NYN Media Buzz: Dec. 18, 2017

A recent roundup in the Observer of the top PR firms in New York City plugged several firms that specialize in representing nonprofits and causes. Anat Gerstein got attention for a campaign for the Girls Scouts that got attention in The New York Times. Phil & Co. received notice for work on behalf of the American Diabetes Foundation and Carnegie Corporation. Douglass Gould & Co. reportedly has a reputation of fighting the good fight for Math for America, Atlantic Philanthropies and other nonprofits. The Trayvon Martin Foundation got strategy advice from The Tasc Group – and Fenton received a boost with the return of Karen Hinton, a former spokesperson for New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.

A new report from the Vera Institute of Justice examines the growth of incarceration rates across New York. An analysis of the factors that result in incarceration accompanies a “date clearinghouse” that illustrates how geography affects residents’ experiences with the criminal justice system. Here are a few takeaways:

• Broome County has one of the highest incarceration rates in the state, 393 per 100,000 people – nearly double the state average.
• Eighty-nine percent of people jailed in Clinton County are being held for misdemeanors.
• People arrested in suburban and rural parts of the state often have bail set without a lawyer present – despite the constitutional right to legal representation.

The Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties has launched the Friends of Johnson Park Center Education Fund to benefit children in Utica. This new initiative will expand the Johnson Park Center’s Head, Hand and Heart Program, which focuses on literacy, learning and school readiness for children ages 3 to 5.