News / Press

Queens Public Television
A first for Southeast Queens, Dianna Rose’s commercial kitchen stands as a key connector for food businesses in the area.
The Imprint
A rare legal challenge now before a New York appeals court takes on an all-too-common reason parents lose their children to foster care: they failed to protect them from an abusive spouse’s acts of domestic violence.
NY Daily News
David Shalleck-Klein, executive director of the Family Justice Law Center and one of her attorneys, said ACS supervision is a frequent requirement for survivors of domestic violence to maintain custody — but is often deeply misguided.
New York Times
Five years ago, David Buckel violently ended his life in a public park in Brooklyn. People who knew him were shocked and angry. Yet they refused to give up.
New York Times
Bryan Ortiz quit a job as a paramedic to help people at a safe injection site for drugs like fentanyl and heroin. Now, his job is under legal threat.
Vox
Erika Sasson is an attorney and practitioner who designs and facilitates restorative justice processes, focusing on complex dynamics and fatal harm. She worked at the Center for Justice Innovation for 10 years, and before that was a federal prosecutor in Canada.
Gothamist
Everyone in Red Hook seems to know Karen Blondel. Now the public housing leader is getting more formal citywide recognition for her work organizing her neighbors.
NY1
Karen Blondel joined NY1 political anchor Errol Louis on “Inside City Hall” Thursday to talk more about her plans for the award money.
BK Reader
This year, the Prize recognized visionaries who have radical initiatives to improve New York City.
NY1
In an industrial section of Springfield Gardens, Queens, food entrepreneurs are hard at work — in the Essential Kitchen. It’s a commercial kitchen — designed to give home chefs — turned small business owners a place to create.
New York Times
The first question, inevitably, was about the money. What was he going to do with it? Hire a couple of lawyers, said David Shalleck-Klein. “Top-flight civil rights litigators” whose jobs might well include suing the city, he said.
New York Law Journal
The Family Justice Law Center, the first organization of its kind in the United States, will go on the legal offensive on behalf of families who say child welfare agencies violated their constitutional rights.
NY1
Five New Yorkers have been awarded a prestigious award to support efforts to making the city a better place. The initiative, known as the David Prize, doles out $200,000 to each individual without any strings. Past winners have included technology entrepreneurs, community organizers and founders of nonprofits.
Crain's New York
Jason Gibson wants to make sure that young New Yorkers know about the opportunities of the city’s burgeoning tech industry. While in prison on a narcotics charge, he reflected on alternative careers for himself and learned as much as he could about the sector. At the same time, he was reading about socio-economic disparities in Black communities.
CBS News
A nonprofit organization teaching computer coding to children living in NYCHA complexes received a major boost to its budget this week. Hood Code founder Jason Gibson received the David Prize, which donates $200,000 each year to five individuals working to create a better and brighter New York City.
Queens Chronicle
An area cooking space is getting a healthy serving of cash. Dianna Rose, a Southeast Queens-based entrepreneur, was one of five recipients of the third David Prize, a $200,000 grant given to New York City residents striving to make their community a better place. Rose will use the funding to continue to grow and operate Essential Kitchen Co., the first shared commercial cooking space in Southeast Queens.
BKReader
The David Prize just awarded five New Yorkers from the child welfare, culinary, creative, technology, and media sectors who are focused on improving the lives of New Yorkers of color. Every year, The David Prize provides five winners with a $200,000 no-strings-attached grant to enable awardees to transform their plans into lasting initiatives that directly impact New Yorkers.
AfroTech
Jason Gibson is a product of his environment and has chosen to climb the higher ladder to make a difference in his community. Gibson dabbled in different hustles that weren’t in his best interests, which landed him behind bars for his involvement with narcotics.
City & State New York
Social justice activist and former Staten Island borough president candidate Cesar Vargas, who became nationally known as the state’s first immigrant without legal status to be allowed entry into the bar, won the $200,000 David Prize for his vision to help immigrants in the military with legal challenges.
Time for Kids
Urban farmer Domingo Morales is focused on compost.
Business Insider
Miren offers software to help lenders underwrite credit-thin small-business borrowers. Wharton grad Gabriela Campoverde launched the startup while in business school. Campoverde was recently named a finalist for the David Prize, a $200,000 philanthropic grant awarded annually to five New Yorkers.
Brooklyn Paper
Cecilia Gentili is a renowned transgender activist who has worked to improve funding for transgender causes, improve healthcare access for trans people, and decriminalize sex work. Gentili is one of eight Brooklyn-based finalists for the 2022 David Prize.
Pix 11
A Queens man reinvented his life after prison; he’s using technology to help young people in his New York City Housing Authority development break the cycle of poverty by learning how to code.
New York Times
An ad led to Domingo Morales falling in love with compost. A windfall is helping him spread the word.
How to Save a Planet
Food waste accounts for 6% of global greenhouse gas emissions. But it turns out composting — the mystical art of turning your food scraps into nutritious organic material that can be used to grow even more food — can help to reduce those emissions.
Crain's New York
Three pediatricians in New York left jobs at prestigious academic institutions to test a novel, holistic care model that connects underserved families to health and social services via community partnerships.
amNewYork
The 2021 David Prize awarded $1 million dollars to five New York City-based visionaries within the child care, education and youth services and immigration sectors to support their creative solutions to some of the city’s most pressing challenges.
Yes! Magazine
These three activists are working to support people at risk of either going to prison for the first time or returning to prison after release.
Today
Many chefs, ironically, know this predicament all too well: When I caught up with Sharon Richardson, she had been up working for hours, but not yet had a chance to eat.
PIX11
A youth supportive housing program for men and women transforming lives in the Bronx was awarded $200,000 to expand.
Bon Appétit
The founder of Re-Entry Rocks and Just Soul Catering is using food to support women through life after incarceration.
Associated Press
Fela Barclift recalls the day in 1981 when she left her Brooklyn brownstone to search for childcare for her daughter.
SI Live
West Brighton resident Cesar Vargas, a well-known community activist and immigration lawyer, is one of five recipients citywide of the David Prize.
Brooklyn News 12
A company that's building tools to help child care providers in low-income areas has won $200,000 from The David Prize initiative.
Africanews
The founder of a New York City preschool that teaches children about their African heritage is one of five winners of the 2021 David Prize, an annual $1 million award for select New York City residents.
NY1
Each year, the winner of the David Prize receives $200,000 to expand their vision for a better, more equitable city.
USA Today
The founder of a New York City preschool that teaches children about African heritage is one of five winners of the 2021 David Prize, an annual $1 million award for select New York City residents.
PRISM
The Youth Anti-Prison Project provides life-changing mentorship, employment, education, and housing for young adults under community supervision.
Imprint News
The creators of a nonprofit helping foster youth age out of the system, and a program to better launch young adults leaving lockups are among five New Yorkers awarded a prestigious local prize for their innovation.
Brooklyn Eagle
The David Prize, a $1 million, Brooklyn-based initiative to support up-and-coming visionaries in New York City, recently announced five winners for its 2021 cohort.
USA Today
On one of their first days back to school, a group of 3-year-olds at Little Sun People preschool in Brooklyn, New York, spent the morning learning how to write their names.
Queens Ledger
The David Prize is an annual award of $1 million that recognizes some of New York City’s brightest visionaries and individuals...
Manhattan Times
Theirs is passion with purpose. The David Prize, a $1 million grant designed to recognize New York City’s thought leaders, has announced its second annual class of finalists.
Medicine@Brown
The video call is grainy and a little shaky. Only Suzette Brown’s eyes are visible above her surgical mask. “Sorry,” she says, grappling with the phone. “I’m seeing patients today.”
Grist
Domingo Morales will be the first to tell you that composting changed his life. It all started in 2015 when the Brooklyn resident spotted a flier for Green City Force — an AmeriCorps sustainability training program aimed at youth within the New York City Housing Authority.
The New York Times
The founders of a shelter for homeless people seeking asylum and a group that helps college applicants are among five New Yorkers to...
Wall Street Journal
The newly minted David Prize will go to five NYC residents to continue pioneering innovative strategies to solve city problems.
NY1
Five grateful New Yorkers have been announced as the recipients of a major prize worth $200,000 each.
Fast Company
Edafe Okporo is one of the inaugural recipients of the $200,000 David Prize.
Daily Hampshire Gazette
A Hampshire College alum has been awarded $200,000 to improve the lives of undocumented immigrants and day laborers in New York City...
Queens Ledger
Cielo Villa was so overcome with emotion when she found out she had won a $200,000 prize to expand her organization that she began to cry.
BK Reader
The David Prize, a new annual award that grants $1 million to New Yorkers with exceptional ideas, has announced the winners — and two of them are from Brooklyn.
Real Estate Weekly
The Walentas Family Foundation is giving away $1 million with a new award recognizing unsung New York visionaries.
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
The Walentas Family Foundation on Tuesday announced the first winners of The David Prize, a new annual award granted to...
Philanthropy News Digest
The Walentas Family Foundation in New York City has announced the inaugural winners of the David Prize...
Manhattan Times
When Cielo Villa was in high school, she already knew a lot about colleges. A savvy high school senior, she knew what admissions officers look...
World Journal
大衛獎(The David Prize)致力於選出為打造更美好紐約市開創新想法的個人,今年首屆舉辦吸引6000多人申請,目前已選出20名入圍者,最終選出五名得獎者...
Crain's New York
As an emergency medicine physician and community activist, Dr. Robert Gore is battling two public health crises at the same time.
Bronxnet
With a rising population of New Yorkers on the brink of homelessness, RPA’s VP of Housing and Neighborhood Planning hosts a panel to support New Yorkers providing essential services.
NY1 Noticias
Mike López dedica gran parte de su vida a alimentar a miles de familias en los vecindarios más afectados por el coronavirus. “Lo más importante para mi, en nuestras vidas es ayudar, es ayudar al prójimo", dijo López.
BK Reader
Unrelenting activist Somia Elrowmeim seeks to bridge gaps between women of different cultures.
Kings County Politics
Somia Elrowmeim, founder and president of the Brooklyn-based Union for Arab Women (UAW), a grassroots political organization...
Crain's New York
Strong Children Wellness Medical Group, an organization that sets up clinics integrating primary care with community-based...
NBC News
Edafe Okporo fled his homeland in 2016 after he was subjected to homophobic violence. He's now helping others who are looking to build...
AM New York Metro
From the time she was young, Sutton Cole King was very connected to her Native American culture.
Ayllu Times
Road to Uni (Camino a la Uni) es una fundación dirigida a estudiantes de high school y padres de familia, que enseña a la...
Cheddar
While people of color make up roughly 66% of New York City's public school system, highly competitive schools only enroll...
The Bronx Free Press
When Nelson Luna was still in high school, he was asked if he had any white friends. Luna grew up shuttling between his grandmother’s...
Queens Latino
Alegre, descompilado y amigable, así percibe su comunidad al Padre Michael López, sacerdote de la parroquia católica de...
Queens County Politics
Father Mike Lopez’s work with the homeless began with a case of mistaken identity.
Kings County Politics
David Prize finalists Dr. Suzette Brown and Dr. Robert Gore discuss trauma and racism as a barrier to improving care for all New Yorkers.
The New York Times
That’s the promise from organizers of the David Prize, a new contest that is seeking applicants with the best ideas of how to…
Fox 5 New York
New Yorkers who have a bold vision to make the city a better brighter place may want to apply for The David Prize, a million-dollar...
Spectrum News NY1
A billionaire wants to give New Yorkers $200,000, no strings attached. The catch? Make a powerful difference in the city you love.
DC 37 Podcast
An interview with The David Prize Executive Director Erika Boll elaborates on the annual award for NYC's "boldest visionaries."
Newsday
New York City is getting its own version of the MacArthur “genius” grant.
Bkylner
Last week the Walentas Family Foundation announced “The David Prize,” a new $1 million award program that will support five...
Smart Cities World
Annual prize will award $200,000 to five “trailblazing individuals” who contribute to the social, environmental, economic, and cultural...
QNS
The David Prize invites New Yorkers who love, work and live in one of the five boroughs to submit their best ideas to make the city a...
Hyperallergic
Applications are open for the David Prize through December 1. The prize celebrates five New Yorkers who uniquely contribute to the...
Harlem World
Harlem business owner, Atim Annette Oton announced today in her Calabar Gallery newsletter that she is an advisor for The...

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