Gotham Gazette

The Place for New York Policy and politics

Harry Bronson

Harry Bronson

  • After Hochul’s 2022 Veto, Lawmakers Reintroduce Bill to Protect Freelance Workers Statewide

    (photo: @Sen_Gounardes)


    The pandemic changed employment patterns across the country, with more and more Americans turning to freelance or independent work to make a living — only hastening a trend many years along. But New York State still lacks wage protections for freelance and independent workers, something two lawmakers are hoping to remedy after last year’s attempt to do so was vetoed by Governor Kathy Hochul, a fellow Democrat.

    This week, Brooklyn State Senator Andrew Gounardes and Assemblymember Harry Bronson of Rochester reintroduced the ...

  • Legislators Introduce Bill to Extend and Expand NYC Freelancer Protections Across New York State

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    Freelance photography (photo: NYC Department of Consumer & Worker Protection)


    In 2017, New York City’s “Freelance Isn’t Free” legislation took effect, giving gig workers crucial protections against exploitation and wage theft. State Senator Andrew Gounardes and Assemblymember Harry Bronson are now attempting to replicate the law state-wide with a new bill they introduced on Thursday that would expand state labor law protections to freelancers.

    The bill from Gounardes, a Brooklyn Democrat, and Bronson, a Rochester Democrat,

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  • New York’s Chance to Take on the Crisis of Child Poverty

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    Time to focus on children (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    Children live in poverty at higher rates than any other age group in the United States. Children make up 22% of the United States population and 31% of those living in poverty. Racial inequities are deep and persistent: 71% of America’s children in poverty ...

  • Two Years After New York City Expanded Protections for Freelancers, State Yet to Act

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    Council Members Rafael Espinal, left, & Brad Lander (photo: City Council)


    Two years ago, the New York City Council’s Freelance Isn’t Free Act went into effect, giving freelance workers legal protections against wage theft, delayed payments, employer retaliation, and lack of contracts for their work. The first-of-its-kind law has since allowed the city to recoup thousands of dollars in wages for

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