NEW YORK, NY (April 26, 2022) – On April 26, Ithaca College’s Park Center for Independent Media awarded Greg Smith, an investigative reporter for nonprofit newsroom THE CITY, with an Izzy Award for his coverage of safety hazards in public housing.
In his article, The Toll of NYCHA’s Lead Lies: A Brooklyn Girl Poisoned as Officials Covered Up Danger, Smith uncovers how 5,000 public housing apartments run by the New York City Housing Authority were contaminated with lead paint, although they had been deemed clear of any contamination years prior. His reporting called out the legacy of NYCHA’s failure to ensure the well-being of its residents.
“Such big-city nonprofit newsrooms are crucial because corporate media too often overlook major stories affecting the urban poor,” the judges commented.
Award recipients also include Indigenously journalist Jenni Monet, for her coverage of the history of violence and injustice against Native women and girls; the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists for their investigation into tax havens in the United States; and the Better Government Association, and Block Club Chicago for their t coverage of corruption in healthcare and its harmful impact on low-income people.
The Izzy’s are awarded for outstanding achievement in independent media and is named for I. F. “Izzy” Stone, who exposed government deception, racial bigotry and McCarthyism in 1953.
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ABOUT THE CITY: THE CITY (thecity.nyc) is a nonprofit digital news platform whose mission is to produce free-to-read, local reporting that serves the people of New York City. Launched in 2019 to fill critical local reporting gaps, THE CITY covers New York’s uncovered neighborhoods, holds the powerful to , and helps make sense of the greatest city in the world. THE CITY Scoop, its flagship newsletter, is delivered weekdays and Sunday, while additional newsletters serve New Yorkers with news they can use on housing, jobs and civic engagement.
