More than 100 people lined up in Midtown Saturday to toss, smash and shred tokens of their worst memories from 2013 at the seventh annual Good Riddance Day.
“New Yorkers are an intense group of people; they like an opportunity to physically destroy reminders of negative events,” said Tim Tompkins, of the Times Square Alliance.
They took hammers to computers, tossed exes’ clothes and shredded school papers on West 46th and Broadway — a cleanse before the start of the new year.
Amy Johnson, 30
What she dumped: Medical records.
Doctors discovered Johnson’s 3-year-old son, Bodey, had kidney cancer this year — a sickness that forced the brave tot to undergo seven months of chemotherapy, she said.
Now that he’s in remission, it’s a huge relief to shred the medical papers that for months weighed heavy on her heart.
“I’m looking forward to Bodey being healthy and being able to have a normal childhood — and less doctors’ appointments!” said the 30-year-old stay-at home mom, who lives in Hendersonvillle, NC.
“I couldn’t think of a better way to start 2014. There had been a lot of low points this year,” she said.
Pearl Chan, 39
What she dumped: Photo of ex-boyfriend, bottle of wine.
Chan moved to North Carolina to care for a sick boyfriend — but once the jerk got better, he cheated on her, she said.
“I gave up my career and even did his disability papers for him. He cheated on me, and then he kicked me out,” said Chan, a Queens anthropologist.
To help her start anew, she shredded a photo of the ex posing with his new girlfriend. She also tossed out a bottle of wine, which she shared with him on their first date.
On the photo, she wrote the words “evil exes,” “burn in hell” and “cheating coward.”
Robert Johnston, 40
What he dumped: A law-school award.
Johnston was thrilled to enroll in Hofstra University’s law-school program — until the real world taught him he hated being a lawyer. “It’s a horrible profession. I don’t want to be near it. That was a terrible decision,” the Queens resident said.
“It’s just really depressing working with people who don’t care about doing the right thing or don’t care about the truth. It is just a paycheck to them,” he said.
Johnston shredded the certificate for “outstanding student planning” he had been awarded in law school, saying he hopes it helps him forget the whole experience.
Maggie Boyle, 9
What she dumped: The name of her deceased cat penned on paper.
Boyle, a fourth-grader living upstate, lost her best pal — a curious cat named Buddy, who loved to cuddle, she said.
Her family bought the pet as a kitten five years ago. “He made me happy,” she said.