Joe Hong

Why many Asian American Trump voters chose Zohran Mamdani in NYC's primary An analysis of election districts won by Trump in 2024 and Mamdani in this year’s primary shows many feature a majority of Asian American residents.

A lot of the districts that went to Trump and then to Mamdani are in Asian American neighborhoods. The "Asian American voter" is a fraught demographic, but it makes sense as to why some of these immigrant communities supported two such radically different candidates.

gothamist.com/news/why-man...

How voters in Trump districts helped Mamdani win the Democratic primary His affordability-focused message resonated in districts where the GOP gained ground last year.

Mamdani came out on top in about a third of the NYC districts that Trump won last year. How did the progressive candidate win over votes in these districts? Check out this team effort for @wnyc.org / @gothamist.com, featuring a map of the primary/election results--

gothamist.com/news/how-vot...

Ramos about-face on Cuomo draws immediate scorn from progressives she once championed State Sen. Jessica Ramos had sharply criticized former Gov. Andrew Cuomo for his record in office up until this week.

After spending the entire primary season criticizing the former governor, Democratic mayoral candidate Jessica Ramos announced today that she'd be endorsing Andrew Cuomo, signaling a sudden split from a progressive coalition. Her now former allies aren't too happy.

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NYC car crashes have been declining. Congestion pricing accelerated the trend. There were 1,526 crashes in the congestion zone south of 60th Street between the toll’s launch on Jan. 5 and April 21. That marks a 13% reduction compared to the same period last year.

The rate of car crashes across NYC are dropping more quickly since the start of congestion pricing. The number of injuries is nearly back down to the historic, pandemic-era lows. My latest for @gothamist.com and @wnyc.org

gothamist.com/news/nyc-car...

How community activists, police and residents drove down shootings in East Harlem A yearslong collaboration has helped reduce gun violence in the neighborhood to its lowest level since 2019, city data shows.

The story of how one neighborhood went from being a gun-violence hot spot to outpacing the rest of the city in reducing gun violence. From Brittany Kriegstein for @gothamist.com / @wnyc.org
gothamist.com/news/how-com...

Drug-related deaths dropped in NYC shelter system, even as population boomed At the same time, deaths rose among homeless New Yorkers not living in shelters.

Deaths among NYers experiencing homelessness were down in 2024. Death rates for sheltered residents were also much, much lower than for non-sheltered individuals. But the city's biggest win was with preventing overdoses. My latest for @gothamist.com and @wnyc.org

gothamist.com/news/drug-re...

Map Quest: Meet The City's Most Dangerous Drivers (And Where They're Preying On You) - Streetsblog New York City A map of the city's most reckless drivers shows how prolific the problem of super-scofflaws is in the five boroughs.

An amazing example of public service data journalism from @sophlebo.bsky.social and Michael Cahana of @nyc.streetsblog.org -- nyc.streetsblog.org/2025/04/16/m...

The noisy, nocturnal rush to build Brooklyn’s new jail has neighbors losing sleep Local residents are riled as late-night construction went through the night for weeks at a time, ending as late (or early) as 5 a.m.

The effort to close Rikers Island has been a decade-long marathon for NYC. But the delays in shuttering the jail has resulted in loud, late-night sprints to finish construction on Brooklyn's borough-based jail. My latest for @wnyc.org/@gothamist.com

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There’s a new profile out on immigrants in NYC. Here’s what to know. The new annual report from the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs paints a detailed portrait of immigration in the city.

Nearly 4-in-10 New York City residents are immigrants, according to the latest profile of immigration in the five boroughs.

Civil rights investigations of NYC schools in limbo after federal education cuts Attorneys said they’re telling their clients to expect more delays, if their cases move forward at all.

The deep cuts to the U.S. Department of Education has stalled critical investigations into discrimination at NYC's public schools. From @jessicagould.bsky.social

gothamist.com/news/civil-r...

Mayor Eric Adams says he'll run for re-election as an independent The mayor said his legal case made it impossible to run a primary campaign.

Eric Adams announced on Thursday morning that he'll run for re-election as an independent. He said the recently dismissed corruption case had hindered his ability to launch an effective campaign for the Democratic primary in June. Follow @gothamist.com for updates

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New York Attorney General Letitia James and a coalition of her counterparts from other states have asked a federal judge to block some $11 billion in cuts to public health initiatives ordered by the Trump administration.

Recognize this pooch? Ongoing search for owner of dog rescued from East River. Animal shelter employees named the dog “Hudson.”

The search continues for the owner of a dog rescued from the East River yesterday. In the meantime, the shelter has renamed the pup "Hudson." My first piece for @gothamist.com

gothamist.com/news/recogni...

NYC progressives want to beat Adams and Cuomo. Can they set aside their differences? The path to victory means that left-leaning voters — and mayoral candidates — must coalesce around a slate of five choices.

To defeat Andrew Cuomo, NYC’s progressive candidates may need to form strategic coalitions. Ranked-choice voting could help them level the playing field. The latest from my @gothamist.com colleague Liz Kim: gothamist.com/news/mayor-c...

Brooklyn's long-abandoned NYPD stationhouse will become affordable housing The project would include 95 apartments for low-income families and individuals.

An old NYPD stationhouse in Brownsville has been sitting empty for around 40(!) yrs

Now a developer is tearing it down and building a 100% affordable apartment complex

The project was made possible today when NYCHA agreed to transfer air rights and a sliver of land
gothamist.com/news/brookly...

This is my first week as an investigative data reporter for @wnyc.org and @gothamist.com! Send me all nyc-related tips and story ideas--

email: jhong@nyc.org
proton mail: joe@joehong.work
signal: jhong.01

Native American students were missing a lot of school. Then the pandemic hit. COVID’s impacts and a fraught history with educational institutions contribute to high absenteeism among Native students. Tribes and schools are working together to solve the problem.

Absenteeism among Native American students increased the most in NM during the pandemic, according to data compiled in 34 states by @asssociatedpress.bsky.social. The response has included everything from more events at schools to tribal leaders making home visits www.chalkbeat.org/2024/12/03/n...

Facing legal threats, colleges back off race-based programs As might be expected of someone working toward a Ph.D. in neuroscience at Stanford School of Medicine, Jocelyn Ricard has impressive credentials. There are scholarships — Knight-Hennessy and, last year, a Ford Foundation Fellowship — and publications in journals like Nature Neuroscience and The Lancet Psychiatry. Plus, Ricard has done research at Yale and Cornell; and in Chiang Mai, Thailand; Berlin; and elsewhere. The 26-year-old’s research focuses on substance-use disorders and how inequity and disadvantage affect brain function, interest she says was spurred by seeing relatives grapple with addiction and incarceration.

Facing legal threats, colleges back off race-based programs

As might be expected of someone working toward a Ph.D. in neuroscience at Stanford School of Medicine, Jocelyn Ricard has impressive credentials. There are scholarships — Knight-Hennessy and, last year, a Ford Foundation Fellowship — and…

Thank you Christina!

Milwaukee goes back to an old playbook for teaching math in the early grades A partnership between the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the Milwaukee school system led to a “golden age” of teaching math in the district between 2004 and 2014. Once the funding ran out, the ...

Latest from me for @hechingerreport.org and Wisconsin Public Radio:

The past, present and future of math in Milwaukee Public Schools: can the district recreate its golden era?

In the 2023-24 school year, I'll be working on a series of stories about the past, present and future of math education! I'd love to connect with math education folks on Blue Sky!

My DMs are open. Professional website coming soon!