Hell Gate saw a 69% increase in subscribers in its third year of covering New York City

New York City’s mayoral Democratic primary this summer — in which Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani defeated disgraced former governor Andrew Cuomo — captured the nation’s attention, making for another busy year in New York City politics and news. But the race has proven lucrative for Hell Gate NYC, the three-year-old, worker-owned news outlet. Of Hell Gate’s three free newsletters, its most popular is a pop-up, Mayoral Spew, that covers the race and has more than 40,000 free subscribers.

In its third annual report, published Monday, Hell Gate reported a 66% increase in monthly subscription revenue and a 69% increase in subscribers over the previous year. The outlet currently brings in close to $70,000 per month from 9,000 subscribers — up from $42,000 at the end of September 2024 — and subscriptions make up two-thirds of its revenue. Hell Gate projects it will hit $1 million in annual subscription revenue by the middle of 2026 if its growth continues at this pace.

“We’re incredibly heartened by the ongoing subscriber growth,” the report’s authors write. “Somewhere out there is the ceiling for how many people want to read Hell Gate’s particular flavor of local New York City news. We keep waiting to bump our heads on it, and maybe one day, we will. But to our ongoing joy and astonishment, we haven’t hit it yet.

Subscription growth hasn’t been linear, though. Hell Gate, which launched in 2022, attributes some stagnation in recent months to a sale it ran in July that allowed new subscribers to pay just $0.99 for their first month (and get a free Hell Gate hat). Once the deal ended, new subscribers dipped out. “A possible lesson here is that maybe a discount can be so steep that it brings in people who don’t actually value our journalism,” the report says.

Hell Gate’s remaining third of revenue mostly came from philanthropy, with a bit from newsletter ads for local businesses like “an off-Broadway play, a cheeky dating app, and a cleaning service where workers are compensated fairly.”

Operating expenses have increased to $81,000 per month, up from $59,000 in 2024. Thanks to the growth in subscription revenue, Hell Gate raised its reporters’ salaries from $60,000 last year to $75,000. Two editors on staff each make $85,000.

The report also highlights Hell Gate’s aspirations for the next year. It plans to hire a third editor, experiment with livestream events as it did on primary night, and grow its podcast. It will continue to hold the city government accountable regardless of who’s in office, but “for the first time in Hell Gate’s existence, Eric Adams won’t be the mayor.”

“Our mandate remains unchanged: We will hold the mayor’s feet to the fire, ask him hard questions, and make merciless fun of him if he lies or tries to weasel out of commitments or does New Yorkers dirty. And if the city’s oligarchic potentates try to strangle the (very likely) Mamdani administration in its cradle, it will be our job to cover that too.”

Read the full report here.