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2020 was like a bad fever dream—the global pandemic, the murder hornets and Rudy's horrific hair dye drip. Hopefully, we're about to wake up from this nightmare once the ball drops on December 31.
While that's not to say that 2021 won't have its own share of problems, we're pretty sure 2020 will go down in the books as one friggin' horrific year. That being said, across these 12 months, we've worked hard to keep New Yorkers informed, and when we look back at Time Out New York's most-read stories of 2020, it's clear that this year was full of uncertainty and finding ways to cope and distract ourselves.
We invite you to take a look back at the New York City news stories that were shared far and wide in 2020. These are the headlines that New Yorkers couldn't stop clicking this year.
10. Find out what your NYC building looked like in the 1940s
It's clear that Old New York still has a place in our hearts and minds. This summer, Roaming Views announced that The New York City Department of Taxation took photos of every house and shop across the five boroughs between 1939 and 1941, before the U.S. entered WWII, (as well as during the 1980s) and they're available online for anyone to look at. New Yorkers were super curious about how their buildings looked back then that it was our 10th most-read story of 2020. In August, Full Stack software engineer and NYC resident Julien Boilen created an interactive map at 1940s.nyc that put all this information in one place for easier access.
9. New Yorkers are planning a citywide clap for essential workers tonight
One thing's for sure—we owe essential workers everything for getting us through the pandemic this year. In March, Gothamites took to their windows and balconies to clap for nurses, doctors and other front-line workers. It started organically as it had in other cities around the world and lasted well into the fall.
Brooklyn cheering health and essential workers for #ClapBecauseWeCare pic.twitter.com/OIALsyWeYi
— Dino A. Dai Zovi (@dinodaizovi) March 27, 2020
8. You can now download over 200 art books from the Guggenheim for free
Art-starved New Yorkers were grateful that the Guggenheim released 200 exhibition catalogs spanning titles dating back to 1936 and featuring the biggest names in Modern and Contemporary Art: Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Vassily Kandinsky, Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, Edvard Munch and more.
7. NYC releases map showing confirmed cases by neighborhood
Keeping an eye on the number of cases of COVID-19 was a priority for most New Yorkers. When the city released a map looking at the number per each neighborhood, it let us see what was going on on a granular level so that we could adjust our respective plans and quarantines. It was the first time information was available to that extent.
6. Everything you need to know about Phase 3 reopening plans in NYC
In July, New York City had just reopened dining (outdoors) at restaurants and shopping at retail stores. New Yorkers were wondering what was next—it was personal care services like hair and nail salons. Finally, the scraggily among us (which, let's be honest, was most of us) could finally get our hair and nails done after months of letting it all grow out.
5. When will hair salons reopen in NYC and what will it be like to get a haircut?
People were really curious to know how visiting hair salons would work with all the new health and safety guidelines in place. Would our stylists have to wear masks? Could we get our hair colored, too? What about walk-ins? We answered these questions and more for New Yorkers eager for a groom.
4. Fourteen photos of NYC's busiest places that are now completely empty
We were all astonished at the sheer apocalyptic vibes we got from seeing just how empty the city got after the shutdown occurred. Since NYC companies asked employees to work from home and venues and museums closed, Manhattan's normally buzzing streets, subways and transportation hubs were creepily empty, from Central Park and midtown to the West Side Highway and Times Square. While things have picked up a bit since then, the city still hasn't returned to its normal flow. These photos still haunt us.
3. Five things you should know before using Houseparty
Back in March, New Yorkers wanted a good distraction from all the bad news and wanted a new way to connect with friends and family. Many of us turned to Houseparty, a video-chatting app, which makes it easy for as many as eight people to share a virtual hang. It is essentially the personal-life version of Zoom with fun games, easy recording, spontaneous group hangouts and more. We tried helping with an explainer laying out everything you need to know to use it.
2. Here's what will reopen in New York City during Phase 2
New York City was new to the phased openings at this point in the summer. Only curbside pick-up at stores was allowed at this point, but in Phase 2, much more would re-open: all office-based jobs, real estate services, and retail.
1. You can now download over 300,000 books from the NYPL for free
For many Gothamites, quarantine meant more time to read books. The number one most-read story on Time Out New York was about New York Public Library's 300,000 digital books you can rent for free with a library card. With the tap of a finger on a phone or tablet, other worlds and times are available to us at no cost, thanks to our beloved library. There's nothing more New York than that.
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