And so that was 2013. The year Brooklyn hosted both the MTV Video Music Awards and Obama, said goodbye to Marty Markowitz, and saw one of its own elected Mayor of New York. But so much more happened in the borough last year. We have rounded up some lesser-known facts and figures that sum up the past 12 months around town.
Amount of Brooklyn Lager brewed by Brooklyn Brewery: 3,100,000 gallons
Bestselling T-shirt at Brooklyn Industries: “BK Phones” (pictured)
Number of Brooklyn Kickstarter projects: 790, raising more than $12-million
Biggest-selling book at Fort Greene’s Greenlight Bookstore: “The Ocean at the End of the Lane” by Neil Gaiman
Number of rotations made by the Wonder Wheel: 48,000
Most-rented film from Williamsburg’s Videology: “Looper,” rented 118 times
Variations on “The Nutcracker” performed around the borough: 7
Number of units Brooklyn-based band Vampire Weekend’s album “Modern Vampires of the City” sold: 363,000 nationwide
Where Rolling Stone ranked “Modern Vampires of the City” on its “50 Best Albums of 2013” list: 1
Most-rented prop at Gowanus’ Film Biz Recycling: A powder-blue coffin
Number of King Kong-related performances in the borough: 2
Number of articles the New York Times style section about, set in, or heavily featuring Williamsburg: At least 13; notable activities undertaken by residents included eating artisanal popcorn, drawing in bars, and distilling rum
Number of knockouts and technical knockouts at the Barclays Center’s Brooklyn Boxing: 15
Percentage increase in borough ice-skating rinks: 200
How long it would have taken to watch every single film at the 2013 Brooklyn Film Festival back-to-back: 1 day, 22 hours, and 52 minutes
Calories consumed by Joey Chesnut while eating 69 hotdogs to win this year’s Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest: 20,010
Most-requested new song at “Kings of Karaoke” nights around the borough: “Wrecking Ball” by Miley Cyrus
Honorary proclamations made by Marty Markowitz: 1,241
Most popular video game at Williamsburg’s Barcade: “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”
