Here are our favorite real estate stories from the pages of The Observer this year.

On the Waterfront, There’s No Place Like Home: Mayor Bloomberg’s Tidal Wave of Development Washes Out When the hipsters refuse to head the mayor’s evacuation orders, should City Hall be held responsible for putting people in harm’s way in the first place?

It’s Hip to be Square On the Upper East Side, the Happening Neighborhood That Isn’t Actually Happening How did the Upper East Side ever become more appealing, or at the very least cheaper, than the former frontiers of Williamsburg and Park Slope? Read More

As 2011 came to a close, we looked back at our most popular posts. But this year, we’re a little older (a mature year and nine months!), a lot wiser, and thought we’d try something a little different. Thank you for reading!

LONGREADS

Ultra-Orthodox Jews Take a Hard Line on the Internet at Rally of 40,000 Men (And Me) In which our intrepid reporter sneaks into Citi Field in drag. 

Faith, Hope, and Singularity: Entering the Matrix with New York’s Futurist Set It’s the end of the world as we know it, and they feel fine. Read More

With the Mayan apocalypse underdelivering (so far), it looks like it will be holiday travel as usual–which can be its own kind of doomsday scenario. You’re going to need reading material, and a lot of it. Here are ten of the best longreads that appeared in The Observer this year, all perfect for squirreling away in apps, Read More