Arun Venugopal

New York, NY —

Its day two of the National Action Network's annual convention, presidential contenders and prominent media personalities spent the day grappling with the state of Black America. WNYC's Arun Venugopal has more from midtown.

Today's program is jam packed with presidential contenders or their proxies. Governor Bill ...

New York, NY —

The World Trade Center Memorial Foundation is getting close to its fundraising goal. It's now raised $300 million for the construction of the memorial. WNYC's Arun Venugopal has more.

The foundation has raised $165 million just in the last six months after Mayor Bloomberg took charge ...

New York, NY —

New Yorkers who can't afford legal representation get a new opportunity today when the Self-Represented Legal Assistance Project opens in Queens. WNYC's Arun Venugopal has more.

REPORTER: As the volume of civil litigation has risen, so have the number of poor people who have to represent ...

New York, NY —

An infestation of Asian long-horned beetles has hit Staten Island and has already claimed over 4000 trees. The Parks Department is struggling to manage the situation. WNYC's Arun Venugopal has more.

Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe says the current infestation is the worst to have ever hit ...

New York, NY —

An infestation of Asian Long-horned Beetles has hit Staten Island, and already claimed over 4 thousand trees. WNYC's Arun Venugopal has more on how the parks department is struggling to manage the situation.

Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe says the current infestation is the worst to have ...

New York, NY —

The NYPD has acknowledged that it conducted an extensive surveillance campaign before the 2004 Republican National Convention that included following and monitoring political activists around the US.

And this morning, The New York Times reports that the city has asked the court to keep hundreds of ...

New York, NY —

It took just a few hours for word of the tragedy to spread through New York’s Malian community. WNYC’s Arun Venugopal got a glimpse of how they dealt with the tragedy. The Bronx fire killed 9 people, including eight children.

More on the Bronx Fire

New York, NY —

It's been over 3 months since police officers fired 50 bullets into a car in Jamaica, Queens, killing 23-year old Sean Bell on his wedding day, and wounding 2 others. A grand jury is expected to wrap up the testimony-phase of the case in the ...

New York, NY —

A tight knit community of West African immigrants are paying condolences to the Bronx families from Mali whose house went up in flames last night. We heard this morning the horrific story of a mother dropping her babies out the window to try to save ...

New York, NY —

Mayor Bloomberg and other local leaders urged members of Congress to extend TRIA, the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act. The program was created after 9/11, but is set to expire at the end of the year. WNYC's Arun Venugopal has more.

TRIA provides federal relief for insurance ...

New York, NY —

The city council has approved 3 measures meant to make nightclubs safer for its patrons. WNYC's Arun Venugopal has more.

The votes come a year after the death of Imette St. Guillen, a grad student who was killed after visiting a Soho club. They will help ...

New York, NY —

There's no limit to how much New York City could be forced to pay the victims of 2003 Staten Island crash. That's the word from a federal judge. WNYC's Arun Venugopal has more.

Judge Edward Korman said blame for the crash lies squarely on the shoulders ...

New York, NY —

The Port Authority is buying Stewart International Airport, in Orange, with the hope of reducing congestion at the region's 3 main airports. WNYC's Arun Venugopal has more.

REPORTER: The airport currently handles just 300,000 travelers a year, compared to the 100 million between JFK, Newark and ...

New York, NY —

Joseph Guzman, one of the two men who survived the police shooting that left Sean Bell dead, was released from the hospital yesterday. He spoke in Harlem, alongside Reverend Al Sharpton. WNYC's Arun Venugopal was there.

REPORTER: Joseph Guzman sat in a wheelchair, wearing a blue ...

New York, NY —

Senator Hillary Clinton made her first public appearance as a Democratic candidate for president yesterday. She visited a health care center on Manhattan's West Side to promote medical coverage for all uninsured children. WNYC's Arun Venugopal was there.

REPORTER: The event started ominously, with the sound ...

New York, NY —

Air travelers hoping to avoid standing in endless airport security lines - you may be in luck. For just a hundred dollars a year, you can go through a new express lane. WNYC's Arun Venugopal has more on a new pre-screening program being launched at ...

New York, NY —

It’s been seven weeks since Sean Bell was killed in Queens, New York. Currently, a grand jury is deliberating whether to hand down any indictments on the police officers who fired 50 bullets at Bell and his two friends. But for all the outrage over ...

New York, NY —

Hundreds of cyclists rode through the five boroughs. They stopped at 14 'ghost bikes' - bikes painted white marking where a cyclist was killed on the city streets last year. WNYC's Arun Venugopal has more.

REPORTER: After stopping at crash sites in Queens, Brooklyn and Upper ...

New York, NY —

The controversial idea to list 9/11 victims names randomly at the planned memorial has been scrapped. Instead the names will be part of ten different groups of victims. Still, not everyone is cheering. WNYC's Arun Venugopal has more.

REPORTER: The reversal comes under Mayor Bloomberg, who ...

New York, NY —

WNYC's Arun Venugopal has been talking to residents of Jamaica Queens, where Saturday's shooting took place. Needless to say, many of them are upset.