New York Focus
@nysfocus
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WHO RUNS NEW YORK? | New York Focus is an independent newsroom investigating power in the Empire State. Get our weekly roundup:
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"New York Focus zeros in on the details of what goes on in the state capital. And the reporting has had some impressive results."
We're so proud that our work was profiled in the
@nytimes
today
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NEW: Governor Kathy Hochul is ramping up funding for 'hot spot' policing — the controversial strategy used by the cops who killed Breonna Taylor in Louisville and Tyre Nichols in Memphis.
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NEW: Why didn't lawmakers tackle the rent crisis? Maybe because most of them don't rent themselves.
Lawmakers who own their homes are far less likely to support eviction protections and new housing supply than those who rent, we found.
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Carmen Blanco, 66: “Hell no, I did not sign that.”
Emily Martin, 26: “I didn’t sign that. It’s strange that my name would show up there.”
Edwin de la Cruz, 36: he “never signed any paper like that.”
Josefa Luna, 72: she “didn’t sign anything.”
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NEW: Many cops repeatedly accused of beating, harassing, and illegally arresting people while on disbanded plainclothes units are now likely working on Mayor Adams' new "Neighborhood Safety Teams" — often as high-ranking supervisors.
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NEW: As experts warn of ethnic cleansing, New York politicians have been unwavering in their support for Israel's efforts to "destroy Hamas."
They've been far less vocal about their state's role in the occupation of Palestine.
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NEW: A new policy blocks incarcerated people from publishing journalism, writing, and art without permission - and forbids them from getting paid.
All depictions of police or prisons "in a manner which could jeopardize safety or security" are now banned.
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The town of Massena battled its electric utility for 7 years — and won publicly owned power. Its residents have some of the cheapest electricity in the country.
But as public power gets a fresh look statewide, Massena's story has largely been forgotten.
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NEW: 27 police offers were decertified by New York state regulators, some after vicious assaults on civilians - only to be rehired by police departments and public safety agencies.
Published in partnership with
@TheIntercept
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“Are you serious, dude? Are you going to hire every single able-bodied Republican political operative?”
Democrats won supermajorities in the legislature, but Republicans still exert enormous power as Governor Cuomo's top staffers
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In May, New York allocated $25 million to help asylum seekers find homes throughout the state.
How many families has it resettled so far? 0.
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NEW: Four judges form a new controlling majority of New York's highest court. They always rule in lockstep. They often barely explain rulings.
And as the Supreme Court upends federal constitutional law, these judges too are pushing state law to the right.
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Who's behind the deluge of outside money fueling Lee Zeldin's bid for governor? We took a look:
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"Cherry-picking this or that can always be done to sandbag anyone," said Jay Jacobs, a supporter of Kathy Hochul's chief judge pick.
But in eight out of nine recent cases, Hector LaSalle agreed with the Court of Appeals’ conservative bloc.
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We’re thrilled to announce that
@JournalismProj
will invest $1.5 million over three years to support New York Focus.
This grant, our largest ever, will fund key investments in development, events, and operational capacity.
1
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New York prisons banned packages mailed from home. Now, skyrocketing food prices and stagnant wages make basic nutrition inaccessible.
“To put it plainly," said the Correctional Association's Sumeet Sharma, "people in the prisons are hungry.”
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“To be really blunt: the biggest roadblock in my opinion is still the governor,” said State Senator
@JuliaCarmel__
.
@RossBarkan
reports on the opportunities and obstacles for proponents of the New York Health Act
4
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Introducing the
@nysfocusunion
! Read the full statement from our leadership:
News from the workers of
@nysfocus
. We’ve unionized with 100 percent support. Below is our mission statement.
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NEW: More than a million New Yorkers are behind on their utility bills - and the freeze on shutoffs expires next month.
Some federal money is available for assistance, but consumer advocates say the state is so far doing a poor job of distributing it.
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New York isn't on course to meet the climate commitments it signed into law just last year.
Here's how to get back on track.
Our first Perspective, from climate columnist
@PeteSikora1
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In a televised debate, Tali Farhadian Weinstein dodged a question about our reporting by launching an ad hominem attack against
@SamMellins
.
We stand by Sam's vital reporting on the Manhattan DA race, and will continue to publish investigative journalism in the public interest.
1
20
113
NYPD overtime was the second-highest on record last fiscal year, with cops overshooting their budget by $100 million.
The public doesn’t get to see where the money goes. An analysis by
@chrisgelardi
breaks it down:
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NEW: Robert Adams alleges he was sodomized by a prison guard with a state-issued baton. Then he and his witnesses were thrown into solitary, denied medical care and food, beaten, their testimony ignored.
Read our year-long investigation w/
@theintercept
:
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”It's overkill. It’s unnecessary,” scientists say of MTA's nightly scrubdown.
The MTA won't name a single scientist it consulted about the $500 million program.
Transit advocates and even members of the MTA’s board say they've been left in the dark.
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NEW: Vigilante violence is at an all-time high in the occupied West Bank.
And at least three New York nonprofit organizations are calling on donors to help outfit settlers with combat gear.
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NEW: Lee Zeldin's campaign is fueled by almost unheard-of PAC spending.
Here are the six heirs and business titans showering him with the largest personal contributions in the state’s history:
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NEW: As deaths mount at Rikers, the city's prosecutors are frequently requesting bail at amounts defendants can't meet.
Prosecutors say it's not their fault: "we only ask, and the court sets the bail."
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Every year since 2009, legislators have introduced a bill to make judges warn all defendants that pleading guilty or being convicted could risk deportation.
It finally passed this year - only to be vetoed by Gov. Hochul.
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For another year, legislators have failed to take action on climate,
@PeteSikora1
writes.
"The inside game will never work on issues that seriously threaten deep-pocketed corporate interests. For major change, you need relentless outside mobilization."
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Senator
@jessicaramos
speaks at Ron Kim’s accountability for Cuomo rally: “This issue is starting to get framed as some sort of political witch-hunt, because that’s what the governor wants...this is about getting justice for our families in New York.”
1
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91
Workers at indigent defense law firm Queens Defenders voted overwhelmingly to unionize today, after months of intense opposition from management.
QD social worker Emily Duran told New York Focus that employees will "finally have a voice as workers."
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NEW: Prosecutors chastised by courts for serious misconduct - allowing false testimony, withholding evidence, misleading juries - face few professional consequences.
NY passed reforms this year - but even the state prosecutors association calls for more.
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Anthony Sims has been seeking to have his 1999 murder conviction overturned for years. Until recently, the office in charge of reviewing his case was led by the prosecutor who convicted him.
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After we revealed Hochul failed to disclose who was behind 75% of her LLC cash, her latest filing provided the required information.
The disclosures reveal a nursing home empire has funneled 5-figure gifts previously invisible to the public.
w/
@thecityny
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At least 3 New York nonprofits are calling on donors to help outfit Israeli settlers with combat gear, in a fundraising blitz funneling millions of tax-deductible dollars to West Bank aggression.
@chrisgelardi
discussed the story with
@radiocatskill
.
7
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New Yorkers would have voted today on a $3b green bond, but the governor's budget office cancelled the ballot measure over the summer, citing economic uncertainty.
Progressives are unconvinced: "It's actually a very, very good time to issue debt."
5
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NEW: Three Assembly sources said all major housing policy will be removed from this year’s state budget.
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"What greater hypocrisy could there be than to urge people to socially distance and stay at home—and then stand by as they’re forced out of those homes?"
New York must reinstate a full eviction moratorium immediately,
@marcelaforny
&
@JabariBrisport
write
1
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A proposed gas ban in NYC has an unlikely supporter:
@ConEdison
, a top supplier of natural gas to the city.
"Combined gas and electric utilities have been realizing that electrification is an opportunity,” said
@leahstokes
.
5
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NEW: When people get out of jail, they need their discharge papers to prove they're out and get back on public benefits.
Rikers doesn't just hand it out. People often need outside help to get their forms—but Eric Adams slashed the budget for it.
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NEW: Billions of dollars that New York is receiving through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law can go to roads or greener forms of transit.
So far, New York is choosing roads.
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NEW: As NY lawmakers consider major reforms to the state's parole system in the final days of session, here's why former prison officials, watchdogs, advocates and incarcerated people say each step of the current system is broken.
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”When it’s cold, cold, cold, we sleep together like chickens. Man, next to another man.”
NYC’s homeless population has lost access to many of the informal shelters, like subway stations and 24-hour stores, that helped them endure past winters.
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In late June, a New York court issued a landmark ruling aimed at helping defendants avoid homelessness.
An internal memo obtained by New York Focus shows a top lawyer for the New York court system urging judges to do the bare minimum to comply with it.
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NEW: New York prisons are holding hundreds in solitary confinement longer than state law permits, effectively refusing to implement the heart of one of the state’s highest-profile recent criminal justice reforms.
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NEW: A power plant leaked 45,000 gallons of oil into Lake Ontario. Unnoticed was its new owner: a private equity firm scooping up US fossil fuel plants and cutting costs.
Private equity now owns 20% of NY fossil fuel power. Here's what that could cost.
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“I wanted to join the union because it’s our right. As defenders, we also have the right to be defended in our workplace,” said Betsy Vasquez, a social worker at Queens Defenders.
She and another pro-union employee were fired on Monday.
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NEW: Directly citing several New York Focus investigations,
@SalazarSenate
introduced the "Rights Behind Bars" bill — a sweeping legislation which aims to confront prison and jail policies that limit incarcerated people’s rights.
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NEW: This week, Albany became the first city in New York to pass good cause eviction.
Next on tenant organizers' lists? New Paltz, Hudson, Ithaca, Kingston, Syracuse, Utica... and then some.
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“The governor’s twisting himself in knots to not offend rich people," said Senate deputy majority leader Michael Gianaris.
Cuomo's temporary tax hike would be reimbursable, and the top rate would only affect New Yorkers earning over $100 million a year.
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Progressives hope to stop Cuomo nominee and Nassau County DA Madeline Singas from being confirmed to NY's highest court.
One public defender said that Singas' office was "not just a contributor but an avid supporter of mass incarceration.”
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NEW: Manhattan DA candidate
@TaliFarhadian
Weinstein didn't vote in many elections before 2016, including for the seat she's now seeking - and didn't register as a Democrat until 2017.
Published w/
@THECITYNY
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The lawyer Hochul chose to fill the vacancy on the Court of Appeals was part of Chevron’s legal team in its landmark case against Steven Donziger — helping let the oil giant off the hook for billions owed to Ecuadorian people.
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Incarcerated New Yorkers may miss out on $1,200 stimulus checks they are legally entitled to.
They have one week left to apply, but many say prisons and jails haven't provided the paperwork.
Co-published w/
@CityAndStateNY
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James was homeless. That was the reason he was still stuck in pretrial detention on Rikers Island. The prosecutor and the judge were willing to release him—but only if he had stable housing.
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We're thrilled to announce two new members of the Focus team! Audience engagement editor
@alexarriaga__
and
@Report4America
corps member
@arabellasau
both start today. Welcome Alex and Arabella! 🎉🎉
0
7
63
“The City told drivers that buying a medallion was a ticket to the middle-class,” New York State Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani told New York Focus. Instead, advocates say, many drivers were saddled with insurmountable debt.
Here are their stories.
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BREAKING: New York Focus obtained a copy of the Senate’s proposed tweaks to NY’s bail reform law. Read it here:
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"Renters strongly favored India Walton over Byron Brown. Statistical estimates suggest that Walton won the demographic by a landslide, capturing over 61 percent of the renter vote."
@RustBeltGeo
argues for the pivotal role of renters in India Walton's win
0
28
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"I’m about to lose everything."
“I don’t know what we’re going to do anymore.”
"I feel so helpless."
1.1 million unemployed New Yorkers will lose their benefits at the end of the month, and no relief is in sight from DC or Albany.
1
29
59
New York State Senators
@jessicaramos
,
@NYSenatorRivera
, and
@JuliaCarmel__
are calling on Gov. Hochul to grant clemency to Reggie Randolph, a visually impaired man sentenced to 2–4 years in state prison for stealing cold medicine.
1
32
59
Activists cite rate hikes and power outages as evidence that profit-seeking utilities like Con Edison fail to provide reliable energy.
Now, they're proposing democratic ownership of utilities to make New York’s energy mix greener and cheaper.
3
21
56
NEW: An investigation by a team reporting for
@MuckRock
and New York Focus uncovered disciplinary files on homeless shelter "peace officers" who abuse the residents they're supposed to protect.
Read their files, and our investigation, here:
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We're hiring! New York Focus is seeking a one-year, full-time reporter to lead our drug policy coverage and investigate the state's extensive, opaque addiction treatment systems. Apply now!
0
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NEW: Here's your guide to the 2023 state budget fight.
Use our detailed tracker to see where the governor, Assembly, and Senate agree - and where they diverge.
1
31
59
We're thrilled to welcome
@ChrisBragg1
as our Capitol bureau chief!
Jobs news: Today's my first day in a new job at
@nysfocus
, where I'm heading a new (eventually expanding) Albany bureau. I've been a fan of their digging into NY government, and will be doing investigative reporting on power, influence and issues impacting places around New York
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4
10
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More than 2000 sex workers have been arrested in Manhattan since DA Cy Vance took office.
Now, in a sign of the recent successes of the sex workers' rights movement, most candidates vying to succeed him say they'd decline to prosecute sex work.
1
23
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Caitlin Halligan, Hochul's Court of Appeals pick, represented Chevron against Steven Donziger.
0
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NEW: Under Eric Adams's shelter limit policy, eviction notices have been disproportionately served to migrants from Mauritania and Senegal, a New York Focus analysis found.
2
43
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Every year, hundreds of people leaving Rikers and other city jails can't rent apartments, apply for jobs, or access medication, Medicaid or food stamps - because they don't have ID.
In many cases, the city lost it.
By
@morleydoc
, published w/
@THECITYNY
4
35
57
Syringe reuse in NYC has quadrupled since the pandemic hit. Visits to needle exchanges have dropped. And overdoses are surging.
As the state withholds funding to harm reduction providers, peer networks are struggling to fill the gap.
2
30
56
NEW: Kingston is considering ending single-family zoning and parking minimums. The Hamptons may tax home sales to fund affordable housing. Huntington may allow basement apartments.
Some New York suburbs want to build again.
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19
56
When NYC-DSA ventured into electoral politics in 2017, it had fewer than 5,000 members citywide.
@SamMellins
looks at how, in just a few years, New York socialists have built an electoral juggernaut.
0
19
56
We're thrilled to announce
@mahaxahmed
joins New York Focus today as Senior Editor. Welcome!
i truly do not use this website much anymore, but wanted to share that my last day at
@typeinvestigate
was a week and a half ago! today is my first day as senior editor at
@nysfocus
.
8
2
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2
6
57
The explosive 103-page report by
@rontkim
accuses the Chinese-American Planning Council of systematically abusing Chinese immigrant home health workers and relying on its connections with progressive lawmakers to avoid scrutiny.
2
11
52
NEW: New York State Police bought over $15 million worth of surveillance tech last year.
As new tools outpace regulation, privacy advocates turn to Congress to rein them in.
w/
@theintercept
1
42
56
We're hiring!!
Help us fill these roles:
- Managing Editor
- Development and Operations Manager
- Contributing Reporters
Apply apply apply! And share with people who should apply!
3
29
54
“All of a sudden, the governor just went away — slammed the door in our face.”
Activists say they called off a protest in exchange for Cuomo's promise to authorize safe injection sites. Then, following the election, the governor reversed course.
0
22
51
NEW: New York Focus has published thousands of pages of county jail oversight records.
Our database is a tool to hold local officials accountable — for journalists, researchers, watchdogs, and you.
3
31
54
NEW: A day after New York Focus revealed a new policy blocking incarcerated journalists, writers, and artists from publishing their work, the prison agency rescinded it.
2
20
53
Governor Cuomo's budget would eliminate NYC's requirement for big buildings to slash their greenhouse gas emissions this decade, an analysis found.
"To swoop in and try to override it through the state process would be a huge mistake," said
@SenGianaris
.
2
27
53
Incarcerated New Yorkers pay some of the steepest rates for phone calls in the country - as high as $9.95 for a 15-minute call.
A new legislative push, led by AM
@HarveyforNY
and Sen.
@jamaaltbailey
, aims to make communication from prisons and jails free.
1
17
51
We're a new, independent newsroom shedding light on how power really works in New York.
Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here:
1
18
52
Every single Supreme Court justice elected last month in Queens, Brooklyn or Manhattan was a donor to the party machine that nominated them.
Oh, except for one - and she was married to a district leader and sitting Councilman.
Co-published w/
@THECITYNY
1
25
52
NEW: In December, we reported that the NYPD was still training cops to recognize "excited delirium," a debunked syndrome cited in high-profile police killings.
A new Assembly bill would ban them from citing it.
0
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🎉New York Focus is hiring!🎉
We're bringing on a staff reporter to investigate climate and environmental politics and policy in New York state.
Apply, and help us get the word out!
1
38
50
New York politicians have been unwavering in their support for Israel since the Hamas attack.
What goes unsaid is that New York also has extensive ties to the occupation of Palestinian land.
@chrisgelardi
discussed the story with
@WJFFRadio
0
22
49
“I'm stunned and I know other legislators are totally stunned.”
Senate Dems hire David Friedfel, the right-leaning Citizen Budget Commission's top budget wonk who has cautioned against taxes on millionaires, to a key staff position in budget negotiations
3
25
49
NEW: Counties across New York force families to wait months for food stamps — a violation of federal law.
Read our investigation:
0
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NEW: In the coming weeks, New York Focus reporters will closely cover the secretive process through which the state’s enormous, far-reaching budget is made.
First, a refresher — or introduction — to how the budget process works and why it matters.
0
17
50
A newly launched political action committee is backing pro-Israel Democrats in New York primaries, resembling a state-level version of AIPAC and DMFI.
10
33
49
In Buffalo, one man holds the jobs of both county Democratic Party chair and Board of Elections commissioner.
India Walton and other candidates say that Jeremy Zellner has used those roles to obstruct the campaigns of outsider and progressive candidates.
1
17
49
Progressive state Senators — led by Deputy Majority Leader
@SenGianaris
and Judiciary Committee Chair
@bradhoylman
— are calling on Gov. Hochul to nominate a public defender to NY’s highest court.
3
19
48
Tali Farhadian-Weinstein often touts her leadership of a program at the Brooklyn DA's office to reverse wrongful convictions.
But only 3 people were exonerated while she oversaw the unit - a far lower rate than in previous years.
Published w/
@theappeal
4
23
48
25 New York counties have higher lead poisoning rates than Flint, Michigan at the height of its crisis.
In many upstate cities, old housing isn't inspected for lead until after children have already tested positive. A new bill would change that.
2
30
46
Some voters whose names appear on the petitions of candidates supported by Queens Democratic Party leaders - including Senate candidate Elizabeth Crowley and Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar - said their signatures were forged.
0
20
45
We reached out to Senate candidate
@ElizCrowleyNYC
, AM
@JeniferRajkumar
, and
@Queens_Dems
.
None of them responded.
0
7
43
A 200-person protest at Rikers reached its 7th day today.
David Campbell organized a strike in the same jail when he was incarcerated in 2020. He wrote for us on what people often don’t understand about striking on the inside:
0
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