New York opens window into prison abuse and violence complaints

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👋 Timothy Fanning here, filling in for Dan Clark.

In today’s CapCon:

New York is moving to reshape how advanced nuclear power would be financed and built. A new policy options paper asserts that private markets alone are unlikely to build the large-scale nuclear projects the state believes may be necessary for grid reliability and decarbonization. 

The joint report was released last week by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and the state Department of Public Service. 

It comes as Gov. Kathy Hochul has directed multiple state entities to pursue development and construction of 5 gigawatts of nuclear power to augment the more than 3.5 gigawatts already online that provides about 20% of the state’s electricity.

The report said that while advanced nuclear technology could play a critical role in delivering electricity, significant structural barriers prevent it from reaching commercial viability without state involvement.

Advanced nuclear projects face exceptionally high upfront capital costs, long development timelines, regulatory uncertainty and first-of-a-kind technology risks, the report said. Those factors make it hard for private developers and investors to secure financing, even if long-term demand is expected to grow.

Because the risks cannot be absorbed by traditional markets alone, the report said a suite of policy tools to “de-risk” investment are necessary. Those policy efforts should limit exposure for taxpayers and ratepayers.

That includes a risk-share structure, state-backed financing mechanisms, credit support tools and long-term revenue certainty arrangements. 

The report is considered a foundational step in a broader nuclear planning effort, which is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Read the full report here.

And here is a related captivating read from the Times Union’s Ezra Bitterman, who recently visited the shuttered Indian Point nuclear plant in Westchester County to explore whether that site could be repowered. Free for CapCon subscribers.

A correction officer at Fishkill Correctional Facility accused of raping an inmate after investigators uncovered evidence on a contraband cellphone. Another officer allegedly stood by and sanctioned a brutal shower assault that left a man bleeding from multiple lacerations. 

Those cases are among the first details made public under a state-manded prison transparency law signed by Hochul this year. That law was spurred by two fatal beatings committed by New York correction officers, including the murder of Robert L. Brooks Sr. at Marcy Correctional Facility in December 2024.

The inaugural quarterly report was released last week by the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision’s Office of Special Investigations. It lists a litany of allegations of criminal conduct, staff misconduct and prison violence during the first three months of the year, including a dozen cases involving prison employees.

Investigators opened about 3,439 new cases between Jan. 1 and March 31 and closed more than 3,200. During that period, the state substantiated more cases — 1,688 — than those in which it could not find sufficient evidence to make a final determination. Almost 500 were deemed unfounded.

Corrections officials referred 181 matters to the department’s Bureau of Labor Relations for possible employee discipline and made 306 referrals for criminal prosecution. Most criminal referrals involved incarcerated individuals or parolees. Civilians or visitors accounted for nearly 70 incidents.

Complaints involving facility conditions and operations were by far the most common category, accounting for over half of the nearly 7,000 complaints received during the quarter.

Read the full report here.

As New York prepares to legalize medical aid in dying this summer, a coalition of disability rights groups have launched a federal legal challenge, contending the state offers some disabled patients physician-assisted death where it would otherwise intervene to prevent suicide. 

The lawsuit was filed last week in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. A coalition of 10 plaintiffs are seeking to block the state’s Medical Aid in Dying Act before it goes into effect Aug. 5. 

Hochul signed an amended version of the law that will allow someone who is terminally ill to end their lives with the help of a licensed medical provider. 

The lawsuit contends that the Medical Aid in Dying Act created a separate system for people who expressed suicidal thoughts and for those with a “terminal illness.” 

I wrote more about the lawsuit in the Times Union today (free link).

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a case challenging a New York law enacted in 2021 that seeks to hold gun manufacturers liable if their products cause “harm to the public.”

The Supreme Court’s decision means the New York statute will remain in effect,

The case stems from a lawsuit filed in December 2021 on behalf of 14 gun industry member organizations and a trade association that alleged the law is unconstitutional. They also sought an injunction preventing the state attorney general’s office from enforcing it. 

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Albany, was dismissed in May 2022 by U.S. District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino, who ruled New York’s law did not violate the provisions of the 2005 federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which sought to shield gun manufacturers and ammunition companies from civil liability when their products are used in crimes.

In her ruling, which was later upheld by a three-judge panel with the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals, D’Agostino noted that, “Congress clearly intended to allow state statutes which regulate the firearms industry.”

Read the story from the Times Union’s Brendan J. Lyons (free link).

Last week, Dan told you about Hochul signing legislation that codifies the collective bargaining agreement recently struck between the state and United University Professions, the union that represents professional staff at SUNY schools.

She did the same for the collective bargaining agreement between the state and the Civil Service Employees Association.

It’s likely that an agreement with the Public Employees Federation, which represents about 60,000 professional, scientific and technical employees, is near.

The governor’s office on Friday said they had reached a tentative five-year agreement. That deal includes annual salary increases, a boost in location pay and a handful of other items.

The agreement now goes to the union’s 57,000 members for a vote.

Trump’s renewed push for controversial upstate pipeline spells bad news for bats (Gothamist)

A cheat sheet to super PACs in the 2026 New York primaries (City and State)

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Clarification: A previous version of this newsletter incorrectly stated which state entity Gov. Kathy Hochul directed to develop and construct 5 gigawatts of power. Multiple state entities, including the New York Power Authority and Department of Public Service, are involved.