Stephen Nessen

New York City has been a petri dish for aggressive public health campaigns. Now, one fast food chain is taking the initiative to make the french fry, the high velocity vehicle for salt and fat, a bit healthier. 

The relief group Doctors of the World, which operates in war torn nations like Syria, Mali and Somalia is opening its first U.S. clinic, in the Rockaways. The organization provided aid immediately following Sandy and decided to set up a brick and mortar medical clinic in Rockaway Beach, Queens.

The city unveiled plans Wednesday to redevelop 1.65 million square feet in the Lower East Side, spread across nine city-owned lots. The project, known as Essex Crossing, calls for 1,000 units of mixed-income housing as well as retail, office, school and park space. There are also plans to open an Andy Warhol museum.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg took office months after 9/11, a time he said when many wondered whether New York would remain a financial and economic powerhouse. Staring out at the vast construction site at the World Trade Center from the 10th floor of 7 World Trade Center on Thursday morning, he answered his own question during a speech before the Downtown Alliance.

“Today, I think it’s safe to say, together we succeeded beyond what anyone thought was possible."

Lower Manhattan is hoping to draw more tech companies and connect the more than 600 existing ones with the creation of a new tech industry hub, known as LaunchLM. 

Firefighters from around the city and the world came out for the annual ceremony at the Firemen's Memorial on Riverside Drive. Participants read aloud the names of all the firefighters killed on 9/11 and sang Amazing Grace. 

For New York City students it was a beginning. But for Mayor Michael Bloomberg it was his last chance to observe the start of the school year after almost 12 years running the nation's largest public school district.

With a crowded democratic mayoral primary and several relatively unknown candidates in other races, mail boxes are being bombarded with campaign flyers. Despite the importance of a robust social media presence direct mail is still a major component of any campaign.

Biking to BAM? Lock up your wheels on the newest invention in the David Byrne Alphabet. The musician/writer teamed up with a local artist to create a bike parking area unveiled Wednesday at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

When school resumes next week there will be several hundred fewer school bus routes, according to sources representing the largest 20 school bus companies. This comes after a court injunction ordered companies to restore pay cuts enacted after a month-long strike by drivers and matrons.

At the start of summer, the Rockaways looked more like a construction zone than a beach destination. Its popular concession stand was still being renovated. The boardwalk that spanned most of the neighborhood’s 6.2 miles was washed away. Work trucks and trash littered the beach.

As the U.S. weighs a possible military intervention in Syria after an alleged chemical attack on civilians outside of Damascus last week, immigrants in the metro area from countries involved in the Arab Spring are divided about how involved the U.S. should be in Syria.

The city is installing 20 school-zone speed cameras that will operate around the clock — but officials aren't disclosing their location. 

The NYPD shot at suspects in four separate incidents over three days – and although none of the shootings were fatal, they come at a time of increased scrutiny of the department.

A transgender woman from the Bronx who spent three years in jail as a man has some advice for the Army intelligence officer formerly known as Bradley Manning: get counseling.

The average annual cost to house an inmate in New York City is more than $167,731,according to a report issued by the Independent Budget Office.

The graffiti mecca 5Pointz in Long Island City lost another battle in its fight for preservation as plans for two luxury apartment buildings on the site moved forward this week.

A federal task force charged with developing a Sandy-rebuilding strategy is calling to strengthen the region's electrical grids, protect gas supply chains and fortify coastlines, according to report released Monday.

The city formally filed an appeal to a federal judge's ruling that imposes reforms on the NYPD's stop-and-frisk tactics. It's asking for a stay to delay Judge Shira Scheindlin from appointing an independent monitor to the NYPD. 

In Egypt, more than 600 people are dead after violent clashes between authorities and supporters of ousted president Mohammed Morsi. On a stretch of road in Astoria, Queens, known as "Little Egypt," Egyptians are fearfully watching for what will happen next.