Bob Hennelly

New York, NY —

In Trenton today, hundreds of Gay Marriage boosters are expected to make an 11th hour push for a contested measure by rallying at the state capital. WNYC's Bob Hennelly has this report.

REPORTER: With just two voting sessions left, the lame duck Assembly and Senate will ...

New York, NY —

Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy says he's serious about a possible primary challenge to Gov. David Paterson. Levy says his top qualification is turning around his county's budget deficit.

"I inherited the largest budget shortfall in our county's history and, through fiscal discipline, by the end ...

New York, NY —

In a setback for same-sex marriage in New Jersey, a bill to legalize it will not get an Assembly hearing on Monday. WNYC's Bob Hennelly has this update.

REPORTER: In a statement released on New Year's Eve, outgoing Assembly Speaker Joe Roberts said the marathon public ...

New York, NY —

When Republican Governor Elect Chris Christie takes office next month the impact will go well beyond New Jersey's borders. WNYC's Bob Hennelly explains.

REPORTER: For eight years, it's been up to a Democratic New Jersey Governor to pick half of the Port Authority's Commissioners and its ...

New York, NY —

A coalition of 40 New Jersey labor, education, and health-care groups is blasting Gov. Jon Corzine's plan to cut nearly $1 billion to close a budget gap.

In a statement, Gov. Corzine says the economic crisis and the fall-off of state tax revenues left his administration ...

New York, NY —

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has officially declined to run for either governor or U.S. Senator. After his announcement yesterday, he endorsed former Long Island Congressman Rick Lazio for governor. Here to discuss those developments and what it means for New York's political ...

WNYC's political reporter Bob Hennelly, discusses New York Governor David Paterson. He gives a behind-the-scenes account of how Gov. Patterson’s administration functions, and looks into his accomplishments and his battles, and how effective he’s been in leading the state.

Listen to Bob Hennelley's report "A Day in the Life ...

New York, NY —

The City Council has approved rezoning a 21-block section of East Williamsburg, Brooklyn - known as the Broadway Triangle. Supporters say the plan will create affordable housing, new retail development, and an expanded playground in the industrial zone.

But Brooklyn Councilwoman Diana Reyna says the plan ...

New York, NY —

The City Council voted overwhelmingly to override three of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's vetoes today. This may be a sign that during the mayor's third term he could face a more independent City Council. Today's veto overrides include the Kingsbridge Armory development plan, the Bronx shopping ...

New York, NY —

New York State's highest court has ruled that Police Commissioner Ray Kelly can decide the best way to give officers drug tests.

In 2005, the New York Police Department shifted from urine tests to hair sampling. The police unions legally challenged the move saying it should've ...

New York, NY —

Federal prosecutors in New York say they've disrupted a global drug-smuggling operation by Al Qaeda suspects. WNYC's Bob Hennelly reports.

The breakthrough for the international narco-terrorism probe came this fall when a DEA confidential informant in West Africa convinced three alleged Al Qaeda operatives that he ...

(Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

WNYC Senior Reporter Bob Hennelly recently spent a day camped out at Gov. David Paterson’s midtown office. “I basically made myself at home in the reception area and put my microphone and recorder on the coffee table and told ...

New York, NY —

In 2007, the best case scenario for Lt. Gov. David Paterson was to pay his dues serving as Gov. Eliot Spitzer's second chair until Sen. Hillary Clinton won the presidency. Then, Paterson could take her place in the U.S. Senate. But thanks to the twists ...

New York, NY —

As the cabinet of New Jersey's Gov.-elect Chris Christie takes shape, the promised collegial transition between Christie and current Gov. Jon Corzine deteriorates.

Christie has tapped his running mate, incoming Lieutenant Gov. Kim Guadagno, to serve as his Secretary of State. In that capacity, Guadagno will ...

New York, NY —

Governor Paterson's move to freeze hundreds-of-millions of dollars in aid to local governments, comes as the Bloomberg Administration reports an upswing in local tax revenues. WNYC's Bob Hennelly has more.

REPORTER: Paterson's emergency budget move cost the City $84 million in expected education and municipal aid. ...

New York, NY —

Governor Paterson has signed a bill into law that will significantly change the way the State's 700 independent authorities operate. WNYC's Bob Hennelly has this report.

The new law covers the MTA, the Thruway Authority and hundreds of smaller entities that have racked up more than ...

New York, NY —

Even though he's not in office yet, Governor-elect Chris Christie is facing questions about the Corzine Administration's decision to borrow another billion dollars. WNYC's Bob Hennelly has more.

REPORTER: When Christie was a candidate, he rejected the idea of the state borrowing to replenish the state's ...

New York, NY —

Today was supposed to be the day that New Jersey's state Senate took up the same-sex marriage bill. The measure won a key committee vote on Monday, and attracted at least one Republican in the process.

Senate President Dick Codey says sponsors of the gay ...

A week after New York senators voted down a gay marriage bill, a packed committee room in Trenton erupted in cheers Monday night as a New Jersey State Senate panel approved a bill leg...

New York, NY —

Veteran Trenton lawmakers say they've never seen anything like it. Thousands of people, supporters and opponents of gay marriage, attended a public hearing and vote last night before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The debate lasted well into the night, before the 13 members of the ...