THE CITY is hear to listen, dig and deliver.
Our reporters asked dozens of New Yorkers a simple question: What can THE CITY do for you? In other words, what issues do you want us to report on?
Here’s just a sampling of what you told us. You’ll find more responses on our Instagram.
If you’d like to weigh in, snap a picture of yourself, answer the question and post with the tag: #THECITYNY.
Legendary guitar teacher and Upper West Side resident, Dan Smith, 48, told THE CITY he’s worried about the loss of mom-and-pop stores throughout the five boroughs.
“I think that the city in some ways is losing its character, but it’s also, I’m sure, affecting things economically in a negative way,” Smith said, after we ran into him posting flyers outside the Chambers Street station.
“I have a particular perspective on it because that’s very often where I leave my flyers and cards. While I’m still able to do that, I can tell you that over the last several years it’s dissipated a lot.”
Mott Haven resident Denise Brown said she wants us to focus on how the rent is still too damn high.
“What someone needs to talk about is housing,” Brown said. “We have all these new buildings [in the Bronx], but people can’t get in. So who is living there?”
Brooklyn resident Larry “Birdman” Reddick said he worries the city will start to ticket him for his favorite pastime.
“They want to make it illegal to feed the animals. It’s a big thing… That’s not right,” said Reddick at his favorite pigeon spot in Washington Square Park.
“It’s not hurting anybody. It’s just something they want to do so they can write more tickets to get people ’cause the city doesn’t have enough money.”
Staten Island resident and educator Marie Scarsella, 27, said she wants the city to provide better programs for immigrant students learning English.
“So I don’t think we address the needs of these students, particularly in [Staten Island], as we are the only borough without a newcomers program,” said Scarsella, who teaches English at Port Richmond High School. “And I think that’s horrible because in my school alone we have 10 percent English language learners.”
Recent Queens transplant Preetha Vijayan, 31, said she was shocked by the amount of homeless people she encountered after moving from Texas.
“I’m so confronted by the homelessness in New York City, on the streets, trains,” said Vijayan in her Astoria neighborhood.
“In Austin, the homelessness was at a very low level. What is the government doing about homelessness? I’m seeing a lot of homeless veterans as well, which is very surprising.”