This is the history of this website, updated version.
Hi. My name is John Yianni Stamas and I am the co-founder of this website as well as have been a resident of Inwood Manhattan for over a decade.
The history of this website starts about a decade or so ago at the point when my wife Alison and I dressed up our then infant daughter as a Peapod. Our daughter was in this costume to celebrate Harvest Festival NYC and All Hallow’s Eve.
It was our first Halloween in Inwood and we were ready for kids to come to our door asking for candy as well as were excited for our daughter to be a part of a community experience. We live East of Broadway on Academy Street, and sadly no one came to our door.
Fast forward a year. We formed a community group as well as created an early incarnation of the Inwood Manhattan site, both developed in conjunction with the Inwood branch of the New York Public Library. We decided to again try to celebrate Harvest Festival with Lily. But this time we contacted more than 100 Inwood parents and a slew of local Inwood businesses and created a parade starting at Grandpa’s Pizza, going down Broadway, then turning East and ending at the fire station. We had pre-arranged with the multitude of the businesses to have treats ready for the kids. Our daughter (this year in a lamb costume) had a great time. As a special thank you to all the Inwood-ites who participated, soon thereafter in 2010 we held the First Annual Platinum PIAs Awards – to recognize those making a difference in the community. InwoodManhattan.com did some PIAs coverage at the time.
The Platinum PIAs grew a lot in the ensuing years, including having celebrity guests like pro football player Justin Tuck, being interviewed on camera to inspire the kids. Just Google “Platinum PIAs” and you’ll see what the PIAs eventually grew into. But they never lost touch with celebrating community and Inwood.
Case in point, the “Community Entrepreneurship” category consisted of three nominees all of whom are local Inwood businesses. The “School Platinum PIA” had an Inwood/Washington Heights resident, plus two of the five judges in past years were from Inwood, including a beloved pediatrician. Also, the Washington Heights Y had been nominated in the Community Center Platinum Pia category.
But the Platinum PIAs was not just an annual awards show recognizing those making a difference. It became a year round experience in conjunction with various branches of the New York Public Library and other events.
The late Rodger Taylor, a librarian and author, was involved not just as a judge, but also on educational projects that included participating in the interviewing of individuals on camera.
Those interviewed over the years by Rodger and others included John Amos (the father on the TV show “Good Times”), Victoria Price (daughter of horror icon Vincent Price who is the voice of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”), Gary Sohmers (of PBS’s “Antiques Road Show”) as well as Julie Newmar (the original Catwoman of the “Batman” TV series) plus more. Many of these people were ultimately nominated for Platinum PIAs.