Jeongyoon Han
jeongyoonhan.bsky.social
Jeongyoon Han
@jeongyoonhan.bsky.social
Covering NY politics for WXXI, WNYC/Gothamist, WAMC, NCPR, WSKG, etc 🌱🍃🌷🌎🌟prev: @nprpolitics
Looking to speak with someone in NY who witnessed a federal immigration arrest for a story I’m working on.

[email protected] or Signal:
jhan.76
August 4, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Gov. Hochul said NY intends to create the first major US nuclear plant in 15+ years.

She said she’s asking Pres. Trump to expedite the permit process: “So I said to the President, ‘If you want energy dominance, I want energy dominance. This is how we do it.’”

www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2...
First new nuclear plant in a generation to be built in Upstate New York
Gov. Kathy Hochul made the announcement Monday in Niagara County.
www.wxxinews.org
June 23, 2025 at 8:57 PM
Which bills did NY lawmakers pass, and which ones weren't so lucky?
A roundup of some of those bills based on our NY capitol public radio bureau reporting -- from @joncampbellny.bsky.social Jimmy Vielkind and yours truly: www.wxxinews.org/new-york-pub...
Here are the bills that NY lawmakers passed, and didn't pass, this year
Lawmakers in the New York state Legislature raced to pass more than 800 bills this year. The legislation now heads to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s desk for her sign-off.
www.wxxinews.org
June 20, 2025 at 10:55 PM
The state Senate passed this bill with a strong majority. It’s still being considered in the Assembly, per source familiar
June 13, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Reposted by Jeongyoon Han
A bill that would impose a five-year moratorium on the use of sewage sludge as fertilizer could get a vote in the NY Legislature this week.

More from @jeongyoonhan.bsky.social: www.wxxinews.org/new-york-pub...
Should sewage sludge be used as fertilizer for New York's farmland?
Lawmakers in Albany say sewage sludge, or waste collected in homes and factories that's used as a fertilizer alternative, could permanently ruin New York farmland and harm human health.
www.wxxinews.org
June 10, 2025 at 8:14 PM
Reposted by Jeongyoon Han
The battle over natural-gas pipelines -- a remnant of the big fracking battle of the early 2010s -- is back in NY.

More from @jeongyoonhan.bsky.social:

www.wxxinews.org/new-york-pub...
Natural gas pipelines see renewed push as Hochul signals openness
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Thursday that she was considering the “benefits” of new energy projects that meet state environmental laws – including pipeline projects – “at a time when energy prices...
www.wxxinews.org
May 30, 2025 at 2:25 PM
SCOOP: NY's parole board is 33% less likely to release a POC than a white person, per NYU’s Center on Race, Inequality, and the Law.

Notable line in the report: "Not coincidentally, this three-and-a-quarter-year period coincides with Gov. Hochul’s time in office."

www.wxxinews.org/new-york-pub...
Report finds worsening racial disparities in New York parole process
The state’s parole board is 33% less likely to release a person of color than a white person, according to a New York University School of Law report analyzing the most recent data spanning 2022 throu...
www.wxxinews.org
May 28, 2025 at 5:49 PM
Some incarcerated New Yorkers work for as little as 10 cents an hour, while the average statewide rate is $0.35/hour.

State lawmakers say that needs to change.

www.wxxinews.org/new-york-pub...
Some incarcerated New Yorkers work for 10 cents an hour. Lawmakers say that needs to change
Lawmakers in Albany are considering establishing a minimum wage and setting the base rate at half the state’s minimum wage – which currently is between $15.50 and $16.50.
www.wxxinews.org
May 20, 2025 at 9:39 PM
Reposted by Jeongyoon Han
Great morning read via @jeongyoonhan.bsky.social for WXXINews!

Here’s how NY’s new budget addresses cost of living for New Yorkers: www.wrvo.org/2025-05-14/h...
Here’s how NY’s new budget addresses cost of living for New Yorkers
Lawmakers approved plans to issue "inflation" checks alongside making school meals free for students in public schools, among other measures that Gov. Kathy Hochul says fulfills part of her ongoing "a...
www.wrvo.org
May 15, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Days ago, NY passed laws that would put safeguards on AI chatbots.

But now Republicans in Congress want to put a 10-year moratorium on state AI laws.

AOC cited NY's laws in a E&C bill markup Tuesday and said it "would be wiped out" if this happens:

www.wxxinews.org/new-york-pub...
www.wxxinews.org
May 14, 2025 at 6:08 PM
NY lawmakers and criminal justice advocates are using a special legislative hearing tomorrow as a chance to draw attention to violence in the state’s correctional facilities and renew calls for reform.

www.wxxinews.org/new-york-pub...
Special legislative hearing will address deaths of inmates in NY prisons
Lawmakers and criminal justice advocates are using a special legislative hearing on Wednesday as a chance to draw attention to violence in the state’s correctional facilities and renew calls for refor...
www.wxxinews.org
May 13, 2025 at 8:48 PM
Reposted by Jeongyoon Han
"State Democratic leaders agreed to close up to three prisons over the next year and put at least $500 million toward the continued deployment of National Guard troops to backfill prison guard shifts."

"[L]ower the starting age for a corrections officer from 21 to 18."
#NewYork #USA #Incarceration
NY lawmakers agree to close up to 3 prisons, lower age requirements for guards
The state will lower the minimum prison guard age to 18 and spend $500 million to keep backfilling shifts with National Guard troops.
gothamist.com
May 6, 2025 at 11:00 PM
ICYMI — a thread:
1) This scoop by yours truly: lawmakers in Albany are poised to up the max donation amount that’s eligible for public matching in NY races.

Since publishing, the Assembly Speaker did confirm:

www.wxxinews.org/new-york-pub...
NY lawmakers poised to loosen campaign finance rules in state budget
The changes would allow candidates to match the first $250 of donations up to $1,000, making larger sums eligible for the matching funds program.
www.wxxinews.org
May 3, 2025 at 12:17 AM
Some local leaders say Andrew Cuomo used his power when he was governor to bigfoot them and withhold funding in retaliation for disagreeing with him.

Now, he wants to be one of them.

I talked with people across the political spectrum for this story:

gothamist.com/news/cuomo-h...
Cuomo had a rocky relationship with local leaders. Now he wants to be NYC mayor.
Some describe a transactional, self-interested governor. Others say he knew how to get things done.
gothamist.com
April 2, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Reposted by Jeongyoon Han
A push to expand the state’s independent prison oversight body -- spurred by the killing of Robert Brooks at a prison in Marcy -- appears to have stalled in the Assembly.

From @jeongyoonhan.bsky.social:

www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2...
NY lawmakers say colleagues are stalling prison oversight bill
Progressive lawmakers have re-surfaced legislation first introduced four years ago that would triple membership of what they say is the underfunded and understaffed State Commission of Correction. But...
www.wxxinews.org
March 25, 2025 at 8:57 PM
NY Gov. Kathy Hochul has referenced the Rambo movies to describe her strategy to President Donald Trump. But she's not throwing punches all the time.

My analysis here, and on the airwaves for NPR's All Things Considered today:

www.wxxinews.org/new-york-pub...
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul walks political tightrope into high-stakes White House sit-down
NY Gov. Kathy Hochul has referenced the Rambo movies to describe her strategy to President Donald Trump. But she's not throwing punches all the time.
www.wxxinews.org
March 14, 2025 at 7:23 PM
March 13, 2025 at 3:08 AM
Another reporter asked border czar Tom Homan why Mahmoud Khalil was arrested. He dodged the question so I pressed him on it. He said:
“I'm unfamiliar with the exact charge. I can just tell you what my discussions have been with it, is that it’s a direct violation of our foreign policy objectives."
March 13, 2025 at 3:02 AM
Three weeks in, nearly 60% of NY’s corrections officers are still on strike.

2,000 of them returned to work over the weekend, but 8,000 still stand on the picket line.

www.wxxinews.org/new-york-pub...
More than half of corrections officers still on NY prison strike
While nearly 60% of corrections officers remain on strike, hundreds of them gathered at the state Capitol on Tuesday. The rally served as a poignant message to Gov. Kathy Hochul that the deal and term...
www.wxxinews.org
March 5, 2025 at 1:53 AM
Reposted by Jeongyoon Han
The New York state Department of Corrections has begun firing and fining corrections officers who have not returned to work as an unlawful prison strike enters its third week.
Corrections officers fired as tentative deal fails to end wildcat strike
State officials said they had done what they legally could by issuing a tentative prison strike deal before resorting to terminations and civil contempt charges.
gothamist.com
March 3, 2025 at 9:25 PM
Reposted by Jeongyoon Han
New York's "Department of Corrections has begun firing and fining corrections officers who have not returned to work as an unlawful prison strike enters its third week."

"Over the course of the strike, four prisoners have died at three separate facilities."
@jeongyoonhan.bsky.social @gothamist.com
Corrections officers fired as tentative deal fails to end wildcat strike
State officials said they had done what they legally could by issuing a tentative prison strike deal before resorting to terminations and civil contempt charges.
gothamist.com
March 3, 2025 at 10:51 PM
Reposted by Jeongyoon Han
anora hive let's go
March 3, 2025 at 1:09 AM
I spoke w/ a mom who wants NY corrections officers to accept the prison strike deal so that her son, who was allegedly attacked by inmates and guards at Bare Hill, can get medical care.

But she's torn: He's in solitary confinement. Will the deal keep him in there?

www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2...
Tentative prison strike deal garners mixed reactions for incarcerated people and loved ones
Incarcerated people and their families agree that the corrections officers' strike must end. But they're concerned about one part of a tentative deal.
www.wxxinews.org
February 28, 2025 at 9:41 PM
Reposted by Jeongyoon Han
From @stephennessen.bsky.social and myself: A federal judge has struck down NJ's last-ditch effort to block congestion pricing from taking effect in Manhattan on Sunday.

NJ's attorney, Randy Mastro, has vowed to appeal.

gothamist.com/news/nyc-con...
NYC congestion pricing expected to start Sunday over NJ objections
A judge tossed out New Jersey’s last-minute request to pause the toll on Manhattan drivers.
gothamist.com
January 4, 2025 at 1:49 AM