Arun Venugopal

New York, NY —

It was the final weekend of campaigning, and mayoral candidates Comptroller Bill Thompson and Mayor Michael Bloomberg could be found campaigning across the city. WNYC's Arun Venugopal has more.

PASTOR: Brother Thompson, I think this is for you. Do you believe?

REPORTER: That's the pastor at the ...

New York, NY —

New MTA chairman Jay Walder says his agency is right to have appealed an arbitration ruling that gave transit workers a pay raise. In August the Transport Workers Union was granted an 11 percent hike over 3 years, but Walder says the arbitrator didn't follow ...

New York, NY —

Schools advocates, union members and others are speaking out against Governor Paterson's proposed budget cuts. They showed up at a Senate hearing on the matter yesterday.

James Parrott, an economist at the Fiscal Policy Institute, says the state should hold off on making drastic cuts.

PARROTT: I ...

At Sixth Ave and Houston.

New York, NY —

President Obama's visit to the city brought the healthcare debate to the streets of Manhattan last night. About 200 demonstrators along 8th avenue and 34th street held up signs and shouted in support of a public option. Kitty Williston says polls strongly suggest Americans want ...

New York, NY —

Governor David Paterson met with business leaders over the weekend in an effort to build support for further budget cuts. He says the cuts are needed if the state wants to avoid getting hit with lower credit ratings, as other states have. But he responded ...

New York, NY —

First, the city went after gun stores in other states. Now, its taking on the politically controversial matter of gun shows. WNYC's Arun Venugopal has more on the city's latest undercover sting.

REPORTER: There are thousands of gun shows across the country, and while licensed dealers ...

(image courtesy of nyc.gov.)

City investigators found it all too easy to buy guns illegally at out-of-state gun shows, in the city's latest sting operation focusing on illegal gun sales. A four-month probe of 7 gun shows--in Ohio, Tennessee, and Nevada--found ...

New York, NY —

A Queens councilman says after-school programs can help prevent shootings like the one that killed a 13-year-old boy over the weekend. According to Leroy Comrie, who represents the area in which Kevin Miller was killed, youth unemployment is a major problem. And he says many ...

New York, NY —

The city is expanding its network of security cameras and other counterterrorism devices.

Officials say the system that has been in place downtown will also be implemented in midtown starting next year. Mayor Bloomberg made the announcement at the Lower Manhattan command center.

BLOOMBERG: If people know, ...

New York, NY —

Brooklyn councilman Bill de Blasio won the Democratic runoff for public advocate, handily defeating Mark Green. WNYC's Arun Venugopal has more.

REPORTER: De Blasio won 62.5 percent of the vote, while Green got just 37.5 in his latest, and possibly last, run for office. Although the ...

New York, NY —

The runoff in the public advocate's race is tomorrow, and both candidates say they expect few New Yorkers will vote. So they're focusing on minority neighborhoods, where they believe voters are more likely to turn out. WNYC's Arun Venugopal has more.

REPORTER: Yesterday morning candidate Mark ...

New York, NY —

It was a bad day in court for State Senator Hiram Monserrate, who's charged with slashing his ex-girlfriend in the face. WNYCs Arun Venugopal has more on the testimony from the physician who met with her, soon after the incident.

REPORTER: Dr. Dawne Kort is the ...

New York, NY —

It was a bad day in court for State Senator Hiram Monserrate, who is charged with slashing his ex-girlfriend in the face.

REPORTER: Dr. Dawne Kort, the physician who met with Karla Giraldo soon after the incident, testified in court today.

Dr. Kort is the attending physician ...

New York, NY —

The two remaining candidates for public advocate square off in their only scheduled debate before Tuesdays' run-off election. WNYC's Arun Venugopal has more.

REPORTER: Tonight's debate is the first since last week's primary, when in something of a surprise, Bill De Blasio won more votes than ...

That loose knit-group of political imposters who take on big issues through big stunts are hitting a local media outlet. Their latest action is timed to correspond with the first-ever New York City Climate Change ...

New York, NY —

Governor Paterson says he has no plans of bowing out of next year's gubernatorial race, despite reports that the White House is asking him to. WNYC's Arun Venugopal has more.

REPORTER: Reporters and TV crews mobbed the governor in Harlem, where he was marching in the ...

Mark Green continues to attack his opponent in the public advocate race, City Councilman Bill de Blasio, for what he terms a conflict of interest. Green says de Blasio should not have received campaign donations from groups that received special Council funds from his office. He said De Blasio had ...

Queens state Senator Hiram Monserrate's fate will be decided by a judge, not a jury. Monserrate's attorney, Joseph Tacopina, asked for, and got, a bench trial with State Supreme Court Justice William Erlbaum. Tacopnia says he's concerned a jury might be swayed by emotion:

"We're that comfortable with the ...

Candidates for political office campaigned hard this weekend ahead of tomorrow's primary election, not just in citywide races but in some local races that might see a change of guard. In the 14th Council District, one challenger, Fernando Cabrera, has ...