It’s almost impossible to win an asylum case without an attorney. Finding one is a tall order.
It’s almost impossible to win an asylum case without an attorney. Finding one is a tall order. ·  View in browser
NEWSLETTER

We hosted three panels exploring how Mayor Mamdani can turn his campaign promises into policy. Watch recordings of all the conversations now.

New York Focus spoke to three asylum seekers from West Africa about their experiences trying to secure legal representation. Photos: Courtesy of interviewees
It’s almost impossible to win an asylum case without an attorney. Finding one is a tall order.
By Liv Veazey

Recent Stories

Councilmember Vickie Paladino announced on Sunday that she would support a new housing development in Bay Terrace, Queens. Photo: Gerardo Romo / NYC Council Media Unit | Building rendering: NYC Department of City Planning
The threat of a new appeals board pushed Vickie Paladino to approve a new development.
By Nick Garber

An anti-development New York City Councilmember approved a project in her district rather than risk being overruled by a new appeals board — the first sign of a potential sea change in the city’s housing landscape caused by the ballot questions that voters approved in November.

Vickie Paladino, a firebrand Republican who has railed against past efforts to increase housing density, announced Sunday that she would support a rezoning to build an eight-story building in Bay Terrace, Queens with 248 apartments.

In a six-minute Facebook video, Paladino noted that her opposition could have been enough to kill the project in the past when the council generally deferred to members on projects in their districts. But that changed with the passage of Question 4, which created a three-person appeals board including the mayor, council speaker, and local borough president, with the power to overturn the council’s rejections.

Yonkers Raceway, December 19, 2025. Katie G. Nelson/New York Focus
The investigator was initially placed on leave after New York Focus revealed that state gaming regulators ignored evidence of a massive horse doping ring.
By Sam Mellins

The top investigator at New York’s horse racing regulator has resigned after a New York Focus investigation last month revealed that the agency spent years ignoring key evidence in a massive horse doping scandal.

The former director of racing investigations, Andrew Rakowsky, “resigned in lieu of termination,” New York Gaming Commission spokesperson Lee Park told New York Focus.

Rakowsky could not be reached for comment. His government phone line was disconnected as of publication time.

Beverly Footman alleges that three Groveland Correctional Facility employees assaulted her hundreds of times in the early 1990s. Mark Gutman/Daily News file photo
The state rescinded its request to dismiss a sexual abuse lawsuit after a judge became aware of New York Focus’s findings.
By Chris Gelardi

Beverly Footman wants to forget the three prison staffers who she says abused her while she was incarcerated — but they haunt her. One was a cook at Groveland Correctional Facility, where she was locked up in the early 1990s. Around three times a week for over a year, he would corner her in the walk-in refrigerator and other parts of the kitchen, where she worked, and force her to have sex with him, Footman alleges. She only knew him by his last name: Fitzpatrick.

Footman didn’t report Fitzpatrick while she was in prison. He called her degrading and racist names and told her “bad things” would happen if she made trouble, she recalled. She believed him. Staff covered for one another’s abuse, she told New York Focus.

Copyright © New York Focus 2024, All rights reserved.
Staying Focused is compiled and written by Alex Arriaga
Contact Alex at alex@nysfocus.com

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