New York Focus

Last updated
New York Focus
Founded2020;4 years ago (2020)
Type 501(c)(3)
Focus Investigative journalism
Area served
New York State
Editor-in-Chief
Akash Mehta
Website www.nysfocus.com

New York Focus is a nonprofit organization that produces investigative journalism covering New York State and City politics and policy. [1] The organization was founded in October 2020 by Akash Mehta, who acts as editor-in-chief. [2] [3] New York Focus' initial funding came from the Open Society Foundation. [4] Current funding sources include the Ford Foundation, the Vital Projects Funds, revenue from publishing partnerships, and donations from private individuals. [1] [3] Mehta stated in a 2021 interview with Spectrum News that the organization's mission is to "serve as a home for adversarial, in-depth investigative reporting on New York state politics and policy." [4]

Contents

Notable reporting

State government affairs

In 2022, New York Focus was the first to report on criminal charges filed against New York Governor Andrew Cuomo for allegedly committing the crime of forcible touching against a female aide. [5] [6]

In 2021, New York Focus collected data for [7] and published a joint report with Gothamist and WNYC about the large variations in how frequently judges grant bail to people awaiting trial. [8] [9] [10]

On November 3, 2021 New York Focus and The Intercept published the results of their joint investigation into physical and sexual abuse in New York state prisons, and issues with accountability therein. [11] [3]

On June 6, 2023, New York Focus reported on a directive from New York's Department of Corrections and Community Supervision limiting the distribution of writing and other creative work produced by incarcerated people. On June 7, 2023 the Department of Corrections rescinded the directive.

Related Research Articles

A misdemeanor is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than administrative infractions and regulatory offences. Typically, misdemeanors are punished with prison time of no longer than one year, monetary fines, or community service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Cuomo</span> 56th Governor of New York (born 1957)

Andrew Mark Cuomo is an American politician, lawyer, and former government official who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Cuomo was elected to three terms to the same position that his father, Mario Cuomo, held for three terms as the 52nd governor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Letitia James</span> American lawyer (born 1958)

Letitia Ann James is an American lawyer and politician serving since 2019 as the Attorney General of New York (NYAG), having won the 2018 election to succeed Barbara Underwood. A member of the Democratic Party, James is the first African American and first woman to be elected New York Attorney General.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre</span> Latin Catholic ecclesiastical jurisdiction in New York, USA

The Diocese of Rockville Centre is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in the Long Island region of New York State in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany</span> Catholic ecclesiastical territory

The Diocese of Albany is a Latin Church diocese in eastern New York in the United States. Its mother church is the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Albany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Cuomo</span> American journalist (born 1970)

Christopher Charles Cuomo is an American television journalist anchor at NewsNation, based in New York City. He has previously been the ABC News chief law and justice correspondent and the co-anchor for ABC's 20/20, news anchor for Good Morning America from 2006 to 2009, and an anchor at CNN, where he co-hosted its morning show New Day from 2013 through May 2018, before moving to Cuomo Prime Time in June 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2006 New York state elections</span> 2006 elections in the state of New York

New York held various elections on November 7, 2006. Most notably, elections were held for the state governor, attorney general, comptroller, and for the U.S. Senate, all of which saw Democrats win and build on their existing majority. While Democrats had already been a strong force in the New York City area, most of the Democratic gains in 2006 occurred upstate. Former Attorney General Eliot Spitzer won the 2006 gubernatorial election by a record margin, while Andrew Cuomo replaced him as the new attorney general. Alan Hevesi was re-elected as comptroller, despite mounting ethics concerns. Hillary Clinton was re-elected to the Senate. For the first time in over 50 years, all major statewide elected offices were held by one party. For the first time in over 60 years, they were all held by Democrats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Global Strategy Group</span> American public relations and research firm

Global Strategy Group, often known by its initials GSG or simply as Global, is an American public relations and research firm founded in New York City in 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBT rights in New York</span>

The U.S. state of New York has generally been seen as socially liberal in regard to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights. LGBT travel guide Queer in the World states, "The fabulosity of Gay New York is unrivaled on Earth, and queer culture seeps into every corner of its five boroughs". The advocacy movement for LGBT rights in the state has been dated as far back as 1969 during the Stonewall riots in New York City. Same-sex sexual activity between consenting adults has been legal since the New York v. Onofre case in 1980. Same-sex marriage has been legal statewide since 2011, with some cities recognizing domestic partnerships between same-sex couples since 1998. Discrimination protections in credit, housing, employment, education, and public accommodation have explicitly included sexual orientation since 2003 and gender identity or expression since 2019. Transgender people in the state legally do not have to undergo sex reassignment surgery to change their sex or gender on official documents since 2014. In addition, both conversion therapy on minors and the gay and trans panic defense have been banned since 2019. Since 2021, commercial surrogacy has been legally available within New York State.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Bernard Scharfenberger</span> Roman Catholic Bishop of Albany

Edward Bernard Scharfenberger is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who has been serving as the tenth bishop of the Diocese of Albany in Upstate New York since 2014.

Madeline Singas is an American attorney and judge who serves as an associate judge of the New York Court of Appeals since 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Benjamin</span> Former lieutenant governor of New York

Brian A. Benjamin is an American politician and businessman who was the 64th lieutenant governor of New York from September 2021 until his resignation on April 12, 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously represented the 30th district in the New York State Senate from 2017 to 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alessandra Biaggi</span> American politician in New York City

Alessandra Rose Biaggi is an American politician who served as a member of the New York State Senate from 2019 to 2022, representing the 34th district, which includes portions of Bronx and Westchester Counties. She was the chair of the New York State Senate Committee on Ethics and Internal Governance. She is the granddaughter of former U.S. Congressman Mario Biaggi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alphonso David</span> American attorney

Alphonso David is an American lawyer, LGBT civil rights activist, former president of the Human Rights Campaign, and current president and CEO of the Global Black Economic Forum. In August 2019, he became the president of the Human Rights Campaign. He was the first civil rights lawyer and first person of color to serve as president of the organization, but was fired from his role as president on September 6, 2021 after it was revealed that he advised former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo when he was accused of sexually assaulting women. He made national headlines in 2022 for bringing litigation against the Human Rights Campaign alleging racial bias in his firing. On March 15, 2023, the Human Rights Campaign said it had settled the lawsuit and stated that the terms of the settlement were confidential.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York COVID-19 nursing home scandal</span> Political scandal

In January 2021, Attorney General of New York Letitia James released a report finding that Governor Andrew Cuomo had understated the toll of COVID-19-related deaths in state nursing homes by as much as 83 percent. The scandal was made public on February 11, 2021, when the New York Post reported that Melissa DeRosa, a secretary and aide to Cuomo, privately apologized to lawmakers for the administration withholding the nursing-home death toll in fear then-President Donald Trump would "turn this into a giant political football".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Cuomo sexual harassment allegations</span>

Andrew Cuomo, the 56th governor of New York, was accused of sexual harassment by multiple women starting in December 2020, with the accusations covering a range of alleged behavior. He denied all allegations and has apologized for his comments being interpreted as sexually charged. On February 28, 2021, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced that she would hire and deputize a law firm to conduct an independent investigation into the allegations. On March 11, the New York State Assembly authorized an impeachment investigation into the allegations. In August 2021, James released an investigatory report which stated that Cuomo sexually harassed 11 women during his time in office, with actions such as unwanted groping, kissing and sexual comments. The controversy surrounding these allegations culminated in Governor Cuomo's resignation from office. Cuomo was replaced by his Lieutenant Governor, Kathy Hochul.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gina Sillitti</span> New York politician

Gina Sillitti is an American Democratic Party politician who represents New York State Assembly district 16, which includes Port Washington, Manhasset, Great Neck, North Hills, East Hills, Flower Hill, Old Westbury, Roslyn Estates, Roslyn Heights, Herricks and Lake Success of Nassau County on Long Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melissa DeRosa</span> Secretary to NY State Governor Andrew Cuomo

Melissa DeRosa is an American former government official. She served as Secretary to the former Governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, from 2017 until 2021. In 2023, she released a memoir titled What’s Left Unsaid: My Life at the Center of Power, Politics & Crisis.

The Adult Survivors Act (ASA) is New York State legislation enacted in May 2022 which amends state law to allow alleged victims of sexual offenses for which the statute of limitations has lapsed to file civil suits for a one-year period, from November 24, 2022, to November 24, 2023. The act thus expands the ability of plaintiffs to sue for sexual assault and unwanted sexual contact in the workplace.

Forcible touching, under New York State law, is a sex offense. A person found guilty of it may be sentenced to up to one year in prison, up to three years probation, may be required to register as a sex offender, and may be ordered to comply with orders of protection.

References

  1. 1 2 "New York Focus, the Empire State–centered newsroom, aims to hold Albany accountable". Nieman Lab. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
  2. "About Us". New York Focus. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
  3. 1 2 3 Bellafante, Ginia (2023-06-09). "Upstart News Site Has Youth on Its Side, and Albany in Its Sights". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-06-09.
  4. 1 2 "Scrappy "New York Focus" is 6 months old, and growing". spectrumlocalnews.com. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
  5. Mehta, Akash (2021-10-28). "Charges Filed Against Andrew Cuomo for Forcible Touching". New York Focus. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
  6. Ferré-Sadurní, Luis; Bromwich, Jonah E. (2021-10-28). "Andrew Cuomo Is Charged in Sexual Misconduct Complaint". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2022-09-29.
  7. Pinto, Nick. "Judge Tried to Send Immunocompromised Homeless Man Accused of Stealing Blankets to Rikers". The Intercept. Retrieved 2022-11-04.
  8. "What Is Happening With Rikers Right Now? Here's Everything You Need to Know". Esquire. 2021-10-09. Retrieved 2022-11-04.
  9. "People - Akash Mehta | WNYC | New York Public Radio, Podcasts, Live Streaming Radio, News". WNYC. Retrieved 2022-11-04.
  10. Lach, Eric (2021-10-09). "What Responsibility Do Courts Bear for the Crisis at Rikers Island?". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
  11. Law, Victoria (2022-11-03). "Sexual Assault Allegation Exposes Self-Policing Prison System". The Intercept. Retrieved 2023-06-09.