December 18, 2024
The Bronx Community Foundation, Established to ‘Eradicate Inequity,’ Faces Turmoil

The foundation offered few explanations for its hefty spending on overhead, or what it’s doing with millions in government grants.

Sam Mellins   ·   December 16, 2024
Warehouse workers remove packages from shelves.
Hochul Weighs Warehouse Safety Bill as Injuries Continue to Climb

The Business Council, whose members include major warehouse owners UPS and Amazon, is pressing Governor Kathy Hochul to veto or amend the bill.

Julia Rock   ·   December 13, 2024
A black and white photo of the state Assembly chamber with yellow highlighting several empty seats.
Brain Drain: Key Assembly Staff Positions Sit Vacant as Pay Stagnates

Much of Albany’s lawmaking process is controlled by a platoon of mostly young, low-paid employees who craft policy ideas into potential laws. And they’re turning over in droves.

Sam Mellins   ·   December 11, 2024
Photo collage from events New York Focus hosted across our four listening sessions. Photos in the collage show community members smiling at one another, journalists listening intently while participants speak, and speakers gesturing with their hands.
What New Yorkers Want From Local News

New York Focus traveled across the state to meet with communities about their local news needs.

Alex Arriaga and Kate Harloe   ·   December 11, 2024
Governors Kathy Hochul and Josh Shapiro spliced together
Josh Shapiro Is Using Highway Money to Save Mass Transit. Could Hochul Follow?

New York has a little-noticed tool to shift billions of highway dollars to climate-friendly public transit projects. The governor doesn’t seem interested.

Sam Mellins   ·   December 9, 2024
Photo of the Court of Appeals building in Albany, NY.
In Brief: New York’s Court of Appeals — Who’s on It and What Do They Do?

The state’s top court has the final word on interpreting New York law and has seen dramatic changes in recent years.

Sam Mellins   ·   December 4, 2024
Photo collage of a home health aide fixing a dextrose IV bag, with a background of two large analog clocks showing a late hour.
New York Medicaid Plans Are Responsible for Wage Theft, Lawsuit Charges

New York’s home care workers are suing insurance companies for systematically underpaying them for grueling, around-the-clock work.

Julia Rock   ·   December 3, 2024
Workers walk inside of a New York City water tunnel.
Leaky Pipes Are Costing New York Billions of Gallons of Water per Year

Most utilities barely track how much water they lose to leaks, but one thing is clear: Aging infrastructure is costing customers.

Colin Kinniburgh   ·   November 27, 2024
A photo collage, photo of smoke billowing above trees in Jennings Creek layered over an photo of brush on fire.
New York Isn’t Ready to Fight More Wildfires

New York could see more frequent and destructive blazes, but the state doesn’t have enough forest rangers and firefighters to respond to the growing threat.

Nathan Porceng   ·   November 26, 2024
A photo illustration showing the New York Stock Exchange building and the street sign for Wall Street.
Why’s a Finance Titan Dropping $1 Million on Bronx Elections?

The whole thing is just — weird.

Sam Mellins   ·   November 25, 2024
The interior of the New York State Capitol.
In Brief: Why Can’t New York Build an Effective Ethics Agency?

In a state known for scandals, Albany’s ethics enforcement has long been criticized.

Chris Bragg   ·   November 22, 2024
Photo of 3057 Coney Island Avenue.
Eric Adams, the Erdogan Family, and a Brooklyn Medical Fraud Hotspot

One Brighton Beach property connects political donations, Medicaid scams, and a Turkish charity

Will Bredderman   ·   November 21, 2024
Photo collage of Donald Trump in front of school desks, with a map of New York state in the background.
What Trump’s Second Term Could Mean for New York Schools

A review of Trump’s first term, along with his campaign promises and details found within Project 2025, indicate what’s to come in New York.

Bianca Fortis   ·   November 20, 2024
A collage with the background image of three wind turbines in the ocean. Overlayed is an image of President-elect Donald Trump with his fist in the air.
Donald Trump Could Blow a Big Hole in New York’s Climate Plan

Offshore wind is crucial to the state’s plans for cleaning up its electric grid, and construction is already behind schedule. The incoming president could slow it down a whole lot more.

Colin Kinniburgh   ·   November 19, 2024
Rows of desks in a classroom with a roll of dollar bills on each desk.
In Brief: What Is Foundation Aid, New York’s School-Funding Formula?

Here’s a simple explanation of a complicated and archaic formula — and why the state is updating it.

Bianca Fortis   ·   November 18, 2024
We Investigated the Bronx Democratic Party. Here’s What We Learned.

Our reporting spurred the disclosure of millions in spending and illuminated the networks behind the Bronx political machine.

Sam Mellins and Chris Bragg   ·   November 15, 2024
Photo collage of Tom Suozzi over North Shore University Hospital
Tom Suozzi, Clarapath, and the Biotech Boom He Didn’t Disclose

Suozzi’s unreported financial interest in a promising healthcare startup highlights blurred lines between politics and profit.

Will Bredderman   ·   November 14, 2024
A photo illustration showing Bronx Democratic Party Chair Jamaal Bailey in front of the Bronx County Courthouse.
Want to Be a Judge in the Bronx? Better Pay These Firms.

A Bronx political firm close to the borough’s Democratic party chair, Jamaal Bailey, is cashing in on local civil court races.

Sam Mellins and Chris Bragg   ·   November 13, 2024
A photo illustration showing Governor Kathy Hochul's face and migrants walking down a NYC street.
Will Hochul Fight Trump’s Plan for ‘Mass Deportations’?

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.

Chris Gelardi   ·   November 12, 2024
A roll of "I Voted" stickers
How Low Voter Turnout Helped Trump Gain Ground in New York

Trump picked up some votes in New York this year. But Democrats lost far more.

Colin Kinniburgh   ·   November 9, 2024
A photo illustration showing President Donald Trump and NYC Mayor Eric Adams with backgrounds of the White House and Albany Capitol Building.
A Weak Showing From Harris, a Strong One from Congressional Dems, and a Win for Abortion Access: How New Yorkers Voted

Last month, we asked five questions about what would happen in the election. Here are the answers.

Sam Mellins and Chris Bragg   ·   November 6, 2024
In Brief: Has New York Built Its Last Fossil Fuel Plant?

Some want New York to rethink its climate mandates. Could new gas plants be on the table?

Colin Kinniburgh   ·   November 5, 2024
The logo of a baby in a stroller lays above a background of dollar signs on bricks.
New York ‘Birth Grant’ Bill Would Pay New Parents With Medicaid Funds

A proposal from state Senator Andrew Gounardes would send some new parents $1,800 in the third trimester of pregnancy.

Julia Rock   ·   November 4, 2024
AI Isn’t Coming to Crash New York’s Electric Grid. Yet.

Major new tech facilities are not expected to overload the state’s grid — but New York City could fall short of power in the early 2030s without creative solutions, according to a key study.

Colin Kinniburgh   ·   November 1, 2024
In the center of the image is a police badge with department names scratched out to represent O'Connell's history of moving from one department to the next. The badge is overlaid on a collage of O'Connell's redacted disciplinary records.
Rehired: How New York’s Problem Cops Can Bounce Between Jobs

The state doesn’t publicize officer employment histories, making it impossible to track so-called wandering officers.

Sammy Sussman and Chris Gelardi   ·   October 31, 2024
Can Police Departments Be Trusted to Release Their Own Misconduct Records? Apparently Not.

The police chief in Orange County’s Village of Chester claimed his department had no misconduct records. He was hiding an investigation into his own alleged malfeasance.

Sammy Sussman   ·   October 30, 2024
Former state budget director Robert Mujica sits at a table with a name card wearing a suit.
Former New York Budget Chief Robert Mujica’s Consulting Sparks Revolving Door Questions

New financial disclosures show when Mujica began consulting for the Greater New York Hospital Association.

Chris Bragg   ·   October 29, 2024
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