From exclusive soda drops and canceled traditions to Uber struggles and new trash policies, New York City has seen a busy year in 2024.
Thanks to your ongoing support, AMNY.com has reached great heights this year. As of Dec. 26, the website had 10,564,888 pageviews.
Here’s a run-down of the top 10 most-viewed stories published this year on AMNY.com.
- Bottoms up! In September, Pepsi gave New Yorkers an exclusive opportunity to try their new line of Drips crafted beverages. Throughout the month, Pepsi held pop-ups at Domino Park in Williamsburg and at SummerStage in Central Park and sold beverages, including Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Starry, Rockstar and Lipton Iced Tea, enhanced with fruit syrups, creams, popping boba, fruits and berries, and more.
- In a horrifying event, a man was arrested for lighting a woman on fire while she slept on a parked F train at Coney Island – Stillwell Avenue in December. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said during a press conference that the suspect used a lighter to ignite the victim’s clothing, immediately engulfing her in flames, and she was pronounced dead at the scene. The suspect, Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, was seen on a bench watching the flames. He was later charged with first and second degree murder.
- Over Thanksgiving weekend, a massive fire tore through a row of storefronts in Queens, specifically at 62-16 Woodhaven Blvd. in Rego Park. The fire broke out at 11 a.m. on Nov. 30 and when FDNY units arrived at the scene, they were met with heavy smoke and fire emanating from the rear of the location (Taste of Samarkand Uzbek) and multiple adjoining restaurants and a dry cleaning business. The fire was brought under control by 12:30 p.m. that day.
- New York City is one of the leading cities in the country for holiday celebrations, but one time-honored tradition didn’t happen this year. It was announced in November that Saks Fifth Avenue’s holiday light show would not be happening, citing that the brand wanted to recognize the flagship store’s “architectural significance” for the store’s 100th anniversary. However, rumors swirled that the show didn’t take place for financial reasons.
- Over the summer, several Uber and Lyft drivers found themselves locked out of their respective apps, unable to accept rides and, therefore, unable to make money. In October, hundreds of rideshare drivers blockaded Manhattan traffic along 11th Avenue from 30th Street to 48th Street. Drivers traveled to City Hall and beyond, honking on the “horns of justice” to demand fair pay and the ability to work without disruption. The New York Taxi Workers Alliance (NYTWA) says over 1,000 drivers participated in the blockade.
- “The View” host Whoopi Goldberg alleged on-air that Holtermann’s Bakery, a Staten Island bakery, wouldn’t serve her because of her politics and doubled down on this claim in November with a video on social media. The community rallied around the bakery and its owner, Jill Holtermann, who claimed that they could not fulfill Goldberg’s birthday order because of a boiler malfunction.
- New York City is taking a stand on trash. In November, the Department of Sanitation started to enforce a new garbage policy that requires New Yorkers to put all curbside trash into garbage pails that are 55 gallons or less, with secure lids. This new policy was created to eliminate the piles of black trash bags from the streets and reduce the rodent population. Starting Jan. 2, 2025, those who don’t comply will be fined $50.
- The casino topic has been a hot button issue in NYC, and Mets owner Steve Cohen has been in on the action. In September, Cohen released renderings of his proposed casino location, which would be at the Metropolitan Park complex near Queens’ Citi Field, including parks, restaurants, and shopping areas for the community. If selected, Hard Rock Entertainment would run the proposed casino.
- In August, two men were indicted in New York for running a long-running scheme to pocket phony “surge charge” fees and defraud Uber, its drivers, and its customers. Eliahou Paldiel, 52, of Queens, and Carlos Arturo Suarez Palacios, 54, of Brick Township, NJ, were charged with wire fraud and money laundering conspiracies for selling hacked smartphones pre-installed with the “Screwber” app, which allowed drivers to see the customer’s location and destination ahead of time, to 800 separate Uber drivers, allowing them to accept the most lucrative of fares. The suspects, who face up to 40 years in jail if convicted, sold Screwber for a $600 one-time fee plus a $300 monthly subscription.
- In more Uber news, November saw the popular rideshare app threatening to lay off thousands of NYC drivers if the Taxi & Limousine Commission (TLC) decides to raise minimum pay standards. At the time of publication, TLC was expected to announce new pay standards for drivers in high-volume services, which applies solely to Uber and Lyft drivers, and Uber said in a blog post that the minimum pay rules have made their services too expensive and any increase with pay would affect drivers’ ability to access the app.
