In 2025, New York Focus reporting prompted hearings, policy changes, and accountability across state and local government. Support independent journalism in NY with a year-end donation. All donations tripled through the end of the year! nysfocus.com/donate

Funding local news is more important than ever, and it will take a village to succeed. Your donation will be TRIPLED until the end of the year! nysfocus.com/donate

In 2025, New York Focus reporting prompted hearings, policy changes, and accountability across state and local government. Support independent journalism in NY with a year-end donation. All donations tripled through the end of the year! nysfocus.com/donate

Of the 856 bills the legislature passed this year, the governor vetoed 140. Here’s the full list. nysfocus.com/2025/12/23/h...

The team at @nysfocus.bsky.social really does great work unpacking how power functions in NY State. nysfocus.com/2025/12/23/h...

Of the 856 bills the legislature passed this year, the governor vetoed 140. Explore the full list using our database. nysfocus.com/2025/12/23/h...

We’ve been uncovering how New York works for five years. Help us continue to hold the powerful to account and donate today. All gifts tripled by matching donors through 12/31. nysfocus.com/donate

One hundred and forty laws that almost were. Here are some highlights among the scores of bills Hochul vetoed in 2025. nysfocus.com/2025/12/23/h...

NEW: New York’s flagship energy efficiency program, Empower+, is back on track with a major boost from a regional cap and trade program. The new funding reverses steep cuts that New York Focus first reported over the summer. nysfocus.com/2025/12/23/e...

NEW: For the first time since she took office in 2021, Governor Kathy Hochul won’t be taking a stack of unsigned bills with her into the Christmas holiday. She's moved quickly by vetoing more bills than usual. We moved quickly to round them up for you:

Luis Cherry applied to have his murder conviction reviewed by the Suffolk County DA’s Office in 2024. Though he didn’t understand it at the time, Suffolk is one of the six counties that uses a higher standard for conviction review that excludes many applicants.

Chad Richards was surprised when he first read about the newly-minted CIU in Ulster county in 2019. He wrote right away, alleging misconduct in a 2012 conviction. He was promised a response in the “near future.” Six years since, Richards is yet to hear back from the unit.

Terrell Eleby, convicted of murder in a high-profile 1985 Brooklyn case, has long maintained his innocence. He spent years writing to the Brooklyn DA and its CIU, hoping for a review—only to learn in 2023, ten years after first applying, that his case had been rejected.

NEW: Conviction integrity units are meant to be an easier avenue for those alleging wrongful convictions. But nearly five dozen letters from incarcerated New Yorkers show the system is just as opaque for those without legal representation.

NEW: @columbiajournalism.bsky.social and New York Focus spent over a year speaking with nearly five dozen incarcerated New Yorkers who applied to a conviction integrity unit in the state. In the final story of the Innocence Ignored series, we highlight those applying without legal representation.

The state, represented by the office of Attorney General Letitia James, plans to ask judges to dismiss up to 500 prison sexual assault cases filed against it under the Adult Survivors Act, Hell Gate and New York Focus have learned. nysfocus.com/2025/12/22/p...

The Next New York: Who’s watching the kids? Join us January 21, 2026 in Astoria for a panel of advocates, educators, and policy experts to discuss what it would take to build a city that truly supports families from birth through high school – and whether there’s money to do it.

NEW: As his re-election prospects dimmed, New York City Mayor Eric Adams’s administration raced through a blockbuster deal to buy hundreds of millions of dollars worth of new Chromebooks for public school students. It’s not clear that anywhere near so many public school students need the devices.

New York Focus is hosting a new events series! Our three-part public forum series will probe the question: What will it take for Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani to turn his platform into policy? Join us for conversations around child care, transportation, and housing. nysfocus.com/turning-plat...

"Sometimes stories make you think: wow, this belongs on screen." Thank you Popshift for featuring two New York Focus stories in The IP List Index 2025. iplist.org

⚠️ It’s official! New York has repealed the “100-foot rule” subsidy for new gas hookups, joining five other states that have ended similar subsidies. Statement from Hochul:

NEW: New York adopted rules at the end of last year meant to protect smaller wetlands from development, nearly doubling the amount of state-protected land. But bureaucratic hurdles have added months to the permitting process as solar developers race to qualify for federal subsidies.

In 2025, New York Focus reporting prompted hearings, policy changes, and accountability across state and local government. Support independent journalism in NY with a year-end donation. All donations tripled through the end of the year! nysfocus.com/donate

New York’s Office of Addiction Services and Supports is running television ads featuring AI-generated faces without disclosing the technology to viewers. nysfocus.com/2025/12/08/n...

New York Focus investigates the politicians, lobbyists, and monied interests that drive state policy. But we can’t do it alone. Our reporting relies on sources who are willing to share their insight and knowledge with us. nysfocus.com/become-a-sou...

Some of downstate New York’s most used hiking trails are badly eroding. President Trump’s cuts have slashed the crews working to save them. nysfocus.com/2025/12/11/t...

As the year comes to a close, thank you to everyone who reads, shares, and supports New York Focus. Help us grab 2026 by the horns with a year-end donation. All donations are tripled through the end of the year! nysfocus.com/donate

Since the shutdown ended, the Trump administration has ratcheted up its threats to cut off SNAP benefits to states that don’t comply with a controversial data sharing policy announced earlier this year. nysfocus.com/2025/12/12/w...

Expanded work rules from the Trump administration will go into effect in March and require certain SNAP recipients to spend up to 80 hours every month working, in school, or volunteering. nysfocus.com/2025/12/12/w...

Update: New York pension fund trustees on Wednesday tabled Comptroller Brad Lander’s proposal to rebid a contract with BlackRock, leaving the potential $42 billion move up to his successor. nysfocus.com/2025/12/15/b...

NEW: Governor Kathy Hochul is pushing to narrow a bill to protect domestic violence survivors from being held financially responsible for debt incurred as a result of their abuse, according to the bill’s Assembly sponsor. nysfocus.com/2025/12/19/h...

The governor is poised to veto a bill to insulate a business transparency law from federal shifts, according to the bill’s sponsor. nysfocus.com/2025/12/17/l...

Support these folks!

In 2025, New York Focus reporting prompted hearings, policy changes, and accountability across state and local government. Support independent journalism in NY with a year-end donation. All donations tripled through the end of the year! nysfocus.com/donate

Staffing challenges have bedeviled many city agencies — a reality set to confront the incoming administration of Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani, which has pledged ambitious new programs across city government. nysfocus.com/2025/12/11/n...

New York City's Department of Social Services has faced one trial after another in recent years. With fewer hands to handle all extra work, the agency has had to ask more of its existing staff. nysfocus.com/2025/12/11/n...

Hochul is poised to veto a bill that could save New York’s LLC Transparency Act — which she signed two years ago — from new rules by the Trump administration. nysfocus.com/2025/12/17/l...

Update: New York pension fund trustees on Wednesday tabled Comptroller Brad Lander’s proposal to rebid a contract with BlackRock, leaving the potential $42 billion move up to his successor. nysfocus.com/2025/12/15/b...

NEW: Hochul is poised to veto a bill that could save New York’s LLC Transparency Act — which she signed two years ago — from new rules by the Trump administration. nysfocus.com/2025/12/17/l...

With nearly 1,500 unfilled jobs, New York City’s Department of Social Services is leaning on mandatory overtime to keep up. nysfocus.com/2025/12/11/n...

Big big big day on global-level climate action today (maybe): will @BradLander.bsky.social @NYCComptroller.bsky.social move $42 billion in city business away from BlackRock? Or not? The key pension fund meeting starts at 9:30. @nysfocus.bsky.social w/ the info 👀 nysfocus.com/2025/12/15/b...

Outgoing Comptroller Brad Lander wants the city’s pension funds to reconsider $42 billion in investments with the firm, but it may fall to his successor to take action. nysfocus.com/2025/12/15/b...

We’ve been uncovering how New York works for five years. Help us continue to hold the powerful to account and donate today. All gifts tripled by matching donors through 12/31. nysfocus.com/donate

Outgoing NYC Comptroller Brad Lander wants the city pension funds to pull $42 billion from BlackRock over climate concerns. This Wednesday is their last chance to take action before his term runs out. nysfocus.com/2025/12/15/b...

NEW: Outgoing NYC Comptroller Brad Lander wants the city pension funds to pull $42 billion from BlackRock over climate concerns. This Wednesday is their last chance to take action before his term runs out. nysfocus.com/2025/12/15/b...

After a chaotic November, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is back on track — at least for now. nysfocus.com/2025/12/12/w...

New Yorkers who rely on federal food assistance could see more program disruptions in upcoming months. nysfocus.com/2025/12/12/w...

For @nysfocus.bsky.social and @thecity.nyc , I took a deep-dive into NYC’s Department of Social Services. OT spending has soared while frontline positions processing SNAP and Cash Assistance applicants remain unfilled, impacting the city’s most vulnerable residents (with @reuvenblau.bsky.social)

NEW: After a chaotic November, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is back on track — at least for now. nysfocus.com/2025/12/12/w...

NEW: With nearly 1,500 unfilled jobs, New York City’s Department of Social Services is leaning on mandatory overtime to keep up. nysfocus.com/2025/12/11/n...