The Forward took home three awards for multimedia as well as honors for best overall print design Thursday night in the Ippies contest sponsored by the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism.

The annual Ippies competition pays tribute to excellence in journalism in the ethnic and community press in the New York City area.

Nate Lavey, the Forward’s digital media producer, won both first- and second-place honors in the best video category. He won the top video prize for “Living Apart in Crown Heights,” in which he combined contemporary images and interviews and historical photos to tell the story of the racial tensions that led to the riots and how the neighborhood is faring today.

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He won a second-place video award for “Naming Mushky,” the story of thousands of girls in the worldwide Lubavitch Hasidic community who were named after Chaya Mushka Schneerson, the late wife of the Lubavitcher rebbe.

The paper’s art director, Kurt Hoffman, received a first-place award for best overall design of a print publication.

Second-place honors went to Gabrielle Birkner, director of digital media, for overall design of an online publication. Gal Beckerman, opinion editor, won a second-place award for multimedia package for “Crown Heights, 20 Years Later.” Beckerman edited a combination of news stories, opinion pieces, the video and a photo slideshow on the Crown Heights anniversary.

The Ippies Awards were judged by faculty and adjuncts at the City University of New York’s Graduate School of Journalism and other professional journalists. This year, the competition attracted 240 entries across 10 categories from 46 community and ethnic news organizations. The first-place awards carried prizes ranging from $750 to $1,500.

The ceremony was held at the CUNY journalism school. Veteran TV broadcaster Connie Chung delivered the keynote remarks. Errol Louis, host of NY1’s “Inside City Hall,” was the emcee. In keeping with the theme of the night, foods from India, Haiti, Senegal, France and China were served at a pre-awards reception.

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