STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Miss New York 2017 was crowned at the historic St. George Theatre Sunday evening.

Miss Western NY, Gabrielle Walter, was selected from a field of 31 contestants and will be representing the Empire State at the iconic Miss America Pageant this September 10 in Atlantic City, N.J.



Dressed in a red silky gown embellished with rhinestones, the newly-minted beauty-brains-and-talent queen was crowned in front of hundreds of cheering theater-goers by Camille Sims, the reigning Miss New York 2016 and second runner-up to Miss America.

The first runner up was Mackenzie Perpich, Miss Queens; the second runner up was Stephanie Meadocroft, Miss Greater NYC; the third runner up was Baylee Simpson, Miss Upstate NY; and the fourth runner up was Ramika Cox, Miss Empire Star.



Kira Kazantsev -- the almost-legendary Miss New York 2014 who went on to become Miss America 2015 -- was the mistress of ceremonies for the pageant, taking the same stage where she herself was crowned the state winner.

The excitement built right before the runners up and the winner were announced because Kazantzev took a few minutes to walk across the stage and confer with the pageant auditors. She wanted to confirm the lineup before she announced them to avoid a "Steve Harvey mistake," referring to a Miss Universe mixup last year.

This year, the close to three dozen Miss NY finalists hailed from New York City and upstate counties to vie for the coveted title, notably Staten Island's hometown title holders: Allison DeLuca, Miss Staten Island; Ashley Marie Davis, Miss Richmond County.

Also from our borough: Rose Bolella, Miss Manhattan; Melissa Calato, Miss Colonial, and Cassie Paradise, Miss Finger Lakes.



Miss Brooklyn, Brittney Hollingsworth, a recent graduate of the College of Staten Island, also competed for the state crown. She won a a scholarship tonight for her community service.

The field of stunning and confident ladies was whittled to 11 finalists, who competed in evening gown, talents and swimsuit, also known as lifestyle and fitness. Afterward, five finalists were announced.

The final five answered questions ranging from the Affordable Care Act, immigration laws, the recent terrorist murders at the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, to the pitfalls of social media.

Almost stealing the show were The Star Princesses, dozens of little Staten Island girls ages 5 to 12, all dressed in lovely white tea length dresses, who delighted the audience with their lively "Welcome to New York" number right after intermission.

The Top 11 finalists were: Cedar Chambers, Miss Pride of NY; MacKenzie Perpich, Miss Queens; Shereen Pimentel, Miss Heart of NY; Ashley Marie Davis, Miss Richmond Cointy, and Stephanie Meadowcroft, Miss Greater NYC.

Also: Meghan Sinisi, Miss Centeal NY; Olivia Grant, Miss Thousand Islands; Nina Zesky, Miss Liberty; Ramika Cox, Miss Empire Star; Baylee Simpson, Miss Upstate NY, and Gabrielle Walter, Miss Western NY.



The Miss New York final night of competition was the culmination of public appearances, rehearsals, and preliminary competitions. Also in attendance was young Teddy Moore, The Children's Miracle Network (CMN) New York Champion, who has hydrocephalus.

Staten Islander Cassie Paradise, Miss Finger Lakes, was named the Children's Miracle Network "Miracle Maker" awardee, for raising the most funds for the CMN children.

Friday night was the first round of preliminaries. Pageant judges declared vocalist Stephanie Meadowcroft, Miss Greater New York City and NYU grad, the talent winner for her rendition of "You'll Never Walk Alone" from Rodgers and Hammersteins' "Carousel."



Friday's two winners (yes, a tie!) of the swimsuit competition were: University of Buffalo student Nina Zesky, Miss Liberty; and Baylee Simpson, Miss Upstate New York, a graduate of the State University of New York College at Brockport.



Saturday preliminaries culminated in the judges naming vocalist Mackenzie Perpich the talent winner for her performance of "If I Loved You" from Rodgers and Hammerstein's, "Carousel." Perpich is a Marymount Manhattan College alumna.



The winner of the swimsuit competition on Saturday evening was Gabrielle Walter, Miss Western New York. Walter is studying to be an attorney at the University of Buffalo School of Law.





Congratulations to all the young ladies!