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City Council Moves Forward With Gowanus Rezoning After Slashing Affordable Housing

A proposal to build dozens of units on a block near the Gowanus industrial zone was cut in half after locals lobbied Councilmember Shahana Hanif.

Sam Mellins and George Joseph   ·   October 27, 2022
Most of New York Gas Tax Holiday Savings Don’t Go to New Yorkers, Analysis Finds

Out of every dollar the gas tax suspension costs the state, less than 50 cents are going into New Yorkers’ pockets.

Colin Kinniburgh   ·   October 26, 2022
Some Suburbs Are Actually Trying to Solve the Housing Shortage

New York suburbs have long lagged their peers in building new housing. A few towns are eyeing a different approach.

Sam Mellins   ·   October 25, 2022
Lesser Infractions Aren’t Supposed to Land You in Solitary Confinement. They Do Anyway.

New York prisons have illegally sent at least 1,100 people to solitary confinement for infractions that aren’t eligible for the punishment, a New York Focus analysis has found.

Chris Gelardi   ·   October 24, 2022
New York May Drop JPay, The Scandal-Plagued Prison Banking Company

A one-year extension could be the prison contractor’s last, ending a 15-year run.

Eli Tan   ·   October 21, 2022
New York’s Crypto Moratorium Would Leave Most Mining Untouched. There’s Another Reason the Industry Is Up in Arms.

A much-debated moratorium wouldn’t affect any crypto mining projects under development, but an accompanying environmental study could bring unwelcome scrutiny.

Colin Kinniburgh   ·   October 20, 2022
Rikers Staff Tampered With Records, Hiding Intake Rule Violations, Documents Show

Rikers staff repeatedly altered records to extend the clock on a 24-hour time limit for holding people in notorious intake cells.

Chris Gelardi   ·   October 17, 2022
New York Courts Are Ghosting Disabled New Yorkers

When disabled litigants who can’t to come to court in person request virtual appearances, they often don’t hear back.

Sam Mellins   ·   October 13, 2022
New York Banned Plastic Bags Two Years Ago. Why Are They Still Everywhere?

Two years after the state banned plastic bags, many New York City businesses are still distributing them with little fear of consequences.

Colin Kinniburgh   ·   October 12, 2022
The Rent Is Too Damn High. Blame the Suburbs.

Long Island and Westchester build housing at some of the lowest rates of any suburban area in the country, fueling high rents and home prices across the region.

Sam Mellins   ·   October 6, 2022
Solitary by Another Name: How State Prisons Are Using ‘Therapeutic’ Units to Evade Reforms

A landmark solitary confinement reform law created a new, “rehabilitative” type of isolation unit. In practice, they’re often little different from the solitary units they were meant to replace.

Chris Gelardi   ·   October 5, 2022
Community Health Clinics Set to Lose Critical $100 Million Funding Stream

A little-known federal initiative, the 340B Drug Pricing Program, supports services that wouldn’t otherwise get reimbursed.

Aviva Stahl   ·   October 4, 2022
Understaffing Threatens to Slow New York Climate Plans

Renewable energy developers are hungry to build in New York, but staffing at the bodies charged with managing the process hasn’t kept up.

Colin Kinniburgh   ·   September 29, 2022
Home Care Workers Battle Their Own Union on 24-Hour Shifts

1199 SIEU says it wants to end 24-hour shifts - but it has opposed city and state bills that would do so, and some question the sincerity of its objections.

Maxwell Parrott   ·   September 28, 2022
Prisons Are Illegally Throwing People With Disabilities Into Solitary Confinement

Lawmakers banned solitary confinement for people with disabilities. But the state prison agency has crafted its own policies.

Chris Gelardi   ·   September 26, 2022
Judge Frees Man From Rikers in Exceptional Decision Citing Bail and Jail Conditions

The ruling, which isn’t binding on other judges but will surely be noted by them, was based on the 2019 bail reform law’s requirement that judges consider defendants’ ability to afford bail.

Sam Mellins   ·   September 21, 2022
Tiffany Cabán Approves Major Astoria Housing Development, Bucking Trend Among Progressives

The approval will create hundreds of units of both affordable and market rate housing and has sparked debate in progressive circles over how to approach private development.

Sam Mellins   ·   September 14, 2022
The Price of Private Equity’s New York Power Plant Grab

After a private equity firm purchased an upstate power plant, thousands of gallons of oil spilled into Lake Ontario. It’s part of a troubling pattern.

Leanna First-Arai   ·   September 13, 2022
State Prisons Are Routinely Violating New York’s Landmark Solitary Confinement Law

Five months after a law to scale back solitary confinement went into effect, a majority of the New York prison system’s solitary population had been held there for longer than the law permits.

Chris Gelardi and Emily Brown   ·   September 12, 2022
Lawmakers, Judge Seek Evidence Behind Prison Package Ban

The prison agency has stonewalled lawmakers’ requests for information justifying the policy.

Rebecca McCray   ·   September 8, 2022
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