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Olivia Bensimon

@oliviabensimon.bsky.social
1.7K followers 718 following 53 posts

Baltimore County Reporter @thebaltimorebanner.com via @reportforamerica.bsky.social — tips etc olivia.bensimon@thebanner.com // used to run around nyc for @nytimes.com @hellgatenyc.com

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Olivia Bensimon @oliviabensimon.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Hope you can take a moment this morning to read Sapna Bansil's moving story about a Maryland mother’s deportation to Vietnam and what comes next for her family www.thebanner.com/community/lo...
thebanner.com
A Maryland mother’s deportation to Vietnam forces an agonizing choice
Forced 9,000 miles from her family, Melissa Tran confronts what comes next for her U.S.-born children.
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Olivia Bensimon @oliviabensimon.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Baltimore County! Join us next week at Manor Mill in Monkton to talk all things local news. Behind the notebook: A panel discussion with The Banner’s Baltimore County team @thebaltimorebanner.com www.thebanner.com/community/lo...
thebanner.com
Behind the notebook: A panel discussion with The Banner’s Baltimore County team
On Sept. 29, four Banner reporters who cover Baltimore County will be at Manor Mill in Monkton for a panel discussion on how their stories come together.
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Ellie Wolfe @elliew0lfe.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Why is the University of Maryland threatening legal action against a small, Colorado-based cannabis product company? It's shaping up to be a "David v. Goliath" fight, the owner of Terps USA, which sells terpenes for marijuana, told me. Read more: www.thebanner.com/education/hi...
thebanner.com
UMD threatens legal action against cannabis product company over name
The University of Maryland, College Park, is threatening legal action against a cannabis product company over its “Terps” name.
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Greg Morton @invisibae.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
NEW: This is Baltimore's longest continuously vacant building. It has been uninhabitable for more than 43 years straight. How has it escaped city oversight for so long? By @sahanajayaraman.bsky.social & @jessicagallagher.bsky.social Read about it here: www.thebanner.com/community/ho...
Baltimore's longest continuously vacant building with a three growing through its windows sits between two recently renovated homes in the city's East Baltimore Midway neighborhood.
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Olivia Bensimon @oliviabensimon.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
My first story for @thebaltimorebanner.com :)
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Olivia Bensimon @oliviabensimon.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Today was my first day at @thebaltimorebanner.com as a @reportforamerica.bsky.social corps member!! excited to report on issues that matter to readers across Baltimore County (and here's a nice press release about it too!) www.thebanner.com/banner-pr/ol...
thebanner.com
The Baltimore Banner deepens investment in Baltimore County with additional journalists
The Baltimore Banner is expanding its reporting presence in Baltimore County with the addition of Olivia Bensimon, who will join the newsroom through the Report for America program. Bensimon will serv...
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Olivia Bensimon @oliviabensimon.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
Read my story in New York Magazine (!!!!) and then ask me a bunch of questions about NYC property taxes
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Hell Gate *subscribe today!* @hellgatenyc.com · 15/06/2026
Asked by the TSA agent whether they'd had a nice time in San Antonio, another Knicks fan just let out a long cackle, wiped their eyes, and said it was the best night of his life. Read our dispatch from San Antonio:
hellgatenyc.com
Knicks Fans Messed With Texas—and Won
A canceled flight and a frozen egg would not stop me from witnessing history.
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The New York Times @nytimes.com · 14/06/2026
The Knicks won their first NBA championship in more than 50 years, and the city welcomed it in true New York fashion: extravagantly. See more photos and videos of the celebrations here. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/n...
A crowd of Knicks fans cheer together. Photo by José A. Alvarado Jr. for The New York Times.
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Olivia Bensimon @oliviabensimon.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Oh my god
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Gwynne Hogan @gwynnefitz.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
Dispatch from Delaney Hall, where guards pepper sprayed and attacked men protesting inside the facility, while ICE pepper sprayed and hit protesters outside with batons. www.thecityreporter.nyc/2026/05/29/d...
thecityreporter.nyc
Inside the Battle Over Delaney Hall: Clashes at Newark ICE Detention Center
A standoff at Delaney Hall in Newark entered its seventh day since detainees announced a hunger and labor strike, as immigration agents clashed with protesters outside.
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Olivia Bensimon @oliviabensimon.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
does anyone know someone who's *really* into water mains in NYC and wants to talk to me about them (for journalism, maybe)
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The City Reporter @thecityreporter.nyc · 27/05/2026
NEW: An investigation by @thecity.nyc, based on a database of more than 1,200 lawsuits, shows that ICE agents in the field have seized Latinos in numbers that far exceed their share of the undocumented population.
projects.thecity.nyc
We Found 430 ICE Street Arrests in the NYC Area. More Than 93% Targeted Latinos.
An investigation by THE CITY, based on a database of more than 1,200 lawsuits, shows that ICE agents in the field have seized Latinos in numbers that far exceed their share of the undocumented…
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Olivia Bensimon @oliviabensimon.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
some news from moi! I'm incredibly excited to be a part of this year's @reportforamerica.bsky.social corps class. I start at @thebaltimorebanner.com in July, where I will be covering Baltimore County!
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Hell Gate *subscribe today!* @hellgatenyc.com · 15/05/2026
Our investigation into how the Brooklyn Democratic Party's tight control of who is elected as a judge in the borough creates a perfect environment for possible graft and misconduct both before and after judges get on the bench. hellgatenyc.com/how-the-insi...
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Isabela Dias @isabelaalhadeff.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
“I live in constant fear that I will be subjected to further baseless detentions just for going about my daily life." On May 2, Leonardo Garcia Venegas, a Florida-born US citizen, was detained by ICE in Alabama for the third time (!) in the span of a year. And he's suing the federal government.
motherjones.com
ICE keeps detaining the same US citizen again, and again, and again. He’s fighting back.
“I only wish to live my life in peace,” Leonardo Garcia Venegas said in a declaration.
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Jessy Edwards @jessyedwards.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
For the past year, we’ve been haunting courtrooms, chasing transcripts & hanging around political clubhouses to investigate the machinations of NY’s broken judicial system. How do judges become judges in NYC? And how is it harming regular New Yorkers? Read all about it at our beautiful new website!
courtsofcontempt.hellgatenyc.com
The Case File - Judges
In 2008, Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens famously described New York’s method of selecting judges for its higher trial courts as “stupid.” We concur, your honor! In New York’s unique system, c...
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The City Reporter @thecityreporter.nyc · 04/05/2026
NEW: An ICE agent tased a man several times while another agent tried to forcefully drag him out of his car as the man screams in pain and begs for help, as captured in a video obtained by THE CITY. www.thecity.nyc/2026/05/04/v...
thecity.nyc
Video Shows ICE Agent Tasing Man Multiple Times Ahead of Bushwick Hospital Standoff
In a video obtained by THE CITY, an ICE agent fires a taser several times at a man in a car who then screams for help.
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Olivia Bensimon @oliviabensimon.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
Interviewed someone this morning who remembered my name not because I had interviewed them a few years ago for a serious-ish housing story — but because they read my @hellgatenyc.com dog poop story (my claim to fame)
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Gwynne Hogan @gwynnefitz.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
ICE has released details on "collateral" arrests for the first time, through data obtained by @deportationdata.org. In NYC, more than 800 since August were deemed "collateral," about a quarter of arrests. reporting w/ @haidee.bsky.social for @thecity.nyc www.thecity.nyc/2026/04/02/i...
thecity.nyc
Drive-by Detention: 800 New Yorkers Swept Up in 'Collateral' ICE Arrests
One in four ICE arrests were of people who weren’t targeted, and three quarters of targeted arrests involved people with no criminal convictions or pending charges.
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Julia Métraux @juliametraux.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
The death of Nurul Amin Shah Alam, a Blind Rohingya refugee who was left on the freezing streets of Buffalo by Border Patrol officers, was ruled a homicide. New from me at @motherjones.com. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
Nurul Amin Shah Alam's death was a homicide
County medical examiners announced the ruling on Wednesday. New York Attorney General Letitia James is investigating.
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Felipe De La Hoz @felipedlh.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
Trump's cratering public trust on immigration has some moderate Dems talking about capitalizing by casting themselves as the sane border enforcers. I'm here to say: no. Enough. It won't suddenly work this time. Dems need a cohesive, forceful, alternate vision. Just say it: immigration is good
newrepublic.com
This Is a Historic Opportunity for Democrats to Get Immigration Right
As the public turns against Trump and the Republicans on immigration, the Democrats can seize the moment with a new, positive vision. Here’s what that might look like.
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Jazmine Ulloa @jazmineulloa.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
As the number of people in detention climb, so have the deaths: The 33 fatalities in 2025 were the most in a single year on record since the Department of Homeland Security started operating in March 2003. Reporting w/ Allison McCann and Emiliano Rodríguez Mega www.nytimes.com/2026/03/29/u...
nytimes.com
Deaths in ICE Custody Are Growing. ‘They Let Him Rot in There.’
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Olivia Bensimon @oliviabensimon.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
Good piece from @sophlebo.bsky.social @nyc.streetsblog.org -- something worth thinking about the next time you order food for delivery nyc.streetsblog.org/2026/03/31/o...
nyc.streetsblog.org
A Night On The Road With A Relay Delivery Worker
Delivery workers are among the hardest-working, worst-paid, most-endangered jobbers in town. We rode with one to give you an idea.
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Evan Simko-Bednarski @simko-bednarski.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
Good story by @sophlebo.bsky.social in Streetsblog today:
nyc.streetsblog.org
Grubhub 'Outsourced' Delivery Work To Skirt Minimum Wage
Internal documents show that Grubhub, a delivery app owned by Wonder, subcontracted labor to lower paid workers to save money.
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Sophia Lebowitz @sophlebo.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
NEW: Grubhub subcontracted deliveriers to Relay in order to avoid paying workers the city's minimum pay standard for all of its orders.
nyc.streetsblog.org
Grubhub 'Outsourced' Delivery Work To Skirt Minimum Wage
Internal documents show that Grubhub, a delivery app owned by Wonder, subcontracted labor to lower paid workers to save money.
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Olivia Bensimon @oliviabensimon.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
AI can't do my job!!
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Olivia Bensimon @oliviabensimon.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
The Air Canada Crash: Before and After the Frantic Call to ‘Stop, Stop, Stop’ www.nytimes.com/2026/03/29/n...
nytimes.com
The Air Canada Crash: Before and After the Frantic Call to ‘Stop, Stop, Stop’
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Carrie Melago @carriemelago.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
documentedny.com/2026/03/26/i...
documentedny.com
Trump’s DOJ Admits ICE Memo Erroneously Authorized Arrests at Federal Plaza — What Does That Mean? - Documented
A court filing from government lawyers acknowledges that one of their legal bases for detaining immigrants in 26 Federal Plaza and other courts was inaccurate.
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New York Focus @nysfocus.com · 18/03/2026
NEW: For two years, Modou had compiled evidence that, if the United States deported him to his home country of Senegal, he’d face persecution for marrying someone of a different faith. Now instead of Senegal, ICE wants to send Modou to Uganda, 4,500 miles from his home country.
nysfocus.com
ICE Wants to Send African Asylum Seekers to a Country They’re Not From
Over the last three months, ICE attorneys in New York state have petitioned to send half of the African asylum seekers who had immigration hearings to…
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David F Brand @davidfbrand.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
'Crappy luxury': Inside NYC's brand new apartment buildings that are falling apart New for @wnyc.org and @gothamist.com gothamist.com/news/crappy-...
gothamist.com
'Crappy luxury': Inside NYC's brand new apartment buildings that are falling apart
Many of the city’s newly constructed buildings, including swanky digs with top-dollar rents, are mired in violations and complaints.
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Molly Crane-Newman @mollycranenewman.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
Tal, Oren, and Alon Alexander have just been found GUILTY on all counts in Manhattan in one of the largest sex trafficking cases ever brought by the Justice Department. Tal and Oren were once among the US's highest paid real estate agents. They could face decades in prison.
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City Limits News @citylimitsnews.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
The growing number of vacant apartments at NYCHA is creating safety risks in buildings, a Department of Investigation report warns—including opportunities for squatters and trespassers, who’ve taken over hundreds of empty units in recent years. citylimits.org/empty-nycha-...
citylimits.org
Empty NYCHA Apartments Pose Safety Risks, Opportunities for Squatters: Report - City Limits
Squatters took up illegal residence in hundreds of empty NYCHA apartments in recent years, as the units waited for often extensive repair work before they could be rented out again.
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Olivia Bensimon @oliviabensimon.bsky.social · 21/02/2026
Lots of dog shit articles these days but this is the only one where you also get a lesson in philosophy!!
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Ruth Weissmann @ruthbetold.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
@oliviabensimon.bsky.social hot on turd beat arguing that winter isn't an excuse to be a shitty neighbor
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Hell Gate *subscribe today!* @hellgatenyc.com · 17/02/2026
For every heartwarming scene of a New Yorker helping their neighbor dig out of the snow, there are seemingly 10 other instances of people letting their dogs defecate on the social compact. Read why @oliviabensimon.bsky.social is now measuring her life in frozen turds:
hellgatenyc.com
New York City Is Drowning in Dog Poop
The disgusting calling cards of jerk dog owners are everywhere—on our sidewalks, in our darkest thoughts, and yes, smeared across our shoes.
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Olivia Bensimon @oliviabensimon.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
Reader: she did get the fuck out 🫶
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Reuters Legal @legal.reuters.com · 14/02/2026
Hundreds of judges around the country have ruled more than 4,400 times since October that President Donald Trump’s administration is detaining immigrants unlawfully, a Reuters review of court records found.
reut.rs
Insight: Courts have ruled 4,400 times that ICE jailed people illegally. It hasn’t stopped.
Hundreds of judges around the country have ruled more than 4,400 times since October that President Donald Trump’s administration is detaining immigrants unlawfully, a Reuters review of court records found.
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Hamed Aleaziz @haleaziz.bsky.social · 15/02/2026
In a secret deportation arrangement, the Trump administration flew nine people, nearly all of whom had been granted U.S. court protections from being sent back to their home countries, to Cameroon. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/14/w...
nytimes.com
U.S. Deports Nine Migrants in Secret, Ignoring Legal Protections
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Olivia Bensimon @oliviabensimon.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
Looking to speak to a philosopher about the erosion of our social contract!!!!!!!!!
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Gwynne Hogan @gwynnefitz.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
ICE officials, under a judge’s order to clean up overcrowded and squalid conditions inside holding cells at 26 Federal Plaza detained migrants on a separate floor where they decided the the ruling didn't apply. The revelation comes in a hearing today: www.thecity.nyc/2026/02/09/2...
thecity.nyc
ICE Moved Detainees to Previously Undisclosed Floor of 26 Federal Plaza
A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to reduce overcrowding and squalid conditions at a Manhattan holding room. Months later, he finds ICE merely shifted floors.
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Hell Gate *subscribe today!* @hellgatenyc.com · 09/02/2026
Eagle-eyed watchers of Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show would have spied Toñita, the queen of Los Sures, AKA Williamsburg. Read all about Maria Antonia “Toñita” Cay here: hellgatenyc.com/williamsburg...
hellgatenyc.com
Williamsburg Changes, But Toñita Still Reigns - Hell Gate
For 50 years, Maria Antonia "Toñita" Cay has overseen the Caribbean Social Club in Williamsburg. It's now the last Puerto Rican social club in Brooklyn.
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Olivia Bensimon @oliviabensimon.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
When Prison Body Scanners Mistake Tampons and Piercings for Contraband www.nytimes.com/2026/02/06/n...
nytimes.com
When Prison Body Scanners Mistake Tampons and Piercings for Contraband
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Mathilde Montpetit @mathildegm.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
The Auflauf, a new newsletter for Berlin books, is here! Fresh out the oven: book reviews from me, @return2sanders.bsky.social and @brynstole.bsky.social; not to mention some hot literary gossip... Interviews and more to come!
theauflauf.substack.com
February Books: Maci, Reimann, Clark
Essays from Enis Maci, a novella by the GDR's Brigitte Reimann, and Christopher Clark's nineteenth-century Prussia.
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bryn stole @brynstole.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
Sleuth @ruthbetold.bsky.social was hot on the potato trail around Berlin in search of free spuds amid the great glut. Really delightful dispatch in the FT magazine. www.ft.com/content/1554...
ft.com
‘Das glut’: why Germans are handing out free potatoes
Tracking the ambitious plan to distribute 4 million kg of surplus spuds
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Ben Mullin @benmullin.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
A staggering statement from former Washington Post editor Marty Baron: "This ranks among the darkest days in the history of one of the world's greatest news organizations."
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madi mcvan @madisonmcvan.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
Border Czar Tom Homan: ‘I’m staying ‘til the problem is gone’ minnesotareformer.com/2026/01/29/h...
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Olivia Bensimon @oliviabensimon.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
read ALL about the german potato glut by @ruthbetold.bsky.social
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Eric Lipton NYT @ericlipton.nytimes.com · 28/01/2026
In One Image An American Street By David Guttenfelder and Thomas Gibbons-Neff www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/u...
nytimes.com
An American Street
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Lydia Polgreen @polgreen.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
This devastating video analysis of the execution of Alex Pretti makes it clear: a CPB coward shot an unarmed man in the back. www.nytimes.com/video/us/100...
nytimes.com
Video: New Video Analysis Reveals Flawed and Fatal Decisions in Shooting of Pretti
A frame-by-frame assessment of actions by Alex Pretti and the two officers who fired 10 times shows how lethal force came to be used against a target who didn’t pose a threat.
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