New Faces NJ: Siafa Lewis

With a new home in Union, and a new job as co-host of WNBC’s live lifestyle and entertainment show, LX New York, Siafa Lewis is happy about where his life has taken him.

Lewis was born in West Germany—where his Liberian parents were graduate students. They moved to the States when he was 7 and settled in South Plainfield. Always a big sports fan, Lewis dreamed of following in the footsteps of his hero, football and baseball star Bo Jackson. “When I was cut from my high school baseball team, I knew that it wasn’t going to happen,” he says.

He graduated from Rowan University with a degree in radio, television, and film, and pursued a career in modeling and acting. He even sold mortgages at one point, but finally realized that if he couldn’t play professional sports, he could at least cover them as a broadcaster.

In 2004 he heard about a contest on NBC afiliate WCAU in Philadelphia called “Best Summer Gig Ever.” He was asked to read on-air traffic, and after three rounds of voting, Lewis came out on top. From there he was hired by Sports Net New York as a general assignment reporter, and also served as co-host for Mets Weekly.
Lewis’s own favorites are the Philadelphia Eagles and the Phillies, but that didn’t hamper his excitement when the network asked him to cover the Giants during the 2007 Super Bowl. “It is just funny how New Jersey is broken up as far as sports go,” he says.

Now, as co-host (with Sara Gore and Michael Flocker) for LX New York, his sports reporting is taking a hiatus. “The most amazing thing is that I still love sports and always will, but I’m glad to be doing something different,” he says.

LX New York runs weekdays at 5 p.m. and features local stories from the tri-state area, as well as segments on celebrities, cooking, fashion, art, and travel. “We wanted to shake things up and incorporate things that everyone watches around that time,” says Lewis, 31.

His favorite aspects of the show are working with his co-hosts, the chance to meet interesting people, and filming live. “Sara is like a sister to me and Michael adds a cool dynamic to the mix,” he says. Plus, he adds, “I get to meet small business owners who put everything on the line and made something for themselves.”

Meanwhile, back in Union, he enjoys life with his wife, Deanna (whom he met at the Cherry Hill Mall), and their 1-year-old daughter, Leelynn.  Lewis is all smiles. “I love New Jersey. I like that the Turnpike and the Parkway are easy to understand, that I could get a short stack of pancakes or a cheese omelet with home fries at any time of day at a diner, and that we have great malls, grass, and trees.”

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