Hi current and former Upper West Siders!
My name is Gus Saltonstall, and I am the new senior reporter at West Side Rag, where I will be covering all neighborhood-related topics and issues.
I am always looking to hear from readers about Upper West Side happenings, so please reach out to gus.saltonstall@westsiderag.com or follow me on X, if there is a specific local topic you’d like to alert me to or discuss.
A little more about my personal life: I was born and raised on the Upper West Side and went to high school on the Lower East Side. I graduated from Dickinson College in Pennsylvania, where I focused on the humanities and got my first tastes of the intersection of reporting and storytelling.
During my college years I interned at the West Side Rag for a summer, and after graduation I began my career in journalism at the local-news website Patch.
I started out on Patch’s National News Team, before making the switch to the New York City Team – where I covered the Upper West Side, along with Washington Heights and the West Village, for the last three years.
I couldn’t be more excited to return to the publication where I developed my love for reporting, and I consider it a great privilege to cover the Upper West Side neighborhood where I grew up and still live.
I want to talk to as many Upper West Siders as possible about the topics that mean the most to them. Have a possible local tale? An event to put on the calendar? A different angle on an already published story? Please, reach out!
Best,
Gus Saltonstall
Hopefully there will be less Trump/right wing content/complaining about crime now.
What on earth does that have to do with the above? Welcome, Gus
So people should accept the increase in crime and shut up about it? By the way if you like Biden’s crime wave hold on to your hat. Biden’s migrant crisis just caused Adams to slash NYPD overtime, this means less cops on the streets, less cops in the subways, less time Detectives have to investigate crimes. Last but not least the most experienced offices are about to run for the door, because a cut to overtime means a cut to their pension and it just ain’t worth it. When Adams said the Biden’s migrant crisis will destroy NYC you can bet on it.
You have proven our point with your simplistic generalization. Most of those complaining about crime and such are not Republicans or Trumpers. We are very far from it. We are moderate, realistic Democrats. Perhaps you should venture outside of the UWS and realize that we are quite benign compared to the real Trumpers out there.
Also, crime is an issue. I’m not sure how anyone can say it is not. Is it overplayed on WSR? Perhaps. But this is largely to offset those who have their heads in the sand and completely ignore it, either by saying it isn’t happening or “it was worse in the old days.” Safety and quality of life are top of mind for a lot of people. If it is not an issue for you, I would like to join you in your fantasy land. And you can choose to ignore those discussions.
Let’s see if this makes it through the censors…
More importantly, welcome to Gus and best of luck in your new position! Thank you for trying to make the UWS a better place for all.
The “censors”? Have you read the comments? No one’s censoring you
Welcome! Nice to see a young whippersnapper on the beat!
Welcome, Gus. Rather, welcome back. I look forward to seeing your reports, along with those of Carol and the rest of the Raggedys.
Hi Gus, welcome to the team! I think the WSR is a really special, homegrown institution and I am happy to see them growing their team
Welcome, Gus! I look forward to connecting with you about story ideas and, of course, reading your stories. Your intro letter wis terrific!
Welcome Gus!
Welcome Gus. I appreciate WSRag so much; it informs me of truly local stuff. I don’t know if this might be of interest to you or not, but Silver Moon Bakery (2740 Broadway, ne corner of105 St) will celebrate its 23 year of operation this November, an unusually long “run” for our changing neighborhood.
Welcome !
Nice to see a fellow Dickinson College alumni from UWS NYC stay in the city. WSR is a special place despite what you hear on the comments.
Welcome Gus! WSR is. great resource for our neighborhood
Congratulations Gus! Reporting, Local Reporting especially, is the backbone of á democracy, so write about everything and delve into what’s happening so the rest of us know what is going on around the corner that matters, the good and bad.
Welcome, Gus!
Good luck in your new position!
Glad you decided to stay as a loyal UWSider!
I look forward to seeing your byline, Gus. Do well.
Can’t wait to see the articles from Gus. Hopefully it will be a breath of fresh air.
Welcome!