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MTA workers in a tunnel
Does Anyone Have a Backup Plan to Fund the MTA?

We asked 26 lawmakers who support the congestion pricing pause how they propose to fund transit upgrades. Most shrugged.

Sam Mellins   ·   June 21, 2024
Governor Hochul in front of
Missed Deadlines Pile Up As New York’s Climate Law Turns Five

The state is blowing past key milestones on the way to its big emissions targets.

Colin Kinniburgh   ·   June 19, 2024
A house damaged by a storm, set against a background of oil rigs.
Could New York Force Insurance Companies to Drop Fossil Fuels?

As climate disasters threaten a home insurance crisis, a new state bill aims at the problem’s root.

Colin Kinniburgh and Julia Rock   ·   June 10, 2024
A blurred Kathy Hochul
Hochul in Hiding as Congestion Pricing Hangs by a Thread

Since announcing her plan to put the program on ice, the governor has not appeared in public.

Sam Mellins   ·   June 7, 2024
A hand places a ballot with the Solidarity PAC logo in a ballot box.
Pro-Israel PAC Floods Assembly Races With Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars

The recently formed Solidarity PAC has mobilized big finance and real estate to target socialists and the Working Families Party.

Chris Gelardi and Julia Rock   ·   June 6, 2024
DOL Commissioner Roberta Reardon (red jacket, left) with Governor Kathy Hochul at a Women's Equality Day event in Albany on August 26, 2022.
Hochul Administration Pushes Back Against Unemployment Benefit Overpayment Reform

No state pursues workers for overpaid unemployment benefits as aggressively as New York. A proposed reform is colliding with New York’s own repayment problem.

Maxwell Parrott   ·   June 6, 2024
New York State Capitol in front of question marks
Senate Democrats Lock Down as Secret Committee Comes to Light

A secret group of Senate Democrats helped decide the fate of nearly 650 bills over the last month. Just don’t ask any questions.

Chris Bragg and Sam Mellins   ·   June 6, 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
A mostly-empty floor of slot machines at Resorts World Catskills, with one gambler sitting off to the side.
Casino Lobbying Fingerprints on Bill to Speed Up Licensing

Legislation to accelerate New York’s casino process copies a lobbying firm’s draft version nearly word for word.

Chris Bragg and Arabella Saunders   ·   June 5, 2024
A nurse stands at a computer in a school nurse's office
Lacking State Funding, Rural Schools Struggle to Provide Remote Health Care

In rural school districts where doctors are hard to find, in-school telehealth services seemed like a good solution. Then New York state stopped funding them.

Bianca Fortis   ·   June 5, 2024
New York Governor Kathy Hochul shakes hands with someone in a Buffalo Bills uniform at Metlife Stadium in New Jersey.
Ethics Commission Subpoenaed Hochul Administration Over Bills Box Seats

Asked for records related to top politicians’ use of a Buffalo Bills suite, Empire State Development cited potential interference with a law enforcement investigation.

Chris Bragg   ·   May 31, 2024
An ornate Senate staircase in New York's Capitol building in Albany
This Secret Senate Committee Decides Whether Bills Live or Die

You haven’t heard of it, and your state senator might not have either. The Working Rules group helps determine the fate of hundreds of bills at the end of each legislative session.

Sam Mellins, Chris Bragg and Akash Mehta   ·   May 30, 2024
Three men in suits, including former acting prison commissioner Anthony Annucci and acting prison commissioner Daniel Martuscello III, stand at a memorial ceremony in Albany.
Hochul Quietly Nominates a Permanent Prison Chief

The Senate will consider Daniel Martuscello III’s bid to run New York’s prison and parole agency. His supporters point to his decades of experience. His opponents say that’s the problem.

Chris Gelardi   ·   May 22, 2024
Joe Biden talking with reporters in 1994
After Weinstein Decision, Democrats Push Sexual Assault Measure Biden and Schumer Once Fought

After New York’s top court overturned Harvey Weinstein’s conviction, state lawmakers want to let prosecutors bring evidence from past uncharged sexual assaults.

Julia Rock   ·   May 18, 2024
Sarahana Shrestha holding a sign that says "Public Power Now"
Public Power Push Spreads to the Hudson Valley

State lawmakers are set to introduce a sweeping proposal for a public takeover of Central Hudson, the region’s scandal-plagued gas and electric utility.

Colin Kinniburgh   ·   May 16, 2024
An illustration of a McDonalds sign above the New York State Capitol
McDonald’s Franchise Owners Fight Wage Theft Crackdown

New Yorkers for Local Businesses has spent half a million dollars trying to kill a bill to help workers recover stolen wages. Almost all its backers appear to own McDonald’s franchises.

Julia Rock   ·   May 9, 2024
The New York State Department of Labor office in Brooklyn, New York.
New York’s Labor Department Wants Your Unemployment Benefits Back

In New York, unemployment recipients can be found guilty of fraud even if they thought their information was true. The state demands repayment at the highest rate in the country.

Maxwell Parrott   ·   May 9, 2024
Governor Kathy Hochul at Planned Parenthood rally
Judge Strikes Abortion Referendum From November Ballot

New York’s Equal Rights Amendment would enshrine the right to abortion in the state. A judge threw it off the ballot for the fall, but an appeal is expected.

Chris Bragg and Rachel Holliday Smith   ·   May 7, 2024
A man at a white voting booth with an american flag and a New York City insignia on it.
State Campaigns Are About to Rake in Public Dollars — and Spend All the Private Money They Want

While New York City’s public campaign finance system endures scandals, the state won’t audit the majority of campaigns.

Alyssa Katz   ·   May 1, 2024
New York Governor Kathy Hochul speaks in front of a blue and yellow banner that reads  District Attorneys Association of the State of New York.
Three-Year-Old Commission Hochul Tapped for Rochester DA Traffic Stop Has Never Taken a Case

After DA Sandra Doorley berated a police officer, Hochul referred her to a commission that is yet to become active — and lacks the authority to issue discipline.

Chris Gelardi   ·   April 30, 2024
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