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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.
Sales of HIV Meds Catch Lawmakers' Eyes
Prosecutors and legislators report an increase in illegal sales of HIV medication by people looking to feed their families or support drug habits. Will tougher criminal penalties slow the market?
NY Prisoners Counted Differently, But Still Not Voting
Now that they'll be counted in their hometowns rather than where they're incarcerated, state inmates could shift district lines. One thing neither they nor parollees can do, however, is vote.
For an Iraqi in New York, U.S. Withdrawal is Not War's End
Alaa Majeed is one of 60,000 Iraqis who came to the United States after the 2003 invasion. Married to an American, settled in Brooklyn, she still feels the disruption of the war—especially when she hears her mother's voice.
Mixed Evidence of Methadone Crackdown
An advocacy group's survey says police harassment of methadone patients is common. Statistics suggest methadone-related arrests are rare.
From Tix-Fix to Pepper-Spray, NYPD Discipline in Spotlight
Indictments in the Bronx, scuffles on Wall Street, cops charged with planting drugs and running guns. The NYPD is getting a lot of bad press these days. But calls for stricter outside monitoring face familiar obstacles, both practical and political.
Hurricane Passes, But Worries About Rikers Evacuation Remain
It turns out storm Irene was not a threat to the 14,000 inmates at the city's huge jail complex. But other risks abound. Is there a plan for how to empty the island?
With Rising Crime and Fewer Cops, Civilians Eye Street Patrols
As a depleted police force struggles to battle a 20 percent spike in crime over the last year, the communities of Washington Heights and Inwood are adopting their own crime prevention initiatives to make their neighborhoods safer.
Leaving Prison, Free ... and Homeless
It's hard for many New Yorkers to find an apartment they can afford. Those getting out of jail or prison face even steeper obstacles—especially those who need not just a place to sleep, but some help adjusting to life on the outside.
Concerns Persist Over Child Welfare Cases Involving Mental Health
As many as one in five child welfare cases involves a parent with a mental health diagnosis, creating challenges for parents, children and caseworkers. Advocates say efforts to address those challenges haven't gone far enough.
Budget Cut Avoided, But Children's Services Still Show Strain
There are reports that some parents are having trouble getting child welfare services because a botched contract award and budget threats last year led providers to scale back.
For Low-Income Immigrants, Status Complicates Survival
C is like many students at Hunter College. She balances work and school, struggles to pay her tuition bill, wonders what the future will hold. Secretly, she also carries the burden of being an undocumented immigrant.
Defeated In Court, Waste Station's Foes Take To The Streets
Opponents of a planned East 91st Street waste transfer station say the city should reconsider alternatives. But advocates from other neighborhoods believe the site is right for establishing a fairer sanitation system.
In Debate Over New Jail, City Says An Aim Is To Prevent Violence
Hoping to reduce fights, prevent suicide and help inmates avoid returning to jail, New York is changing the way it evaluates new prisoners—and building a new jail. Advocates are split on whether that will solve the problem.
Some Young Migrants Face Deportation With No Lawyer
After being detained by federal border agents, Leticia, 15, faced having to navigate the immigration system—where there is no right to government-appointed counsel—alone. A pro bono attorney stepped up for her. But many migrants aren't as lucky.
Shopping For Change In Crown Heights
Like many Brooklyn neighborhoods, it is seeing a surge in new businesses and young residents. Do the doubts about gentrification run deeper there?
Justice
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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.
Opponents Of Over-Policing Target 'Vague Laws' - Leah Robinson
When you bump someone on the subway, is it a mistake or a misdemeanor? One advocacy group wants New York State to clarify vague laws that it says grant police too much power.
NYC Groups Ask Feds To Scold Bank - Gena Mangiaratti
A coalition of economic advocacy groups wants a federal bank regulator to give JP Morgan Chase a poor grade for its compliance with an anti-redlining law.
DSK Case Is Unusual, But Scrutiny Of Accuser Is Not - Gena Mangiaratti
Advocates for sexual assault victims say the high-profile turmoil in the Dominque Strauss-Kahn case reflects some of the obstacles that come up in less-heralded cases.
Immigrants' U.S. Paychecks A Lifeline To Home Countries - Vincent Trivett
Immigrant workers who send money to support their families contribute mightily to their home countries' economies. But high fees and other obstacles erode the impact this cash could have.
Should Immigrants Have A Right To Free Counsel? - City Limits
Watch a video interview about the challenges facing young migrants who end up in immigration court without the money to hire a lawyer.
Ex-IMF Chief Bailed Out. Thousands Aren't. - Jarrett Murphy
Dominique Strauss-Kahn is off Rikers Island. Most of the inmates he left behind haven't been convicted of anything. They're awaiting trial. And most are waiting behind bars because they can't afford to be free.
Watch Interview, Read Documents On Prison Sex Abuse - Jarrett Murphy
More on City Limits investigation into sexual abuse involving male guards and female inmates in New York State prisons--and the national push to eliminate prison sex abuse.
Veteran Provider Takes Big ACS Job - Helen Zelon
The Administration of Children’s Services has announced the appointment of Charles Barrios, a licensed psychotherapist with decades of service at Good Shepherd Services in Brooklyn, as Deputy Commissioner for Family Support Services.
CONVERSATIONS/OPINONS
Why it's Time to Hire the Disabled
The economy is sluggish and the job market is weak. But that's all the more reason, this writer says, to make sure disabled workers get their shot at the work that's out there.
Mayor's Panel Aims to End the Illness-to-Incarceration Pipeline
The city's jails have become mental health treatment centers of last resort, writes the city's corrections commissioner. A new task force will try to get in front of the psychological problems that put people behind bars.
More Than Money: Bloomberg's Focus on Young Men of Color
Critics on the left say the mayor's Young Men's Initiative misses the mark, and those on the right say it reflects old thinking. But a former City Hall adviser writes that there's more to the idea than the skeptics realize.
Zero Tolerance: NY Prison System Committed To Preventing Sex Abuse
The commissioner of the state prison system responds to our investigation of sex abuse involving male staff and female inmates.
Juvenile Justice: The Case For Local Control
A youth services provider says Mayor Bloomberg's bid to take more control of the state's juvenile justice system is an opportunity not just to save money, but to change lives.
MULTIMEDIA
Justice Deceived
Large foreclosure firms subvert state regulations protecting homeowners by failing to file documents that move cases forward; instead, homeowners accrue added fees and interest and cannot enter into settlement conferences with banks in order to get affordable mortgages.
FDNY report on fatal fire, January 23, 2005
The fatal fire investigation report on the death of Firefighter Richard T. Sclafani of Ladder 103 at 577 Jerome Street, Brooklyn.
