WNYC News

New York, NY —

Crime is on the rise in the city's public schools. Major school felonies are up 21% in the current fiscal year, according to an early draft of the mayor's annual management report of city agencies.

City Hall blames the increase on a rise in grand larceny ...

New York, NY —

Transit advocates are calling on the city to cough up more money to ensure the number 7 train gets extended to Manhattan's west side.

REPORTER: Construction is scheduled to begin this year. But the MTA is now telling the city it won't be held responsible for ...

New York, NY —

REPORTER: Schools Chancellor Joel Klein says he'll reconsider the requirement, that students live at least a quarter of a mile away, from school, in order to qualify for a yellow bus. The chancellor came under fire at a city council hearing yesterday for causing chaos ...

New York, NY —

REPORTER: An English Springer Spaniel took the top prize at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show last night. Diamond Jim, or James, jumped into handler Kellie Fitzgerald's arms after being picked for best in show. She says James has a really good heart and aims ...

New York, NY —

In a world full of brands - New York City is putting its name on an old fashioned product...a condom!

REPORTER: The city's health department unveiled the NYC brand condom and handed 150,000 out to commuters this morning. It will continue to make them free from ...

New York, NY —

A controversial plan to use for private school funds to refurbish public parks on Randall's Island was approved by a city committee this afternoon.

The only dissenting voice was Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, who called the plan a sweetheart deal for the Randalls Island Sports ...

New York, NY —

The city has announced its broadest commitment yet to people with health problems affected by dust and debris from the World Trade Center attacks. For the first time, Mayor Bloomberg acknowledged that a large number of residents, workers and students in Lower Manhattan may have ...

New York, NY —

REPORTER: The Archdiocese of New York has closed an East Harlem church more than 2 weeks before the expected closing date after 6 parishioners were arrested for trespassing. The parishioners had staged a sit-in to save "Our Lady Queen of Angels." The church was founded ...

New York, NY —

REPORTER: Governor Eliot Spitzer may receive a bouquet of red roses on this Valentines Day. But the sender doesn't have romantic intentions. In an effort to soothe relations between the governor's office and the Legislature, Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno wants to send Spitzer flowers. ...

New York, NY —

Facing a panel of angry council members, city officials continued to defend their decision to cut school bus routes. Councilman Robert Jackson, chairman of the education committee, demanded that the city restore the routes, but Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott did not bend.

WALCOTT: We will not ...

New York, NY —

A plan to pump more private funding into the parks on Randall's Island goes before a city panel for a vote tomorrow. The proposal would give 20 private schools first dibs on sports fields during after-school hours. That's if they pay the city a total ...

New York, NY —

City officials are still trying to pinpoint the source of that gas-like odor that blanketed parts of Manhattan and Hudson and Bergen counties yesterday morning…and they're eying New Jersey.

A spokesman for the city's Department of Environmental Protection says the agency is pretty sure the source ...

New York, NY —

REPORTER: Inmates at New York State prisons will soon be charged the same rates for collect calls as everyone else. For more than 10 years now, inmates and their families have been charge about 600 times more than other customers, because of a state tax ...

New York, NY —

Some City College students and alumni are suing the school. They claim their First Amendment rights were violated when a sign naming a student center after a fugitive terrorist and a convicted cop killer was removed.

The sign named a student lounge after Willie Morales, a ...

New York, NY —

More New York City teachers are meeting the tough federal requirements set by No Child Left Behind. A city Education Department spokesman says 87% of the city's teachers met the federal standards that require a bachelor's degree and state certification in the subject taught. That's ...

New York, NY —

The American Lung Association says that the city has some of the best anti-tobacco laws in the country. The only state with better scores is Maine. The annual rankings of the ``State of Tobacco Control'' report gives an ``A'' ranking for New York's efforts in ...

New York, NY —

Newark Mayor Cory Booker says the city's police department has created a special division to combat drug trafficking.

He says the formation of the new unit is part of an effort to curb rampant drug violence in Newark. The announcement came a day after two ...

New York, NY —

REPORTER: The New Jersey Devils' new home in Newark has a name. Insurance giant Prudential Financial will pay the Devils about $5 million a year for 20 years, and the new ice hockey arena will be called the Prudential Center. Newark Mayor Cory Booker said ...

New York, NY —

Brooklyn is a top-notch tourist spot. At least according to the publisher of the popular Lonely Planet travel guidebooks.

The publisher named Brooklyn as one of the world's top destination for its 2007 "Blue List." Lonely Planet spokesman Frank Ruiz says that Brooklyn has hipster ...

New York, NY —

REPORTER: The City Council is expected to vote on a controversial plan to build four schools on a contaminated industrial site in the South Bronx. At issue is whether to approve the project now or wait two weeks for an independent environmental assessment of the ...