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reader favorites: 7 top stories of 2017

| 02 Jan 2018 | 04:17
    Famed gossip columnist Michael Musto riding down Lexington Avenue in the East 20s. Photo: Streetfilms “Il Ciclista Dolce: Michael Musto” screen shot
    Famed gossip columnist Michael Musto riding down Lexington Avenue in the East 20s. Photo: Streetfilms “Il Ciclista Dolce: Michael Musto” screen shot
    A makeshift memorial outside the Super-Del Market on York Avenue near 78th Street.
    A makeshift memorial outside the Super-Del Market on York Avenue near 78th Street.
    Map of the 1811 Commissioners Plan for New York City, which developed the original Manhattan street-grid system. Image via Wikimedia Commons
    Map of the 1811 Commissioners Plan for New York City, which developed the original Manhattan street-grid system. Image via Wikimedia Commons
    The whale spotted in the East River. Photo: New York Police Department
    The whale spotted in the East River. Photo: New York Police Department

Calamity and the Gossip Columnist, by Douglas Feiden. After being knocked down and badly hurt by a “crazed cyclist,” the famed nightlife chronicler Michael Musto said he couldn’t wait to ride his own bike again. Feiden told the tale.

11 Hopefuls for District 4 Council Seat, by Michael Garofalo. There was a lot of interest — and a lot of candidates — in the city council election to replace popular member Dan Garodnick, who was term-limited out of running again. Another piece by Garofalo on the same subject, “District 4 Candidates Spar at Debate” also drew a big readership.

Disrupting the Grid, by Douglas Feiden. A look at how the Age of the Bicycle has altered traffic patterns envisioned in the signature street plan for Manhattan. “After two centuries, the rhythms of the grid have been knocked out of kilter,” Feiden wrote. “The block system has been effectively degraded ... The streetscape is imperiled.”

Farewell to a Beloved Bookstore, by Christopher Moore. Fans came from near and far to bid an emotional goodbye to Crawford Doyle, a retail mainstay on Madison Avenue for 21 years. Moore evoked how co-owners Judy Crawford and her husband John Doyle comforted customers upset at the loss of a bookstore in the neighborhood.

Pedestrian Hit, Killed on York, by Laura Hanrahan. In April, Srymanean Manickam, a manager at the Super-Del Market on 78th and York, was struck and killed by a yellow cab, the second fatality at the intersection in 15 months. The death of “Mano” spurred outrage in the neighborhood and tributes from residents who praised “a great man with a generous heart.”

A Slice, a Cel-Ray and a Scowl, by Noah Williams. On the Upper West Side, the power of a longtime neighborhood fixture, Sal and Carmine Pizza, where tradition endures. Wrote Williams: “The store has now been in operation for nearly 60 years and it still sells out almost every day.”

Mystery of the East River Whale, by Genia Gould. After the NYPD spotted a whale in the river on New Year’s Eve, local marine biologists and naturalists speculated about what species it might have been. The sighting thrilled readers — and served as a reminder of how close to nature we urban dwellers live.