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New York Regulations Allow Cops Stripped of Training Credentials to Be Rehired

Police officers who were decertified by state regulators went on to find work at other departments and public safety agencies, records show.

Arno Pedram and Luca Powell   ·   July 8, 2021
“I watch the roaches and I envy them.” After 34 years, Billy Blake leaves solitary confinement

As New York turns the page on solitary confinement, a reflection on what three decades in solitary cost one man.

Vaidya Gullapalli   ·   July 7, 2021
The Council Implementing New York’s Climate Law Is Stacked With Industry Executives

A top energy executive, whose firm is designing pro-gas talking points, has a seat at the table charting the state’s path to decarbonization.

Lee Harris   ·   July 6, 2021
Democratic Party Boss Obstructed India Walton’s Underdog Candidacy, Walton Says

Jeremy Zellner uses his dual role as Erie County’s chief election administrator and Democratic Party chair to create obstacles for outsider candidates, critics charge.

Sam Mellins   ·   June 28, 2021
How a Democratic Supermajority Confirmed a Tough-On-Crime Prosecutor to New York’s Top Court

A progressive campaign to block the confirmation of Governor Cuomo’s nominee to the New York Court of Appeals failed by just a few votes

Sam Mellins   ·   June 15, 2021
Albany Just Blew it on Climate, Again

Only big, strong, mean grassroots campaigns can turn this around

Pete Sikora   ·   June 12, 2021
Wage Theft Got Worse During Covid. A Stalled Bill Could Give Workers Leverage To Fight Back

Cuomo pledged to deal with rampant wage theft this year, then failed to deliver. Now, a bill to recover stolen wages is unlikely to pass the legislature.

Amir Khafagy   ·   June 10, 2021
Inside New York’s Grueling Parole Application Process

As legislators consider reforms to New York’s parole system, former prison officials and incarcerated people describe the barriers to parole release.

Asher Stockler   ·   June 7, 2021
Progressives Mobilize to Block Cuomo’s Tough-on-Crime Pick For Highest NY Court

Madeline Singas, a close Cuomo ally, has been a prominent opponent of criminal justice reforms and has taken a punitive approach as Nassau County DA, defenders say.

Sam Mellins   ·   June 4, 2021
Anticipating Pushback From Finance, Enviros Move to Regulate Energy-Intensive Crypto Mining

Founded by a major Cuomo donor, Renaissance Technologies is set to become a stakeholder in upstate mining operation that touched off backlash against Bitcoin.

Peter Mantius   ·   June 1, 2021
How New York State Let Covid-19 Run Rampant in Prisons

First, the state failed to protect people in prison from the virus. Then, it obscured the full scope of the crisis, advocates charge.

Akash Mehta   ·   May 26, 2021
Inside the chemical lobby’s unusual campaign to protect the fire retardant business

Chemical industry lobbyists are aggressively fighting a bill that would ban the use of toxic flame retardants—including by placing stories in local news outlets with quotes from a tenant organizer who says she didn’t speak to them.

Lee Harris   ·   May 22, 2021
The Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act Gets A Slow Start

Two years after New York enacted a high-profile law to reduce prison sentences for domestic violence survivors, few survivors have seen much benefit.

Tamara Kamis and Emma Rose   ·   May 7, 2021
Two years after passing a landmark climate law, New York has no plan to fund it

Governor Cuomo just approved the largest budget in New York history — and it has virtually no new funding to help meet the goals in New York’s landmark climate law.

Lee Harris   ·   April 30, 2021
Why Is New York Still Taxing Unemployment Benefits?

Unemployed New Yorkers are receiving surprise tax bills. Republican legislators joined with progressive Democrats to move to waive taxes on benefits, following the lead of most other states and the federal government.

Daniel Moritz-Rabson   ·   April 29, 2021
Gas plant in Newburgh tests limits of NY’s landmark climate law

Can New York meet its emissions goals if it green-lights more fossil fuel infrastructure? A proposal to rebuild a fracked-gas plant will set the precedent.

Lee Harris   ·   April 22, 2021
A New Threat to New York’s Clean Energy Goals: Bitcoin Mining

A Finger Lakes power plant plans to ramp up energy-intensive Bitcoin mining. If the state allows it to proceed, environmentalists warn dozens of fossil-fueled plants could follow.

Peter Mantius   ·   April 13, 2021
What Made It Into the Budget — And What Was Left Out

The major provisions of New York’s 2021 budget.

Akash Mehta, Sam Mellins and Lee Harris   ·   April 7, 2021
Homelessness Priorities Won’t Make the State Budget, Lawmakers and Advocates Say

“A year from now, this money will still be in the hands of Governor Cuomo, unused - and that’s exactly what he wants.”

Akash Mehta   ·   April 3, 2021
“A byzantine and high-bar system”: Governor pushes to saddle undocumented workers fund with documentation requirements

State lawmakers and workers’ rights advocates warned that burdensome proof-of-employment requirements may mean the funds go unspent.

Lee Harris   ·   April 2, 2021
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