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“Mired in Incrementalism”: Climate Action Council Proceedings Alarm Climate Advocates

Under New York’s climate law, the Climate Action Council is tasked with devising a plan to zero out emissions. Environmentalists on the Council say it’s not on track.

Morley Musick   ·   March 4, 2021
In Manhattan D.A. Race, Momentum Builds to Decriminalize Sex Work

In a striking sign of activists’ success, most candidates running in the June election for DA say they would not prosecute cases involving consensual sex work.

Sam Mellins   ·   March 4, 2021
“We Need to Hold Him Accountable”: After Sexual Harassment Allegations, Legislators Search for Ways to Respond

With the state ethics commission widely seen as controlled by the governor, legislators are looking for other ways to investigate the allegations.

Akash Mehta   ·   February 25, 2021
Top state lawmakers oppose Cuomo’s push to override NYC’s landmark climate law

A new analysis finds that the governor’s proposal would “completely undermine” New York City’s climate law, setting the stage for a clash with the newly emboldened legislature.

Colin Kinniburgh   ·   February 18, 2021
As State Support Dwindles, New York’s Overdose Crisis is Only Getting Worse

State withholds have left harm reduction providers undersupplied, and informal overdose prevention networks are struggling to fill the gap.

Lee Harris   ·   February 16, 2021
Queens Defenders Fires Two Pro-Union Employees

Amid an ongoing union election at the Queens indigent defense law firm, two outspoken union supporters were fired without warning.

Sam Mellins   ·   February 11, 2021
“It’s a life or death situation out here”: a brutal winter for unsheltered New Yorkers

“We sleep together like chickens”: Street homeless New Yorkers describe the struggle to endure the pandemic-era winter.

Ari Dubow   ·   February 8, 2021
Will Manhattan’s Next D.A. Break Ranks With Tough-on-Crime Colleagues?

Three candidates in the June election say they would not join the association of state DAs, which has fought measures such as bail reform.

Sam Mellins   ·   February 2, 2021
Will New York Decriminalize Syringe Possession in 2021?

Amid dramatic spikes in drug overdoses and HIV cases, legislators and public health professionals push for New York to decriminalize sterile syringes.

Sam Mellins   ·   January 22, 2021
Cuomo’s Tax Hike Friendlier to the Rich Than Advertised, Budget Experts and Legislators Say

“The governor’s twisting himself in knots to not offend rich people,” the number two Democrat in the state Senate said.

Akash Mehta   ·   January 21, 2021
Tali Farhadian Weinstein’s Run for Manhattan D.A. Fueled By Wall St Megadonors, Filings Show

A leading candidate for Manhattan DA has raked in two thirds of her campaign funds from five-figure donations—many from financial industries she would be in charge of prosecuting.

Sam Mellins   ·   January 21, 2021
“What am I to do?” An oral history of mothering children in online school

“I’m the security guard, a mother, a father, a teacher, I’m everything.” Parents and children reflect on a year of remote learning and its impact on their finances, mental health, and family.

Morley Musick   ·   January 20, 2021
NYC Plans to Import Canadian Hydropower. Who Benefits?

A planned transmission line from Canada is meant to reduce NYC’s fossil fuel dependence. But First Nations say the project ignores them.

Geoff Dembicki   ·   January 15, 2021
Progressives Slam State Senate Finance Secretary Pick

Democratic leadership appointed David Friedfel, the top state policy analyst at the Citizens Budget Commission, to a key staff position in budget negotiations.

Lee Harris and Akash Mehta   ·   January 12, 2021
The Next Mayor Must Launch a Green New Deal for NYC

Here are the policies candidates for Mayor and Council must commit to enacting if they’re serious about a Green New Deal for New York City.

Pete Sikora   ·   January 8, 2021
Queens Public Defenders Push to Unionize. Management Calls Them a ‘Mob.’

A wave of legal aid attorneys are joining the labor movement. But bosses say it’s bad for business and the unions just want to collect their dues.

Sam Mellins   ·   January 7, 2021
Tenants Can’t Pay Rent. Landlords Won’t Pay Bills. What Happens Next?

New York’s looming foreclosure crisis could lead to massive corporate windfalls - or to large-scale social housing conversions. The choice is ours.

Samuel Stein   ·   December 23, 2020
New York Must Stop All Evictions. It’s a Matter of Life and Death.

New York must immediately reinstate a complete eviction moratorium, incoming DSA legislators argue, because you can’t stay at home if you’re forced out of it.

Jabari Brisport and Marcela Mitaynes   ·   December 19, 2020
The D.A. Election That Could Reshape New York City’s War On Drugs

The office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor is on the chopping block in Manhattan’s 2021 DA race.

Sam Mellins   ·   December 17, 2020
Senate Proposes $4 Billion December Revenue Package, but Assembly Won’t Go That High, Sources Say

The Senate has proposed raising $4 billion in revenue before the end of the year, but the Assembly is unwilling go much higher than $2 billion, sources say.

Akash Mehta   ·   December 17, 2020
Assembly Speaker Heastie May be Holding Up Blanket Eviction Moratorium, Despite Senate Consensus

Sources both inside and outside the legislature say Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie is pushing back against the Senate Democrats’ proposal for a blanket moratorium.

Morley Musick   ·   December 17, 2020
Inside Upstate New York’s Lead Poisoning Crisis

Many upstate cities don’t test old houses for lead poisoning until after children have already tested positive. A new bill would change that.

Morley Musick   ·   December 11, 2020
How New York Judges Spend Their Way Toward Seats on the Bench

Most of the state Supreme Court candidates who won in November had donated to the parties and party bosses that nominated them, a New York Focus investigation found.

Sam Mellins   ·   December 10, 2020
Life and death in a New York prison

As New York prisons face a second wave of COVID-19 cases, one incarcerated person tells New York Focus they haven’t fixed the problems that led to the first.

Gautama Mehta   ·   December 10, 2020
“We’re in a Tsunami”: Legislators Urge State Spending on Food Assistance

As food pantries struggle to meet surging demand with declining funds, legislators and providers say the state must offer more assistance.

Ari Dubow   ·   December 4, 2020
A Million Unemployed New Yorkers are About to Fall Off a Fiscal Cliff

Federal unemployment benefits expire at the end of the month. With no relief in sight from Washington or Albany, many New Yorkers are desperate.

Daniel Moritz-Rabson   ·   December 3, 2020
Methadone patients routinely denied take-home treatment throughout pandemic, despite health guidance

New York isn’t following through on guidance expanding take-home treatment to reduce Covid-19 spread, advocates say. Many patients must wait in line for treatment as many as six times a week.

Lee Harris   ·   November 29, 2020
Republicans Routed from Legislature, but Keep One Last Stronghold: Governor Cuomo’s Office

“Are you going to hire every single able-bodied Republican political operative?” Cuomo’s senior staff filled with top Republicans, to Democrats’ frustration

Akash Mehta   ·   November 25, 2020
Here’s What Governor Cuomo Could Do Today to Really Tackle Climate Change

New York needs to transition its electric grid off fossil fuels. That means Cuomo must create a schedule to shut down polluting power plants—and stop approving new ones.

Pete Sikora   ·   November 21, 2020
The MTA’s $500 million nightly cleaning and shutdown isn’t worth it, experts say

Sanitizing the subways every night offers little protection against COVID, scientists say. MTA board members say they’ve raised questions - but received few answers.

Devin Wright   ·   November 20, 2020
Cuomo Pushes to Weaken Ban on Toxic Foam Burning

Behind the scenes, Cuomo is pushing amendments to unanimously passed legislation that would allow the executive branch to lift the ban.

Lee Harris   ·   November 9, 2020
It was Cuomo’s “biggest environmental initiative.” Then he slashed it from the ballot.

A $3 billion green bond was set to be on New Yorker’s ballots this week, before Governor Cuomo’s budget office cancelled the vote.

Atman Mehta   ·   November 3, 2020
Even During Pandemic, Hospitals Collect on Medical Debt

“We get hit with this pandemic and then like, here you go, pay $2,400 by the end of the month.”

Ari Dubow   ·   October 29, 2020
Incarcerated People Have One Week to Get Stimulus Checks. Prisons Stand in the Way, Many Say

Incarcerated people have one week left to claim their stimulus checks. But many say their prisons aren’t providing the paperwork.

Akash Mehta and Sophie Walker   ·   October 28, 2020
Recently Jailed New Yorkers Struggle When Dumped on Street With No ID

Leaving Rikers Island, many former detainees can’t rent apartments or get jobs - because the city lost their ID.

Morley Musick   ·   October 20, 2020
New York State Is Lagging Far Behind on Its Climate Commitments

New York has a long history of setting climate goals to great fanfare—and then missing them. A new climate law makes more promises, but will Governor Cuomo deliver?

Pete Sikora   ·   October 17, 2020
New York Taxes Shoes and Soda. Why Not Stocks?

A stock transfer tax could bring in billions in new revenue. Wall Street threatens to pick up and leave—but tax experts say it’s probably bluffing.

Lee Harris   ·   October 13, 2020
Why has Scott Stringer Invested City Pensions in Private Equity Firms like Blackstone?

City pension fund investments in private equity real estate haven’t just subsidized rent hikes and evictions. They’ve also cost the city at least $370 million.

Matthew Cunningham-Cook   ·   October 12, 2020
Can New York Pass Single-Payer in 2021?

As New York recovers from a pandemic and an economic crisis that threw millions off their employer-based health insurance, proponents of the New York Health Act see a unique opportunity to make single-payer a reality.

Ross Barkan   ·   October 12, 2020
Inside the NYC Democratic Socialists of America’s Electoral Powerhouse

NYC-DSA built an electoral powerhouse with no paid staff and just a few years of experience. Here’s how they pulled it off.

Sam Mellins   ·   October 12, 2020
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