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In an Upstate Jail, Incarcerated People Struggle to Access Promised Addiction Treatment

In 2019, Broome County promised an addiction treatment program in its jail. Two years later, the program is a “farce,” one advocate said.

Sam Mellins   ·   March 26, 2021
Records Reveal New York’s Growing Mountain of Water Debt

Advocates are pushing the legislature to extend and strengthen a moratorium on water shutoffs set to expire at the end of the month.

Julia Rock   ·   March 17, 2021
Legislative Leadership to Propose $7 Billion in New Taxes, Sources Say

Tax-the-rich advocates critiqued the figure as too low, and also said the Assembly is significantly behind the Senate on key progressive spending priorities.

Akash Mehta   ·   March 11, 2021
Queens Public Defenders Win Unionization Vote

After months of conflict involving alleged intimidation and potentially illegal firings, workers at Queens Defenders voted overwhelmingly to unionize.

Sam Mellins   ·   March 11, 2021
“It Damages Democracy:” Watchdogs, Reporters, Slam “Non-Functional” Board of Elections Campaign Finance Website

Flaws in an updated website make it extremely difficult to track who is funding campaigns, journalists and watchdogs say, but the BOE insists that “the site is fully functioning.”

Sam Mellins   ·   March 9, 2021
Will New York allow incarcerated people to access treatment for drug addiction?

“People in prison deserve healthcare, and this is healthcare.” Legislators push to offer treatment for drug addiction in jails and prisons

Sam Mellins   ·   March 5, 2021
“Mired in Incrementalism”: Climate Action Council Proceedings Alarm Climate Advocates

Under New York’s climate law, the Climate Action Council is tasked with devising a plan to zero out emissions. Environmentalists on the Council say it’s not on track.

Morley Musick   ·   March 4, 2021
In Manhattan D.A. Race, Momentum Builds to Decriminalize Sex Work

In a striking sign of activists’ success, most candidates running in the June election for DA say they would not prosecute cases involving consensual sex work.

Sam Mellins   ·   March 4, 2021
“We Need to Hold Him Accountable”: After Sexual Harassment Allegations, Legislators Search for Ways to Respond

With the state ethics commission widely seen as controlled by the governor, legislators are looking for other ways to investigate the allegations.

Akash Mehta   ·   February 25, 2021
Top state lawmakers oppose Cuomo’s push to override NYC’s landmark climate law

A new analysis finds that the governor’s proposal would “completely undermine” New York City’s climate law, setting the stage for a clash with the newly emboldened legislature.

Colin Kinniburgh   ·   February 18, 2021
As State Support Dwindles, New York’s Overdose Crisis is Only Getting Worse

State withholds have left harm reduction providers undersupplied, and informal overdose prevention networks are struggling to fill the gap.

Lee Harris   ·   February 16, 2021
Queens Defenders Fires Two Pro-Union Employees

Amid an ongoing union election at the Queens indigent defense law firm, two outspoken union supporters were fired without warning.

Sam Mellins   ·   February 11, 2021
“It’s a life or death situation out here”: a brutal winter for unsheltered New Yorkers

“We sleep together like chickens”: Street homeless New Yorkers describe the struggle to endure the pandemic-era winter.

Ari Dubow   ·   February 8, 2021
Will Manhattan’s Next D.A. Break Ranks With Tough-on-Crime Colleagues?

Three candidates in the June election say they would not join the association of state DAs, which has fought measures such as bail reform.

Sam Mellins   ·   February 2, 2021
Will New York Decriminalize Syringe Possession in 2021?

Amid dramatic spikes in drug overdoses and HIV cases, legislators and public health professionals push for New York to decriminalize sterile syringes.

Sam Mellins   ·   January 22, 2021
Cuomo’s Tax Hike Friendlier to the Rich Than Advertised, Budget Experts and Legislators Say

“The governor’s twisting himself in knots to not offend rich people,” the number two Democrat in the state Senate said.

Akash Mehta   ·   January 21, 2021
Tali Farhadian Weinstein’s Run for Manhattan D.A. Fueled By Wall St Megadonors, Filings Show

A leading candidate for Manhattan DA has raked in two thirds of her campaign funds from five-figure donations—many from financial industries she would be in charge of prosecuting.

Sam Mellins   ·   January 21, 2021
“What am I to do?” An oral history of mothering children in online school

“I’m the security guard, a mother, a father, a teacher, I’m everything.” Parents and children reflect on a year of remote learning and its impact on their finances, mental health, and family.

Morley Musick   ·   January 20, 2021
NYC Plans to Import Canadian Hydropower. Who Benefits?

A planned transmission line from Canada is meant to reduce NYC’s fossil fuel dependence. But First Nations say the project ignores them.

Geoff Dembicki   ·   January 15, 2021
Progressives Slam State Senate Finance Secretary Pick

Democratic leadership appointed David Friedfel, the top state policy analyst at the Citizens Budget Commission, to a key staff position in budget negotiations.

Lee Harris and Akash Mehta   ·   January 12, 2021
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