5+ mon, 4+ day ago (181+ words) Espaillat's support of the state assemblymember comes as more of the city's Democratic establishment lines up behind him for November's election. The democratic socialist says he'd strengthen "co-governance," but hasn't provided many details about how. The new tally comes as the Democratic Party continues to wrestle with the implications of Mamdani's historic upset win. Fresh off his win in the Democratic mayoral primary, Zohran Mamdani criticized the city's wealthiest residents during a Sunday appearance on Meet the Press. "He's a snake oil salesman," Adams said. "He would say and do anything to get elected." The likely Democratic nominee for mayor appeared on WNYC's "The Brian Lehrer Show" Wednesday. New York City is headed toward a general election unlike any in recent memory. "He won," Cuomo said about Mamdani, even as the contest headed to a ranked choice count. Vying to…...

6+ mon, 3+ week ago (309+ words) A months-long investigation into decades of sexual assault allegations on Rikers Island was a finalist in the audio reporting category. Gothamist, WNYC investigation named finalist for Pulitzer Prize Published May 5, 2025 Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations A Gothamist and WNYC special investigation into decades of sexual assault at the Rikers Island women's prison was named a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in audio reporting. The investigation found that more than 20 women said the same officer sexually assaulted them while they were held at the Rose M. Singer Center. Their allegations spanned decades, but many of the women only knew him by the nickname "Champagne." In a nearly hour-long special episode of the NYC Now podcast, Gothamist and WNYC reporters spoke with multiple women who say they were assaulted by "Champagne" and were able to piece together clues, find and…...

1+ mon, 1+ week ago (513+ words) Published Oct 21, 2025 at 4:25 p.m. ET Modified Oct 21, 2025 at 4:58 p.m. ET More than two dozen federal law enforcement officials descended on Canal Street in Chinatown on Tuesday afternoon, detaining at least four people as part of an apparent raid that later escalated into street clashes with bystanders. Two Gothamist reporters witnessed the activity, including agents restraining several individuals and questioning one man who was later released after showing identification. Officials make an arrest during Tuesday's raid. By late afternoon, the operation expanded east toward Walker and Lafayette streets, where additional arrests were made. A crowd of bystanders began chanting and banging on unmarked vans as agents loaded detainees inside. Federal agents were seen using batons and threatening pepper spray as they attempted to control the crowd. One officer appeared to pull a woman by the hair while dispersing people from the street. "I…...

2+ mon, 2+ week ago (619+ words) Published Sep 12, 2025 Reno may be "the biggest little city in the world," but it's got some serious competition from the miniature New York City that hobbyist Joseph Macken built in his upstate New York basement over two decades. "I sat down in my basement, turned the camera on on my phone and just started talking about my first section, which was Downtown Manhattan," the Clifton Park resident said on a recent Thursday about his viral TikToks on his roughly 50-by-30-foot scale model of the city. "It just took off." Macken's videos, which he began posting on TikTok this spring at his children's urging, have garnered well over 20 million views and myriad praise in recent months. In them, he discusses his creative process and takes viewers on helicopter-like tours of his hometown. A close up of Macken's model Manhattan "We're…...

3+ mon, 1+ week ago (651+ words) Published Aug 18, 2025 at 7:29 p.m. ET Two days after a mass shooting at a hookah lounge in her Crown Heights neighborhood, Chenille Blue said she's still too scared to go outside. She had been at the Taste of the City Lounge just two hours before the shooting early Sunday morning, picking up chicken wings for a friend. By 3:30 a.m., when the gunfire began, she was sitting on her stoop. "I see people running" my heart's still beating," said Blue, who said she's lived in the neighborhood for 20 years. "I'm saying thank God the person didn't come out shooting because God forbid I could have got hit." Across the neighborhood, residents on Monday said they felt shaken by the shooting that killed three people and injured 11 others. Residents, violence prevention workers and city and state leaders gathered in a show of community strength. "I…...

2+ week, 4+ day ago (588+ words) Published Nov 12, 2025 Upstate trucker Joe Macken's TikTok-famous scale model of New York City will be displayed at the Museum of the City of New York this winter, Gothamist can exclusively report. "He Built This City: Joe Macken's Model" will open to the public early next year, on Feb. 12, 2026. "Presented publicly for the first time in New York City'the very subject of the work'Macken's model stands as a deeply personal yet universally resonant tribute to the city," reads a press release. Joseph Macken, 63, with his scale model of Manhattan It became a viral a hit, and in August one of his work clients invited him to give the finished work its first public display, at the Cobleskill Fairgrounds near Albany. It proved as much of a hit in person as it was online. Soon after, the Museum got in touch. When…...

1+ mon, 1+ week ago (343+ words) Published Oct 19, 2025 New York Comic Con has come and gone, but there is another comic book storyline brewing in our own backyard: The push to co-name a street on the Lower East Side for Jack Kirby. He's the co-creator of some of Marvel Comics' most popular characters, and he was born on the Lower East Side. Despite being one of the most influential comic book artists ever it's often said that Kirby didn't always get the credit he deserved in his lifetime. Pop culture historian and critic Roy Schwartz, one of the people pushing to rename part of the Lower East Side's Essex Street after Kirby, recently discussed the artist and his legacy with "All Things Considered" host Sean Carlson. This is a lightly edited transcript of their conversation. So he really did immortalize that neighborhood in the early to…...

6+ mon, 3+ week ago (431+ words) The Federal Aviation Administration said staffing issues, low clouds and construction were hindering traffic at the airport, resulting in average delays of about four hours for some arrivals. Published May 5, 2025 at 10:20 a.m. ET Modified May 5, 2025 at 10:53 a.m. ET More than 300 flights into and out of Newark Airport in New Jersey were delayed or cancelled Monday morning as the international transit hub continued to struggle with a shortage of air traffic controllers, as well as inclement weather, federal transportation officials said. According to the air-traffic tracker FlightAware, more than 180 flights had been delayed and more than 130 had been cancelled by after 10:30 a.m. The Federal Aviation Administration said staffing issues, low clouds and construction were hindering traffic at the airport, resulting in average delays of about four hours for some arrivals. Officials recommended travelers check with their airlines to see if their flights were affected....

9+ mon, 1+ week ago (676+ words) Published Feb 23, 2025 When it comes to finding inspiration, costumer Paul Tazewell keeps an open mind: Anything and everything has the potential to influence his work. Recently, New York City's rare pockets of greenery have had a particularly outsize influence on the prolific Tony- and Emmy-award winning designer. They've played significantly (if abstractly) into some of his creations for the film version of "Wicked." "There's so much of nature that has been incorporated into the design. I know for a fact that both [Prospect Park] and the [Brooklyn] Botanic Garden are key in how my brain opened up to embrace that," said Tazewell, a 30-year industry veteran. The Prospect Heights resident " who's up for an Academy Award next week " has also found great solace in the greenery surrounding his neighborhood. His husband died shortly before he moved into his current apartment,…...

10+ mon, 3+ week ago (455+ words) Published Jan 8, 2025 at 3:28 p.m. ET There's an epidemic of fraud among companies that bill Medicaid to take patients to medical appointments, Attorney General Letitia James said on Wednesday. James sent cease-and-desist letters on Wednesday to 54 state companies that her office believes are involved in Medicaid transportation fraud, including five in New York City. James announced settlements with four upstate companies that have agreed to return more than $847,000 to the state, and cited multiple transportation companies that have previously been found guilty of Medicaid fraud. But she did not share the full list of companies that received letters. Investigations by the attorney general's office have found that some New York companies illegally profit off of Medicaid by billing for rides that never took place or for nonexistent tolls. Others fraudulently extend the mileage of trips, use unlicensed drivers or offer Medicaid recipients…...