[1] The organization was founded in October 2020 by Akash Mehta, who acts as editor-in-chief.
[2][3] New York Focus' initial funding came from the Open Society Foundation.
[1][3] Mehta stated in a 2021 interview with Spectrum News that the organization's mission is to "serve as a home for adversarial, in-depth investigative reporting on New York state politics and policy.
[5][6] In 2021, New York Focus collected data for[7] and published a joint report with Gothamist and WNYC about the large variations in how frequently judges grant bail to people awaiting trial.
[11][3] On June 6, 2023, New York Focus reported on a directive from New York's Department of Corrections and Community Supervision limiting the distribution of writing and other creative work produced by incarcerated people.