Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham, was honored on Tuesday, Oct. 7 with a 2008 Westy Award for his contributions to the life and vitality of the West Side of Manhattan.
He was one of 27 New Yorkers who received the citations, which were given by Manhattan Media, LLC in a ceremony at Jewish Home Lifecare on 106th Street.
“We’re here tonight to celebrate our favorite thing about the West Side: West Siders,” said Charlotte Eichna, executive editor at Manhattan Media. “We West Siders should be proud to have neighbors of this caliber working in our part of town.”
Father McShane won in the clergy category, along with Rabbi Allen Schwartz of Congregation Ohab Zedek.
“As president, Father McShane is currently shepherding Fordham through a multi-year expansion of its Lincoln Center campus,” said Howard Rubenstein, founder of public relations giant Rubenstein Associates, who hosted the event.
“Father McShane is very, very happy to receive this award, and thanks his friends on the West Side for recognizing him in this way,” said Thomas A. Dunne, vice president of government relations and urban affairs at Fordham, who accepted the award on Father McShane’s behalf.
Other winners included restaurateur Don Evans, the owner of Compass, who helped spearhead “The New Taste of the Upper West Side,” a food and wine fundraiser; Deputy Police Inspector Keith Spadaro, commanding officer of the 20th Precinct; and Annemarie Legendy, coordinator of the Westside Crime Prevention Program’s Safe Haven Project.
In addition to Manhattan Media, the event was co-sponsored by Jewish Home Lifecare, Continuum Health Partners and the Gotham Organization.
