“There are employers who are going to take away outside work when there’s risk, and they’re going to provide you with the appropriate mask,” said Hildalyn Colon Hernández of the New Immigrant Community Empowerment (NICE), a nonprofit that trains immigrants for jobs in construction. “But there’s also employers that are going to disregard all of these notices and keep people working outside.”
“Those of us teaching the children of New York City do the work. Not only are we not getting the support we need, but we have leadership that actively works against our interests. This has to change.”
In April 2015, Diana Florence was a longtime prosecutor in the Manhattan District Attorney’s office thinking about retirement. But a phone call—about the death of an immigrant laborer at a building site—changed her plans. And it went on to upend how New York State addresses construction fatalities.
The New York District Council of Carpenters issued a statement opposing the plan, saying they would not receive enough work on 349-unit project proposed for The Bronx. Their stance was counter to several other influential labor leaders who have spoken in favor of the project for the jobs and new housing it will create.
There’s no question 421a has fueled development—nearly 117,00 units built since 2010 have qualified for the abatement. But over the past two years, the vast majority of income-restricted units were priced for people earning far more than the city median income.
‘Body Shops specialize in selling the labor of re-entry workers like me because they know how to take advantage of our unique vulnerabilities as Black workers who spent time behind bars.’
A former dairy worker is leading the push to close a loophole in labor laws. Agriculture businesses claim farmworkers are trying an end run through the courts after repeatedly failing to make their case in the state legislature.
The Senate and Assembly banking committees have both approved a bill to permit check-cashing outlets to provide short-term loans. Backers say it offers financing to those whom regular banks don’t serve. Critics say it would permit exploitative “payday” lending.
Several New York State prisons ranked high in a recent federal survey of inmates reporting staff sexual abuse. A City Limits investigation finds that sexual misconduct in New York’s prisons eludes stereotypes—and, sometimes, detection.
In this month’s issue of City Limits magazine, we investigate staff sexual abuse of female inmates in state prisons. In this chapter, a look at the prison officers implicated in allegations of abuse.
City Limits uses investigative journalism through the prism of New York City to identify urban problems, examine their causes, explore solutions, and equip communities to take action.
Founded in 1976 in the midst of New York’s fiscal crisis, City Limits exists to inform democracy and equip citizens to create a more just city. The organization is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit funded by foundation support, ad sponsorship and donations from readers.
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Support local, investigative journalism that has informed and empowered New Yorkers for 45 years.
