New York City is an incredible city, and there were a lot of incredible moments that took place in 2015.
There was the Global Citizen Festival, there was a 270-foot waterslide on Park Avenue, and the Hudson Yards Station opened on the 7 line. Like we said, there were lots of glorious moments this year.
Unfortunately, good can't exist without bad which means that there were also plenty of less-than-excellent things that happened.
For instance, plenty of New Yorkers experienced the legal ramifications of illegally AirBnB'ing an apartment.
Plenty of New Yorkers spent hundreds on ATM fees, and worse, plenty of New Yorkers spent their money consuming food from 7Eleven, Subway, or Dunkin' Donuts when they could've been spending their money at a coffee cart or a bodega.
Read on to find out 7 regrets of New Yorkers in 2015.
1. Ice skating at Bryant Park's Winter Village
emergeriseup The holidays are approaching... Pencil us into your plans this year! Join our iceskating event on Facebook. #iceskatingatbryantpark Saturday December 14th
Don't feel too bad about this one. We did it too.
The Bryant Park Winter Village advertises that it's "free," but really, once you've paid $19 for a skate rental, and $8 for a bag check, you're really paying $27 which is way more than you would at any of NYC's other ice rinks that aren't "free."
For context, the rink at the LeFrak Center at Prospect Park costs $9 for weekend admission and $6 for skate rentals, which comes out to a grand total of $15.
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Plus, the rink at the LeFrak Center is much bigger. Actually, it's two rinks; one indoor rink that feeds into a gorgeous outdoor rink.
The rink at Bryant Park is small, cramped, and crowded. You definitely won't have the chance to open up and skate fast. If you made this mistake in 2015, we're with you.
2. Waiting in line at Chick-fil-A
Once again, if you yourself succumbed to this particular regret, you don't have to feel bad about it. We also spent the better part of an hour waiting for Chick-fil-A when it first opened in October.
We knew it'd only take a few months for the Chick-fil-A hype to calm down, and still, we spent more than one afternoon braving the line outside the store waiting for those delectable chicken sandwiches.
Maybe the most annoying part about Chick-fil-A's line were the people who passed by on the street, tap us on the shoulders, ask us what the line was for, and then scoff at our response. This made us feel like fools more than any other aspect of Chick-fil-A's line.
Now that it's been open for two months, the line outside has dissipated, and the only line that remains is indoors. Now that we can get chicken sandwiches in ten minutes or fewer, we definitely feel a little silly for all the time we spent waiting in line this past year.
3. Bringing large bags to NYC's stadiums
If you're attending a sporting event or concert at Madison Square Garden or MetLife Stadium, bring a small bag. Just do it.
This past year, we experienced being banished from the Giant's game because of the size of our bags. Luckily, we were in a situation where we could store our large bag in a friend's car. We recognize that everyone isn't always this lucky.
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So when it comes to journeying out to MetLife, leave your larger bags at home.
We also found this same lesson out the hard way at Madison Square Garden before a concert. One of our friends brought some makeup items to touch up during the concert, and the entirety of these items were trashed by the security outside the Garden.
So, we guess the lesson here is don't try and smuggle your makeup into Madison Square Garden, or you'll wind up losing plenty of valuable stuff.
4. Spending way too much on ATM fees
Everyone knows having cash at all times is requisite to surviving life in NYC.
The struggles of not having cash are far too pronounced. When we have no cash in our wallets, we can't get our morning coffee or bagel from our beloved coffee carts. Tragically, we can't get our lunchtime sandwich from our beloved bodegas.
Perhaps worst of all, snagging a dollar slice on the way home from work is an absolute no-go when you've got no cash.
[anad]
When we have no cash, we're faced with two options: buy food from a corporate chain, or pay an ATM fee.
When presented with this choice, we'll choose the ATM fee just about every time. Do we even want to know how much we spent on ATM fees this past year? No, we really don't.
The only solution to this problem that makes any sense to us is to ask for cash back every time you're asked. We mean it. Get cash back every time.
,5. Falling asleep on the subway
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You'd think sleeping on the subway would be great, right? You have no responsibilities, you're in transit, and all you really have to do is just sit there.
Well, you thought wrong. Falling asleep on the subway is a really bad idea.
Far too many of us do it anyway, at our own expense. Are we the only ones who missed our stop and wound up at the end of the line, forced to ride a train back in the other direction, all because we fell asleep? We doubt we are.
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Worse than just missing our stops, plenty of New Yorkers get their stuff stolen when they fall asleep on the train. In 2007, The New York Times reported that 150 people reported that their valuables were nabbed on the subway while they were asleep.
Plus, it's worth mentioning that sleeping on the train is against the New York City Transit Rules of Conduct. So, this is one regret we'll all try to amend in 2016, right?
6. Agreeing to a tiny apartment
It seemed like a good idea at the time, right?
You'd get a small-ass apartment, you'd save money on rent, and you'd spend all your leisure time outside the apartment. How could you lose?
We're guessing after a month-and-a-half of living in the tiny apartment, you figured out who'd lose, and it was you. That's probably because you felt like you were backed into a corner. You didn't have Oliver to get you out of the bind.
Like we said, regrets. Add Oliver to your New Year's resolutions.
7. Renting your apartment out with Airbnb
airbnb Because there’s nothing more patriotic than traveling to parts of the country you’ve never visited. Happy Fourth of July. Photo cred: @sernastudios See the link in our bio for listing details.
Did you hear about the 10,000 New Yorkers who earned between $10k and $50k by illegally renting out their apartments on Airbnb in 2015?
In fact, the top 127 illegal Airbnb earners in NYC in 2015 actually earned anywhere from $100,000 to $350,000.
In response to accusations, Airbnb released a ton of data this year that would absolve themselves from the responsibility that would fall on thousands of New Yorkers illegally misusing the service.
"Our hope is that people will understand that 99% of people on Airbnb in NYC are using it as an economic lifeline," said Airbnb's head of global policy and public affairs Chris Lehane.
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According to the New York Post, the Mayor's Office of Special Enforcement conducted 598 inspections of illegal hotels in the city, and issued 564 violations.
We're guessing the regret meter jumped to "major regret," on that one. We're thinking the tenants of landlord Eddie Shiew, who converted their three-bedroom apartment into Queens into ten-bedrooms, with each room barely big enough to fit a bed, felt similar measures of regret.
Especially after Shiew demolished the renovations and changed the locks on the apartment. Still, the tenants used a court order to get themselves back in the apartment. Currently, Shiew and his attorney are attempting to evict them for violating their lease.
Check out 7 Things Every New Yorker Should Have Done in 2015.
[Feature Image Courtesy Instagram]