Jessy Edwards

1 week ago | hellgatenyc.com | Jessy Edwards

This story was produced in partnership with New York Focus. The reporting was supported by the Fund for Investigative Journalism. Diagnosed with a terminal heart condition, Sierra Johnson sometimes spends weeks at a time in the hospital. But she's determined to not let her health get in the way of her lawsuit against the state of New York.

1 week ago | hellgatenyc.com | Jessy Edwards

Wanna know something cool about Staten Island? Not only is it home to the only City-run household organics composting facility in the five boroughs, but also, Staten Islanders are the very best in the city at composting. Could it be because, unlike the rest of the five boroughs, many of the homes on Staten Island are single-family with yard waste like leaves? Probably. But could it also be because Staten Islanders have an insanely efficient composting facility at their doorstep?

2 weeks ago | hellgatenyc.com | Jessy Edwards

We don't say this often, but today, June 11, is a truly historic day in New York City—the forced broker fee is now illegal. After months of campaigning from broker fee-ban advocates, pushback from the real estate industry and even a REBNY lawsuit to block the law, the Fairness in Apartment Rentals Act (FARE Act) is finally in effect, making it illegal for tenants to be charged a broker fee if the tenant did not hire the broker themselves.

2 weeks ago | hellgatenyc.com | Jessy Edwards

The City is finally moving the towering 800-bed former floating jail that for three decades has hovered just off Hunts Point out of the Bronx neighborhood, 18 months after the last detainee left the barge for good. But the future of the 625-foot long barge is still uncertain, with the New York City Economic Development Corporation saying few ideas are off the table when it comes to its long-term future. The EDC confirmed, however, that it will not be turned back into a jail.

4 weeks ago | hellgatenyc.com | Jessy Edwards

At 5:32 a.m., a lone, low voice cracked the silence inside the Great Hall of the Metropolitan Museum, soaring right up to the institution's domed ceiling. It was the opening of the museum's reconceived Oceania gallery, and standing in attendance were dozens of indigenous delegates from all corners of the Pacific Ocean.