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Queens Defenders Fires Two Pro-Union Employees

Amid an ongoing union election at the Queens indigent defense law firm, two outspoken union supporters were fired without warning.

Sam Mellins   ·   February 11, 2021
“It’s a life or death situation out here”: a brutal winter for unsheltered New Yorkers

“We sleep together like chickens”: Street homeless New Yorkers describe the struggle to endure the pandemic-era winter.

Ari Dubow   ·   February 8, 2021
Will Manhattan’s Next D.A. Break Ranks With Tough-on-Crime Colleagues?

Three candidates in the June election say they would not join the association of state DAs, which has fought measures such as bail reform.

Sam Mellins   ·   February 2, 2021
Tali Farhadian Weinstein’s Run for Manhattan D.A. Fueled By Wall St Megadonors, Filings Show

A leading candidate for Manhattan DA has raked in two thirds of her campaign funds from five-figure donations—many from financial industries she would be in charge of prosecuting.

Sam Mellins   ·   January 21, 2021
“What am I to do?” An oral history of mothering children in online school

“I’m the security guard, a mother, a father, a teacher, I’m everything.” Parents and children reflect on a year of remote learning and its impact on their finances, mental health, and family.

Morley Musick   ·   January 20, 2021
NYC Plans to Import Canadian Hydropower. Who Benefits?

A planned transmission line from Canada is meant to reduce NYC’s fossil fuel dependence. But First Nations say the project ignores them.

Geoff Dembicki   ·   January 15, 2021
The Next Mayor Must Launch a Green New Deal for NYC

Here are the policies candidates for Mayor and Council must commit to enacting if they’re serious about a Green New Deal for New York City.

Pete Sikora   ·   January 8, 2021
Queens Public Defenders Push to Unionize. Management Calls Them a ‘Mob.’

A wave of legal aid attorneys are joining the labor movement. But bosses say it’s bad for business and the unions just want to collect their dues.

Sam Mellins   ·   January 7, 2021
The D.A. Election That Could Reshape New York City’s War On Drugs

The office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor is on the chopping block in Manhattan’s 2021 DA race.

Sam Mellins   ·   December 17, 2020
How New York Judges Spend Their Way Toward Seats on the Bench

Most of the state Supreme Court candidates who won in November had donated to the parties and party bosses that nominated them, a New York Focus investigation found.

Sam Mellins   ·   December 10, 2020
The MTA’s $500 million nightly cleaning and shutdown isn’t worth it, experts say

Sanitizing the subways every night offers little protection against COVID, scientists say. MTA board members say they’ve raised questions - but received few answers.

Devin Wright   ·   November 20, 2020
Recently Jailed New Yorkers Struggle When Dumped on Street With No ID

Leaving Rikers Island, many former detainees can’t rent apartments or get jobs - because the city lost their ID.

Morley Musick   ·   October 20, 2020
Why has Scott Stringer Invested City Pensions in Private Equity Firms like Blackstone?

City pension fund investments in private equity real estate haven’t just subsidized rent hikes and evictions. They’ve also cost the city at least $370 million.

Matthew Cunningham-Cook   ·   October 12, 2020
Inside the NYC Democratic Socialists of America’s Electoral Powerhouse

NYC-DSA built an electoral powerhouse with no paid staff and just a few years of experience. Here’s how they pulled it off.

Sam Mellins   ·   October 12, 2020
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