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Happy Monday in New York City, where list season is upon us. No, I’m not talking about Santa’s Naughty or Nice list, or the MTA’s list of service changes, but the compulsive need we all have around the New Year to rank the best and worst of the last 12 months. What were the 10 best films of 2025? What were the most memorable pop culture moments? What about the craziest sports highlights of the year?
So, what was New York’s defining news story of 2025?
There is no shortage of candidates, as unprecedented political drama, first-of-their-kind policies and an unconventional president have undone the status quo in the Big Apple.
Was it the regular raids by masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on the city’s courtrooms and street vendor hubs? Or the collapse of the Adams administration, as indictments led to backroom political dealings that then led to an early exit from the mayoral race? Was it the unlikely transformation of Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani from unknown assemblyman to New York’s youngest mayor-elect in over a century? Or the nation’s first congestion pricing program, which helped lead to improved air quality, fewer crashes, faster commute times and an infusion of capital for the MTA? Maybe it was Governor Hochul’s statewide phone ban in public schools, or the approval of three downstate casino licenses or even Luigi Mangione’s rise to folk hero status.
What do you think? Vote in the poll below!
What was the top news story this year?
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Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation requiring social media platforms with certain features to display unskippable warning labels alerting young users to potential mental health risks.
Mayor Eric Adams vetoed a City Council bill to help victims of gender-based violence, in one of his last actions before leaving office on Dec. 31. City Council voted unanimously in favor of the bill last month.
City agencies heightened enforcement against drunk and impaired driving and speeding through New Year’s. The coordinated effort includes public messaging urging travelers to plan by using transit, taxis, ride-hail services, or designated drivers.
Brooklyn resident Wei Qiang Lin was sentenced to two years in prison for illegally exporting protected turtles, snakes and lizards to Hong Kong after falsely labeling the shipments as “plastic animal toys.”
A fire erupted early Wednesday morning inside an apartment building at the city-run Sheepshead Bay Houses.
A man believed to be in his 50s was found dead on Brighton Beach on Christmas morning after reports that a body washed ashore.
The Department of Sanitation expanded curbside Christmas tree collection. Real trees and wreaths can now be placed at the curb on regular recycling and compost collection days — this week, next week or even months later.
Our World In Photos
Photo: Mosa'ab Elshamy/AP
MOROCCO — ‘All together now … eyes on the ball’: Algeria and Burkina Faso players anticipate a corner kick during the Africa Cup of Nations group E soccer match between Algeria and Burkina Faso in Rabat, Morocco, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025.
For more pictures like this, see Our World in Photos.
Brooklyn Public Library announces top 10 moments of 2025
Uncertainty and change may have dominated this year’s headlines, yet Brooklyn Public Library remained a safe, reliable place for connection and discovery throughout, welcoming people from all walks of life to read, explore, learn and recharge in 60+ branches across the borough. Click here for the Brooklyn Public Library’s top 10 moments from 2025.
🔎 Today’s Revival
Mayor-elect Mamdani’s first swearing-in-ceremony to be held in Old City Hall station
Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani will take his oath of office at the original City Hall subway station just after midnight on New Year’s Day.
Mamdani’s choice of location was described as a tribute to the city’s history and an official act that symbolically launches a new chapter for New York, while demonstrating his new administration’s commitment to transit riders.
Old City Hall Station first opened in 1904 and was one of the city’s 28 original subway stations. Although the site has been disused for eight decades, the station has remained in decent shape. The New York Transit Museum offers tours of the original station, and commuters can view it by remaining on a downtown 6 train as it loops back uptown.
Two Brooklynites will administer the oath of office to Mamdani: New York Attorney General Letitia James, who served as city councilmember for the 35th District and later as public advocate, will administer the 12:01 a.m. ceremony. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who grew up in Midwood and attended Public School197 and Brooklyn College before transferring to the University of Chicago, will preside at a 1 p.m. City Hall ceremony.
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Cartoon Sketchbook
By Dick Wright
For the Road
End of an era: The MetroCard formally phases out on New Year’s Eve. MetroCard collectors, who aren’t quite ready to let go, are building their collections before the iconic card vanishes. Read more here.
Happy Birthday to “Cold Mountain” star Jude Law!
On this day in 1952, the Eagle reported, “New Year’s Eve merrymaking can herald a brand new year at the same old prices, according to a check of the nation’s night spots. Top price for reserving a ringside table is $25 per person, which includes dinner, dancing and a supply of paper hats. Drinks are extra.”
The next edition of Daily Brief will go out on Monday, January 5.
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