New York Focus

10/08/2025

🍻 Let’s toast to local journalism, accountability & New York itself. Celebrate 5 years of New York Focus Oct. 14 at Crystal Lake. $5 advance tix!

Come celebrate with us!

10/08/2025

NEW: The ICE detention center near Buffalo has banned book deliveries, New York Focus has learned.

Rejected books include a Spanish-English dictionary, a translation of a George R.R. Martin novel, and “The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work.”

Rejected books include a Spanish-English dictionary, a Spanish translation of a George R.R. Martin novel, and "The Seven Principles for Making Marriage…

10/07/2025

We know what happens in communities around the country where local journalism has gone dark.

At New York Focus we believe that New Yorkers deserve fearless, independent reporting on the systems and decisions shaping their lives. We're turning five, and we want YOU with us for the next five years. Become a monthly donor: nysfocus.com/donate.

10/07/2025

Some immigrants held in county jails are struggling to access legal advice, phone calls, and even their own court hearings.

Some immigrants held in county jails are struggling to access legal advice, phone calls, and even their own court hearings.

10/07/2025

In a state Senate hearing on spiraling energy bills, consumer advocates lamented the closed-door negotiations at the heart of New York’s ratemaking process.

In a state Senate hearing on spiraling energy bills, consumer advocates lamented the closed-door negotiations at the heart of New York’s ratemaking…

10/07/2025

In theory, the process that determines your energy bills plays out in public, through innumerable documents and comments posted online and hearings that are open to all.

In practice, watchdogs say, the key decisions are made behind closed doors, in confidential settlement proceedings where utilities set the agenda and bring legal firepower that is impossible for most other participants to match.

That secretive settlement process was a flashpoint at a state Senate hearing on spiraling energy bills. Over the course of the day, senators questioned state and city officials, advocates, and utility representatives about the state’s energy policies and reforms that could rein in price hikes.

10/07/2025

Have a round of drinks on New York Focus! Join us for a night of raffles and mingling for our 5th birthday party on Oct. 14 at Crystal Lake in Brooklyn. Tickets are $5 in advance.

Come celebrate with us!

10/07/2025

ICE detainees in New York jails are struggling to access to legal advice, phone calls, and even their own court hearings.

Some immigrants held in county jails are struggling to access legal advice, phone calls, and even their own court hearings.

10/06/2025

While Ramon Eduardo Contreras-Hernandez was detained at the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Batavia earlier this year, he regularly saw attorneys visiting their clients, giving him some sense of connection to the outside world. At the Broome County jail, where he was transferred with no explanation about seven weeks ago, it’s a different story.

“I haven’t seen lawyers come to visit anyone,” he said in Spanish. “We’re more abandoned.”

Read the full story by Julia Rock and Isabelle Taft at nysfocus.com.

10/06/2025

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10/06/2025

In a state Senate hearing on spiraling energy bills, consumer advocates lamented the closed-door negotiations at the heart of New York’s ratemaking process.

In a state Senate hearing on spiraling energy bills, consumer advocates lamented the closed-door negotiations at the heart of New York’s ratemaking…

10/06/2025

Lets toast to local journalism, holding our elected officials to account, and the greatest state in America. Join us on Oct. 14 at Crystal Lake in Brooklyn for our 5th birthday party.

Come celebrate with us!