Blog

Dear Friends, I’m writing to share that I’ve made the bittersweet decision to transition out of my role as Katal’s executive director, effective at the end of the year. We’ve b…

Thank you, Chair Selvena N. Brooks-Powers, for holding this New York City Council Committee on Criminal Justice oversight hearing on mental health care in New York City jails. My name is Yonah Zeitz…

by gabriel sayegh The word katal comes from the field of chemistry: It’s the unit of measurement for catalytic change. Back in 2015, when we started building what would become the Katal Center, our…

Testimony by Amira Wittenberg, MSW Intern Thank you, Chair Selvena N. Brooks-Powers and Chair Gale A. Brewer, for today’s joint hearing between the New York City Council’s Criminal Justice Committ…

Testimony Submitted by our organizing director, Melanie Dominguez Click here to download a PDF of the testimony. See the full testimony below: Thank you, Chair Selvena N. Brooks-Powers, for holding th…

Dear Reader, “What time is it on the clock of the world?” For decades this is what Detroit-based organizer Grace Lee Boggs urged people to ask themselves and each other. We asked this question whe…

By gabriel sayegh What a year this has been, on so many levels. In the midst of chaos, Katal has kept up our organizing and secured major victories. I’m proud to share highlights of our work and imp…

As families in Queens and across New York look forward to spending time with their families over the holidays, many families, including those here in Queens, will spend the holidays grieving their lov…

On a freezing Tuesday morning, December 9, 2025, Katal and our allies rallied outside the New York City midtown office of Governor Kathy Hochul, calling on the governor to immediately sign the prison…

New York’s jails and prisons are in crisis. The brutal killings of Robert Brooks and Messiah Nantwi at Marcy and Mid-State prisons underscore the violence and abuse incarcerated people face in New Y…