By West Side Rag
2024 was a banner readership year for West Side Rag. We generated more page views than any other year in our history, except for 2020, when page views were elevated during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This year’s top stories show the diversity of what interests readers on the Upper West Side, quirky tales about floating statues and coyotes, more newsy items on local schools, restaurants, and train stations, along with features related to The Dakota and Strawberry Fields, and as always, items on major business openings and closings.
Along with our most-read stories, we also covered major neighborhood topics and happenings, including attempts to regulate electric bikes, the shuttering of smoke shops operating illegally, Columbia University’s controversial use of police to quell unrest on its Morningside Heights campus, local crime and police, and much more.
Thank you to all the readers who visited West Side Rag in 2024. We’ll continue to grow in 2025!
Here are the top 10 most-read stories from the year that was.
10.
Giant Statue Floats Down the Hudson River Along the Upper West Side
9.
8.
‘Large’ Coyote Spotted In Central Park Near West 72nd Street: See Video
7.
There’s a World-Class Jazz Club in Your Backyard; An Interview With the Co-Owner of Smoke
6.
Upper West Side Downtown 1 Train Station Is Out of Service Through Late February
5.
4.
3.
2.
Beloved Upper West Side Family Grocer Closing After 46 Years
1.
UPDATE: UWS Absolute Bagels Closing Confirmed: ‘It Was a Bombshell’
What is happening with the Metro Theater?
No news is no news.
Successful purchase of the property is looking very good, according to my inside source at UWS Cinema Center–the group behind the initiative. The group intends to transform the space into a nonprofit cinema and educational center. You can sign up for their newsletter if you want updates (one soon to come) at
uwscinema.org/contact
I didn’t read any of these! I guess am an outlier in my taste, or I guess more accurately, in my curiosity.
Happy New Year WSR! Thanks for all you do.
Articles about cars and parking did not make the list.
<3 <3 <3 Happy 2025 – Keep up the good work!