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Beyond the NRA: Pro-gun Groups Aren't in Lock-Step
Are you a liberal who likes guns? Or a conservative who feels the NRA shows too much willingness to compromise? Chances are there's a gun group out there for you.
Packing Heat: Meet a Concealed Carrier
More and more Americans are carrying concealed weapons, fueling a steep increase in sales of small—and increasingly powerful—handguns.
Gun Violence in the Birthplace of Gun Industry
Springfield, Mass. is where basketball was invented and Dr. Suess was born. It's also where one of America's largest gun-makers is located, and where gun violence is a growing concern.
Are New York City's Gun Laws the Next Target?
After two Supreme Court decisions clarifying the right to bear arms, many thought New York state and city gun restrictions would be the next target. So far, challenges have been few and unsuccessful.
Bail Fund Aims to Free Poor Defendants
After a state law cleared a legal obstacle, Brooklyn public defenders are forming a fund to pay low-level bails that keep a surprising number of defendants behind bars before trial—with devastating effects on work, families and their criminal cases.
Life at the Epicenter of Stop-and-Frisk
No precinct saw more police stops in 2011 than the 75th in East New York, and no patrol sector in the 7-5 had more encounters than Sector E. There, realism about crime and resentment of the police go hand-in-hand.
Life in Sector E: Top Spots for NYPD Stops
Take a look at where police made the most stops in sector E, the area that saw the most stop-and-frisk activity in 2011 in Brooklyn's 75th precinct.
One Sector's Stops: A Database
Search and learn more about stops in 2011 in sector E of the 75th precinct in Brooklyn.
One Day in the Life of Stop-and-Frisk
On May 13, 2011, police made 56 stops in one sector of the 75th precinct. A minute-by-minute account of who was stopped, why and what happened.
From Mom to Not in Seven Minutes: Inside Family Court
City Limits spent months observing Family Court and found an overburdened system where delays were endemic, legal help was scarce and the approach to solving family problems was divided. This is the first chapter in our report.
Blurred Lines Between Advocates and Adversaries
All parties in Family Court are supposed to be fighting for the welfare of the child. But chapter 3 of our Family Court investigation finds that in the adversarial format of a courtroom, players sometimes take on conflicting roles.
React, Reform, Repeat: A Round of Change Faces Family Court
In chapter 5 of our investigation of New York City Family Court, we look at past reform efforts and survey judges, lawyers, advocates and parents on how they think the system could be improved.
A Separate System With Special Rules
A lower threshold for judgment, different standards of evidence, a shift in the burden of proof and no Fifth Amendment protection—these and other features of Family Court set it apart from the rest of the legal system.
'Kinship' Approach Shows Promise
New York recently began trying to get more children who were removed from their homes placed in guardianship relationships with other relatives. While there are potential pitfalls, the approach can save time and money.
Q&A with Family Court’s Top Judge
A conversation with Edwina Richardson-Mendelson a one-time lawyer and then a courtroom judge in Family Court who now oversees the city's system.
City Investigating Home for LGBT Youth
Current and former residents of a group home for LGBT youth say physical abuse, sexual misconduct and financial mismanagement were common.
Politics of Prison Rape: How PREA Came To Be
In 2003, Congress voted unanimously for the Prison Rape Elimination Act, or PREA, which President Bush signed on Sept. 4 of that year.
Solitary Confinement On the Rise at Rikers
There's been a 44 percent jump in the number of punitive segregation cells in city jails the past two years. Jail officials say it's to prevent violence, but advocates argue the punishment is counterproductive.
Brooklyn Bureau: NYPD Towers May Defuse Cop, Community Friction
Some Brooklynites who live and work near the borough’s two police watchtowers say the observation posts are affecting more than the incidence of crime.
Brooklyn Edges: LGBT Youth Relive Life's Drama On Stage
A theater organization has LGBT youth play the roles of people who spurned them, giving the actors a chance to write their own next act.
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Doubts on Hate-Crime Laws Amid Rash of Anti-Gay Crimes - Jarrett Murphy
Some suspect the current bias-crime statutes aren't strong enough to deter or punish violent bigots. Others wonder if extra jail time is the best way to change mindsets.
Stop and Frisk Coverage Nominated - Jarrett Murphy
We're up for an award from that National Association of Black Journalists.
Gun Violence in NYC: The Killer You Avoid Could Be Yourself - Jarrett Murphy
While New York's gun murder rate is lower than most big cities', it's our low firearm suicide rate that makes gun violence half as likely in the city than in the United States as a whole.
Bloomberg Invokes Terrorism in Case Against NYPD Reforms - Jarrett Murphy
The mayor suggested that Council proposals could lead to more murders, create deadly confusion among police officers and perhaps even make it easier for terrorists to strike the city.
Outside the NYPD, Inspectors General Are Everywhere - Jarrett Murphy
Thirty-three city agencies currently have inspectors general. So do the CIA, Department of Defense, Defense Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency.
What Mayoral Candidates Say About the Disabled: Not Much - Jarrett Murphy
We asked people running for mayor how they'd make the city work better for disabled New Yorkers. So far, only one responded.
New York's Top Judge Echoes Our 2007 Bail Investigation - Jarrett Murphy
Chief Administrative Judge Jonathan Lippman called for reforms of the bail system, including limiting the use of financial bail to detain defendants in non-violent cases.
NYC Pensions Rethinking Guns; NRA Foresees Disaster - Jarrett Murphy
The city's largest retirement fund is looking at shedding gun stocks. The NRA, meanwhile, says the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy shows what a world without gun control.
Find the Gun Merchant Near You! - Jarrett Murphy
Use our database to learn more about the 1,875 federally licensed firearms dealers in New York State.
City Limits Magazines’ Archive Now All Digital, Accessible - City Limits
With a grant from the New York Community Trust, our 36-year archive is now digital (and fully accessible for free) online.
How the Gun Industry Got Rich Stoking Fear About Obama - Jarrett Murphy
This article is reported in collaboration with the Nation Institute’s Investigative Fund, which has also supported City Limits’s coverage of policing in New York.
Prison Abuse Investigation Wins National Award - City Limits
Our magazine's May 2011 report on staff sexual abuse of women inmates in New York State prisons won a Sigma Delta Chi Award from the national Society of Professional Journalists.
City Limits Criminal Justice Reporting Honored - Jarrett Murphy
The National Council on Crime and Delinquency recognized our coverage of staff sexual misconduct in New York's prisons and the housing challenges facing former inmates.
Ruling Touches But One Part of Church-City Relationship - Jarrett Murphy
A policy news round-up: Churches still get city funding and tax breaks, housing vouchers show mixed results and the West Indian Day Parade episode turns attention to the rules cops live by—or are supposed to, anyway.
Is NYC Going Solo on Solitary Confinement? - Jarrett Murphy
A report questions whether increasing the number of solitary cells in the city's jails is a wise move. Our weekly round-up of policy reports also looks at new findings on climate change, living wages and community colleges.
Who Are the Victims of the Ticket-Fixing Scandal? - Jarrett Murphy
Missing from the debate about whether it was right to indict cops for fixing tickets: A look at just how many tickets New York City writes.
Report: Shift in Child Welfare Policy Undermined by Budget Moves - Helen Zelon
The IBO depicts a profound change at the Administration for Children's Services, with preventive offerings replacing foster care as the agency's go-to policy. But questionable budget decisions undercut the impact of the shift.
Seen Here First: The NYPD's Pot Play - Jarrett Murphy
New York police officials last week distanced themselves from an arrest tactic that nabbed small-time pot users who obeyed when cops asked them to empty their pockets. City Limits broke that story in 2009.
Police Conduct at Parade Unlikely to Get Board's Review - Kiera Feldman
A councilman and top Public Advocate aide's claim that they were harassed by police needs sorting out. Could be a job for the Civilian Complaint Review Board. But it probably won't be.
Mideast Politics Weigh On Park Slope Co-op - Leah Robinson
Amid a push to ban Israeli products at the Park Slope Food Co-op, opponents of the move are scrutinizing the organizations behind the boycott movement.
CONVERSATIONS/OPINONS
The Adoption Subsidy: Good Intentions Unfortunate Realities
Despite alarming cases of abuse, the child welfare system still lacks strict safeguards to make sure parents who earn fees to care for children actually provide a nurturing home.
School Gun Violence Solutions from Kids
Conservatives want armed guards in the schools. Some liberals want to call in the National Guard if school violence threatens. What do those at risk—kids in school—say we should do after Newtown?
Report Faults NYPD's Treatment of Some Groups
This writer says NYPD tactics and attitudes unjustly target blacks, Latinos, gays, transgender people, vendors and sex workers.
To Avoid Broken Adoptions, Avoid Breaking Families
No one's sure how often adopted children end up back in foster care. What is certain is that blood relationships are often too deep or complex for court action to sever them.
The Subway Ad that Calls Me a ‘Savage’
A Muslim New Yorker says the ads by an anti-Islam group are absolutely legal–and absolutely immoral.
MULTIMEDIA
Design Deficiencies and Lost Votes
In 2010, tens of thousands of votes in New York did not count due to overvotes — the invalid selection of more than one candidate. This report demonstrates how the lack of adequate overvote protections disproportionately affected the state's poorest communities, suggests commonsense reforms, and examines national implications.
For Their Own Good
Hundreds of teens are in jail for crimes for which adult offenders would walk. Can the Probation Dept. reform its ways?
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CITY LIMITS EVENTS
Defining Brooklyn Launch
City Limits celebrates the launch of its March 2011 issue: Defining Brooklyn.The 35th Anniversary Celebration
City Limits celebrates its 35th Anniversary at BMCC in Tribeca.Brooklyn Bureau Launch
The Brooklyn Bureau launch as part of Social Media Week 2012.Tackling Poverty
The Tackling Poverty Series at Galapagos Art Space in the DUMBO section of Brooklyn.Tackling Poverty (Manhattan)
City Limits & the Institute for Children, Poverty, and Homelessness
