“During his prior tenure with Downtown Express, Josh established a strong reputation for understanding the needs of the Downtown neighborhoods and the issues at hand,” said Jennifer Goodstein, publisher of Downtown Express and CEO of its parent company, NYC Community Media L.L.C . “We are fortunate to have him back, and I look forward to seeing how the paper will grow editorially.”
Rogers first joined Downtown Express as a part-time reporter in 1995, and managed the paper’s coverage of the aftermath of Sept. 11th. The Express’ 9/11 reporting and its expansion to a weekly earned first place community leadership awards from the National Newspaper Association and the New York Press Association. His editorials on topics ranging from World Trade Center memorial plans, the fatal Deutsche Bank fire and school rezoning battles were twice judged best in the state by NYPA.
He left the paper in 2010 to take care of his newborn son, and more recently had been a columnist and contributing editor for Manhattan Media.
“Thomas Wolfe was wrong — you can go home again,” Rogers said in a statement. “I’m so excited to be working with Jenn, Aline Reynolds, Therese Loeb Kreuzer and the rest of the team at the Express and NYC Community Media. I can’t wait to reconnect with the Downtown community, and meet the new leaders who have emerged in this ever-changing, exciting part of New York City.”
Reynolds will remain the paper’s associate editor and Loeb Kreuzer will continue her coverage of Battery Park City and the rest of Lower Manhattan.
“At the Express, we covered many Lower Manhattan families fighting to keep their school zone, and now as a Chelsea parent, I’ve gotten to know firsthand what it’s like when you are threatened with losing your first choice neighborhood school,” Rogers said. “It’s one of many vital issues we will continue to cover. In the coming months we’re going to build on the strengths of Downtown Express with wrinkles — a few old, and many new.”
