Jeongyoon Han

Looking to speak with someone in NY who witnessed a federal immigration arrest for a story I’m working on.

jhan@wxxi.org or Signal:
jhan.76

First new nuclear plant in a generation to be built in Upstate New York Gov. Kathy Hochul made the announcement Monday in Niagara County.

Gov. Hochul said NY intends to create the first major US nuclear plant in 15+ years.

She said she’s asking Pres. Trump to expedite the permit process: “So I said to the President, ‘If you want energy dominance, I want energy dominance. This is how we do it.’”

www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2...

Here are the bills that NY lawmakers passed, and didn't pass, this year Lawmakers in the New York state Legislature raced to pass more than 800 bills this year. The legislation now heads to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s desk for her sign-off.

Which bills did NY lawmakers pass, and which ones weren't so lucky?
A roundup of some of those bills based on our NY capitol public radio bureau reporting -- from @joncampbellny.bsky.social Jimmy Vielkind and yours truly: www.wxxinews.org/new-york-pub...

The state Senate passed this bill with a strong majority. It’s still being considered in the Assembly, per source familiar

Should sewage sludge be used as fertilizer for New York's farmland? Lawmakers in Albany say sewage sludge, or waste collected in homes and factories that's used as a fertilizer alternative, could permanently ruin New York farmland and harm human health.

A bill that would impose a five-year moratorium on the use of sewage sludge as fertilizer could get a vote in the NY Legislature this week.

More from @jeongyoonhan.bsky.social: www.wxxinews.org/new-york-pub...

Natural gas pipelines see renewed push as Hochul signals openness New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Thursday that she was considering the “benefits” of new energy projects that meet state environmental laws – including pipeline projects – “at a time when energy prices...

The battle over natural-gas pipelines -- a remnant of the big fracking battle of the early 2010s -- is back in NY.

More from @jeongyoonhan.bsky.social:

www.wxxinews.org/new-york-pub...

Report finds worsening racial disparities in New York parole process The state’s parole board is 33% less likely to release a person of color than a white person, according to a New York University School of Law report analyzing the most recent data spanning 2022 throu...

SCOOP: NY's parole board is 33% less likely to release a POC than a white person, per NYU’s Center on Race, Inequality, and the Law.

Notable line in the report: "Not coincidentally, this three-and-a-quarter-year period coincides with Gov. Hochul’s time in office."

www.wxxinews.org/new-york-pub...

Some incarcerated New Yorkers work for 10 cents an hour. Lawmakers say that needs to change Lawmakers in Albany are considering establishing a minimum wage and setting the base rate at half the state’s minimum wage – which currently is between $15.50 and $16.50.

Some incarcerated New Yorkers work for as little as 10 cents an hour, while the average statewide rate is $0.35/hour.

State lawmakers say that needs to change.

www.wxxinews.org/new-york-pub...

Here’s how NY’s new budget addresses cost of living for New Yorkers Lawmakers approved plans to issue "inflation" checks alongside making school meals free for students in public schools, among other measures that Gov. Kathy Hochul says fulfills part of her ongoing "a...

Great morning read via @jeongyoonhan.bsky.social for WXXINews!

Here’s how NY’s new budget addresses cost of living for New Yorkers: www.wrvo.org/2025-05-14/h...

Days ago, NY passed laws that would put safeguards on AI chatbots.

But now Republicans in Congress want to put a 10-year moratorium on state AI laws.

AOC cited NY's laws in a E&C bill markup Tuesday and said it "would be wiped out" if this happens:

www.wxxinews.org/new-york-pub...

Special legislative hearing will address deaths of inmates in NY prisons Lawmakers and criminal justice advocates are using a special legislative hearing on Wednesday as a chance to draw attention to violence in the state’s correctional facilities and renew calls for refor...

NY lawmakers and criminal justice advocates are using a special legislative hearing tomorrow as a chance to draw attention to violence in the state’s correctional facilities and renew calls for reform.

www.wxxinews.org/new-york-pub...

NY lawmakers agree to close up to 3 prisons, lower age requirements for guards The state will lower the minimum prison guard age to 18 and spend $500 million to keep backfilling shifts with National Guard troops.

"State Democratic leaders agreed to close up to three prisons over the next year and put at least $500 million toward the continued deployment of National Guard troops to backfill prison guard shifts."

"[L]ower the starting age for a corrections officer from 21 to 18."
#NewYork #USA #Incarceration

New York businesses are beginning to see effects of Trump's tariffs President Trump's tariffs are affecting all sorts of businesses in New York, from fireworks show companies to clothing stores.

4) From fireworks show companies to clothing stores, NY businesses are considering price hikes and fees order to stay afloat in the face of President Trump's tariffs.

One owner: "I wrestled with what I want to say, because I feel bad having to tell people.”

www.wxxinews.org/new-york-pub...

Lawmakers want to make changes to NY's home care program

3) Lawmakers are keen on un-doing much of how the state’s home care program is now run — changes that Gov. Kathy Hochul pushed for. It comes as home care workers aren’t getting paid and consumers are not getting enrolled b/c of a chaotic administrative transition.

www.wxxinews.org/new-york-pub...

Gov. Hochul announces $254B budget that bans phone use in school, sends out rebate checks Here are the basics on this year’s state budget agreement.

The NY public radio J-Crew of me @joncampbellny.bsky.social and Jimmy Vielkind wrote about the “general agreement” of a budget deal that still is not a finished budget:

gothamist.com/news/gov-hoc...

NY lawmakers poised to loosen campaign finance rules in state budget The changes would allow candidates to match the first $250 of donations up to $1,000, making larger sums eligible for the matching funds program.

ICYMI — a thread:
1) This scoop by yours truly: lawmakers in Albany are poised to up the max donation amount that’s eligible for public matching in NY races.

Since publishing, the Assembly Speaker did confirm:

www.wxxinews.org/new-york-pub...

Cuomo had a rocky relationship with local leaders. Now he wants to be NYC mayor. Some describe a transactional, self-interested governor. Others say he knew how to get things done.

Some local leaders say Andrew Cuomo used his power when he was governor to bigfoot them and withhold funding in retaliation for disagreeing with him.

Now, he wants to be one of them.

I talked with people across the political spectrum for this story:

gothamist.com/news/cuomo-h...

NY lawmakers say colleagues are stalling prison oversight bill Progressive lawmakers have re-surfaced legislation first introduced four years ago that would triple membership of what they say is the underfunded and understaffed State Commission of Correction. But...

A push to expand the state’s independent prison oversight body -- spurred by the killing of Robert Brooks at a prison in Marcy -- appears to have stalled in the Assembly.

From @jeongyoonhan.bsky.social:

www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2...

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul walks political tightrope into high-stakes White House sit-down NY Gov. Kathy Hochul has referenced the Rambo movies to describe her strategy to President Donald Trump. But she's not throwing punches all the time.

NY Gov. Kathy Hochul has referenced the Rambo movies to describe her strategy to President Donald Trump. But she's not throwing punches all the time.

My analysis here, and on the airwaves for NPR's All Things Considered today:

www.wxxinews.org/new-york-pub...

www.wxxinews.org/new-york-pub...

Another reporter asked border czar Tom Homan why Mahmoud Khalil was arrested. He dodged the question so I pressed him on it. He said:
“I'm unfamiliar with the exact charge. I can just tell you what my discussions have been with it, is that it’s a direct violation of our foreign policy objectives."

More than half of corrections officers still on NY prison strike While nearly 60% of corrections officers remain on strike, hundreds of them gathered at the state Capitol on Tuesday. The rally served as a poignant message to Gov. Kathy Hochul that the deal and term...

Three weeks in, nearly 60% of NY’s corrections officers are still on strike.

2,000 of them returned to work over the weekend, but 8,000 still stand on the picket line.

www.wxxinews.org/new-york-pub...

Corrections officers fired as tentative deal fails to end wildcat strike State officials said they had done what they legally could by issuing a tentative prison strike deal before resorting to terminations and civil contempt charges.

The New York state Department of Corrections has begun firing and fining corrections officers who have not returned to work as an unlawful prison strike enters its third week.

Corrections officers fired as tentative deal fails to end wildcat strike State officials said they had done what they legally could by issuing a tentative prison strike deal before resorting to terminations and civil contempt charges.

New York's "Department of Corrections has begun firing and fining corrections officers who have not returned to work as an unlawful prison strike enters its third week."

"Over the course of the strike, four prisoners have died at three separate facilities."
@jeongyoonhan.bsky.social @gothamist.com

anora hive let's go

Tentative prison strike deal garners mixed reactions for incarcerated people and loved ones Incarcerated people and their families agree that the corrections officers' strike must end. But they're concerned about one part of a tentative deal.

I spoke w/ a mom who wants NY corrections officers to accept the prison strike deal so that her son, who was allegedly attacked by inmates and guards at Bare Hill, can get medical care.

But she's torn: He's in solitary confinement. Will the deal keep him in there?

www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2...

NYC congestion pricing expected to start Sunday over NJ objections A judge tossed out New Jersey’s last-minute request to pause the toll on Manhattan drivers.

From @stephennessen.bsky.social and myself: A federal judge has struck down NJ's last-ditch effort to block congestion pricing from taking effect in Manhattan on Sunday.

NJ's attorney, Randy Mastro, has vowed to appeal.

gothamist.com/news/nyc-con...

Jeongyoon Han joins Capitol News Bureau, serving New York's public media stations Jeongyoon Han, the new Capitol News Bureau reporter for WXXI and the New York Public News Network, starts this week.

new headshot new job www.wxxinews.org/2024-12-30/j...

Thanks so much, David!

Personal: I’ve left the NPR mothership after an incredible year on the campaign trail to cover state politics for WXXI / NY Public News Network out of Albany. I’m still in the NPR family, and it’ll be exciting to cover NY as a Syracuse native.

My first day is Dec. 30! Say hi - DMs/in Albany!