Several members of the Sulzberger family, the largest shareholders in the New York Times Company, work for the newspaper. The most famous is publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr., who spent the year trying to stabilize the Times’ balance sheet while dodging a steady hail of criticism. But one Sulzberger had a very good 2009: his 29-year-old son, Metro reporter Arthur Gregg.
A. G. Sulzberger started work in February on the lowest rung of the city-room ladder, but already he has established a niche for himself, filing his most entertaining work on the quirks of New York’s flora and fauna. He’s written about a lost parrot in Hell’s Kitchen, a reptile-smuggling ring, and the myth of alligators in the sewer system. In September, he recounted the tale of the third Nubian goat found near the Hutchinson River Parkway in one month. In October, he reported the destruction of a 600-year-old tree in Queens. And all fall, he covered the upsetting story of Oreo, the dog thrown by her owner from a building in Brooklyn.
A.G.’s colleagues are impressed by his work ethic. “He’s certainly not a self-promoting type,” says one. “He’s game for writing the weird ‘Metro’ stories that can sound ridiculous in the wrong hands.” He also knows when not to play the family card: A. G. doesn’t even look up when A. O. S. Jr. passes by.