Schneps Media is marking 40 years since the founding of its first newspaper by looking back at some of the New Yorkers its publications helped bring into focus, and the stories are a reminder of what neighborhood journalism can actually do.
The company, which runs amNewYork, The Queens Courier, Brooklyn Paper, The Bronx Times, Long Island Press and a string of other local outlets, built its identity around the idea of a media company “all about you.” To mark four decades in the business, Schneps spotlighted creators, entrepreneurs and everyday residents whose stories ran across its portfolio over the years.
Two of those featured tell something about how local coverage can move the needle in ways that big-platform algorithms often cannot.
Nolan Regan started his photography career doing something most New Yorkers would roll their eyes at: shooting tourists in Times Square. From there, he pivoted to photographing first responders across the city, building a following on Instagram under the handle @nolansoflo. When amNewYork featured him, something shifted.
“Looking back, it reinforced how powerful local media and storytelling are,” Regan said. “Sharing real stories helps connect communities and preserve moments that matter.”
Regan grew up reading amNewYork on the subway and in his neighborhood, and said being part of the outlet’s history meant something personal. “They were part of everyday life growing up,” he said. “I saw them daily in the neighborhood and on the subway, and they showed what was happening around me. Seeing those stories over the years definitely shaped how I value local storytelling and documenting real moments in the community.”
After the feature ran, Regan turned the coverage into momentum. He traveled around the city getting first responders to pose with copies of the newspaper, expanding both his portfolio and his following. The story gave him a door, and he walked through it.
Then there is Kenny Bollwerk, who goes by @nyc_kb online and proudly carries the title of “Rat Daddy.” His concept is exactly what it sounds like. Bollwerk runs free, late-night walking tours through the city, taking New Yorkers to spots where rats congregate, weaving in history and dark humor along the way. He became a fixture on “RatTok” before amNewYork put him in print.
“I started this just walking the streets, talking about rats, trash, and NYC history because I genuinely loved it,” Bollwerk said. “I never thought it would turn into something people would actually write about. For me, it wasn’t about fame. It was about being recognized for doing something different. Seeing ‘Rat Daddy’ in print felt like proof that being yourself, being consistent, and having fun with it can actually take you places.”
Bollwerk credits visibility with unlocking reach he could not have generated alone. “Being consistent without ever expecting to be noticed is what I enjoyed,” he said. “I did it because I was truly passionate.”
Both stories point to something that gets easy to forget when the conversation about journalism stays at the national level. Local coverage does not just document communities. It amplifies people within them who have no publicist and no marketing budget. A photographer hustling to document first responders. A guy who loves rats and New York City history enough to spend his nights walking strangers through the dark. These are not stories a national wire service is chasing.
That is the value Schneps built its model around, and the 40-year milestone is a chance to see whether that model held up. For Regan and Bollwerk, the answer is yes.
The company’s portfolio reaches across the boroughs and into Long Island, touching communities that often get flattened into a single outer-borough narrative when national outlets bother to show up at all. The Bronx Times alone fills a gap for a borough that has historically been covered only when something goes wrong.
Forty years of that kind of work adds up. The individual stories are small by national standards. Taken together, they form something closer to a record of the city as its residents actually live it.
