Our reporting that made a difference in 2022

Daily life began to approach "normalcy" in 2022, with mandatory masks coming off in many places and people returning to the public square.

For our journalists, there was still a lot of reporting to do about the pandemic − about nursing home complaints, for instance, or how much hospital executives made in bonuses while frontline workers were struggling.

We also refocused on other issues that are most important to the communities of the Lower Hudson Valley, like questionable behavior by public officials, regrettable behavior at high school sporting events, controversial state policies in several areas, and plenty more.

One of our most important goals is to serve our communities, to help solve problems and make them better. When covering these issues, we hope to get results. To see change. And we often do.

Here are some of the stories we did in 2022 that got results and made a difference for the readers of the Lower Hudson:

NY lawmakers request hearing after nursing home investigation

A months-long USA TODAY Network New York investigation revealed why thousands of nursing home complaints languished unresolved during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also spotlighted the harrowing stories of New Yorkers who fought to protect their relatives living inside the facilities, despite the government oversight failures. The probe included interviews with a dozen relatives of nursing home residents who died of COVID-19 and analysis of hundreds of pages of complaint documents obtained via public-records request. Our investigation prompted several state lawmakers to call for legislative oversight hearings into how New York's response rate to complaints about conditions in nursing homes went so wrong during the pandemic and pursue reforms to improve the health and safety of nursing home residents.

Investigation into use of hospital restraints prompts new case to emerge

Our investigation revealed at least 50 cases of hospital patients being improperly restrained in New York, including men and women handcuffed, hit with batons, drugged, and left strapped to beds up to 12 hours without regular check-ups and water. The months-long probe included analysis of reams of hospital inspection reports obtained via public records requests, as well as interviews with national experts. It uncovered why thousands of hospital patients are restrained in emergency rooms and other hospital wards across New York with limited independent oversight. Several New Yorkers have cited the investigation when filing complaints with state officials about their firsthand experience being restrained at hospitals. That includes the story of a New York man who claimed improper restraint for 34 hoursl published in USA TODAY Network sites across New York.

Judge utilizes article in establishing Child Victims Act precedent

An investigation that uncovered state agencies were being given more protection from Child Victims Act litigation than private entities and citizens is being used and cited in a judge's rulings. The Oct. 5 article showed two of the three judges hearing cases against state entities had dismissed the majority of them, citing Court of Claims statute 11(b). It requires claims against the state to satisfy a set of conditions that include time, place, what happened, what the injuries were and the total sum of the claim. It does not, though, specify how small of a timeframe is specific enough. And, advocates in the article argued precise details of an attack are especially difficult to provide in child abuse cases, given the traumatic nature of the alleged events, let alone cases regarding decades-old claims. A fourth judge who began hearing such cases recently cited this article and those arguments from advocates in three decisions released Dec. 2, and has attempted to better delineate a specific level for the burden of proof needed. In two of the three decisions he determined the cases should not be allowed to proceed. These decisions are expected to be used as arguments in upcoming and ongoing appeals for cases that were previously dismissed.

Police officer indicted on false arrest charges

What started out as a lawyer letting us know he had a notice of claim against the Village of Brewster for an incident involving one of its cops morphed into a powerful story that featured exclusive cellphone video the client, Alex King, took of the confrontation. The incident revealed the Brewster Police Department's lack of body cam policies, which we also reported. Seven months later, the officer was indicted - not for use of force but for false statements he made in the charging documents when he arrested King on trumped up charges. In the original article, we pointed out how the charges against King did not match what was seen on the video. We reported that the state police had investigated but recommended no charges. Once we started asking, the District Attorney said he was taking a look at the totality of the circumstances. The indictment followed months later.

Upstate towns push back against new state agency for renewable energy projects after article

Our coverage of a new agency to push renewable energy projects generated dozens of angry letters to the editor. The stories describe how the state of New York, unhappy with the pace of approvals for renewable energy projects, created an agency to streamline the process so it can meet its climate goals. The agency can override local zoning laws. The decision angered residents of upstate towns who fear prime agricultural land will be lost to developers of wind and solar farms.

Rockland County executive changes questionable wedding gift registry

After a reader called us about the online wedding registry for Rockland County Executive Ed Day, in which the couple asked their guests to give them money to help pay for their upcoming honeymoon, ethics experts raised questions about the possibility of corruption with gifts from county contractors. Two days after the story ran, Day said he would no longer accept monetary gifts from county contractors.

Westchester District Attorney opens investigation into Elmsford mayor

Our investigation into the misdeeds of Elmsford Mayor Robert Williams prompted the Westchester District Attorney to open a grand jury investigation into Williams' conduct, which included using an on-duty police officer to drive village employees to and from a Yankees game.

Haiti mobile clinic gets boost from Rockland groups, international agency

We wrote about a mobile clinic donated by RefuahHealth that was heading to Haiti so local medical providers could get help to people throughout the Caribbean nation. Following our story, the clinic was up and running with a boost from Rockland groups and an international agency. Glenn Erickson of the Catholic Medical Mission Board said the multinational NGO gave Konbit Neg Lakay, a Spring Valley-based nonprofit, $150,000 worth of medicines for its new mobile clinic that's helping people in Haiti. The relationship likely won't end there. Erickson said Rockland County Haiti Relief's approach could scale quickly to meet a gaping need. ""We always kind of try to support smaller grassroots organizations because those are the ones that might be doing interesting things, who may have the grassroots connections,"" Erickson said. That's just what Rockland County Haiti Relief is doing with its mobile clinic, he said. "I think they are right at the start of what they are going to be."

Article on stillborn babies leads to renewed efforts to pass state law

Our look at New York's lack of support for parents of stillborn babies got the attention of state officials like Sen. Shelley Mayer. She appeared on Twitter Spaces with us to say that after the story published, she renewed efforts to pass a state law that gives these families a $2,000 tax credit, so they have some financial support from the state (since they are not legally included in paid family leave). The bill is likely to be re-introduced in the next state legislative session in January. Parents featured in the article also started calling on Gov. Kathy Hochul to support legislation that would give parents of stillborn babies the same 12 weeks of paid time off from work they would have gotten under the state's paid family leave if their babies had lived.

Reporting of racist behavior spurs change at high school games

Our coverage of the racist behavior of Pearl River fans toward a Nyack basketball player led to Section 1 Athletics taking away home court advantage from Pearl River in the sectional playoffs. We followed with a story about another incident toward an Ossining girls basketball player later that month, which saw Our Lady of Lourdes students banned from attending the team's next playoff game. We then reported in June about Section 1 taking steps to ensure mechanisms were in place to address future incidents. There was a hastily called Zoom meeting during the winter playoffs where the Section 1 executive director warned athletic directors to be proactive with fans or there would be repercussions. A larger discussion about fan behavior was started on the local and state level and measures were clearly taken during the spring season to ensure proper supervision of student and fan sections. Pearl River made it to a boys lacrosse final and literally ringed the student section with administrators, coaches from other sports and security personnel.

Investigation of deteriorating dam leads to multi-agency plan for repairs

Our 2020 investigation into the deteriorating Lake Isle dam in Westchester County, New York, caught the eye of Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, in whose district the dam stands. The dam's condition, after decades without maintenance, threatened several communities downstream. Paulin vowed to help forge a regional solution for the costly repairs. Since then, town, county, state and federal officials have worked together to plan repairs. An engineering firm is investigating the dam's condition. Paulin and state Sen. Shelley Mayer said they will deliver $4 million in state funds for repairs and U.S. Rep. Jamaal Bowman said he will seek federal funding, as well.

State looking into Mount Vernon school contracts; district hires independent audit firm

In October, we began questioning the Mount Vernon school district about why $8 million in state grants had been awarded to a small Rockland County company with little track record. After we sent a list of questions to Superintendent Waveline Bennett-Conroy - including whether her son had ties to the company and whether he was now working for the Mount Vernon schools in its grants office - the superintendent and school board announced they were hiring an independent firm to investigate the district's rewarding of contracts for services and programs. We reported in a second story that the company that got the Mount Vernon grants had claimed that it had ""partners" in six Rockland County districts but that the company, called Just Inspire, did not appear to have contracts with those districts. The owner of the company, a veteran teacher in the South Orangetown district, was soon put on administrative leave by the district, which said in a statement that it had no contracts with the company. We then reported that the state Education Department was looking into Mount Vernon's contracts with Just Inspire.

Superintendent resigns after revelations about coach come to light

In June, we reported on why the varsity football coach at Nyack High School, one of the only Black football coaches in Section 1, had quietly resigned months before. Jerell Jones told us that he had been accused by the high school principal and athletic director of using the n-word at players, the result of their misunderstanding what they heard on a post-game video. Jones said that officials would not apologize even when it became clear that he had done nothing wrong, and that Nyack Superintendent Eudes Budhai, while acknowledging that Jones had been wronged, would not interfere. Nyack takes pride in having a progressive school district that values diversity, so the revelations did not sit well. Days after our story published, Budhai, who was also facing criticism on other matters, resigned as superintendent.

Rescued beagles spark big adoption interest

In August 2022, we wrote about abused beagles from Virginia who were rescued by organizations around the country, including Compassionate Animal Rescue Efforts of Dutchess County. The owner of Dutchess CARE credited this coverage with helping a lot of dogs, in addition to the rescued beagles, get adopted. It was a welcome change for the puppies, who had been kept at a facility that breeds beagles for medical research.

Article leads to advocacy group joining fight for polling site

In advance of the November general election, we reported the Dutchess County Board of Elections was out of compliance with a new state law, under which Vassar College should be given a polling site. The New York Civil Liberties Union learned of the clash through the article and connected the organization trying to get the polling place established with an attorney. Our story was submitted as part of the court case. Ultimately, following multiple court rulings, the application of the new state law was enforced, the polling site was created by the Board of Elections and students voted on campus.

Company pulls tax incentive request on $4.5 billion project

We reported on a controversial proposal in which a developer sought $120 million in tax incentives from Dutchess County on a renewable energy project that would not create jobs or benefit Dutchess. The company withdrew its proposal and the project later moved forward without the tax incentives. The project involved generating hydro power from Canada by running 339 miles of cable, mostly below the Hudson River. After the story was published, several town officials from outside of our coverage area reached out to us with questions about how property taxes would be determined for the river, which is owned by the state.

Dutchess County creates housing trust fund following reporting, analysis

After we did extensive reporting on housing in Dutchess County, which included a multi-story investigation into the extent and reasons behind a lack of affordable housing, and a housing assessment requisitioned by the county, Dutchess announced it would change how it planned to spend millions in American Rescue Plan Act funds to create a Housing Trust. The trust is designed to make approving and creating affordable housing projects in the county easier.

Hours after investigation reveals consulting deal, town nixes contract

We received a tip from a reader about a sweetheart deal for the former Cortlandt town supervisor, who would become a consultant for the new supervisor, at $6,500 a month. We discovered that such a deal was unprecedented in New York, and looking like a giveaway to the longtime incumbent who had decided not to run for reelection. A day after the story went live on lohud.com, the town supervisor announced that the contract would be canceled.

Health workers cite investigation of $73M in bonuses for NY hospital executives

We spent months digging into federal tax records to reveal $73 million in payouts to hospital executives during the pandemic, created a database to let New Yorkers search for hospital executives' pay and reported on frontline health workers' financial inequality within the hospital industry. Labor unions and health workers have since cited the investigation's findings during their ongoing attempts to secure better pay and benefits that reflect frontline workers' sacrifices amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mayor credits coverage with building support for new Yonkers schools

Back in 2015, The Journal News/lohud began documenting the poor condition of Yonkers’ overcrowded school buildings, calling on the state to help finance a rebuilding of the Yonkers schools as it had done in Buffalo and Rochester. We made the case then, and again in 2016. In 2017, we reported that the state had started to come through with funding. In 2019, we reported how much money was being wasted on temporary repairslud to the crumbling schools. Finally, in May 2022, we reported that Yonkers would soon begin building two new schools. Mayor Mike Spano credited The Journal News/lohud’s ongoing coverage with building awareness in Albany that the state needed to come to Yonkers' aid.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Our stories that made a difference for Lower Hudson Valley in 2022