Authors
Chris Gelardi
Chris Gelardi is a reporter for New York Focus investigating the state’s criminal-legal system. His work has appeared in more than a dozen other outlets, most frequently The Nation, The Intercept, and The Appeal. He is a past recipient of awards from Columbia and Northwestern universities to cover immigration enforcement, US militarism, contemporary colonialism, and county jails. His investigations into the use of a police gang database in Washington, DC, have spurred lawsuits and legislation. He’s based in Queens.
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Here’s What the Budget Would Do About Bail
Budget legislation released Monday night includes eight pages of bail law markups — significantly more than the governor announced last week. A vote is imminent.
May 2, 2023
Queens DA to Pursue NYPD-Enforced Curfew for Pretrial Defendants
Police will receive photos of defendants with curfews and report alleged violations to District Attorney Melinda Katz.
April 24, 2023
A Law Hasn’t Fixed Solitary Confinement in New York. Can a Lawsuit?
A new legal challenge takes aim at the New York prison department for locking hundreds of people up in solitary over offenses that should be exempt.
April 7, 2023
Hochul Has a New Bail Proposal. It’s a Lot Like Her Old One.
With budget talks at a stalemate, Hochul offered the legislature new draft language on bail. It would accomplish largely the same result as her previous plan: a dramatic expansion in judges’ ability to set bail.
March 31, 2023
Why Does Rikers Island Still Lock People in Shower Stalls?
So-called “de-escalation units” were supposed to help people cool off after violent encounters. But months after their implementation, Rikers staff still use the old brutal methods.
March 22, 2023
Rikers Intake Is a Mess, But We Can’t Expect Too Much Progress, Federal Judge Rules
Nearly a year and a half after they were supposed to fix their system, jail officials still don’t know how long they’re keeping people in notorious intake pens.
March 21, 2023
Prison Department Writes Its Way Out of Following Solitary Confinement Law — Again
After months of ignoring reforms, the corrections department published new rules. They look a lot like the old rules.
March 6, 2023
Hochul’s Budget Pads Prosecution Funding Without Match for Public Defense
The governor proposed an outsized boost worth tens of millions for prosecutors — drawing comparisons to New York’s history of public defense neglect.
February 27, 2023
Can Anyone Make New York Prisons Follow Solitary Confinement Law?
A recent hearing was legislators’ chance to have acting prison commissioner Anthony Annucci explain himself. They didn’t make him.
February 13, 2023
Hochul’s New Bail Reform Plan Would Reverse Decades-Old Protections
Long before 2019, New York law mandated that judges setting bail consider only a person’s likelihood of returning to court. Hochul’s proposal would strip that limit.
February 1, 2023
‘Hot Spot’ Cops Killed Tyre Nichols in Memphis. Hochul Wants More in New York.
The controversial units have been responsible for high-profile killings and civil rights abuses in cities nationwide. Hochul doubled their state grant funding in New York — and wants to double it again.
January 30, 2023
Hochul Wants More Police Surveillance. Legislators Want Boundaries.
Legislators are taking aim at a host of police surveillance tools, from undercover social media accounts to facial recognition to aerial drones.
January 24, 2023
The State Police Are Watching Your Social Media
The New York State Police bought social media monitoring programs that have violated platforms’ policies and been used to surveil Black Lives Matter protesters.
January 13, 2023
As Hochul Makes New Promises in State of the State, Last Year’s Parole Pledge Is Still Waiting
This time last year, Hochul promised to fully staff the parole board. But vacancies have only grown — and went unmentioned in this year’s agenda.
January 10, 2023
Surprise Veto Upended Immigrant Rights Bill Sought Over a Decade
Legislators wanted to make judges warn defendants about deportation risks. They say Kathy Hochul’s veto left them blindsided.
January 6, 2023
‘No B Officer’: How an Understaffed Rikers Island Allowed Another Suicide
New documents obtained by New York Focus offer a glimpse into the last hours of Kevin Bryan’s life. His was one of several recent deaths at Rikers in dorms with unstaffed posts.
December 22, 2022
To Implement a New Law, Prisons Likely Broke Another
Legislators told the prison department it was violating a solitary confinement reform law. So it ignored them.
December 2, 2022
The State Police Want to Crack Your Phone
The Israeli firm Cellebrite offers tools that unlock data, trawl search histories, and perform facial recognition. The New York State Police are in the market.
November 23, 2022
Bomb Dogs, ‘Goon Squad,’ Subway Cops: Who’s Making a Killing in NYPD Overtime
Eric Adams pledged to cut police overtime in half. Instead, his initiatives helped it soar to the second-highest level on record.
November 16, 2022
New York’s Prison Chief Ordered Guards to Illegally Shackle People to Desks
Anthony Annucci’s internal memo tells staff to restrain incarcerated people during any out-of-cell time, affecting at least 5,000.
November 7, 2022