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Chris Bragg

@chrisbragg1.bsky.social

Albany Bureau Chief, New York Focus

297 Followers  |  14 Following  |  8 Posts  |  Joined: 07.01.2025  |  1.4956

Latest posts by chrisbragg1.bsky.social on Bluesky

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Have You Been Sued for Credit Card Debt? Your Fake Relative Mightโ€ฆ Collectors claim they serve people who don't exist, yet regulators rarely bar repeat offenders from the industry.

NEW: Have you been sued for credit card debt?

In NYC, tens of thousands of people are sued for debt every year. But many never learn about the lawsuits, because process servers donโ€™t deliver the court papers.

10.06.2025 13:43 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 5    ๐Ÿ” 6    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 1
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A Powerful Bronx Politician Dines on Developersโ€™ Double Donations An expert calls the six-figure haul โ€œextraordinaryโ€ for an unpaid party seat whose powers are picking judges, poll workers, and party officers.

New: A powerful Bronx politician dines on developers' double donations nysfocus.com/2025/06/05/r...

05.06.2025 15:23 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Harrison Mayor Helped Rezone His Own Land โ€” Then Sold It for $2.9โ€ฆ Richard Dionisio participated in multiple votes related to a controversial rezoning effort without publicly disclosing his financial interest.

A Westchester County mayor helped rezone land he owned โ€” dramatically increasing the value โ€” then sold it to a housing developer for $2.9M nysfocus.com/2025/05/21/m...

21.05.2025 16:20 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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For a Yonkers Political Dynasty, a Succession of Blurred Lines Mayor Mike Spano has stated his administration has not been lobbied by his powerful brotherโ€™s firm. Emails indicate otherwise.

New: In Yonkers, Mayor Mike Spano has stated his administration has not been lobbied by his powerful brotherโ€™s firm. Emails indicate otherwise. nysfocus.com/2025/04/30/y...

30.04.2025 14:22 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Top New York Judgeโ€™s Son, and His Boss, At Center of Ethics Dispute A Queens courtโ€™s failure to reveal a romance has sparked accusations of bias.

The son of a top New York judge is at the center of a controversy over an undisclosed romance.

Meanwhile, the top state judge, Joseph Zayas, has himself appointed his son's girlfriend and boss to prestigious positions

nysfocus.com/2025/04/09/n...

09.04.2025 12:48 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 3    ๐Ÿ” 4    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Cuomo Failed to Disclose Lobbyists Who Bundled Donations Donors solicited by at least three undisclosed bundlers โ€” Tonio Burgos, Jim Whelan, and Rick Ostroff โ€” were told their gifts would be matched with publicโ€ฆ

New: Cuomo failed to disclose lobbyists who fundraised for his mayoral bid nysfocus.com/2025/03/20/a... w/ @juliarock.bsky.social

20.03.2025 23:51 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 16    ๐Ÿ” 7    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 2
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Cuomoโ€™s State-Funded Defense Lawyers Are Throwing Him a Fundraiser They got tens of millions of taxpayer dollars to defend Andrew Cuomo against scandal. Now, theyโ€™re helping fund his comeback.

Cuomoโ€™s state-funded defense lawyers are the throwing him a fundraiser nysfocus.com/2025/03/11/a...

12.03.2025 12:10 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Patronage Never Left: NY Courts Still Favor the Politically Connected A New York Focus investigation reveals how party officials and politically connected law firms continue to profit from court-appointed roles.

Patronage Never Left: New York Courts Still Favor the Politically Connected nysfocus.com/2025/03/05/n...

05.03.2025 13:58 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 6    ๐Ÿ” 3    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 2
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A Simple Fix Could Stop Millions in Food Stamp Theft. Will New Yorkโ€ฆ Chip technology has been standard in credit and debit cards for a decade. It could stop New Yorkโ€™s surging rate of stolen benefits.

NEW: SNAP has been a lifeline for needy New Yorkers at a time of increasing food insecurity.

But it has also become a target for thieves who use hidden skimming devices on card readers to steal millions in benefits. Will New York commit to a simple fix?

11.02.2025 16:58 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 12    ๐Ÿ” 3    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Mystery Donor Funds $10M Campaign Against Hochul Home Care Plan The money is being routed through a nonprofit.

Mystery donor funds $10M campaign against Hochulโ€™s home care plan nysfocus.com/2025/02/04/h...

04.02.2025 12:02 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 14    ๐Ÿ” 11    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Reporters' Notebook: Bills Receipt, Clean Water Funding, and Court ofโ€ฆ A $1700 Bills suite tab was paid with campaign funds, bipartisan support for clean water funding, and New York's top court upheld a man's convictionโ€ฆ

A new Reporters' Notebook from @chrisbragg1.bsky.social, @sammellins.bsky.social and @colinreports.bsky.social:

โœ… A $1700 Bills suite tab was paid with campaign funds
โœ… Bipartisan support for clean water funding
โœ… New Yorkโ€™s top court upheld a manโ€™s conviction despite his negligent lawyer

31.01.2025 13:57 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 9    ๐Ÿ” 4    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 1
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Green Funding Feint, Foundation Aid Update, and Lobbying Fines Hochul proposes school funding updates and a climate funding alternative. A prominent lobbying firm racks up fines.

NEW: Reporters' Note book from Bianca Fortis, @chrisbragg1.bsky.social and @colinreports.bsky.social:

-A prominent New York lobbying firm racks up fines
-Hochul proposes $1 billion in climate funding...over 5 years
-An update to the state's school funding formula

24.01.2025 15:12 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 4    ๐Ÿ” 3    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Climate Deadline Stripped from Hochul's State of the State Agenda atโ€ฆ The change was among a handful of eleventh-hour tweaks to Hochulโ€™s policy briefing book.

Reporter @colinreports.bsky.social found that Hochul's staff tweaked her State of the State agenda at the last minute on Tuesday, removing a self-imposed deadline on cap and invest. Great find by a dogged reporter.
nysfocus.com/2025/01/17/h...

17.01.2025 16:24 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 12    ๐Ÿ” 6    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 1

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