Richard Yeh

Rye Brook, NY —

While the lengthy roll call for the attorney general nomination was underway inside the convention hall, WNYC caught up with Arthur Schwartz, a state committee member from Lower Manhattan. Calling himself a progressive ...

May is Bike Month here in the city ,and over the weekend, cycling enthusiasts kicked off the first round of races at the city's only velodrome, in Kissena Park in Flushing, Queens. WNYC's Richard Yeh checked out the action and brought back these voices and photos from the ...

In the last five years, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has more than doubled the number of music therapists at its clinics. The VA uses music therapy to help veterans with P...

New York, NY —

The city conducted its sixth annual survey of homeless people early this morning. Nancy Downing of the organization Covenant House was among the thousands of volunteers who canvassed the city's streets, parks, and subway stations to identify and tally the number of unsheltered individuals.

"I have ...

In their Main Streets Project, the WNYC Newsroom is following six blocks over an entire year to track how the economic downturn is being felt at street level. Main Streets editor Karen Frillman is joined by reporters Jenna Flanagan, Lisa Chow, Richard Yeh, Brigid Bergin, and Ailsa Chang to discuss ...

Listen to a Weekend Edition Saturday report on Tsai Ming-Liang:

Face, the latest film by Tsai Ming-Liang, one of cinema's most revered auteurs, brings together on screen François Truffaut's companion Fanny Ardant and his longtime alter ego Jean-Pierre Léaud. It's the first film in a series commissioned ...

New York, NY —

Fans of new wave films were treated to a screening of Face, the latest film by acclaimed Taiwanese-Malaysian director Tsai Ming-Liang.

The first film to be commissioned by the Louvre for its auteur series, Face brings together on screen Francois Truffaut's companion Fanny Ardant and his ...

New York, NY —

This Spring WNYC went to New York’s most dynamic Main Street in Flushing, Queens. The city was amid the worst economic recession since the Great Depression, but immigrant business owners around Downtown Flushing weren't feeling the pain as badly as those in other neighborhoods. In ...

New York, NY —

The GOP leader in the New York City Council is hoping his caucus will double in size in January, thanks to three close races in Queens. WNYC's Richard Yeh reports.

REPORTER: Republican Peter Koo, a pharmacist and longtime community board member, is in a tight race ...

New York, NY —

Mayor Bloomberg has been redefining New York’s streets as places to walk and ride bicycles, not just drive. He’s turned Times Square into a pedestrian zone, introduced traffic calming measures and added 200 miles of bike lanes in the past three years. Some New Yorkers ...

New York, NY —

Community organizers took to the street outside Flushing Library Saturday to talk about what demonstrators say is growing fear among area Muslims, amid the ongoing police investigation of Najibullah Zazi, who was allegedly plotting a bomb attack against New York's transis system.

REPORTER: Ayesha Mahmooda with ...

In November, 2001, John Liu made New York City history by becoming the first Asian American to be elected to the City Council. Now, as Liu sets his eyes on the office of city comptroller, a handful of Asian-American candidates are hoping to follow his footsteps into politics.

Map of the district

John Liu has enjoyed significant popularity throughout his two terms as a councilman for the ethnically diverse District 20 that includes Flushing. And at a recent candidate forum attended by over a hundred people, John Choe reminded everyone of his ties to Liu.

CHOE: If you like John Liu, you will love John Choe. Who agrees that John Liu has done a great job as council member? Yes, because he does not think in the traditional term of what it means to be a council member.

Choe is Liu’s chief of staff, and he counts the incumbent’s accomplishments as also largely his own. The 39-year-old native of Korea entered the race at a relatively late stage and trails other candidates in fundraising. But he’s got the backing of Queens County leaders, as well as major labor unions including 1199. Like his current boss, Choe speaks eloquently of the issues facing the community, such as the need for support for downtown Flushing’s many immigrant business owners.

CHOE: We have to move the Small Business Solution center from Jamaica to Flushing. Or even create a new center here in Flushing. They have to speak Chinese, they have to speak Korean, they have to speak Spanish, all the languages that we speak here.

In a community as diverse as the 20th District, no candidate will be able to win next week's primary along racial lines. Political observers say the district's voters are made up of about one-third Asian-American, one-third white, and one-third black and Latino. Candidate S.J. Jung says what the community needs is unity.

The 20th District covers Flushing, Queensboro Hill, Mitchell Gardens, Kissena Park, Harding Heights, Auburndale, and part of Whitestone.

Map of the district

New York, NY —

In November, 2001, John Liu made New York City history by becoming the first Asian American to be elected to the City Council. Now, as Liu sets his eyes on the office of city comptroller, a handful of Asian-American candidates are hoping to follow his ...

New York, NY —

The questions don't start until tomorrow, but opening remarks at the Senate Judiciary Committee today will set the tone for this week's confirmation hearings for judge Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court.

New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who will introduce Sotomayor today, says she plans ...

New York, NY —

Another day of inaction in New York's State Senate. First came a moment of silence for Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson...then, New York Democratic Senators gavelled out of their fourth special -- and separate -- session. Republicans recited the Pledge of Allegience, and also swiftly ...

New York Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith says his Democratic caucus has a "framework" for an agreement on Governor Paterson's MTA rescue plan that would minimize fare hikes and service cuts. Last night he met with Long Island senators Craig Johnson and Brian Foley, who had been holding out on the plan.

Foley says one of the things that won him over was Smith's insistence on better oversight of the MTA, including a financial audit.

FOLEY: "If an when the forensic audit is completed, which will show the real expenses and real revenues for the MTA, that then we're gonna be able to make additional adjustments to the payroll tax and other payments that go to the MTA."

Foley and Johnson had been holding out primarily over the payroll tax in Paterson's plan. The governor has sought to placate suburban lawmakers with a proposal to reimburse school districts for the tax. It's not clear if they will instead push to exempt schools from the tax entirely.

Others, including Mayor Bloomberg, complain that though Paterson's plan would avert fare hikes and service cuts, it does nothing to address the agency's long-term capital needs. Paterson says the legislature may take up the capital plan later this year.

PATERSON: "The capital plan is not the issue if you are going over the bridges and the tolls are going up 30 percent, and if you live in a place where there'll be no service at all -- which is going to be the case if we don't address it -- that is the most immediate problem."

Most New Yorkers know they can take the IRT 7 train to get to the Mets ballpark and the U.S. Open, but they’re less familiar with a booming neighborhood just one Subway stop after Willets Point. Main Street in downtown Flushing is thriving and its restaurants, retail stores, banks and ...

New York, NY —

The economic downturn which largely started on Wall street has been felt globally - and its ripples have touched shopping districts all over the world. But there seems to be one retail hub that is thriving and it's not in a far-flung corner of the ...

On this eve of Valentine's Day, we offer you some audio chocolates:

New Yorker Bill Schifrin has been selling wedding rings on W. 47 Street since 1947. Once, a woman buying a ring for her fiance asked Schifrin to engrave the words "No refunds, no returns."

WNYC's ...