Jenna Flanagan

New York, NY —

Westchester County's executive-elect, Republican Rob Astorino, says his upset of three-term Democratic incumbent Andrew Spano, was a referendum on government spending.

ASTORINO: This is a very big message to Albany that they cannot keep taxing and spending the way they are.

REPORTER: Astorino, a relative unknown, beat ...

ING New York City Marathon 2007

New York, NY —

New York State's ethics commission has decided it will not formally investigate Governor Paterson's administration for leaks of Caroline Kennedy's confidential information. The Commission on Public Integrity made its announcement in a letter to three government watchdog groups that had requested the probe. Dick Dadey ...

New York, NY —

Walking down Jersey City’s Grove Street you could forget there's an economic crisis. On any given weekend, people happily mingle in the Grove Point courtyard at Grove Street’s Path Station, and crowd the sidewalks as they move in and out of local stores.

And if you ...

This week WNYC returns to our Main Street NYC series, visiting a block in each of New York City's boroughs (and one in New Jersey) to see how the economic downturn is playing out at the street level.


Jenna Flanagan has this report from Jersey City:
...

New York, NY —

The number of New York City food stamp recipients has increased by almost 30 percent since January of last year to 1.6 million. That's an all time high according to the City's Independent Budget Office (the previous record was 1.46 million people in April 1995).

IBO ...

New York, NY —

The alleged bias attack against a gay man in Queens is drawing expressions of disappointment and exasperation from local politicians. Police say two suspects attacked 49-year old Jack Price, as he was walking home. Manhattan State Senator Tom Duane says he's saddened such an attack ...

Tim Zagat and his wife Nina, co-founders of Zagat Survey (KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP/Getty Images)

Nina Zagat, co-founder of the annual Survey tells of her latest findings:

The Walkway over the Hudson is finally open to visitors. The project to turn a 120-year old freight bridge into a paved public walkway connecting Highland, New York on the west bank to Poughkeepsie, New York on the east. It's approximately 212 feet above the water surface and 1.25 miles long or 6,767 feet.

Standing at the halfway point on the bridge you look down on the Mid-Hudson Bridge and get a new appreciation for just how wide the river is.

(by Jenna Flanagan)

New York, NY —

Hundreds turned out for Saturday's public opening of the Walkway Over the Hudson, a 19th-century rail bridge converted into a state park in Poughkeepsie. WNYC's Jenna Flanagan was there and has this report from the walkway 70 miles north of the city.

New York, NY —

The world's tallest pedestrian bridge opens to the public Saturday, 70 miles north of New York City. The Walkway Over the Hudson spans more than a mile over the river, and more than 200 feet over the surface. WNYC's Jenna Flanagan has more.

REPORTER: Neighbors, supporters ...

New York, NY —

New York Democrats are tapping former Nassau County Democratic Committee leader Jay Jacobs to chair the state Democratic committee. Jacobs was elected at a party meeting in Buffalo yesterday. State Senator Malcolm Smith describes the new committee chair as a hands-on leader.

SMITH: Jay will stuff ...

New York, NY —

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wants pregnant women to know this is the year to get a flu shot. Doctor Siobhan Dolan, a consultant with the March of Dimes, says most pregnant women are reluctant to take medication, but, this year the combination ...

New York, NY —

Former and current state leaders are criticising President Obama for interfering in New York's gubernatorial politics. Governor Paterson over the weekend was asked to respond to published reports that President Obama had "lost confidence" in Paterson's ability to win the next election. Former Governor Pataki ...

New York, NY —

Acorn Chief Executive Bertha Lewis says the organization will continue providing help to those in need despite government officials considering freezing or eliminating the groups funds. Lewis says ACORN has gone with out public funding before and losing that money again would not cripple them.

LEWIS: ...

The race for the city's public advocate isn't over yet. None of the candidates managed to win the necessary 40-percent to avoid a runoff.

'Are you ready for a run off?!'

Top vote-getter Brooklyn ...

New York, NY —

Manhattan District Attorney candidate Leslie Crocker Snyder says if elected she would NOT stop the NYPD's controversial stop and frisk policy. However, she says, her office would examine all cases of alleged bias.

CROCKER SNYDER: You can't stop the police from doing their job. The problem ...

New York, NY —

Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff tells a colleague how to throw securities investigators off the track, in a newly-released recording of a 2005 phone call. Warren Levinson reports.

New York, NY —

The City Council is considering what part it should play in any future regulation of the airspace over the Hudson River. Council Speaker Christine Quinn says she wants regulators to take more action to prevent incidents like the fatal collision between a helicopter and a ...

New York, NY —

The city's Department of Sanitation is test driving three new hybrid garbage trucks. Commissioner John Doherty says the new trucks should increase fuel efficiency by as much as 30 percent compared to those already on the road. He says it remains to be seen if ...