A federal investigation into his campaign spending has not stopped New York State Sen. Marty Golden from continuing to send campaign cash to his brother’s catering hall. The Brooklyn Republican has spent $59,042 from his campaign fund on events at the catering hall, Bay Ridge Manor, since the beginning of 2015 despite U.S. Attorney Preet […] The post Golden continues to spend campaign cash on brother’s business appeared first on The New York World ..read more

“Restore American Freedom and Liberty” is a super PAC that claims to support conservative candidates for office, but most of its donations end up going to a consulting firm run out of an East Village apartment. The PAC has raised $181,666 during the 2016 election cycle, according to its Federal Election Commission filings. But it […] The post East Village apartment is a haven for questionable super PACs appeared first on The New York World ..read more

WNYC uses data on traffic fatalities collected this year by The New York World to examine the city program’s success. Traffic fatalities dropped by 11 percent over the last 12 months, a New York World/WNYC analysis found. Over the past year the NYW/WNYC team has tracked and recorded every traffic fatality across the five boroughs […] The post Is Vision Zero working? appeared first on The New York World ..read more

For years, researchers have reported on the market success of companies that invest heavily in lobbying, so a small California-based investment firm decided to offer a chance for its investors to benefit from that success. The post Investing in lobbying pays off appeared first on The New York World ..read more

An effective way to curb behavior, or ‘an extreme form of restraint’? PHOTO: Flickr/bronayur The post In New York, padlocked jumpsuits for prison ‘EXPOSERS’ appeared first on The New York World ..read more

The New York World and MuckRock filed 344 open records requests to 86 local and state agencies subject to New York state’s Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) as part of an effort to assess how effectively different agencies deal with such requests. The results were decidedly mixed, as some agencies quickly provided the requested documents in an easy-to-use format and at no cost, while other requests remain outstanding to this day, eight months after they were filed. The post In pursuit of open records appeared first on The New York World ..read more

Beginning on Dec. 12, 2014, The New York World and MuckRock filed a total of 344 Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests to 86 separate agencies across New York. Each agency received the same four requests: a list of employees a log of FOIL requests a list of records maintained by the agency (often referred […] The post FOIL review methodology appeared first on The New York World ..read more

For years, overloaded caseworkers at APS have struggled and sometimes failed to provide state-mandated services to the city’s most vulnerable adults. In at least two instances over the past several years, city officials determined that those failures contributed to the death of an APS client, according to disciplinary records obtained through an open records request. Illustration: Vincent Panzeca The post City struggles to protect New Yorkers in need appeared first on The New York World ..read more

Air-conditioning breakdowns on subway cars happened about 10 times a day during June, July and August between 2010 and 2014, according to analysis of Metropolitan Transportation Authority data obtained by The New York World through open records request. In total, there were nearly 6,500 “hot cars” over the five-year period covered by the data. Unsurprisingly, the vast majority of those incidents occurred during the hottest months of the year. The post Summer in the city brings dreaded hot subway cars appeared first on The New York World ..read more

The agency responsible for investigating complaints of police misconduct relies largely on young investigators with little or no prior investigative experience who often don't receive formal training for weeks or even months after starting the job. And, in part because of low pay, many investigators leave the job after only a few years. The post Under intense pressure, young and largely inexperienced staff at CCRB tasked with investigating police misconduct appeared first on The New York World ..read more