2013 was an exciting year! Firstly, we survived the alleged Mayan Apocalypse with the inevitable end of the world attached to it in late December 2012. After that, everything else was a breeze!
2013 also meant the third year of publishing for Bushwick Daily. Whoa! We changed our look and redesigned the website; we added classifieds and the new events calendar, which you all loved. Yay! We added three new amazing editors and a bunch of awesome talented contributors from the amazing talent pool of Bushwick residents. And of course, we brought you hundreds of stories, pertaining to the life in our beloved pigeon town of Bushwick… So what were the most read stories of the year for 2013? Read on and find out!
#1 Newbie’s Guide to Bushwick Subway Stops by Daniel Ryan Adler
After the February piece by Daniel Adler, subway stations were added to the list of most beloved themes for passionate discussions in a bar or worse, online! (The other popular themes being politics, UFOs and football.) In his piece, Daniel discussed areas surrounding several Bushwick subways stops and what a newbie is likely to encounter there. The piece was welcomed by a gazillion people and was criticized by triple the amount! Is DeKalb the border of “safe” Bushwick? Is the Myrtle Wyckoff dangerous for women? Everybody had something to say, and I am personally happy about that! Because at least it wasn’t a post about rapes or gangs like last year.
#2 Five Places to Get Laid in Bushwick by Frances Gill & Allison Galgiani
This was by far our most scientific post of the year. Not only did we create a list of five lucky places on the basis of a super-secret poll among our group of 70 Bushwick Daily contributors; the authors, Frances and Allison, also added a possible breakfast option based on the proximity of a hook up place. How thoughtful! We also used a very secret formula to come up with percentage likelihood of getting laid (I mean, no one likes to waste their time) and we assessed attractiveness vs. weirdness of the crowd. Expect more science in 2014 — that’s for sure!
#3 New Bar Bizarre Opens in Bushwick with a 3-Day Long Party This Weekend by Asha Chagoyen
People have been passing by the beautiful building on Jefferson St and Myrtle Ave forever wondering what is it going to be once it’s finished. And it wasn’t too long until two Frenchmen, Jean-Stephane Sauvaire and Gregory Baubeau, revealed their secret to Asha Chagoyen, and invited all of Bushwick for a crazy, 3-day long party (that essentially never stopped)!
#4 Mobilization of Bushwick Against Gentrification Began. Will We Be Able to Stay? by Katarina Hybenova
Another controversial piece on our annual list! I wrote this one after I attended the first meeting organized by Jules de Balincourt to discuss what options were out there for local artists to collectively buy property in Bushwick. Emotions always follow the G word, and so was the case with this piece. Oh, this piece got mocked by Florent Morellet in The New York Times, a famous restaurateur who got priced out of Meatpacking District, and who recently moved to Castle Braid.
#5 Rubulad in Bushwick this Weekend, Possibly for Good by Maria Gotay
Rubulad, Rubulad, oh sweet, Rubulad. We love you so much, and so when we learned that this legendary, insane rave party collective was (perhaps permanently) moving to nearby Maspeth, we were beyond ecstatic. Our music editor, Maria Gotay, followed them to Knockdown Center and took a million amazing pictures as well.
#6 BUSHWICK CRIBZ: A Look into the Loft Life by Cat Agonis with photos by Renee Ligtvoet
Writer, Cat Agonis, and photographer, Renee Ligtvoet, visited several loft dwellers in Bushwick, and asked them about living their loft-y dreams. You adored this post, just as much as you adored the dream of living in a converted factory space where you can easily build a cabin or plant a tree if you want to…
#7 Bushwick Mall May Look Like This by Katarina Hybenova
We got our hands on a rendering of the Bushwick Mall to be built on Bogart St. Unfortunately, we had to remove the rendering per request of the artist who emailed us and complained that the architecture firm not only failed to pay him for his work on the rendering, they neither had his permission to use it. Regardless, the brokers were expecting to open the loathed Bushwick Mall at the end of 2013 / beginning of 2014. The building certainly doesn’t look anywhere near finished as of today but we will follow up on this story in January 2014.
#8 300 Dick Pics in a Gallery: Art or Exploitation? by Ileana Little
Ileana Little wrote an excellent piece about a controversial art exhibit over at Morgan Avenue Underground. Cyber feminist collective, Future Femme, put together an exhibition of 300 dick pics they received as well as solicited on the Internet. So was it art or just exploitation of horny Internet men? Find out!
#9 Members of Local Band The Yellow Dogs Allegedly Dead in a Triple-Homicide / Suicide by Emilie Ruscoe
The news that three members of Iranian/Brooklyn music band Yellow Dogs were murdered after a band rehearsal by a disturbed musician and apparently their friend left Bushwick very sad and confused. Yellow Dogs you will be always remembered!
#10 The Halsey Life: What’s It Like Out There Anyway? by Cat Agonis
With the average rent for a three bedroom in Ridgewood is $1751, as opposed to hotspot Morgantown, $2,792, more and more people are moving to the area off Halsey L stop. Cat Agonis spoke with several people who moved to the area about their life, safety, lack of Zagat rated restaurants and all that.