By Leslie Albrecht
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
UPPER WEST SIDE — Upper West Side fans of The Onion are not laughing now that they have to trek downtown to pick up a hard copy of the satirical weekly.
The humor newspaper, known for side-splitting parodies of local news stories and sarcastic spins on social issues, has moved its newspaper boxes out of the Upper West Side, Time Out reported last week.
While the paper is available online, readers who like their humor in print form can find The Onion in boxes near Penn Station or below 23rd Street, The Onion's director of local sales, Carrie Palmer, told DNAinfo.
Palmer said the move is part of a larger strategy to expand the paper's circulation and advertising in Brooklyn and Greenwich Village. The paper also wants to beef up its presence in areas where it puts on comedy and music events, Palmer said.
Since The Onion moved its boxes (there are more than 100 citywide) out of the Upper West Side two months ago, the paper has received phone calls from readers in desperate need of a humor fix.
"They miss us," said Palmer, and added that she directs them to find the paper in the world's largest newspaper box— the Internet.
