15 of the best things to happen in NYC in 2022

The best thing about New York City is that there’s always something happening. 

This year had its share of news, good and bad, that kept New Yorkers on their toes, from crime to culture. But in the spirit of the holidays and celebrating New Year’s Eve, we want to shine a light on the good things that happened this year in NYC.

Below we’ve gathered 15 headlines that gave us hope, entertained us and offered relief in 2022.

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These actually beautiful bugs threatened our ecosystem so we all came together this year to kill them. It was gross. It was arguably cruel. But it was right. Don’t you love when New Yorkers work together?

Garbage and rats got so bad in NYC this year that Mayor Eric Adams promised to literally clean up our streets with a new garbage bin program, brand new street sweepers, new city laws and a rat action plan. Finally! The city has always been gritty, but maybe we’re about to see a new side to her. 

The Lesbian Herstory Archives in Park Slope became the first LGBTQ+ landmark in Brooklyn. We can’t believe it took this long, but we think it’s one of the best things to happen this year.

4. A few new museums opened

It’s a big deal when a new museum opens. When many open, it’s a rarity! This year, the Museum of Broadway, the Jackie Robinson Museum and the Bronx Children’s Museum opened their doors. It’s a win for New Yorkers and tourists alike.   

Everyone knows walking along Fifth Avenue near Rockefeller Center and Saks Fifth Avenue in the holiday season is for tourists and sadists. The Rockefeller Christmas Tree and Saks’ big lights display attract about half a million people each holiday season, crowding the sidewalks, and plaza and spilling out onto the street at times. This year, NYC shut down the stretch of the avenue spanning these popular attractions on Sundays through December. It was a brilliant move—instead of fighting the flow of pedestrian traffic, it went with it, creating a safer experience for everyone. It’s a hit, too! Even locals are enjoying the open street this year. 

It took a while, but NYC’s oldest gay bar was finally landmarked this year but not because it’s old. In 1966, the bar was the site of a “Sip-In,” a protest against certain regulations that prohibited venues from serving people suspected of being gay. The “Sip-In” was spearheaded by three members of the gay rights organization Mattachine Society three years before the Stonewall riots. It’s finally gotten its due.

For years, we’ve been hearing that indie bookstores were dying due to the rise of online retailers. The ability to order online and receive books quickly in the mail or on e-readers dealt a huge blow to local bookshops for at least a decade. This year, however, we saw a resurgence of mom-and-pop bookshops. It seems New Yorkers these days are craving the personal and local atmosphere these stores offer….