New York Focus is a New York State-focused online newspaper that was founded in the fall of 2020. It focuses its reporting on climate change, state politics, and criminal justice issues. ¹

New York Focus receives funding from left-leaning philanthropic institutions including the Ford Foundation and Open Society Foundations.  ²

Founding and History

New York Focus was founded in the fall of 2020 by Akash Mehta, Sam Mellins, and Lee Harris, who were classmates at the University of Chicago. Since its launch it has acquired more attention for its reporting, especially on issues dealing with prisons in New York state, and has also grown from an annual budget of less than $80,000 in 2020 to over $1,000,000 halfway through 2023. ^{3 4}

Finances

In 2021, New York Focus reported $480,260 in revenue, the entirety of which was from grants and contributions. It had $214,634 in expenses, of which $152,250 was spent on salaries and compensation. It ended the year with a surplus of $265,626 and $318,600 in net assets, up from $52,974 at the end of 2020. ⁵

Funders include the Ford Foundation, Open Society Foundations, Reva and David Logan Foundation, Trinity Church Wall Street Philanthropies, Baskin Family Foundation, Donald A. Pels Charitable Trust, and the Fund for Nonprofit News at the Miami Foundation. ⁶

According to a profile in the New York Times, the organization’s budget for 2023 as of June was over $1 million. ⁷

Reporting

Climate

One of the three categories New York Focus cover in its reporting is climate issues in New York state. It covers   climate stories from a left-of-center environmental perspective. It has published several negative reports on the public relations campaign opposing a New York state proposal to ban gas hookups for heating and cooking in new construction. The publication frames antagonism to the proposed restrictions as being the result of ignorance and misinformation. ^{8 9 10}

Other reporting has criticized the lack of harsh enforcement of New York state’s plastic bag ban, utility rate increases to maintain conventional energy infrastructure, and the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act that was passed into New York state law in 2019 that mandated sweeping environmental changes, especially regarding energy production. ^{11 12 13 14}

New York State Politics

New York Focus also reports on New York state governance issues ranging from bureaucratic delays for food stamps, horse racing handouts, and inter- and intra-party debates about the state budget. ¹⁵

Criminal Justice

New York Focus reporting on the criminal justice system has received attention from the New York Times. The reporting has been credited with sparking changes to the criminal justice systems, such as the allowing inmates to receive pay for writing they had published while incarcerated, as well as spurring investigations into allegations of abuse that have led to changes in the way potential abuse is investigated. ¹⁶

Leadership

Akash Mehta is the co-founder and executive editor of New York Focus. Mehta was appointed to Brooklyn Community Board 6 when he was 17. He and two former classmates from the University of Chicago launched the online paper in the fall of 2020. ^{17 18}

1. Bellafante, Ginia. “Upstart News Site Has Youth on Its Side, and Albany in Its Sights.” The New York Times, June 9, 2023, sec. New York. Accessed August 14, 2023. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/09/nyregion/new-york-focus.html.
2. “Ethics & Funders.” New York Focus. Accessed August 14, 2023. https://nysfocus.com/ethics.
3. Bellafante, Ginia. “Upstart News Site Has Youth on Its Side, and Albany in Its Sights.” The New York Times, June 9, 2023, sec. New York. Accessed August 14, 2023. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/09/nyregion/new-york-focus.html.
4. New York Focus Inc. Return from and organization exempt from taxation (Form 990). 2021 Part I
5. New York Focus Inc. Return from and organization exempt from taxation (Form 990). 2021 Part I.
6. “Ethics & Funders.” New York Focus. Accessed August 14, 2023. https://nysfocus.com/ethics.
7. Bellafante, Ginia. “Upstart News Site Has Youth on Its Side, and Albany in Its Sights.” The New York Times, June 9, 2023, sec. New York. Accessed August 14, 2023. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/09/nyregion/new-york-focus.html.
8. Kinniburgh, Colin. “Inside the Fossil Fuel Industry’s ‘Existential’ Battle Against New….” New York Focus, March 27, 2023. Accessed August 14, 2023. https://nysfocus.com/2023/03/27/fossil-fuel-industry-battle-against-climate-plan.
9. Kinniburgh. “Fossil Fuel Companies Enlist Customers to Fight New York’s Climate Law.” New York Focus, March 7, 2023. Accessed August 14, 2023. https://nysfocus.com/2023/03/07/fossil-fuel-gas-robocall-climate-new-york.
10. Kinniburgh, Colin. “Are Your Gas Bills Paying to Block a Gas Ban?” New York Focus, May 7, 2023. Accessed August 14, 2023. https://nysfocus.com/2023/05/17/national-fuel-utility-customer-gas-ban-lobbying.
11. Kinniburgh, Colin. “New York Banned Plastic Bags Two Years Ago. Why Are They Still….” New York Focus, October 12, 2022. Accessed August 14, 2023. https://nysfocus.com/2022/10/12/plastic-bag-ban-enforcement-dec-family-dollar.
12. Kinniburgh, Colin. “The Fossil Fuel Investments Driving Up ConEd Energy Bills.” New York Focus, July 6, 2022. Accessed August 14, 2023. https://nysfocus.com/2022/07/06/coned-energy-bills-fossil-fuel-investments.
13. Sikora, Pete. “The Failure to Ban Gas in New Construction Is a Bad Sign for New….” New York Focus, June 21, 2022. Accessed August 14, 2023.  https://nysfocus.com/2022/06/21/gas-ban-heastie-bad-sign-for-clcpa.
14. Kinniburgh, Colin. “Are Renewables Enough to Meet New York’s Climate Mandate?” New York Focus, May 22, 2023. Accessed August 14, 2023.  https://nysfocus.com/2023/05/22/non-renewable-energy-hydrogen-nuclear-biofuels-ippny.
15. “New York State.” New York Focus. Accessed August 14, 2023. https://nysfocus.com/category/new-york-state.
16. Bellafante, Ginia. “Upstart News Site Has Youth on Its Side, and Albany in Its Sights.” The New York Times, June 9, 2023, sec. New York. Accessed August 14, 2023. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/09/nyregion/new-york-focus.html.
17. “Akash Mehta.” New York Focus. Accessed August 14, 2023. https://nysfocus.com/author/akash.
18. Bellafante, Ginia. “Upstart News Site Has Youth on Its Side, and Albany in Its Sights.” The New York Times, June 9, 2023, sec. New York. Accessed August 14, 2023. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/09/nyregion/new-york-focus.html.