Gothamist⁠77%

Hundreds of Brooklyn and Queens public defenders and support staff go on strike ⁠31%

By Samantha Max⁠68%

7/16/2026, 5:36:04 AM

BS Summary: This article contains 23 faulty reasoning types, including Framing Effect, Confirmation Bias, and Availability Heuristic, with Negativity Bias as the most egregious example at 32.9% saturation with 125 hits. Analysis detected 1,005 faulty-reasoning hits from 380 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 40.5% and a BS Rank of ⁠31% (15,182 of 21,887 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 69.40% of the article peer group.

About 500 public defenders, social workers and other staff members at Brooklyn Defender Services are going on strike Thursday — a move that could cause disruptions in courtrooms across Brooklyn and Queens. 
The union that represents attorneys and other non-management employees at the legal services organization voted almost unanimously to authorize a strike if they couldn’t reach an agreement on a new contract by Thursday morning. 
Brian Holbrook, a member of the negotiating committee, confirmed the strike and said members would be picketing virtually due to poor air quality. 
Holbrook said the goal is to get back to work quickly “with a good contract.” 
“ Our hope is that any strike would not have to be a prolonged one,” he said. 
A spokesperson for Brooklyn Defender Services was not immediately available for comment. 
Brooklyn Defender Services provides free representation to many criminal defendants in Brooklyn and Queens. 
It also represents some parents in Brooklyn Family Court. 
Holbrook said union members spoke with their clients ahead of the strike and prepared handoff materials to supervisors who will handle their cases while they are picketing. 
He said he expects some court appearances to be postponed during the work stoppage. 
Brooklyn Defender Services employees are pushing for several measures in their new contract they say will reduce turnover and improve their ability to represent their clients. 
Holbrook said the union wants more sick time and the elimination of a location tracking app that requires employees to clock in and clock out. 
He said union members are also opposing a proposal from the organization to extend a probationary period, which allows management to fire or discipline new employees for any reason. 
“ Every time an experienced staff person leaves, that means a client is having to get to know a whole new advocate or team. 
The lack of continuity, the revolving door effect is not good for clients,” Holbrook said. 
“That's kind of what we are centering in our contract fight for a sustainable workplace where people can make it their life's work if they want to.” 
Several other legal services groups are currently negotiating contracts and considering going on strike, including the Bronx Defenders and Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem. 
Article reasoning-pattern comparisonThis article: 20.0%Samantha Max: 3.4%Gothamist: 2.7%Confirmation Bias20.0%This article: 0.0%Samantha Max: 1.2%Gothamist: 1.5%Anchoring Bias0.0%This article: 18.2%Samantha Max: 5.2%Gothamist: 3.6%Availability Heuristic18.2%This article: 6.6%Samantha Max: 1.6%Gothamist: 1.1%Representativeness Heuristic6.6%This article: 0.0%Samantha Max: 1.2%Gothamist: 0.7%Hindsight Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Samantha Max: 0.6%Gothamist: 1.2%Overconfidence Bias0.0%This article: 31.3%Samantha Max: 6.7%Gothamist: 8.4%Framing Effect31.3%This article: 0.0%Samantha Max: 1.1%Gothamist: 1.2%Loss Aversion0.0%This article: 0.0%Samantha Max: 0.9%Gothamist: 1.1%Status Quo Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Samantha Max: 0.2%Gothamist: 0.2%Sunk Cost Effect0.0%This article: 15.5%Samantha Max: 2.7%Gothamist: 3.6%Optimism Bias15.5%This article: 7.6%Samantha Max: 1.4%Gothamist: 1.7%Pessimism Bias7.6%This article: 32.9%Samantha Max: 10.3%Gothamist: 8.5%Negativity Bias32.9%This article: 7.1%Samantha Max: 2.2%Gothamist: 2.6%Self-Serving Bias7.1%This article: 7.6%Samantha Max: 1.0%Gothamist: 1.0%Fundamental Attribution Error7.6%This article: 0.0%Samantha Max: 0.2%Gothamist: 0.3%Actor-Observer Bias0.0%This article: 7.1%Samantha Max: 1.9%Gothamist: 2.1%In-Group Bias7.1%This article: 0.0%Samantha Max: 0.7%Gothamist: 0.6%Out-Group Homogeneity Bias0.0%This article: 6.1%Samantha Max: 2.9%Gothamist: 2.1%Halo Effect6.1%This article: 0.0%Samantha Max: 0.4%Gothamist: 0.2%Horn Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%Samantha Max: 0.0%Gothamist: 0.0%Dunning-Kruger Effect0.0%This article: 6.3%Samantha Max: 1.4%Gothamist: 1.3%Recency Bias6.3%This article: 0.0%Samantha Max: 0.3%Gothamist: 0.4%Primacy Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%Samantha Max: 0.0%Gothamist: 0.1%Blind-Spot Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Samantha Max: 0.3%Gothamist: 1.0%Ad Hominem0.0%This article: 0.0%Samantha Max: 0.1%Gothamist: 0.2%Straw Man0.0%This article: 8.9%Samantha Max: 6.2%Gothamist: 4.4%Appeal to Authority8.9%This article: 0.0%Samantha Max: 0.9%Gothamist: 1.2%False Dilemma0.0%This article: 0.0%Samantha Max: 0.6%Gothamist: 0.8%Slippery Slope0.0%This article: 0.0%Samantha Max: 0.1%Gothamist: 0.1%Circular Reasoning0.0%This article: 6.3%Samantha Max: 4.3%Gothamist: 3.8%Hasty Generalization6.3%This article: 0.0%Samantha Max: 0.4%Gothamist: 0.3%Red Herring0.0%This article: 15.3%Samantha Max: 0.7%Gothamist: 0.8%Bandwagon15.3%This article: 10.8%Samantha Max: 8.8%Gothamist: 6.4%Appeal to Emotion10.8%This article: 11.1%Samantha Max: 1.0%Gothamist: 0.7%Begging the Question11.1%This article: 8.4%Samantha Max: 2.9%Gothamist: 2.4%Post Hoc (False Cause)8.4%This article: 0.0%Samantha Max: 0.0%Gothamist: 0.1%Tu Quoque0.0%This article: 3.2%Samantha Max: 0.7%Gothamist: 0.4%Burden of Proof3.2%This article: 0.0%Samantha Max: 0.3%Gothamist: 0.1%Appeal to Nature0.0%This article: 0.0%Samantha Max: 0.2%Gothamist: 0.2%Composition/Division0.0%This article: 6.8%Samantha Max: 2.7%Gothamist: 2.8%Anecdotal6.8%This article: 0.0%Samantha Max: 0.2%Gothamist: 0.1%No True Scotsman0.0%This article: 14.2%Samantha Max: 1.5%Gothamist: 1.3%Ambiguity (Equivocation)14.2%This article: 0.0%Samantha Max: 0.0%Gothamist: 0.0%Gambler’s Fallacy0.0%This article: 0.0%Samantha Max: 0.1%Gothamist: 0.1%Middle Ground0.0%This article: 0.0%Samantha Max: 0.3%Gothamist: 0.1%Personal Incredulity0.0%This article: 7.1%Samantha Max: 0.3%Gothamist: 0.2%Special Pleading7.1%This article: 0.0%Samantha Max: 0.1%Gothamist: 0.2%Genetic Fallacy0.0%This article: 0.0%Samantha Max: 1.6%Gothamist: 1.2%Unattributed Quote0.0%This article: 6.1%Samantha Max: 1.1%Gothamist: 1.0%Quote-first Misdirection6.1%This article: 0.0%Samantha Max: 1.4%Gothamist: 3.2%Biased Writer Voice0.0%This article: 0.0%Samantha Max: 0.7%Gothamist: 1.5%Indoctrination0.0%This article: 0.0%Samantha Max: 0.2%Gothamist: 1.0%Politically Left Leaning Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Samantha Max: 0.0%Gothamist: 0.2%Politically Right Leaning Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Samantha Max: 0.4%Gothamist: 1.0%Attempt to Sell a Product or S…0.0%

380 words analyzed.

Speakers

1speaker57%attributed speech164writer words
Voice mapSelect a segment to jump to its words
Writer's voice • 13 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 32 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 34 words • 0.0% coverageBrian Holbrook • 23 words • 100.0% coverageBrian Holbrook • 15 words • 0.0% coverageBrian Holbrook • 17 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 12 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 14 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 9 words • 0.0% coverageBrian Holbrook • 27 words • 0.0% coverageBrian Holbrook • 14 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 26 words • 0.0% coverageBrian Holbrook • 25 words • 0.0% coverageBrian Holbrook • 29 words • 0.0% coverageBrian Holbrook • 24 words • 0.0% coverageBrian Holbrook • 15 words • 0.0% coverageBrian Holbrook • 27 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 24 words • 0.0% coverage
Selected voice

Brian Holbrook

100%flagged-word coverage
216 attributed words100% of attributed speech100% writer coverage
0%7.5%15.0%Quote-first Misdirection+10.6 ptsWriter: 0.0%Brian Holbrook: 10.6%10.6%

Attribution is sentence-level. Pattern percentages are calculated only from words assigned to that voice.

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Analysis

Hover over highlighted words in the article to view the associated bias or fallacy analysis.