WNYC Newsroom

New York, NY —

The city Health Department is taking a new approach to an old problem. In an effort to rid the city of rats -- or at least seriously limit their numbers -- health officials are testing a program to "proactively" examine infested neighborhoods.

REPORTER: Assistant Commissioner for ...

New York, NY —

The families of 2 firefighters who were killed in a blaze at the former Deutsche Bank building plan to sue the state and the city for $180 million dollars.

They claim that the incompetence of multiple agencies caused the deaths. Among those agencies - the Lower ...

New York, NY —

The New York Attorney General has expanded his investigation into mortgage fraud to include companies that buy loans from banks.

REPORTER: Andrew Cuomo has subpoenaed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac - seeking information on how the companies have handled property appraisals.

CUOMO: The initial fraudulent process, in ...

New York, NY —

It's Election Day and the polls are open. In New Jersey, all the seats in the state Senate and Assembly are up for a vote. There are also some big referenda on the ballot. One asks whether all money generated from last year's sales tax ...

New York, NY —

City and state officials who represent the East Side say they have reached an agreement with a developer to build a new school and more affordable housing units.

REPORTER: Officials say that the East River Realty Corporation - which wants to develop the site where the ...

New York, NY —

Mayor Michael Bloomberg has apologized to the father of a police detective he had described last week as “not a hero” because of questions about his death following his work on the World Trade Center cleanup.

BLOOMBERG: I certainly apologize to the family for my comments, ...

New York, NY —

The last of 4 men charged with attacking a gay man has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and attempted robbery as hate crimes.

Twenty-year-old Ilya Shurov agreed yesterday to serve 17 ½ years in prison in a plea. In turn, prosecutors agreed to drop charges of felony ...

New York, NY —

The first in a series of public hearings on Mayor Bloomberg's congestion pricing proposal took place last night, on Long Island.

REPORTER: Some opponents believe the plan to charge drivers entering certain parts of Manhattan is an end run around tolls on the East River bridges.

Bert ...

New York, NY —

The state Public Service Commission says its annual review shows natural gas utilities are “winter ready” for the heating season.

The commission says utilities providing natural gas service in the state have adequate supplies, delivery capacity and storage inventory to meet customer demands under severe winter ...

New York, NY —

UPS has denied health benefits to some same-sex couples in New Jersey. Gay rights advocates say the shipping company's move illustrates the limitations of the state's civil union law.

UPS provides health benefits to its employees' spouses, including married gay couples in Massachusetts. But, it says ...

New York, NY —

The city's tourism arm has opened its first office in Seoul.

The new Korean office was opened by NYC and Company - the marketing and tourism organization for New York City. The office is the next step in the organization's plan to build a global network ...

New York, NY —

Chancellor Joel Klein says his 5th year on the job has been his most exciting yet. Speaking to reporters on the last day of school, Klein said he was proud of the city's steady gains on state achievement tests.

REPORTER: And he said the upcoming reforms, ...

New York, NY —

Mayor Bloomberg plans to lobby for more protections for Children's Services caseworkers. Bloomberg says he wants Albany to create legislation that will make it a felony to assault a social worker.

BLOOMBERG: In many cases there are drug or alcohol or psychiatric problems among the adults ...

New York, NY —

Two former roommates will be sentenced today for setting a fire at a Seton Hall dormitory that killed 3 students. That fire happened 7 years ago now.

The judge will hear from the families of those who died and from several survivors of the blaze. Under ...

New York, NY —

Governor Spitzer is proposing to provide health insurance to the hundreds of thousands of children in New York state who currently have no coverage.

In his health care reform agenda unveiled in Albany this afternoon, Spitzer says more than 2.5 million residents across the state are ...

New York, NY —

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver says Fernando Ferrer is the Mayoral candidate who can best unite New York's many communities.

REPORTER: The powerful Democrat says he is endorsing Ferrer because he understands the needs of the city's teachers and students. The two do not agree on everything ...

New York, NY —

City Council speaker Gifford Miller claims too many small, new high schools are opening inside dangerous and overcrowded buildings.

REPORTER: Miller - who is one of the Democrats running for mayor - says the small schools should only share space with other schools if they are ...

New York, NY —

REPORTER: A shipment of high quality counterfeit badges from Taiwan led Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to the home of a Bronx man. There they found more than a thousand fake badges - for law enforcement agencies ranging from the Chattanooga Police Department to the ...

New York, NY —

Just a week after a Manhattan hospital was blamed for the death of a patient from Legionnaires' disease, another hospital says that it may have found the bacteria as well.

Harlem Hospital Center officials says traces of legionella bacteria was found on a sink and a ...

New York, NY —

The City Council censured one of its own members for the first time in its history yesterday. But, Queens Councilman Allan Jennings is vowing to fight the sanctions levied against him for alleged sexual harrasment and the misuse of public resources.

The 43-to-2 decision to censure ...