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Housing Generations | Life in the Projects

This four-part series tells the story of public housing in New York City through the lens of one family that has lived there for four decades. The Alston family arrived in the Queensbridge Houses in 1954, and many continue to…

Full Hurricane Sandy Coverage

These are radio stories and photos filed for WNYC during Hurricane Sandy in 2012. The reporting is from the worst hit areas in Brooklyn and Queens. Many of the stories here also aired on NPR in a different form.

Sky Walking: Raising Steel, A Mohawk Ironworker Keeps Tradition Alive

Balancing 27 stories above midtown Manhattan on a recent afternoon, ironworker Kaniehtakeron ‘Geggs’ Martin straddled an I-beam on top of a rising skyscraper on 55th Street and grabbed a steel beam out of the air with a steady gloved hands.

As New York Takes a Fresh Look at Casinos, Decades-Old Gambling Parlors Still Bustle in Chinatown

Gambling has been in Chinatown since the turn of the century, and as Governor Andrew Cuomo pushes for expanding casino gambling in Queens, I take a look at a community where gambling is prolific and where community associations collect the taxes.

Niche Markets in New York

These photos were produced for WNYC’s series Niche Market, about specialty shops in New York. Below are links to the accompanying stories and audio, which I also produced.

Lagniappe Doughnuts

Food photography for Josh Burnett’s donut operation known as Lagniappe Doughnuts.

Tsunami Affected Japan: June 2011

These images were taken in Ishinomaki and Kesennuma in June 2011.

Chasing Crime With a Spot News Photographer

Two police scanners and a handheld radio crackle as photographer Todd Maisel’s car lurches and carves its way through south Brooklyn. It’s nearly 11 a.m.

Sixteen Months of World Trade Center Construction

From April 2010 until August 2011, I visited the World Trade Center site regularly to document the construction. Every visit revealed a drastically altered site. No two trips were the same.

Keeping the Memory of Cuban Legend and Conga Master Arsenio Rodriguez Alive

The Cuban bandleader and musician Arsenio Rodriguez, born 100 years ago, was a heavy man, who wore sharp suits, big round glasses and is often credited as the godfather of salsa music. But if you’ve ever heard a conga drum in popular music, listened to mambo, or boogaloo, then you’ve heard the wide-ranging musical influence that Rodriguez has left behind.

On Assignment: New York City

Photos shot between 2010-2011 for New York Public Radio.

Music’s Influence on the Master Planner and Architect of World Trade Center Site

Daniel Libeskind won the competition of the master plan architect for the World Trade Center site in 2003. There have been much political wrangling, changes and debate, but construction of the site is well underway. Libeskind spoke with me about the 10th anniversary, what the term “sacred ground” means to him and the musicality of the site.

Newark, New Jersey’s Broad Street

Broad Street, once an iconic street, as been out of fashion for years.

Roaming Far From the Ranch, Real Cowboys Arrive in the City

Douglas Duncan has been grabbing the bull by the horns for half his life. The 24-year-old from Alvin, Texas, faced a different sort of bull Thursday afternoon. He was standing outside the New York Stock Exchange, waiting for the end of trading so he could ring the closing bell.

As Racial Tensions Fade, Memory of Crown Heights Riots Lives on 20 Years Later

Menachem Shagalow was just a thirtysomething recent immigrant from Israel when he stumbled home bloodied from the Crown Heights riots 20 years ago Friday, a violent event that is seared into his memory and ripped at the fabric of race…

50 Years Later, A Look Back at the Home Run King of New York

The record has been broken three times since 1961, but to Sal Durante, a 70-year-old Yankee fan living on Staten Island who is claimant to five-minutes of baseball infamy, the record still stands.

Thousands of Police Officers Mourn Loss of Peter Figoski at Long Island Funeral

Thousands of grim-faced officers gathered at a small Roman Catholic Church in Long Island on Monday to mourn the loss of Officer Peter Figoski, 47, who was shot in the face when responding to a call in East New York.

In a Growing Number of City Stores, iPads Are Replacing Cash Registers

At Ample Hills Creamery in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, everything is made the old fashioned way. As a certified dairy, they even pasteurize their own milk. So patrons of the shop — where milk shake mixers, wall posters and table mats pre-date most of its clientele — may be surprised to find an iPad on the counter where a vintage brass cash register might sit.

For Cancer-Stricken, 9/11 Health Benefits Are Just Out of Reach

Kirk Arsenault, 47, was a top-rate demolisher when he was hired to remove debris at Ground Zero after the September 11, 2001, attacks.

Now, he says he takes 27 types of medication to treat a host of ailments –…

Class of 2011: High School Graduation at Rikers Island Jail

Nearly a year ago, 20-year-old high school dropout Benjamin was arrested in a gang-related slaying. Today, he is an award-winning student who was selected to speak before his peers at the first high school graduation for inmates at Rikers Island Correctional Facility.