Posts by Josef Steen, Local Democracy Reporter
Hackney moves to end six-decade twinning with Haifa amid antisemitism row
The borough’s new Green administration has triggered a process to sever its 1968 partnership with the Israeli city, honouring an election pledge
Read MoreChatsworth public toilets spared as Greens reverse Labour plan
New administration scraps sale of the derelict Brooksby’s Walk site after campaigners warn that selling off public assets is ‘crazy economics’
Read MoreProtesters demand return of ‘precious’ London Fields paddling pool
Families who fought to bring back the London Fields paddling pool are celebrating after the council agreed to kickstart its return, five years after it closed
Read MorePost office closure sends Broadway Market reeling
Residents launch petition after London Fields branch is repossessed in a 3am lockout — with over 1,500 signatures now urging the landlord, MP and Post Office to reopen its doors
Read MoreHackney Greens distance themselves from Burnham effigy protest
Cabinet members were named as attending a trans rights demonstration where an effigy of the incoming Prime Minister was stabbed — but the party insists they witnessed no violence
Read MoreThe graveyard at Hackney Wick: sunken boats left to rot
Where the Hertford Union Canal meets the River Lee at Hackney Wick, two sunken narrow boats lie within touching distance of one another
Read MoreCouncil spent £10,000 on parking charges in a year
Hackney employees clocked up more than £10,000 in parking penalties and road charges over 12 months
Read MoreGreens accused of U-turn as they approve Woodberry Down ‘double decant’ to avoid £13.5m overrun
Up to 32 council households face being moved twice under a schedule signed off at Mayor Zoë Garbett’s first cabinet — despite the Greens’ past attacks on the estate’s demolition-led regeneration
Read MoreRevealed: Hackney went nearly seven years without a housing repairs contract as homes decayed
Council missed an entire structural repairs cycle after its main contractor deal lapsed in 2019 — a gap insiders say left tenants in damp and mould
Read MoreLabour accuses Mayor Garbett of claiming credit for gym plans it drew up
Opposition says the conversion of ’empty’ Christopher Addison House into a stopgap gym predates the Green administration’s Who Owns Hackney project
Read MoreDalston by-election: Greens win by-election triggered by Zoë Garbett’s mayoral victory
Manal Massalha elected as councillor for Dalston ward after winning 549 votes at the poll held on Thursday 25 June
Read MoreHackney Central by-election: Greens hold seat in close race with Labour
Noah Birksted-Breen wins by a margin of 52 votes, with Labour’s Sheila Suso-Runge in second place
Read MoreResident ‘wins’ £150 from Hackney Council after year-long wait for medical assessment
Watchdog specifically criticised the council for taking four months to send her assessment forms, and for taking another five months to tell her the outcome – while the council sat on this information
Read MoreLast phase of Britannia Project on hold as council contractor enters administration
The final stage of a major regeneration project in Hackney has stalled after the lead contractor fell into administration following a High Court ruling.
Read MoreCouncil pays £200 to Hackney woman after two-year delay wiping benefit debt
A watchdog has rebuked Hackney Council for taking two years to write off a resident’s benefit debt and recovering over £1,000 from her while her appeal was ongoing
Read MoreFellows Court residents urge Mayor Garbett to act over ‘atrocious’ conditions in ‘dehumanising’ estate block
Frustrated social housing residents call on the new Mayor to address longstanding leaks, filth, and disrepairs
Read MoreHackney Central by-election candidates announced
Hackney Central residents are set to cast their vote once again following the recent local elections
Read MoreDalston by-election candidates announced
A little more than seven weeks after the local elections, residents of this ward will be heading to the polls to cast their votes once again
Read MoreHackney’s new Green mayor signals break with previous administration over ‘clinical’ use of performance targets
Zoë Garbett took aim at previous Labour regime’s reliance on KPIs in maiden speech
Read MoreCouncil admits restructure worsened backlog of 15,000 overdue housing safety checks
Watchdog sounded alarm nearly two years ago — yet problem has spiralled
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