Arun Venugopal

New York, NY —

Lovers: looking for that perfect place to tie the knot? The city wants you to consider its brand new Manhattan marriage bureau. The lavish space replaces the old, crusty bureau in the Municipal Building, and has been designed to make the experience faster while earning ...

New York, NY —

New York City's tax revenues are likely to be sharply down this year, by some 7.5 percent and a new study by the Independent Budget Office says the city is unlikely to start seeing a turnaround until 2011, a year after the rest of the ...

New York, NY —

Scores of kings were in the streets of East Harlem today, for the 32nd annual Three Kings Parade. The event celebrates the visit of the three magi to the infant Jesus. One celebrant, Gaspar, called himself the "happy king."

GASPAR: I run around and give the ...

New York, NY —

The city's crime statistics are in for the year, and overall there's been a 4 percent drop in all major crime from 2007, including fewer incidents of felony assault, auto theft and crime in the transit system.

REPORTER: Mayor Bloomberg says given the falling economy, ...

New York, NY —

The city's crime statistics are in for the year, and overall there's been a 4% drop in all major crime from 2007, including fewer incidents of felony assault, auto theft and crime in the transit system.

Mayor Bloomberg says along with the falling economy, maintaining the ...

New York, NY —

Is Adolfo Carrion set to head a new White House office of urban policy? The Bronx borough president drew attention two weeks ago when he reportedly told students he'd be heading to a new job in DC. But now he's trying to be a little ...

New York, NY —

A jury has convicted five men of conspiring to kill soldiers at Fort Dix, in New Jersey.

That's after five days of deliberations. The men were Muslim immigrants originally from the former Yugoslavia, Turkey and elsewhere.

Sohail Mohammad is an immigration attorney in New Jersey, he says ...

New York, NY —

Queens State Senator Malcolm Smith may want to become the leader of the Senate, when Democrats take control of the body next month. But he didn't show much leadership today, as he dodged questions about major issues at a civic organization breakfast. WNYC's Arun Venugopal ...

New York, NY —

WNYC's Arun Venugopal attends the Connecticut wedding of two men who've been together for 35 years. And WNYC Weekend Edition Host Brian Zumhagen gets an update on the situation in New York from Alan Van Capelle, Executive Director of Empire State Pride Agenda.

New York, NY —

In a series of events that recall the Abner Louima brutality case, 11 years ago, an officer was accused of sodomizing a Brooklyn man on October 15. And two other officers are charged with a cover up. WNYC's Arun Venugopal has this report.

HYNES: At approximately ...

New York, NY —

If you stood in front of the Trader Joe's in Brooklyn yesterday, you might've seen dozens of locals mysteriously descend into a manhole on Atlantic Avenue. WNYC's Arun Venugopal joined them underground for a glimpse of "The Lost Tunnel of New York."

DIAMOND: This tunnel was ...

New York, NY —

Dozens of religious leaders gathered on the steps of City Hall today, calling for interfaith harmony in the wake of the deadly terrorist attacks in Mumbai.

For some Islamic leaders, it was a chance to denounce the extremism that has become associated with their faith.

Doctor Khurshid ...

New York, NY —

Governor Paterson is questioning the plan by State Senate Republicans to offer committee chairmen more funding and power. The plan could help lure Democrats who haven't pledged support for a new Senate Majority Leader.

PATERSON: Is this reform of government where we would try to diminish ...

New York, NY —

City Comptroller Bill Thompson has a plan for plugging the MTA's budget hole: make car and truck owners pay hundreds of dollars more in vehicle registration fees. WNYC's Arun Venugopal has more.

REPORTER: Comptroller Thompson's payment structure is based on weight: if you own a tiny ...

New York, NY —

SOCCER FANS: We all hate the yellow football team, the yellow football team, the yellow football team...

REPORTER: That hated, yellow football team would be Major League Soccer's Columbus Crew, and they beat the New York Red Bulls in the championship game yesterday, leaving these fans ...

New York, NY —

MoveOn says its members raised $88 million towards Barack Obama's win.

Now it intends to maintain the momentum. MoveOn's executive director, Eli Pariser, says tonight's gatherings will help set the progressive agenda.

PARISER: The parties are going to be a launching pad for what we hope is ...

New York, NY —

A day before what would have been his 83rd birthday, New York paid a huge tribute to the late senator, Robert F. Kennedy, in concrete and steel. The Triborough Bridge was renamed after the slain senator, in a ceremony at a Queens park at its ...

New York, NY —

It's been nine years since the state legislature put an end to the tax on out-of-towners, but could the commuter tax have a second life? That was a question posed by the council finance committee yesterday.

Here's how the mayor's budget director, Mark Page responded.

PAGE: I ...

New York, NY —

Plenty of attitude was in the air as members of the City Council faced off against Mayor Bloomberg's budget director at a council finance hearing yesterday. WNYC's Arun Venugopal has more.

REPORTER: The hearing was meant to be about the city's looming budget deficit, but Council ...

New York, NY —

Brothers should pull up their pants. That's the advice of President-elect Barack Obama who was recently asked by MTV how he felt about the style favored by some young African-Americans of wearing their pants well below the waist. WNYC's Arun Venugopal headed out to Fulton ...