Willy Spiller/Hell On Wheels
Brooklyn Magazine’s top 20 stories of 2023
Our readers were drawn to original reporting on culture, food, hip-hop, a little drama and celebrity
As we wind down 2023 here at Brooklyn Magazine Worldwide Headquarters, it is customary to look back and ponder the year that was. Our list of the most-read stories of the year provides something of a Rorschach test to understanding you, our readers.
Here’s what we can divine from the traffic tea leaves: You guys are a curious and intrepid lot. You’re cultured (your interest was piqued by the wild paintings of Matthew Hansel and an intimate Haitian vodou ceremony) but you’re also not above a little titillation (a steamy bathhouse rave here, some playful panties there).
You love food and you have good taste. You’re not above a little drama. You celebrated hip-hop’s 50th with us and you hit the bars with us. And we look forward to spending 2024 with you all over again, exploring the borough from the tip of Greenpoint to the boards of Coney Island.
Here are Brooklyn Magazine’s 20 most-read stories of 2023. If you missed any the first time around, they’re still new to you.
- HELL ON WHEELS: PHOTOGRAPHING THE MTA AT THE DAWN OF THE 1980S
How a young Swiss photographer named Willy Spiller captured a lost microcosm of New York on the subway in its grittiest era - NOT READY FOR PRIMETIME: SNL’S SARAH SHERMAN ‘NEEDS TO GO TO THE PSYCH WARD’
Sherman brought a little punk energy back to SNL. Now she’s bringing her ‘vulgar’ show to Williamsburg on Thursday - BROOKLYN’S 12 BEST NEW RESTAURANTS OF 2023
We ate at 100 new places in the borough this year so you didn’t have to. These were our favorites - ZULA, A MASSIVE CLUB AND RESTAURANT, HAS LANDED ON THE CONEY ISLAND BOARDWALK
Ayat’s Abdul Elenani and Turkish restaurateur Seyran Say turn the landmark Childs Building into a Mediterranean rooftop party spot - THE GEN X GUIDE TO BROOKLYN NIGHTLIFE
We may be small in number and largely forgotten, but we like it that way … and sometimes we still party like it’s 1999 - BROOKLYN NIGHT MARKET BRINGS THE PARTY (AND FOOD!) TO INDUSTRY CITY
More than 40 street-food vendors and small businesses kicked off the monthly event on Monday night - AMPLE HILLS FOUNDERS OUSTED FROM THE COMPANY THEY HELPED RELAUNCH JUST SIX MONTHS AGO
It’s a stunning turn of events for Brian Smith and Jackie Cuscuna, who co-founded the ice cream brand in 2011 - THE OFF-KILTER SEDUCTION OF PAINTER MATTHEW HANSEL
Fresh off a run of hit solo exhibitions and with new work in the Armory Show, the artist is having a moment — and so are his inner demons - SCENES FROM THE 2023 DYKER HEIGHTS CHRISTMAS LIGHTS
A visit to some of the neighborhood’s wildest houses, decked out for the annual holiday celebration - ‘THIS IS DOPE ASF’: JAY-Z LYRICS HAVE BEEN PLASTERED ON THE BROOKLYN PUBLIC LIBRARY
The library declined to comment before Friday, backing unconfirmed reports of an event Thursday relating to hip hop’s 50th anniversary - UNDERWEAR BRAND SIREN BASICS WANTS YOU TO MENTION YOUR UNMENTIONABLES
The whimsical company makes thongs and panties that ‘light up a power from within’ - BROOKLYN’S 50 MOST FASCINATING PEOPLE 2023
For the third year in a row we’ve asked our readers, contributors and friends who they consider to be the most fascinating people in the borough - BROOKLYN CELEBRATED HIP-HOP’S 50TH WITH A HUGE, FREE BLOCK PARTY IN CLINTON HILL
‘This is the best thing ever’: Thousands filled Fulton Street Saturday to see Jungle Brothers, Dead Prez, KRS-One and others - JUDD APATOW ON PLEASE DON’T DESTROY, DOCUMENTARIES, NEPO BABIES AND STREAMING
The comedy kingmaker talks with Brooklyn Magazine about producing Please Don’t Destroy’s new movie for Peacock - NOMA CO-FOUNDER MADS REFSLUND OPENS ILIS IN GREENPOINT
The superstar chef behind ‘the world’s best restaurant’ gives Brooklyn the city’s most thrilling new eatery of the year - INSIDE A HAITIAN VODOU CEREMONY IN SOUTH BROOKLYN
An intimate look at an annual gathering to summon and honor the island’s water spirits - JUST OPENED IN PROSPECT HEIGHTS, GERTRUDE’S IS A PERFECT BROOKLYN BISTRO
Gertie’s Nate Adler and Rachel Jackson team up with chef Eli Sussman, and the result is an instant neighborhood hit - AMPLE HILLS CREAMERY REOPENS ITS FLAGSHIP SHOP UNDER ITS ORIGINAL OWNERS
The founders of the beloved Brooklyn-born ice cream shop have officially regained control (and plan to take it slower this time) - ARCADE FIRE’S WILL BUTLER WENT SOLO AND PICKED UP SOME SISTERS ALONG THE WAY
Will Butler + Sister Squares’ debut album drops on Friday, and the band will play Elsewhere on Saturday night - DEBAUCHERY (AND A LITTLE DETOX) AT AN UNDERGROUND BROOKLYN BATHHOUSE RAVE
At the new rave series Steamroom, revelers sweat it out, literally, as they get down and get it on
Still here? Thanks for following along. And happy New Year.