Many of you turned to West Side Rag in March as the drumbeat of anxiety over Covid-19 grew louder, and we tried to offer as much information as possible to keep the community informed. Our most-read stories of 2020 were mostly about the virus, and some of the controversies that arose out of it — over the use of hotels as homeless shelters, or the decision by some locals to leave the city.

Yes, this was a year that most of us would like to forget.

But it’s worth considering the enormity of this past year — the stress and sadness and conflict, and sometimes the humor and hope too.

Here is a sampling of 10 of our most-viewed stories of the year. And here’s to a much much better 2021:

Upper West Sider With Three Kids Tests Positive for Coronavirus; His Wife and Children are ‘Mildly Symptomatic’

Woman and 11-Year-Old Test Positive for Coronavirus, Bringing UWS Cases to 3

Trader Joe’s Line Stretches Two Blocks as West Siders Prep for Possible Outbreak; Pasta’s Gone By Noon

‘Conjugal Confinement’ or ‘Couples Quarantining’: Reports From The Domestic Front

Coronavirus Death in Graduate Student Housing Near Columbia Frightens Community; Residents Have to Quickly Leave

Video: Broadway Star Brian Stokes Mitchell Sings ‘The Impossible Dream’ From His Broadway Balcony

Upper West Sider Who Broke Her (Rent-Stabilized!) Lease to Flee to Vermont Finds Rural Bliss Didn’t Last

Lucerne Hotel to House 283 Homeless Men Recovering from Substance Abuse

La Caridad, A Cuban-Chinese Staple on Broadway, Closes After 52 Years

67-Year-Old Writer Handcuffed and Jailed Over Chalk Graffiti; ‘Petty’ Arrest Amidst a Plague

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