Last night, Miss New York Kaitlin Monte was named second runner-up (aka third place) at the Miss America pageant in Las Vegas. The Daily News reports, "Miss Wisconsin edged out Miss Oklahoma and Miss New York Saturday night to become Miss America 2012 — in what hopefully will not be an omen for Sunday’s Giants/Packers playoff game in Green Bay." more ›

Most beauty queen contestants keep their pageant answers pretty boring (well, not everyone—remember Carrie Prejean?), but not us New Yorkers! Nope, at least one of the ladies vying for the Miss New York crown has some rather eyebrow-raising thoughts about who she'd like to dine with. Meet 21-year-old Washington Heights student Merlix Ventura, who's competing at this weekend's pageant. more ›

Miss America hopeful Leigh-Taylor Smith, who landed the 3rd runner up spot in the competition while representing New York, isn't bitter about losing. The Brooklyn Paper, whose eyes have been fixed on her bikini for a year, talked to the pageantista on the phone. She told them the results weren't fixed, and said "It is fair. I performed as well as I could. I left it all up there on the stage. For me, it was just very exciting to get into the final round.” She holds the Miss New York title through June, and says she'll be taking her $18K scholarship over to FIT or Parsons. But the real question here is: did she see BP editor Gersh Kuntzman naked? more ›

For nearly a year the Brooklyn Paper's Gersh Kuntzman has been publicly drooling over 22-year-old (recent) Manhattanite Miss Brooklyn—who went on to become Miss New York, and just this past weekend stood bikini-clad in front of the nation, and Mario Lopez, at the Miss America Pageant. Sound off the sad trombone, because today the paper's editor declared that Leigh-Taylor Smith "was cheated out of the Miss America title on Saturday," and thusly "a crime against humanity" occurred. more ›

The Brooklyn Paper takes an awkwardly close look at Miss New York's "most recognizable assets," and declares, "They're spectacular — and they're real." 22-year-old Leigh-Taylor Smith won the title of Miss Brooklyn, somewhat controversially, before donning the Miss New York crown. She'll be competing for the Miss America title in January, but before that happens she cleared up any rumors that she had been surgically enhanced. One Brooklyn Paper reader said he still had his doubts, and that "they're too perfect. If she told me she could fly, I would believe her [more]." Another passerby during a recent photoshoot observed and decided "they're fake." On a less creepy note, the Paper also reports that "Smith will participate in an eight-episode reality show with the 51 other Miss America contestants" -- where anyone with basic cable can pass judgment. For now, here's a photo of her strutting down the runway in a two-piece. more ›

more ›