Reuven Blau
@reuvenblau.bsky.social
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📥 870
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Senior Reporter @ The City Reporter. Co-author: "Rikers: An Oral History." Denver native.
"The Adams administration promised Sadé Singh she would be able to build a granny flat, or ADU, on her Queens property under new development rules. She’s still waiting." —
@smaldo.bsky.social
reports for
@thecity.nyc
www.thecityreporter.nyc/2026/06/01/a...
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City Hall Made Her the Face of a Housing Solution. Now She’s All But Cut Out.
The Adams administration promised Sadé Singh she would be able to build a granny flat, or ADU, on her Queens property under new development rules. She’s still waiting.
https://www.thecityreporter.nyc/2026/06/01/adu-development-apartment-housing-zoning-adams/
about 11 hours ago
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reposted by
Reuven Blau
Michael Lobel
3 days ago
A thread of pigeons in art, in honor of
@thecity.nyc
&
@rachelholliday.bsky.social
. First up, Morris Hirshfield, "Girl with Pigeons," 1942
www.moma.org/collection/w...
add a skeleton here at some point
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"A program that has helped connect tens of thousands of New Yorkers to federal, state, and city benefits is under threat after it wasn’t earmarked for any funding in Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s latest budget proposal." — @katiehonan.bsky.social reports
www.thecityreporter.nyc/2026/05/29/m...
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Mamdani Budget Leaves Out Key Program for Low-Income New Yorkers
NYCBenefits helps tens of thousands navigate city, state and federal paperwork for SNAP and other programs. Will it survive the budget process?
https://www.thecityreporter.nyc/2026/05/29/mamdani-budget-benefits-snap/
3 days ago
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We have a new name! THE CITY is now The City Reporter. Happy to be a small part of the awesome team.
youtube.com/shorts/fDV26...
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THE CITY is now The City Reporter
https://youtube.com/shorts/fDV26kBU3do?feature=shared
4 days ago
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reposted by
Reuven Blau
The City Reporter
5 days ago
Our team spent months tracking hundreds of street arrests by ICE across the New York region through federal court records. Here’s what we found: 🧵
projects.thecity.nyc/ice-street-a...
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We Found 430 ICE Street Arrests in the NYC Area. More Than 93% Targeted Latinos.
An investigation by THE CITY, based on a database of more than 1,200 lawsuits, shows that ICE agents in the field have seized Latinos in numbers that far exceed their share of the undocumented populat...
https://projects.thecity.nyc/ice-street-arrests-investigation-racial-profiling/
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reposted by
Reuven Blau
Jose Martinez
7 days ago
Smart story on the 500 tons (!) of vapes that New Yorkers toss per year. 💨 💨 💨 Good stuff, as they say in the trade, from
@lillysabs.bsky.social
. She’s had an outstanding internship
@thecity.nyc
- she hustles and produces sharp stories.
www.thecity.nyc/2026/05/26/v...
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Don’t Trash Your Old Vapes. NYC’s Volunteer Recyclers Want Them.
Hazardous disposal vapes are everywhere and can’t go in the garbage. These New Yorkers have made it their mission to lay them to rest properly.
https://www.thecity.nyc/2026/05/26/vape-recycling-where-to-throw-out-disposable-garbage/
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This new effort follows President Donald Trump's National Security Presidential Memo 7, which instructs the Department of Justice to target anyone holding “anti-American,” “anti-Christian,” and "anti-capitalism” beliefs.
www.wired.com/story/us-law...
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US Law Enforcement Warns of ‘Anti-Tech Extremism’ as AI Hatred Grows
As Americans stew over the looming risk of job-stealing AI and data centers in their back yards, the feds are raising the alarm about a new category of threat, documents obtained by WIRED show.
https://www.wired.com/story/us-law-enforcement-warns-of-anti-tech-extremism/
6 days ago
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"The winning plan to rebuild Penn Station features renderings of a new train hall with American flags at the entrance, gold-accented railings, columns and escalators — and a presidential seal featuring President Donald Trump’s name."
gothamist.com/news/exclusi...
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Exclusive renderings of Penn Station overhaul show Trump's name with presidential seal
The images show gold-accented railings, columns and escalators, and a new structure around Madison Square Garden.
https://gothamist.com/news/exclusive-renderings-of-penn-station-overhaul-show-trumps-name-with-presidential-seal?utm_source=sfmc&utm_medium=nypr-email&utm_campaign=Newsletter+-+Breaking+News+-+20260526&utm_term=Headline+Goes+Here&utm_id=583735&sfmc_id=65352279&utm_content=2026526&nypr_member=Unknown
6 days ago
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“I have never heard of the department ever being willing to grant blanket immunity,” said Jennifer Ricketts, a former branch director in the department’s civil division. “That seems blatantly corrupt. It’s a shocking gift to the president.”
www.nytimes.com/2026/05/20/u...
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How the $1.8 Billion Trump Fund May Violate Past Practice and Policy
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/20/us/politics/trump-fund-explainer.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share
12 days ago
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“A Hondruan man was arrested after a hearing inside 26 Federal Plaza a day after a judge barred most arrests inside New York City immigration courts.” —
@gwynnefitz.bsky.social
reports
www.thecity.nyc/2026/05/19/i...
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ICE Detains Man at 26 Federal Plaza After Judge’s Order Barring Arrests
A 21-year-old Honduran immigrant was arrested after a hearing inside 26 Federal Plaza Tuesday morning, according to advocates who saw ICE agents take him into custody.
https://www.thecity.nyc/2026/05/19/ice-arrest-26-federal-plaza-judge-order/
13 days ago
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Breaking: A 40-year-old Rikers Island detainee died Tuesday morning, marking the second death in city jail custody in less than 24 hours. The death comes as DOC Commissioner Stanley Richards is in Germany touring lockups.
www.thecity.nyc/2026/05/19/s...
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Rikers Island: Two Deaths in 24 Hours
The latest death came while the city’s correction commissioner and federal remediation manager were overseas touring German lockups.
https://www.thecity.nyc/2026/05/19/second-rikers-detainee-dies-in-less-than-24-hours/
13 days ago
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A city probe into allegations that Rikers officers routinely locked severely mentally ill detainees in their cells for days or weeks found the claims could not be substantiated — while also citing missing video footage and uncooperative witnesses.
www.thecity.nyc/2026/05/19/r...
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Whistleblower Blasts Rikers Island ‘Deadlocking’ Probe
Investigators reviewed video, incident reports and internal emails after a whistleblower said corrections officers were isolating mentally ill detainees.
https://www.thecity.nyc/2026/05/19/rikers-island-deadlocking-investigation-justyna-rzewinski/
14 days ago
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reposted by
Reuven Blau
Jose Martinez
14 days ago
PEACE IN THE VALLEY: Striking LIRR workers, MTA reach deal with trains to run by noon This is my third — and hopefully last — story I've written today. Be honest, it's the one you've been waiting to read. NEW in
@thecity.nyc
www.thecity.nyc/2026/05/18/l...
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LIRR Strike Ends with ‘Fair Deal,’ Says Hochul
Details were sparse, as union leaders said they need to share the specifics of the agreement with their members first.
https://www.thecity.nyc/2026/05/18/lirr-strike-ending-hochul-mta-service/
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I’m named after my great uncle who was taken by the Vichy government and never heard from again. A researcher years later discovered Robert was sent to Drancy and deported to Auschwitz where he did not survive.
www.nytimes.com/2026/05/17/o...
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Opinion | France Has a New Picture of the Holocaust
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/17/opinion/holocaust-france-photographs-1941.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share
14 days ago
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New: Rajpattie Ramkellawan was found dead on Rikers Island this morning. She underwent a psychiatric evaluation on Friday while held on burglary charges. She’s the third person to die on Rikers this year so far — and the first without DOC press notifying reporters.
14 days ago
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reposted by
Reuven Blau
Rachel Holliday Smith
17 days ago
For an additional year, New Yorkers looking for a place to live can apply directly to vacated, affordable apartments — skipping the city’s lottery system, known as Housing Connect.
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Vacant Affordable Apartments Won’t Go Back Into Lottery System — For Now
To snag a newly empty unit, tenants will apply on a first-come, first-served basis after the city extended a red tape-cutting measure for another year.
https://www.thecity.nyc/2026/05/15/affordable-housing-lottery-vacant-apartments-rentals/
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NEW: The federal official overseeing reforms at Rikers Island has hired back the former DOC investigations chief pushed out shortly after Mayor Eric Adams took office. Sarena Townsend will oversee misconduct probes and discipline cases.
www.thecity.nyc/2026/05/14/r...
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Rikers Official Forced Out Under Adams Returns to Oversee Discipline
The federal remediation manager of the jail tapped Sarena Townsend to help run misconduct investigations.
https://www.thecity.nyc/2026/05/14/rikers-misconduct-sarena-townsend-correction/
18 days ago
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“Unlike pickles, budget balancing strategies aren’t good when they are half sour,” said Andrew Rein, president of the Citizens Budget Commission.
add a skeleton here at some point
20 days ago
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New: The city’s Correction Department is set to renew a multimillion-dollar contract with a prison telecom giant that’s bragged of using recordings of detainees’ private phone calls to train its artificial intelligence model.
www.thecity.nyc/2026/05/12/r...
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City Jails Renew Contract With Phone Provider Amid Concerns of AI Snooping on Detainee Calls
Advocates warn the Securus system could funnel intimate detainee call details into the company’s AI tools.
https://www.thecity.nyc/2026/05/12/rikers-island-securus-ai-ice-surveillance/
21 days ago
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reposted by
Reuven Blau
TW
23 days ago
The Pike’s Peak Humane Society has a social media manager who is very good at their job
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Happy Lag BaOmer
27 days ago
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“If the client was Jesus Christ themself, Bondy would still probably set bail.”
courtsofcontempt.hellgatenyc.com/judge-matthe...
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Judge Matthew A. Bondy - Judges
Judicial Metrics Effectively blocked affordable bail: 98.8 percent of bail cases Made commercial bonds the most affordable option: 97.1 percent of bail cases **NOTES ON JUDICIAL METRICS** In 2019, New...
https://courtsofcontempt.hellgatenyc.com/judge-matthew-a-bondy/
27 days ago
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reposted by
Reuven Blau
The City Reporter
28 days ago
NEW: An ICE agent tased a man several times while another agent tried to forcefully drag him out of his car as the man screams in pain and begs for help, as captured in a video obtained by THE CITY.
www.thecity.nyc/2026/05/04/v...
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Video Shows ICE Agent Tasing Man Multiple Times Ahead of Bushwick Hospital Standoff
In a video obtained by THE CITY, an ICE agent fires a taser several times at a man in a car who then screams for help.
https://www.thecity.nyc/2026/05/04/video-ice-agent-tasing-man-wyckoff-brooklyn-hospital/
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"The Mamdani administration blew past a legal deadline Friday to release a detailed plan for closing Rikers Island, leaving its long-delayed effort to shutter the dangerous jail complex without a clear path forward." —
@jacob-kaye.bsky.social
reports
queenseagle.com/all/2026/5/3...
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City misses deadline to release Rikers shutdown plan — Queens Daily Eagle
The city blew past a legal deadline Friday to release a detailed plan for closing Rikers Island, leaving its long-delayed effort to shutter the dangerous jail complex without a clear path forward.
https://queenseagle.com/all/2026/5/3/city-misses-deadline-to-release-rikers-shutdown-plan
28 days ago
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Jin Tao Wu has survived Japan’s invasion of China, the rise of the Communist Party and the massacres of the Cultural Revolution. Now, he's facing a new battle against NYCHA, which is forcing him to relocate for four years. —
@gregbsmithnyc.bsky.social
reports
www.thecity.nyc/2026/05/04/c...
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He survived WWII and Mao’s Cultural Revolution. At 93, He’s Fighting NYCHA
The Housing Authority has ambitious plans to replace a Chelsea complex, but Jin Tao Wu and a handful of other seniors are refusing to move out.
https://www.thecity.nyc/2026/05/04/chelsea-nycha-housing-relocation-holdout-mao-senior/
28 days ago
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"One detainee was found dead with 66 pills in his cell. Another lay in distress for five minutes during an apparent overdose before staff administered Narcan. A third was left locked in his cell, unsupervised, for nearly 1/2 hour as he spiraled into a medical crisis."
www.thecity.nyc/2026/05/01/r...
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Three Rikers Deaths, Similar Failures: Officers Off Post, Medical Care Bungled
A new report details how missed safety checks, contraband drugs and lapses in medical care preceded the deaths of three detainees in late 2025.
https://www.thecity.nyc/2026/05/01/rikers-island-deaths-report-medical-emergencies-contraband/
about 1 month ago
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"PIECPs pay prisoners state or federal minimum wage, whichever is higher. That means $15.16 per hour for the leather shop workers, while other prison jobs can offer as little as $1.91 per day for full-time roles."
add a skeleton here at some point
about 1 month ago
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reposted by
Reuven Blau
Rachel Holliday Smith
about 1 month ago
poop scoop from
@katiehonan.bsky.social
:
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Pick Up Your Dog’s Crap, Say Four New NYC Council Bills
The new laws would make more doggy bags available publicly, create composting at dog parks and more.
https://www.thecity.nyc/2026/05/01/dog-poop-bags-street-clean-council-bills-compost/
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“The politics around serving young people are a powerful barrier to the change we need. When advocates and young people aren’t at the center of those decisions, the money goes right back to the usual suspects.”
www.thecity.nyc/2026/04/30/y...
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Unspent State Funds for Youth At Risk of Gun Violence Are Needed Here, City Leaders Say
As youth gun violence in the city remains elevated from its pre-pandemic levels, a state program has left hundreds of millions unspent — and kept any of that money from coming here.
https://www.thecity.nyc/2026/04/30/youth-gun-violence-stanley-richards-renita-francois/
about 1 month ago
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A botched LAPD fireworks detonation leveled part of South L.A. and injured 17 people in 2021. Discipline for those involved? As little as 5 days off and some officers involved were later promoted, leaked files show.
www.latimes.com/california/s...
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Leaked LAPD records reveal officers in fireworks blast received only brief suspensions
The LAPD has cited state law as the reason for not disclosing information related to the June 2021 explosion that leveled much of a South L.A. city block, but investigative files associated with the i...
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-04-27/lapd-leak-fireworks-blast-officer-suspensions?utm_source=lamaterial.com&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=activate-the-d&_bhlid=e0b7408ff37f7eb9fad622a782523b38e3fbdec7
about 1 month ago
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"The super PAC Westside Progress reported spending $144,500 starting last week on ads, texts and phone calls supporting Carl Wilson. That’s more than the race’s four candidates had raised combined as of last month." —
@nickgarber.bsky.social
reports
nysfocus.com/2026/04/27/c...
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Cuomo Allies Pour Money Into Race Against Lindsey Boylan
A super PAC has spent six figures on the race over the last week — more than all the candidates had raised as of last month, combined.
https://nysfocus.com/2026/04/27/cuomo-lindsey-boylan-carl-wilson-super-pac
about 1 month ago
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Colin Jost and Pete Davidson’s Staten Island Ferry headache may have an unexpected solution: sink it. Artificial reef experts say the 2,100-ton vessel could become a thriving habitat for marine life. —
@lillysabs.bsky.social
reports
www.thecity.nyc/2026/04/27/c...
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Will Colin Jost and Pete Davidson Sink Their Ship? Reef Experts Hope So
The SNL duo can rid themselves of an embarrassing impulse buy — a 2,100 ton former Staten Island Ferry — by giving it to New York State to turn into a home for underwater creatures.
https://www.thecity.nyc/2026/04/27/colin-jost-pete-davidson-snl-comics-ferry-artifical-reef/
about 1 month ago
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The MTA says personal injury lawyers treat it like an “ATM.” Those same lawyers are plastered across the subway system.The MTA paid $561M in claims last year. —
@jmartineznyc.bsky.social
reports
www.thecity.nyc/2026/04/27/m...
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MTA Battles Lawsuit Payouts as ‘Billboard Lawyer’ Ads
Ads from personal injury attorneys blanket the transit system, even as the MTA’s leader disparages them for costly claims that drain the authority’s budget.
https://www.thecity.nyc/2026/04/27/mta-personal-injury-lawyers-ads-claim-lawsuit/
about 1 month ago
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New: Dana Kaplan, one of the architects and boosters of the close Rikers plan, has been named as the newly created Rikers czar.
www.thecity.nyc/2026/04/22/m...
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Dana Kaplan Is Mamdani’s New ‘Rikers Czar.’ Can She Close the Infamous Complex?
Dana Kaplan will be the mayor’s point person on opening new jails to replace crumbling facilities on Rikers Island, sources told THE CITY.
https://www.thecity.nyc/2026/04/22/mamdanis-new-rikers-czar-helped-design-plan-to-close-jail-complex/
about 1 month ago
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Reuven Blau
claudia irizarry aponte
about 1 month ago
What an image from
@fractenberg.bsky.social
of Council member Chi Ossé being taken to a local hospital after his arrest in Brooklyn this morning. Ossé was protesting the eviction of a constituent who is a victim of alleged deed theft. More details here:
www.thecity.nyc/2026/04/22/b...
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The last steel beam going up outside the new borough based jail in downtown Brooklyn. The facility is expected to cost $3 billion and completed in 2029.
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about 1 month ago
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reposted by
Reuven Blau
St. John Barned-Smith
about 2 months ago
🧵Missed diagnoses, delayed treatment and poor medical care are driving record deaths in ICE custody.
@kolyncheang.bsky.social
and I spent months investigating the deaths of ICE detainees across the US. Over and over again, we found lapses in treatment that proved fatal.
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I'm the third place cholent king of West Orange!
about 2 months ago
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“Dr. Shaknovsky tried to persuade his colleagues in the operating room that the liver he removed from Mr. Bryan was his spleen.”
www.nytimes.com/2026/04/14/u...
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Surgeon Who Removed Wrong Organ From Patient Is Charged in His Death
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/14/us/florida-surgeon-manslaughter-organ-removal.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share
about 2 months ago
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A major push to roll back NY’s Tier 6 pension cuts could cost $1.5B a year and boost benefits for dozens of the very lawmakers negotiating the deal —
@clauirizarry.bsky.social
reports
www.thecity.nyc/2026/04/15/t...
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Albany Lawmakers Take Up Sweeping Pension Reforms. A Big Winner? Themselves.
More than half of all state workers stand to benefit from rolling back the controversial cost-cutting measures enacted in 2012. That includes more than a third of current state legislators.
https://www.thecity.nyc/2026/04/15/tier-6-state-legislature-albany-hochul-retirement-benefits/
about 2 months ago
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New York City lawmakers are pushing to overhaul how people jailed on Rikers Island cast their votes after just 335 of roughly 6,000 eligible detainees cast absentee ballots in the last general election.
www.thecity.nyc/2026/04/14/i...
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A Fraction of Rikers Detainees Vote. NYC Wants to Make it Easier.
Lawmakers say absentee voting is failing in city jails.
https://www.thecity.nyc/2026/04/14/incarceration-voting-rights-ballot-rikers-island-elections/
about 2 months ago
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“I wouldn’t rule out that Hamas targeted civilians, but I wouldn’t confirm it either,” Khalil said. “That’s my position on this.”
add a skeleton here at some point
about 2 months ago
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After years of delays and cost overruns, NYC is finally opening part of a $241M medical unit at Bellevue for seriously ill Rikers detainees — and plans to close the historic North Infirmary Command, the hospital facility built in 1932.
www.thecity.nyc/2026/04/06/r...
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Delayed Bellevue Jail Unit to Open as Rikers Med Facility is Shut
City plans to close aging jail hospital as long-delayed $241 million replacement launches.
https://www.thecity.nyc/2026/04/06/rikers-island-bellevue-infirmary-nic-240-million/
about 2 months ago
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Say hello to my little friend! Sixteen pound brisket. I cooked it at 170 for three weeks 😂 Happy Passover to all who celebrate!
2 months ago
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More than 40,000 calls a year about conditions on Rikers Island are routed into a system where many never get tracked or resolved. Our latest: how 311 complaints, from freezing cells to denied medical care, can vanish as “customer comments.”
www.thecity.nyc/2026/03/31/r...
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More Than 40k 311 Calls From Rikers Go Into a Black Hole Every Year
Detainees and families dial 311 to report freezing cells, hallucinations and denied medical care. Many complaints are routed as "customer comments" and vanish without action.
https://www.thecity.nyc/2026/03/31/rikers-311-calls-complaints-jail/
2 months ago
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“It was shocking,” Brewer told THE CITY. “If they hadn’t noticed it, I would never have known, because I never use that account. I’ve never touched it, and I’ve had it since the 1970s or 80s. All of a sudden, there’s a large loan. I couldn’t believe it.”
www.thecity.nyc/2026/03/30/g...
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A Gale Brewer Imposter Scammed NYC’s Pension Fund Out of $32,980
An online portal allowed grifters to reroute checks and pocket nearly $300,000 in illegal loans, including one from the Manhattan Council member's pension fund.
https://www.thecity.nyc/2026/03/30/gale-brewer-imposter-pension-scam-nycers/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=SCOOP_033026&utm_source=1&utm_source=ActiveCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=A%20Gale%20Brewer%20imposter%20is%20on%20the%20loose&utm_campaign=SCOOP_033026&vgo_ee=7Hz1%2F4rA%2BSr0Ynx%2B9t9qL%2BDh3vIA5HWehIyV59XOWK5Q%3AjfHGXQmghGpNONOg7lY6WhFZvF4jgs7F
2 months ago
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58 reporters tagged at the bottom of this story.
www.nytimes.com/2026/03/29/n...
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The Air Canada Crash: Before and After the Frantic Call to ‘Stop, Stop, Stop’
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/29/nyregion/laguardia-air-canada-crash-reconstruction.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share
2 months ago
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Inbox: John Price, 49, passed away in custody of the city’s Department of Correction. He’s the second detainee death this year so far. A federal judge overseeing the department has given a new remediation manager up to seven years to turn things around — and until May for his initial plan.
2 months ago
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"When Yanfeng Ge, Chaofeng’s brother who is also in the U.S., calls home these days, their mother asks him to come back to China with his brother’s ashes."
add a skeleton here at some point
2 months ago
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Inbox: Barry Cozart, 39, died on Rikers at 11:31 today. He’s the first death behind bars this year, w/15 last year. Judge Swain has given the remediation manager until the end of May to submit his reform plan — and up to seven years (or sooner) to turn things around.
2 months ago
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