Today Hell Gate bids farewell to one of its founding editors, Esther Wang. Esther has been at Hell Gate from the very start—back in January 2022, when it was just a handful of people, dreaming up a new publication. And dream we did!
Now, as Hell Gate continues to grow, Esther is off to pursue other projects, but her imprint on the publication is eternal.
So join us in wishing Esther happy trails (we're sure she won't go far, probably Queens), and commemorating her finest moments on the site.
When Hell Gate's founders were first discussing what it would mean to launch a new, independent, worker-owned local news publication, Esther was all in, on one condition: "I'm going to write about fishing." And boy, did she! Her celebrated OnlyFins column slowly evolved from simple meditations on the contemplative joys of her chosen pastime to a lens through which to explore the city, as she followed the fish everywhere from summons court to the Gowanus superfund site, Bed-Stuy puddles, and the saltwater forays of seminal 1970s artists.
What Hell Gate readers may be less aware of are the innumerable ways that Esther built Hell Gate that are not reflected in a byline. She has edited hundreds and hundreds of stories, taking raw copy (sometimes very raw!) and bringing it up to her high standard. Outside of the newsroom, she has been tireless in her work building out our organization, chairing committees, establishing protocols and policies, and drafting some of our foundational documents. We would not be where we are without her contributions, and we will be forever grateful to her.
—Nick Pinto
A few days after I got the news that I'd secured the gig at Hell Gate, I ran into Esther at a mutual friend's birthday party. I wasn't quite sure if the news was public, or really how to act as it hadn't been "officially" announced yet, and then Esther greeted me with a massive hug and made me feel welcome right from the start. From then on, I knew I was in good hands.
—Rick Paulas
For the first half of the three months I’ve worked at Hell Gate thus far, Esther was brain-deep in the massive Courts of Contempt project, an editing machine with a (hypothetical) periwig on her headpiece and an (actual) iridescent vape in her hand. Day by day, and as fastidiously as she executes everything, Esther would pore through miles of copy, ensuring that it read clearly and sparklingly and that every fact was correct. This was not an easy task—the arcane nature of New York’s judicial delegate system is why the project existed in the first place—but her focus was like a laser-light beam, and the end result you can see for yourself. Having worked with Esther before, I knew the copy would be pristine—and, having been friends with her for years, I knew that in the end, we would cheers our vapes together, the champagne glasses of our nic fits. ¡Salud!
—Julianne Escobedo Shepherd
I completed my single best piece of journalism to date with Esther as my editor: an absolutely batshit tale of scamming and animal mistreatment in New York City's foster cat community. In fact, the whole story started thanks to a tip from Esther, which she trusted me with just a few months into my working at Hell Gate. What followed was around 12 weeks of her patiently fielding my frantic missives about this or that cat foster group—and enduring a bit of stalling from me, on a draft that I couldn't get to come together. The whole thing came to a dramatic close: The cat rescuer we'd been thinking about for months had her home raided by the ASPCA and NYPD, and she was arrested in front of her home in Woodhaven. It was gutting. It was also, at the risk of being too mercenary, an amazing article. That was thanks in large part to Esther's X-Acto knife edits, keen sense of pacing, and immense talent as a storyteller, skills that she brings to every piece she works on as an editor or a (empathetic, observant, enthralling) writer.
—Katie Way
Esther is an incredibly talented editor, for sure, and is able to keep even the most nightmarishly complicated investigative project on the rails and chugging along to a beautiful conclusion. But one of my favorite parts about getting to work with her (aside from hearing on the Slack about her love of boutique kitchen electronics and very specific household drills), is that I loved her writing. Especially when it was writing about…just hanging out. Whether hanging out with the Hipster Grifter or hanging out with the City Councilmember who bit a cop, I will read anything about Esther Wang hanging out with somebody. And when you're very lucky like we've been, you get to be part of the hang!
—Max Rivlin-Nadler
Is Hell Gate a successful blog? We are still attempting to answer this question in the affirmative. Some days, I think the answer is "absolutely." Others, I feel like jumping into the ocean and swimming far away. One thing I am dead certain of, however, is that we never would have made it this far without Esther.
Imagine a colleague who knows their way around City and state government and also striped bass migration patterns; who intimately understands how political organizing works, and appreciates the simple joys of community ping-pong; who knows when to be a fly on the wall, and when to speak out against "Meditation Minute" (among other injustices).
For four years, Esther has blessed this website with her humor, her curiosity, and her unmatched talent in sussing out what a story should be, and then willing it into existence. Her editorial judgement sweeps this website like the beacon of a lighthouse atop a craggy island. Many blogs would have been dashed upon the rocks if not for Esther. I could sleep soundly knowing the light was there.
I will miss Esther's laugh, her editorial rigor, her penchant for contextless links in the Morning Spew. And I will do my best to keep her light shining.
—Christopher Robbins