Labor
Policy
15 state lawmakers request more money for Excluded Workers Fund
The pandemic aid for undocumented workers has run out faster than expected.
Transportation
Policy
We watched 18 hours of congestion pricing hearings so you don’t have to
Public speakers had concerns about charging too much, but much public testimony landed in the tolling program’s favor.
Policy
Policy
How NYC’s right to shelter mandate works
Over the past four decades, this consent decree has helped secure temporary housing for thousands of homeless New Yorkers in need – but is it making for sustainable solutions?
Criminal Justice
Policy
How the population at Rikers Island can be reduced now
Here are the avenues Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio can immediately pursue to release more inmates, according to lawmakers and advocates.
Education
Policy
Get vaccinated or go home, NYC tells school employees
Several teachers have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block the COVID-19 vaccine requirement, but Mayor Bill de Blasio says the mandate is working.
Energy & Environment
Policy
Schumer faces pressure over climate change
Advocates want to create a polluters climate fund, but a similar measure can’t even pass in New York.
Energy & Environment
Policy
Which state lawmakers ranked the best on the environment?
A nonpartisan advocacy group graded legislators based on more than a dozen votes.
Transportation
Policy
NYC and taxi drivers have very different ideas for how to tackle medallion debt
The city is sticking with its grant program despite scathing criticism from taxi drivers who say it’s not nearly enough to give them relief.
Criminal Justice
Policy
What does criminal justice reform look like to Kathy Hochul?
The governor has reservations about “defund the police” that her No. 2, Brian Benjamin, doesn’t seem to share.
News & Politics
Politics
Hochul says she is open to decriminalizing sex work
Advocates for two competing bills are vying for the new governor’s attention on the controversial issue.
News & Politics
Politics
Food delivery workers won new protections in New York City. Can the state keep up?
The historic legislation guaranteed ride-hailing drivers and delivery workers minimum pay, but statewide reforms are harder to come by.
Policy
Policy
MTA to start enforcing $50 mask fines
The penalty was put in place last year, but officials now say they plan to ramp up enforcement.
Policy
Policy
Redistricting is on the ballot again in November. Here’s what voters will be considering.
A ballot amendment would change the state constitution and tweak the redistricting process.
Policy
Policy
Hundreds of bills await Hochul’s signature. Here are 10 that will help define her leadership early on.
Which bills the new governor approves – and which she vetoes – will tell us how serious she is about climate change, government transparency and more.
Policy
Policy
The Buffalo Bills owners want a new stadium, and taxpayers might help them pay for it
The NFL team is a Western New York treasure, and critics say the owners are exploiting that to help pay for the $1.4 billion project.
Labor
Policy
The worker shortages plaguing the public sector
There are a variety of reasons New York is struggling to maintain essential services.
New York State
Policy
Takeaways from New York’s (competing!) redistricting draft maps
Failing to find common ground, the Independent Redistricting Commission released different plans along partisan lines.
Housing
Policy
How do you make underground apartments safer? Many legislators and housing advocates say legalize them.
Though recent events have thrust the issue to the forefront, advocates have been working on the issue of expanding cellar and basement housing units for decades.
Energy & Environment
Policy
Will Kathy Hochul support a carbon tax?
Getting behind an effort that fell short last session could change the climate game in New York.
Policy
Policy