Gotham Gazette

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Raise the Age

Raise the Age

  • No Rollbacks to Raise the Age

    Top New York officials (photo: office of Governor Kathy Hochul)


    Jewish tradition offers us a comprehensive blueprint for how to build just and caring communities. From the very beginning of our story, we learn that we are knit together with a clear directive toward mutual obligation and responsibility. Supporting and nurturing our children is a fundamental part of that ethos.

    We were devastated to see Governor Hochul’s last-minute proposals to include rollbacks to New York’s historic Raise the Age legislation in state

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  • Sealing Records, Opening Doors

    sealing rec

    Gov. Hochul signs legislation (photo: Kevin P. Coughlin/Office of the Governor)


    Imagine being a young, impressionable teenager unable to vote or even drive a car. A teenager who can’t take a field trip, get a passport, or make health decisions without the guidance and consent of an adult; but if you made a terrible mistake, you were held accountable as if you were an adult.

    Young people are more emotional, vulnerable, and impulsive than adults. Yet, prior to 2019, 16- and 17-year-old teenagers across New York State were automatically charged and

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  • State Electeds Insult City Criminal Justice While Reform in Albany is Minimal at Best

    Cuomo prison break

    Gov. Cuomo at Dannemora correctional facility (photo: Governor's Office)


    Last week, State Senator Jesse Hamilton mailed a flier to his constituents strongly denouncing broken windows policing. The senator, who represents Crown Heights and surrounding neighborhoods in Brooklyn, called on the city to end arrests for minor quality-of-life offenses that “are often used to police black and brown bodies.”

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  • Jail Abuse, Lawsuit Show Need to ‘Raise the Age’

    raise the age five protesters

    "Raise the Age" advocates (photo: Correctional Association)


    Last week, the New York Civil Liberties Union and Legal Services of Central New York filed suit against the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office in Syracuse for placing juveniles in solitary confinement. According to the suit, children aged 16 and 17 have been subjected to extended and arbitrary solitary confinement for up to months at a time despite mental health and personal safety concerns. These practices continue in Onondaga County despite the

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  • Major City Issues at Play in Politically Charged, Post-Budget Legislative Session

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    Gov. Cuomo announces the budget deal (photo via The Governor's Office)


    Governor Andrew Cuomo dismissed the idea of extending state government's legislative session this year to tackle ethics reform during an appearance in Binghamton on Wednesday. "We have a relatively light agenda because we did so much work in the budget," the governor said. "We passed the minimum wage increase, we passed paid family leave, we passed a great package for the middle class, we passed a great package for upstate New York, more education

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  • Criminal Justice Reform Again Given Little Attention in Budget Negotiations

    cuomo prison visit dannemora

    Gov. Cuomo in Dannemora (photo via The Governor's Office)


    As Gov. Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders rush to deliver an on-time budget, criminal justice reform advocates aren't holding out hope that any of their major legislative priorities will be included in the final document. Advocates are resigned that many of their priorities, which are backed by Cuomo and included in his executive budget, will be pushed to the post-budget legislative session.

    A budget is due by midnight Thursday, with the new fiscal year beginning on Friday, April 1,

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  • Cuomo Outlines $144 Billion Budget

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    Cuomo taking the podium for his State of the State


    Gov. Andrew Cuomo's sixth State of the State address was a dichotomy of the mundane and the moving, the political and the personal, striking contrasts whereby he celebrated infrastructure projects and lamented the status of the poor, homeless, and jobless.

    As much as Cuomo tried to steer the conversation toward past achievements and future successes he also decried the state's failures to boost the economy for all, house a growing homeless population, and provide low-income

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  • 40 Questions for New York Politics in 2016

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    photo: William Alatriste


    Happy new year! As we jump right into 2016, Gov. Andrew Cuomo prepares for his State of the State and budget address, Mayor Bill de Blasio works to improve his public approval ratings, and the two keep on feuding. There's a lot to look for in the new year, here are about 40 political questions we're asking as the year begins - if you want to share them, answer any, or let us know one we missed, tweet @GothamGazette:

    1. How will
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  • One 'Raise the Age' Story at Center of Push for Legislative Action

    Cuomo prison raise the age

    Cuomo at The Greene Correctional Facility (photo: Governor's Office via flickr)


    In the Summer of 2010, Benjamin Van Zandt was a smart, quiet 17-year-old; an excellent student enrolled in AP classes, a math whiz and violin player, and on his way to becoming an Eagle Scout. Van Zandt was a resident of Selkirk, a small town just outside Albany known for its rail yards and manufacturing plants.

    Only four years

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  • Will New York Be Last to 'Raise the Age'?

    Cuomo inmates raise the age

    Gov. Cuomo meets with young inmates (photo: Governor's Office)


    Gov. Andrew Cuomo is fond of calling New York a "progressive leader," declaring the state trailblazing on issues that matter, like marriage equality and gun control. It is a tenet of the governor's new push for an eventual $15-per-hour minimum wage.

    However, New York lags so far behind other states on one criminal justice issue that it could soon be the only state in

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  • Black, Hispanic & Asian Caucus Faces Growing Pains, Tense Relationship with Cuomo

    Cuomo Schneiderman presser

    At the special prosecutor announcement (photo: Governor's Office via flickr)


    Gov. Andrew Cuomo was beaming. Touting the historical significance of the executive order he had just signed to give Attorney General Eric Schneiderman the authority to act as a special prosecutor in cases where police kill unarmed civilians, Cuomo smiled for photos. Often rivals, Cuomo and Schneiderman, who

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  • Cuomo's Executive Action on 'Raise the Age' Prompts Questions

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    Cuomo at a February event in Brooklyn (photo: Governor's Office via flickr)


    "In my opinion, it is too early to condemn a 16-year-old to a life without redemption," Governor Andrew Cuomo said as he toured the Coxsackie Correctional Facility in May. It is a sentiment many advocates and legislators share. And yet, with the 2015 legislative session in the history

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  • Cuomo, Legislative Leaders Announce End-of-Session Pact

    Cuomo Heastie Flanagan

    Three men at a table (photo: Office of the Governor - Kevin P. Coughlin)


    The deal must still be approved by Democrats in the Assembly and Republicans in the Senate, but there is a framework in place for an end-of-session policy package resolving debate on several key issues that have been on the Albany negotiating table for months.

    On Tuesday afternoon at the Capitol, Governor Andrew Cuomo and the majority leader of each house, Democratic Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Republican Senate

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  • The Week Ahead in New York Politics, June 22

    New York City Hall

    New York City Hall


    What to watch for this week in New York politics:

    ALBANY, ALBANY: Last week, Governor Andrew Cuomo, Republican Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan, and Democratic Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie agreed on a short, retroactive extension of rent regulations through Tuesday. As negotiations continue on the rent regulations and other top of the agenda priority issues like mayoral control of city schools, legislators are due back in Albany on Tuesday. By

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  • The Week That Was in New York Politics, June 15-19

    week in review bus readers

    photo: Stanley Kubrick via Museum of the City of New York


    Gotham Gazette's Week in Review, Friday June 19

    PHOTO OF THE WEEK: Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks at the groundbreaking for the Cornel Technion campus on Roosevelt Island, praising former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who announced a $100 million donation to the school; ...

  • The Week Ahead in New York Politics, June 1

    New York City Hall

    New York City Hall


    What to watch for this week in New York politics:

    Welcome to June! A city budget is due by the end of the month. The state legislative session is due to end mid-month. And, it's both Gun Violence Awareness Month in New York City (legislation in 2013 declared it the first city in the United States to have a month dedicated to the cause) and LGBT Pride Month. Look for events and legislation related to each this week and as the month continues.

  • Criminal Justice Reformers Look to Impact Albany as Legislators Return to Session

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    Justice League NYC marchers in Washington DC (photo: @NYjusticeleague)


    A 250-mile march started in Staten Island over a week ago culminates today in Washington, DC with a rally to protest police killings of unarmed civilians and push for criminal justice reform. The march, sponsored by Justice League NYC, has garnered national attention as participants have walked across major highways, through rural towns where porches are adorned with confederate flags, and in cities like Baltimore where tensions between

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  • Scott Shooting May Help Reignite New York Criminal Justice Debate

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    Sen. Jose Peralta with NYPD officers (photo: @SenatorPeralta)


    A video of South Carolina Police Officer Michael Slager fatally shooting Walter Scott as he ran away appears to have relit the debate over criminal justice reform in New York.

    The graphic video has reminded many advocates and legislators of the video that brought attention to the death of Eric Garner while he was being

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  • The Week Ahead in New York Politics, March 16

    New York City Hall

    New York City Hall


    What to watch for this week in New York politics:

    This week will again be dominated by budget negotiations - especially in Albany, where a budget is due by the end of the month, which is rapidly approaching. In New York City, City Council hearings will continue on Mayor Bill de Blasio's preliminary fiscal year 2016 budget - once those hearings wrap up at the end of the month, the Council will craft its response to de Blasio, negotiations will continue, and the mayor

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