The State Commission of Correction has been stumbling for decades — with millions of incarcerated people caught in the lurch.
In New York, many incarcerated people don’t know how to secure their freedom. A court fight could clear up the lethally opaque process.
The governor has neglected to announce a public emergency over the increasingly deadly opioid epidemic. Observers are perplexed.
Over a 12-year span, three out of every four state correctional officers fired for abuse or covering it up got their jobs back.
Can an oversight group be in the same union as the police it monitors?
Police training materials link the discredited “excited delirium syndrome” to synthetic marijuana use.
The legislation cites multiple New York Focus investigations in its attempt to safeguard the rights of incarcerated people.
A Rochester man lost his job while his daughter went through cancer treatment. He’s struggled to communicate with the DOL for months.
The state council that reviews grievances spent an average of eight seconds on each case in its last meeting — and rejected nearly all of them.
The rulings shed light on the leanings of Caitlin Halligan, the court’s newest judge and frequent tie-breaker.
While the United States Supreme Court seeks to restrict the government’s ability to regulate, the New York Court of Appeals is broadening it.
While Hochul considers a bill to pressure state contractors to stop deforestation, the massive food supplier is voicing concerns to her administration.
New York imposes strict regulations on “segregated confinement.” What if it’s just called “confinement”?
Israeli settlers have unleashed a wave of violence on Palestinians. With tax-deductible donations, New Yorkers can help equip them to carry it out.
Hudson Valley legislators and advocates are urging the state to reject the double-digit hike, arguing it could illegally stick customers with the bill for the company’s own mess.
The prison department doesn’t track overdose deaths in its custody. A New York Focus analysis found that the overdose death rate has tripled.
County and municipal economic development agencies play a key role in New York’s wind and solar buildout — but some say it’s not their job.
Recent legislation has sought to rein in medical debt collection. But the bills don’t stop lawsuits in the first place — and some patients decline care out of financial concern.
Climate watchers say the state can’t meet its renewable energy goals without overriding local opposition.
The Sand Land mine is defying multiple orders to cease operations. Politicians are at a loss for how to respond.
Even as experts warn of mass ethnic cleansing in Gaza, New York politicians have remained unwavering in their support for Israel since the Hamas attack. They’ve been less vocal about their state’s ties to the occupation of Palestine.
New York has kept hundreds of people convicted of sex offenses in prison long past their release dates.
The state’s top court will settle disputes between Rochester, Syracuse, New York City, and their police unions next week in three cases that could reshape police discipline across the state.
The Sheriffs’ Association lobbied against a bill to provide medication for opioid addiction in jails. Since it passed, they’ve failed to evaluate thousands of people for treatment.
A growing local faction is demanding that the IDA be dissolved.
Acting Supreme Court Justice Ralph Fabrizio has faced formal complaints for berating and threatening lawyers in more than a dozen incidents.
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.
City policies have proven so volatile, even aid workers urged asylum seekers to get out of New York if they can.
The assemblymember wants to unseat Nico Minerva, right hand to party boss Keith Wright. The Manhattan Democrats vote on Thursday.
A seemingly minor change in access to city jails has made it much harder for a lauded debate course to recruit volunteers.
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.
Men locked up in the Broome County jail describe an opioid treatment program so shoddy, they risk withdrawal, relapse, and overdose.
The mayor is putting New York City’s landmark climate and jobs law in jeopardy, our columnist argues.
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.
A major wind and solar developer is defecting from industry ranks, arguing the state shouldn’t bail out struggling projects.
In California, getting labor on board was essential to addressing the housing crisis. In New York, unions say the governor has barely tried.
How a Hamptons mine, in defiance of New York’s top court, keeps trucking out precious piles of sand.
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?
New York Focus revealed routine secret instructions used to guide judges’ decisions. Civil rights lawyers are suing to make them public.
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.