It was a record-breaking year for New York City’s Bravest, with the fewest number of fire deaths and the fastest emergency response times. There were 58 fire deaths 2012 — a drop of four compared to the previous record of 62 set in 2010.

Must-reads headlines from around the city, curated by the WNYC Newsroom.

Republican Rep. Michael Grimm, who represents much of Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn, says that the move by Republican leadership in the House to let the the current session of Congress end without a vote on Sandy aid is "inexcusable."

The Big Apple is a bigger-than-ever tourist draw, welcoming a record 52 million visitors this year, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Monday.

Authorities say a New York City couple has been arrested on weapons charges after a substance used to make bombs and papers titled "The Terrorist Encyclopedia" were found in their Greenwich Village apartment.

The New Year means hunters in New York will no longer be able to use crossbows to hunt big game. Governor Andrew Cuomo vetoed a law that would have expanded cross bow hunting for another two years because of a provision attached to the measure.

A woman accused of pushing a man to his death in front of a subway train was charged Saturday with murder as a hate crime.

New York City's murder rate is expected to hit a record low this year, and shootings are at their lowest point in at least 18 years.

A mumbling woman pushed a 46-year-old man to his death in front of a subway train on Thursday night, the second time this month someone has been killed in such nightmarish fashion, police said.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has put forward a plan to clean up the beleaguered Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn. 

Russian President Putin is expected to sign a law banning the adoption of Russian children by Americans. The move is creating stress for prospective parents in New York and around the country.

After years of shrinking tax revenues and yawning budget gaps, New York City's finances have improved significantly, according to a report from the city's Independent Budget Office.

A New York City hospital that evacuated hundreds of patients after losing power during Sandy has partially reopened.

The government agency charged with regulating the gun trade continues to lack a leader, despite the rash of recent shootings in the country. 

A wildlife official says an endangered whale has died after getting stranded on a beach in a coastal enclave of New York City.

Many Far Rockaway residents that were hit bad during Sandy are still living without heat this Christmas.

It’s the 100th year that the main post office in Manhattan has responded to letters addressed, “Dear Santa.” On Christmas Eve at the James Farley Post Office elves busily replied to letters and sent last minute packages to needy families in the area.

A hundred years ago, when a child in America wrote a note to Santa Claus, it wound up in the "dead letters" room at the post office, never to be delivered. That changed in 1913, when an enterprising New Yorker named John Gluck founded The Santa Claus Association, a charity that matched children's wishes to donors.

Some hefty men dress up as Santa Claus because it’s a nice way to make a little extra cash,  this time of year. But for others it's more a state of mind.