New York Focus

10/13/2026

What’s going on at Fulton & Elliot - Chelsea? Cea Weaver highlights the housing development project at New York Focus’s affordable housing event.

10/13/2026

Sam Stein on the backlash to New York implementing a pied-à-terre tax — a tax paid by wealthy owners whose property is not a primary residence.

10/13/2026

How is housing advocacy in NY — a city with more robust tenant protections than other cities — a unique challenge?

10/13/2026

At New York Focus’s Housing Affordability event, Cea Weaver shares some of the lessons moving from outside government to the inside.

10/13/2026

If you’ve heard Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman speak or watched one of his campaign ads, you’ve probably heard him say that he will slash your energy bill.

But can he actually do that on his first day in office — or at all?

Bruce Blakeman, the Republican nominee for governor in New York, has made slashing energy costs a central theme, but has presented no plan.

10/13/2026

New York’s top Albany lobbying firm is testing a new way to influence politics: starting its own super PAC to spend money in support of a wide range of candidates.

The committee, started by Brown & Weinraub and known as New York Forward, appears to be the first of its kind in the state.

Lobbying firms are no strangers to super PACs — which can spend unlimited cash to support candidates as long as it’s independent of campaigns. But they generally help set up such committees to benefit a single client or affect a specific election.

Brown & Weinraub’s is different: It’s a super PAC for the lobbying firm itself, with no clear expiration date, catering to clients with a broad array of interests.

Here’s what we know about the two clients routing the most money through Brown & Weinraub’s super PAC thus far — and which races are being targeted.

Brown & Weinraub’s super PAC lets clients route unlimited sums to support New York candidates who back their agendas in Albany.

10/13/2026

What are New York’s school districts doing about AI?

Without statewide standards, there’s a wide range of answers, from outright AI bans to policies that encourage integrating the technology into classroom instruction.

Many districts have avoided addressing it altogether.

A New York Focus analysis of roughly 680 school district websites and school board manuals found that more than half lack formal, board-adopted AI policies.

Here’s the first comprehensive look at how school districts across New York are creating and enforcing AI standards in the classroom, plus a searchable, district-by-district database with links to access their AI policies.

A New York Focus analysis of roughly 680 school district websites and school board manuals found that more than half lack formal AI policies.

10/11/2026

Event reminder: Join us on Tuesday, October 13th for a discussion on housing affordability featuring Samuel Stein and Cea Weaver. After, we'll screen the debate between Gov. Kathy Hochul and her challenger, Bruce Blakeman.

The cost of housing is simply too high for many New Yorkers. The Mamdani administration has put in place plans to address the housing demand and build more…

10/09/2026

EVENT ALERT: Join us Tuesday for a discussion on housing affordability and a New York State gubernatorial debate watch party. Register here: https://luma.com/Focus-On-Housing

10/09/2026

Government identification, heart and respiratory medications, food, bedding, winter clothing, toiletries, civil partnership paperwork, and a computer.

These are among the personal items unsheltered New Yorkers say the city has discarded against their wishes this year during homeless encampment sweeps, or “cleanups,” as the city calls the practice of dispatching teams to dismantle encampments in public spaces.

After promising in December to end encampment sweeps, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani did an about-face in February.

His administration reinstated sweeps in response to an unusually cold winter during which at least 29 people died, prompting questions from the City Council about whether the deaths could have been prevented by more aggressive outreach to unsheltered people.

The Department of Homeless Services has conducted far fewer sweeps under Mamdani than under his predecessor, Eric Adams, and the administration has worked to differentiate its approach.

But a dozen interviews with witnesses to recent sweeps suggest that the problem of lost belongings persists, often defying Mamdani’s policies and the court order.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani's administration has improved outreach and support, but unhoused people still say they're still losing valuable possessions.