Gov. Hochul signs legislation (photo: Darren McGee/Governor's Office)

New York’s clean energy transition is critical for the state’s future, but for it to be successful, we will need to expand our workforce across the city and state. This is proving to be a challenge, driven in part by outdated laws that punish justice-involved individuals long after they have served their sentences. 

That’s why Con Edison supports the Clean Slate Act and applauds its passage through the State Legislature. Now, Governor Kathy Hochul should

Pushing for "New York for All" (photo: Jeff Reed/City Council)

The promise of government is to serve and protect its residents, and to ensure fairness, equity, and justice for all. This year, New York state government in Albany has failed in its duty to deliver on critical issues affecting immigrants, tenants, and those who interface with the criminal justice system.

The lack of progress in implementing key initiatives — such as Good Cause Eviction, the Housing Access Voucher Program, New York for All, and the Access to

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz (photo: Kevin P. Coughlin/Governor's Office)

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, a first-term Democrat, is running for reelection this year and is facing a challenge from two candidates in the June 27 Democratic primary. Katz eked out a victory in the Democratic primary in 2019 and went on to overwhelmingly win the general election, giving Queens a new district attorney for the first time in almost 30 years as she succeeded the late District Attorney Richard Brown.

Katz says she has been a “steady hand during very turbulent times,” shepherding the

On the inside (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)

Even if he were younger than his age of 80, Diego’s health condition would be dire. A heart attack has left him with a weakened heartbeat. He cannot walk very far, and a physician has recommended that he not climb stairs and should only perform sedentary activities. He was recently rushed to the hospital because his ailing heart could not pump properly, and his lungs filled with fluid. It will likely happen again – if his heart does not completely give out in the meantime.

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Mayor Adams and NYPD officials (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)

This week'sreport from the Office of the Inspector General of the NYPD (OIG), pointed out numerous irregularities in how the NYPD manages their Criminal Group or “gang” Database (CGD). While these irregularities in procedure confirm

Ready to work (photo: Caroline Willis/Mayoral Photography Office)

Across New York, many employers continue to struggle to find workers.  

The labor market remains tight, even amid fears about a looming recession. According to a recently released study by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, there are over 450,000 open jobs in New York State with only about 400,000 unemployed New Yorkers. This workforce shortage has a devastating impact on the New York economy as it drives up costs,

Protecting halls of justice (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)

In 2013, a fight broke out among dozens of people near a nightclub in the Bronx where Aaron Cedres worked as a bouncer, and one man was seriously injured. Though he insisted that he had only broken up a separate fight, Cedres was charged with gang assault, a charge that carried up to 25 years in prison

(photo: Mike Groll/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul)

While another potential rollback of bail reforms has taken center stage in state budget negotiations for the second straight year, the fates of a swath of other criminal justice programs are being quietly hashed out.

Governor Kathy Hochul and state legislative leaders are in the midst of pinning down the contours of a roughly $230 billion state budget, already past the April 1 start of the new fiscal year. Even with the focus on bail, all parties are talking about a holistic suite of criminal justice-related policies with hundreds of

Seeking opportunity (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)

This year, New York has an opportunity to move away from perpetual punishment by passing the Clean Slate Act, legislation aimed at erasing the scourge of a criminal record by providing for automatic sealing of prior misdemeanor and felony convictions after a waiting period.

The challenges that a conviction can pose for those seeking to reintegrate into society following involvement with the criminal legal system makes passing Clean Slate

Mayor Adams & DOC Commissioner Molina on Rikers Island (photo: Benny Polatseck/Mayor's Office)

On Thursday, Speaker Adrienne Adams will chair a City Council hearing where leadership of the city’s Department of Correction (DOC) will share budget priorities. What may be perceived as a routine hearing impacts the future of thousands of New Yorkers currently suffering on Rikers Island and others who will be sent there.

DOC holds the lives of over 6,000 New Yorkers in its hands, and yet it has shown a brazen disregard for their well-being as well as the City Council’s oversight. If left

Treatment could be available for more defendants (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)

State legislation to expand alternatives to incarceration for people with mental illness is gaining momentum in Albany amid debates over how criminal justice, public safety, and mental health care policy interact.

The Treatment Not Jails Act would require judicial diversion courts in every county of the state and expand the list of special circumstances that qualify a defendant to have their case heard outside a conventional

Challenger Tess Cohen, left, and Bronx DA Darcel Clark

As she runs for a third term as the county’s top prosecutor this year, Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark is facing a Democratic primary challenge from Tess Cohen, a prosecutor-turned-criminal defense and civil rights attorney.

Cohen is challenging Clark from the left, saying that the current DA has been “overly carceral” and promising to pursue policies that will reduce mass incarceration, expand restorative justice programs, and address root causes of crime through treatment and intervention, while focusing on solving violent crimes like murders

Mayor Adams and Governor Hochul (photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)

As Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams, both first-term Democrats, double down this year on their focus on public safety and crime in New York, both have emphasized the need to give prosecutors and defense attorneys more resources to do their jobs. Both leaders have said the funding is necessary to abide by recent state criminal justice reforms and reduce court backlogs. But, while prosecutors across the state may soon be bolstered with more funding, public defenders say they aren’t aren’t receiving commensurate financial

Mayor Adams on Rikers Island (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)

The New York City Board of Correction, a nine-seat panel with oversight over city jails, may soon have two new members including a former Rikers Island doctor critical of mass incarceration and a national expert on corrections policy who now leads the advocacy group that successfully advocated for the planned closure of the Rikers jail complex.

The City Council’s Committee on Rules, Privileges and Elections on Wednesday held a hearing to question two of its own Board of Correction nominees – Dr. Rachael Bedard, former senior

Mayor Adams with NYPD officials (photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)

In his first nearly twelve months in office, Mayor Eric Adams has shown no signs of moving on a major campaign promise to publish a list of police officers the NYPD is watching for violent or otherwise unseemly behavior.

The promise was one of the more striking commitments the would-be mayor made to boost accountability within the ranks of the police force, a department of 34,000 uniformed officers. It was also one of the more tangible pledges Adams made to demonstrate his commitment to balancing police reform with

Gov. Hochul at the Court of Appeals (photo: Mike Groll/Governor's Office)

As we sat together in a Brooklyn backyard, we examined shared circumstances: all of us were convicted of serious crimes that caused immeasurable harm, received a life sentence, and served decades behind bars. Now, all of us have much to be thankful for – we each had our sentence commuted through clemency. Collectively, we reflect on the many people still in prison who merit the same consideration.

Each of us has been doing all we can to

The Court of Appeals (photo: Mike Groll/Governor's Office)

The past few years have put into stark relief our inability to predict the future. Virologists, epidemiologists, and related medical professionals repeatedly reevaluate their views regarding COVID-19 and its variants. Economists daily revise their opinions about inflation, interest rate hikes, and the likelihood of a recession. Political pundits and pollsters are scurrying to explain why their election prognostications were off the mark. No one can gainsay the limited ability of meteorologists to

Gov. Hochul signs legislation (photo: Darren McGee/Governor's Office)

Although it might sound counterintuitive to some, sentencing reform is necessary to effectively address intimate partner violence and support victims.

To start with, sentencing reform benefits criminalized survivors, victims of violence convicted of crimes related to their own victimization. Sometimes the victims of these crimes are their abusive partners; sometimes the crimes are committed at the behest of, or under duress from, their

Speaker Heastie & Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins (photo: State Senate)

In 2019, Democrats in New York were feeling pretty good. New York City had its first two-term Democratic mayor since the 1980s. Democrats controlled the Governor’s mansion in Albany and every other statewide office. We controlled the State Assembly and the State Senate – both with commanding majorities.

Washington, of course, was a mess. One party was in the thrall of a former game show host, and they were too afraid of upsetting him to get

Gov. Hochul signs the Adult Survivors Act (photo: Mike Groll/Governor's Office)

On Thanksgiving, survivors of sexual abuse in New York had something to be truly thankful for. November 24 marked the opening of a one-year period when, under a new law, survivors can file a civil claim against the person who abused them and any institutions that enabled the abuse, no matter how long ago the abuse happened.

This law,...

Outside Rikers Island (photo: William Alatriste/NYC Council)

New York State’s sweeping bail reform law first went into effect in January 2020 and has been subsequently amended twice since then in response to widespread opposition from law enforcement, Republican officials, and some moderate and conservative Democrats. Since its first passage -- through three consecutive legislative sessions and into this statewide election year -- bail reform has been a highly contentious issue, with heated political rhetoric often outpacing facts.

It is now among the top issues Republicans are focused on in

Mayor Adams at Rikers (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)

As the crisis on Rikers Island continues and the death toll soars, Mayor Eric Adamstold New Yorkers last week that there needs to be a “plan B” for the city’s plan to shutter the notorious jail complex, suggesting he may not close Rikers at all. This

Mayor Adams visits Rikers Island (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)

August 19, 2022 - Experts Call for a Federal Receiver for Rikers Island

New York City criminal justice system veterans Elizabeth Glazer and Vincent Schiraldi joined the show to discuss their experience working in city government, the crisis at Rikers Island jails and what do about it and other problems plaguing the city's larger safety ecosystem.

Listen to the conversation and let us know what you think, on Twitter @TweetBenMax. You can listen

Mayor Adams visits Rikers Island (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)

The U.S. criminal justice system is at a crossroads. After the killing of George Floyd, there werebipartisan

My Son’s Pretrial Incarceration Shows Everything Wrong with the System