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Hell Gate NYC

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Hell Gate
Good blogs for the greatest city.
Logo since July 8, 2024
FormatDigital
Founders
  • Nick Pinto
  • Esther Wang
  • Christopher Robbins
  • Max Rivlin-Nadler
  • Sydney Pereira
Staff writers
7
FoundedMay 2, 2022
HeadquartersBrooklyn
CityNew York City
Circulation9,000 paid subscribers (as of September 2025)[1]
PriceUSD $7 per month
Websitehellgatenyc.com

Hell Gate NYC is an online worker-owned publication focused on local New York City news.[2][3] The publication is named after the Hell Gate Bridge, due to the bridge's reputation for tenacity.[4][5] Hell Gate covers a wide range of topics that include, but are not limited to, political corruption, local street performers, policing,[6] and strange subway advertisements.[7] The company is headquartered in a co-working space in Brooklyn,[5] and has five reporters and two editors, all worker-owners.[1]

History

[edit]

The founders of Hell Gate (Nick Pinto, Esther Wang, Christopher Robbins, Max Rivlin-Nadler, and Sydney Pereira) began developing the idea for the publication in 2021.[4] Many of them were former coworkers at New York City publications such as the Village Voice, The New York Times, and Gothamist, as well as non-New York publications such as Jezebel and The Intercept.[4][8] Pinto, Robbins, and Rivlin-Nadler had all faced job instability as journalists due to companies mismanaging resources, lacking funding, and cutting budgets.[9] In January 2022, they pitched the idea of Hell Gate to fifty local journalists[who?], and recruited Pereira and Wang.[9] The team decided that their publication would have a snarky tone like pre-acquisition Gothamist, and that they would approach stories from a human rights-oriented perspective.[3]

Hell Gate launched the website as a test on May 2, 2022, and launched in full two months later.[10] Their advisory board includes Paul Ford and Emily Greenhouse.[11]

Reporting

[edit]

In 2023, Amsterdam News credited Hell Gate with refuting the New York Police Department's claim that the NYPD was under a "gag order" concerning its Strategic Response Group that prevented them from attending a City Council oversight hearing.[12][13]

During the 2025 New York City mayoral election, Hell Gate revealed that Andrew Cuomo's campaign had used ChatGPT to write his housing plan[14][15][16] (which included what the New York Times called "incoherent babble").[17]

Co-founder Rivlin-Nadler's past experience in TV and radio journalism helped inspire Hell Gate's foray into live broadcasts, beginning with a livestream covering the New York mayoral primary election night on June 24, 2025.[18] Rivlin-Nadler had learned, during a previous job at KPBS, that a smartphone and small mic comprised the physical equipment necessary for broadcast-quality audio and video. Hell Gate has now run two subsequent election night broadcasts, including one in which Pinto livestreamed while biking between two competing campaigns' parties, indicative of Hell Gate's openness to "gonzo journalism."[19]

Business model

[edit]
Tote bags, shirts, and similar items bear the Hell Gate NYC logo on a picnic table
Hell Gate tote bags and other merch for sale in 2026

Hell Gate's initial funding came from two New York-based organizations for the arts: a $25,000 grant from The Harnisch Foundation, and a $50,000 grant from the Vital Projects Fund.[3] A further $300,000 in grants was given between 2023 and 2024.[20]

After a few months initially running as a free newsletter, Hell Gate added a paywall.[6] Subscribers sign up for one of three tiers of subscriptions (paying monthly or annual)[8] to access its paywalled articles.[3] The site also allows non-paying readers to subscribe to free daily and twice-weekly email newsletters,[21] with tens of thousands of subscribers each,[1] and has produced a free-to-listen podcast since February 2023.[22][23] The founders believed that a subscription-funded business would work,[4][24] and aimed to be primarily subscriber-funded, partly because of their "profound mistrust of the consistency of philanthropic interest".[25] As of September 2025, the site had 9,000 paid subscribers making $70,000 per month, accounting for two-thirds of revenue, and cost around $81,000 per month to run.[1]

To keep costs down, at launch, they wrote from home and published online,[4] using the same provider as Defector Media, another worker-owned cooperative.[3]

Hell Gate reporters interview Zohran Mamdani on Oct. 24, 2025. From left: Jessy Edwards, Pinto, Robbins, Mamdani, Katie Way, Adlan Jackson, and Rivlin-Nadler.

Hell Gate is a worker-owned cooperative, where the journalists have the job of reporter, editor, and managing the business,[3][4] with aid from a marketing and external relations manager and an operations and finance manager.[1] Two of the staffers serve primarily as editors, and take a higher salary than those who primarily report.[25] Hell Gate also hires freelancers.[9] As of September 2025, all reporters were paid $75,000 per year,[1] up from $48,000 per year at launch.[6]

As of November 2025, Hell Gate said it was profitable, expecting to earn approximately $850,000 in revenue in 2025.[26] Advertisements are a minor source of revenue.[27][20][28] A third of its revenue comes from donations,[28] down from half in 2024.[8] The majority of Hell Gate's expenses are staff salaries and health insurance premiums (Hell Gate fully funds staffers' health insurance premiums).[25]

Reception

[edit]

Hell Gate has been identified by several outlets to be part of a resurgence in indie publishing. They have been favorably compared to other worker-owned sites like Aftermath, Defector and 404 Media,[2][7][29][30][31] and mentioned as part of the legacy of The Village Voice.[32] Hell Gate's subscriber model, podcast, and emphasis on allowing individual staffers' interests and voices to emerge in their reporting facilitates a closer reader relationship than with many publications; "I feel like I’m learning a lot about parasocial relationships," co-owner Jessy Edwards commented in 2026.[25]

The New York Press Club awarded its 2024 annual journalism award in the category "Political Reporting – NYC Metro" to "The Eric Adams Table of Success,"[33] a collaboration between Hell Gate and Type Investigations.[34]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Hell Gate 2025 Annual Report". Hell Gate. September 29, 2025. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
  2. 1 2 Loewinger, Micah (July 21, 2023). "The Rise of Worker-Owned Journalism | On the Media". WNYC Studios. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Tameez, Hanaa' (September 6, 2022). ""We can't just cover the same old shit": How worker-owned Hell Gate is bringing the alt-weekly voice back to New York City". Nieman Lab. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Choiniere, Alyssa (January 23, 2023). "Scrappy startup Hell Gate fills NYC's missing alt voice, keeping authority in check with a sense of humor". Editor & Publisher. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  5. 1 2 Wagner, Laura (October 12, 2024). "For the reporters of Hell Gate, heaven is covering Mayor Eric Adams". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
  6. 1 2 3 Watson, Lauren. "An election watch party with Hell Gate, a New York news-and-culture cooperative". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved July 24, 2026.
  7. 1 2 Pejcha, Camille Sojit (October 16, 2023). "The next wave of indie publishing". Document Journal. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  8. 1 2 3 Mechling, Lauren (March 2, 2024). "Journalism is in freefall. These writers aren't giving up: 'We can go out swinging'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  9. 1 2 3 Wong, Ashley (July 20, 2022). "Tired of Waiting for Their Dream Workplace, These Writers Made Their Own". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 13, 2024. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  10. ↑ "It's Our Birthday! Help Us Celebrate". Hell Gate. May 2, 2024. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  11. ↑ "About Us". Hell Gate. April 2, 2024. Retrieved May 15, 2026.
  12. ↑ Robbins, Christopher (March 2, 2023). "The NYPD Blamed a 'Gag Order' for Skipping a City Council Hearing. There Is No Gag Order". Hell Gate. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
  13. ↑ Lau, Tandy (March 9, 2023). "NYPD ducks hearing on controversial unit after class action settlement with South Bronx BLM protesters". New York Amsterdam News. Vol. 114, no. 10. p. 29. ISSN 1059-1818.
  14. ↑ Rivlin-Nadler, Max; Robbins, Christopher (April 14, 2025). "Andrew Cuomo Used ChatGPT for His Housing Plan". Hell Gate. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
  15. ↑ McDonough, Annie; Donaldson, Sahalie (April 15, 2025). "Andrew Cuomo denied millions in public matching funds for mayoral campaign". City & State NY. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
  16. ↑ McDonough, Annie (July 29, 2025). "2025 is the year New York political campaigns embrace AI". City & State NY. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
  17. ↑ Rubinstein, Dana (April 14, 2025). "Cuomo Announces New Housing Plan, With a Hint of ChatGPT". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
  18. ↑ "Hell Gate Will Go Live on Primary Night". Hell Gate. June 19, 2025. Retrieved July 24, 2026.
  19. ↑ Greenwell, Megan. "Hell Gate: The site with personality big enough for the city it covers". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved July 24, 2026.
  20. 1 2 "Hell Gate 2024 Annual Report". October 11, 2024. Retrieved October 11, 2024. As of October 10, we have 5,368 paid subscribers to our website; 20,840 subscribers to our bi-weekly Inbox Hell newsletter; and 19,856 subscribers to our new daily Morning Spew newsletter (both of which are free).
  21. ↑ "Fresh hell, straight to your inbox". Hell Gate NYC. May 15, 2026. Retrieved May 15, 2026.
  22. ↑ "The Hell Gate Podcast". Acast. Retrieved May 15, 2026.
  23. ↑ Robbins, Christopher (February 24, 2023). "Casinos Are Coming for NYC: And so is the brand new Hell Gate Podcast". Hell Gate NYC. Retrieved May 15, 2026.
  24. ↑ Rivlin-Nadler, Max (October 21, 2025). "The Future of Local News Is Making People Pay For It". TPM – Talking Points Memo. Retrieved November 17, 2025.
  25. 1 2 3 4 Dhanesha, Neel (February 3, 2026). "Journalism coops seem utopian. What's it like working in one?". Nieman Lab.
  26. ↑ Moses, Lucia; Whateley, Dan; Faris, James (November 17, 2025). "A new guard of media startups is giving Google and Facebook the cold shoulder". Business Insider. Retrieved November 17, 2025.
  27. ↑ Doerrer, Brandon (November 20, 2023). "New breed publishers favor subscription revenue as brand safety controls cut off ad supply". PR Week. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  28. 1 2 Tameez, Hanaa’ (September 30, 2025). "Hell Gate saw a 69% increase in subscribers in its third year of covering New York City". Nieman Lab.
  29. ↑ Silverman, Justin R. (April 18, 2024). "404 Media and the hopes of worker-owned journalism". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved April 28, 2024.
  30. ↑ Bustillos, Maria (March 29, 2024). "The Future of Media Is Journalist-Run". ISSN 0027-8378. Retrieved July 24, 2026.
  31. ↑ Robertson, Katie; Mullin, Benjamin (March 12, 2024). "Sprouts of Hope in a Gloomy Media Landscape". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 24, 2026.
  32. ↑ Lozano, Kevin (April 11, 2024). "Voice Lessons". The New York Review of Books. Retrieved July 24, 2026.
  33. ↑ "About the Table of Success". Table of Success, Hell Gate NYC. Retrieved November 17, 2025.
  34. ↑ "2024 Gold Keyboard Award to Spectrum News NY1 Team for Story on Child Welfare Deaths in New York Full Slate of Journalism Awards Announced - The New York Press Club". May 13, 2024. Retrieved November 17, 2025.
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