Facing life and death (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)

Just the facts, ma’am.

That’s what fictional Dragnet detective Joe Friday used to ask for on TV decades ago. Today, the phrase is best known as a meme, but it’s still a good approach to decision-making in government. My colleagues and I should always look at the facts because that will point us towards the best course of action.

Rarely is this more apparent than in the discourse around the Grieving Families Act,

Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani at Wednesday's press conference (photo: Kara McCurdy)

December 15, 2022 - Max Politics Podcast: Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani on How to 'Fix the MTA' & More

Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, a Queens Democrat, joined the show to discuss his new plan to 'Fix the MTA,' upcoming state budget negotiations, the 2022 election results, and more.

Listen to the conversation and let us know what you think, on Twitter @TweetBenMax. You can listen to the show through the embedded audio below or download the

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

As of November 24, the Adult Survivors Act went into effect in New York State, allowing survivors of sexual offenses one year to file civil claims for cases that occurred even decades ago. 

The Adult Survivors Act (ASA) was signed into law in May by Governor Kathy Hochul, the state’s first female governor, and removes the statute of limitations for certain civil claims regarding past sexual offenses between November 24 2022 and

Assemblymember Stacey Pheffer Amato (far left, photo: @Stacey23AD)

Assemblymember Stacey Pheffer Amato, a Queens Democrat, is leading by just one vote over her Republican opponent, Thomas Sullivan, after a manual recount for the District 23 election concluded on Wednesday. But, the race is still not over as a court battle for nearly 100 additional ballots remains to be decided.

On election night, Amato trailed Sullivan by 246 votes in an election with more than 32,000 ballots cast, a close enough margin to trigger an automatic hand recount. More than 1,000 absentee and affidavit ballots remained uncounted at the

Gov. Hochul at a bill-signing (photo: Mike Groll/Governor's Office)

Update: Governor Hochul signed legislation to restore some of the comptroller's oversight of SUNY, CUNY, and Office of General Services centralized contracts on December 30, 2022.

Governor Kathy Hochul has yet to sign a bill that would restore some of the Comptroller's contract oversight powers that had been stripped by her predecessor, Andrew Cuomo, putting her at odds with the state's chief fiscal watchdog, members of the State Legislature,

Gov. Hochul at a housing event (photo: Kevin P. Coughlin/Governor's Office)

New York faces an acute housing crisis: rents are sky high, not enough housing is being built, homeownership is increasingly out of reach, and there is a looming eviction crisis coming out of the covid pandemic. But while the issues contributing to the problem have long been simmering, solutions from state and city leaders have been halting and piecemeal, far from meeting the need wherein 53% of New York City tenants are...

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

Assemblymember Ron Kim (photo: @rontkim)

November 30, 2022 - Max Politics Podcast: Ron Kim on How Democrats Can Win Back Asian Voters

Queens Assemblymember Ron Kim, fresh off a narrow reelection win, joined the show to discuss how Democrats can win back Asian voters who have been moving toward Republicans in recent election cycles, what's wrong with the Democratic Party in New York, and more.

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

A rally for Iwen Chu, center (photo: @Iwen4NY)

This month, Iwen Chu became the first Asian-American woman elected to the New York State Senate, clinching an unexpectedly tight victory over Republican Vito LaBella. Starting in January, Chu will represent the 17th Senate District, a newly-created Asian-plurality district in Southern Brooklyn, redrawn in the recent redistricting process based on demographic trends in the 2020 Census, which saw Asian Americans as the fastest growing group in New York in the last ten years.

Chu’s victory was hard fought, with a margin of just 215 votes as of November 21, and

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,...

Governor Cuomo and legislative leaders, 2013 (photo: Governor's Office)

Democrats in New York are stinging from a rough 2022 election showing in which they lost several congressional seats to Republicans, potentially costing the party control of the U.S. House of Representatives. As they assign blame, many have pointed to a tumultuous redistricting precipitated by a broken state process, state legislative leaders who overreached in trying to draw overly partisan lines, a Court of Appeals that ruled in favor of Republicans, and former Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo, whose

A Make the Road rally (photo: Make the Road NY)

Make the Road New York, the state’s largest member organization of immigrant advocates, will release its 2023-24 state policy platform on Wednesday and kick off a series of town halls to push for legislation that includes expanded unemployment protections, greater health care access, instituting ‘good cause’ eviction, ending racially-biased school discipline, decriminalizing sex work, raising taxes on the wealthy, and more. 

With 25,000 members statewide, Make the Road New York (MRNY)

Senate Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins & Deputy Leader Gianaris (photo: NYS Senate Photography)

New York Democrats are poised to retain a comfortable majority in the State Senate but could lose the supermajority they have held since the 2020 elections.

Senate Democrats headed into the general election with 42 members in the 63-seat legislative chamber, and needed to hold on to that number to keep their supermajority. Republicans held 20 seats, while one that was most recently held by a Democrat was vacant.

On Wednesday, with most votes tallied, Democrats were victorious in at least 40

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

In the State Legislature (photo: NYS Senate Media Services)

Governor Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders did not intend to hand map-drawing power to the courts when, in 2012, they hashed out a state constitutional amendment that recast the decennial redistricting process. Nor did they envision, after months of contentious public debate and closed-door negotiations, that the first pass at the new system would result in a hastily-organized, bifurcated election season with two major primaries taking place separately in a single summer.

...

Kristen Gonzalez (photo: Gonzalez campaign)

September 7, 2022 - Max Politics Podcast: Kristen Gonzalez is Likely Heading to the New York State Senate

Kristen Gonzalez, a democratic socialist, won her August Democratic primary election for a new State Senate seat (district 59) covering parts of western Queens and Brooklyn as well as a slice of the East Side of Manhattan, and is all but certain to win the general election and become a State Senator in January. She joined the show to discuss her winning campaign, policy priorities, and more.

Listen to the conversation and

Senator Gustavo Rivera, right, with Rep. Adriano Espaillat (photo: Rivera campaign website)

September 2, 2022 - Max Politics Podcast: State Senator Gustavo Rivera on Surviving a Major Primary Challenge

State Senator Gustavo Rivera of the Bronx joined the show to discuss winning his August 2022 Democratic primary despite a well-organized, well-funded attempt to unseat him.

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

(l-r) Nathalia Fernandez, Gustavo Rivera, Kristen Gonzalez

Last week’s primary elections for New York State Senate and U.S. House of Representatives seats included a number of competitive races, some of them in Latino-majority districts. As in any election, the implications of this primary are varied and significant.

Here are several key takeaways from State Senate races in the five boroughs.

Latino Turnout, Where Art Thou?
Voter turnout at

The Capitol in Albany (photo: Darren McGee/Governor's Office)

New York’s newest state government ethics commission, set to replace the infamously dysfunctional Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE), will soon take its first steps when its members are approved by a committee of law school deans. That could take place beginning as soon as this month.

Nine out of 11 nominees to the new Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government (CELG) have been formally named by New York's statewide elected officials and legislative

Gov. Hochul and Mayor Adams make an announcement (photo: Ed Reed/Mayor's Office)

According to state data, the number of people placed under court-ordered mental health treatment since April, when lawmakers expanded the court's power to make such determinations, has increased 60% from the same period a year before.

The data, provided by the state Office of Court Administration (OCA) to Gotham Gazette after an inquiry, shows that during the four-month period from April through July, 462 people in New York were ordered by a judge to

Gov. Hochul cuts a solar farm ribbon (photo: Philip Kamrass/ New York Power Authority)

Elected and appointed officials, candidates for office, and environmental activists in New York  were reenergized to fight against climate change locally in the wake of a June Supreme Court ruling that limits the power of the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

The decision in West

State Senate Deputy Leader Michael Gianaris (photo: NYS Senate Photography)

New York State Senate Deputy Leader Michael Gianaris has been a key figure in the Democratic takeover of the State Senate, and thus all of state government as of 2019, and in negotiating budget and legislative decisions on a wide variety of issues. That has included state action to counteract recent decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court on abortion rights and New York’s gun laws.

Gianaris, a Queens Democrat who represents the 12th State Senate District, has also been taking on New York’s highest court, the Court of

Clinton Correctional (photo: Wikimedia Commons)

Starting July 18, 2022, the New York State Department of Corrections and Community  Supervision (DOCCS) has implemented a new statewide policy restricting the rights of  incarcerated individuals to receive packages from loved ones. The revised policy – Directive  #4911A – requires that all packages be shipped directly from vendors, and in-person visitors will  no longer be allowed to ship or bring packages from home. This measure will further isolate  incarcerated individuals from loved ones and curtail their access to fresh foods,

Construction workers (photo: Edwin J. Torres/Mayoral Photo Office)

UPDATE, 8/1/22: After this article was published, the Department of Labor website was updated with a