Matthew Schuerman joined WNYC in December 2007 as the transportation and economic development reporter. He covered repeated financial crises at the MTA, the most severe transit cuts in decades, as well as the impact of the recession on the Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn and the World Trade Center redevelopment in Lower Manhattan. Since 2010, Schuerman has been an editor in the WNYC newsroom. In addition, he has recently reported a number of Sandy-related stories.
Schuerman came to radio from The New York Observer, where he also covered economic development. Earlier, he was an associate editor at Worth Magazine, and free-lanced for The Village Voice, Fortune, City Limits, and other publications.
Schuerman has been a fan of WNYC since the mid-1990s, when he was working as a reporter at The Day, a daily newspaper in New London, Conn. Though 100 miles away from New York, he could get Brian Lehrer and Leonard Lopate on his car radio while driving along Interstate 95 on his daily rounds, thanks to how the AM signal travels over the Long Island Sound.
A native of Chicago, Schuerman graduated from Harvard College magna cum laude. He received a master's degree from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill.
Matthew Schuerman appears in the following:
Mayor Iffy on Cuomo Sandy Buyout Proposal
Tuesday, February 05, 2013
Governor Cuomo's proposal to use federal Sandy aid to buy out Sandy-damaged homes will likely need Mayor Bloomberg's assent. So far, he hasn't given it.
City Promotes Film While Fighting the Film's Makers in Court
Thursday, January 31, 2013
The city is paying for subway ads and posters in bus shelters to promote the Ken Burns film "The Central Park Five" as part of a "Made in NY" marketing campaign intended to promote local productions. Meanwhile, the city's Law Department is pursuing a legal case to obtain raw footage from the film as part of a legal defense.
From Salt Marshes to Sea Barriers, Preparing for the Next Sandy Defense
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
“If Sandy had happened three weeks before when it did,” she said, “we would have lost the Belt Parkway.”
Bloomberg Officials Say City's Response to Sandy Took 'Some Time'
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
In a tacit acknowledgment that it took too long to get emergency supplies to neighborhoods that were hard-hit by Sandy, Bloomberg administration officials said they are taking a close look at its disaster preparedness plans.
Cuomo Panel Says 'Maybe' to Massive Hurricane Barrier
Friday, January 11, 2013
An expert panel's preliminary report does not make New York’s solution to climate change look easy.
NYS Commission Recommends Balloons, Buses, and More to Fight the Next Sandy
Monday, January 07, 2013
A state commission appointed by Governor Cuomo is recommending a wide variety of infrastructure improvements, from giant balloons that would inflate inside subway tunnels to more sensitive development along coastal areas, in response to Sandy.
New Ideas for Protecting New York Harbor
Friday, January 04, 2013
"Hard" edges like hurricane barriers pose a host of problems even while they promise a lot of protection against severe storms. Landscape architects are looking at other possibilities to complement or replace them.
Predicting When the Next Sandy Will Hit
Wednesday, January 02, 2013
Maps detailing actual and expected flooding show that Sandy’s storm surge exceeded many of the 100-year flood zones, seeping into places previously considered safe. Are the flood maps wrong or was Sandy a truly exceptional storm?
$60B Sandy Relief Bill Advances in Senate
Friday, December 21, 2012
Senate Democrats said Friday they have enough votes to approve a more than $60 billion Sandy relief bill, overcoming objections that it includes too many pet projects unrelated to the storm.
Climate Change Fears Meet Development at the New Hudson Yards
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
After nearly a decade of planning and debate, ground was finally broken last week on a set of office and apartment towers that will be built on a platform above an MTA rail yard. But the location is in a flood plain, and a Columbia University scientist warns that the development will put an upper limit on just how much the rail yard can be raised in order to keep it out of the way of rising sea levels.
Bloomberg's Waterfront Development Comes Under Scrutiny from Sandy's Impact
Wednesday, December 05, 2012
Sandy is making planners, architects and scientists take another look at Mayor Bloomberg's effort to put high-rise apartments on New York City's waterfront. They say measures meant to make the new development withstand flooding may not be enough as sea levels continue to rise.
Grading the Mayor: How Bloomberg Handled Sandy
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Sandy was a natural disaster extreme in scope, and numerous people — from President Barack Obama to firefighters, police officers, nurses, subway workers and volunteers — were part of the New York region's storm response. But no single figure played a more central role than did Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
He doesn't control the transit system, or the purse strings at the Federal Emergency Management Agency. But he worked with the people who do. So we asked five New Yorkers to grade Bloomberg on his performance.
WTC Site Floods, But Officials Say Buildings Will Be Hurricane-Proof
Saturday, November 03, 2012
Millions of gallons of water streamed into the World Trade Center site during Sandy, cascading through the PATH terminal and down ramps used for construction vehicles. But officials say the prognosis for flooding, and any other hurricane damage, should be much better once the 16-acre redevelopment is complete.
Living on the Edge
Thursday, November 01, 2012
Look at a New York City evacuation map and you’ll notice something about many of the red areas along the water’s edge: they correspond to areas that the Bloomberg administration hopes will catch on as new residential neighborhoods.
Mayor to Re-Start Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Mayor Michael Bloomberg will once again try to get the 575,000-square-foot former National Guard armory in the Kingsbridge Section of the Bronx redeveloped, according to a city hall spokesman.
Behind the Post-9/11 Transformation of the Financial District
Thursday, September 08, 2011
The September 11 attacks destroyed 13 million square feet of office space in Lower Manhattan. That, and two recessions, led to a loss of 16,000 jobs south of Chambers Street, according to a report from the Alliance of Downtown New York. And yet the area has remained lively, as more and more people have chosen to make their homes there.
MTA's Port Jervis Route Off-Line Indefinitely
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Train service on the Port Jervis Line has been suspended due to the catastrophic damage to the track and signal system caused by Tropical Storm Irene. MTA Chairman Jay Walder invoked emergency powers to rebuild large stretches of track virtually from scratch along the Port Jervis line on the Western side of the Hudson River.
Records Show Espada Was Senate's Biggest Spender
Saturday, August 06, 2011
Records show that scandal-plagued Pedro Espada, Jr. went on a taxpayer-funded spending spree in his final three months as a state Senator from the Bronx last year.
King's New York Connection: MLK Jr.'s Friendship With Stanley Levison
Monday, January 17, 2011
One of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s most important political advisors, Stanley Levison, has remained largely hidden from public view — even 40 years after King’s death.
Amtrak and NJ Transit End Talks on Salvaging ARC Tunnel
Friday, November 12, 2010
Talks between Amtrak and New Jersey Transit over an abandoned commuter train tunnel have broken down just two weeks after they began.