She boasted about having “New York grit” just before being crowned Miss America on Sunday night, but Miss New York Nia Franklin is actually a North Carolina transplant.
Born in Winston-Salem, Franklin, 25, was allowed to compete in New York thanks to the pageant’s lax residency requirement.
Contestants must reside, work or attend school in a state for at least six months before competing in its contest.
Franklin moved to Brooklyn in June 2017 and settled in Clinton Hill after bouncing from apartment to apartment.
“Even though I wasn’t born in New York, I feel like I’ve always had grit. Moving to New York right after receiving my master’s degree really solidified the grit I have,” the classically trained opera singer explained to The Post on Monday.
“People always say the first year in New York is the hardest. I celebrated my [first] anniversary June 26 and I’m really proud of that.”
But some New Yorkers weren’t impressed.
“OK, f–k that! If you are subletting you don’t know the first thing about living in New York,” groused Jenna Pitocco, a hairstylist who lives in Bedford-Stuyvesant. “If . . . you have only been here for like five minutes, you don’t know s–t.”
In her home state, Franklin competed with 40 other women for the Miss North Carolina title in 2016 but didn’t win. A year later, she received the Kenan Fellowship at Lincoln Center as a graduate from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.
Franklin earned her first crown as Miss Five Boroughs, and was named Miss New York in July.
She’s not the first Miss America to represent New York who did not grow up in the Empire State. Three of the seven Miss New Yorks who’ve gone on to win the national pageant hailed from elsewhere: Tawny Godin, Kira Kazantsev and Mallory Hagan.
Hagan, an Alabama native who was crowned Miss America in 2013, said the pageant’s residency requirement is designed for young women looking to expand their horizons.
“The rules about residency and work requirements are meant specifically for young women who may go out of state for college or move for a job,” she said.
“It’s less about growing up in the state that you represent.”
Judith Ann Graham, 65, who was Miss New York in 1972 and now sits on the state pageant’s board, said, “New York is edgier — we have the best of pretty much everybody. But it’s not every Miss New York that can step into those shoes. Nia happens to be one of them.
“She rose to the occasion and showed what she can do — not all Miss New Yorks have that capability.”