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1. The recent cover story took readers on “a historical journey through life on one stretch of Bed-Stuy’s MacDonough Street, a block that, like Brooklyn itself, has seen massive change” (“1 Block, 135 Years,” November 16–22). The block’s 135-year history was captured online using multimedia storytelling, which allowed readers to explore interviews with current and former residents as well as other pieces of the block’s history, including Census and property-record data, photographs, even a recipe. “The article does not end,” wrote Brownstoner’s Hannah Frishberg. “The interviews can be read in any order, but a comprehension quickly forms in the mind of the reader that these intimate profiles of area residents give a much fuller understanding of what it means to live in Brooklyn in 2015 than their property values.” “Some of what you’ll find is heartening,” wrote BrickUnderground’s Virginia K. Smith, “and some, hugely depressing, but if you want a clearer picture of 2015 Brooklyn than a Jimmy Kimmel parody or a widely reviled web series, click through to New York Magazine to play around with the full feature.” The Bed Stuy Blog wrote, “You could probably spend the whole afternoon with this article … It offers quite the snapshot of a neighborhood that’s really shaped by the longtime home owners that have loved and lived in these brownstones for years.” Many residents of the neighborhood, both current and past, chimed in. “I lived, for years, five minutes walking from the Bed-Stuy block NYMag examined. So much of it rang true,” tweeted The New Republic’s Jamil Smith. “Fascinating how after all the gentrification, this beautiful neighborhood in Bed-Stuy was less than 6% white in 2010,” tweeted BuzzFeed’s Tom Gara. “Really remarkable project offering a 360-degree view of change and stasis on one Bed-Stuy block,” tweeted the Daily News’ Josh Greenman. Many readers were enthralled by the multimedia components. “Love this opening door effect in NYMag’s piece on one block in Bed-Stuy,” tweeted Lena Groeger. “I am loving NYMag’s One Block story, especially the coverage on Instagram. So good,” tweeted Etsy’s Alison Feldmann. “Mouse over these autoplay videos and tell me you’re not entertained,” tweeted Time photo editor Josh Raab.
2. Steve Fishman told the story of Patrick Hardison, a firefighter severely injured in a blaze 14 years ago who this summer received the most extensive face transplant yet performed, from a 26-year-old Brooklyn man who died in a bicycle collision (“Biography of a Face,” November 16–22). The story led readers to wonder about the future of face transplants. “We link ourselves so much to our faces,” wrote mollysgaga. “When will be the first time that Hardison glances at a face in a mirror and realizes it is his?” Theocanada worried the practice would be misused. “They sort of hit on a horrible potential end result: Using this to restore youth. A 70 year old could just grab the face of a 20 year old. No more facelifts or fillers.” On Reddit’s Ask Me Anything forum, Fishman updated readers on Hardison’s recovery: “Patrick is headed home for Thanksgiving! Kind of remarkable. Three months after the operation. His speech is still garbled but he can’t wait to get back to the family and what he thinks will be the beginning of a normal life. He placed a great deal of emphasis (and hope) on the prospect of a ‘normal’ life. His life will be filled with ‘normal’ things — like he’ll be able to drive. But normal? Maybe not. And what is normal when you’ve got a new face and are on immunosuppressants for the rest of your life? … It will be interesting to know how his hopes about reintegration will square with the reality.”
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3. “He’s a musical genius — and he’s been accused of some awful things. Is it still okay to listen to him?” asked David Marchese in his profile of R&B legend R. Kelly (“The R. Kelly Problem,” November 16–22). Readers were divided. “100% yes,” tweeted Jha Jha. “It’s R. Kelly,” agreed Ra’s al Ghul. “I haven’t stopped and will never stop listening to R. Kelly,” tweeted Tameka421. “He can literally do whatever he wants.” “Plenty of other musicians have been scumbags like him, yet we play and love their music. Not everyone can be Springsteen,” tweeted Christopher Chambers. Readers on the other side of the fence also expressed strong feelings on the issue. “This NYMag piece about R. Kelly is worth reading,” tweeted Paper magazine’s Jessica Jean Jardine. “He’s a monster and it’s awful he’s yet to be truly held accountable.” “I used to love R. Kelly’s music, but personally find it hard to enjoy today,” tweeted Donovan X. Ramsey. “[I have] very, very little time for hedging, dude-authored ambivalence that says ‘we just listen to R. Kelly b/c we do,’” tweeted BuzzFeed’s Anne Helen Petersen. “It’s a question you have to answer for yourself,” tweeted BuzzFeed’s Brandon Wall, “but for me the answer is resoundingly no.” Other readers expressed their own ambivalence. “It’s effed up,” tweeted Maxcina Njoroge, “but yes, hear the #good this #madman has done. It reduces #impact of his #badsht!” During the interview, Kelly gave his own take on his reputation, saying he “understands the game. Get as much dirt as you can on somebody, get it all together, and make it real juicy so we can sell some papers.” Jezebel’s Clover Hope wrote that this was “R. Kelly once again being R. Kelly and figuring out how to flip media questions about his alleged predator habits into criticism of ‘haters’ that typically ends with religious references.” Many readers just appreciated the artistic value of the profile itself. “Best music writing 2015,” tweeted Jeremy D. Larson. “Game over.”