Chris Bragg.

From City & State Managing Editor Andrew J. Hawkins:

Here at City & State, we don’t normally toot our own horns. But today we’ll make an exception. Two of our reporters, Chris Bragg and Laura Nahmias, were honored with the New York Press Association’s 2011 “Writer of the Year” distinction. Chris took home the top prize, Laura the runner-up, but in our eyes both are equally commendable. On Chris’s award, the NYPA judges wrote: “This is a powerful body of work, consistently characterized by high-profile (meaning high-difficulty) topics, deep and detailed reporting, and sharp writing that keeps the reader engaged.” On Laura’s award, they wrote: “I’m from 3,000 miles away and don’t know New York well, but I was drawn to these stories.” Laura also won second place for best news story, and first place for best news/features series in her division. And there’s more! The paper as a whole took home several additional prizes: third place for coverage of education, third place for in-depth reporting, third place for coverage of local elections and third place for coverage of elections/politics. Our photo editor, Andrew Schwartz, was honored in his category for feature photos. Congratulations to all of them. We couldn’t be more proud.

Laura Nahmias.

Andrew Schwartz.

Three other Manhattan Media community newspapers were also honored with awards from NYPA this year. See a full list below with shots of the winning photos and links to the winning articles:

Our Town Downtown

Coverage of the Arts, Second Place

Best Special Section Cover, First Place, ““Dynamic and eye-catching.  Great balance of color.  Has fun with a recognizable NYC aerial image. Relays the section’s focus well, and in a unique way.”

The Special Sections Cover first place winner.

Sports Feature, Second Place,  “The Extraordinary Sports—and Sportspeople—of Downtown Manhattan”

Best Use of Color, Third Place

Our Town

Best Column, Third Place

Best Feature Photo, First Place

First Place Feature Photo winner for Our Town. Photo by Andrew Schwartz.

West Side Spirit

Best Graphic Illustration, Third Place

Best Special Section Cover, Third Place

Third Place Special Section Cover for the West Side Spirit. Cover by Ed Johnson.

Best Feature Photo, Second Place

Second Place Feature Photo winner for the West Side Spirit. Photo by Andrew Schwartz.