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.
With nearly all of New York’s state prisons on lockdown, those on the inside struggle to get by.
The Trump administration, eager to force local officials to collaborate with ICE, is coming for a Tompkins County sheriff who released a man who’d served his sentence.
The HALT Solitary Confinement Act altered the balance of power within New York’s prisons.
Wildcat strikes have spread to over half of the state’s prisons.
Prosecutors have urged the governor to roll back some of New York’s discovery reforms. Public defenders worry about reverting to a time when they had to fight their cases “blindfolded.”
After footage of the killing of Robert Brooks sparked national outcry, Governor Kathy Hochul promised to fully equip New York prisons with cameras. The project has stalled for years.
The governor’s announcement appears to expand New York’s ability to cooperate with federal immigration authorities — but it’s not clear if the state has actually changed its policy.
After years of targeting bail, the governor is proposing changes to New York’s 2019 discovery reform law.
Updates about an increase in emissions, violence within New York’s prison system, and a breakup of two nonprofits over cannabis in NYC.
New York Focus reporter Chris Gelardi reflects on the criminal justice reporting that shined light on overlooked agencies and shady practices in 2024.
A newly obtained document sheds light on how the disavowed diagnosis infiltrated the Rochester Police Department before Prude’s death.
New York’s faster-than-average decarceration has led to dozens of prison closures.
Trump is poised to ramp up deportation activity in northern states like New York, which has few statewide policies limiting cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
The state doesn’t publicize officer employment histories, making it impossible to track so-called wandering officers.
Brandon Stradford lasted two months on New York state’s Board of Parole. He continued collecting a paycheck for another seven.
A week after incarcerated journalist Sara Kielly published an article criticizing the prison system for its solitary confinement practices, officers ransacked her cell.
The mayor and governor have long hailed their partnership. Will it survive federal corruption charges?
Carol Shapiro spent two years trying to reform the state Board of Parole. Little has changed.
The governor promised to fill the chronically understaffed Board of Parole. Nearly half of her nominations have ended in disaster.
New immigrants say meager meals from a shelter operator and police harassment are leaving them with few ways to feed themselves.