By Carol Tannenhauser
YOKO RULES! is one takeaway from the following list of West Side Rag’s most-viewed stories of 2023. Another is, ROBERT BECK DOES TOO!
Robert Beck is the artist who has been gracing West Side Rag with his scenes of the neighborhood painted right in the midst of them, several times a month for more than a year. You’re inside Tip Top Shoes, or savoring the hot dogs at Papaya King, or, in this painting, staring into the courtyard of the Dakota where John Lennon was gunned down on December 8, 1980.
Beck’s essay and painting, “Godspeed and Peace, Yoko Ono,” was posted in March when it was announced that the ailing Ono was leaving her longtime home in the Dakota on West 72nd Street, to live quietly on a farm in upstate NY that she had purchased in 1978 with John Lennon.
In its ignorance, the New York Post headlined its story, “Ono the latest to say she’s done with New York City.” Don’t they know Yoko Ono is New York City? Just look at the CPW 72nd Street subway station, covered with her mosaics of sky blue and white clouds and words of love and peace. Just look at the Strawberry Fields section of Central Park, originally conceived of as a “living memorial to John Lennon.…a peace garden,” which was a collaboration between Ono, the Central Park Conservancy, and city officials.
WSR readers got it right, making this story not just the most-read story of 2023, but — with more than 250,000 views — the most-read Rag story OF ALL TIME.
Now that we’ve given away the winner, here are the other 9 stories in our top-10 list of the most read in 2023!
Don’t look for the standard fare or hot-button issues of the past year. These are stories, for the most part, you’ll only find in West Side Rag!
10.
Two Families Battle for the Future of a Broadway Building — and the Neighborhood
9.
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UPDATED: Newly Opened Upper West Side Dunkin’ Misspells Upper West Side
7.
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UWS Mysteries: Wooden Treasure Chest Found Floating in the Hudson River
4.
New-York Historical Society Tosses 100s of New Books Into UWS Dumpster After ‘Miscommunication’
3.
The Search for Drexyll Tolstoy, Missing for Six Months, Is Over
2.
She left New York at Two Years Old on a ‘Baby Train’ to Minnesota
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All great stories, many thanks to the WSR team for everything you do to cover our neighborhood!
It has been nearly 5 years since I moved from the UWS to Pasadena CA where I’ve transitioned into retirement. 1300 sq ft for $2500/month and a large patio just blocks from the historic Playhouse was too persuasive,. And no ice nor snow! Still, I’ve lived in many places but always feel that the UWS has been my true home and I’m grateful for the daily reports I find on the WSR. A happy 2024 to all the staff–and a special thanks to Robert Beck for his wonderful work.
Happy new year, Bob. I for one wish we actually get ice and snow this year.
These were some good stories! There are only a handful of functioning NYC neighborhood blogs left; it’s great that you’re still going.
Hey! Just found WSR on my feed. I live in Los Angeles, so I thought it had to do with the West Side of THIS (my) city. I wish we had something like this here! Keep up the good work. As Mr. Spock would say: “Fascinating!”
Thank you to WSR for all!
Thank you to Robert Beck for the wonderful paintings!