A longtime fixture of New York City television news has quietly signed off.
Lauren Glassberg, the Emmy Award-winning WABC-TV reporter whose “Neighborhood Eats” segments and feature reporting made her one of the most familiar faces on “Eyewitness News,” has left the station after 26 years.
The departure was first spotted by industry newsletter FTVLive.
Glassberg last week exited the Disney-owned station after more than a quarter century.
In an email to WABC staff announcing Glassberg’s departure, Vice President of News John Antonio said the veteran journalist had “made the decision to leave WABC-TV and chart a new path” after “an incredible 26-year career at Eyewitness News.”
Antonio said Glassberg was “looking forward to the exciting life change and using her multitude of talents in other areas.”
He praised her versatility, saying she “could teach a master class in reporting” and highlighting her ability to cover everything from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and last year’s Hudson River helicopter crash to lighter features such as the long-running “Neighborhood Eats” franchise.
“Her contributions are immense, and she will be missed,” Antonio wrote.
Antonio told staff that Glassberg’s final day at WABC was July 15 and that the station planned to celebrate her career with a farewell gathering the previous evening.
While Glassberg has yet to publicly address her departure, an outpouring of tributes from current and former colleagues offered a glimpse of the esteem in which she was held inside the newsroom.
“Lauren Glassberg has been such a vital member of the core @abc7ny family, it makes me incredibly sad to say goodbye,” veteran WABC reporter Stacey Sager wrote on Facebook. “But more importantly, she has been an incredibly supportive friend.”
Sager said the newsroom had gathered to celebrate Glassberg before she embarks on “a new and exciting chapter in her life.”
“Knowing Lauren, will be a slam dunk!” Sager added. “We have marked so many milestones together… But definitely a bittersweet night. We love you Lauren Glassberg.”
“Eyewitness News” anchor Ryan Field also marked the occasion, writing: “After 26 amazing years at Eyewitness News, we said farewell to our friend Lauren Glassberg.”
“Forever the consummate professional, Lauren covered anything and everything with a wit and personal touch that made her one of the best reporters in town,” Field wrote. “Wishing you all the best in your next adventure!”
WABC executive producer Bob Monek praised Glassberg’s range as a journalist, saying she “can do it all, from fascinating feature to breaking news to hosting parades and anchoring the news.”
“Lauren will be sorely missed at Eyewitness News not just for her storytelling but, as was evident last night, the lives she touched,” Monek wrote.
Glassberg joined WABC in 2000 after stops at television stations in Akron, Ohio; Little Rock, Ark.; and Minneapolis.
A graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Glassberg became one of the station’s signature reporters, covering everything from breaking news to human-interest stories while frequently filling in at the anchor desk.
She became especially well known for “Neighborhood Eats,” the weekly restaurant feature that showcased hidden culinary gems across New York City and the surrounding suburbs and became one of WABC’s most recognizable franchises.
Over more than two decades at Channel 7, Glassberg covered many of the city’s defining stories, including reporting from St. Vincent’s Hospital during the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
She later chronicled the hardships facing neighborhood restaurants and small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic while continuing to report on the five boroughs and the wider metropolitan area.
Neither Glassberg nor WABC has announced her next move, leaving viewers to wonder where one of New York television’s most familiar storytellers will appear next.
The Post has sought comment from Glassberg.
