New York Focus

New Legislation Would Advance ‘Virtual Power Plants’ in New York A bill introduced by Assemblymember Anna Kelles aims to harness home batteries, electric vehicles, and other clean tech to meet reliability needs.

NEW: A New York state lawmaker wants to accelerate the state’s transition to a more flexible electric grid.
nysfocus.com/2026/03/04/n...

How to Push New York Utilities Into the Future: A Q&A With Jigar Shah The energy expert discusses his vision for a more flexible grid — and what’s standing in the way.

Over his more than two decades as a clean energy entrepreneur and commentator, Jigar Shah has established himself as one of the most prominent voices calling for a more decentralized, flexible grid.

He sat down with New York Focus for a Q&A:
nysfocus.com/2026/02/28/v...

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Help Us Uncover How Power in New York Really Works New York's only statewide newsroom dedicated to holding Albany accountable.

Funding local news is more important than ever, and it will take a village to succeed. Join us in our work to rebuild local journalism as a pillar of democracy in New York.
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Newsletter New York's only statewide newsroom dedicated to holding Albany accountable.

Get the best of New York Focus in your inbox. Sign up for our daily newsletter and weekly roundup to receive reporting updates, behind-the-scenes peeks into our newsroom, communications about live events, and more.
nysfocus.com/newsletter

Three Journeys Through New York’s Asylum Maze It’s almost impossible to win an asylum case without an attorney. Finding one is a tall order.

“Asylum is your story."
nysfocus.com/2026/02/26/i...

Is a Solution to New York’s Food Stamp Theft Finally on the Horizon? New Yorkers could see new benefit cards in 2027 as officials pledge to prioritize a long-awaited upgrade.

An overdue update to New York’s benefit cards that could prevent food stamp theft could launch as early as next February.
nysfocus.com/2026/02/27/s...

How to Push New York Utilities Into the Future: A Q&A With Jigar Shah The energy expert discusses his vision for a more flexible grid — and what’s standing in the way.

Over his more than two decades as a clean energy entrepreneur and commentator, Jigar Shah has established himself as one of the most prominent voices calling for a more decentralized, flexible grid.

He sat down with New York Focus for a Q&A:
nysfocus.com/2026/02/28/v...

Want Safer NY Prisons? Here's What Hochul and Legislature Should Do When the governor doesn't commute sentences, and the legislature won't act, the carrot-and-stick system of rehabilitation disintegrates.

“The opposite of hope is desperation, and it’s dangerous for this population to feel desperate.”

John J. Lennon writes from Sing Sing about how New York could ease the chaos in the prison system.

Can Mamdani Fix Property Taxes After Adams Failed? As Zohran Mamdani prepares to unveil property tax reforms, he must weigh a plan he inherited from his predecessor.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani made a bold pledge last month: Within weeks, he would send state lawmakers a plan to fix the city’s broken property tax system.

A failed attempt by his predecessor, Eric Adams, shows why that won’t be easy.
nysfocus.com/2026/03/02/m...

Mamdani’s Small Business Czar Wants Economic Justice for Workers As Small Business Services commissioner, Kenny Minaya will be charged with slashing fees and helping street vendors.

NEW: New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani will appoint Kenny Minaya, a lawyer and longtime city official, as commissioner of the Department of Small Business Services on Monday, New York Focus has learned.

How to Push New York Utilities Into the Future: A Q&A With Jigar Shah The energy expert discusses his vision for a more flexible grid — and what’s standing in the way.

NEW: Over his more than two decades as a clean energy entrepreneur and commentator, Jigar Shah has established himself as one of the most prominent voices calling for a more decentralized, flexible grid.

He sat down with New York Focus for a Q&A:

nysfocus.com/2026/02/28/v...

Can Mamdani Fix Property Taxes After Adams Failed? As Zohran Mamdani prepares to unveil property tax reforms, he must weigh a plan he inherited from his predecessor.

NEW: New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani made a bold pledge last month: Within weeks, he would send state lawmakers a plan to fix the city’s broken property tax system.

A failed attempt by his predecessor, Eric Adams, shows why that won’t be easy.

Is a Solution to New York’s Food Stamp Theft Finally on the Horizon? New Yorkers could see new benefit cards in 2027 as officials pledge to prioritize a long-awaited upgrade.

NEW: An overdue update to New York’s benefit cards that could prevent food stamp theft could launch as early as next February.

Three Journeys Through New York’s Asylum Maze It’s almost impossible to win an asylum case without an attorney. Finding one is a tall order.

It’s almost impossible to win an asylum case without an attorney — but finding one is a tall order.

Immigrants recount dodging scams, scraping together funds, and relying on strangers and TikTok for their legal needs.

Three Journeys Through New York’s Asylum Maze It’s almost impossible to win an asylum case without an attorney. Finding one is a tall order.

NEW: It’s almost impossible to win an asylum case without an attorney. Finding one is a tall order.
nysfocus.com/2026/02/26/i...

Three Journeys Through New York’s Asylum Maze It’s almost impossible to win an asylum case without an attorney. Finding one is a tall order.

“It’s like I’m in a giant, open prison,” he said. “I can walk around, but I’m not really part of the people here. I’m not among them.” @liv-veazey.bsky.social on the Kafkaesque maze faced by those seeking asylum in New York @nysfocus.bsky.social

Three Journeys Through New York’s Asylum Maze It’s almost impossible to win an asylum case without an attorney. Finding one is a tall order.

NEW: It’s almost impossible to win an asylum case without an attorney — but finding one is a tall order.

Immigrants recount dodging scams, scraping together funds, and relying on strangers and TikTok for their legal needs.

Why a NIMBY Councilmember Said Yes to Affordable Housing The threat of a new appeals board pushed Vickie Paladino to approve a new development.

An anti-development New York City Councilmember approved a project in her district rather than risk being overruled by a new appeals board — the first sign of a potential sea change in the city’s housing landscape caused by the ballot questions that voters approved in November.

New York Approves Trump-Backed Gas Pipeline The Northeast Supply Enhancement pipeline had been rejected by environmental regulators three times but was revived this spring after talks between Hochul…

From November: New York environmental regulators approved a major Trump-backed underwater gas pipeline in a U-turn for state energy policy.
nysfocus.com/2025/11/07/n...

What Can Mayor-Elect Mamdani Do if Trump Sends National Guards to NYC? State officials and local activists may be more influential, but the mayor still has a role to play.

If President Donald Trump makes good on his threats, Zohran Mamdani may become the first New York City mayor forced to navigate an uninvited federal deployment of the National Guard.

What can he do as mayor?
nysfocus.com/2025/11/05/d...

Landlord That Won Big in Cuomo’s Penn Station Plan Makes a Comeback… Vornado Realty Trust has a stake in Halmar’s proposal to rebuild the Manhattan rail hub.

A major Manhattan landlord that could stand to benefit from the reconstruction of Penn Station has a stake in one of the three proposals being considered by President Donald Trump’s administration to remake the rail hub.
nysfocus.com/2026/02/02/v...

Why a NIMBY Councilmember Said Yes to Affordable Housing The threat of a new appeals board pushed Vickie Paladino to approve a new development.

NEW: The threat of a new appeals board pushed Vickie Paladino to approve a new development.
nysfocus.com/2026/02/24/v...

Why a NIMBY Councilmember Said Yes to Affordable Housing The threat of a new appeals board pushed Vickie Paladino to approve a new development.

NEW: An anti-development New York City Councilmember approved a project in her district rather than risk being overruled by a new appeals board — the first sign of a potential sea change in the city’s housing landscape caused by the ballot questions that voters approved in November.

How a More Flexible Grid Could Save New York Billions Officials have long eyed “virtual power plants,” which coordinate energy use across thousands of homes, but the state has lagged in adopting them.

Officials have long eyed “virtual power plants,” which coordinate energy use across thousands of homes, but the state has lagged in adopting them.
nysfocus.com/2026/02/18/v...

Last year, after prison guards were caught beating an incarcerated man to death, Governor Hochul allocated millions to a prison oversight body. This year, she doesn’t want to renew the grant.
nysfocus.com/2026/02/17/h...

Prison Officials Said This Alleged Sexual Abuser Didn’t Exist The state rescinded its request to dismiss a sexual abuse lawsuit after a judge became aware of New York Focus’s findings.

A powerful example of why we need the media. The state said a woman's story of rape in prison wasn't true as no employee with that name worked there. @nysfocus.bsky.social found out otherwise. nysfocus.com/2026/02/20/a...

Prison Officials Said This Alleged Sexual Abuser Didn’t Exist The state rescinded its request to dismiss a sexual abuse lawsuit after a judge became aware of New York Focus’s findings.

Available data indicates that sexual abuse in DOCCS facilities is a rampant problem: National surveys of incarcerated people have consistently ranked New York women’s prisons among the nation’s highest in reported staff sexual misconduct.
nysfocus.com/2026/02/20/a...

Racing Investigator Resigns After New York Focus Investigation The investigator was initially placed on leave after New York Focus revealed that state gaming regulators ignored evidence of a massive horse doping ring.

@sammellins.bsky.social gets results nysfocus.com/2026/02/20/h...

New York Could Lose Seats in Congress Because It Won’t Build Housing As housing construction booms in red states, blue states are falling behind. That will likely boost Republicans in federal politics.

Read the full story here: