INDEPENDENT
LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK | IQ
The Reporter
Long Island, New York
Idris Qabbani
Idris Qabbani
Host · Journalist
Follow on X ↗

A New Yorker who isn't leaving. An independent journalist. One city's story, told honestly.

New York City
Wall Street
Corporate Migration
City Politics
Thesis
Every city tells its story in its filings — who's listed where, who pays which tax, and who quietly walks away. New York is still mine to report.
← Back to about

The Full Story

Idris Qabbani

Idris Qabbani is an independent journalist based in Long Island, New York. For the past five years, he's been tracking the corporate, financial, and political reshaping of New York City — the decisions made in boardrooms and city halls that ripple through neighborhoods, workplaces, and families across the tristate region.

His reporting combines data analysis, public records research, and street-level reporting to tell stories the major media outlets often miss: the tax incentives that quietly reshape zoning, the corporate relocation that hollows out Manhattan, the political backroom deals that rewrite city codes.

Before going independent, Idris spent three years at a mid-market news outlet covering commercial real estate, municipal finance, and city politics. He's reported from city council meetings, tax commission hearings, and the lobbying offices where decisions about New York's future are actually made.

He believes that independent journalism — journalism accountable to readers, not advertisers or corporate owners — is the only way to tell New York's real story. That's why he built The Qabbani Wire: to report the news that matters to people living in and building New York, without the filter of corporate interests.

Beats & Expertise
  • New York City municipal politics
  • Wall Street and corporate finance
  • Commercial real estate and zoning
  • Tax policy and incentives
  • Corporate relocation trends
  • Data journalism & public records
Awards & Recognition
  • Finalist, 2024 New York State AP Awards
  • Profile: "One Reporter Taking On The Machine" — Columbia Journalism Review
  • Featured in: Politico, The Edge, NY Focus
  • Active speaker on independent journalism and accountability reporting

Get In Touch

Have a tip, a lead, or a story idea? Send it over ↗