NEW YORK — Scores of New Yorkers and tourists seeking a fresh start in 2010 came to Times Square on Monday to put their bad memories through the shredder at the third annual Good Riddance Day.
Ben Winnick of Simsbury, Conn., shredded a newspaper story about the New York Giants’ 41-9 loss Sunday to the Carolina Panthers, which ended the Giants’ playoff hopes.
“Hopefully, next season will be better,” he said.
Roxanne Rodriguez of Manhattan shredded a piece of paper with “Writer’s block” written on it. She intends to buckle down and write a musical.
The winner of a $250 prize for most creative item shredded was 12-year-old Alissa Yankelevits of Los Angeles, who is visiting her grandparents in New York. She shredded the memory of a counselor on a school trip who was later featured on the TV show “America’s Most Wanted.”
“I just spent a week with him,” Alissa said. “It was really terrifying because I just found that out.”
Good Riddance Day was organized by the Times Square Alliance as part of the buildup to Thursday’s ball-drop celebration.
Besides shredders, a dumpster and sledgehammer were available for nonpaper items.
Some shredded reams of bills while others sought to banish memories of former boyfriends and girlfriends.
Gillian Lyons broke up with a man she calls “the Beastmaster” and said she’s been waiting for him to return her possessions for two years. “He won’t give me back the TV I paid for,” she complained.
‘Never a Year Like ‘09’
The humor site JibJab.com has released its annual end-of-the-year video lampooning the year’s events. The video does not have a rating, but for some sexual suggestion would likely be rated PG-13 if it were subjected to Motion Picture Association of America standards. Go to http://tinyurl.com/ybslf4q.
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