otty awards: Best of the Upper east side

For more than 20 years, Our Town has recognized the unique contributions of East Siders with the OTTY (Our Town Thanks You) Awards. On Thursday, March 7th, 12 OTTY’s were presented to a dynamic mix of individuals representing a hospital, a police precinct, an elementary school, a high-tech grad school, a synagogue, the FDNY, the MTA, the city council, a legendary bookstore, a homeless shelter, a volunteer organization and a neighborhood association.

A happy crowd of friends and family ignored the cold March winds and joined the honorees for a reception and the presentation of the awards, which was emceed by NY1’s Roma Torre.

Thank you to this year’s OTTY recipients: Sisters Judith Lowry, Adina Cohen and Naomi Hample, owners of the Argosy Book Store; Sahar Husain and the members of the Muslim Volunteers for NY; Daniel Huttenlocher, founding dean of Cornell Tech; Council Member Ben Kallos; FDNY Deputy Commissioner Laura Kavanagh; Cantor Dov Keren of the Sutton PLace Synagogue; Dr. Sabina Lim, vice president and chief of strategy, behavioral health, Mount Sinai Health System; Valerie Mason, president and founder of the East 72nd Street Neighborhood Association; Thomas Prendergast, former CEO of the MTA; Bob Swanton of the Holy Trinity Shelter; Deputy Inspector Kathleen Walsh, commander of the 19th precinct; and Martin Woodard, principal of P.S. 183.