Brigid Bergin

New York, NY —

Downtown residents have one more day to comment on the NYPD's proposal to install a network of 3,000 security cameras below Canal Street. Police say the cameras are necessary for their counter terrorism efforts, but critics say there's no proof they will prevent crime.

WNYC's Brigid Bergin takes us to a five-block stretch of the Bowery, from Houston to Delancey streets. The street is still home some century-old institutions like the Bowery Mission and specialized retail districts for restaurant supplies. But in recent years, an influx of new businesses along with cultural destinations are reshaping the neighborhood's economy and streetscape.
A New Life for the Bowery? by Brigid Bergin

The Bowery Mission was founded in 1879 and has been at this location since 1909.

The red doors open to a chapel where services are held daily. When the temperature dips below 40 degrees, the Mission staff opens the space for homeless men to sleep. The black doors lead to the Fellowship Hall, a cafeteria and kitchen that serves hot meals 365 days of the year. The Mission is privately funded and owns its buildings.

Alejandro Romero, 39, came to the Bowery Mission in July. He is a student in what they call their fellowship program. It's a six month substance abuse rehabilitation program for men. The students live on the upper floors and are required to work full time, doing everything from unloading the food trucks to taking out the garbage.

Herb Curruthers, 56, cooks meals at the Mission. He first came to the Bowery as a client 16 years ago after spending 8 years in jail. He's since gone to culinary school and has become a chef.

Here's Herb's story

New York, NY —

All so-called Main Streets are not alike. In Manhattan, main thoroughfares like Broadway, Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street have gone through massive changes- yet they maintain anchor tenants that bring people back over and over. So it is with the Bowery. In the third installment ...

Capt. Chesley Sullenberger III and First Officer Jeffrey Skiles receive standing applause before the start of a House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing. (Getty)

New York, NY —

Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger is warning Congress that commercial airline pilots are in an "untenable" financial situation and that flying expertise like his will soon be entirely absent from the industry.

Testifying before a House aviation subcommittee this morning, Sullenberger, who became a national hero after ...

President Barack Obama has *officially* named Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion to be his White House Director of Urban Affairs. The formal announcement came today, even as reports and reaction were leaked to the media yesterday morning.

News of his potential appointment was initially leaked back in December....by Carrion. He reportedly told students that he would be heading to D.C. for a job. He later brushed off media inquiries on the topic.

New York, NY —

Hundreds of gay and lesbian couples were turned away from marriage bureaus across the country including the new one in Lower Manhattan in an annual ritual that took on renewed urgency, following setbacks for the gay marriage movement.

Matt Flanders says he challenged the clerk when ...

Newark Mayor Cory Booker gave a rousing assessment of his city's future in last night's State of the City address, invoking Maya Angelou's poem, "Still I Rise," as a metaphor for the city and its residents. The increasingly impassioned Mayor spoke for 80 minutes before a full house at the Newark Symphony Hall. He cited examples of the city's progress -- from decreasing homicide rates to an increasing tax base.

Booker also cited the involvement of several celebrities in development projects around the city. Singer Jon Bon Jovi is part of a project to build 51 residential units for people with special needs; media mogul Oprah Winfrey has donated $1.5 million to Newark charities; and basketball player Shaquille O'Neal is involved in projects to build a 25-story luxury tower and upgrade a movie complex.

The Mayor also acknowledged the contributions of ordinary citizens who are giving back to the city through public service.

Tune in to All Things Considered this afternoon for more on Booker's State of the City.

 

It's safe to say, "fenugreek" is getting its 15 minutes of fame. Sure, it was idenitified as the source of that syrupy smell on Manhattan's west side. But, more importantly, what does it taste like and how is it used? WNYC's Richard Hake posed those very questions to ...

Congressman Charlie Rangel and his taxes are in the news again.

A new report from the nonpartisan Sunlight Foundation finds Rangel had at least 28 omissions in his taxes over the past 30 years. It also found that assets would appear or ...

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan can often feel far away from our every day lives. But for the families of the fallen, the impact is real and often poignant. Last month, Brooklyn Marine Lance Cpl. Julian T. Brennan died in Afghanistan. His death brought the total number of Americans ...

New York, NY —

Investigators are taking a closer look at the damage to a battered US Airways jetliner that crashed in the Hudson River. In particular, officials are looking at a black-box recording that revealed the thumping sound that cut the plane's two engines and a pilot's "Mayday" ...

New York, NY —

The sounds of the Bahian Allstars who played out 2008 with a Samba beat at S.O.B.'s. The club in SoHo hosted a new year's party called "Havana Meets Rio!" Club artistic director Mario Pereira explains the idea behind the evening.

PEREIRA: The feeling, the love, the ...

New York, NY —

New Year's Eve celebrations take many forms in New York, and for those who couldn't stand the madness of Times Square, there was the 20th annual Jivamukti Yoga School Silent New Year's Eve.

Attendees participated in a three-hour silent meditation leading up to midnight. Sharon Gannon ...

New York, NY —

When a Brooklyn Rabbi and his wife were taken hostage during the Mumbai terrorist attacks 2 weeks ago, Rabbis with Chabad here in the United States went urgently looking for someone who could speak Urdu, English, Hebrew and Yiddish. The man they found is Pace ...

New York, NY —

If you didn't see yesterday's New York Times, then you missed what is now the most e-mailed article from their New York section. The story starts with a leak in the city's complex water system that's turned into a 36 million gallon-a-day gusher.

To fix this ...

New York, NY —

This week, the New York Foundation for the Arts awarded $100,000 to eight small dance companies through its BUILD program. Its goal is to help strengthen dance organizations by investing in their management and infrastructure. But it's not the only group pushing artists to rethink ...

New York, NY —

More than 5,000 seats are still available in the city's pre-kindergarten classes and City Council members are trying to spread the word.

Council Speaker Christine Quinn and other Councilmembers are distributing flyers across the city to encourage parents to sign up their four-year-olds by Friday.

Although October ...

New York, NY —

People gathered in groups large and small to watch the Palin-Biden showdown last night.

Twenty-six-year-old Paul Banister thought Sarah Palin held her own.

PALIN: I actually think she didn't have a lot of specifics but she didn't fail. I had a lot of people texting me, saying, ...

New York, NY —

While lawmakers try to find a solution for Wall Street's financial crisis,local artists are bracing for a dip in the corporate dollars that support some of their work.

REPORTER: The non-profit arts advocacy group The Field hosted close to 100 local artists at Joe's Pub for ...