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The image depicts a traffic jam in New York City, with a cluster of yellow taxi cabs at the front.
New Yorkers Are Driving More, Even as Climate Plan Hinges on Driving Less

From New York City to Buffalo, people are driving a lot more than they did before the pandemic.

Colin Kinniburgh   ·   September 17, 2024
Solar Companies Scammed Queens Homeowner Into Predatory Loan, Lawsuit Alleges

The retiree says a local rooftop solar company and its partners forged her signature to sign her up for a loan she could not afford.

Colin Kinniburgh   ·   September 11, 2024
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
hands holding yellow camera in a plastic trash bag, press badge visible
NYPD Tackled and Arrested Journalists Covering Latest Encampment Sweep

The journalists said the arrests interfered with their ability to document the police raid at the Fashion Institute of Technology.

Meghnad Bose and Uzma Afreen   ·   May 8, 2024
NYPD officers in front of the City College gates. Protesters drop a Palestinian flag behind them.
On the Ground at the NYPD Raid on the City College Gaza Solidarity Encampment

New York Focus was on the scene as cops shoved, kettled, and chased students at City College, the second campus where the NYPD razed a Gaza solidarity encampment Tuesday.

Chris Gelardi   ·   May 2, 2024
Student protesters gather at Columbia's Hamilton Hall or "Hind's Hall," renamed after Hind Rajab, a six-year-old Palestinian girl who was shot to death with paramedics on an IDF-supplied emergency route. On the right, they hang a banner that says "HIND'S HALL." Protesters sit up high on a facade.
The NYPD Descent on Columbia, Told by Student Journalists

The mayor and the police blamed “outside agitators” for campus protests. Student journalists reported what they saw.

Uzma Afreen, Angelica Ang, Fahima Degia, Mukta Joshi, Arshi Qureshi, Indy Scholtens and Sammy Sussman   ·   May 2, 2024
The outline of New York state, inside a badge, with a cracked effect on top and a blue and red gradient background.
Behind the Badge: In New York City Homeless Shelters, the Same ‘Peace Officers’ Abuse Residents

Previously unreleased disciplinary files expose officers who beat, slap, and pepper spray the residents they’re supposed to protect. Most are back at work within a month.

Sammy Sussman, Annika Grosser and Sanjana Bhambhani   ·   April 15, 2024
New York City Police Department members stand in a line wearing NYPD baseball caps.
New Bill Would Stop Cops From Citing Debunked ‘Excited Delirium’ Syndrome

Referencing a New York Focus story, Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas introduced legislation to prevent public agencies from naming the medically discredited condition in their reports.

Chris Gelardi   ·   March 19, 2024
People gather outside a stone arch with sign that says "Hospital & Emergency Room" displaying letters A, C, D, F, G, H, and an emergency cross.
Retired Teachers Seek Union Shakeup to Dodge Medicare Advantage

In the New York City teachers union, anger over a plan to privatize retiree health care could send a longshot campaign over the edge.

Sam Mellins   ·   February 26, 2024
A woman in a purple dress and a black head covering opens a door to show a sunny world outside.
Adams Administration Shelter Policy Disproportionately Evicts African Migrants

Migrants from Mauritania and Senegal were the most likely to receive eviction notices, but not the most populous groups in shelters, a New York Focus analysis found.

Churchill Ndonwie   ·   February 15, 2024
A classroom full of students with the teacher's silhouette filled in with pennies.
When Schools Assign Substitutes the Wrong Status, the Error Suppresses Their Pay

Long-term subs stay with the same classes and can serve like full-time teachers. New York City schools misclassify them — so their pay doesn’t reflect that.

Teddy Ostrow   ·   January 31, 2024
In school classroom full of children, a teacher silhouette of a teacher is filled in with microscopic coronaviruses.
In New York City Schools, Substitute Teachers Are Systematically Denied Covid Sick Pay

The state established Covid leave to compensate employees who fell ill during the pandemic. One group of essential workers has been unable to claim it.

Teddy Ostrow   ·   January 29, 2024
Park Slope Neighbors Seek to Block New Apartment Buildings on Industrial Site

A laundry company wants to turn its factory into 13-story apartment buildings, sparking the latest in a series of fierce zoning fights.

Sam Mellins   ·   December 20, 2023
New NYPD officers smile amid blue and white confetti at police academy graduation ceremony.
NYPD Instructs Officers to Tase, Pepper Spray People Experiencing Debunked Syndrome

Police training materials link the discredited “excited delirium syndrome” to synthetic marijuana use.

Chris Gelardi   ·   December 12, 2023
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