LaGuardia Community College Presents 2026 Fiorello LaGuardia Book Prize to Rutgers University Professor Emeritus Dr. Robert W. Snyder
Award recognizes outstanding work of scholarship based on resources from the LaGuardia and Wagner Archives
LONG ISLAND CITY, NY (March 3, 2026) — LaGuardia Community College/CUNY today announced that Dr. Robert W. Snyder, Professor Emeritus of American Studies and Journalism at Rutgers University–Newark, has been selected as the recipient of the 2026 Fiorello LaGuardia Book Prize for his book When the City Stopped: Stories from New York’s Essential Workers (Cornell Press, 2025).
Dr. Snyder will deliver the annual Fiorello LaGuardia Book Prize talk on Thursday, April 23 at 12:30 p.m. at the LaGuardia & Wagner Archives Gallery, located at LaGuardia Community College, 29-10 Thomson Ave., C-Building, 7th Floor, Room 760, Long Island City, Queens. The event will feature LaGuardia student photography and reflections created during the COVID-19 pandemic and highlight archival materials used in his work. The talk is free and open to the public. Reservations can be made here: https://tinyurl.com/bookprize26.
The Fiorello LaGuardia Book Prize was established in 2024 to recognize exceptional scholarship that draws upon the collections of the LaGuardia and Wagner Archives, a premier repository of New York City history.
“We’re delighted to honor the historian Dr. Robert W. Snyder for his groundbreaking work on how New Yorkers coped with the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Kenneth Adams, President of LaGuardia Community College. “Meticulously researched, drawing from resources at the LaGuardia and Wagner Archives, When the City Stopped illuminates the social and political issues surrounding the initial onslaught of the disease and how New Yorkers endured.”
“We are committed to honoring and showcasing the outstanding research that emerges from our collections and are pleased to recognize Dr. Robert Snyder for his foundational work on COVID-19’s impact on New York City,” said Jennifer Jensen, Director of the LaGuardia and Wagner Archives. “Drawing on artwork, poetry, and oral history interviews from our collections, Dr. Snyder creates a powerful chronicle of the city’s perseverance during the pandemic. His book amplifies the voices of first responders, medical professionals, hospitality workers, students, teachers, and activists, weaving their stories into a compelling portrait of resilience. When the City Stopped safeguards the memory of what New York endured at the height of the pandemic for future generations.”
“When the City Stopped by Robert W. Snyder was an obvious choice for the Fiorello LaGuardia Book Prize,” said Soraya Ciego-Lemur, Deputy Director of the Archives. “His work draws directly from our students’ Portraits of an Epicenter research documenting their communities during COVID‑19.”
“When the City Stopped became an instant classic when it was published last year, recognized by scholars as a distinguished study of how New Yorkers learned to survive and find community,” said Dr. Molly Rosner, Director of Education Programs at the Archives. “Dr. Snyder illuminates the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, the escalation of anti-Asian hate violence, and the emergency of anti-vaccination activism in New York City.”
About Dr. Robert W. Snyder
According to Rutgers University–New Brunswick’s Livingston College alumni page, Dr. Snyder “has a very strong record of teaching, scholarship, journalism, museum work, and publication,” and has been recognized for the quality and public impact of his projects. He previously served as director of Rutgers–Newark’s Journalism program (2000–2005) and director of its graduate program in American Studies (2009–2014).
In addition to his academic roles, Dr. Snyder has worked as a journalist, journal editor, and documentary collaborator. He has partnered with museum curators, filmmakers, and fellow scholars to bring New York City history to broad audiences. His public history work includes co‑curating the Smithsonian Institution’s Metropolitan Lives: The Ashcan Artists and Their New York exhibition and consulting on exhibitions at the Museum of the City of New York, including those on the Spanish Civil War, Mayor John V. Lindsay, and the cartoons of Denys Wortman. He has also developed public education programs with the Newark Museum.
Dr. Snyder’s media work includes roles at Channel 13/WNET, Newsday, the journalism review More, and the Tarrytown Daily News. He served as a senior research consultant for Ric Burns’ acclaimed PBS documentary series New York: A Documentary.
In 2019, Dr. Snyder was appointed Manhattan Borough Historian by then-Manhattan Borough President Gayle Brewer, who said of his appointment, “His knowledge is just unmatched. He’s written widely on New York City history and issues, as his many books show. He’ll be a tremendous resource in this role.”
As noted on the Rutgers–Newark School of Arts and Sciences website, Dr. Snyder is the author of numerous books on New York City history, including Crossing Broadway: Washington Heights and the Promise of New York City (Cornell University Press), The Voice of the City: Vaudeville and Popular Culture in New York (Ivan R. Dee), and Transit Talk: New York’s Bus and Subway Workers Tell Their Stories (Rutgers University Press). He is a co-author of Metropolitan Lives: The Ashcan Artists and their New York (Norton/Smithsonian) and All the Nations Under Heaven: Immigrants, Migrant and the Making of New York (Columbia University Press).
About the LaGuardia and Wagner Archives and the Fiorello LaGuardia Book Prize
Founded in 1982, the LaGuardia and Wagner Archives houses more than two million documents and artifacts and over 100,000 digitized photographs, with a special emphasis on the New York City mayoralty and the borough of Queens. Named for mayors Fiorello H. LaGuardia (1934–1945) and Robert F. Wagner (1954–1965), the Archives documents city governance, public policy, and civic life. Its collections—including those of the New York City Council and the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA)—provide insight into the city’s political landscape, urban development, community activism, LGBTQIA+ history, journalism, and more.
Now in its third year, the Fiorello LaGuardia Book Prize underscores the Archives’ mission to support research that enhances public understanding of the city’s past and present.
Last year’s award went to Columbia University historian Kim Phillips-Fein for her book Fear City: New York’s Fiscal Crisis and the Rise of Austerity Politics.
The inaugural award, in 2024, went to historian and journalist Terry Golway for I Never Did Like Politics: How Fiorello La Guardia Became America’s Mayor, and Why He Still Matters.
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LaGuardia Community College (LAGCC), a Hispanic-Serving Institution, located in Long Island City, Queens offers more than 50 associate degrees and academic certificates, and more than 65 continuing education programs to prepare New Yorkers for transfer to senior colleges and rewarding jobs and careers. An institution of the City University of New York (CUNY), the College reflects the legacy of our namesake, Fiorello H. LaGuardia, the former NYC mayor beloved for his advocacy of the underserved. Since 1971, LaGuardia’s academic programs and support services have advanced the socioeconomic mobility of students from Queens, NYC and beyond.
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