[title]
Swastikas in Adam Yauch Park. David Bowie, Prince, Leonard Cohen and Sharon Jones. The most anxiety-inducing, Xanax-requiring election cycle in recent history. Orlando. With all due respect, 2016, don’t let the door hit you in the ass.
All years have their ups and downs, sometimes simultaneously. Injustice is not, unfortunately, unique to this year. And to be fair, there was a lot about the past 12 months that was wonderful. It was the year a little show called Hamilton, which features a stellar cast of many colors and backgrounds, scored a record-breaking number of Tony noms. It was the year New York adopted a law requiring all single-occupancy restrooms to be gender-free, and our mayor vowed publicly that New York would remain a bastion of progressive ideals committed to protecting its citizens regardless of gender, sexual orientation, religion or race. So yes, there was light. But man, the dark—rife with Facebook defriendings, tense Thanksgiving meals and, for many of us, a steady clip of crying, raging, and eating and drinking our feelings—has felt particularly so. Simply put, we are fucking exhausted. Luckily, we’re also scrappy, and we don’t crumble easily.
New York is committed to making sure our city (and country) stays the amazing place it is its birthright to be. (Check out our activism feature if you’re looking for ways to get involved.) So a word to the wise, 2017: We are ready for you to be great. We are ready for you to be fair, peaceful and downright kick-ass. We know that you can be. Just please understand that if you’re not, you’ll be hearing from us. (And we New Yorkers, as a people, are not known for our indoor voices.)