Some of their kickers and headlines have shown tabloid snark and witty quips. Former CUNY Journalism director of news programs Jere Hester is its founding editor-in-chief. An NYU graduate, Hester spent 12 years at CUNY before founding "The City". Prior to his time at CUNY, he spent 15 years at NY Daily News. Its current newsroom is staffed by journalists who've previously worked at DNA Info, WNYC, NY1, ProPublica, Chicago Tribune, NY Daily News, The Investigative Fund, NY Post, Politico, NBC News, Newsday, The Marshall Project and The Washington Post. Its deputy editors are former NY Daily News editorial board member Alyssa Katz and former NCBNewYork.com managing editor Hasani Gittens. The City's publisher in John Wotowicz, a former investment banker. "The City" is a non-profit, 501c3, venture and supported by donations and grants. Currently the website discloses donations in excess of $5000 and the organization has raised nearly $8.5 million in initial funding — including $2.5 million each from the Leon Levy Foundation, the Charles H. Revson Foundation and Craigslist founder, Craig Newmark. Other donors include: The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Richard H. Ravitch Foundation ($250,000 - $1,000,000), Miranda Family Foundation, Tishman Speyer, Erin and John Thornton ($100,000 - $249,999), and Cheryl Cohen Effron and Gary Ginsberg ($25,000 - $99,999.) In an April, 2019, Bloomberg News profile of the organization, publisher John Wotowicz said, "We have 2 ½ years of runway in the bank. That’s not 25 years of funding. Fundraising will continue to be a terrifically important part of our business.” Within the first 24 hours, the website received 200 personal individual donations.