In 2018, there were 3,561 comments (including mine, when I was feeling illuminative or defensive). The posts to receive the most discussion:

The End Is Near (Dec. 5) / 95 comments
And what lovely comments they were.

Military Helicopters Scare Lower Manhattan (Apr. 18) / 57 comments
“I was sitting in my living room on the 30th floor overlooking the West Side river. Next thing I know, there is a loud sound like a helicopter is landing on my roof. I look outside and four small black helicopters are swooping down low towards my balcony and in what felt like the last second they turn left past by building. One had a long object extending from the front, what looked like a gun of some sort. My windows were shaking. Needless to say, I was extremely freaked out. A notice would have been nice.” —EA

Best Market Has Closed (Oct. 30) / 56 comments
“Whole Foods doesn’t have Kraft macaroni and cheese or good fried chicken. Not to mention, they don’t have Lunchables.” —Gina

Ghost Town: The 2018 Retail-Vacancy Report (Aug. 13) / 36 comments
“The empty storefronts are a community problem and not a landlord, Tribeca resident, or a storekeeper problem. Perhaps it is a time for members of all parts of the community, including the residents, police, landlords, storekeepers and others to meet in order to find solutions to this continued blight. This is not the first time NYC has been challenged and certainly it will not be the last. The future is ours to create, not to be bystanders.” —Larry

The Desperate Need for Film-Shoot Reform (Oct. 4) / 34 comments
“Last night I saw a resident get into a yelling match with two separate PAs at a shoot on N. Moore and Varick who wouldn’t let the guy pass to get to his apartment. So much for treating the locals respectfully. I was going to call the location manager and complain, but there were so many different shows filming I didn’t know who to call.” —Donna

The City Wants to Build a 40-Story Jail on Worth Street (Aug. 3) / 31 comments
“The glorious woman that sits on top of the gold dome is all that should stand as a representation of our civic center Anything higher will ruin the integrity of what was built The architecture of downtown Manhattan is finally coming of age Let’s not ruin it with another jail or unsightly architecture!” —Joanne

Self-Driving Cars Are Coming to Lower Manhattan (Feb. 26) / 30 comments
“The computers driving the autonomous cars can process information and react much faster than humans, see 360 degrees, can see behind curves guided by satellites, have no emotions, are not distracted by cell phones, don’t have bad days, don’t get tired, follow the law. They drive like a very polite, conservative, somewhat slow and calm human. Don’t fear them.” —Nik

The Latest Salvo in the Franklin Place Battle (Feb. 8) / 25 comments
“All the wealthy people who bought there, along with their overpriced lawyers and real estate brokers, never considered this?” —Seriously?

Ask Me Anything (Dec. 7) / 24 comments
“Will you being turning the tables on yourself and answering a TCQ&A before you go? Or did I miss one over the years?” (Stay tuned.) —Cobaye

Tribeca Treats Is Closing (Feb. 15) / 23 comments
“It’s so sad to see this. I know how hard you’ve worked and how hard it is to start and run a business. I will forever remember you leaving my camera in the front of your store so I could see I’d left it there, even after you closed on one of those crazy Halloween days. You didn’t know whose it was, but you knew they’d eventually come back for it, and saved me 12 hours of panic in the process. Just one of the many lovely touches of customer service in your store.” —Jenny

In the News: Condo Board Screws Over Restaurant (Sept. 22) / 23 comments
“Who in Tribeca doesn’t live near a restaurant or bar? I have several in the near vicinity to my home, including Weather Up, and I would much rather have the energy and color that they all add than a vacant storefront or chain of some sort. It would be a real shame to add Tribeca Kitchen to the list of reasonable restaurants that are locally owned and a part of the community that cannot survive here anymore.” —Elizabeth

In the News: Best Market’s Lease Is About to End (Aug. 25) / 22 comments
“If you think a councilmember can impede somebody’s property rights, you are on another planet. There is no way that you can prevent the owners from leasing the space to another tenant.” —Vasamuti

Seen & Heard: Skater Hater (Jan. 3) / 21 comments
“I was in Whole Foods on Tuesday—no eggs—tape crisscrossed across that section had an apology and a due date written on it. On Wednesday, almost no frozen 365 brand vegetables, a void that continued across multiple freezer cases. Absurd.” —A.

Zutto Has Closed (June 4) / 21 comments
“I heard an audible whimper when I told my oldest son. I can’t imagine what my younger son will do. That was our favorite local restaurant and Joel was always so welcoming. Bummer.” —Elizabeth

Seen & Heard: Another Store Closed at the World Trade Center Mall (Aug. 17) / 21 comments
“By the way, what would happen to the marriage bureau under this plan? So many couples have tied the knot there…. That building and its functions should be preserved, not vandalized with a 40-story hybrid shopping mall-jail monstrosity.” —Marcus

Is Amazon Opening a Bookstore Here? (Aug. 24) / 20 comments
“My only consumer experience with the Oculus was when I needed to take my Imac (yes, a gigantic 27″ beast) in for repairs, and it was a nightmare. The Oculus is really hard to access—tourists block everything lingering for photos and selfies, many of the doors don’t open automatically or don’t have a handicapped button, and the escalators constantly change directions from day to day. The bathrooms have egress and ingress for one at a time, which creates insane bottle-necks in a mall that’s supposed to contain thousands of people at once. I was told by an employee at the Apple store that all of these design flaws were actually ‘features’ intended for anti-terrorism reasons—to keep the mall from having a consistently and predictably accessible layout and to have few straight and direct exits and entrances. That may make sense as a security precaution (although it seems like it would massively thwart efficiency in the event of an evacuation), but it’s a huge turnoff from the standpoint of a customer who wants the shopping experience to be easy. I have absolutely no intention to go back there to shop again. In contrast, Brookfield place is lovely and I find it absolutely packed on weekends with couples and families. I laugh at how high-end a lot of the retailers are, but I haven’t experienced it to be noticeably empty the times I’ve been there. And contrary to C2C, I like Brookfield precisely because it’s the opposite of the stressful crowds in Soho and Midtown. To me, Brookfield is where you go when you want a more relaxed suburban afternoon without having to leave Manhattan.” —Scott

Seen & Heard: Taylor Swift Is Building a Mantrap (Oct. 2) / 20 comments
“The haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate. Shake it off, shake it off.” —James

First Impressions: Il Mulino (Aug. 9) / 19 comments
“Il Mulino Prime over on W. Broadway is one of our favorite spots. The prices are what they are – you know what the deal is going in. But the food is excellent & the service superb. Hopefully this place gets the food and service up to par because I think it’s potentially a great addition to the neighborhood. Given the rents being charged, it shouldn’t be a shock to anyone anymore that the trend is going to be higher end, higher priced restaurants. If you want the more diverse culinary experiences and more reasonable prices, Brooklyn (where we live now) are your best bets. That ship sailed in Tribeca a long time ago.” —Jeff

In the News: Residents Concerned About 50-Story Jail Tower (Dec. 18) / 19 comments
“The whole 80 Centre Street option appears to have been a real head fake by the administration in order to lull the whole community into having to accept the Tombs ‘alternative.’ Building at this location is equally disruptive and a blow to the community. This location is just one block from Canal street, an even more congested (and vital) roadway than Worth Street. This entire administration seems to have it out for the minority Chinese community.” —Kacee

In the News: Is This Why Taylor Swift Bought the Townhouse Next Door? (Jan. 25) / 18 comments
When Peter Jackson bought the two PHs initially he had hoped to combine them. After years of back-and-forth with the board he gave up trying and just renovated them as the existing divided units. He only stayed in the apartments a few times after the renovations. I think for Taylor it was advantageous because she could have her own apt (7000 sq feet) and the bodyguards live in the other apt next to her (close to 4000 sq feet). TS moving into the building tremendously impacted the residents…note all the sales since she moved in (and not for huge profits for some) There’s one elevator and if she’s coming or going the bodyguards won’t let anyone get in if they’re taking her up or down, or they’ll hold the elevator at the top floor for 30 mins waiting for her. I know this sounds like a small thing..but not fun when it’s happened to you over-and-over. She’s been renovating for over a year and yes, stalkers/fans have gotten into the building, but it’s because with all the construction people coming and going there’s no one to monitor who’s with them or a kook…Taylor only employs an off duty NYPD officer to sit in the lobby when SHE’S there. As far as her ‘profile’—she definitely liked the attention she received from photographers and fans. Ashley Olson lived on the 3rd floor for over a year and no one knew (her bodyguard would take her up and down in the elevator as well, but never tried to stop anyone from getting into the elevator) Ashley bailed from the rental as soon as she found out TS had bought.” —Andy

The Biggest Chick-fil-A in the U.S. Opens Next Week (Mar. 19) / 18 comments
“Chick-fil-A is the type of chain establishment one would find in the suburbs. This would be better fit in Long Island, Westchester and Rockland. NYC has become a suburb or Middle-America. Everything has become generic and corporatized. Why live in an overpriced abode when one can have the same experience and offerings from the bland suburbs. All the unique and quirky places that have have soul and character that made New York New York and gave New York City soul and character have been vanished. Next up, people would be celebrating the opening of an iHOP, Target, or Dairy Queen in NYC… oh, wait.” —JOR

Showdown at the Warren Street Dog Park (Apr. 16) / 18 comments
“The statement of the dog owners of Tribeca group reeks of pomposity. They illegally co-opted a public space, and now they seem to be laboring under the gross misapprehension that they can set conditions under which they will “surrender” control of a space which they were never entitled to in the first place. How is this any different than a “community group” seizing control of a public pool, locking the gate, making rules for membership, and charging membership fees? And then trying to justify the illegal seizure by putting out some nice chairs and perhaps cleaning the pool a few extra times a day? An utterly fatuous argument.” —Cliff

Tribeca Then and Now: The Unknowns (Part 1) (Aug. 16) / 18 comments
“I remember the way it was back in 1990. I would take it again any day. The neighborhood had artsy working class diverse people (the originals who fought for Tribeca) PS 234, Food Emporium, Washington Market Park. They lived in Independence Plaza from the late 1970s when no one wanted to live here. I moved in in 1990. Yes it was quiet but it was home. I could afford to live here. Mom and pop stores in the area. We lived through 911 ( most of us sick from that exposure). Then they come in, they come in and little by little you can afford to shop or live in the neighborhood you built. It is really terrible. I miss those days when Tribeca had character!” —Native

In the News: Meryl Streep Listed Her Tribeca Penthouse (Aug. 20) / 18 comments
“Esteemed Councilperson Chin assumes this is a done deal, like most development projects in the deBlasio era (see One Manhattan Square in Two Bridges), so she prefers to ‘extort’—by pretending to threaten the project—as much in concessions as she can that will earn political points for herself. The value those concessions bring to some of her constituents is peanuts compared to the value that opposing this scheme would bring to all of her constituents IMO.” —James

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