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Town of Riverhead Empire Zone 
631-208-0570
www.riverheadzone.com
As School Funding Runs Dry, Riverhead Residents Call to Shut Down Economic Development Org

A growing local faction is demanding that the IDA be dissolved.

Arabella Saunders   ·   October 11, 2023
Combative Bronx Judge Faces Calls for Removal

Acting Supreme Court Justice Ralph Fabrizio has faced formal complaints for berating and threatening lawyers in more than a dozen incidents.

Sam Mellins and George Joseph   ·   October 6, 2023
How Not to Close a Jail

A surprise plan to shutter a jail in Syracuse’s Onondaga County spurred a chaotic political skirmish — and left local incarcerated people in the lurch.

Chris Gelardi and Chris Libonati   ·   October 5, 2023
Various figures hang up tarps in the rain at Bushwick City Farm.
Amid Autumn Upheaval, New York City Migrants Wonder Where They’ll Go Next

City policies have proven so volatile, even aid workers urged asylum seekers to get out of New York if they can.

Sophie Hurwitz and Sam Mellins   ·   October 3, 2023
Assemblymember Harvey Epstein at a podium
Harvey Epstein Guns for Manhattan Democratic Party Leadership

The assemblymember wants to unseat Nico Minerva, right hand to party boss Keith Wright. The Manhattan Democrats vote on Thursday.

Chris Gelardi   ·   October 2, 2023
Mayor Eric Adams with three correction officers
The Rikers Debate Program Is Slowly Collapsing

A seemingly minor change in access to city jails has made it much harder for a lauded debate course to recruit volunteers.

Sam Mellins   ·   September 29, 2023
Mayor Eric Adams standing with his back to the camera, facing a poster reading "Rikers Island NYCD".
Rikers Programs Suffer After Cuts, Despite Mayor’s Promises

The Adams administration said the city would replace discontinued Rikers courses. “I can say for certain that that’s not true,” one worker told New York Focus.

Sam Mellins   ·   September 28, 2023
Broome County jail from the exterior
‘Doom County Jail’: Dysfunction Plagues Program for Incarcerated Opioid Users

Men locked up in the Broome County jail describe an opioid treatment program so shoddy, they risk withdrawal, relapse, and overdose.

Spencer Norris   ·   September 27, 2023
NYC Mayor Eric Adams stands at a podium at REBNY gala superimposed over shot of One Bryant Park
Eric Adams Is ‘Getting Stuff Done’ on Climate Law — For the Real Estate Lobby

The mayor is putting New York City’s landmark climate and jobs law in jeopardy, our columnist argues.

Pete Sikora   ·   September 25, 2023
Keith Wright at a parade
Manhattan Democratic Party Boss Has a Target on His Back — Again

A group of Manhattan Democrats wants to force County Leader Keith Wright to choose between working for the party and working for a lobbying firm.

Chris Gelardi   ·   September 21, 2023
A solar planel with wind turbines in its reflection, and hundred dollar bills fluttering in the air.
The Billion-Dollar Debate Splitting New York’s Renewable Energy Industry

A major wind and solar developer is defecting from industry ranks, arguing the state shouldn’t bail out struggling projects.

Colin Kinniburgh   ·   September 20, 2023
Could Unions Break New York’s Housing Impasse?

In California, getting labor on board was essential to addressing the housing crisis. In New York, unions say the governor has barely tried.

Sam Mellins   ·   September 18, 2023
A sand pit among tall green grasses
The Unstoppable Sand Land

How a Hamptons mine, in defiance of New York’s top court, keeps trucking out precious piles of sand.

Colin Kinniburgh   ·   September 13, 2023
Resorts World Catskills casino in front of a bright, gray sky
As New York City Casinos Loom, a Catskills Community Fears for Its Future

With crowds bussed in from New York City, Resorts World Catskills gave a boost to the local economy. What happens when competition moves in downstate?

Arabella Saunders   ·   September 11, 2023
The Secret Memos New York Courts Refuse to Give Up

New York Focus revealed routine secret instructions used to guide judges’ decisions. Civil rights lawyers are suing to make them public.

Sam Mellins   ·   September 5, 2023
Rochester skyline with 100 dollar bills in the background
Unpaid Loan Loophole Lets Corporations Sail Past Campaign Contribution Caps

A Rochester-area political ad firm spent four times the limit in a recent Democratic primary. It’s not clear it will face any consequences.

Sam Mellins   ·   August 31, 2023
Kathy Hochul stares into the camera while signing papers
Despite State Emergency, New York Has Resettled Zero Migrant Families Through Flagship Program

As a humanitarian crisis deepens, the state’s $25 million solution is off to a slow start. An in-depth look at the opaque program reveals a raft of logistical hurdles and strict eligibility requirements.

Andrew Giambrone   ·   August 29, 2023
Legal Aid’s Lawsuit Against Its Landlord Is Over — But Staff Say the Mold Problem That Drove It Persists

The iconic public defense organization is due back in its Brooklyn office Monday. Attorneys, reporting health complications, say they’ve dreaded the return.

Maggie Duffy   ·   August 28, 2023
Bags of trash with a golden filter sit in front of a trash can on the curb in New York City
New York Mulls New Trash Fee as Landfills Near Tipping Point

Will putting a price on trash keep the state’s garbage from overflowing?

Jack Carroll and Colin Kinniburgh   ·   August 22, 2023
Corner view of Fusion Recovery building shot from the parking lot.
As Overdose Deaths Climb in Albany County, Towns Rail Against Opioid Treatment Clinics

The addiction epidemic is getting worse in the Capital Region. Through local zoning laws, residents fight to keep the state’s solutions out of their backyards.

Spencer Norris   ·   August 21, 2023
A Hands-Off Labor Department Retreats From Wage Theft Enforcement

Under Roberta Reardon, the agency has recovered less and less of workers’ stolen wages. Meanwhile, staff resign, and replacements lag.

Maxwell Parrott   ·   August 16, 2023
Inside the Chaos Brewing in the Manhattan Democratic Party

A raucous emergency meeting featured escalating alarm, bewilderment, a hot mic, dueling accusations of conflicts of interest, and a dramatic vote with two surprise twists.

Chris Gelardi and Arabella Saunders   ·   August 10, 2023
A picture of Emily Gallagher in floor debate
Human Rights Watchdog Investigates Landlords, Teachers, and Dentists — But Not Cops or Prison Guards

The state Division of Human Rights considers prisons, jails, and police departments exempt from human rights law.

Nathan Porceng   ·   August 10, 2023
An upwards-pointing arrow made of a hundred-dollar bill, against a background of an energy bill.
Why Your Energy Bills Are Going Up

New York’s labyrinthine “rate case” process, explained.

Colin Kinniburgh   ·   August 7, 2023
Darkened courthouse in New York City
New York Drug Courts Are a Black Box

Mixed evidence was piling up about a signature New York drug policy experiment. Then the state stopped releasing the data.

Spencer Norris   ·   August 4, 2023
CCRB chair Nairobi Vives, Mayor Kathy Sheehan, and Police Chief Eric Hawkins against a police car
Albany Police Block Misconduct Investigations, Neutering Landmark Oversight Law

Albany empowered its community oversight board. But the police department and the city’s top attorney are stonewalling.

Chris Gelardi and Naina Purushothaman   ·   August 2, 2023
Governor Hochul speaking in front of Brooklyn Democratic Party digital screen
Is Brooklyn’s Democratic Party Doing Anything to Reverse Its Losing Streak?

New York’s top elected officials showered the Brooklyn party with praise, but is it doing anything to support its candidates?

Sam Mellins   ·   August 1, 2023
Ambulances in front of the NY State Capitol Building in Albany.
Patients Need Kidneys. A Law to Boost Donations Is Stuck in Limbo.

The health department has blown past deadlines to implement legislation encouraging lifesaving transplants — along with at least five other laws.

Sam Mellins and Ellie Gonzales   ·   July 28, 2023
A colorized building with an American flag and a sepia background
Long Island Town of Huntington Says No to More Apartments

At a heated town meeting, a resident warned “pedophiles or criminals” would move into new housing.

Sam Mellins   ·   July 27, 2023
A photo of an electric charging station with an "EVolve NY" banner
The Thruway Has Brand New Rest Stops. Where Are the EV Chargers?

They’re on their way, officials promise. But they’re years late.

Colin Kinniburgh   ·   July 26, 2023
A forest overlooking Long Pond in the St Regis Canoe Area of Adirondack Park with artificial flames superimposed in the sky.
Will a Fear of Fires Burn New York?

Prescribed burns are banned in New York’s largest tracts of forest, but some rangers say they need to torch the brush to save the trees.

Nathan Porceng   ·   July 25, 2023
Assemblymember Michaelle Solages at a rally in Albany's State Capitol for the Build Public Renewables Act, with other supporters behind her.
New Bill Would Block Utilities From Lobbying at Customers’ Expense

The legislation follows New York Focus reporting that showed a major gas utility may have been siphoning off customers’ bills to fund an anti-electrification campaign.

Colin Kinniburgh   ·   July 24, 2023
Purple background shows belongings out on the curb.
As New York Boosts Residential Treatment, Regulators Turn a Blind Eye to Conditions

In the state’s byzantine system for addiction services, some people don’t know they have tenants’ rights. Some don’t have them at all.

Spencer Norris   ·   July 18, 2023
Eric Adams seen through bars at Rikers Island
You Need One Form to Get Your Benefits Back After Jail. Rikers Doesn’t Just Hand It Over.

It was hard enough to get back on Social Security and Medicaid after incarceration. Then Eric Adams slashed reentry services.

Chris Gelardi   ·   July 12, 2023
Governor Kathy Hochul sits in a chair at a breakfast meeting and looks up.
Hochul Shelved Undisclosed Plans for Housing Tax Break After Union Outcry

Kathy Hochul proposed an executive order to extend the controversial 421-a tax break. Labor unions shot it down.

Sam Mellins   ·   July 7, 2023
Syracuse I-81 viaduct with the city in green behind it and a crack through the middle.
How a Superhighway Split Syracuse

In Syracuse, the I-81 viaduct has two groups at war. One wants to tear it down, one wants to leave it up — all in the name of environmental justice.

Nathan Porceng   ·   July 6, 2023
Hochul Admin Sought Input on Tenant Protections — From Real Estate Lobby

In emails to the governor’s office, the Real Estate Board of New York proposed scaled back tenant protections for the state budget.

Sam Mellins   ·   June 30, 2023
A headshot of acting prison commissioner Daniel Martuscello III overlayed on a group of corrections officers standing in a row.
New Prison Chief Is a Son of the System

For Daniel Martuscello III, New York prisons are a family business.

Chris Gelardi   ·   June 28, 2023
Rochester, NY residents dressed in red with the group Metro Justice wait at the city council in June.
Inside the Fight to Kick Out Rochester’s Power Company

In New York’s third-largest city, locals are sick of skyrocketing bills and dirty fuel sources. They’re fighting against long odds for the public to own the grid.

Colin Kinniburgh   ·   June 26, 2023
Dramatic photo of the Court of Appeals in Albany, New York
New York’s Top Court Just Wrapped Up a Chaotic Term. Here’s What We Learned.

Former Chief Judge Janet DiFiore’s resignation broke a conservative lock on the Court of Appeals.

Sam Mellins   ·   June 22, 2023
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