Awards season didn’t end with the Oscars, at least not in this town. Word of some notable wins recently came to our attention — and although their “The envelope, please” moment has gone the way of a rolled up red carpet, the time is right to extend our heartfelt congratulations.
PARKSIDE WRITING CONTEST
Chelsea Waterside Park Association’s March 27 meeting, held at West 22nd Street’s German Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. Paul, had all the earmarks of its annual spring ritual: a reception, opening remarks and the election of officers and board members. The guest speaker, landscape architect Tom Balsley, gave a presentation that put his work for Chelsea Waterside Park within the context of his considerable body of work: 100 parks and plazas throughout the world — including Peggy Rockefeller Plaza and Riverside Park South in NYC as well as major parks in Portland, Denver and Tokyo.
This year’s meeting was also distinguished by an awards ceremony honoring the winners of CWPA’s first-ever Parkside Writing Contest — in which students are challenged to submit essays that communicate the essence of a specific park experience. All three winners were students at PS 33. Noting that this local school recently took first and sixth place in the All-Manhattan Spelling Bee, contest judge Donathan Salkaln praised their entries for “creativity and emotion” as well as, of course, flawless spelling.
They’re all winners: At Chelsea Waterside Park Association’s annual meeting, students from PS 33 were honored for placing in the Parkside Writing Contest. From left: NY City Councilmember Corey Johnson, third place winner Josephine Kinlan, CWPA president Robert Trentlyon, first place winner Nathaniel Lok and Donathan Salkaln, CWPA Board member and contest judge Donathan Salkaln (not pictured: second place winner Catherine Chung).
First place went to fourth grader Nathaniel Lok, for “The Muddy Sandstorm & The Sniper Piper”— his account of an ingenious water fight strategy. “I can’t wait to make more memories at the Chelsea Waterside Park, this summer,” he concluded. Recalling a different sort of water splashing game, second place winner Catherine Chung, a fifth grader, noted how her essay’s title (“I’m Going to Get You”) may have sounded like a threat, but “was meant in a fun way.” The other winning entry, by fourth grader Josephine Kinlan, was “Birthday Splash,” a verbal highlight reel of her sister’s birthday party. Congratulations, all — and please keep Chelsea Now in mind when you age into internship eligibility!
NYC COMMUNITY MEDIA WINS MULITPLE NYPA AWARDS
With enormous pride and admiration, Chelsea Now congratulates our sister publications for their impressive showing at this past weekend’s New York Press Association 2013 Better Newspapers Contest awards ceremony. Under the leadership of publisher Jennifer Goodstein, multiple awards went to The Villager, Gay City News and Downtown Express. So many, in fact, that NYC Community Media, LLC placed fifth in overall contest points (in the Group or Chain Newspapers category).
Gay City News was recognized for hosting mayoral, borough president, public advocate and city council debates. Awarding editor (and moderator) Paul Schindler a third place Division 3 win for Community Leadership, the judge wrote, “Getting these candidates to participate in a debate outside of the traditional venues that host such discussions was historic and shows the paper’s pull in the community.” Gay City News was also recognized for Coverage of Religion (multiple stories by four writers, on the new pope).
Lincoln Anderson, editor of The Villager, was once again recognized for his ability to convey the meaning of a story with economy and, often, humor. In the notes acknowledging his second place win for Headline Writing (a state-wide category), the judge said, “Great plays on words. None of them made me groan.” Among The Villager’s other awards: a third place Division 3 win for Best Editorial Page. Especially gratifying was the first place Division 3 win for Overall Design Excellence, which acknowledged the paper’s bold redesign. Praising the “new look for a paper that has been around for 80 years,” the judge declared The Villager to be “exactly what a weekly community newspaper should look like. Nice ads, photos, use of color, consistent look and not too cluttered.” Senior Designer Michael Shirey, who also performs that duty for Chelsea Now, led the collaborative effort.
The Villager’s redesign earned an Overall Excellence award.
Downtown Express, helmed by editor Josh Rogers, took home the third place (state-wide) award for Best Obituaries (“Told in a way that lets readers know who the deceased were, almost bringing them back to life.”). A Division 3 Feature Photo honorable mention was awarded to Milo Hess, who was given an honorable mention for an art photo in The Villager. He also won a first place Picture Story award for The Villager (Westminster dog photos). His Downtown Express photo, with its “alignment and composition, with the bonus of monochromatic color,” made “watching someone fly a kite fun.”
—Scott Stiffler
