NY’S MISS A HIT!
Beauty queen from Brooklyn wins 'America'
The Miss America tiara is coming back to the Big Apple.
Miss New York Nia Imani Franklin of Brooklyn was crowned the winner Sunday night of this year’s historic competition — the first not to feature swimsuits.
The 24-year-old classical vocalist not only impressed the Atlantic City judges with her musical chops, but with her dedication to her craft.
“Although I was a minority in my school, I connected with my peers based on our mutual love of the arts,” Franklin said in her onstage interview. “My dedication to the arts influenced my educational choices, resulting in my master of music composition degree.”
The North Carolina native is the fourth Miss New York to be crowned Miss America in the last six years. The other winners include a three in a row from 2013 to 2015: Mallory Hagan, Nina Davuluri and Kira Kazantsev. Two were from New York City.
The runner-ups on Sunday night were Miss Connecticut Bridget Oei, Miss Louisiana Holli’ Conway, Miss Florida Taylor Tyson, and Miss Massachusetts Gabriela Taveras.
This year’s Miss America competition was staged amid controversy.
National chairwoman Gretchen Carlson and CEO Regina Hopper have been receiving calls to resign after last year’s winner, Cara Mund, accused them of bullying her.
The pair also caused an uproar last winter when e-mails surfaced showing inappropriate comments they made about former Miss Americas. They later tried to change the culture of the competition — dubbing it “Miss America 2.0” and removing the swimsuit portion of the show.
“We are no longer a pageant. We are a competition,” Carlson said.