New York City activists, residents awarded $1M prize

By HALELUYA HADERO
AP Business Writer

The David Prize, an annual $1 million award for select New York City residents, has announced its five winners for this year’s awards. They include a former undocumented immigrant and immigration activist, a former inmate turned prison reform advocate and the founder of preschool. The prize is named after billionaire real estate developer David C. Walentas and financed by his Brooklyn-based family foundation. Each of the five recipients will receive $200,000 over the course of two years, with no strings attached. The prize was modeled after MacArthur Foundation’s “genius grant,” a philanthropic grant for people, instead of programs.