FAQ NYC: Recent Episodes
FAQ NYC
A weekly dive into the big questions about this city of ours, hosted by Christina Greer, Azi Paybarah and Harry Siegel, and produced by Alex Brook Lynn.
State Sen. Zellnor Myrie rejoins the pod for a lively conversation about his plan for the city to do just that, and much more.
Eric Adams is done with Covid, but Covid may not be done with New York City. The FAQ NYC hosts dig into that and much more in a post-Labor Day, return-of-the-school-year episode.
With a new poll showing most people in the city think New York has already done enough for migrants, co-host Christina Greer talks with Harry Siegel about what that means for a place where a lot of people are "progressive in theory," why she's sounding an alarm for Eric Adams given the history of Black mayors in America, and much more.
Hosts Christina Greer and Katie Honan break down another jam-packed week in New York City, covering migrant housing plans, questionable donors to Adams' 2021 campaign, and who holds down the city when the mayor, for a variety of possible reasons, cannot.
Dave Giffen of the Coalition for the Homeless and Josh Goldfein of Legal Aid talk with Katie Honan about what Kathy Hochul should be doing but is not as "she's apparently forgotten she's also the governor of people who live in New York City," what Mayor Eric Adams is saying that doesn't hold up, and much more.
Photographer Stephen Yang joins Alex Brook Lynn and Harry Siegel for a conversation about capturing private moments in public settings, the differences between photojournalism and street photography, why tabloids have traditionally frowned on high-contrast shots (spoiler: those require too much black ink to print) and much more.
Albert Fox Cahn of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project joins hosts Christina Greer and Harry Siegel to dig into the problems with automated enforcement, the perils in letting police collect too much data, and more.
Journalist Todd Maisel spent 40 years listening to police scanners, letting the scratchy radio sounds guide him to some of the biggest news stories in New York City. He's now sounding the alarm over the NYPD's plan to encrypt these radios -- turning them off for everyone who isn't in the police. "Do we trust he police to tell the truth? I don't," he told FAQ. Silent radios "is bad for the public, it's bad for checks and balances, it is a real problem," he said. Listen to the full interview here.
Christina Greer and Harry Siegel dig into New York City's collapsing right to shelter, the unlikely companies the Adams administration is paying to provide services to migrants and much more from another jam-packed week in New York City.
Jeff Coltin joins Christina Greer and Katie Honan to dig into how the mayor and his prospective 2025 challengers are positioning himself, and all the news from another jam-packed week in New York City.
Hosts Christina Greer and Harry Siegel talk about the new NYPD commish Eddie Caban, Crime and Corruption, and much more.
Jonathan Bowles of the Center for an Urban Future lays out the group's ideas for what government can do to help new small businesses prosper.
Hosts Christina Greer, Katie Honan and Harry Siegel talk about the 109th mayor of New York City’s very public separation, the 110th mayor’s press strategy, and much more.
Ben Max joins Christina Greer, Katie Honan and Harry Siegel to break down everything that happened in a contest that most New Yorkers missed.
Ben Smith, the author of Traffic: Genius, Rivalry, and Delusion in the Billion-Dollar Race to Go Viral, talks with Azi Paybarah about Silicon Alley, the internet of the early 2000s, and why local politics is less scalable than it used to be.
A conversation about fire deaths, train killings and much more from a man-stabs-dog week in New York City.
Years before the NYPD targeted Muslims, Black radicals and other groups with specialized and sometimes undercover operations, the Italian Squad prompted pushback for its aggressive tactics, and from Italian-American leaders concerned about their community’s public image as immigrants sought to assimilate. Paul Moses, author of “The Italian Squad: The True Story of the Immigrant Cops Who Fought the Rise of the Mafia” recounts the NYPD’s efforts to grapple with organized criminals preying on Italian immigrants and the challenges and threats faced by the Italian-American officers trying to stop them.
Hosts Christina Greer and Harry Siegel break down another jam-packed week in New York City, complete with Rikers madness, NYPD upheaval, a brand new Bronx landmark and much more.
When he wasn’t making ends meet as a handyman or selling lumber or heating oil around New York City, John Hedderson was making big and bold paintings about the people, places, and pets that made up his world. Since his death in front of a blank canvas in 2016, his daughter MaryAnn has been trying to go through his art and put it out into the world, including at an art show opening on Saturday, June 10, and running through the end of July at Espresso 77 in Jackson Heights, Queens.
Hosts Christina Greer, Katie Honan and Harry Siegel run down another jam-packed week in New York City, discussing everything from the Adams administration’s Rikers blackout and a self-policing experiment in Brownsville to the gift that the rapper Dres of Black Sheep gave to fans in the rain mourning Phife Dawg and much more.
Hosts Christina Greer and Harry Siegel discuss a damning new federal monitor report on New York's disastrous jails system, the mayor's political appeal and much more.
Brian Stettin, city hall’s senior advisor on severe mental illness, explains Eric Adams’ new approach and why “compassion and care” should take priority over consent when city workers encounter people who aren’t able or interested in caring for themselves even when those people don’t present any immediate danger.
The mayor says that forcing people with untreated mental illness into hospitals is a "moral obligation," but it's not clear how that's different from what the city was already doing with those people almost always released after 72 hours.
A year and a half after legalizing recreational marijuana, the first retail licenses have finally been issued even as the black market is booming and smoke shop robberies are through the roof. Ashley Southall, who covers cannabis in the city for the New York Times, goes into the weeds to explain what New York’s doing — and not doing — to correct the drug war’s damage, whether buyers can really trust the stuff getting sold here with California packaging, and much more. Listen here.
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams rejoins the podcast to talk about his primary run against Kathy Hochul, the party's poor performance in November from candidates running as "Republicans light" and much more.
Pervaiz Shallwani dipped a hot dog into New York’s melting pot, and what came out was delicious.
Who's responsible for Democrats' losses in New York even as the party over-performed expectations nationally? Everyone seems to be pointing figures, and they might all have a point.
Jeremiah Moss, the author of Feral New York, talks with THE CITY's Alyssa Katz about the "tremendous community connection and and oftentimes joyfulness in a moment of tremendous trauma and tragedy” for the people out in the streets amid the city's shutdown and reopening.
Gotham Gazette’s Ben Max joins an election-night FAQ NYC podcast to offer some late-night early analysis in an episode that began before the governor’s race was called and continued after it was.
The former governor won't say if he voted for Letitia James, but he’s got lots to say about how the Democratic Party has lost the script on crime as people “are afraid of the feeling I get in the city,” and much more.
The City senior reporter and bona fide train knower Jose Martinez joins FAQ to break down the gubernatorial race's very high, yet hardly noticed, stakes for the already troubled future of the city’s circulatory system.
Co-host Christina Greer doubts that Lee Zeldin will upset Gov. Kathy Huchul, but she does think that “He's just that guy. Where it's just like, you're really dangerous but because you don't look like a DeSantis or an Abbott people don't think that he's as dangerous as he is. He's got the Youngkin effect.” And co-host Katie Honan shoots down the Congressmember’s debate claim about smelling pot on his one train ride during the race, which she joined as a reporter: “I’ll say on the record, I rode the subway with Lee Zeldin, and there was no pot smell. He said there was pot smell. And the only reason I noticed that is because there usually is a pot smell, right? So I was shocked that there wasn’t.” Plus, Laura Kavanaugh is now the first female commissioner of the FDNY, the city’s still not ready for what’s coming a decade after Sandy, and much more.
“You might want to get a snorkel”—In a special episode of FAQ NYC, Samantha Maldonado and Kendra Pierre-Louis look at the damage the “superstorm” caused 10 years ago in Coney Island and around the city, and the construction that’s followed.
Ann Nocenti, the writer, journalist and filmmaker who wrote and edited some of the most iconic Marvel comics of the late 1980s and early 1990s, joins the FAQ NYC podcast to discuss her early years in New York as “the girl who lived behind the fishtank,” quite literally, how her work in asylums influenced her stories about superheroes, creating Marvel’s first openly transgender character, the role of “fake news” in the comics she’s working on now, and much more.
Jimmy Vieklind of the Wall Street Journal joins the FAQ NYC podcast to dig into why the governor’s race is getting much tighter in its homestretch, and why the key to a possible upset by Trumpy Republican Lee Zeldin “may, in fact, lie in New York City.”
New York has more competitive Congressional races than any state besides California. NBC's Steve Kornacki joins Azi Paybarah and Harry Siegel to break down the races here that could well decide which party controls the House.
About these four proposals New Yorkers get to decide on, right after (mostly) guessing which judges to elect? Rachel Holliday Smith breaks down what's at stake, and why most voters have no idea about any of it.
Alyssa Katz talks with America’s “least known great documentarian” about his 86 years living here, his work during the pandemic editing his footage of the city from the 1950s (and that you can see over the next two weekends at the Museum of the Moving Image), how graffiti trains inspired his film Stations of the Elevated, and the big question: What is New York for?
Is the left somehow to blame for the tent city for asylum seekers that the Adams administration had been erecting on Orchard Beach, and that's now going up on Randall's Island? Is New York really turning back into Fear City? If the "old normal" went away with the pandemic shutdown, what are the reasons to be hopeful about the emerging new normal? Christina and Harry discuss all that, and invite Eric Adams—who had a memorable meet up with us as a candidate—to come back on the pod now that he's mayor.
Biographer Andrew Kirtzman joins FAQ NYC’s Weekend Edition to talk about his quarter century covering “America’s mayor” and the inevitable question: What happened to Rudy Giuliani?
Dennis Walcott, chair of the Districting Commission drawing new City Council lines, joins the pod to explain why he was surprised to see the commission vote down its own map, and then Politico's Joe Anuta breaks down his reporting on how we got here (spoiler alert: City Hall got involved late) and what comes next.
Dodai Stewart of the Times joins the pod to discuss her survey of New York City's formerly iconic 24-hour spots, from Wo Hop to Whitestone Lanes, that have now cut their hours, and Dr. Christina Greer and Katie Honan run down all the latest news from the city, starting with the first big departures from the Adams administration.
Former MTA chief and NY lieutenant governor Richard Ravitch (who’s also a donor to The City) and Volcker Alliance senior director William Glasgall join the pod to break down their warning in the Daily News about the fiscal cliffs ahead—and explain why, in spite of those cliffs and the need for constant fiscal discipline, the city remains unbowed and its future remains bright.
Greg Smith rejoins the pod to explain how he found out about the city tests showing arsenic in the water at NYCHA's Jacob Riis houses before anyone informed Mayor Adams or the tenants about them, and to break down everything we still don't know about what happened here—starting with why the city decided to look for heavy metals in the first place. It's a mess that says a lot about how the other half (still) lives.
Something in the buttermilk doesn't smell right, says Professor Christina Greer, and it doesn't help that he keeps dipping his toe into political races he keeps losing.
The great Ben Max of Gotham Gazette joins Chrissy, Katie and Harry for an early assessment of the winners and losers on a rough night for Mayor Eric Adams’ preferred candidates in a weird August election with nearly as many losing candidates as voters.
In our 213th episode, Christina and Katie talk to New York State Senator Zellnor Myrie about his recent Daily News op ed "How N.Y. Dems should think about crime," his ongoing efforts to uphold bail reform, and his latest legislative accomplishments.
Some “personal news” for the pod: After 211 episodes FAQ NYC is now officially part of The City, the nonprofit newsroom all about New York and for New Yorkers. And for our 212th episode, we talked with Alvin Bragg, the district attorney representing the 212, about becoming a national figure of suspicion just after taking office, his accomplishments so far including the exoneration of Steven Lopez—the nearly forgotten sixth teen, just 15 when he was arrested, who went to prison after being accused in the infamous Central Park jogger case and then pleading out to a lesser charge—and much more.
Professor Christina Greer has a lot to say about the Jerry Nadler-Carolyn Maloney face-off in the new NY 12 and how Suraj Patel could end up deciding that race, the thus far one-sided public fight Jessica Ramos is trying to start with fellow leftist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and much more.
De Blasio is out, sharks are in, and lieutenant paramedic Anthony Almjoera joins the pod to talk about Riding the Lightning, his new book about his wrenching pandemic year, how he thinks the FDNY let down and left behind medical first responders, and much more. WARNING: This episode includes conversation about suicide and suicidal thoughts.
Reporter George Joseph joins Katie and Harry to discuss his reporting on the Brooklyn Democratic machine and a tough election for its boss, Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn.
Katie Honan explains what that is—and how union politics help explain why so many New Yorkers "inevitably" drown each summer. Plus, Professor David Bloomfield breaks down the public school budget cuts Eric Adams wants, the bill to reduce class size that the mayor wants the governor to veto, and much more.
A few thoughts on Eric Adams' relationship with the press, and then a bunch more on New York City's budget and political picture.
Breaking down another wild week in New York City, including that poll showing New Yorkers souring on Eric Adams and Kathy Hochul—and souring on the city even as they say things are actually going pretty well in their own neighborhoods.
Bradley Tusk looks at the Democrats playing musical chairs for their political lives, explains the cases for Andrew Yang and cryptocurrency, and shares the backstory behind P&T Knitware, his brand new bookstore, podcast studio, event space, and cafe on the Lower East Side.
A jam-packed episode for a jam-packed week of New York news, with Yoav Gonen of The City and Chris Sommerfeldt of the Daily News talking about all the candidates in Brooklyn who didn't even know they were on the ballot (including one candidate who isn't even alive), a dispatch from Alex Brook Lynn in Paris about sending formula across the Atlantic to frantic N.Y. moms, and Caroline Lewis of WNYC and Gothamist explaining what's happening with the state's rollout of legal weed and with the people who did (and still are) illegally selling it here.
For the 200th episode of FAQ NYC, a conversation about the Notorious B.I.G. and Brooklyn with Justin Tinsley, author of the new biography It Was All a Dream: Biggie and the World That Made Him.
Map master Steven Romalewski and penetrating politics reporter Brigid Bergin do their best to explain what the hell is happening with our upcoming election, where the maps are still being drawn and not even the dates, plural, for various contests aren't entirely certain. Plus, Nick Pinto of the brand-new NYC journalism venture Hell Gate breaks down his story there about the NYPD's Stonewalling Attorney Called Out for Lying and Forging Emails.
Michael Daly recalls his friend Jack Maple, the maker of the maps that changed everything.
An awful lot of New York politicians end up going to prison but Assemblyman Eddie Gibbs, who spent 17 months in Rikers as a teen followed by four and a half years in state prisons, is the first to do it the other way around. He joins the pod for a conversation about that, "the bad old days" and the state of the city now, and rapping and performing comedy with legends including the late Big L and Biggie Smalls.
A conversation from early Wednesday afternoon, before Frank James' arrest, about the train shooting and also Brian Benjamin' resignation.
Josefa Velasquez joins from Albany to break down the stop-and-start, hurry-up-and-wait path toward New York's forthcoming and already late $216 billion or so budget (and everything else) deal.
Jeff Mays of the New York Times breaks down Kathy Hochul's troubles with Black voters, and Craig McCarthy of the New York Post looks at what is, and ain't, new with the NYPD's neighborhood policing initiative, its anti-gun unit, and its quality of life enforcement push.
Chinese American Planning Council President and CEO Wayne Ho joins the pod to talk about what Albany can do to make the economics of this work for New York's aging population, and much more.
Elizabeth Glazer, the founder and co-editor of the new publication Vital City, joins the pod to talk about rising crime and the rising criminal justice reform tide in New York City, and what reformers can do to move past squishy root-causes rhetoric.
Prof. Christina Greer explains what makes Eric Adams like "a really good point guard" — and the Nets could use one for home games, by the way — and Amir Khafagy breaks down his reporting for Documented on how the city has let down the Twin Parks fire survivors now that they're no longer front-page news.
Super-reporter Greg B. Smith breaks down why Eric Adams' promise to remove the homeless from the trains "right away" has been going nowhere fast.
Alex Brook Lynn asks Katie Honan to walk us through a few of the top news items regarding our mayor in this past week in this shorter-than-usual FAQ episode. Katie gives our listeners some context for the Mayor's reaction to criticism over some of his controversial appointments and his interaction with the press, and we talk about the first few days of NYPD interaction and intervention with homeless people in the subway.
We have a real estate roundup with three of NYC's favorite reporters covering the subject: Rebecca Baird-Remba from Commercial Observer, Stefanos Chen from The New York Times, and Rachel Holliday Smith from The City. For the past two years we have seen so much fluctuation: rents dip and then rise sharply, blocks of store fronts abandoned, hotels turned shelter turned back to hotel, and corner deli turned dark store. Our three guests unpack the prominent real estate issues facing New Yorkers in 2022.
Rommel H. Ojeda talks with Harry Siegel about the sorry state of the Undocumented Workers Fund. The fund has been riddled with scams targeting workers and their debit benefit cards. The company responsible for the fund's distribution debit cards, Blackhawk, has abdicated all responsibility, leaving some workers without relief while their bills pile up.
The great Ben Max rejoins Chrissy, Katie and Harry to talk about Eric A’s first trip to Albany, "fish-gate," and much more.
Graham Rayman of the Daily News runs down the slow-motion disaster at the city's jails, and map maestro Steve Romalewski breaks down the new maps Albany's Democratic majority just drew up, and explains how we got here despite a voter-approved constitutional amendment for non-partisan redistricting .
Eric Adams has talked the talk about balancing public safety and justice. Now, he's got to walk the walk.
Assemblymember Ron Kim breaks down his new report accusing a prominent social service organization of stealing wages from home-care workers, with the help of 1199SEIU.
Karen Hinton, who worked for both Andrew Cuomo and Bill de Blasio, joins the pod to discuss her new memoir, Penis Politics: A Memoir of Women, Men and Power.
A conversation with incoming City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams about her past and the city's future.
Katie Honan and Harry Siegel take stock of an ominous moment in New York, with big changes looming, and Alex Lynn talks with East Village resident Kirsten Theodos about the ongoing demolition of East River Park, and community member’s fight to save it.
🎶Someone please call 311 Chrissy and Harry consider New York City's outgoing and incoming mayors, and Giulia McDonnell Nieto del Rio of DoumentedNY explains what's happening now with non-citizen voting here.
State Sen. Zellnor Myrie rejoins the pod to talk about his plans to make election reform sexy. And seven minutes in heaven is kid's stuff, so listen to Katie Honan explain six minutes of grace and how she finally beat a ticket.
Is this going to be death by a thousand paper cuts, where we're constantly running after the truth with Eric Adams? Christina Greer has her concerns, and discusses them, and much more, with Harry Siegel and Alex Brook Lynn.
Chrissy, Alex, Katie and Harry gab it up about Eric Adams, Andrew Cuomo, the Blood Center, Thanksgiving and lots more.
We talk politics, and Giulia McDonnell Nieto del Rio of Documented discusses her reporting on immigration enforcement.
21 eulogies for the City of New York, in large or small part, collected for the installation “Eulogy For New York,” which ran during the month of October in the West Village. Eulogists: Spencer Ackerman Gracie Bialecki Albert Fox Cahn Rory Celentano Skye Cleary Anthony Curry Daniel Genis David Gerrard Issa Ibrahim Mimi Lipson Alex Brook Lynn Stephine Matteo Evan Meszaros Annie Nocenti J.T. Price Nancy Rommelman Lucy Sante Harry Siegel Jacob Siegel John D’Ulisse Sophie Zeteo
The co-founder and editor in chief of New York Focus, Akash Mehta, talks about the news site's first year, its big ambitions going forward and its new fundraising drive.
Alvin Bragg rejoins the pod to explain the judicial inquiry happening now and why the answer to that question can't stop with Daniel Pantaleo.
Maria Bustillos and Harry Siegel talk with Max Read about the state of the internet, his new newsletter, and lots more.
Artist, musician, and Queens man Issa Ibrahim talks about a song he wrote in New York's Creedmoor psychiatric facility, eulogizing the neighborhood where he grew up.
The FAQ Gang chats about last night's mayoral debate between NYC's Democratic pick Eric Adams and GOP candidate, Curtis Sliwa. Later in the episode, we hear from comic-book writer, journalist, and fantastic New Yorker, Annie Nocenti for our October eulogy series with her piece called 'Edifice Complex.'
New York Times city hall reporter Jeff Mays talks with Chrissy and Katie about what life after city hall could look like for Mayor Bill de Blasio, Documented engagement reporter Rommel H Ojeda talks with Harry about New York’s tapped-out $2.1 excluded worker fund, and “Low Life” author Lucy Sante reads an epitaph for the cities that were.
Snyder talks with the Brickhouse's Maria Bustillos and Harry Siegel about the state of New York City media companies and his new subscription newsletter about them, Off the Record.
New York Is Dead. Long live New York City. The FAQ crew discusses, and then has a conversation with New York Times city correspondent turned obituary writer Alex Vadukul.
A conversation with Mark Cannizzaro, the president of the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators, about the coming vaccine mandate for school workers and much more.
We talked with Robert Sullivan, the author of Rats: Observations on the History & Habitat of the City's Most Unwanted Inhabitants, for a wide-ranging conversation that began with the news that Central Park’s beloved owl Barry had consumed rat poison that may have made impaired her ability to fly before she was hit and killed by a Conservancy truck inside the park.
This week we talk with Christina Veiga, a reporter for Chalkbeat New York on the chaotic first week of school from unvaccinated teachers to the challenges for a new Chancellor.
Katie Honan and Harry Siegel talk with George Joseph of WNYC about the spate of deaths at Rikers, and with Maurizio Guerrero about his reporting for Documented NY on the secret price of a construction worker's life.
A huge holiday weekend show with Reuven Blau of the City talking about Rikers, Assemblyman Ron Kim talking about Albany's extraordinary session, rent relief and why he's not done with Andrew Cuomo yet, and David Brand of City Limits talking about the new eviction moratorium.
Documentarians Steven Rosenbaum and Pamela Yoder discuss their new film, The Outsider, about the construction of the 9/11 Museum and Memorial and why it feels so cut off from New York City and from the last 20 years.
New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, who ran a tough race for lieutenant governor against Kathy Hochul in 2018 and says he might run against her for governor in 2022, rejoins the pod.
It's a yuge week for New York with new guest host Katie Honan joining the pod and, oh yeah, Andrew Cuomo announcing his resignation. Plus, Afua Atta-Mensah considers the Black pols who agreed to let the governor use them as shields.
As the walls close in on Andrew Cuomo, The City's Josefa Velasquez looks at how the governor got here and how this is likely to end (spoiler: it won't be pretty) and Comptroller Scott Stringer looks back on his mayoral campaign and forward to what's next for him and the city.
Long-ago Cuomo employee and long-time Cuomo critic Alexis Grenell joins FAQ for a look at how things fell apart for our Emmy-award winning governor.
Photographer David Godlis and writer Luc Sante talk with Alex and Harry about Godlis Streets, his new book of 1970s street photography, and what was alluring about capturing glimpses of that city and the sometimes alluring "generalized small-time crumminess of so much of that decade."
Jazz and boxing great Charles Farrell visits the pod to talk with Harry and Tim Marchman about his memoir that covers, among other things, playing with Sonny Rollins and Ornette Coleman, fixing fights for the mob, "the Moby Dick of boxing" and lots more. Stick around to the end to hear him play a little piano, too.
The Democratic nominee who's all but sure to be the next Manhattan District Attorney visits FAQ.
Laura Nahmias joins Chrissy and Harry to talk about the BoE's RCV SNAFU and the state of the election now that it's all over but the counting.
Chrissy has a message for the pundits "explaining" what just happened in New York, and Times reporter and researcher Emma Goldberg discusses her new book on the medical students who became doctors in the city in the midst of the pandemic and reads one incredible passage from it.
The votes are cast, the results are still to come, and Ben Max of Gotham Gazette joins Chrissy and Harry for a late-night break down of what we know (and what we don't yet).
Christina and Harry take one last look at the mayor's race, and Alex Lynn breaks down what's really been happening at Washington Square Park.
Dianne Morales, Shaun Donovan, Ray McGuire and Kathryn Garcia each call in to answer two tough questions, plus an interview with Paperboy Love Prince.
Less than three weeks out, and after a "pivotal" second debate in which not much pivoted, Chrissy, Harry and the Wall Street Journal's Katie Honan talk about the mayor's race and the future of New York City.
We talk about homelessness in in New York City with David Brand of City Limits and Shams DaBaron AKA Da Homeless Hero.
Author Elon Green joins Nolan Hicks and Harry Siegel to talk about Lost Call: A True Story of Love, Lust, and Murder in Queer New York and how a city crew including Rudy Giuliani's mom, Bernard Kerik, Robert Morgenthau, Linda Fairstein, William Bulger and Mike McAclary all tie into that story.
Manhattan District Attorney candidates Tahanie Aboushi, Liz Crotty, Diana Florence and Dan Quart talk to Chrissy, Harry and Alex, and each other about what the prosecutor's office is and what it should be.
Rachel Holiday Smith, Manhattan reporter for The City, breaks down the Manhattan DA race with us. Read Rachel's explainer in The CIty https://www.thecity.nyc/2021/1/31/22253418/what-you-need-to-know-about-new-yorks-district-attorney-races-in-2021
A conversation with Alec MacGillis, the author of Fulfillment: Winning and Losing in One-Click America, about Amazon and, among many other things, its expansion in New York City AFTER the collapse of its HQ2 plan here as the brave new pandemic economy has accelerated America's great divergence.
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams rejoins the pod to discuss, among other things, the state of policing here, the citywide races and his experience running statewide.
Dave from the "DOPEY," podcast, shares a few stories about drug addiction and recovery in New York City.
As we head into the elections home stretch, the great Brigid Bergin of WNYC joins FAQ to break down the race so far, consider where it may end up and explain why we may not know who won for days or even weeks after the June 22nd primary.
Emma Whitford, reporter at Law360. (https://www.law360.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwmcWDBhCOARIsALgJ2QcV6OqKK2dg-DSA84bt4R0yEXmDAsFcWjF6TSaB-ef8VQPpYUKyF9kaAp3jEALw_wcB) gives us a rundown of the new rent relief from the Federal Government hopfully headed toward New Yorkers this Spring.
Farah Stockman of the New York Times looks at Suffolk County, where cops call the shots, and Jake Pearson of ProPublica digs into the little known contract clause that means New York City taxpayers are on the hook to defend police officers even when the city won't.
Weather, reviewed, and much more of all the goodness you'll find at the Brickhouse in 5 minutes flat.
The Empire Center's Bill Hammonds talks about the coverup we know about now, and all the things we still don't know.
A weather review from Tom Scocca as the last cold day approaches in New York City and a rundown of everything you'll find everything right now at thebrick.house, all in under 5 minutes.
A conversation about blackmail, politics and human beings with the Assemblyman who started the avalanche that just might bury Andrew Cuomo.
Charles Rangel takes Chrissy and Harry on a long, fascinating stroll through his life and career and explains why he thinks a a second Reconstruction is now beginning in America.
A tasty mini-pod — 5 minutes flat!—with a rundown from Brickhouse managing editor Emma Roller of what you'll find right now at our little cooperative of creators making ad-free, wolf-proof journalism and art by humans for humans PLUS a NYC weather review from Hmm Weekly's Tom Scocca.
Josefa Velasquez of The City talks with Chrissy and Harry about how, after a decade, the governor finally painted himself into a corner he might not be able to walk out of.
Albert Fox Cahn of The Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, S.T.O.P., and the podcast Surveillance and the City talks to Alex Brook Lynn about Cuomo's Vaccine Passports for sports arenas and Shotspotter the technology used to detect gunshots. For more information on the topics disscussed in theis episode see: Cuomo's Vaccine Passports https://statescoop.com/new-york-pilot-mobile-covid-19-vaccine-passport-ibm/ Shotspotter lawsuit and law enforcment scandal in Rodchester, NY https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-police-rochester-trial/
The former housing commissioner under Mayor Bloomberg and HUD secretary and then OMB director under President Obama explains why he's running for mayor now, and what the city needs at this moment of crises.
The presidential candidate turned mayoral candidate joins Christina and Harry for a lively conversation about what the city needs and why he's running.
Jimmy Vielkind of the Wall Street Journal discusses New York's sorry vaccine rollout, and the state of Cuomo's State of the State.
City and State's Jeff Coltin gives a bird's eye view of all the other races on New York City's very crowded ballot.
State Senator Zellnor Myrie returns to explain what New York's new evictions moratorium does, and doesn't do, for tenants and landlords.
Professor Greer has some words to share with several of the guys running to be mayor, and much more as the gang gabs.
Susan Lerner of Common Cause New York and Sean Dugar of Rank the Vote NYC explain the genius of ranked choice voting. Plus a cartoon, read aloud, in our first-ever Brickhouse crossover with brand-new comics site Awry, and Alex Brook Lynn mourns her lemon of a classic Cadillac no longer worth the squeeze.
“Going to a job, going to a fire is almost as good as an orgasm. Going to a shooting is almost like a heroin fix to me.” Newly retired multimedia journalist Todd Maisel looks back on 38 years shooting and covering New York City.
Professor David Bloomfield runs down Mayor de Blasio's unsteady approach to the schools, and much more.
David Dinkins, the city's first and so far only black mayor, sat down for nearly two hours last year with Chrissy and Harry to talk about his life and career. Here's that interview, very lightly edited.
What the hell are de Blasio and Cuomo doing here, and why can't they get on the same page? Plus, Steven Romalewski of the CUNY Mapping Service at the Center for Urban Research at CUNY'S Graduate Center returns to the pod.
Councilmembers Joe Borelli (R, Staten Island) and Justin Brannan (D, Brooklyn) talk about how the return of two-way tolls to the Verrazzano looks from each side of the bridge, the second wave of the virus that’s looming, and more.
Harry, Chrissy, and Alex talk with Ben Max of Gotham Gazette & The Max & Murphy Show about what the election means for NYC and what election New Yorkers have to look forward to in 2021. We also talk Cuomo, a COVID vaccine, and privacy law with Albert Fox Cahn of The Surveillance Technology Oversight Project.
Morgan Pehme, the director of 'Get Me Roger Stone' and 'Slumlord Millionaire,' has made a film about the rise and fall of Trump's casinos in Atlantic City using archival footage.
David Plotz explains City Cast, the network of local pods he's launching this winter in cities across the country to “connect you with the city you love” and, knock on wood, help listeners “stop being obsessed with the question of Trump, and instead “reengage with the questions of daily life that are played out on the streets of American cities.” And speaking of Trump, Walter Shapiro, in the midst of covering his eleventh(!) presidential campaign, talks about how campaigns and campaign coverage have changed, not mostly for the better, in part because the iPhone made every moment an on-camera moment, and his plans to pivot to vaudeville coverage if Trump defies the polls again and wins a second term.
Jacob Kornbluh breaks down the public health picture, and the political one, inside the Orthodox community. And Columbia Professor Ester Fuchs goes deep on the fiscal crisis of 1975 and the one New York is facing now.
State Sen. Alessandra Biaggi talks about her bill to reset the balance of budget power, and much more.
A deep dive with WNYC investigative reporter George Joseph into police impunity and its consequences just north of Bronx.
Eileen Markey, editor of the new Wayne Barrett collection Without Compromise, joins FAQ and guest interviewer Michael Tomasky for a look back at the muckraker's decades exposing the Donald and the rest of New York's endless rogues' gallery.
As parents wait for school buildings to reopen, we take a tour of New York City's public school history with CUNY professor emeritus of education Stephan F. Brumberg,
It's FAQ's 100th episode(!), and Karla Murray joins to talk about her storefront project and all the small businesses New York is losing amidst… all this.
Ace education reporter Madina Touré explains how New York's schools plan fell short, and looks at what's coming next.
Chrissy runs down some ominous New York news, Harry recalls getting accidentally stoned on the job and — this week's highlight — Alex talks with musician Stefan Zeniuk about his (beautiful!) sonic elegy for a sewer tunnel, performed with large instruments at the entrance to a sewer tunnel in Astoria earlier this week.
With Sally Goldenberg of Politico New York on the city's shift to the left, Jake Offenhartz of Gothamist on the NYPD's cat and mouse game, and much more.
Chrissy talks with New York City's public advocate, and Harry and Alex talk with Vocal New York's director of organizing.
Four covers and an original song about the only city worth singing about, from guest musicians Dr. Sick and Isabel Alvarez in FAQ's second musical episode, recorded outside in the midst of a thunderstorm.
Opening the schools is the key to everything else, explains the Times' Eliza Shapiro, and nothing about how that's gong to work is clear or certain. Plus, Emma Whitford on the imminent return of the eviction courts.
The councilman and likely new congressman rejoins FAQ NYC to talk about his new bill intended to police the NYPD, the "Democratic Socialist Industrial Complex" and lots more.
A double episode, with Ben Max from Gotham Gazette breaking down Tuesday's high-stakes, mostly mail-in primary election night in New York, and ProPublica's Eric Umansky running through his unexpected crash course on cop reporting and police impunity.
Maya Wiley and Albert Fox Cahn call in to talk about the past, present and future of policing in New York.
Albert Fox Cahn, founder of S.T.O.P, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, talks to Alex Brook Lynn about The Post Act, a bill that will be voted on in City council this Thursday, June 18th. The Post Act could force the NYPD to become transparent about the technology they use to spy on New Yorkers.
Former New York State Chief Deputy Attorney General and candidate Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg joins the FAQ crew to talk about the "need to keep pressing."
This week, we interview State Senator Zellnor Myrie, who was pepper sprayed & cuffed by the NYPD at one of this week's protests. + Malik Wright from NY politics pod, House Party NY (@houseparty.ny) shares his thoughts on the protests. + NYC Journos talk city scene: @fractenberg @ndhapple @noahhurowitz & @lloydmitchellphotography
The FAQ crew talks with Cuomo family lip-syncher and comedian Maria DeCotis, Daily News City Hall reporter and amateur artist Anna Sanders, and Sarah Brafman of the small business group Reopen New York.
Christina Greer talks with Jeff Mays of the New York Times, and Alex Lynn talks with Liz O'Sullivan of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project. Plus the Cor-oh-no Blues as performed by J.P. Siegel, and much more.
A look at night one of the overnight train shutdown with Clayton Guse of the Daily News, and at the tough working conditions for the "other" essential workers with Michelle Jackson of the Human Services Council.
A look at the shape New York is in and what happens after this, with Harry, Chrissy, Alex and guest Nicole Gelinas. Plus beautiful music from Namrata Tripathi and Quinn Raymond.
A (somewhat) optimistic look at what where New York goes after the virus, plus conversations with Wayne Ho of the Chinese-American Planning Council and Aaron Naparstek of the War on Cars.
State Senator Zellnor Myrie calls in to warn about the state of the census in New York in the midst of social isolation, publisher and editor-in-chief Elinor Tatum discusses the state of the 109-year-old Amsterdam News, and much more.
The strange scene in NYC now, as conveyed by Gwynne Hogan of Gothamist, looking at the city's coronavirus undercount, Nikita Stewart of the New York Times, looking at how homeless families are sheltering in place, and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, looking at the people still out on the streets in the midst of all this.
Alex Brook Lynn of FAQ.NYC interviews Sarah Dowd, a nurse at Harlem Hospital, about what healthcare workers need to pull us through this crisis. As the world watches tired healthcare workers beg for supplies on social media, Sarah Dowd, a nurse at Harlem Hospital, doesn't want to see their troubles become an accepted “horrific sob story,” Sarah wants a "counter narrative," a narrative in which our elected officials “get things done.” On Monday April 6th, Sarah and her fellow healthcare workers, along with the New York Nurses Association, will issue a list of demands to Dr. Mitchell Katz, President and CEO of Health + Hospitals, Governor Cuomo, and President Trump.
New York Times media columnist Ben Smith, documentarian Akisa Omulepu and Barron’s reporter Alexandra Scaggs call in from their respective social isolations to look over what's happening in New York in the midst of all of this.
Barron's financial journalist Alexandra Scaggs explains to Alex Brook Lynn how the stimulus bill impacts lending, what big things are changing with the federal reserve, and how the issue of municipal bonds, something that progressive economists have been on about for years, is finally entering the mainstream.
Council Health Chair Mark Levine, isolated at home with a presumed case of the coronavirus, gets on the phone with Harry to survey our transformed medical system, and explain why testing outside of hospitals is a counterproductive idea now. And CUNY Professor Heath Brown talks to Chrissy about homeschooling, as New York families are getting a crash course in it.
Alex Brook Lynn and Adam Levy talk evictions with David Brand of The Queens Daily Eagle, and assess what the city is doing (and could be doing) to help New Yorkers that face losing their home as a consequence of Coronavirus. On Thursday, March 12, Mayor Bill de Blasio declared a state of emergency for New York City. He said that the city needed to brace for six months of crisis mode; gatherings of 500 people or over are now banned, Broadway is going dark, and Madison Square Garden is closing. The city is also asking restaurants, bars, and other venues to operate at 50% capacity to support "social distancing." This presents a major threat to the livelihood of millions of New Yorkers, as workforces reliant on this traffic brace to take a hit they are most likely unprepared for. The economic repercussions of these closures mixed with other job loss during the COVID-19 crisis are undeniable, and it is still unclear how far the city can and will go to block evictions in the private sector. So, in the wake of these announcements, lawmakers are scrambling to protect New Yorkers who may be facing evictions or homelessness. According to Deputy Mayor for Operations, Laura Anglin, "NYCHA is not executing any warrants of eviction right now." For the rest of New York's renters, several efforts are in motion to ensure public health and the security of working families do not have to compete. Read David Brand's most recent articles on COVID-19 and homelessness and "one shot deals," the city's rent relief for residents facing imminent eviction.
Progressive strategist Rebecca Katz joins Chrissy, Harry and Alex for a look at the shaken state of the Democratic party following Super Tuesday.
Victoria Bekiempis rejoins FAQ to run down her experience covering the Harvey Weinstein trial for Vulture.
Check out the pilot episode of 'Surveillance in the City,' a new podcast from some of our favorite FAQ guests, and produced by our very own Alex Brook Lynn. Join Albert Fox Cahn, Liz O'Sullivan, and Ali Winston, as they discuss current events related to privacy, data, surveillance, science fiction, and op-ed columnists. Recorded at Don't Bury the Lede on January 20, 2020. Albert Fox Cahn: @foxcahn (twitter.com/foxcahn) Liz O'Sullivan: @lizjosullivan (twitter.com/lizjosullivan) Ali Winston: @awinston (twitter.com/awinston) Produced by Alex Brook Lynn Mixed and Mastered by Adam Chimera
Chrissy and Harry discuss Mike Bloomberg's latest national apology, the very different conversation about policing in Bill de Blasio's New York, and lots more.
He isn't backing down from his complaints about new New Yorkers, his fundraising, or anything else. WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW HERE: https://youtu.be/1aiFuCo2Kn4
Michael Daly of the Daily Beast discusses his reporting on the killing that shocked a city, and Christina Greer talks about her time at Columbia and why this killing drew some much more attention than others.
FAQ takes a field trip to Emma Lazarus' Sitting Room at the American Jewish Historical Society to talk with Executive Director Annie Polland about the poet's life and her legacy. It's a story about intergenerational identity and how a rich woman found herself identifying with "wretched refuse" that's disturbingly resonant today.
Marc Dunkelman delves into the history of Penn Station, and explains why the ghost of Robert Moses makes it so hard to get anything built in New York now.
For the past year, FAQ has been asking New York's politicians the toughest questions, namely: “Are you a replicant?” The results of their Voight-Kampff tests have been a tightly held secret until now. It’s November, 2019, and the future is here and so are the tests, and results.
Albert Fox Cahn of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project joins Chrissy, Alex and Harry to talk about police body cams, who's watching our (AI and facial recognition enhanced) watchmen, and much more.
Political strategist, NAACP Brooklyn branch president and Sunday Civics host L. Joy Williams joins Chrissy and Harry to run down what New York's democracy looks like these days.
Nearly 20% of New Yorkers turned out to vote, for what? Ben Max of Gotham Gazette joined Chrissy, Harry and Alex Tuesday night to run down what just happened, and what it means.
New York Times editorial board member Mara Gay and researcher Emma Goldberg join Chrissy and Alex to discuss the response from the city to their disturbing story, When Poor People Are Beaten for Seeking Help, about HRA clients who were beaten, handcuffed and worse by city employees and contractors.
Council Speaker Corey Johnson joins Chrissy, Harry and Alex to explain how the vote to build four new jails and the promise to close Rikers Island in 2026 fit together. Plus, he talks for the first time about his most recent visit to the Island a week ago, and much more.
Turn on a tap, tune in, and listen to Ibrahim Abdul-Matin blow your mind about New York's water.
Immigration reporter Felipe De La Hoz of the new Border/Lines newsletter joins Chrissy and Harry to explain about the Trump administration's new public charge rule, and much more.
Katie Honan of the Wall Street Journal joins Harry and Chrissy to talk about sex shops, burying grounds and everything in between.
Jose Martinez, transportation reporter for The City, joins Chrissy, Harry and Alex to run down the MTA's new $51 billion and change capital plan.
Investigative reporters George Joseph and Ali Winston join Chrissy and Harry to explain how New York's district attorneys do — and, more often, don't — track police officers whose testimony doesn't ring true.
Summer's done, and Chrissy, Harry and Alex are back to run down the latest and New Yorkest.
The first New York City mayor to run for president while still in City Hall since Hot John Lindsay is having a blast moonlighting in Iowa; not so much at his day job. Politico's Dana Rubinstein joins to discuss her reporting on what to expect when Bill de Blasio finally calls it in and comes home. Spoiler: Meh.
NY Cops and Cooks reporter Pervaiz Shallwani, a senior editor at the Daily Beast, joins the FAQ crew to run down the latest twists in the terribly twisted Jeffrey Epstein saga.
Streetsblog's Dave Colon runs down the state of the streets in New York City, where the car remains king, and the need for a bike mayor. Plus a flashback to actual Mayor Bill de Blasio railing on FAQ about the unique evil of Fox, not so long before he spent Wednesday evening with Sean Hannity, and more.
Journalist Julie Satow, author of The Plaza: The Secret Life of America's Most Famous Hotel, joins Harry and Alex Lynn to share some of those secrets.
The safety net in our sanctuary city barely exists for undocumented immigrants. Mazin Sidahmed of Documented and Claudia Irizarry Aponte of The City come in to discuss their reporting on ICE raids, family members left behind and more. Plus, Harry and Chrissy talk about the feds decision not to charge Daniel Pantaleo for the killing of Eric Garner, and Victoria Bekiempis and Alex Brook Lynn go inside the courts.
With the Queens DA race still up in the air, Nolan Hicks of the New York Post joins Chrissie and Harry to run down the state of the recount. Plus, Victoria Bekiempis goes In the Courts for a look at Jeffrey Epstein, who's finally spending full days inside a cell.
Life comes at you fast: Steven Romalewski of the CUNY Mapping Service at the Center for Urban Research at CUNY'S Graduate Center joined Harry Wednesday morning — when Trump's citizenship question was dead and Tiffany Cabán appeared to have won the district attorney primary in Queens — to talk about the Census, who's likely to be undercounted and what’s at stake for New York, as well as the state of Queens politics. By Wednesday night, the citizenship question was back in play and Cabán was down 20 votes after absentee ballots were finally counted. Plus, Victoria Bekiempis returns to go In the Courts, with Alex Brook Lynn.
Tuesday was a YUGE night for the rising reform crowd in Queens and a YUGE defeat for the powers that be, but maybe not for much longer. Harry and Chrissy discuss, along with Emma Whitford calling in from Cabán's victory party.
New York Times Metro Deputy Editor Dodai Stewart joins Christina and Harry to discuss the papers’ reporting on the collapse in black and Latino representation at New York City’s elite schools and the rise of private test prep, her own BPR (Before Pizza Rat) education at Bronx Science, and more.
Meek Mill, still “on probation my whole life,” talks about his justice Reform Alliance work at The McSilver Awards, and then with Christina and Harry. Plus, McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research COO Rosemonde Pierre-Louis talks about the night and its honorees.
It’s a Queens District Attorney debate, with the first real election for the borough’s top law enforcement position since the 1970s(!) less than a month away. Candidates Tiffany Cabán, Rory Lancman, Greg Lasak, Nina Malik and Jose Nieves joined Christina Greer, Harry Siegel and the New York Times’ Azi Paybarah at the Rocco Moretto VFW Post 2348 in Astoria Wednesday morning for a special episode of FAQ along with Racket Media, our executive producer Alex Brook Lynn’s new entry into the heretofore barren digital media marketplace. Stay tuned! Plus pre- and post-debate analysis from David Brand of the Queens Daily Eagle, and much more.
Azi Paybarah, who left FAQ — WTF?! — for the NYT returns to talk with Harry and Chrissy about the city’s rats, goats, and sharks, including political shark Bill de Blasio’s presidential run and what it means to be America’s mayor-in-chief.
ABC Criminal Justice reporter Christina Carrega joins Harry Siegel, Christina Greer, Victoria Bekiempis and Alex Brook Lynn to talk abut what she's seen at the disturbingly low-stakes department trial, inside One Police Plaza, of the officer whose chokehold killed Eric Garner—and who's still drawing a check from the NYPD nearly five years later.
Dr. Michael Lindsey, director of the McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research, discusses his work leading the working group for the Congressional Black Caucus’ newly convened emergency Task Force on Black Youth Suicide and Mental Health. Then Alex Brook Lynn, in Albany, visits Albany to report on dark talk about dirty vice cops in New York City. Finally, Patricia Williams, mother of Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, calls in for Mother's Day to look back on raising a boy in Brooklyn.
This was going to be the year that pot was flat-out legalized in New York, or so said Gov. Cuomo, perhaps inspired by primary opponent Cynthia Nixon. Then three wo/men went into a smoke-filled room and everyone forgot about it. State Senator Diane Savino joins Chrissy, Harry and Cannabis Wire's Alyson Martin to discuss what happens, and what happens — or more likely doesn't — now.
New state Senator Zellnor Myrie walks up to Alex Lynn's rent-stabilized apartment to sit down with his constituent Christina Greer and talk about the rent-stabilized apartment he grew up in, why New York needs stronger new rent regulations, statewide, and more.
For now we see through a black box, darkly, as Albert Fox Cahn and Liz O'Sullivan of STOP - The Surveillance Technology Oversight Project — visit Bleecker Street to talk about what's happening with algorithms and AI in de Blasio's New York.
Within Universal Pre-K, there are two groups of teachers — one that works for the city, and one that works for community groups the city contracts with — that do the same work, for very different salaries. Christina Veiga of Chalkbeat joins us to talk about a looming strike, and the value of a woman's work in de Blasio's New York. Plus, Victoria Bekiempis calls in to run down the court drama this week from the NXVIM sex cult cum pyramid scheme, and more.
FAQ presents a new, highly irregular podcast about courts and the justice system with Victoria Bekiempis and Alex Brook Lynn talking with with legendary courts reporter Christina Carrega about the highly irregular trials of Chanel Lewis, convicted this week for the murder of jogger Karina Vetrano.
Rosie Goldensohn of The City comes in to explain how the city blew $369 million to save $30 million on a niche transportation system that charges $2.75 per ride that the city pays $13 to provide, state Senator Alessandra Biaggi calls in to discuss how $175 billion of state budget sausage gets ground up.
Mark Alan Stamaty’s great visual novel MacDoodle Street—the story of dishwashing poet Malcolm Frazzle that first appeared in the pages of the Village Voice in the late 1970s—is back in print thanks to the fine nerds of the New York Review of Books. Bill Bramhall, editorial cartoonist for the Daily News, joined Harry Siegel and Alex Brook Lynn for a conversation with Stamaty about his work, God, drugs, those hacks Artman and Andy Warhol, donuts and love, and, of course, umbilical oralism and the ultimate painting. In the spirit of his work, there are tangents within tangents — Emmylou Harris, maybe, helping a drunk Dave Van Ronk up from the sidewalk of MacDougal Street after a Kris Kristofferson show — as we stroll through the lost New York of MacDoodle Street without ever leaving Alex’s Bleaker Street apartment.
Harry Siegel and Alex Lynn talk with state Senator Jessica Ramos about sex work and the new push to decriminalize in in New York, and much more. Plus, Emma Whitford runs down her reporting on loitering laws, massage raids, and why the NYPD says we can’t arrest our way out of this problem; Harry talks with Peter Edelman about the criminalization of poverty, and Alex and Victoria Bekiempis go inside the courts.
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez talks with Harry and Alex about his Justice 2020 action plan, what happens when prosecutors with legal hammers stop treating people like nails, policing the police, sex crimes and much more. Then Alex and Victoria go in the Manhattan courts to talk about a busy week there for the Trump gang, what with his old campaign manager getting charged in a court where the president has no pardon power, while his TV lawyer — our old mayor! — was back again to get divorced again. What da FAQ?
As Cuomo's Democratic Party looks to blow up fusion voting in New York, the Post's Michael Benjamin joins Christina and Harry to discuss the state of the party here and nationally in the shadow of Trump. Plus Victoria and Alex go in the courts to talk about the case of Statue of Liberty climber Patricia Okoumou.
New Public Advocate-elect Jumaane Williams called Christina Greer just before the polls closed to discuss his vision for the office—and why there needs to be an investigation of how his sealed police records from a decade-old domestic dispute ended up dropping days before the election. Then Gotham Gazette Executive Editor and Max and Murphy co-host Ben Max visits the FAQ crew to break midnight breaking down the results, and what they mean for NYC and the players in its long game of political musical chairs.
A double-sized episode with Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer explaining to Chrissie and Harry why he isn't interested in negotiating with Amazon, or serving with Ruben Diaz Jr. Plus—deep breath!—Daily Beast special Fashion Week correspondent Sarah Shears on Paris Hilton lighting her own photos, ace courts reporter Victoria Bekiempis on Chapo’s conviction, Community Voices Heard Executive Director Afua Atta-Mensah on organizing against Amazon, and Sexual Harassment Working Group members Rita Pasarell and Patricia Gunning on Albany’s historic quarter-century-in-the-making hearing on harassment.
With the tragic death of Malaysia Goodson reigniting New Yorkers' fears and concerns about making it into and out of the subway tunnels, we spoke to engineer and advocate Chris Pangilinan about a system that still mostly depends on stairs — and what it's like to depend on that system when you can't use the stairs.
We talk federal arrests inside state courts with Documented NY's Mazin Sidahmed and Felipe de la Hoz. Plus, state Sen. Gustavo Rivera talks with Christina about the blue new day in Albany, and Victoria Bekiempis explains to Harry why Robert de Niro's divorce is — really! — a matter of some public importance.
Chrissy and Harry talk with turncoat Azi Paybarah about door knocking Peter Parker in Queens, Timesman Alan Feuer about the madness of the El Chapo trial in Brooklyn, and courts reporter Victoria Bekiempis about Harvey Weinstein's wired new legal team.
The state of the state is changing fast, for a change. Chris Smith joins Chrissy and Harry to discuss.
The governor controls the train authority that planned and warned for years that the L train tunnel would need to be shut down for repairs after Hurricane Sandy ravaged it back in 2012. Then Governor Cuomo walked through the tunnel in 2019, and emerged with a new plan averting the shutdown and a retconned origin story about that plan. Huh? MTA board member Veronica Vanterpool and transit reporter Aaron Gordon join us to make some sense of this, and, err, break down the sorry state of our public transportation system.
We talk De Blasio, Cuomo, NYCHA, and more. Plus Alex Brook Lynn on the death of the Cornelia Street Cafe, and Victoria Bekiempis takes you in the courts.
White supremacists holding rallies with fascists and anti-fascists brawling outside, and war looming. Maybe that sounds like NYC in 2018, but we're talking NYC in WWII and the years around it along with special guests John Strausbaugh, author of "Victory City: A history of New York and New Yorkers during World War II," and Ron Howell, author of "Boss of Black Brooklyn: The life and times of Bertram L. Baker."
“I’m a single woman. I don't come from wealth. How do I survive this experience so I can get a job again? In politics, your loyalty and your network is your value and taking on a member as powerful as Vito, you’re not just taking on that member—you’re taking on their entire network and everything that network has to lose and especially if your claims aren’t enough to bring them down…I started to change my own behavior just to survive… I was suicidal. I was on my last legs."
Councilman Ritchie Torres and Daily News investigative reporter Greg B. Smith discuss lead, neglect, private money and public housing. Plus Gwynne Hogan goes to the Andrew Jackson houses in the Bronx to talk with Daniel Barber, the leader of the group of tenants associations suing New York City.
Voting in New York is a certified disaster. Michael Benjamin joins the FAQ crew to discuss why that is, and how to fix it. Plus Chirissy Greer, on her way to Georgia, breaks down the unsettled governor's race there, and much more…a including ChapAzon.
Ben Max of Gotham Gazette sat down with us in the wee hours of Wednesday morning for a first look at the polls, and a new day in New York where fat cats just might get slapped back. Plus Alex Brook Lynn hits Staten Island and South Brooklyn Tuesday to talk with voters, and so much more.
🎶 Corey Johnson may be the City Council speaker, but we've got him singing in our first ever musical episode.
We talked in person about the sad state of the Republican party here, and on the phone with the Republican who would be governor who evokes some of what the party once was and, he hopes, could be. Alex Lynn reports from her night out partying with Anthony Scaramucci and his mom who—spoiler alert!—also does not think much of Steve Bannon. Plus a truly disgraceful tribute to Azi, and it all adds up to oh so much New York in your ear.
With Democrats poised to keep holding every statewide office, FAQ talked with City and State's Rebecca C. Lewis about the high stakes fights for control of the state Senate in Albany and the House in Washington, and the races here that could decide which party triumphs.
Councilman Jumaane Williams was thisclose to becoming the Lieutenant Governor Andrew Cuomo dreaded. He fell short, but his political stock has never been higher. He talked with the FAQ crew about the change coming to Albany, the state of New York City and what's next for him — including the friendship that might keep him from running for public advocate.
Here's a taste of Jumaane Williams, on clearing the lieutenant governor's for the Working Families Party with a new "campaign" against state Senator Simcha Felder; full interview up soon.
Azi talks with the Green Party gubernatorial hopeful Howie Hawkins, who makes his case and talks some stuff about the Working Families Party.
Scott STRINGER or STRINGER Bell? ——You have any idea what I had to do to get where I am today? When I say I’m ready, you best believe it. (The youngsters?) Look, I’m going to empower this generation.… learning how to work the system. I had to learn it when I was 30; and they will learn it as well. If the man coming, make ready for the man. I don’t think it has to be about me vs. new people. Why not embrace new people and collectively work? Everybody making money sharing the real estate. This wasn’t my first rodeo. I was paroled after 13 years (from a place where hope) dies in the middle of the night or is never heard—and that was the fault of the collective system. You gotta be fierce, I know that, but more than that, you gotta show some flex, give and take on both sides. —— We had New York City Comptroller SCOTT Stringer, who said half those things, to talk about his housing plan that’s about to drop (Mitchell Llama 2, he called it) and much more.
New York's Democrats came out in force, to punish local incumbents even as they stood behind Cuomo and helped Tish James, his pick for attorney general, make some history.
A week before primary day — the moment of truth in most New York elections — we pull back the curtain on the voice of the papers in a conversation with editorial board members Mara Gay of the New York Times and Alyssa Katz of the Daily News about how they decide who gets the nod, and why this may be the rare year in which endorsements really matter.
In a supersized episode 5, we ask aspiring Attorneys General Zephyr Teachout, Tish James, Sean Patrick Maloney and Leecia Eve to say whether or not Donald Trump and his crew are emblematic of the New York real estate world, and what would change if each of them gets to be the new sheriff in town. Plus, former A.G. candidate Mark Green runs down this year's race and revisits several of his old ones.
Are you listening, Cynthia Nixon? The original Democratic underdog has some thoughts on what it’s like to run against the party powers that be for governor of New York.
Mayor Bill de Blasio sat down with us at Gracie Mansion to talk about his Murdoch-oriented media critique, how his progressive Democrats have already won the fight for the soul of the party, and why — hey, Cynthia Nixon! — he still he isn't ready to endorse some of those progressives.
New York City is the center of the universe, at least we think so. But what if it turned out that the universe didn’t revolve around us but in fact we revolved around… Albany? If the Democrats finally retake the state Senate and the Empire State turns deep blue, everything changes for Mayor de Blasio. Or at least that's what he hopes. We talked with political science professor Jeanne Zaino and Working Families Party boss Bill Lipton about the high stakes in this year's elections, plus City Council Speaker Corey Johnson calls in to run down what he says Harry Siegel got wrong in episode one.
John Liu thought he was on track to be New York City's next mayor in 2013 before a federal investigation overshadowed his run. Now, he says, things have changed and he's trying to get back in the game as one of a group of Democrats running primaries against the former so-called "Independent Democrats" who've helped Republicans keep control of the state Senate.