The City (website)

The City occupies space on the fourth floor of a building in Koreatown.[4]

The City was first announced on September 26, 2018, in a press release issued by the Charles H. Revson Foundation. The New York Times reported its announcement. The press release stated:

THE CITY will focus on accountability journalism for a broad audience, will collaborate with other news outlets to further build the local media ecosystem, and will cover some of the most important beats in New York City.[1]

In its release, the organization announced a collaboration with New York and in February 2019, The City began publishing stories on their Intelligencer blog.[5][4] On Intelligencer, The City's inaugural stories looked into the persistence of racial discrimination by police in the Bronx, the suspension of the Housing Authority’s elevator chief for making false maintenance claims, and the routinely broken subway escalators at the Hudson Yards station.[4]

On April 3, 2019, The City launched its website: thecity.nyc. The organization said it will focus on "breaking news of importance to New Yorkers, from beat-driven enterprise stories to incisive investigative reports" and telling "neighborhood stories that transcend neighborhoods." In an interview with Columbia Journalism Review, when asked about the recent layoffs in local news-media, Hester said: “For years, it was death by a thousand cuts. Lately, it’s become a bloodbath.”[4][6]

The City launched their website with reports on displacement that would result from the 2nd Avenue subway; the bloated costs of public restroom construction (a bathroom in a Bronx park cost taxpayers $4.7 million); and the city’s failure to follow through on plans to furnish every public school classroom with air conditioning. Their work has prompted responses form politicians like Scott Stringer, Bill de Blasio and numerous elected city, and state, representatives.[4]

Deputy editor Alyssa Katz said she wanted every story to be an exclusive. "Everything you’re going to read in The City is going to be unique," said Katz, regarding their reporting and coverage. Some of their kickers and headlines have shown tabloid snark and witty quips.[4]