• john@snowden.nyc
• GPG 0x10C4B2C745B512BA
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See my Substack publication S'Now'Den for my complete works.

Selected Clips

• Train Rides from Hell: Ukrainians Fleeing War Fight to Survive on the Rails, The Nation. As millions escape Russian invasion, train stations have become terrifying bottlenecks.
• Reflections: Ukraine's October Surprise and Winter of Grit, S'Now'Den. A look back at Ukraine's shocking winter energy crisis for the first anniversary of the war.
• Meet NYPD's Strategic Response Group, from their Internal Manuals and Training, The Intercept. An inside look at NYPD's notorious riot squad, based on internal documents revealed for the first time.
• New York City did not Respond to the Riots for Four Hours, The Intercept. After brutally cracking down on peaceful protesters all day, the NYPD did not mobilize a response to violent mass looting for hours.
• The Sunday Night Riots: Mass Looting in SoHo After Day of Peaceful Protest, S'Now'Den. The first night of rioting in Manhattan in the summer of 2020 marked a moment in New York City unlike any other since the 1977 blackout.
• Scott Stringer Accuser's Lawyer has Deep Ties to the Anti-Union Development World That Wants to Destroy Him, The Intercept. When Scott Stringer decided to run for mayor, the powerful enemies he made in New York City real estate struck back. Meet the lawyer who levied sexual harassment accusations against Stringer -- the same lawyer that was chief counsel for one of New York's sleaziest construction firms.
• Will Mayor Adams Audit NYPD Intelligence Division, Like he Said he Wanted to?, S'Now'Den. Long before Eric Adams became mayor, as a state assemblyman he urged the comptroller to audit NYPD's infamous Intelligence Division. But little did he or the public know then, that there was a secret agreement shielding the NYPD's surveillance arm from accountability.
• The MTA Website Leaks Private User Data Due to Basic Technical Flaw, Indypendent. For years the MTA website leaked passwords, sexual harassment complaints, and other sensitive rider submissions due to an elementary security oversight. The MTA made security improvements in response to this article.
• Mysterious Fuel Spill in L Train Tunnel Sickens Riders as Government Scrambles to Identify Source, Indypendent. As workers wage a valiant effort to clean the tunnel, the MTA insists the tunnel is safe and refuses to shutdown train service. Despite promises that the fuel is not toxic, hazardous waste crews haul the contaminants away in the middle of the night. Part one of an ongoing investigation.
• Digging Begins at Site of L Train Fuel Spill, Indypendent. As the fuel spill continued unmitigated for a second week straight, the government has finally identified a likely source for the leak and begins excavating at an abandoned gas station. Meanwhile, before the fumes have even dissipated, the owner has filed to "convert" the gas station into a four story building. Part two of an ongoing investigation.
• Big Oil, Bad Air, Inside Climate News. Developed interactive map of oil wells beneath Karnes County, Texas for joint investigation with Inside Climate News, The Center for Public Integrity and The Weather Channel. The map was featured as the lead graphic for the Public Integrity report and was shown on air by Rachel Maddow on MSNBC. Screenshot shown at right.
• Hunter OneCards are Vulnerable to Identity Theft, Hunter Envoy. A lack of encryption in an ID card system has left students vulnerable to identity theft and burglary for years. College upgrades system after being notified of the vulnerability.
• FBI Interrogates Student at Hunter College Public Safety Office, Hunter Envoy. FBI special agents enter the Public Safety office of Hunter College and use the lieutenant's telephone to lure an Occupy Wall Street activist under false pretenses for questioning behind closed doors.
• Unexpected Clash Occurs in Baruch Lobby at Public Hearing, Hunter Envoy. When students enter the lobby of Baruch College to protest tuition hikes, CUNY Public Safety and the NYPD assault and arrest them. However, CUNY denies NYPD had entered the college, despite photographic evidence. First part of an investigative series.
• NYPD Highly Involved in Baruch Protest, In-depth Video Analysis Shows, Hunter Envoy. Extensive analysis of video from the Barush protest reveals the true extent of NYPD involvement in the protest, and it is much higher than previously reported. CUNY retains Kroll Associates to perform a third-party investigation overseen by former NYPD commissioner Bill Bratton. Second part in the series.
• NYPD Involvement Understated by Kroll, Chancellor Exempted for False Statements, Hunter Envoy. Kroll has released their report on the Baruch incident, but it is riddled with falsehoods and includes recommendations to the university to increase police response to future student protest. Third part in the series.
• Final Days of the Occupy Oakland Camp, Hunter Envoy. After a man is shot and killed outside the camp of Occupy Oakland, California, the camp is restless and numbers dwindle for the first time since the movement began. Emotions run high in the days leading up to the police raid of the camp.
• Occupy Protesters Seldom See Timely Medical Treatment, Hunter Envoy. The NYPD rarely permits timely medical treatment to protesters, even when medics are nearby and available.
• Wildcat March Draws Hundreds of Black-Clad Protesters to SoHo and Chinatown, Hunter Envoy. Masked "anarchist" protesters march through Chinatown wreaking havoc.
• Scenes from an Occupied Jail Cell, Hunter Envoy. An account of the one-year anniversary of Occupy Wall Street from inside a jail a cell at One Police Plaza. I was arrested within 15 minutes of the start of the protest for photographing the NYPD. Violence and jail deter neither activism nor journalism.
• Republican National Convention Hits Tampa, America Stays Sleeping, Hunter Envoy. Tampa Bay is transformed into a police state, but no protesters show up. Local businesses suffer while politicians delegate.
• City Allowed Open Pipe to Flood Historic Greenpoint Hospital for 2 Years, DNAinfo. Millions of gallons of water are wasted, a national landmark damaged, as the city allowed the basement of a historic hospital building to flood from an unrepaired burst pipe for two and a half years. Community members are outraged as decades of beurocratic delay spell a beloved building's doom.
• Mourners march in memory of Destiny Sanchez, Hunts Point Express. South Bronx residents march in protest of the rape and murder of a young girl from the neighborhood.