The state has left defrauded food stamp recipients to fend for themselves. Internal agency emails point to a long-simmering effort riddled with delays.
The bill package will now head to Governor Kathy Hochul’s desk, and she could either sign, veto, or scale it back through amendments to the legislation.
The little-known company recently won a huge taxpayer-funded contract. It has a record of not paying doctors and leaving patients on the hook for the bills.
A company with a history of lawsuits and unpaid claims is now managing health insurance for thousands of New Yorkers on the taxpayers’ dime.
Four lobbying groups representing Wall Street firms are trying to block the bill from passing in the final days of the legislative session.
Nonprofit hospitals are required to help those struggling with medical debt, but critics say their policies are poorly advertised and underutilized.
Documents show that six county sheriffs’ offices and two state agencies have recently included excited delirium in their training.
Tens of thousands of NYC residents are sued every year for consumer debt. Many of them don’t know about it.
Learn the income thresholds, deadlines, and free support services that help New Yorkers shave down or sometimes completely erase medical debt.
The Legislative Correspondents Alumni Association recognized Chris Gelardi with its award for the year’s best state government reporting — the second year in a row that Focus has earned the honor.
Collectors claim they serve people who don’t exist, yet regulators rarely bar repeat offenders from the industry.
State officials said they needed more time for “stakeholder engagement” on cap and invest. But groups involved with the program have gotten crickets.
An expert calls the six-figure haul “extraordinary” for an unpaid party seat whose powers are picking judges, poll workers, and party officers.
Half of sovereign bonds are issued under New York state law, giving Albany lawmakers the power to shape how countries around the world face off with creditors.
As courts buckle under hundreds of thousands of unresolved cases, a quiet fight is erupting in Albany over how — and where — to add more judges.
From nursing homes to Planned Parenthood clinics, rural health care in Upstate New York could collapse under proposed Republican budget changes.
The chemical industry is pushing to replace a sweeping plastics bill with a more business-friendly alternative.
Previously unpublished photos and video show how protesters set up encampments, burned police vehicles, and marched almost daily. Today, the NYPD operates much as it did before the movement.
A Monroe County judge stripped the PAB of its power to investigate and report incidents of police misconduct.
New York’s farm labor law was meant to transform life for agricultural workers. One apple farm shows how hard that may be.
Richard Dionisio participated in multiple votes related to a controversial rezoning effort without publicly disclosing his financial interest.
We teamed up with Hell Gate to grill leading Democratic candidates in a forum unlike any other. Here’s what they said.
The embattled prison chief took an optimistic tack, but family members of those killed by prison guards have little faith that reforms will be meaningful.
If enacted, the cuts could topple the safety net for New York’s most vulnerable and upend the state’s newly passed budget.
A campaign group run by New York’s business lobby and backed by the American Chemistry Council failed to submit copies of mailers it sent in support of candidates.
The Trump administration has dealt a blow to the state’s food bank network, which supports around 3 million New Yorkers.
New York Focus and Hell Gate have partnered to host a mayoral candidate forum. Watch it here.
There are nearly 4,000 outstanding claims currently in a queue that stretches back more than a decade.
Our searchable database breaks down what was proposed and what made it in this year’s budget among key topics like education, family policy, criminal justice, climate, and more.
The state budget, finalized this week, increased the spending requirement on the city for the first time since the 1990s.
New York’s budget includes $1 billion for climate action — a record amount, but less than the state was supposed to raise by charging polluters.
The final budget stops short of what legislators and advocates hoped for and appears to reflect more of Governor Hochul’s funding priorities.
Hochul’s budget includes $37 billion for education, but the state Education Department is slamming one policy change as “educational malpractice” and a political retreat.
The state will spend $8 billion to pay off its debt to the feds and increase unemployment benefits for the first time in six years.
The final budget excludes a loophole that would have exempted corporate giants like Spotify and Amazon, after New York Focus reported on the carveout in February.
A national trade group has nearly doubled its spending in Albany since the packaging reduction bill was introduced and taken out attack ads on Democrats in swing districts.
Nick Spano went from prison sentence to multimillion-dollar lobbying comeback.
New York’s comptroller has flagged 22 school districts as fiscally stressed — up sharply from last year.
From preventive screenings to addiction treatment, critical care hangs in the balance for millions of New Yorkers relying on Medicaid.
The Modim Foundation is tied to a health insurer that will begin providing coverage to thousands of New York’s home health aides in May. It refuses to disclose where its gifts go, in a violation of tax law.