The Hell Gate Podcast

Come we now once again to the end of March, a time of madness, the gathering crescendo of a great tourney, the end of a road upon which many set out, but only a few traverse entire.Since we first published our second annual Hell Gate March Madness Hot Take Bracket earlier this month, the public has been in understandable general uproar. Families have been torn asunder, bar brawls are up an astounding 237%, and Eric Adams was so shaken to his core, he found God (again).The bracket provoked conversation, discussion, takes about the takes, and a metadiscourse about chopped cheese that we're now even sorry we started.But now the takes must battle it out! From these 64 exemplary competitors, only one will win. So we've put together some hot take bracket-ologists, who also happened to author the hot takes, to get to the bottom of the hottest take of all, previewing some of the spiciest match-ups, But now the takes must battle it out! From these 64 exemplary competitors, only one will win. So we've put together some hot take bracket-ologists, who also happened to author the hot takes, to get to the bottom of the hottest take of all, previewing some of the spiciest match-ups, like:If you live within a 15-minute walk of a restaurant, you should not be allowed to order delivery from it (5) vs. You should only be able to order delivery from restaurants within a 15-minute walk from you (12) Andrew Cuomo should be mayor, it's a proper punishment for his misdeeds (7) vs. Bill de Blasio is a catch (10) The Carbone private dining club looks fun and I would appreciate an invitation (7) vs. If you live in an apartment with a dog and it barks for hours every time you leave it alone, your neighbors are not in the wrong for complaining to your landlord (10) If someone on the street asks you for a dollar, and you pull out your wallet and all you have is a $20, you must give them the $20 (5) vs. If you see someone selling candy on the subway, buy some candy (12) Those nut vendors should be banned for false advertising (they're not that good) (2) vs. Clipping your nails on the subway is fine but EATING on the subway is not (15) There should be a thing where on every subway car, one person is algorithmically selected to be able to share their phone screen onto all the video screens in the car (4) vs. If you actually want me to compost, I'm gonna need a City-sponsored coupon booklet or a tax write-off or some other incentive. Until then, my food waste is going in the trash! (13) Flaco should have lived out the rest of his life in a cage the size of a minivan (3) vs. All the animals in the Central Park Zoo should be freed and allowed to roam the streets of New York City, like Flaco (14) The MTA should play piped-in Muzak in subway stations (7) vs. Weed is too strong and New York state should pass a law to make it weaker (10)Who will be victorious? Will we even announce a winner? Possible not! Even so, we felt it was time to bring back the now-irregularly-released Hell Gate Podcast! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're back with part two of our special two-part episode about our new project THE ERIC ADAMS TABLE OF SUCCESS, an interactive website exploring dozens of people who are in the mayor's orbit, their connections to each other, and why it all matters.On part two, a roundtable of Hell Gate writers discuss Eric Adams's connections to the world of nightlife, exactly who does what at City Hall, and his cop friends who know him from way back in the day. Be sure to check out the whole project here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We mark the return of the Hell Gate podcast with a special two-part episode about our new project THE ERIC ADAMS TABLE OF SUCCESS, an interactive website exploring dozens of people who are in the mayor's orbit, their connections to each other, and why it all matters.On part one, a roundtable of Hell Gate writers discuss Eric Adams's connections to the world of business, who's who in his campaign, and who he parties with.Stay tuned for part two coming early next week, and be sure to check out the whole project here.Happy holidays, from Hell Gate! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When the Daily News reported a few weeks ago that Whitestone Lanes was closing, it was like a mighty redwood was being chopped down. The Flushing bowling alley has been a neighborhood gathering place since the 1960s, and in the age of upscale bowling joints built for corporate expense accounts, Whitestone is one of those no-frills, all-charm spots that truly are for everyone. So this week, Hell Gate hit the lanes to hear how bowlers feel about the impending loss of one of the last bowling alleys in Queens.Plus: Hell Gate writer-editor Adlan Jackson brings his Leave Your Apartment column to the pod, talking with Screen Slate founder Jon Dieringer about New York's thriving indie film scene and a trashy B-movie you won't want to miss. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How did what started as Instagram drama around two missing rescue cats spiral into a NYPD and ASPCA raid—and 44 charges of charges of animal neglect—that rocked New York City's cat rescue community? Hell Gate writer-editor Katie Way takes listeners behind the scenes of her recent investigation into animal altruism gone wrong. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, the Department of Motor Vehicles unveiled its design for a new license plate celebrating New York City, the first of 10 regional license plates to be released this summer. But instead of dipping into New York's inexhaustible iconography, the DMV settled on a design that has the vibe of what can best be described as a "subway ad for a for-profit college," featuring a phallic One World Trade towering over a tiny Statue of Liberty. The plate is objectively bad and ugly—but what if that's the point? What if the plate, as Hell Gate's Adlan Jackson wrote this week, is another artifact (along with the reviled We <3 NYC logo) of the city's current expensive, contemptuous "Age of Design Apathy?" Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

New York's beaches kicked off the summer season over the last month with plenty of wind, sun, nutcrackers, and an extremely limited number of lifeguards. As the Parks Department revealed earlier this spring, the City currently has roughly a third of the lifeguards needed to fully open the City's beaches and pools. The lifeguard shortage isn't new—the City struggled last year to hire enough lifeguards before the summer season, waiting months to take action and raise pay to entice the part-time employees to get back in the tower.Knowing full well that this would be an issue heading into the summer, City Hall worked to make the lifeguard test easier and less opaque, and redoubled outreach efforts to high schools to get people into training programs. But the new push only yielded 200 new lifeguards, and just 280 returning lifeguards. So what's standing in the way of the city hiring lifeguards? Is it part of a national phenomenon, or is this way more of a local issue? While New York City's Park Department, which runs many of its beaches, is way below its hiring goals—adjacent beaches, run by the National Parks Service, or the state, are doing just fine—and don't plan on closing any stretches. So what gives? Are we just going to live with limited pool hours and closed beaches forever? Hell Gate went to the Rockaways to find out. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last spring, the Adams administration began talking about the arrival of migrants into the City’s shelter system—and promised that New York would step up where other cities wouldn’t. But more recently, the mayor has started busing asylum seekers upstate, claiming that the migrant influx has “destroyed” the city and will cause deep cuts to its social services. How has migration, which has been at the core of NYC’s identity for so long, become a headline issue, and why has the Adams administration taken such a dramatic turn? Felipe De La Hoz and Gaby Del Valle, who write the immigration policy newsletter Border/Lines, join us to discuss these questions and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ah, Memorial Day weekend. Time to hit the beach and crack open a nice cold can of...Celsius? That energy drink from the bodega?! From the drink of the summer, to the song(s) of the summer, our taste-making staff is here to guide you on what's in (speed dating) and out (barefoot boys) for summer 2023.Hell Gate's songs of the summer:"Summer Glass," Julie Byrne"Mrs. Officer," Lil Wayne"I Wanna Sex You Up," Color Me Badd"Breezin'," George Benson"Everywhere," Fleetwood Mac Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As anyone who's whizzed down the Williamsburg Bridge bike path past sullen J train riders will tell you, biking in New York is not only a great way to save $2.75—it's also just... fun. But, we're still a town ruled by cars. And while cycling rates exploded during the pandemic and Citi Bike can barely keep up with demand, we're also on track to have the deadliest year for cyclists since 2014. This week: Hell Gate visits a neighborhood reeling from another senseless traffic death, investigates a bizarre Citi Bike malfunction, and even sends two staffers to learn to ride. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In case you haven't heard, Hell Gate turned one this week! So of course we hosted an extremely real and cool birthday party which we obviously recorded for our weekly podcast. Hear from the staff about why we started and joined Hell Gate, some of our favorite stories from our first year, and the current status of our involvement with the Hell Apes™ crypto-collectible platform. You'll NEVER believe who calls in.If you love Hell Gate and this podcast, help us reach our $7k in 7 days goal by tipping our newsroom here by noon on May 15. And you can subscribe to Hell Gate anytime here! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

New York state FINALLY has a budget—a month late, and 800,000 housing units short. New York Focus senior reporter Sam Mellins sits down with Hell Gate to break down what the hell happened this budget season, from the death of Good Cause Eviction to horse-racing industry subsidies (???) to the best bathroom in the state capitol. Plus, we take you inside this week's rowdy Rent Guidelines Board hearing, where housing activists took the stage to protest the board's proposed rent increases. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ever wondered why you're being inundated with videos of "clickbait cuisine" on the subway? Like, recipes for "brieghetti pie" (that's a baked spaghetti pie with a wheel of brie in the middle) or homemade sprinkles? Are you the kind of sicko who is sorta curious about what would happen if you actually made one of these recipes? Have we got an episode for you! This week, writer Willa Glickman discusses her unsettling investigation of this phenomenon, "Here's Why You're Seeing Gross Viral Recipes on Your Subway Commute," and the Hell Gate staff puts our bodies on the line to recipe-test the "brieghetti pie." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

New York has a plan to finally get off fossil fuels within the next 20 years. Doing that will mean changing a lot about how we live, from what our buildings look like to how we get around and where our electricity comes from. Can we pull it off? This week, Hell Gate visits one of NYC's oldest power plants in Queens, and a solar-paneled HDFC co-op in Harlem to find out.This episode is sponsored by Bike Plant. Tell them Hell Gate sent you, and get a 10 percent discount on parts and accessories and some free Hell Gate stickers—what a deal! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Spring in New York means moving season, and moving probably means you're gonna have to text a bunch of random people... and then fork over 15% of your annual rent to one of them. But besides unlocking the door to an apartment you found on StreetEasy, what does a broker *actually* do, and why is New York one of the only cities in the country where tenants have to pay their fees? Hell Gate discusses these questions and more with Anna Klenkar, a licensed associate real estate broker who uses TikTok (@annaleeklenkar) to pull back the veil on the apartment-hunting process. Plus: some dispatches from NYC parks on the frenetic first vibes of spring. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Hell Gate first discussed how to cover the Trump arraignment, the consensus was, let's not. But then our own Max Rivlin-Nadler snagged a spot at the front of the courthouse press line and...well, we ran with it. This week: Dispatches from The Line, the Marjorie Taylor Greene counterprotest, and yes, inside the courtroom with Donald Trump. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is the Vessel... actually cool and beautiful? Was Bill de Blasio the best NYC mayor of all-time?! Is Domino's making the best pizza in the city right now?!!! We don't 100 percent stand by all of these takes, but we'll defend them on a podcast if we have to. That's right—this week the Hell Gate team winnows down the Elite Eight of our NYC Hot Takes March Madness bracket to a Final Four. Listen to find out which spicy takes prevail, and be sure to check out the full bracket here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Budget season is heating up, baby!! And Hell Gate is here to break it down for you. First, we look at why the New York state budget process is such a shitshow, and why a newly empowered state legislature could mean even more chaos this year. Then, we chat with Kim Phillips-Fein, professor of history at Columbia University and author of Fear City, about Eric Adams' proposed austerity budget, his beloved "high-income earners," and the lingering impacts of the 1970s fiscal crisis.Read Hell Gate's full interview with Kim Phillips-Fein here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You can legally buy weed in New York now, but… is it worth the trouble? And what do former NBA All-Star Chris Webber, an empty warehouse complex in Detroit, and an agency called the Dormitory Authority have to do with the state's lumbering rollout of legal cannabis? Seeking answers, Hell Gate convenes a panel of dedicated stoners to compare legal and gray market weed, and speaks with Brad Racino, editor and publisher of New York Cannabis Insider. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Where does New York’s bail reform debate stand? And what does pretrial detention mean for those who have to suffer through it? Hell Gate catches up with Prakash Churaman, who spent his teen years being shuffled through New York’s carceral system and just barely survived. We also talk with Jullian Harris-Calvin, director of the Greater Justice New York program at the Vera Institute of Justice, for some broader context on how bail reform became such a political live wire.You can read Max Rivlin-Nadler's reporting on Prakash Churaman's case here, here, here, and here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.