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New York’s High Court Tried to Protect Parents’ Rights. Lower Courts are Ignoring It.

Many judges have ignored a 2016 mandate from New York’s top court that parents must be allowed to present evidence in their defense before they lose custody of their kids.

Sam Mellins   ·   August 24, 2022
Judge Strikes Down New York Jail’s Prolonged COVID Visitation Ban

The ban had helped the local sheriff rake in hundreds of thousands of dollars in profit from detainee video and phone call fees.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg   ·   August 18, 2022
Montefiore Health System Reshuffles Bronx Operations Ahead of Looming State Policies

A plan to move a family medicine clinic in a low-income Bronx neighborhood has sparked backlash from patients and staff.

Maxwell Parrott and Kudrat Wadhwa   ·   August 16, 2022
Amazon Likely To Win Nine-Figure Tax Break To Build Western New York Warehouse

The deal has been two years in the making, but it’s been a secret for most of that time.

Julia Rock   ·   August 9, 2022
Weeks Before Heat Wave, New York’s Program to Help Poor People Stay Cool Ran Out of Money

Heat kills hundreds of New Yorkers every summer - but health experts say a “cold weather bias” keeps policymakers from prioritizing the issue.

Maria Parazo Rose   ·   July 25, 2022
New York Judges Are Watering Down Protections Against Evictions

For housing advocates, getting the legislature to expand the right to a court hearing before evictions was one thing. Getting judges to implement it is another.

Sam Mellins   ·   July 19, 2022
An Opening for Defendants’ Rights on New York’s Highest Court

The court’s last term included a slew of cases rolling back defendants’ rights. Progressives hope to reset that trajectory.

Chris Gelardi   ·   July 14, 2022
With Chief Judge Out, Will Conservatives Lose Control Of Top New York Court?

Governor Hochul’s pick to replace the resigning Court of Appeals Chief Judge could break up the conservative bloc that controls the court—or entrench it.

Sam Mellins   ·   July 12, 2022
A New Conservative Majority on New York’s Top Court is Upending State Law

A new four-judge bloc has consistently voted together in its most recent term, impacting criminal defendants, workers and people suing police.

Sam Mellins   ·   July 7, 2022
The Fossil Fuel Investments Driving Up ConEd Energy Bills

ConEd wants to jack up electric bills by 10 percent, and gas by 15 percent. Here’s what that would pay for.

Colin Kinniburgh   ·   July 6, 2022
Forged Signatures Found on Petitions for Candidates Backed by Queens Machine

New York Focus reached four voters listed as signatories who said they never signed. A review of other signatures suggests they might not be the only ones.

Sam Mellins   ·   June 28, 2022
Corporate PACs Fail to Disclose Cash Behind Attacks in Primary Races

With less than a week left before the primary, two groups boosting moderate Democratic candidates for the state legislature have not submitted disclosures required by campaign finance law.

Sam Mellins   ·   June 22, 2022
The Failure to Ban Gas in New Construction is a Bad Sign for New York’s Climate Law

The state’s own expert council, tasked with planning the law’s implementation, told the legislature to pass a gas ban this year. They were ignored.

Pete Sikora   ·   June 21, 2022
How Lobbyists Killed a Bill to Protect New York Elections, With An Assist from the NAACP

New York elections could soon be more vulnerable to hacks, after lobbyists, the NAACP, and the Assembly elections committee chair teamed up to kill an election security bill.

Sam Mellins   ·   June 16, 2022
Our Group of Freelancers Took on Albany’s Byzantine Legislative Process. Here’s How We Won.

An organizer for the Freelance Solidarity Project describes how getting a bill passed through Albany takes “running into a brick wall repeatedly, waiting for a tiny crack to show.”

Eric Thurm   ·   June 15, 2022
Jail Visitation Ban Drives Big Profits for Sheriff on Phone Calls

More than two years into the pandemic, the Broome County Sheriff’s Office is still prohibiting all jail visits. That helped rake in more than half a million dollars last year.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg   ·   June 14, 2022
Electrical Workers Union Fights to Expand Fossil Fuel-Powered Crypto Mining in New York

The IBEW opposes a bill awaiting signature by Gov. Kathy Hochul that would put a moratorium on new fossil fuel power plants for the crypto industry.

Paige Oamek   ·   June 14, 2022
The State Police Sent You a Friend Request

Twice this year, Kathy Hochul has ordered a State Police-run fusion center to beef up its social media monitoring. Documents show that analysts create fake accounts to do that work.

Chris Gelardi   ·   June 13, 2022
Nursing Home Industry Cozies Up to Hochul, Disclosures Reveal

After New York Focus revealed that Hochul had failed to disclose the individuals behind corporate donations to her campaign, she provided that information for recent donors — revealing major support from a nursing home industry powerhouse.

Sam Mellins   ·   June 7, 2022
Hochul Stores Billions in Slush Funds, Continuing Cuomo-Era Budgeting Practices

The comptroller sounded the alarm that the budget includes $18 billion in “unnecessarily opaque” spending, most of it under Hochul’s control.

Sam Mellins   ·   June 2, 2022