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Dear New Yorkers,

It's been an epic year for yakking at the FAQ NYC podcast, with more than 300,000 downloads of 70 plus episodes.

Hosts Christina Greer, Katie Honan and Harry Siegel have stayed strapped in for every political twist and turn as Mayor Eric Adams, an historically unpopular mayor, reshuffled his deck of jokers while fighting the law, churned through three police commissioners and tried again and again to reboot his administration.

His most recent incarnation came as a Democrat who's eager to work with the Trump administration while daring his critics to "cancel me."

Meanwhile, Gov. Kathy Hochul, the very unpopular governor, sent the National Guard into the trains as the vibes got grim.

Harry also went Off Cycle for in-depth conversations with legendary writer Lucy Sante, photographer Harvey Wang and painter Jill Gill. Katie sat down with one of the New York public school students flipping the script and launching their own podcast and with Daily News staffers explaining why they had to walk off the job.

Other journalists at THE CITY were in the mix, too, with executive editor Alyssa Katz continuing her Off Cycle series with episodes about how cities lost the plot on mass transit, the world the Village Voice created and a conversation with urbanist Joel Kotkin on his premise that “urban supremacy” is killing NYC.

Senior reporter Samantha Maldonado delivered a four-part special series, HazardNYC, about the city's Superfund sites, from the plume below Meeker Avenue to the coal tar and new apartments in the “toxic wonderland” of the Gowanus Canal.

Senior reporter Gwynne Hogan also joined the pod to discuss her reporting from inside the "frozen zone" at Columbia University as police moved to clear out protesters earlier this year. And senior reporter Jose Martinez on the transit beat came on to help make some sense of Hochul's herky-jerky approach to congestion pricing.

Reporter Haidee Chu interviewed linguist Ross Perlin about his work preserving the city's endangered languages. And even editor in chief Richard Kim got in the mix, guest hosting an episode with journalists Kai Wright and Lizzy Ratner about their reporting on the early years of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in New York City and the overlooked populations it hit especially hard.

This year was also a visual feast for New Yorkers, and THE CITY’s photographers Ben Fractenberg and Alex Krales, along with some assists from reporters, were there to document it all. There were tense moments of upheaval, including the campus protests and the ongoing struggle of the city’s newly arrived migrants to find stability. And New Yorkers witnessed some indelibly dramatic scenes, like when our mayor pleaded not guilty to five federal charges.

But there were moments of pure joy too: a once-in-a-generation solar eclipse and a ticker tape parade celebrating WNBA champions, the New York Liberty.

Take a look at our Year in Photos here.

Weather ☀️

Sunny and chilly, with a high near 35.

MTA 🚇

The Jamaica Center-bound J and Z skip 85 St - Forest Parkway and Cypress Hills. Find all the MTA’s planned changes and the latest delays here.

Alternate side parking 🚙

It’s in effect today, Dec. 26.

By the way …

Now that Christmas is over, it’s back to regularly scheduled programming: getting stuff fixed.

Our Other Top Story

Model prisoner Tayden Townsley, 47, is hoping that this will be his final holiday season behind bars. He’s seeking clemency from Gov. Kathy Hochul after over two decades in prison for a murder he committed when he was 19. After a rocky start to his sentence, Townsley’s application for clemency states that he’s become a “force for good,” including de-escalating a heated moment and winning the praise of correction officers.

Things To Do

Here’s what’s going on around the city this week.

Wednesday, Dec. 25 - Jan. 2: Come for the menorah, stay for the latkes: you can light one of the world’s largest menorahs at Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn every night of Hanukkah. Start times vary.  Thursday, Dec. 26 - Monday, Dec. 30: Celebrate Kwanzaa at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum with cultural performances, hands-on workshops, and candle lighting ceremonies. 10 a.m to 5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 28: Start 2025 with a clean slate by saying “good riddance” to all your mistakes from the past year. Broadway, between 43rd and 44th. 12 p.m.

THE KICKER: The rats don’t run this city — Katie the rat hunting dog does.

Thanks, as always, for reading. Make it a great Thursday.

Love,

THE CITY

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