Arun Venugopal

New York, NY —

The Miss Subways contests lasted from the 1940s through the 70s but now-and-then some of the winners put on their sashes and get together again. WNYC's Arun Venugopal was at the latest reunion of the former beauty queens, near Times Square.

PHOTOGRAPHER: one, two, three...

WOMEN: Yay!

REPORTER: ...

New York, NY —

Thousands of property owners in the city face eventual foreclosure for unpaid taxes or water bills - even if they owe just a thousand dollars. WNYC's Arun Venugopal has more.

While some property owners have more than a hundred thousand dollars in unpaid water bills, most ...

New York, NY —

What Kurosawa is to Japan, and Fellini is to Italy, director Satyajit Ray is to India. The filmmaker is getting a major retrospective at Lincoln Center's Walter Reade Theater, as well as an academic conference devoted to his work. WNYC's Arun Venugopal sat down with ...

Today, in a room packed with local, state and federal officials, as well as gay rights advocates and of course, the press, Governor Paterson announced he'd introduce a bill to legalize same-sex marriages. From the outset, he forcefully joined the cause to that of civil rights, going all the way back to 1857. That's when the Supreme Court made its infamous Dred Scott decision - essentially declaring that a black slave does not enjoy the rights of a citizen, and has no claim to freedom. Paterson's point was not merely moral: he noted that the Emancipation Proclamation was signed in 1863, just five and a half years after Dred Scott.

In essence, he said, change can come fast, if people push for it. Fast forward to the present moment, when the "complete confusion and stunned disbelief" that reigned in California after Proposition 8 - that was just a few months ago - have given way to a more hopeful mood for gay marriage advocates, now that it's been legalized in Iowa, Vermont, Massachussetts and Connecticut. 

New York, NY —

Officials at CUNY are reporting a 33 percent spike in students applying for financial aid this year -- that's over the same period last year. Standing outside Baruch College earlier today, Congressman Anthony Weiner said that despite additional aid in the federal stimulus package, Congress ...

New York, NY —

After a 75 year lull, competitive ping-pong is hoping to stage a local comeback. The New York City Open Table Tennis Tournament was held at Columbia University over the weekend, bringing together some of the sport's biggest names from across the continent. Tournament organizer Ben ...

That's the sound of green energy in the making - rather one of six wind turbines that have been placed atop the newest building in the Brooklyn Navy Yard industrial complex. Andrew Kimball is the president of the Navy ...

Mayor Bloomberg and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack today announced a $2 million federal grant that will pay for the creation of green jobs, as part of MillionTreesNYC program. The mayor made the announcement on Garrison Avenue at Edgewater Road along the Bronx River, surrounded by MillionTreesNYC trainees. The ...

New York, NY —

We've been hearing a lot in the news about rising unemployment rates, and the threat of city and state layoffs. well, here's a story about job creation. The city is about to pay 20 young men and women to plant trees, as part of its ...

(Chris Hondros/Getty Images)

The Empire State Building already glows green, for holidays like Saint Patrick's Day. Now, the iconic skyscraper is GOING green, with a major environmental makeover that is expected to cut its carbon emissions by 38 percent. Iain Campbell is with Johnson Controls, which helped plan the retrofit.

'If all commercial buildings in New York City followed the model developed for this project, there would be a reduction in carbon emissions of over $4.5 million metric tons per annum. Equivalent to that generated by a typical coal fired power plant.'

The $20 million upgrade includes replacing all of the building's 6500 windows with insulated glass, and adding extra insulation around radiators. Former President Bill Clinton's Climate Initiative project helped coordinate the makeover. He and Mayor Bloomberg both attended the announcement on the Empire State Building's 80th floor.

New York, NY —

Mayor Bloomberg released his first campaign ad for his re-election bid and, not surprisingly, it focuses on jobs and the economy. A central argument in the mayor's bid for a third term is that he's best equipped to steer the city through a fiscal crisis.

At ...

New York, NY —

The city's gearing up for the big census next year in hopes that no New Yorker will go uncounted. That's because the more New Yorkers listed in the census, the more federal dollars the city will get. WNYC's Arun Venugopal has more.

REPORTER: The city gets ...

New York, NY —

The Empire State Building already glows green, for holidays like Saint Patrick's Day. Now, the iconic skyscraper is GOING green, with a major environmental makeover that is expected to cut its carbon emissions by 38 percent. Iain Campbell is with Johnson Controls, which helped plan ...

New York, NY —

Even though Mayor Bloomberg is trying to convince the Republican Party to take him back and give him a ballot line, he got a warm welcome from members of the Independence Party just before securing their endorsement yesterday for the November ballot line.

The mayor, who ...

New York, NY —

If you happened to be in Union Square this weekend, that's one of the places you might have seen - or at least heard - a convoy of 28 RV's driven by members of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement.

The occasion was the 107th birthday of the late ...

8,000,000 New Yorkers generate a whole lot of sewage, and on any given day some of that sewage - more than 2,000,000 gallons - is being shipped around on the city's waterways. I was treated to a ride on the city's fancy new sludge boat, dubbed the Red Hook.
...

New York, NY —

Eight million New Yorkers generate a whole lot of sewage, and on any given day some of that sewage - more than two million gallons - is being shipped around on the city's waterways. WNYC's Arun Venugopal was treated to a ride on the city's ...

CSEA video slamming Governor Paterson's announcement on layoffs of state employees.

'We knew David Paterson, Senator David Paterson, very well for 20 years and he was somebody who was always there ...

New York, NY —

The state budget process appears to be exacting a toll on Governor Paterson's relationship with the state employee unions. WNYC's Arun Venugopal has more. REPORTER: The governor has taken a hard line on spending, including a vow to lay off 8,900 workers if unions aren't ...

New York, NY —

New York's wealthiest are set to pay more in income taxes in the state budget deal reached over the weekend. Governor Paterson and legislative leaders say their tax plan will generate another $4 billion in revenue. WNYC's Arun Venugopal has more.

REPORTER: The deal creates two ...