Brooklyn’s long-running streak of welcoming New York City’s first babies born in the new year has come to an end.
While much of the city was ringing in the new year, Oumy Niang gave birth to the Big Apple’s first resident of the year at Harlem Hospital, right at the stroke of midnight. The yet-to-be-named baby girl weighs 7 pounds, 2.8 ounces and measures 21.26 inches. She is the fifth child of Oumy Niang and Amadou Niang; three of the couple’s previous children were also born at Harlem Hospital.
Brooklyn’s first newborn of the year arrived a few hours later, delivered by Phyllis Lynn, the same certified nurse-midwife who helped bring the baby’s mother into the world more than three decades ago.
Noah Joseph Lewis, weighing 7 pounds, 5 ounces and measuring 20 inches long, was born at 2:22 a.m. on Jan. 1, 2026, at Maimonides Medical Center. His parents, Chelsea Modeste Lewis and Devin Lewis, are residents of Flatbush, Brooklyn.
Chelsea Lewis said she felt blessed to begin the new year with a new addition to the family.
“I can’t wait to witness the relationship blossom over the years between Noah and his big sister Jamie,” she said.
Both mother and baby are doing well under the care of certified nurse-midwives Lynn and Simone Chang, along with registered nurse Selena Chen. Devin Lewis expressed his gratitude to the Maimonides team.
“Simone, the midwife group, the nurses, and the whole staff at Maimonides were great,” Lewis said. “We are immensely grateful to Maimonides for supporting us as we begin our journey with our baby boy and our new family of four.”
Maimonides Health, Brooklyn’s largest health care system, delivers approximately 6,000 babies each year, making it one of the busiest labor and delivery programs in New York state. Recent investments in pediatric and emergency care, including the newly opened and expanded Children’s Emergency Department, are designed to provide faster, specialized care in a dedicated, child-centered environment and strengthen the hospital’s ability to support families and manage both routine and high-risk births.
