Look back at 2023 with New York Magazine

Our Editor's Favorite Moments of the Year [New York logo](   Dear Reader, There were a handful of times this year when the editors of this magazine realized that the problem we were wrestling to solve, or the discomfort we were having in talking about a subject, was in fact the story. The most intense example of this, and one of the most challenging and rewarding journalism projects I’ve ever been a part of, was our recent [cover package “The War and New York](.” It explored how the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel and subsequent Israeli invasion of Gaza was tearing apart institutions as large as the 92Y and Columbia University and as small as a mother-daughter relationship. “There is a pervasive sense that everyone is hurting, aggrieved, and misunderstood and no longer pretending to share a common reality,” we wrote in our introduction, and this was, of course, true of our own newsroom and many of our own work relationships. I am incredibly proud not only of how that editorial project came together but of how, remarkably, it helped us as an organization discuss and learn from each other. [The War and New York]( "The War and New York" Time and again, difficult conversations flipped into assignments: Are a few of our friends, and half of Hollywood, [secretly using Ozempic](? Are children not just adorable but [adult-friendship detonators](? The [massive etiquette guide]( we published in January came from another set of uncomfortable situations we found ourselves in. “How are we supposed to behave these days?” was not an abstract question for any of us, and the answers about texting decorum and how to cancel plans and all sorts of other dilemmas originated from various New York editors finding themselves perplexed and vaguely embarrassed. [On the Cover: Life After Food]( "Life After Food?" by Matthew Schneier [Adorable Little Detonators]( "Adorable Little Detonators" by Allison P. Davis [Do You Know How to Behave? Are You Sure?]( "Do You Know How to Behave? Are You Sure?" Another subject: money. We often talk generally about how unaffordable New York is and less often about the indelicate question of what people living a “[good New York City life](” are actually spending. So we devoted months to surfacing nine ideal lives and researching their required expenditures down to the line-item level of babysitters, travel plans, and clothing budgets. The answers we discovered have had, I’m not lying, life-altering effects on several of the people who put that project together. [The War and New York]( [The New York Happy Meal]( [33 Eating Adventures]( "How Much Does It Cost to Live Like This" by R. Sugar, J. Denton, L. Thompson, and A. Quinlan And then our [2023 “Power Issue](,” which reanimated a franchise this magazine used to publish frequently in its early years but that suffered an almost fatal crisis when we realized, after weeks of research and dozens of dispatches from reporters, that this city was suffering from a historic power vacuum. A problem — but an interesting one! What came out of that observation, “The Most Powerful New Yorkers You’ve Never Heard Of,” was perhaps the most revealing “power list” the magazine has ever published. [The War and New York]( "The Most Powerful New Yorkers You’ve Never Heard Of" That feeling when everything clicks and the hardest problem to solve becomes the solution itself — I’m sure everybody goes through something like that at work. It’s one of the many pleasures of this job that these electrical bursts led directly to some of the best work we made this year. Happy holidays, and thank you as always for being loyal readers. — David Haskell, editor-in-chief, New York Magazine   [New York Magazine: Erewhon's Secrets]( [STAY IN THE KNOW]( Save up to 70% on unlimited access to New York Magazine and all of our verticals, [plus choose your own limited-edition New York tote for free]( with any annual subscription, while supplies last.   [New York]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [unsubscribe]( | [privacy notice]( | [update preferences]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. View this email in your browser.]( Reach the right online audience with us For advertising information on e-mail newsletters please contact AdOps@nymag.com Vox Media, LLC 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, 12th Floor Washington, DC 20036 Copyright © 2023. All rights reserved.  Â