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Donald Trump walking
Trump Plans to Kill Congestion Pricing. Hochul’s Pause Could Let Him.

There are at least three ways a Trump administration could try to stop the transit-funding toll.

Sam Mellins   ·   August 26, 2024
New York State Is Illegally Stalling on Food and Cash Aid Decisions, Lawsuit Charges

More than 53,000 New Yorkers are allegedly facing delays regarding eligibility for benefits.

Julia Rock   ·   August 19, 2024
Senator Proposes $1,000 “Baby Bonus” to Help People Afford to Have Children

Payments for newborns have reduced poverty elsewhere, but are a novel idea in New York.

Julia Rock   ·   August 15, 2024
Three small pails sit atop a counter, one filled with pencils, another filled with markers, and another filled with sticky notes.
Are You a New York Teacher Spending Your Own Money on School Supplies?

We’re collecting stories from teachers across the state.

Bianca Fortis   ·   August 14, 2024
Watchdog Asks Hochul to Veto Real Estate Tax Break Until It’s Clear If It Works

The Citizens Budget Commission wants the governor to halt a just-passed extension of the Industrial and Commercial Abatement Program so a study of the controversial subsidy can be completed.

Julia Rock   ·   August 13, 2024
Legislators Wrote a Bill in 2023 to Address the Housing Crisis — But Never Got to Vote on It

A newly discovered 80-page housing package would have included good cause eviction, but legislators were dissuaded by Kathy Hochul’s opposition.

Sam Mellins   ·   August 12, 2024
Hochul at a podium
Hochul Punts on How to Reduce Traffic and Pollution in NYC

Hochul says she’s working with the legislature to replace congestion pricing, but key legislators say they aren’t aware of any conversations.

Sam Mellins   ·   August 9, 2024
A distorted image of transmission lines.
New York’s Energy Transition Faces a Staffing Shortage

The state’s energy regulator has more work than ever — and far fewer employees than it did three decades ago.

Colin Kinniburgh   ·   August 7, 2024
The New York state Capitol against a wall of code
Hackers Nabbed State Employees’ Credit Card and Social Security Numbers

It’s unclear whether the legislature is taking steps to address its security vulnerabilities.

Sam Mellins   ·   August 6, 2024
‘We’re Just Tired’: Asylum Seekers at a Brooklyn Shelter Struggle With Hunger

New immigrants say meager meals from a shelter operator and police harassment are leaving them with few ways to feed themselves.

Chris Gelardi   ·   July 31, 2024
A Long Island Rail Road conductor standing inside a train gestures with his hand.
Why Did the MTA’s Union Turn Against Congestion Pricing?

Before Kathy Hochul paused it, the tolling program lost the little labor support it had when the Transport Workers Union withdrew its backing this spring.

Julia Rock   ·   July 26, 2024
An overhead view of Great Meadow Correctional Facility
New York to Close One of Its Most Notorious Prisons

Great Meadow and Sullivan prisons are slated to shut down in November. The state could close up to three more over the next year.

Chris Gelardi   ·   July 18, 2024
A $100 bill behind a transparent photo of an EKG reading.
Deaths Abound in New York’s Jail Infirmaries. So Do Profits.

More counties are turning to private corporations to run medical care in jails. The companies have deadly track records.

Laura Robertson   ·   July 18, 2024
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie at his desk in the state Capitol
The Lobbyist Dating Carl Heastie Was Just Laid Off. He Was Not Pleased.

Rebecca Lamorte was let go by her employer in June, prompting the Assembly Speaker to place an upset call to her boss.

Chris Bragg   ·   July 17, 2024
Kingston Made Rent Law History Two Years Ago. That Was the Easy Part.

For tenants in the first upstate city to adopt rent stabilization, benefiting from the law’s basic protections is an uphill battle.

Emma Whitford and Sam Mellins   ·   July 16, 2024
An electric MTA bus is charging at an electric charging port.
New York Idles on Green Transportation Plan

As the state has backpedaled on congestion pricing, it has made no progress on nearly half of its other transit-related climate goals.

Colin Kinniburgh   ·   July 15, 2024
A sign for the Guthrie Cortland Medical Center
How Upstate Retirees Fought Privatized Health Care And Won

Medicare Advantage plans are spreading across upstate New York, despite a reputation for denying care. In Cortland County, retirees kept it at bay.

Chris Stanton   ·   July 9, 2024
Where Do Top New York Politicians Stand on Hochul’s Congestion Pricing Pause?

Some of the state’s top Democrats slammed the governor, while others supported the pause or stayed mum. Republicans want congestion pricing killed altogether.

Sam Mellins   ·   July 2, 2024
Governor Kathy Hochul at an event
Hochul Waves Away Questions on Congestion Pricing Replacement

After the governor declined to answer questions, a New York Focus reporter was ejected from her event.

Sam Mellins   ·   June 24, 2024
MTA workers in a tunnel
Does Anyone Have a Backup Plan to Fund the MTA?

We asked 26 lawmakers who support the congestion pricing pause how they propose to fund transit upgrades. Most shrugged.

Sam Mellins   ·   June 21, 2024
Governor Hochul in front of
Missed Deadlines Pile Up As New York’s Climate Law Turns Five

The state is blowing past key milestones on the way to its big emissions targets.

Colin Kinniburgh   ·   June 19, 2024
Syracuse Officer With History of Abuse and Dishonesty Leads Police Union

Joseph Moran has long faced accusations of dishonesty — even from a fellow officer — records show.

Nathan Porceng   ·   June 18, 2024
A sign outside of Bedford Hills Correctional Facility.
Trans Man Forced to Undergo Prison Genital Exams Wins $275,000 Settlement

He hopes the settlement will lead to reforms in New York prisons, where three-quarters of trans people say corrections officers have inappropriately touched or sexually assaulted them.

Chris Gelardi   ·   June 17, 2024
Traffic on a Manhattan street
Hochul Halts Congestion Pricing as Manhattan Traffic Reaches Record High

The constant gridlock is a major drag on Manhattan’s businesses, and source of frustration for commuters. And it’s never been so bad.

Sam Mellins and Colin Kinniburgh   ·   June 12, 2024
A house damaged by a storm, set against a background of oil rigs.
Could New York Force Insurance Companies to Drop Fossil Fuels?

As climate disasters threaten a home insurance crisis, a new state bill aims at the problem’s root.

Colin Kinniburgh and Julia Rock   ·   June 10, 2024
A blurred Kathy Hochul
Hochul in Hiding as Congestion Pricing Hangs by a Thread

Since announcing her plan to put the program on ice, the governor has not appeared in public.

Sam Mellins   ·   June 7, 2024
A hand places a ballot with the Solidarity PAC logo in a ballot box.
Pro-Israel PAC Floods Assembly Races With Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars

The recently formed Solidarity PAC has mobilized big finance and real estate to target socialists and the Working Families Party.

Chris Gelardi and Julia Rock   ·   June 6, 2024
DOL Commissioner Roberta Reardon (red jacket, left) with Governor Kathy Hochul at a Women's Equality Day event in Albany on August 26, 2022.
Hochul Administration Pushes Back Against Unemployment Benefit Overpayment Reform

No state pursues workers for overpaid unemployment benefits as aggressively as New York. A proposed reform is colliding with New York’s own repayment problem.

Maxwell Parrott   ·   June 6, 2024
New York State Capitol in front of question marks
Senate Democrats Lock Down as Secret Committee Comes to Light

A secret group of Senate Democrats helped decide the fate of nearly 650 bills over the last month. Just don’t ask any questions.

Chris Bragg and Sam Mellins   ·   June 6, 2024
Kathy Hochul in front of traffic
Is Hochul’s Plan to Stop Congestion Pricing Legal?

Lawsuits had threatened to kill congestion pricing. Now, it might take a lawsuit to save it.

Julia Rock   ·   June 6, 2024
A mostly-empty floor of slot machines at Resorts World Catskills, with one gambler sitting off to the side.
Casino Lobbying Fingerprints on Bill to Speed Up Licensing

Legislation to accelerate New York’s casino process copies a lobbying firm’s draft version nearly word for word.

Chris Bragg and Arabella Saunders   ·   June 5, 2024
A nurse stands at a computer in a school nurse's office
Lacking State Funding, Rural Schools Struggle to Provide Remote Health Care

In rural school districts where doctors are hard to find, in-school telehealth services seemed like a good solution. Then New York state stopped funding them.

Bianca Fortis   ·   June 5, 2024
New York Governor Kathy Hochul shakes hands with someone in a Buffalo Bills uniform at Metlife Stadium in New Jersey.
Ethics Commission Subpoenaed Hochul Administration Over Bills Box Seats

Asked for records related to top politicians’ use of a Buffalo Bills suite, Empire State Development cited potential interference with a law enforcement investigation.

Chris Bragg   ·   May 31, 2024
An ornate Senate staircase in New York's Capitol building in Albany
This Secret Senate Committee Decides Whether Bills Live or Die

You haven’t heard of it, and your state senator might not have either. The Working Rules group helps determine the fate of hundreds of bills at the end of each legislative session.

Sam Mellins, Chris Bragg and Akash Mehta   ·   May 30, 2024
NYCLU Sues to Overturn Landmark Sex Offender Law

Advocates charge that New York’s restrictions for sex offense registrants are “vague, expansive, and unnecessary.” On Tuesday, they filed a federal lawsuit to strike them down.

Chris Gelardi and Sam Mellins   ·   May 28, 2024
Three men in suits, including former acting prison commissioner Anthony Annucci and acting prison commissioner Daniel Martuscello III, stand at a memorial ceremony in Albany.
Hochul Quietly Nominates a Permanent Prison Chief

The Senate will consider Daniel Martuscello III’s bid to run New York’s prison and parole agency. His supporters point to his decades of experience. His opponents say that’s the problem.

Chris Gelardi   ·   May 22, 2024
a stack of newspapers, with redaction boxes covering the text, behind prison bars
Censoring the News in New York Prisons

New York prisons have banned articles from The New York Times, New York magazine, and local newspapers, often citing their potential to incite disobedience.

Rebecca McCray   ·   May 20, 2024
Joe Biden talking with reporters in 1994
After Weinstein Decision, Democrats Push Sexual Assault Measure Biden and Schumer Once Fought

After New York’s top court overturned Harvey Weinstein’s conviction, state lawmakers want to let prosecutors bring evidence from past uncharged sexual assaults.

Julia Rock   ·   May 18, 2024
Sarahana Shrestha holding a sign that says "Public Power Now"
Public Power Push Spreads to the Hudson Valley

State lawmakers are set to introduce a sweeping proposal for a public takeover of Central Hudson, the region’s scandal-plagued gas and electric utility.

Colin Kinniburgh   ·   May 16, 2024
DCPI chief Tarik Sheppard displays a bike lock retrieved from Columbia University on MSNBC's Morning Joe on May 1, 2024.
Meet the Cops Running the NYPD’s 86-Member Public Relations Team

The police department’s PR team has more than doubled in size in the past two years. Some of its recent hires have histories of dishonesty and misconduct.

Chris Gelardi   ·   May 14, 2024
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