New York Focus

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:

Analysis links housing to red-state population gains Watch the full interview here.

As housing construction booms in red states, blue states are falling behind. That will likely boost Republicans in federal politics.

Thank you, @spectrumnewsny1.bsky.social for having New York Focus Senior Reporter @sammellins.bsky.social on the show to talk about his story.

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.

The state asked a judge to dismiss a prison sexual abuse lawsuit — lawyers said couldn’t find record of the alleged abuser. We found him.

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.

The state rescinded its request to dismiss a sexual abuse lawsuit after a judge became aware of New York Focus’s findings.

nysfocus.com/2026/02/20/a...

NY's Prison Agency Said an Employee Accused of Sexual Assault Didn’t Exist. We Found Him. The state rescinded its request to dismiss a sexual abuse lawsuit after a judge became aware of New York Focus’s findings.

The state asked a judge to dismiss a prison sexual abuse lawsuit — lawyers said couldn’t find record of the alleged abuser. We found him.

New report in partnership with @nysfocus.bsky.social.

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.

The concept of virtual power plants is gaining traction among energy experts, who say such programs could be instrumental as the state grapples with rising energy demand and soaring energy bills.

New York was early to embrace the idea, but efforts to implement it at scale have faltered.

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.

The top investigator at New York’s horse racing regulator has resigned after a New York Focus investigation last month revealed that the agency spent years ignoring key evidence in a massive horse doping scandal.

nysfocus.com/2026/02/20/h...

Every year I contribute to NY Focus, and one of the many reasons is the work of @sammellins.bsky.social.

IMHO, when it comes to covering NYS government operations, @nysfocus.bsky.social is arguably the best.

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.

Last month, my investigation revealed that state horse racing regulators spent years ignoring evidence of a major horse drugging ring.

Now, NY's top racing investigator has resigned to avoid being fired:

nysfocus.com/2026/02/20/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.

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.

Horse 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.

NEW: The top investigator at New York’s horse racing regulator has resigned after a New York Focus investigation last month revealed that the agency spent years ignoring key evidence in a massive horse doping scandal.

NY's Prison Agency Said an Employee Accused of Sexual Assault Didn’t Exist. We Found Him. The state rescinded its request to dismiss a sexual abuse lawsuit after a judge became aware of New York Focus’s findings.

The state asked a judge to dismiss a prison sexual abuse lawsuit — lawyers said couldn’t find record of the alleged abuser. We found him.

New report in partnership with @nysfocus.bsky.social

hellgatenyc.com/prison-sex-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.

NEW with @hellgatenyc.com: The state asked a judge to dismiss a prison sexual abuse lawsuit — lawyers said couldn’t find record of the alleged abuser. We found him.

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.

New York has long embraced the concept of virtual power plants, in theory — but has lagged behind other states in putting it into practice.
nysfocus.com/2026/02/18/v...