Jim O'Grady is the transportation reporter for WNYC. He has also told stories on This American Life, Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen and The Moth podcast. He’s been a reporter for The New York Times; professor of journalism at NYU; and director of research for the Center for an Urban Future, a policy think tank. He’s also the author of two biographies: Dorothy Day: With Love For The Poor, and Disarmed & Dangerous: The Radical Lives and Times of Daniel and Philip Berrigan.
Jim lives in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Blogs:
Jim O'Grady appears in the following:
Mean Streets 2014: Who We Lost, How They Lived
Monday, February 09, 2015
WNYC
Some 265 people died in traffic crashes in New York City last year. Here are some of their stories.
Harper Lee And The Gift That Saved 'To Kill A Mockingbird'
Friday, February 06, 2015
WNYC
In the late 1950s, a kind of miracle helped Harper Lee finish writing her soon-to-be-famous novel.
Bad Idea: The Most Powerful Man in America Walks Home Through the Blizzard of 1888
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
WNYC
An epic snowstorm claims a famous victim, whose death was prompted by pride — and the 19th century version of an Uber price surge.
How a NYC Non-Profit Did a $26.5 Million Real Estate Deal Without Selling Its Building
Friday, January 16, 2015
WNYC
It sold something that's become equally valuable: air.
Queens Family Still Waits for Justice in Traffic Death
Tuesday, January 06, 2015
WNYC
A judge finally hears what happened when an SUV ran over 3-year-old Allison Liao, then says he'd deliver his ruling in the future.
Despite Danger, Chinese-Americans More Accepting of Careers as Cops
Friday, January 02, 2015
WNYC
Officer Wenjian Liu, gunned down on Dec. 20, was one of a small but growing number of Chinese-Americans who are overcoming cultural barriers to become New York City cops.
In New York, Some Police Funeral Rites Go Back To The Civil War
Saturday, December 27, 2014
Today's funeral service in New York for the two police officers killed last week is part of a long tradition in that city — with modern-day additions like helicopters flying in formation.
NYPD Funerals: Intense Affairs with Flourishes from the Civil War
Friday, December 26, 2014
WNYC
Returning soldiers brought their solemn rites with them, and that introduced a military pageantry that endures at funerals for NYPD officers.
Embargo or Not, Castro Made a Habit of Visiting NY — Ask Bumpy the Bookie
Friday, December 19, 2014
WNYC
Castro honeymooned at the Waldorf in 1948. His 1960 visit, as the U.S. embargo loomed, was a political turning point.
Police Union Official: Cops in Garner Arrest Used Restraint, Not Chokehold
Saturday, December 06, 2014
WNYC
Ed Mullins, a veteran cop and the president of the Sergeants Benevolent Association, describes what he sees in the video of Eric Garner's arrest. It's probably not what you see.
In Staten Island, Reactions to Garner Decision Are Divided By Race and Neighborhood
Thursday, December 04, 2014
WNYC
Emotions were raw in Tompkinsville at the site of Eric Garner's arrest; but in officer Pantaleo's neighborhood on the other side of the island, residents defended the police.
Listen to Eric Garner's Dad Try to Calm an Angry Protester
Wednesday, December 03, 2014
Benjamin Carr, Eric Garner's stepfather, visited the site where Garner was put in a chokehold — and was approached by a stranger.
Marking the 50th Anniversary of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge By Remembering a Different, Better SI
Friday, November 21, 2014
WNYC
The bridge triggered a doubling of the borough's population in only 50 years, prompting laments for the loss of a quieter way of life.
If NYC Fixed This Intersection, Why Do People Keep Dying There?
Thursday, November 06, 2014
WNYC
A WNYC analysis shows that the most common location for NYC pedestrians to die is in a crosswalk with the light.
She Dreams of Margaritas: Whatever It Takes To Run 26.2 Miles
Sunday, November 02, 2014
WNYC
The 44th running of the New York City Marathon had the largest field in its history. And its spectators were as boisterous, heartfelt and witty as ever.
At a Corner With New Safety Measures, Another Death-By-Bus
Thursday, October 30, 2014
WNYC
After a bus killed a 23-year-old woman at a Queens intersection, the DOT redesigned the streets for better safety. And now, a bus has killed a man at the same spot.
After The Waves, Staten Island Homeowner Takes Sandy Buyout
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Stephen Drimalas fled his home as the storm hit, and it was badly damaged. Now he and some of his neighbors are selling their property to the state, which hopes to get people out of flood-prone areas.
After Sandy: Rebuilding a Home, Then Letting It Go
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
WNYC
Staten Islander Stephen Drimalas spent two years meticulously restoring his Sandy-damaged beachside home, but now he's decided to take a buyout from the state.
Ban Cars? Debate Intensifies Over Traffic Safety In Central Park
Monday, October 13, 2014
WNYC
After two pedestrian deaths on the park's loop road, ideas range from a car ban to flashing lights in crosswalks.
American Icons: Fiddler on the Roof
Friday, October 10, 2014
How a milkman from a Russian shtetl became a Broadway star and a hero of postwar American culture.
