Image via Complex Original
The City That Never Sleeps also never stops being crazy. Every year, a new crop of unbelievable stories pops up to replace the ones that shocked and awed us last year. Whether they involve mutating animals, violent rabbis, or (of course) politicians with a chronic sexting problem, there are always new tales to keep bloggers typing and residents gossiping. As usual, there were dozens of crazy stories throughout the five boroughs this year, and we’ve picked out a few of our favorites. If you can spare a minute between waiting in incredibly long lines for pastries and twerking your way to the record books, check out the 10 Craziest Things That Happened in NYC in 2013.
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10. Banksy Breeds Entrepreneurs
The actual artwork in Banksy's New York residency this summer wasn't really shocking at all. Much of the work featured the same vaguely political fare we've come to expect from the famed street artist. New Yorkers were delighted on a daily basis, however, by the entrepreneurial spirit that crept up around Banksy's work. Admission was being charged and doors were being removed all over our fair city, as art students were price gouged by savvy locals. Our favorite incident had to be the (allegedly) drunk East New Yorkers who were charging visitors $20 a piece to photograph the piece, and were hiding the work behind cardboard if they didn't pony up.
9. Cold-loving Cockroaches Colonize New York
It's a rite of passage for New Yorkers to deal with a cockroach infestation here and there. Usually, you can count on getting a breather from pests when it gets frigid outside. It looks like a new race of cold weather loving mutant bugs is here make sure our collective girlfriends are terrorized in the shower year-round. This species of roach (Periplaneta japonica) is thought to have made its way to Manhattan thanks to imported plants used at the Highline Park.
It's hard for us to stay mad at the Highline though, as it is the only free date spot we've ever been to that can earn you legit romance points.
8. Speakeasy Built in Tower, Gets Law and Order Episode
New York City is filled with fake speakeasies that are really just gimmicks everybody knows about (we see you PDT). For a brief period last spring, we had ourselves a good-old fashioned, illegally built, don't-tell-the-cops style speakeasy. The Night Heron popped up in a Chelsea water tower last Spring, and quickly became the go-to place for cool people to say they'd been, even if they hadn't. New Yorkers are no strangers to invite-only pop-up stunts, but the blog-driven popularity of the speakeasy, culminating in the Night Heron being immortalized by Law & Order: SVU, cemented its crazy news status.
7. Cronut Craze
New Yorkers were all expecting this summer's nasty heat wave; Cronut Fever, however, caught us all by surprise. With a fervor usually reserved for iPhone releases and late-night cab hailing, people were flocking to Dominique Ansel's Soho bakery to get a taste of this sweet sweet pastry all summer long. The craziness of this story lies not in the pastry itself, a ingenious mix of croissant and donut, but in the insanity it instilled in Gotham's populace. Not only did people wait in legendarily long lines, but rumors swirled around the Cronut. Apparently, a man posed as a police officer in an attempt to get one and at its peak the black market prices were up to $40.
6. Twerking and Underwear World Records Set
Zany world records and stunts are attempted in New York City all the time. This year saw New York host the Twerking World Record and the record for most people gathered in their underwear at one place at one time. Yes, it was truly a summer of achievement in New York City. We look forward to the sexually charged records New Yorkers will set in 2014. Regardless, we'll remember 2013 as a banner year, and our Twerk will go on.
5. Sugary Drink Ban Backlash
The depths of corporate greed know no bounds. This is a well-known fact, and as such, it shouldn't have surprised us when the fast food and soda giants teamed up to unleash an all out war on Mayor Bloomberg's so-called "soda ban." The reasonable limit of oversized sugary drinks was met with an intense campaign courtesy of New Yorkers for Beverage Choice. You couldn't walk down the street without seeing agit-prop style posters asking you to stand up for your right to fatten yourself to your heart's content (or, rather, discontent). The ban was overturned as a result of being an “illegal overreach of executive power.” So, treat yourself to a 94 oz. Big Gulp to ring in the New Year.
4. Mystery Parachuters Land in Lower Manhattan
It's strange enough that parachuters landed in Lower Manhattan at 3 a.m. It's truly weird that we never got the whole story. Plenty of news outlets covered the incident, but no one followed up with updates. We would have suspected that this was a military exercise or a viral marketing campaign, but we'll never know. The Downtown daredevils disappeared into thin air.
3. One World Trade Center Wails
Several times over the past year, residents have reported hearing a wailing sound coming from the top of One World Trade Center. It turns out there is a quirk in the architecture that produces these haunting moans. Don't worry, Lower Manhattan residents, this won't be something you have to live with on the daily like construction noise and bank protests. The last time the noise was heard prior to November 27th was during Hurricane Sandy. So, if you're returning from that high class hook up with an emerging financial exec, know that you aren't hear ghosts, but rather a strange, melancholic architectural coincidence.
2. Carlos Danger: Weiner Sexts Again
The Big Apple is no stranger to political scandal. We've got a whole system worked out for it. A politician does something improper, they apologize, and after a little bit of time out of the limelight, we're ready to re-elect them like nothing ever happened. Anthony Weiner a.k.a. Carlos Danger seemed poised to follow the same trajectory until he it came out that he never stopped doing the thing that he apologized for. Our favorite memory from this scandal (well, next to Jon Oliver's Daily Show coverage) will likely be his non-apology after the second wave of sexts broke: "I said that other texts and photos were likely to come out, and today they have."
Pure class.
1. Rabbi Divorce Ring Uncovered
In the strictest Orthodox Jewish tradition, divorce requires permission from the husband before it can take effect. Rabbi Mendel Epstein got creative—in the way that organized criminals get creative—in order to obtain "gets" (permission for divorce) from stubborn husbands. Epstein teamed up with a fellow rabbi to create "kidnap teams" to abduct, tase, and beat husbands into giving their get. Epstein and nine others have been arrested in an F.B.I. investigation of these kidnappings and assaults going back to the early '90s.
