THE CITY’s staff is united by a common mission: reporting hard-hitting stories that serve the people of New York.
We’ve assembled a team whose members bring a rich mix of work and life experiences, as well as hail from a variety of backgrounds. To learn more, see our most recent diversity report.
Vania André
Vania is THE CITY’s communication and marketing director, where she works with the entire team to promote THE CITY and its work while expanding its growing reach and reputation as the go-to local news source for New York. Previous positions include publisher and editor in chief of The Haitian Times, communications director for former-Council Member Jumaane D. Williams, and communications manager for Pubilc Agenda, a nonpartisan research institute.
vandre@thecity.nyc
@vaniaandre_
Claudia Irizarry Aponte
Claudia covers The Bronx for THE CITY. Her reporting has appeared in The Philadelphia Inquirer and NPR’s Latino USA. A 2018 graduate of the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY, she’s a recipient of the Sidney Hillman Foundation Award for Social Justice Reporting.
cirizarry@thecity.nyc
@clauirizarry
Suhail Bhat
Suhail is THE CITY’s data reporter, responsible for bringing numbers to life. Previously, he was a data and graphics reporter at Louisville Public Media, where he covered the Ohio Valley and received the “Best Use of Data” award for his COVID-19 coverage from the Society of Professional Journalists, Louisville. Suhail is an engineer turned journalist, a graduate of Columbia Journalism School, and a former Reuters News correspondent.
sbhat@thecity.nyc
@suhbhat
Reuven Blau
Reuven is a reporter for THE CITY. He previously worked at the Daily News, NY Post and The Chief-Leader.
rblau@thecity.nyc
@ReuvenBlau
Haidee Chu
Haidee Chu covers Queens for THE CITY. Previously, she worked for NPR’s news app/graphics team and was a stringer and interpreter for The New York Times. She is a graduate of the Columbia Journalism School, where she was a Stabile Fellow for Investigative Journalism and focused on data reporting. After moving from place to place for more than a decade, the Hong Kong native now calls the world’s borough her home.
hchu@thecity.nyc
@haideechu
Jonathan Custodio
Jonathan covers The Bronx for THE CITY. His reporting has appeared in POLITICO, POLITICO New York, Documented NY, The Chronicle of Higher Education and the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. A proud graduate of LaGuardia Community College and Lehman College, he began his career at Norwood News.
jcustodio@thecity.nyc
@JonnyCustodio
Nic Dawes
Nic is THE CITY’s executive director, responsible for growing the organization’s reach, impact and strategy as well for revenue and business operations. Nic has been a reporter, editor and non-profit executive on three continents, most recently serving as deputy executive director of Human Rights Watch in New York. He was previously editor-in-chief at South Africa’s Mail & Guardian, and chief editorial and content officer at Hindustan Times in Delhi.
nic@thecity.nyc
@NicDawes
Ben Fractenberg
Ben is a visual producer for THE CITY. He previously worked at the Forward as a national political reporter and DNAinfo as a New York City-based reporter/photographer. He is a proud alumnus of the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY.
bfractenberg@thecity.nyc
@fractenberg
Brittney George
Brittney is the Executive Assistant with THE CITY, where she supports the Leadership team, Board of Directors, and operations. Brittney joins THE CITY with a background in marketing, communications, and fundraising. Giving back to the community is dear to Brittney’s heart and so joining THE CITY is the perfect complement!
bgeorge@thecity.nyc
Hasani Gittens
Hasani is a deputy editor for THE CITY. His priors include senior news editor for NBCNews.com and managing editor for NBCNewYork.com. From Queens, he began his career as a copy kid at the New York Post and is a proud product of Baruch College’s newspaper, The Ticker.
hgittens@thecity.nyc
@hgitty
Yoav Gonen
Yoav is the City Hall reporter for THE CITY. Previously, he covered City Hall and education for the New York Post, after stints at the Staten Island Advance, NY Daily News and the Brooklyn Papers. Learned the ropes from Professor Blood.
ygonen@thecity.nyc
@yoavgonen
Martin Gottlieb
Martin Gottlieb is The City’s Senior Editor for Investigations. He has served as chief editor of the Village Voice, the International Herald Tribune, and New Jersey’s Bergen Record. He was also managing editor of the Daily News and held many reporting and editing positions in a more than 20-year career at The New York Times, including associate managing editor in charge of the weekend editions and website. Most recently he was Newsday’s investigative editor and a deputy investigations editor at BuzzFeed News.
mgottlieb@thecity.nyc
Natalie Thielen Helper
Natalie is THE CITY’s Associate Director of Development, Institutional Giving. She oversees philanthropic support from foundations and corporations, and works with institutional partners to maximize their impact. She holds an M.A. in Arts Management, with a concentration in not-for-profit fundraising, from American University.
nataliehelper@thecity.nyc
Katie Honan
Katie is a reporter for THE CITY. Previously, she covered City Hall for The Wall Street Journal, and neighborhoods in Queens for DNAinfo. She also worked as a social media editor at NBC 4 New York. She is a Queens native and graduated from St. John’s University and the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY.
khonan@thecity.nyc
@katie_honan
Stephon Johnson
Johnson covers Manhattan for THE CITY. He joins THE CITY after 13 years at the New York Amsterdam News. His work has also appeared in The Athletic, Polygon, and Sports Illustrated, and he’s collaborated with other outlets on projects. He’s won several awards including the New York Association of Black Journalists Award for Community Affairs and the MillerCoors Messenger Award for Economic Empowerment.
stephonjohnson@thecity.nyc
@StephonPJohnson
George Joseph
George is a senior reporter for THE CITY with a focus on criminal justice and courts. He previously worked for WNYC and Gothamist, and has published stories with NPR, ProPublica, Esquire, and The Intercept among other outlets.
gjoseph@thecity.nyc
@georgejoseph94
929-486-4865
Alyssa Katz
Alyssa is a deputy editor with THE CITY and a former member of the NY Daily News editorial board. Previously, Katz was editor of The New York World and City Limits. She is the author of “The Influence Machine: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Corporate Capture of American Life” and “Our Lot: How Real Estate Came to Own Us.”
akatz@thecity.nyc
@alykatzz
Richard Kim
Richard is the editor in chief of The CITY. He was previously executive editor of HuffPost, where he also directed enterprise and impact journalism, and executive editor of The Nation magazine.
richard@thecity.nyc
@richardkimnyc
Scott Klein
Scott is the Chief Product Officer. He is responsible for overall product strategy and oversees the teams at the intersection of journalism and technology, including product management, engineering, interactive news and data reporting. Before THE CITY, he helped start ProPublica and founded its award-winning news applications and data teams. He also co-founded DocumentCloud and sits on the board of MuckRock.
sklein@thecity.nyc.
@kleinmatic
Jessica Lysons
As Director of Finance + Administration for THE CITY, Jessica works with the leadership team to strengthen overall organizational capacity and impact. Previous positions have ranged from construction, finance, filmmaking, to school facility development. Most recently, she helped to shepherd Powerhouse Arts in Gowanus, Brooklyn through a period of extraordinary growth.
jlysons@thecity.nyc
Samantha Maldonado
Samantha is a reporter for THE CITY. She previously covered energy, environmental and transportation policy for Politico New Jersey and New York. Her reporting also has appeared in The Associated Press and on CNN. She’s a 2018 graduate of the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY.
smaldonado@thecity.nyc
@sssmaldo
Jose Martinez
Jose is THE CITY’s transportation reporter. He previously worked on-air for six years at NY1 News, where he also hosted the weekly “In Transit.” He is a veteran of the city’s tabloids, covering courts at the Daily News and the New York Post. He began at the Journal News in Westchester County.
jmartinez@thecity.nyc
@jmartineznyc
Clifford Michel
Clifford is THE CITY’s Membership Manager. As a reporter for THE CITY, he covered Manhattan, Staten Island, south Brooklyn and the New York State Legislature. He previously covered state and local politics for the Staten Island Advance. His reporting has also appeared in Gothamist, the Amsterdam News, Politico New York, and Gotham Gazette.
cmichel@thecity.nyc
@cliff_michel
Michaela Norman
Michaela is THE CITY’s Development Operations Associate. Previously, she held roles in nonprofit fundraising and program operations at The Fuller Project and American Corporate Partners. A native New Yorker, Michaela is a graduate of Colby College where she received a degree in English and American Studies.
michaelanorman@thecity.nyc
Gabriel Poblete
Gabriel covers state agencies for THE CITY and is a Report for America corps member. He was as a reporter for the Las Vegas Optic in New Mexico and Miami Today, and interned for City & State New York and Crain’s New York. He attended Miami Dade College, the University of Florida and Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY. gpoblete@thecity.nyc
@gabpobl
Sam Rabiyah
Sam is THE CITY’s news apps developer. He is a multidisciplinary technologist who works at the intersection of counter-mapping, data visualization, and oral history. Previously, Sam was the data lead at JustFix, where he created tools and interactive media to support tenant organizing. His projects have been featured in ProPublica, CityLab, Gothamist, and the New York Times.
srabiyah@thecity.nyc
@samrabiyah
Diana Riojas
Diana is THE CITY’s social media associate. Prior to joining the team, she worked as the Assistant Social Media Editor for 100 Days in Appalachia, where she started as an Instagram Local News Fellow. She’s a proud alumna of S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.
driojas@thecity.nyc
@itsDianaRiojas
Zainab Shah
Zainab Shah is the Director of Engagement and Audience at THE CITY. She works across all teams to grow THE CITY’s audience and bring THE CITY’s award-winning journalism to those who need it most. She was previously the Director of Audience at Talking Points Memo, Operations Manager at The Correspondent, and Global Lead for Strategy and Operations at BuzzFeed.
zshah@thecity.nyc
@zainabshah
Harry Siegel
Harry Siegel is a senior editor at THE CITY and the creator and co-host of its FAQ NYC podcast, as well as a columnist at the New York Daily News and a former member of its editorial board. Previously, Siegel has been an editor at The Daily Beast, Politico, New York Press and the New York Sun, and a columnist at the Village Voice. He is the co-author of “The Prince of the City: Giuliani, New York, and the Genius of American Life.”
harry@thecity.nyc
@harrysiegel
Greg B. Smith
Greg is a reporter at THE CITY. He was a reporter at the New York Daily News from 1993 through 2018. His beats have included federal court, City Hall and public housing. He also is the author of several books, including “Made Men: The True Story of the Rise and Fall of a New Jersey Crime Family.”
gsmith@thecity.nyc
@gregbsmithnyc
Rachel Holliday Smith
Rachel is an associate editor for THE CITY leading explanatory and service journalism in the newsroom. She is proud to have previously worked for WNYC, DNAinfo and NY1 News. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, Curbed New York, Gotham Gazette and others.
rsmith@thecity.nyc
@rachelholliday
Mary Taylor
Mary leads THE CITY’s fundraising efforts as Director of Development. She connects donors to causes through innovative approaches and has led development and communications teams at the Center for Urban Community Services, Action Against Hunger, and the Jericho Project. Mary holds a M.S. from the New School University’s Milano School of Policy, Management and Environment.
marytaylor@thecity.nyc
@mary_ruthie_
Anjali Tsui
Anjali Tsui is the project editor for Missing Them, THE CITY’s collaborative COVID-19 memorial and accountability journalism project. She previously worked at ProPublica, Frontline PBS and CNN International. Her work has been honored with a Peabody Award and the Knight Award for Public Service from the Online Journalism Awards. Anjali is a 2021-2022 Magic Grant recipient from the Brown Institute for Media Innovation. She earned a bachelor’s degree at the University of Pennsylvania and graduated with honors from Columbia Journalism School’s Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism.
atsui@thecity.nyc
Contributors
Greg David
Greg David is a contributor and Ravitch fiscal and economics reporter at THE CITY. He spent 35 years at Crain’s New York Business as editor, editorial director and a columnist. He is also the director of the business and economics reporting program at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY as well as the Ravitch Fiscal Reporting Program.
gdavid@thecity.nyc
@GregDavidonNY
Hiram Alejandro Durán
Hiram Alejandro Durán takes photos for THE CITY. A recent graduate of the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY, he’s photographed general assignments for The Riverdale Press and Centro de Periodismo Investigativo, and interned for Times Square Alliance and the Mail & Guardian in Johannesburg.
@HiramADuran