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Stephen Nessen

Stephen Nessen is a digital producer, reporter and photographer. He has chronicled the transformation of the World Trade Center site and photographed everything from glitzy red carpet galas to the gritty tunnels of the 2nd Avenue subway. Recently, he reported on a suspected serial killer on Long Island, documented a graduation at Riker’s Island prison and covered discrimination in a Jewish-owned business.

Prior to his current position, he was a producer for local versions of All Things Considered and Morning Edition. He was a reporter for the New York Post, and freelanced for various New York City newspapers and magazines. He began his career in radio by filing stories for the NPR show Pacific Time from Xiamen, China.

Before journalism, Stephen was a teacher at Chinese universities in Harbin, and Xiamen, and an examiner for the British Council. He hosted a daily radio show on Taxi Driver Radio in Harbin, China.

Stephen grew up in Vermont, speaks fluent Mandarin and has a master’s degree from Columbia University’s Journalism School.

Stephen Nessen appears in the following:

Chinese Dissident Chen Guangcheng Rests Uneasily in New York City

Monday, May 21, 2012

The Chinese dissident, Chen Guangcheng, who arrived in New York Saturday after diplomatic manuvering allowed him to come as a visiting scholar, expressed concerns about four-fellow dissidents on Monday.

Comments [1]

Details Emerge About Council Speaker Christine Quinn's High-Profile Wedding

Friday, May 18, 2012

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn is set to be married in Manhattan on Saturday — and since the likely mayoral hopeful made the announcement two months ago, the press has breathlessly covered details of the 300-person fete as they have trickled out. Here's all you need to know about it.

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Comments [7]

Brooklyn’s Hasidic Art Scene Expands with New Gallery

Thursday, May 17, 2012

The Brooklyn art scene is getting another retro infusion — this time from Crown Heights. The throwback references here depict a simpler time, when families were large and lived in the Old World shtetls of Eastern Europe. It’s not quite Soho, but on Empire Blvd. and Kingston Ave., situated next to a laundromat, The Betzalel Gallery is expected to officially open on Thursday.

Comments [2]

Next Host of SNL is Not Mayor Bloomberg, and He’s Not Laughing (On the Inside)

Tuesday, May 08, 2012

Mayor Michael Bloomberg has flexed his comedy muscle in the past, but has never been offered the coveted honor of hosting "Saturday Night Live." Flanked by "Saturday Night Live" head writer Seth Meyers, the mayor said Tuesday that he’s “deeply hurt” that he has never been offered the gig.

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Chinese Activist Invited to Be a Visiting Scholar at NYU, Pal Says

Friday, May 04, 2012

The Chinese dissident lawyer Chen Guangcheng, who made a cinematic escape from his village in rural Shandong province to the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, could be a visiting scholar at New York University.

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Look | One World Trade Center Gets City’s 'Tallest' Honor

Wednesday, May 02, 2012

WNYC began visiting the World Trade Center site in April 2010 and has continued to document the construction of One World Trade Center, the 9/11 Memorial the transportation hub, as well as the people working on the site.

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Comments [1]

84 Arrested as Occupy Activists Mark May Day

Wednesday, May 02, 2012

Activists with a variety of causes spread out over the city Tuesday on International Workers Day, or May Day, with Occupy Wall Street members leading a charge against financial institutions.

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Comments [4]

Occupy Activists Fan Out Across to Mark May Day

Tuesday, May 01, 2012

Occupy activists had said they planned to bring business to a standstill on May Day, but the crowds protesting in the rain Tuesday morning were modest. Organizers had called for protesters to block one or more bridges or tunnels, but there was no evidence of success by midday.

For the latest on the protests, follow WNYC's team coverage on twitter here.

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Comments [10]

Meet 1WTC, New York's New Tallest Building

Monday, April 30, 2012

If wind speeds aren’t prohibitive Monday, a steel column will be lifted on top of the existing framework of 1 World Trade Center, making it New York’s new tallest building. WNYC digital producer Stephen Nessen spent a lot of time on the site of 1WTC this summer. He explains what it took to make a structure this massive.

Comments [8]

1 WTC Is the City's Tallest Skyscraper

Monday, April 30, 2012

Move over Empire State Building, there's a new "tallest building" in the city. On Monday afternoon, 1 World Trade Center took the title when it surpassed the height of the Empire State Building.

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Comments [3]

Look | Cherry Blossom Cosplay at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Saturday, April 28, 2012

What the annual Cherry Blossom festival at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden lacked in flowers, it made up for in colorful characters. The cherry blossoms bloomed two weeks ago, but that didn’t stop hundreds of Japanese subculture fans from dressing like manga and comic book heroes, and gothic Little Bo Peeps.

Comments [1]

Look | It's Here! Space Shuttle Enterprise Arrives in New York

Friday, April 27, 2012

PHOTOS. Enterprise zoomed around the city, riding piggyback on top of a modified jumbo jet. Its trip included flyovers over parts of the city and landmarks including the Statue of Liberty and the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum before landing at Kennedy Airport.

Comments [3]

NY Ex-Senator Carl Kruger Gets 7-Year Sentence

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Former New York state Sen. Carl Kruger was given a seven-year prison sentence Thursday after telling the court he was  "broken" and "destroyed" for his role in an influence peddling case.

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Comments [2]

Basement Excavation Continues as Officials Search for Etan Patz

Saturday, April 21, 2012

NYPD officers and FBI agents continue to search a Soho basement for remains of a 6-year-old boy who disappeared in 1979.

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Information Forensic Evidence Can Yield After 30 Years

Friday, April 20, 2012

It’s been more than 30 years since Etan Patz disappeared. While law enforcement official dig up a Soho basement in search of clues, Dr. Lawrence Kobilinsky, a forensic scientist at John Jay College Criminal Justice, discusses  the likelihood of finding remains at the site and how the FBI — if they find something — will determine whether it belongs to Etan.

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FBI, NYPD Resume Search for Etan Patz, Missing Since '79

Friday, April 20, 2012

As many as 50 NYPD officers and FBI agents using jackhammers and saws began digging in a Soho basement Friday where a cadaver dog detected human remains in recent weeks, hoping to find evidence linked to the infamous 1979 disappearance of schoolboy Etan Patz.

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Comments [3]

Search Resumes for Missing Schoolboy Etan Patz After 33 Years

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Dozens of NYPD officers FBI agents began scouring the basement of a Soho building Thursday, hoping to find evidence linked to the infamous 1979 disappearance of schoolboy Etan Patz.

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Comments [3]

Chic Renovations for South Street Seaport Met With Mixed Reaction

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

The rickety wood docks and faux-boat house at the South Street Seaport are a rustic charm to some. But now, a proposal for replacing the boxy red structure known as Pier 17 with a three-story glass building that includes an expansive rooftop auditorium is drawing attention.

Tell us what you think of the proposed plan for Pier 17.

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Comments [2]

Anarchist Book Fair Hosts: Weekend Violence Was An Aberration

Monday, April 16, 2012

The hosts of the anarchist book fair in Lower Manhattan where officials say anarchists met before going on to injure two police officers and attempt to smash a Starbucks window this weekend, say the incidents were an unfortunate aberration.

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Judge to Rule Later on Civil Suit vs. Strauss-Kahn

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

A judge says he won't rule immediately on whether to dismiss a hotel maid's lawsuit alleging that Dominique Strauss-Kahn sexually assaulted her in New York City.

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