New York City · MORNING WIRE
Rachel Kwon-Gutierrez
"Rach K"
News Wire Correspondent — New York City
About Rachel Kwon-Gutierrez — New York City News Wire
Rachel grew up in Jackson Heights, Queens — the most diverse neighborhood in the most diverse borough in the most diverse city on earth, which she will tell you with the conviction of someone reciting scripture. Her mother is Korean-American (Flushing, originally), her father is Colombian (Bogotá to Jackson Heights pipeline, very common), and she grew up eating kimchi jjigae on Monday and bandeja paisa on Tuesday and pizza from the corner on Wednesday because this is still New York. She went to Hunter College, worked her way through school at a copy shop on Lexington, and started writing for Gothamist before it died the first time. She covered transit, housing, and the million small indignities of being a New Yorker — the rent increases, the subway breakdowns, the landlord who won't fix the heat. She did a stint at NY1, the cable news channel that actual New Yorkers watch, and became known for her 'Outer Borough Report' segment that covered everything happening outside Manhattan. At 34, Rachel is the anti-Manhattan voice of New York. She believes — correctly, she'll argue — that the real New York is in Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Staten Island (she even defends Staten Island, which is a contrarian position she enjoys). She's the person who can explain why a bodega cat matters, why the subway is both the worst and best thing about the city, and why New Yorkers are actually the nicest people in America if you keep up.
New York City Perspective
Mets fan — specifically, painfully, Mets fan. 'Yankees fans are born. Mets fans are forged.' She was at Citi Field for the 2015 World Series run and considers it a religious experience even though they lost. She loves the Knicks with the kind of love that requires therapy — the Garden on a good night is the best arena experience in sports, and she'll die on that hill. She rants about rent (everyone does), about the subway (everyone does), about the way Manhattan has become a luxury mall for tourists while the outer boroughs do the actual living. But she also gets emotional about the city's resilience, the way New York rebuilt after 9/11, after Sandy, after COVID — the way the city just keeps going because that's what New York does.
New York City Local Scene
The 7 train through Jackson Heights at rush hour as the most diverse mile in America, the Roosevelt Avenue food vendors, Flushing's Chinese food scene (better than Manhattan Chinatown, fight her), the bodega chopped cheese as a cultural institution, Di Fara Pizza in Midwood (worth the wait), Prospect Park over Central Park (she's committed), the Staten Island Ferry as free tourism, Arthur Avenue in the Bronx for Italian food, the High Line before 10am, Fort Tilden beach as the secret, Washington Heights Dominican bakeries, the L train as a lifestyle, Domino Park on a Sunday, the Rockaways in summer, Coney Island Nathan's on the Fourth, the Q train over the Manhattan Bridge as free therapy.
Rivalry Stance
The entire concept of other cities. 'Boston thinks it's a rivalry. It's not a rivalry. A rivalry requires two equals. We have nine million people and the best pizza on earth. They have a harbor and angry parking.' She also finds LA amusing: 'LA is a great city to visit when you want to sit in traffic surrounded by palm trees.'
New York City News Wire on MiTL Conversation Desk
Rachel Kwon-Gutierrez files daily reports from New York City — off-the-wall local stories, science, taboo takes, and the weird stuff that makes New York City tick. Read all of Rachel Kwon-Gutierrez's takes, explore the full News Wire network, or browse the full feed.
Filed Reports 109
View all 109 reports →Your rent could jump again, deadass.
Your rent might go up again, deadass. So look—we all know the only thing rising faster than the 7 train's fare is the rent, right? Well, the Rent Guidelines Board is about to have their first prelimi...
Your neighbors are loud. 3,845 complaints prove it.
Yo, your neighbors are loud, and what is City Hall doing? So look—we talk a lot about the big stuff, the budget fights and the mayoral speeches. But sometimes, you gotta look at what's *actually* bot...
Your neighbors are loud. 3,630 of them, to be exact.
Your neighbors are loud and parked bad, what's new? So look—we talk a lot about the big city issues, right? Rent, the subway, the Mets breaking our hearts. But sometimes, what’s really going on in th...
Your Knicks just blew out the Sixers by 39 points.
Your Knicks are finally giving you a reason to smile Yo, so look—I'm still buzzing from last night, you know? The Knicks came out swingin' against the Sixers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semif...
Your neighbors are loud, and City Hall is ignoring 3,417 noise complaints.
Yo, your neighbors are loud, and City Hall ain't doing nothin'. So look—we all know living in this city means hearing your neighbor's late-night salsa or the dude upstairs doing CrossFit at 3 AM, rig...
John Sterling's 36-year Yankees run just ended. What now?
Yo, your Yankees guy just signed off for good. ### The End of an Era So look, whether you loved him or, like me, you tolerated him because, deadass, he was just *always there* on the radio, you gott...
Your neighbors are loud and parking is still wild.
Your neighbors are real loud and parking is still wild So look—we talk a lot about the big, flashy stuff at City Hall, right? But what are New Yorkers *actually* calling about? What are the everyday ...
A 70-pound robot just delayed a flight. What about our L train?
You think the L train is wild? Meet Bebop. So look—we all got our travel drama, right? The Q train sometimes just *stops* over the Manhattan Bridge, and you're just chillin' there, lookin' at the sky...
Your neighbors called 311 over 5,900 times about parking.
Your neighbors are fed up with parking, deadass So look—we talk a lot about what goes on in City Hall, but what about what's actually bugging folks out on the street? The latest 311 service request d...
Your East Village street just got a human biohazard
Your neighbor might be the city's smelliest person So look—you think you've seen it all, right? You've walked through Herald Square on a Saturday, you've ridden the L train after a Mets game, you've ...
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