How To Apply for Public Benefits

Some of the top firms advising candidates for state and local office also lobby those offices for clients like corporations and unions. Some believe the potential conflict demands reform.

Some data and details from our reporting on campaign consultants who help politicians get elected and also lobby those officials on behalf of companies, unions and other interests.

One way that you can help in disasters and other civic emergencies is by joining your local Community Emergency Response Team.

If patrons of Camaguey restaurant are any indication, voters in Mott Haven are undecided about the mayor's race, but do know what they want in the next mayor: the good of Bloomberg without the bad.

Some mayoral candidates want to restore programs that place homeless families in regular housing. But one think-tank believes those programs drive shelter demand.

Though federally funded, NYCHA is in part steered by choices at the municipal level. What public-housing policy choices will New York's next mayor have to make?

So far, most residents haven't found what they're looking for—or even done much looking.

The lavish last hurrah featured an hour-long riff on the Tonight Show, news of a new Coney Island concert arena and a scatological shot at the press.

Disposing of household products is not always as easy as putting them in your trashcan or recycling bin.

Observers stress sharing prosperity, strategic use of capital funds, better community boards, and more transparency.

A federal judge's order and record numbers of minority recruits hint that change is coming to the FDNY. But veteran black firefighters are taking a wait-and-see approach.

State Sen. Eric Adams faces virtually no opposition in his bid for borough hall—the latest step in his evolution from controversial activist to political leader.

East Brooklyn Congregations and allies typically work behind the scenes. But they've made headlines in 2013 by forcing candidates to provide detailed housing, school and policing proposals.

A popular kind of detector is poor at sensing certain types of fires. Some lawmakers want New York City to require property owners to also install a more expensive kind.

Mayoral frontrunners skipped a recent forum in the South Bronx neighborhood, where many residents are upset about the number of drug and mental health facilities in the area.

The borough president famously erected signs declaring "How Sweet It Is!" to be in Brooklyn. Was there substance—and success—behind the shtick?

Dented by population loss and industrial decline, cities like Rochester and Buffalo see a future in higher-ed and high-tech. But fiscal woes could hamstring those hopes.

To be on a community board you must be a New York City resident and live, work or have significant interest in the district of the board you wish to join.

City and state agencies are increasingly placing information that once required a FOIL request on their website. Before you initiative a formal FOIL request, you should prowl the agency's site to see what is there for the taking.

City zoning laws regulate what can and cannot be built on certain parcels of land. If zoning laws restrict your plans, it doesn't necessarily mean the end of your project. You can apply for a zoning variance.