Arun Venugopal

New York, NY —

One of the most closely watched races locally is in Staten Island, where Republican Bob Straniere is trying to defend Vito Fossella's seat for the GOP.

But polls suggest Councilman Mike McMahon is poised to win and that would make the city's entire congressional delegation Democratic.

Straniere, ...

New York, NY —

Mayor Bloomberg signed his term limits bill into law, allowing himself and City Council members to run for a third term.

However, before the mayor signed, he got an earful from during the four-hour long public testimony. Several speakers praised the mayor, saying his financial skills ...

New York, NY —

Mayor Bloomberg and the city's Board of Elections are blaming each other for what could turn out to be a very messy Election Day. WNYC's Arun Venugopal has more.

REPORTER: Mayor Bloomberg has never been a fan of the city's board of elections. But yesterday, when ...

New York, NY —

Republicans have held on to the Congressional seat in Staten Island for the last 28 years, but that may very well change on Election Day.

Polls suggest Democratic Candidate, Councilman Michael McMahon is likely to defeat his Republican opponent, former Assemblyman Robert Straniere.

The two are vying ...

New York, NY —

Hip hop has played a visible role in presidential politics since at least the early 90s, when Bill Clinton had his Sista Souljah moment and denounced the performer's racially-charged statements.

In the last couple election cycles performers like Sean Combs, or Diddy have encouraged young people ...

New York, NY —

ELMO: Hi everybody, I'm so excited for Elmo's neighborhood Sesame Street to grow.

REPORTER: Sesame Street's Elmo yesterday helped Mayor Bloomberg break ground on a 40,000-foot expansion of the Kaufman Astoria Studios in Queens. City and state officials say a 35 percent tax credit for film ...

New York, NY —

Despite a new Quinnipiac poll that found a vast majority of New Yorkers want to settle the issue of term limits by public referendum.

Mayor Bloomberg says having a special election would only result in prolonged litigation. And the city has enough on its plate.

BLOOMBERG: I ...

New York, NY —

The Bloomberg Administration says the Waterfalls exhibit on the East River, which ran from June 26th to October 13th, had an even greater economic impact than anticipated.

REPORTER: Officials say the falls generated $69 million dollars in economic activity, exceeding the initial expectation of $55 million ...

New York, NY —

Mayor Bloomberg is denying accusations that he's abusing his power in order to drum up support for his bid to change term limits.

BLOOMBERG: We're out there, promoting, trying to rally people to support the administration's position. That's what we're supposed to do. But we do ...

New York, NY —

Our latest count has 17 city council members in favor of Mayor Bloomberg's bid for a term limits extension. Nineteen are against and 15 remain undecided. Opponents of the plan were out in full force this weekend, including Comptroller Bill Thompson, who's planning to run ...

New York, NY —

Patricia Kaufman heads the governor's office for film and TV development.

She says the state's decision to increase its tax credit for production costs, from 10 to 30 percent, has resulted in a spike in productions seeking to film here.

KAUFMAN: So I think it's pretty safe ...

New York, NY —

You've heard of the 42nd Street subway shuttle, being covered in ads? Well, how about garbage trucks and street sweepers?

It's something Council Speaker Christine Quinn is proposing, as a way of raising more money for the city to bridge upcoming budget gaps.

Quinn told members of ...

New York, NY —

It may feel like a late-summer day but it's ice skating season. The rink at Rockefeller Center opened for business today. Pam Simpson from Aberdeen declared the ice was "absolutely brilliant."

SIMPSON: I'm just so excited to be on Rockefeller Center and skating, because I've come ...

New York, NY —

Mayor Bloomberg has some advice for individual investors who think they can play the market: Don't.

The mayor says it's best to leave that to the experts.

BLOOMBERG: If you want to be a trader go to Las Vegas, buy some chips. That's exactly what you're doing. ...

New York, NY —

The city still has 6,000 of its 58,000 seats available in its pre-K programs, and wants parents to sign their kids up by the October 31 deadline. The seats are open to children who turn four by year's end. Schools Chancellor Joel Klein says pre-K ...

New York, NY —

With its 21 electoral votes, Pennsylvania is one of the most highly-contested battleground states.

And, with the McCain campaign’s decision to pull out of Michigan, the battle over Pennsylvania is likely to get even more fierce.

Today is the deadline for registering voters in Pennsylvania and yesterday ...

New York, NY —

Today is the last day for voter registration in Pennsylvania. Over the weekend, hundreds of New Yorkers headed out to the battleground state. WNYC's Arun Venugopal tagged along to North Philadelphia with some Obama volunteers.

REPORTER: The bus empties out in the 11th Ward of Philadelphia, ...

New York, NY —

The Bloomberg administration has been widely praised for its efforts in promoting bicycling. All across the city new bike lanes are being built and more riders are being drawn to biking. But one group of riders continues to be at odds with the city - ...

New York, NY —

Mayor Bloomberg says there's no telling how far Wall Street might fall, but he thinks the city can weather the storm with a combination of spending cuts and, possibly, property tax increases.

BLOOMBERG: I don't think we will get to the point of layoffs. I don't ...

New York, NY —

The financial crisis is likely to have a direct impact on many of the city's nonprofits, which rely on corporate gifts. Fran Barrett is the executive director of Community Resource Exchange, which works with hundreds of nonprofits, including soup kitchens and housing programs. She says ...