Official Contest Rules for the “Best of the Boro” Competition.

The “Best of the Boro” (“The Contest”) is owned and operated by Schneps Media LLC (“Management”). The following rules are written, authorized and governed by Management:

Any person with Internet access is eligible to nominate one or more businesses and/or professionals without limitation. Businesses or individuals may be nominated in multiple categories where applicable. Management reserves the right to make final decisions regarding eligibility and appropriateness of the nomination and will honor the request of any nominee who wishes to be removed from the contest. Requests for removal should be sent directly to bestof@schnepsmedia.com and must include the business name, category or categories the business was nominated, and contact name and telephone number for verification of the request. All requests will be granted, at any time during the program, but nominees are ineligible to return to the ballot once the request has been granted.

At the conclusion of the nomination period and once eligibility requirements have been met, the top fifteen (15) nominees will be selected to appear on the official “Best of the Boro” ballot, though up to eighteen (18) may appear in the event of one or more ties. Only the Best Restaurant category will include up to twenty four (24) nominees.

The ballot is hosted and run by Second Street, a third-party online balloting and auditing service. Management has the ability to submit informational changes to the ballot and to request the removal of nominees.

• No more than ten (10) percent of total votes per category from the same IP address will be counted in the final audit. Any votes above and beyond will be discarded during the final vote tally.
• Any individual or organization found employing third-party resources, whether domestic or abroad, for the purpose of generating fraudulent votes, either automatically or manually, will be immediately disqualified.
• No more than ten (10) percent of total votes per category from an AOL IP address will be counted in the final audit. Any votes above and beyond will be discarded during the final vote tally.

Within 24 hours of end of Voting Period, the votes will be tabulated and audited by the third-party contest platform provider and submitted to Management for review. Management will verify the final results, and notify any businesses or individuals of disqualification, no later than 30 days past the end of the Voting Period.

This year, only the top local businesses or individuals with the most verified votes will be published as a Best of the Boro winner. “Local” is defined as an entity or individual living or doing business in Queens, including locally-owned and -operated franchises.

These businesses or individuals with the greatest number of verified votes will be entitled to utilize the official Best of the Boro logo in marketing materials and promotional items related to the Contest. In the Best of the Boro print editions, winners of the Contest will be listed in the following way: First Place Local winners in each category will be listed with their name, address, telephone number and web address where it applies, along with an editorial write up.

At no time during the voting period is Management responsible for Internet crashes or slowdowns caused by network congestion, viruses, sabotage, satellite failures, phone line failures, electrical outages, natural disasters or acts of man or God.

Copying or unauthorized use of the “Best of the Boro” logo or any other intellectual property related to the Contest without the express written consent of Management is strictly prohibited.

Each winner, by accepting the “Best of the Boro” nomination and/or official winning designation at the conclusion of the Contest, agrees to release Management and the Partner and all of its directors, officers, employees, agents, shareholders, affiliates, all sponsors and related advertising agencies of the Contest from all liability, claims, or actions of any kind whatsoever for injuries, damages, or losses to persons and property which may be sustained in connection with the Contest. Contest nominees and winners further grant Management the right to use and publish their proper name, business address and contact information, in print and online and any other media.