Nick Lanier wanted to shred “all the negativity that consisted of 2016”.  Lanier, 19, had travelled to New York City on Wednesday from Jackson, New Jersey, to participate in “good riddance day”, an event where people put 2016 behind them by shredding lists of the things that upset them the most over the past 12 months.  “Between the election and all the stuff that was going on in world news, 2016 had a very negative connotation to it,” Lanier said.  “People seemed to judge each other off their political beliefs, their religious beliefs – stuff that really shouldn’t matter.”  Keena Anthony, 24, had brought along a pre-written list of things to Times Square that had upset her.  “I don’t know what it was about with 2016. Maybe because it was a leap year. But it was just miserable,” she said.  “My grandmother passed away this year, my mom got very sick this year, a lot of family members passed away, a lot of my favorite celebrities passed away.  “And of course the election.”  Anthony said she was “relieved” to get rid of her list.  “I feel like 10 pounds lighter,” Anthony said.  The documents were not being shredded immediately. Instead people were able to dump their documents into a large black trash can. The documents and lists were to be shredded later by Shred-it, a shredding company.  Some examples of the things people wanted to get rid of were on display.  One person had written “tiny thumbs on Twitter”, above a picture of Donald Trump. Another person had wanted to banish “systemic oppression”, while another wished to dismiss “My messy roommates!”  While most people just wrote down their “good riddance” items on a piece of paper, others brought actual paper documents.  Steve Wilson, 46, was carrying a large shoulder bag stuffed full of medical bills and bank statements.  “They bring back a period of bankruptcy and bad family illness,” he said.  Wilson’s mother died from cancer in spring 2016, while the family shoe business was forced to close after two years of roadworks reduced foot traffic to the store.  Many of the people at the good riddance day were hoping to feel a sense of relief after having shredded their woes. Wilson was hoping for that too, but was also there for more dispassionate reasons.  “This was a way I figured of doing it with no real extra charge,” he said. “Because if you do this commercially, this could cost $50.”  Evelyn, in her twenties, figuratively shredded her ex-boyfriend by writing “my ex” on a piece of paper.  Evelyn had just taken her new boyfriend home to Boston for Christmas, she said. The family was impressed.  “They all said he was an upgrade.”
People flocked to Times Square for a fitting goodbye to the past year: throwing out notes (and even bank statements) of events they’d rather put behind them