Nathan Porceng

Upstate NY Bitcoin mine agrees to slash emissions, will get air permit from the state The move comes days after Hochul’s administration paved the way for a new natural gas pipeline in New York Harbor.

It got overshadowed by the pipeline news, but NYS’s deal to allow Greenidge Generation to keep operating an upstate gas plant *for the sole purpose of mining bitcoin* might be almost as big of a reversal gothamist.com/news/upstate...

Friends— here it is. Updated & expanded thanks to the space afforded to me in the @therumpus.net & the guidance of the brilliant @roxanegay.bsky.social’s edits. The win centers Muslims humanity — but what does that mean in a country that rejects that?

therumpus.net/2025/11/05/z...

At Brooklyn Paramount, the moment AP called the race for mayor-elect @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social:

New York Is Violating Its Flagship Climate Law, Judge Rules The law required a state agency to issue major regulations more than a year and a half ago, and it had no excuse not to, the court found.

New York is violating its flagship climate law, a judge ruled Friday.

“We plan to review all our options, including working with the Legislature to modify the CLCPA and appeal," Hochul said in a statement.
nysfocus.com/2025/10/24/n...

Man detained in Cato ICE raid wrongfully deported, separated from his family Body camera footage released from the raid shows agents referring to immigrants as 'animals.'

“They’re, they’re animals anyway. That’s what I would tell my kids all the time,” said the ICE agent, according to body cam footage. spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/central-...

Adams Quietly Uses Free Internet at NYCHA to Expand Police… The Adams administration is using its flagship broadband program to give police real-time access to NYCHA camera feeds — without telling anyone.

NEW: Eric Adams’s free internet program for NYCHA is also linking public housing cameras directly to the NYPD’s surveillance hub — without telling residents.

As Zohran Mamdani faces an onslaught of Islamophobia, Eric Adams' team told organizers of an event celebrating a far-right Hindu nationalist who has called for economic boycotts of Muslims that he would be their guest of honor.

What, to the American Incarcerated Person, Is Your Fourth of July? In the spirit of Frederick Douglass’ historic speech, 20 currently and formerly incarcerated Americans explain what Independence Day means to them.

In the spirit of Frederick Douglass’ historic speech, 20 currently and formerly incarcerated Americans explain what Independence Day means to them.

A bar chart represents 100% of all payments to hotels from New York Social Services Agencies. 44% of the payments were for more than twice fair market rent. 42% of the payments were for one to two times fair market rent. 14% of payments were for less than fair market rent.

New story from @propublica.org + @nysfocus.bsky.social: New York frequently paid more for hotels for people & families experiencing homelessness than fair market rent for a 2-bedroom apartment. A full 44% of payments were for more than DOUBLE fair market rent. www.propublica.org/article/new-...

New York Focus Honored for Coverage of Prison System The Legislative Correspondents Alumni Association recognized Chris Gelardi with its award for the year’s best state government reporting — the second year…

New York Focus has been awarded the Walter T. Brown Award for excellence in coverage of New York state government for the second year in a row 🤩
nysfocus.com/2025/06/10/n...

New York Police Agencies Train Officers on a Discredited Medical… Documents show that six county sheriffs’ offices and two state agencies have recently included excited delirium in their training.

Excited delirium is said to turn people into erratic aggressors and has been discredited by much of the medical establishment.

Documents show that state and local agencies across New York train law enforcement officers on the disavowed syndrome.

From a dear comrade who was kind enough to let me share their video.

Veterans stage a sit-in on the US Capitol steps and say, “Military off our streets!” Hell yeah!

After the main NYC anti-ICE protest dispersed, a few hundred — mostly younger people — broke off and marched back to federal plaza. The NYPD started picking them off, but they kept demonstrating. They're still there. The kids are tireless.

A couple of the violent arrests:

New York's Recycling War is Heating Up The chemical industry is pushing to replace a sweeping plastics bill with a more business-friendly alternative.

See my recent coverage of the lobbying war over the waste reduction/EPR bills: nysfocus.com/2025/05/29/n...

Five Highlights From Our Mayoral Forum We teamed up with Hell Gate to grill leading Democratic candidates in a forum unlike any other. Here's what they said.

Before tonight's debate, catch up on moments from our mayoral forum with @hellgatenyc.com.

We asked the candidates about how they would advocate for New York in Albany, how they might respond to campus protests — and what they do for fun.

“We’re not in a good place,” said Wanda Wilson, who helps lead the PAB Alliance, a coalition of community organizations supporting the board. “This court ruling takes the city backwards.”

Exclusive | Controversial Constitution Pipeline Project in New York Is About to Be Revived Pipeline operator Williams will seek to build two natural-gas supply lines to New York following talks between President Trump and Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Well, here it is: www.wsj.com/business/ene...

Small Towns, Big Stakes: How Medicaid Cuts Threaten Health Care in… From nursing homes to Planned Parenthood clinics, rural health care in Upstate New York could collapse under proposed Republican budget changes.

Federal cuts in health care spending — projected at $715 billion over the next 10 years — could have a devastating impact, not just on the New Yorkers who will lose insurance, but also on the rural hospitals, nursing homes, and clinics that rely on Medicaid payments.
nysfocus.com/2025/05/29/m...

YouTube video by New York Focus Five Years Later — NYC Black Lives Matter Protests

*New @nysfocus.bsky.social video:

Five years ago, protesters in New York City took to the streets, joining one of the largest protest movements in US history to demand a smaller, more accountable NYPD. Has anything changed?
youtu.be/pUGF2FERmMQ?...

Rochester Police Accountability Board Loses Investigatory Powers A Monroe County judge stripped the PAB of its power to investigate and report incidents of police misconduct.

In 2019, Rochester created an independent Police Accountability Board to investigate misconduct complaints and discipline officers. Six years later, courts have stripped the board of most of its powers. My latest in @nysfocus.bsky.social

nysfocus.com/2025/05/28/r...

Five Highlights From Our Mayoral Forum We teamed up with Hell Gate to grill leading Democratic candidates in a forum unlike any other. Here's what they said.

Last week, we teamed up with @hellgatenyc.com to grill leading Democratic candidates for mayor in a forum unlike any other.

If you missed it, we've rounded up the highlights:

A great honor!

Congrats!!! Absolutely deserved!

Letter from the Editors: Columbia and Barnard are failing their student press <i>Editor’s note: This article deals with topics of police brutality.</i>

www.columbiaspectator.com/opinion/2025...

What’s in the 2025 New York State Budget? Here’s Everything You Need… Our searchable database breaks down what was proposed and what made it in this year's budget among key topics like education, family policy, criminal…

After a MASSIVE lift poring over thousands of pages of the NYS budget, the team at @nysfocus.bsky.social has put together this comprehensive budget guide. It's in-depth, searchable, and easy to understand — completely the opposite of how the state presents it. nysfocus.com/2025/05/10/n...

"Albany, which New York Focus focuses on, wields an enormous amount of power over every locality in the state including New York City... We deliberately look for stories that others do not cover." @akashmehta.bsky.social
@nysfocus.bsky.social

@the-independent.com

#SirHarrySummit

The laughable police tactics we're currently seeing in the news have been in the works for years.

These screenshots come from a 2009 document that didn't make it into the below article. Echoes of
@alexbkane.bsky.social's recent NYPD reporting and Trump's bizarre fixation on hand tattoos.

The New York State Police Are Feeding ICE a Gang Database For 20 years, state police have been quietly building a database of suspected gang members — and they're feeding it to Donald Trump's administration.

This is a massive story — and revelation — from @chrisgelardi.bsky.social for @nysfocus.bsky.social.
"The statewide gang database has been in operation for 20 years, though it has garnered almost no outside attention or scrutiny."
nysfocus.com/2025/04/23/t...