Rejected books include a Spanish-English dictionary, a Spanish translation of a George R.R. Martin novel, and “The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work.”
Rejected books include a Spanish-English dictionary, a Spanish translation of a George R.R. Martin novel, and “The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work.” ·  View in browser
NEWSLETTER

We’re so excited to celebrate our fifth birthday in Brooklyn on Oct. 14 and hope you’ll join us. Together lets toast to local journalism and holding our elected officials to account.

The Buffalo Federal Detention Facility stopped accepting personal book shipments for detainees in July. Photos: mariashipakina/Canva; thawornnurak/Getty | Illustration: Leor Stylar
Rejected books include a Spanish-English dictionary, a Spanish translation of a George R.R. Martin novel, and “The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work.”
By Isabelle Taft

Funding local news is more important than ever, and it will take a village to succeed. Join us in our work to rebuild local journalism as a pillar of democracy in New York.

New York County jails that have rented beds to ICE sometimes don’t give people facing immigration proceedings access to phone calls. Photos: doomu/Getty Images; RDNE Stock Project | Illustration: Leor Stylar
Some immigrants held in county jails are struggling to access legal advice, phone calls, and even their own court hearings.
By Julia Rock and Isabelle Taft
Irene Weiser, of Fossil Free Tompkins, and other advocates at a state Senate hearing about rising energy bills on September 30. Photo: Colin Kinniburgh | Illustration: New York Focus
In a state Senate hearing on spiraling energy bills, consumer advocates lamented the closed-door negotiations at the heart of New York’s ratemaking process.
By Colin Kinniburgh

In theory, the process that determines your energy bills plays out in public, through innumerable documents and comments posted online and hearings that are open to all.

In practice, watchdogs say, the key decisions are made behind closed doors, in confidential settlement proceedings where utilities set the agenda and bring legal firepower that is impossible for most other participants to match.

Anthony Mascia, the commanding officer of the NYPD’s Information Technology Bureau (right), and NYCHA Chief Operating Officer Eva Trimble testified at an emergency oversight hearing on police surveillance in NYCHA on September 30. New York City Council
The City Council held an emergency hearing on the NYPD’s use of a free internet program to gain real-time access to public housing cameras, in response to New York Focus’s reporting.
By Zachary Groz

On Tuesday, the New York City Council held an emergency oversight hearing in response to New York Focus reporting that the police department had covertly used a free internet program to gain real-time access to video cameras at New York City Housing Authority developments.

Lawmakers on the technology, public safety, public housing, and oversight and investigations committees grilled officials from the Office of Technology and Innovation, the New York City Police Department, and NYCHA.

Here’s what we learned.

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Staying Focused is compiled and written by Alex Arriaga
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