Kathleen Horan

New York, NY —

Democrats think they have a good chance of winning the seat being vacated by New York City's only Republican congressman, Vito Fossella.

REPORTER: Fossella announced last month he wouldn't seek re-election, following his drunk driving arrest and news that he fathered a child out of wedlock. ...

New York, NY —

If you're a smoker, get ready for some sticker shock today. The cost of a pack of cigarettes is going up by $1.25, thanks to a state tax hike. That means the cost of a pack of cigarettes will be around $8.50.

Robin Gross of Long ...

New York, NY —

Gotta light...? If you need one for a cigarette, be prepared to see more of your money go 'up in smoke.' The state's new tax on cigarettes goes into effect tomorrow and a pack of smokes will go from $1.50 to $2.75 a pack. That ...

New York, NY —

The Department of Education is starting to send out notification letter's today to parents of middle school kids about what school their children will be attending.

Many of the notifications are being mailed out later than last year - when they were sent out anytime from ...

New York, NY —

The city's fourteen miles of public beaches are open -- in four of the five boroughs. Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe says it isn't hard to appreciate sun, surf and sand - especially when it doesn't cost a dime.

BENEPE: They were built to be these great ...

New York, NY —

City Black and Jewish officials met in Crown Heights yesterday to denounce bias crimes in the Brooklyn neighborhood. They warned more vigilance is needed to avoid a repeat of the unrest the neighborhood experienced seventeen years ago.

Recent incidents include the beating and robbing of a ...

New York, NY —

After a recent shooting in Brooklyn's Clinton Hill neighborhood, residents and elected officials want the Police Department to increase police presence there. They claim the streets have felt less safe over the past several months. This conflicts with the city's statistics, which indicate that the ...

New York, NY —

Twenty five million dollars has been donated to the New York Botanical Garden and Prospect Park. That's the largest private gift to the parks in the city's history.

Philanthropist Shelby White says she grew up a block away from Brooklyn's Prospect Park and considered it her ...

New York, NY —

REPORTER: High rises built over the past few years are beginning to erode the fabric of the area - that's according to ...

New York, NY —

REPORTER: The results of a talent contest for musicians competing to serenade subway passengers are in.

Out of the 55 hopefuls who auditioned earlier this month, the MTA has approved 23 groups.

Among the winners are a vibraphonist, a punk cellist and a Chinese classical musician.

There's also ...

New York, NY —

New York City is known as a place where people express themselves and not always in the kindest ways.

But, cab drivers are being held to a higher standard.

A cabbie who cursed at another driver was fined $1,000 and had his license suspended for a month.

Taxi ...

New York, NY —

Queens resident James Lee stopped by the offices of the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association yesterday to donate $100.

Lee says he doesn't know anyone personally ...

New York, NY —

Walk up Park Slope's Seventh Avenue - between 11th and 12th Streets - and you'll pass a makeshift memorial. Bouquets of flowers surround a photo of an older man with a creased face and bright blue eyes. 64-year-old "Whitey," a beloved local character, died last ...

New York, NY —

Republican Congressman Vito Fosella has admitted to having an affair and fathering a child out of wedlock. His confession today has some speculating that his seat in Congress might be in peril. WNYC's Kathleen Horan has more.

Fosella says he fathered a child three years ago ...

New York, NY —

If the city gets its way, there'll soon be an extra set of eyes in bus-only lanes.

The Bloomberg administration wants state lawmakers to approve a proposal to install cameras the lanes to discourage drivers from illegally double-parking.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg says the city can't afford to ...

New York, NY —

City officials hope the subsidies will encourage people to take a boat to work and leave their cars at home.

Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Kahn says it's a greener way to ...

New York, NY —

The city's Department of Aging is getting its first major restructuring in decades.

Members of the city council visited a senior center in Brooklyn Friday to listen to some of the concerns of elderly New Yorkers and their families. Nathaniel Boyd says his 80-year-old mother used ...

New York, NY —

On any given day, there are countless auditions held in New York. Show biz wannabes of all stripes pound the pavement in the hopes of being cast in the next great play, movie, or TV show. But later this month, the New York Jets will ...

New York, NY —

Are credit card machines in the city's yellow cabs an improvement? City Council members posed that question yesterday and the answers they received were dramatically different. Taxi and Limousine Commissioner Matthew Daus says the technology is working well and that drivers' tips have nearly doubled ...

New York, NY —

The city sponsored Immigrant Heritage Week last week but really in New York it's possible to mark the immigrant experience and its effect every day. Writer Joaquin Botero is originally from Colombia. His book "El Jardin en Chelsea" describes working at the Garden of Eden ...