Four awards went to the Norwood News took by the New York Press Association (NYPA), the best number in recent memory.

David Cruz, editor-in-chief of the paper, took home a First Place prize in the News Story category at the Better Newspaper Contest, for his piece on rent histories questioned by a nonprofit housing advocacy group. The story was written in March. Judges called the story, “Fundamental reporting at its best.”

Though the prize put him at the top, it was Adi Talwar’s Third Place award for Photographer of the Year that stood out. Talwar beat out 17 other photographers across the state to make it to the top three.

“We are so proud of Adi for going above and beyond the duties of a photographer, and treating every picture as a work of art,” said Cruz.

The judges at NYPA said Talwar, “did a great job of turning everyday events into images you wanted [to] dive deeper into.” Among Talwar’s photos submitted for this event included portraits of a well-known homeless man in Norwood, the new principal of St. Philip Neri School, and a landscape shot of East 196th Street, a well-known area for opioid use. This is Talwar’s second win for Third Place Photographer of the Year. He won it in 2016.

Talwar was also awarded a Third Place prize for Best Feature Photo, which captured moments that happened during Community Board 7’s annual Holiday Lighting event. The submitted entry featured a child gazing at the colorful lights of the holiday tree as her grandmother looked on.

Another award the Norwood News won included an Honorable Mention prize in the Spot News category for its coverage of the Bronx-Lebanon Hospital shooting rampage that happened on July 2.

NYPA is the largest trade organization for newspapers across the state. Organizers said 156 newspapers submitted 2,783 entries.