Gotham Gazette was a pioneering, nonpartisan online publication dedicated to covering New York City and State government, policy, and politics. Founded in 1999 by the Citizens Union Foundation, it quickly became a trusted source for in-depth reporting and analysis on the decisions and debates shaping the lives of New Yorkers.
By publishing Gotham Gazette, Citizens Union sought to enrich the public debate over civic affairs, inform New Yorkers about the decisions that affect their lives, educate voters, and hold government accountable.
From its earliest days—at a time when local news was shrinking and civic literacy was under threat—Gotham Gazette distinguished itself by focusing on the substance of governance rather than the spectacle. Over the course of more than two decades, it covered local elections with rigor, tracked legislation and policy developments, and gave voice to policy debates that often went unnoticed. It provided a platform for thoughtful commentary on issues ranging from housing and education to workforce development and civil rights. It also maintained consistent coverage of traditional “good government” issues such as ethics, transparency, voting, elections, and campaign finance reform.
Gotham Gazette was among the first online news publications in the country to provide a daily aggregation of links to the morning news from various media sources, maintaining the Eye-Opener newsletter every weekday for nearly two decades. It became one of the definitive sources of information about the recovery and rebuilding of New York City in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. During several consequential, large-scale municipal election cycles—from the 2001 overhaul of city government due to term limits to the first use of ranked-choice voting during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021—Gotham Gazette offered readers nonpartisan election guides covering dozens of races. For several years, it operated an Albany bureau focused on state-level issues affecting life in the city. Its podcast hosted officeholders, government officials, and civic leaders for in-depth conversations.
The site’s commitment to the public interest earned it multiple journalism awards and recognition, including from the Online News Association, the Pew Center for Civic Journalism, the American Planning Association, and the Knight Foundation. Many of its contributors went on to prominent roles in national journalism, a testament to the publication’s role as a training ground for thoughtful, public-minded reporting.
Gotham Gazette had no paywall, no subscription fees, and was mostly ad-free, relying on a small but mighty team to produce high-quality journalism. Facing the financial pressures common to nonprofit media, the Citizens Union Foundation announced in July 2023 that it was pausing publication of Gotham Gazette.
Though its future remains uncertain, Gotham Gazette’s legacy endures. It proved that nonprofit journalism could be impactful, principled, and essential to democracy. It showed that informed citizens are the foundation of good governance. And it left behind a rich archive of reporting that continues to serve as a resource for anyone seeking to understand the complex machinery of New York government.
You can explore that archive here: www.gothamgazette.com.