Cindy Rodriguez

New York, NY —

Hundreds of rent-stabilized buildings across the city could be heading towards foreclosure. Some are already in default. This came about because owners overpaid for properties assuming they could rapidly raise rents to market rates. But that’s not how things turned out. WNYC’s Cindy Rodriguez reports.

REPORTER: ...

New York, NY —

Tenants from some East Harlem buildings that have fallen into foreclosure protested outside Bank of New York Mellon in Lower Manhattan today. The lender has foreclosed on their buildings and tenants say they want a voice in who buys the properties.

Anne Bragg is a 38-year ...

New York, NY —

The city's Department of Homeless Services plans to temporarily cover rent for about 1800 families who lost their Section 8 housing vouchers.

REPORTER: Yesterday, the city's Housing Authority acknowledged it revoked the vouchers, citing a shortfall in federal funds. Homeless Services Commissioner Rob Hess says the ...

New York, NY —

The owner's of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village on Manhattan's East Side have agreed to lower rents on more than 4,000 apartments in January and February. And possibly longer if a representative for the owner's lender signs off on the agreement.

Last month the state's ...

New York, NY —

A report by a state task force recommended today that Gov. David Paterson close or significantly downsize state run juvenile detention facilities. A draft copy of the report obtained by WNYC, says the facilities are damaging young people and wasting taxpayer dollars.

Jeremy Travis, President ...

Photos by Stephen Nessen

The Bronx has the highest proportion of food stamp recipients in all the five boroughs. According to city statistics, more than 400,000 people use food stamps in the borough –- 30 percent of the population. Since 2007, ...

A fund that pays for free legal services for poor New Yorkers is quickly drying up.

New York, NY —

Food stamp usage is on the rise. In the Bronx for instance, more than 400,000 people use food stamps. That’s close to 30 percent of the borough’s entire population. According to the city, since 2007 usage has increased 26 percent in the Bronx. WNYC’s Cindy ...

New York, NY —

A fund that pays for free legal services for poor New Yorkers is quickly drying up.

A state Senate panel held a hearing about it yesterday, and heard testimony from Legal Aid clients like Terri Bush. She says a debt buyer sued her for allegedly not ...

New York, NY —

A lawsuit alleges the city is not providing proper shelter to single homeless people as required by the courts.

The lawsuit filed by the Legal Aid Society on behalf of homeless New Yorkers and their advocates accuses the city of not addressing the rising number ...

New York, NY —

A 30-year-old child protective caseworker was shot-and-killed in front of her two young daughters yesterday morning in the Bronx. Police say they're reviewing her past cases, but so far have no leads.

According to the Administration for Children's Services, Lakesha Scriven was hired in 2005 and ...

New York, NY —

A federal judge in Brooklyn is hearing a case that challenges the defunding of the non-profit ACORN. Lawyers for the anti-poverty group claim congress acted unconstitutionally. WNYCs Cindy Rodriguez reports.

REPORTER: Attorney Jules Lobel said Congress cannot single out one organization for punishment and he argued ...

New York, NY —

Tenants living in more than a dozen severely neglected Bronx buildings could see improvements soon. The buildings are in foreclosure and a developer of affordable housing is expected to take them over.

In August, lender Fannie Mae agreed not to auction the buildings off and instead ...

New York, NY —

A new law aimed at protecting workers who report labor violations went into effect this week. The law raises fines for employers who retaliate against workers by firing them, demoting them, or giving them less favorable shifts.

GERSTEIN: You can bet we are going to use ...

New York, NY —

100 turkeys prepared by Rikers Island inmates will be served at a Thanksgiving dinner for needy New Yorkers today. The Church of the Heavenly Rest on Manhattan's East Side sponsors the dinner, and says typically more than 400 people show up to eat.

Inmate Gabriel Ceasar ...

A federal grant of more than $600,000 will allow New Yorkers to renew their food stamps online.

New York, NY —

A federal grant of more than $600,000 will allow New Yorkers to renew their food stamps online. Kevin Concannon, Under-Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services, announced the help while visiting a food pantry on Manhattan's East Side. Concannon says the grant is supposed to ...

New York, NY —

In November 2008, WNYC aired a two-part report called "The Cost of Doing Business." It was an in-depth look at a construction accident that took the life of Mexican immigrant Jose Palacios. Palacios fell off of a poorly secured scaffold at a new luxury ...

New York, NY —

Demand at food pantries and soup kitchens continues to increase even as financial experts predict the economy is turning around. WNYC's Cindy Rodriguez visited a food program in Brooklyn and has this report.

REPORTER: St. John's Bread and Life serves mostly the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Bed ...

New York, NY —

Employers and workers are letting the City Council know what they think about a bill that would require all businesses to provide paid sick time. WNYC's Cindy Rodriguez has more on yesterday's first hearing on the measure.

REPORTER: Adela Valdez says she used to work at ...