Arun Venugopal

Bill de Blasio threw his hat in the mayoral ring Sunday, officially announcing his candidacy for the 2013 election before a crowd of supporters.

More than a hundred Brooklyn residents and business owners attended a public meeting organized by the Environmental Protection Agency to address the proposed Superfund cleanup of the Gowanus Canal.

Why, in this era of foodie hordes, Instagramming their way across the five boroughs, do some Chinese restaurants in New York City still have double menus?

On this Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, WNYC visits Morningside Heights to see how the neighborhood is marking the celebration - from bookstore displays to playground conversations.

The brutal rape of a 23-year-old woman in New Delhi has prompted demonstrations and calls for legal reforms, but not just in India. In the latest Micropolis, Arun Venugopal examines ...

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. 

In the wake of the Newtown shootings, legislative leaders are having intense discussions about the direction of gun control, but few of them or their aides are willing to speak on the record, or even return calls.

Just 51 percent of New Yorkers speak only English at home, according to recent data from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. As for the other 49 percent, well, the languages span the globe.

WNYC Reporters Arun Venugopal and Ilya Marritz discuss new U.S.-census numbers out about median income and migration into New York City.

More: Arun's Report on New New Yorkers | Ilya's Report on Median Income

The newest New Yorkers are doing pretty well and many of them are moving into high-priced parts of Manhattan, like the West Village, Tribeca and midtown, mostly from other states.

Before they hit the stage, Broadway actors can often be found cocooned in their makeup rooms. But, what exactly do they do in there?

Palestinians and Israelis in the New York area are keeping a close eye on the unfolding events in the Middle East.

Before immigrating from West Africa to the Bronx, Rouguiatou Tounkara and her husband, Cisse Siaka, lived the kind of lives that remind you just how ferocious racial bigotry is in some parts of the world. Even for Africans living in Africa.

After disappearing from both the political conversation and the streets of New York City, the Occupy movement is back.

Occupy Sandy, the group’s response to last week’s hurricane, has brought thousands of volunteers to disaster zones a year after protesters were encamped near Wall Street.

In the East Village, the lights may be on in most of the area, but for many residents the heat and hot water have yet to return. While some have sought help, others in the neighborhood are reluctant to take a helping hand.

Lisa Higbee loves President Obama. She loves Mitt Romney too — so much so that she composed a song that she played for me in her Inwood apartment.

By the time I woke up Tuesday morning there was a noise somewhere in the distance. It was a chainsaw. Some guy — I'm guessing he was paid by the city — was calmly walking around, sawing down every loose or suspicious-looking tree branch.

Tonight tens of millions of viewers are expected to tune in for the second presidential debate, which takes place at Hofstra University on Long Island, in a town that rarely makes national headlines.

The Taliban shooting of a 14-year old Pakistani girl has generated a worldwide backlash. Malala Yousefzai, an outspoken defender of education for girls, remains in critical condition, and Pakistani New Yorkers are closely following the story.

One hundred and twenty years after it was erected, the landmark statue of Christopher Columbus in Columbus Circle has found a new home of sorts.