West Side Rag has been around for one year. I’m sure you’re thinking “How did I ever live without the Rag?” Somehow you survived, but your life was much colder and emptier.

This Wednesday marks a year to the day that we published our first story about meeting Newark mayor Cory Booker in a smoothie shop on 72nd Street.

We’ve grown quite a bit from that humble and slightly ridiculous beginning, with well over 100,000 unique visitors checking the website out during the past year (and more than 500 of you getting tattoos of our signature newsboy in unmentionable spots). In the meantime, West Side Rag has been mentioned in two front-page New York Times stories (here and here), and named one of four finalists for the best neighborhood website in New York City by the Village Voice. Life & Style Weekly called the site “The best insider source about Manhattan’s Upper West Side.” StreetFight Mag, which covers hyperlocal news, says we publish  “witty, offbeat and well illustrated features on life on the Upper West Side.”

We’ve touched a nerve in the neighborhood, exposing the city’s ineffectiveness in keeping up with a growing mosquito infestation that was sending children to the hospital, and breaking exciting news like the upcoming arrival of a movie theater in a historic left-for-dead building. Our columnists have written tons of great columns, including series on the most essential Upper West Side eateries, and 300 years of local history.

But the best part of running a hyperlocal website is hearing from you, our readers and neighbors. Most of the best stories we’ve posted came from tips and photos sent in by readers. Those interactions are frankly what makes this worth doing.

As we embark on a second year, we’d like readers to come help us celebrate. We’ll be having a few drinks this Wednesday starting around 8:30 p.m. at The Parlour on 86th Street just west of Broadway. Come say hi and raise a glass with us. It will be very informal.

On Tuesday, we’ll also be posting some of our favorite neighborhood photos and asking readers to vote for their favorite. The winner will receive a bottle of olive oil given to us by Sambuca, the restaurant on 72nd Street. If you’d like your photos be considered for the contest, send photos of the neighborhood (Central and Riverside Parks count too) to info at westsiderag dot com.

Photo by wesbolton via flickr.