Reuven Blau
@reuvenblau.bsky.social
Senior Reporter @ The City Reporter. Co-author: "Rikers: An Oral History." Denver native.
Jagjit Singh on Friday became the third New York City cabbie to die on the job since July. He leaves behind a wife and twin 10-year-old sons, who left flowers Tuesday at the West Village intersection where he was found. NEW in @thecityreporter.nyc www.thecityreporter.nyc/2026/09/15/c...
Third NYC Cab Driver Dies Behind the Wheel Since July
Jagjit Singh, 52, was found dead in his taxi in the West Village last week.
thecityreporter.nyc
“In most professions, you stress out over office politics or promotions or grueling work schedules. For drivers, you combine all that with dangers on the job and that you begin every day at a negative paying out of pocket.” — via @jmartineznyc.bsky.social www.thecityreporter.nyc/2026/09/15/c...
Third NYC Cab Driver Dies Behind the Wheel Since July
Jagjit Singh, 52, was found dead in his taxi in the West Village last week.
thecityreporter.nyc
A new study found that 1/4 of deaths in Illinois jails went unreported. illinoisanswers.org/2026/09/15/i...
Dozens of deaths in Illinois jails missing from state records
An Illinois Answers Project analysis revealed that 63 people who died in jails were missing from state data on in-custody fatalities. Now the state is auditing its records.
illinoisanswers.org
“There’s something in human nature that makes people want to assign blame,” said Shira M. Diner. There is a desire to mete out a punishment that “can make people feel, not better, but feel more at peace with the horrors that they learned about." www.nytimes.com/2026/09/05/u...
A Sympathetic Defendant and Well-Crafted Strategy Dominated Clancy Trial
The defense lawyer for Lindsay Clancy showed empathy for his client in showcasing her mental health problems. That may have made all the difference.
nytimes.com
New: The sibling owners of an Ozone Park pizzeria charged with bribing a top aide to ex-Mayor Adams pleaded guilty to felony conspiracy charges, the first guilty pleas in a case that kicked off a damning series of corruption probes of the Adams administration. www.thecityreporter.nyc/2026/09/09/l...
Pizzeria-Owning Brothers Plead Guilty in Adams-Era Corruption Case
Anthony and Joseph Livreri were accused of bribing former Buildings Department chief Eric Ulrich, who is himself facing trial in Manhattan.
thecityreporter.nyc
Kicker of the day: “Maybe now,” she said, “he’s driving big rigs for God.” www.propublica.org/article/wron...
I Wrote About His Wrongful Conviction. He Got Only 13 Years of Freedom Before Cancer Took His Life.
For years, I followed the case of Fred Steese, who spent 21 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit. When he died in August, it felt like the universe had dealt him yet another injustice.
propublica.org
RIP Moet McCullum. Tragic. The 41-year-old construction flagger was hit just after 11:30 p.m. Thursday at the 161st Street–Yankee Stadium station in The Bronx. She's the first worker to die on the tracks since November 2023 — @jmartineznyc.bsky.social reports www.thecityreporter.nyc/2026/09/04/m...
MTA Track Worker Struck and Killed by Bronx Subway Train During Overnight Construction
An internal MTA incident account said she was setting up flags on the tracks when she was hit.
thecityreporter.nyc
Holiday news dump: How's reforming Rikers Island going? Not good! In a scathing court filing, the court-appointed monitor says DOC Commissioner Stanley Richards is actively trying to block communication w/his staff and oversight officials. www.thecityreporter.nyc/2026/09/04/m...
Federal Monitor Says Mamdani Jails Chief Is Blocking Rikers Island Oversight
Monitor Steve Martin told a federal judge that Commissioner Stanley Richards was butting into his communications with jail staff.
thecityreporter.nyc
Earlier this year the Federal prison system announced that they would be offering *nicotine pouches* on commissary - today, with no explanation, they reversed course and said they will not be doing that 👀 (They did not respond to my request for comment.)
Joanne feels extremely proud of Travis’s life, his kindness and his wisdom as a leader — and still thinks his death was a waste. “I don’t think the loss of him and his men did anything to benefit us here. There’s not even the smallest thing that helped us.” www.nytimes.com/2026/08/31/u...
This Marine Died in the Iraq War. His Mother Asks, ‘What Was It For?’ (Gift Article)
Travis Fuller was from my hometown. I went back and talked with his family about how they made sense of his death, 25 years after Sept. 11.
nytimes.com
“He is intimidated by competence and retreats to ginning up culture wars instead of soberly attending to the vital work of our national defense and the health and well-being of our fighting force.” www.wsj.com/politics/til...
Tillis Wants Hegseth Fired. Is the Pentagon Chief in Trouble?
Plus, the U.S.’s nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia includes a road map for enriching uranium in the kingdom, and the odd political alliance opposing data centers.
wsj.com
“When it starts to rain super, super, super hard, I know we have 10 minutes to act before the deluge comes." — @smaldo.bsky.social reports www.thecityreporter.nyc/2026/09/01/5...
5 Years After Ida, NYC Is Still Struggling To Deal With Extreme Rain and Deadly Flooding
Heavy rain and flooding is expected to become more common and intense in the city due to climate change.
thecityreporter.nyc
“The 2025 outbreak in Harlem should have been a wake-up call to the entire city and every building owner, everyone who was doing enforcement. We cannot scrimp, we cannot cut corners on something that is completely preventable.” — by @clauirizarry.bsky.social www.thecityreporter.nyc/2026/09/02/m...
Council Grills Mamdani Health Team Over Deadly UES Legionnaires’ Outbreak
Lawmakers zeroed in on the Health Department’s struggle to speedily hire and train scientists — and to enforce new testing requirements for building owners.
thecityreporter.nyc
Patients at NYC public hospitals waited an average of nearly 14 hours this year to move from the ER to a hospital bed. At Kings County, the average was 27 hours. At Elmhurst, it was nearly 24. The full investigation via FOIL data from NYC H+H Corp. —> www.thecityreporter.nyc/2026/09/02/n...
27 Hours in the ER: Bed Shortage Leaves Hospital Patients in Chaotic Limbo
Experts blamed growing admission delays across New York on the closure and consolidation of hospitals.
thecityreporter.nyc
NUMBER ONE, I’m telling you! We are FLUSH with stories on the bathroom beat. Here’s another from @reuvenblau.bsky.social from earlier this year. www.thecityreporter.nyc/2026/03/16/p...
Prefab Potty Hyped as Fast and Cheap Is Years Late, Will Cost NYC $3.5M
The city promoted a modular restroom at Fort Washington Park as a prototype for quicker construction. Years later, the project is still mired in reviews and red tape.
thecityreporter.nyc
NYC’s Correction Department has been working for at least two years on a system to give Rikers Island detainees digital access to evidence in their criminal cases. The City Council gave DOC nine months to get it done. It missed the deadline. My latest —> www.thecityreporter.nyc/2026/08/27/r...
Rikers Misses Deadline to Give Detainees Digital Access to Case Evidence
The Correction Department missed a July 1 deadline to implement a system allowing detainees to review videos, audio and other evidence in their criminal cases.
thecityreporter.nyc
The city’s Department of Correction has blown past a new deadline to give Rikers Island detainees a digital platform to review evidence in their cases. The department has been trying to launch the initiative with Lightning Law for the past two years. www.thecityreporter.nyc/2026/08/27/r...
Rikers Misses Deadline to Give Detainees Digital Access to Case Evidence
The Correction Department missed a July 1 deadline to implement a system allowing detainees to review videos, audio and other evidence in their criminal cases.
thecityreporter.nyc
"Listen to any recording by Dolly Parton — ... — and you’ll always hear one thing at the core. Underlying each tune she sings, and lyric she writes, is the irreducible character of Dolly, a person so palpably genuine she became a virtual synonym for sincerity" www.nytimes.com/2026/08/25/a...
Dolly Parton: Hear 15 Essential Songs
The singer-songwriter rose from poverty to become a chart-topping performer whose earnest character allowed her to span genres.
nytimes.com
Inbox: DOC announced the seventh death in custody this year so far. Clarence Woodward, 41, was found dead at approximately 5 a.m. inside his cell at the RNDC facility on Rikers Island.
“At the same time, the job market has remained fragile and wage growth has slowed. Delinquencies on credit cards, auto loans and student debt are on the rise.” www.nytimes.com/2026/08/20/b...
Walmart Posts Slowest Sales Growth in Years as Americans Tighten Wallets
Walmart and other big U.S. retailers have warned that consumers were being cautious, even if household balance sheets seemed healthy.
nytimes.com
"In many ways, it has never been more difficult to access our elected officials. Communications teams are more determined than ever, it seems, to control the narrative, managing outside access and carefully crafting messages from within." www.star-revue.com/the-long-har...
The long hard journey to get on Mamdani's press list - Red Hook Star-Revue
It’s late morning on May 26, and Mayor Zohran Mamdani, standing in front of a posse of New York City media outlets, announces his new “Block by Block” housing plan at Powerhouse Arts in Gowanus. He ha...
star-revue.com
NYC requires senior centers to serve a plant-based meal once a week. Some centers are struggling to get seniors to show up. One center’s solution? Bingo. Others have found a more direct fix: better food including homemade horseradish and hot sauce. www.thecityreporter.nyc/2026/08/12/n...
BYO Hot Sauce: NYC Senior Centers Struggle With Attendance on Required Plant-Based Meal Days
Bingo enticements and personal horseradish accompany vegan-friendly service at New York senior centers.
thecityreporter.nyc
"If he’s just going to go for the quick photo opportunity and not really dig in and cure the problems that these people are suffering, an afternoon of World Cup with the mayor is not going to change anyone’s life." www.nbcnewyork.com/new-york-cit...
Group of Rikers prisoners sue after ‘weeks without feeling the sun touch their face'
A group of former Rikers Island prisoners is suing New York City, alleging correctional staff failed to provide them outdoor recreation for weeks while locked up.
nbcnewyork.com
Chester “Chet” Mazur was a “torchbearer for sleaze rock,” one friend said, a staple of an ‘80s and ‘90s underground music scene laden with black leather, late-night pierogi and the camaraderie of penniless performers. www.thecityreporter.nyc/2026/08/11/c...
Stunned Friends Remember an East Village ‘Torchbearer for Sleaze Rock’
Chet Mazur, 66, a beloved singer, performance artist and road manager, was killed in a hit-and-run a block away from his Hell’s Kitchen home.
thecityreporter.nyc
I've written multiple stories about people seeking clemency. This one stayed with me. Jennifer Peña found her parents' bodies when she was 13. The man who killed them was 17. Now, nearly three decades later, a retired judge says his sentence was excessive. www.thecityreporter.nyc/2026/08/10/j...
Judge Who Sentenced ‘90s Teen Killer Now Wants Him Freed
Jennifer Peña found her murdered parents’ bodies when she was 13. Nearly three decades later, she's confronting their killer’s bid for clemency.
thecityreporter.nyc
A Queens Civil Court judge has been ousted after a state watchdog found he kept practicing law from the bench, mishandled client funds and allowed an unlicensed, person w/convicted of two felonies handle cases under his name. www.thecityreporter.nyc/2026/08/07/j...
Queens Judge Ousted Over Law Practice, Fake Lawyer Scheme
The state Commission on Judicial Conduct said Joseph Kasper continued practicing law after taking office and allowed a longtime friend—an unlicensed, twice-convicted paralegal—to handle cases under hi...
thecityreporter.nyc
Lede of the day: "All aboard, baby. Tykes who ride MTA buses will have designated stroller-only spaces across the entire fleet of nearly 6,000 carriages by the end of the year, officials announced Thursday." — @jmartineznyc.bsky.social reports www.thecityreporter.nyc/2026/08/06/s...
All Aboard: Strollers Now Given Space on Entire MTA Bus Fleet
The effort to add room for tot carriages started with just seven routes four years ago.
thecityreporter.nyc
The closest thing Ireland has to a state funeral for a musician. Glen Hansard's sendoff drew Bono, Eddie Vedder, and thousands of fans. But it was his brother's tribute that was most moving, and hit me right in the feels. www.irishtimes.com/culture/musi...
Glen Hansard funeral: A wicker coffin, a grieving widow and a son too young to be there
The service for the Ballymun musician felt more like a party where he was the only one missing from the celebrations
irishtimes.com
"A third detainee died after being held at Delaney Hall, according to Rep. Rob Menendez (D-NJ), who said the death wasn’t disclosed to the public by Immigration and Customs Enforcement because the agency recently changed how it reports deaths of detainees." www.thecityreporter.nyc/2026/08/04/t...
A Third Delaney Hall Detainee Has Died, New Jersey Congressman Says
Rep. Rob Menendez said ICE confirmed details of the death, which took place weeks ago, to him during an oversight visit to the facility on Monday.
thecityreporter.nyc
