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Here are the worst things that happened in NYC in 2016

Written by
Lisa Brown
Photograph: Courtesy CC/Flickr/Anthony Quintano
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This week’s issue is all about celebrating the very best things we experienced in NYC this year. But as I’m sure you’ve noticed, like, a trillion times on your Facebook feed, this year had more than its fair share of sucky moments. Here are the ones that hit NYC the hardest.

RECOMMENDED: Full guide to the best of 2016

Worst MTA proposal

Sorry, we meant proposals. It’s a tie! In one corner, there’s the looming 2019 L train shutdown, and in the other, the recently announced subway-fare hike to $3. Fight it out for yourselves, you two. You’re both losers.

Worst news for live music

Goodbye record-dork mainstay Other Music, Bushwick rock venue Palisades, charming piano bar Manhattan Inn, DIY space Aviv and the Mostly Stephen Sondheim open-mic night at the Duplex. You will be missed.

Worst hit to our morning commutes

Dr. Zizmor, of the famed subway ads, lorded over straphangers for more than two decades until his unexpected retirement this year. Now there’s an empty space in our commuter hearts that those Casper mattress ads just can’t fill.

Worst news for workout-aholics

ClassPass’s unlimited-class membership seemed too good to be true—and apparently it was. While CP is still going strong, it’s all-you-can-sweat pass bit the dust just like those spandex you thought you could pull off.

Most I-need-a-drink–inducing news

Let’s all pour one out for the timeless Greenpoint dive Palace Cafe, Bushwick rock den Alaska and the stylish Bed-Stuy bar One Last Shag. Our favorite drinkeries closing makes us long for a stiff one. Ah, irony.

Worst ’hood for anyone trying to get anywhere on time

Midtown East has never been the greatest for traffic, but in late November, a superstorm of holiday visitors flocking to see the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree and street closures around Trump Tower made navigating you damn near impossible.   

Worst losses

Too many beloved local luminaries to count were taken from us this year, but the loss of David Bowie, Phife Dawg, Bill Cunningham, onetime New Yorker Leonard Cohen, Sharon Jones, Norton Records honcho Billy Miller and Sunny Balzano of Sunny’s in Red Hook? Yeah, those particularly sting.

Worst Instagram food trend

Sorry, rainbow-colored addicts, some meals just shouldn’t resemble unicorn feed. We’re looking at you, multicolored grilled cheese, pizza and, um, coffee.

Worst addition to the skyline

Way to go, 432 Park Avenue: You’re the tallest skyscraper in the Western hemisphere and a luxe one at that. But you’re also the eyesore of the city’s skyline. What did you expect? Your inspiration was a trash can. Literally.  

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