Longtime NYC publication The Village Voice ceases all publication

New York City is losing one of its most iconic news outlets after more than 60 years of publication.

The Village Voice is ceasing all publication as of Friday, the paper's owner, Peter Barbey, announced.

Last year, The Village Voice ceased publication of its weekly print edition, a staple among the newspaper boxes offering free publications on the streets of Manhattan, ABC New York affiliate WABC reported.

The move was part of an effort to revitalize and revamp the publication to an online audience.

Barbey, who purchased the paper in 2015 from the Voice Media Group, described Friday as a "sad day" for The Village Voice and its millions of readers when he made the announcement.

The newspaper has faced "increasingly harsh economic realities" in recent times, Barbey said.

The paper's staff is working to ensure that archives will be digitally available.

The Voice became the country's first alternative newsweekly after it was founded in 1955.

"As the nation's first alternative newsweekly, the Voice today carries on the same tradition of no-holds-barred reporting and criticism it embraced when it began publishing 60 years ago," a description on the paper's website reads.

The paper is the recipient of three Pulitzer Prizes, the National Press Foundation Award and the George Polk Award.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.