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In history books, there are years upon which whole books are written, like 1066, 1492 and 1848, and years that barely make a cameo. If 1318 or 1907 happens to be a year with which you have a bizarre fascination, you’ll be on your own cobbling together a full run-down of what happened then.
Who knows what they will write about 2018 in 50 or 100 years, or whether they will write about it at all. Right now, however, it seems like a particularly consequential 12 months. Midterm elections gave Democrats complete power in New York and control of the House in Washington. The depth of the funding and repairs crisis facing NYCHA became clear. The gravity of the risk of climate change, or the inevitability of it, was made even more apparent.
Much of the significance of any year, of course, depends on what happens after it. The key stories to watch in 2019 largely follow from what has happened during this turn of the calendar. What will the Democrats do with their new power? What will the city and state do to prepare us for rising seas and higher temps? Will the mayor turn the page on a terrible year, or continue to fight a defensive battle over the remaining three years of his second term?
Ben Max and your reporter spent Wednesday’s “Max & Murphy Show” on WBAI talking through our list. Let us know yours by commenting below.
Oh, and Happy New Year!
