[3][4] It debuted on April 16, 2002, claiming descent from, and adopting the name, motto, and nameplate of, the earlier New York paper The Sun (1833–1950).

[2] Following Efune's acquisition, The New York Sun resumed full-time online reporting in 2022, focusing on a digital-first strategy.

[11][13][14] Michael Calderone of Politico quoted Lipsky as saying not to read too much into the initial items since "...a business plan for the site is still in formation," and "... these are just some very, very early bulbs of spring (or late winter).

"[14] It only contained a small subset of the original content of the paper, mostly editorials at irregular intervals,[15] op-ed commentaries[16] and frequent contributions from economist and noted television commentator Lawrence Kudlow.

[2] Following Efune's acquisition, The New York Sun resumed full-time online reporting in 2022, focusing on a digital-first strategy.

[1] In 2002, Editor-in-chief Lipsky said that the paper's prominent op-ed page would champion "limited government, individual liberty, constitutional fundamentals, equality under the law, economic growth ... standards in literature and culture, education".

[18] In 2004, Stoll characterized The Sun's political orientation as "right-of-center",[19] and an associate of Conrad Black predicted in 2002 that the paper would be neoconservative in its outlook.

[6] The paper also urged strong action against the perceived threat of the Islamic Republic of Iran[6] and also was known for its forceful coverage of Jewish-related issues,[24] and advocacy for Israel's right of self-defense,[6][19][24] as evidenced in articles by pro-Israel reporter Aaron Klein.

Conservative Catholic commentator and anti-abortionist Richard John Neuhaus, writing in 2006 in First Things, described the Sun as a paper that had "made itself nearly indispensable for New Yorkers".

"[26] In the same article, Mark Malloch Brown, Kofi Annan's chief of staff at the United Nations, described The Sun as "a pimple on the backside of American journalism."

According to Sherman, Brown "accepts that the paper's obsession with the UN translates into influence ... he admitted The Sun "does punch way above its circulation number, on occasion".

[28] The Sun received critical praise for its sports section, writers for which included Steven Goldman, Thomas Hauser, Sean Lahman, Tim Marchman, and John Hollinger.

[9] The Sun was started anew in 2002 in the face of a long-term decline of newspapers in the United States, loss of advertising revenue to the Internet and the rise of new media.

It offered free subscriptions for a full year to residents in advertiser-desired zip codes;[26] this and other uses of controlled circulation made it more attractive to advertisers, but further diminished its chances of ever becoming profitable.

[28] Mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg commented that "The Sun shone brightly, though too briefly," and that its writers were "smart, thoughtful, provocative".

[32] Allegations were published in the paper's January 9, 2008 issue, written by contributing editor Daniel Johnson about then-candidate Barack Obama and Kenya's candidate (and subsequent Prime Minister) Raila Odinga, based on what was later described as "a patently fallacious story ... or at the very least to shirk their responsibility to the truth.