Topics Reporting
Staying Focused
Sign up for our free newsletter, and we'll make sure you never miss a beat.
We’re About to Know a Lot More About NYPD Misconduct

Two years after the repeal of a state law that kept police performance records secret, documents narrating alleged NYPD abuse are starting to become public. But it could still be years until they’re all released.

Chris Gelardi   ·   June 30, 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
Will Eric Adams Let Landlords Buy Their Way Out Of Energy Upgrades?

Recent transmission projects could enable building owners to get out of upgrading their buildings for a decade, if Adams doesn’t intervene.

Colin Kinniburgh   ·   June 27, 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
Robert De Niro’s Astoria Film Studio Backs Out of Promise to Hire Union Construction Workers

“We’re basically being blocked out in the process of even trying to bid on the work,” said one union leader.

Sam Mellins   ·   June 22, 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
City Employee Health Plan Could Switch to Lower-Cost Company Under New Proposal

Hundreds of thousands of city workers and their dependents could have their healthcare shifted to a cheaper plan by 2024, documents show.

Sam Mellins   ·   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
NYPD “Business Improvement” Officers Dismantled a Homeless Encampment During a Memorial for a Dead Resident

As part of an initiative by Mayor Eric Adams, the city has swept the encampment where Jose Hernandez would often sleep nearly 10 times this year.

Chris Gelardi   ·   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
This Is Not The First Time Maloney Has Snubbed His Party, Local Democrats Recall

Maloney’s announcement that he will exit his old district for a slightly safer seat alarmed Democrats—and rang a familiar bell back home.

Lee Harris   ·   June 3, 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
New York Labor Bills Are Stuck in Limbo

The Assembly Labor Committee has emerged as a bottleneck for unions’ top legislative priorities.

Maxwell Parrott   ·   May 31, 2022
This Bill Could Save 100 Lives a Year for $1 Million. Will The Assembly Pass It?

A bill to increase kidney donation rates is stuck in the “traffic jam” of the Assembly.

Sam Mellins   ·   May 26, 2022
Exclusive: Here Are the New NYPD Gun Units’ Trainees. Many Have Histories of Excessive Force Complaints.

Adams promised they’d be different. But a roster compiled by New York Focus shows that officers who trained for the new teams allegedly beat, harassed, and illegally arrested people while previously working on plainclothes teams.

Chris Gelardi   ·   May 23, 2022
Why Starbucks Workers Had To Wait Six Months To Get Help From The US Labor Board

Buffalo workers were the first to unionize - but labor law went unenforced during their elections.

Maxwell Parrott   ·   May 17, 2022
New York Prisons Set to Ban Most Packages from Family and Friends

At the urging of the correction officers union, the prison agency is restricting packages to private vendors that charge steep markups and have limited selections.

Emily Brown and Rebecca McCray   ·   May 12, 2022
Corporate Campaign Donors Identify Themselves Following New York Focus Reporting

After New York Focus reported that the elections board wasn’t enforcing a landmark transparency law, it sent delinquent donors a letter requesting that they comply. Thousands did within weeks.

Sam Mellins   ·   May 11, 2022
8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16