Karen Yi covers homelessness and poverty. She joined the WNYC and Gothamist newsroom in 2020. Before that, Karen covered Newark for the Star-Ledger and spent almost a decade working for newspapers in New Jersey and Florida. She grew up in Miami and has a dog named Cashew. Got a tip? Email kyi@wnyc.org or Signal 917-589-1460.
Karen Yi appears in the following:
Parents say abuses at shuttered Brooklyn day care highlight oversight gaps
Wednesday, April 08, 2026
A Brooklyn day care owner whose license had been revoked by the state was allowed to open another program a few months later — only to have the second facility shuttered amid allegati...
New Yorkers are thinking about having kids with hope Mamdani will make child care free
Monday, March 30, 2026
Mamdani promised to move the city toward free universal care for every child, regardless of income, starting at 6 weeks old. Here's how his initiative is landing with some New Yorkers...
Homeless New Yorkers surprised by Midtown shelter closure, but say it needs fixes
Friday, March 06, 2026
Outside the massive Midtown homeless shelter that the Mamdani administration plans to shutter this month, about a dozen men carrying suitcases and large plastic bags were boarding a y...
Thousands in New York City must work to keep SNAP food benefits. ‘The pressure is on.’
Tuesday, March 03, 2026
Tens of thousands of New Yorkers receiving food assistance — including older adults and homeless people — now have to demonstrate they’re working if they want to keep the benefits tha...
These New Yorkers had homes. They died outside in the freezing cold.
Saturday, February 21, 2026
Kenneth Luna’s family said he died doing something he enjoyed: walking through the park near his Bronx home to clear his mind. On Jan. 28, the 29-year-old left the apartment he shared...
Police charge worker at shuttered Brooklyn day care with forcibly dragging child
Saturday, February 21, 2026
A former employee at a now-defunct Brooklyn day care has been arrested and charged with forcibly dragging a toddler and swiping a broom across a child’s face, police said. Lindsay Oli...
NYC home care workers eagerly await Mamdani’s expansion of child care
Thursday, January 29, 2026
Mayor Zohran Mamdani is promising to partner with family child care providers in the rollout of universal care for 2-year-olds. But integrating those small business owners — mostly wo...
We checked prices at NYC grocery stores for six months. Here’s what we found.
Friday, January 16, 2026
Make no mis-steak, you are definitely paying more for your beef at the checkout counter.The price for a pound of ground beef skyrocketed 14% in the last six months across 20 New York ...
SNAP and the Cost of Groceries
Thursday, November 13, 2025
Karen Yi and Joe Hong on how grocery prices can vary between stores and neighborhood and how grocery stores fared during the interruption of SNAP benefits.
Recapping Yesterday's Local Elections
Wednesday, November 05, 2025
New Jersey's new governor-elect is Mikie Sherrill. New York City's mayor-elect is Zohran Mamdani. Not to mention the ballot initiatives. WNYC/Gothamist reporters Liz Kim & Karen Yi re...
SNAP Benefits and the Government Shutdown
Tuesday, October 28, 2025
Due to the government shutdown, millions of Americans are likely to miss their Supplemental Assistance Nutrition Program (SNAP) paychecks starting this Saturday.
NYC immigrants want safer, better-paying work. A major hurdle: building digital skills.
Wednesday, August 27, 2025
Inside a small house in the Parkchester neighborhood of the Bronx, seven Bangladeshi women sat around a large table earlier this month, trying to figure out how to mute themselves on ...
Thousands of NY and NJ families need subsidized childcare and can’t get it
Friday, August 22, 2025
Child care is becoming increasingly unaffordable for families. That’s why more parents in New Jersey and New York are relying on subsidized vouchers to help pay for it. But while both...
It’s 2025, but a quarter of Bronx families don’t have broadband internet at home
Tuesday, August 19, 2025
Al Christian says he doesn’t have internet at his Bronx home because he can’t afford the utility bill. That makes it hard to look for work since most applications and job listings are...
These are the New Yorkers who could lose SNAP benefits under Trump rules
Friday, July 25, 2025
New York City officials and food pantry organizers say thousands of SNAP recipients are at risk of losing their benefits under President Trump’s sweeping tax cut measure. Republicans ...
Trump tax bill guts $29M program helping New Yorkers eat healthier on a budget
Wednesday, July 16, 2025
At Fairmont Neighborhood School in the Bronx last week, an eagle-eyed kindergartener just tall enough to peer over a row of elevated flower beds spotted a small red bulb covered with ...
This mobile clinic rolls up to homeless New Yorkers who need mental health services
Monday, July 07, 2025
Two days a week, an RV-like van parks outside a Chelsea soup kitchen with a licensed psychiatrist on board offering care to anyone who wants it.There’s no need for a referral, insuran...
IDs, coats, a microwave: the few items stored during NYC homeless encampment sweeps
Wednesday, June 18, 2025
A health insurance card, a 10-speed mountain bike, a blue men’s jacket and a microwave are among the few belongings stored by New York City officials this year after they cleared home...
These landlords promised to house dozens of once homeless New Yorkers. Now they’re evicting them.
Wednesday, June 04, 2025
Landlords who get public money to house the most vulnerable New Yorkers — including people who were recently homeless and those with mental illness and substance abuse disorder — soug...
'You never think it will be you': NYC child welfare removals show racial bias, per report
Wednesday, June 04, 2025
Briana Hunt was picking up extra work at a hair salon in Washington, D.C., when she got a chilling phone call: Her 1-year-old daughter had nearly drowned in the bathtub in their Bronx...
