Having said the above, I do believe that there should be a residency requirement for those entering a competition where the result is representing the borough in some fashion. I do not express this thought to disparage the previous titleholders or those who have set up the pageant requirements. I am sure these people were all acting with sincerity. But if the event is to have real meaning to Brooklynites it should be a contest of Brooklynites. Not necessarily those who were born here. But definitely those who have lived here long enough to have absorbed the essence of what being a Brooklynite means. I'd say a two year requirement would be fair enough. It would indicate that there was little possibility that residence was established for the purpose of entering the competition.

Doing so is one step that to take that would increase the interest in the event.

Having said the above, I do believe that there should be a residency requirement for those entering a competition where the result is representing the borough in some fashion. I do not express this thought to disparage the previous titleholders or those who have set up the pageant requirements. I am sure these people were all acting with sincerity. But if the event is to have real meaning to Brooklynites it should be a contest of Brooklynites. Not necessarily those who were born here. But definitely those who have lived here long enough to have absorbed the essence of what being a Brooklynite means. I'd say a two year requirement would be fair enough. It would indicate that there was little possibility that residence was established for the purpose of entering the competition.

Doing so is one step that to take that would increase the interest in the event.

b) if i have an address in brooklyn, this makes me a brooklynite: technically, it may in fact do so, but that is a very legal, technical and soulless measure of what it means to in some way represent a place. to represent a place does not mean you should fulfill some sort of stereotype, but it means you should have a legitimate claim upon a place. again, i think that claim generally involves spending your formative years in said place, though this is not cut and dry. regardless, i don't think having an address in brooklyn would meet a more essential measure of representing a place, and the two people discussed above would be hard to acknowledge as brooklynites in any legitimate way as far as i am concerned. on a related note, i can definitely think of people not from here that i consider true new yorkers ( i know we are talking about brooklyn but it's the same issue). honestly, these people being elected to represent brooklyn do not have such a claim.

This is the director for the Miss Brooklyn Scholarship Competition, I hope all of you are having a fine day. I would like to clarify something, though; contrary to “popular” belief, The Miss Brooklyn Scholarship Competition is NOT won by a lottery system!

These amazingly talented and hardworking ladies APPLY, COMPETE, are JUDGED and EARN their titles. So why don't more Brooklyn natives win? Simple. More Brooklyn natives DON'T APPLY! I urge you beautiful & intelligent ladies to put all of your moolah where your mouth is, grab up an application off the website, and get yourself an opportunity to earn a scholarship, be an active part of the community and, with a bit of luck, find yourself a “local celebrity” for a year! Visit http://www.MissBrooklyn.org to learn how YOU can have a shot at the Miss America title!
Otherwise, well….there isn't much you can say, is there?

Maimonides, BTW, is an excellent hospital, with a renowned research facility.

You know, it is not impossible that Ms. Sheridan had an ancestor born in Brooklyn. A lot of people can trace their ancestry here.