Some 1,600 people are suing NY prisons over sexual abuse they allege they suffered while in custody. Reporters at @nysfocus.bsky.social sought records to find out how the prison agency handles sex abuse allegations, but they met a stone wall. Now they're suing. hellgatenyc.com/why-these-re...

NEW: Since New York tacked an extra fee onto auto insurance bills to help the state combat auto theft and insurance fraud, the fee has multiplied tenfold — from $1 to $10. But a smaller and smaller proportion of those fees has gone specifically toward addressing fraud and theft.

An incredibly strange pairing: saw Paul Krugman interview veritable law god Lina Khan last night.

looks like Mamdani is gonna get his rent freeze this year after all. big news on the housing beat from @smaldo.bsky.social:

New from me: Northwell Health is laying off “under 4%” of its IT staff, a spox confirmed this morning… www.newsday.com/real-estate/...

Activists at Stonewall put a Pride flag (back up!) at the park, after a Trump admin decision to remove it. They tied it to the American flag.

Also rallying at Stonewall now, City Council Speaker Julie Menin, Senator Erik Bottcher, and Representative Dan Goldman

Spotted at a rally at Stonewall today: Congressional candidate Jack Schlossberg, who’s running to replace Representative Jerry Nadler in New York’s 12th Congressional District—

Trump launched a website advertising low-cost prescription drugs, even though it often *cheaper* to use insurance/generics, and named it after himself. Welcome to TrumpRx—

New York's youth prisons are a disaster. Kids locked in solitary for days at a time. Staff forced to work 24-plus-hour shifts. Crisis after crisis. "I'm a human rights violator," one whistleblower told me. They recounted the nightmare at one facility: nysfocus.com/2026/02/04/o...

When do they, uhh … when do they….uhhh…

On this Groundhog Day, I choose, once again, to celebrate the greatest lede ever written about a rodent's death, courtesy of @jonlemire.bsky.social

Perennial reminder to my NYC friends that landlords cannot refuse to rent to you, evict you, or discriminate against you because of your immigration status. www.brickunderground.com/rent/undocum...

Nurses at three Long Island hospitals ratified new contracts with Northwell Health, avoiding a possible strike on the island — www.newsday.com/business/nor...

Mokafe Coffee House is serving up Mayor @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social’s face on its Cardamom Mamdani Chai Matcha, even at one of its Long Island stores. (And it HITS.)

Inbox: A City Council employee was detained by ICE while at a routine immigration appointment in Bethpage this afternoon, Council Speaker Julie Menin says. The detention happened even though this employee has legal status to be in the country until October, per Menin.

Weeks after we first wrote about PureGym's controversial tube-assisted egress system, the FDNY has inspected 7 of the gym locations and issued dozens of violations, some of them related to having to scan your phone to exit the building.

use your eyes www.404media.co/dhs-is-lying...

Missed this in my holiday haze but I was so thrilled to spot a few of my blogs on this list! Big thanks to the Hell Gate team for forever memorializing the time I ate the subway slop foods, got scammed by an AI-generated singles event, and ranted about the subway poems.

At the end of each year, we drop the veil and tell our readers which of our blogs, interviews, features, or miscellanea we loved best from the hundreds of stories we published. Did your favorite make the cut? Let us know.

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...

Access to the RSS feed RULES

My Undesirable Friends: Part I — Last Air in Moscow follows Russian journalists who report on the country's abuses. Reviewer Justin Chang calls it one of the most engrossing films he's seen all year. n.pr/4p96lsq

Learning that Zohran Mamdani and Donald Trump discussed ULURP at the White House last week is big news for sickos like me.

New York Groove subscriber Zohran Mamdani has converted the president to socialism

Nothing can possibly do justice to the incredible body language on display here—Mamdani's rigid spine, his hands clasped tightly to prevent them from punching a hole in the Oval Office window and jumping out of it, Trump repeatedly touching Mamdani's arm, smiling at him like the son he's never had.

A few months ago @thelocal.to got a promising pitch from a writer with bylines in whole bunch of reputable publications—The Cut, The Guardian, Dwell, Architectural Digest, etc. Then I started investigating. Here's a story about fabulists in journalism's AI slop era. thelocal.to/investigatin...

As someone who just started driving in the city, the number of times I see cars blow red lights is unhinged

A vintage car guy is retiring and I asked him what cars he had the most fun working on. He said the Batmobile. Yes, an actual Batmobile - www.newsday.com/business/aut...

This was the moment when everyone at the @nygroove.nyc’s party at TV Eye realized it was real: Mamdani mayor @hellgatenyc.com called the race for newly elected New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani just half an hour later

My landlord is going to be so mad

Scenes from the @nygroove.nyc party at TV Eye as the votes come in for Zohran

Ran into my landlord today who said he voted for Cuomo…

The tenants of a massive portfolio of bankrupt NYC buildings are organizing for a rare chance to buy their homes. Do you live in a property headed to auction? Read my story to find out - www.brickunderground.com/rent/pinnacl...

I wrote about the onslaught of ad slop in my wonderful home of New York City for Mubi's Notebook mag. If you've ever looked at a screen and thought "what the hell is that?" this one's for you... mubi.com/en/notebook/...

Zohran Mamdani *would* evict Elizabeth Street Garden to build affordable housing if elected, he said tonight at an interview with Hell Gate. www.brickunderground.com/live/what-el...

New data: New Yorkers have filed 1,125 complaints and questions about the FARE Act (that rule that requires an NYC landlord to pay the apartment broker they hired). But what happens after folks complain? Not a ton...yet

Today's the second day that NPR and PBS and the hundreds of local stations that comprise both networks are operating without any government support after they were defunded. Consider giving them a bit of support =>

On a tree-lined Bronx street stands one of the last women's boarding houses in New York City, Centro Maria. Take a look inside with me --

Still not over the incredible scene at the launch of the Subway Color Archive, the highlight of my weird and whimsical dive into three random NYC events. (Spoiler: one was AI-slop!) Check out my story for @hellgatenyc.com hellgatenyc.com/eventbrite-n...

This November, three ballot proposals could reshape (and speed up) how affordable housing is built in New York City. Thanks so much to S.E. Cupp for having me on Battle Ground NYC on @fox5ny.bsky.social to explain what voters need to know. youtu.be/IWJ5hQx9QyM?...

After many long (long) months, a task force approved a plan to completely reshape the Brooklyn Marine Terminal today, despite local opposition. Wondering what the hell is going on? Find out- hellgatenyc.com/vote-for-may...

only swipe right if you see this 👍 hellgatenyc.com/membership/

I spoke with @opennewyork.org this week about the three ballot questions that could change how affordable housing is built in NYC!

“These are questions about who this city works for,” said @annemariegray.bsky.social. "Are we going to let NYC’s richest continue to block affordable housing, or are we going to build a city that’s affordable for everyone?"

If you thought the worst thing about watching the Mets was the pitching staff's devotion to walking guys, you're wrong, because now the games come with recruitment ads for ICE nygroove.nyc/mets-fans-ba...

Accidentally stumbled on a Red Hook flood mitigation presser, which is also where Law and Order will be filming a new ep later this week…

New York is the only city in the world where you can party with subway nerds, hunt down a likely AI-generated singles mixer, and club at the Sheraton's rooftop hookah lounge all in one night. hellgatenyc.com/eventbrite-n...

Somehow, getting on TV was the least eventful part of my Mets experience last night: defector.com/tnt-sports-a...

There will be no giant snowman on the corner of Canal and Essex streets this winter, and no fruit slushies next summer. hellgatenyc.com/your-favorit...