Andrea Bernstein

Do I have your attention now?

It could be said that Sen. Charles Schumer is a senator now, and not still a congressman from Brooklyn, because of an epithet uttered against him in the final weeks of his 1998 Senate campaign against then-U.S. Senator Alfonse D'Amato. Okay, that's a gross ...

As the MTA prepares to make deep cuts, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood sat down with WNYC's Andrea Bernstein to discuss how much help the federal government should give transit systems and whether the Recovery Act has helped.

New York, NY —

A new law mandating bike access to office buildings goes into effect today, but there's a catch. WNYC's Andrea Bernstein reports.

REPORTER: The city's planning commission says biggest obstacle to increasing bike commuting is limited access to safe bike parking. The new law will begin to ...

New York, NY —

City Hall isn't denying there was a deal to remove a controversial bike lane that runs through a Hasidic neighborhood in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg won political points during the election campaign by supporting hundreds of miles of bike lanes. But he angered some members ...

Adolfo Carrión Digs Potatoes in urban Philadelphia garden (Andrea Bernstein)

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Last July, Adolfo Carrión, Jr. paid a visit to an urban garden in Philadelphia. In casual khaki slacks and rolled-up shirt sleeves he was digging up potatoes, throwing the long stems into a wooden wheelbarrow, to be turned into compost. The potatoes, he offered, would be good for “home fries.”

Carrión is now the director of the brand-new White House Office of Urban Affairs, part of a campaign promise President Barack Obama made to re-focus attention on urban America.

A small crowd was gathered around Carrión in the garden--the Mayor of Philadelphia, a Deputy Secretary from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, a host of neighborhood activists and a few teenagers. Two of the teens, Amber and Shardae, were standing a bit off to the side, knee-high in collard greens.

The high school students were part of the “Teens for Good” program. The program hires local teens, gives them summer jobs, and sells the produce the raise at a neighborhood farmers market. Amber and Shardae were joking about sneaking a few of the ping pong ball-sized raspberries. But for Amber this was serious.

Last July, Adolfo Carrión, Jr. paid a visit to an urban garden in Philadelphia. In casual khaki slacks and rolled-up shirt sleeves he was digging up potatoes, throwing the long stems into a wooden wheelbarrow, to be turned into compost. The potatoes, he offered, would be good for “home fries.”

Carrión is now the director of the brand-new White House Office of Urban Affairs, part of a campaign promise President Barack Obama made to re-focus attention on urban America.

A small crowd was gathered around Carrión in the garden--the Mayor of Philadelphia, a Deputy Secretary from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, a host of neighborhood activists and a few teenagers. Two of the teens, Amber and Shardae, were standing a bit off to the side, knee-high in collard greens.

The high school students were part of the “Teens for Good” program. The program hires local teens, gives them summer jobs, and sells the produce the raise at a neighborhood farmers market. Amber and Shardae were joking about sneaking a few of the ping pong ball-sized raspberries. But for Amber this was serious.

New York, NY —

When President Obama created the White House Office of Urban Affairs shortly after taking office, people who care about cities cheered. For the first time in decades, it seemed the President was committed to urban policy. But the Director of the office, Adolfo Carrión Jr., ...

New York, NY —

Last July, Adolfo Carrión, Jr. paid a visit to an urban garden in Philadelphia. In casual khaki slacks and rolled-up shirt sleeves he was digging up potatoes, throwing the long stems into a wooden wheelbarrow, to be turned into compost. The potatoes, he offered, would ...

In a quick switch, the Republican National Committee is getting behind the Conservative candidate for Congress, Douglas Hoffman, in the race for the North Country congressional seat. The RNC's stance comes after moderate Republican Dede Scozzafava, under intense pressure from her party's right wing, dropped out this weekend, leaving only ...

New York, NY —

New York State has shortchanged highway and bridge projects by billions of dollars over nearly two decades, Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli says. He says only one-third of a total of about $32 billion has been spent on highways and bridges in the last 18 years. "The ...