Hearsay

"I love
New York
I've lived here thirty-six years
And, buddy, I'm sold
It's great
In New York
There's so much to see and to do
At least, so I'm told
That's what I hear."

Stephen Sondheim, New York

Abduction

 "I've often felt New York is a kind of abduction. We sort of like to be here, but you never really feel in control."
Jerome Sirlin, New York Magazine

Nothing Compares to New York

"To call New York a city is to call the mosaics in the Basilica of San Vitale wall murals. As I rose into Manhattan from the Queens-Midtown Tunnel, I was trying to process the scene through the filters of all prior 'big city experiences,' but nothing computed."
John Nagy, The Pilot

Thankful for New York

Thanksgiving Day Parade (Wikimedia Commons)

"I’m super thankful to call this judgement-free city home. You’re allowed to unapologetically be yourself and live your best life."
Bridget Lo, Time Out NY

Central Park

Manhattan (Pixabay)

"The great thing about New York is that it’s so tiny and there’s so much going on, yet you have this vast park in the middle. There’s so many areas where you can loose yourself. The rats not withstanding, it’s still a great place to go."
James Toback, Gothamist

Proud to Be a New Yorker

"The more I travel, the more I want to come home to New York City. So I'm really proud to be a New Yorker and I look forward to the next New York and building the future of this city together. No matter the highs or the lows. the city always bounces back, 'cause  underneath that strength, this city has a big heart and it's beating strong."
Peter Cincotti, NYC Next

Media Capital of the World

"Apparently, no matter what befalls the Big Apple, NYC remains the media capital of the world. It's weird. It's like declaring Afghanistan the best place to open a gay-friendly bed in breakfast. I've tried. Sure, in New York City, you could be pushed in front of a subway train by a guy wearing nothing but a smile and a hospital bracelet. But really, the Broadway shows are to die for. Nothing makes you forget about your grandma getting mugged for her false teeth than a matinee showing of Hello, Dolly!"
Greg Gutfeld, Fox News

Unreplicable

"You can't replicate New York. it's unlike any place in the world. The combination of the architecture and the people who live here is so distinctive as to be un-repro-ducable anywhere else."
Harrison Ford, Harrison Ford: The Films

Exciting Feeling

Madison Square Garden

"Being in New York City is different than any other place,. New York City hums. There’s a drone, a sound in your mind when you're in New York City. It never sleeps. It’s going all the time. It’s power-packed. You can’t avoid the sensation of people doing things and going places and things going on. You just sense it the minute you’re in New York City, and that’s an exciting feeling to begin with."
Billy Joel, NY Daily News

Overwhelming

"Suddenly there I was in New York -- and it looked and sounded just like it did in the movies. As a Londoner I thought I would be well able to cope with all the action, but the speed and the energy of life there I found overwhelming."
Michael Caine, What's It All About?

Babel Without Confusion

"New York is Babel without confusion of tongues. A place of refuge for all races of the world from the flood of ancient sorrows; the forlorn hope of humanity that, having lived too long, seeks rebirth."
Ford Madox Ford, New York is Not America

Forward Movement

"As Lenny Bruce said, everybody in New York is a Jew even if you’re not Jewish. I believe that there is an energy up here…moving quickly without being hurried. Forward movement on the balls of their toes, not the heels."
Richard Kind, West Side Rag

Own Rhythm

"For me New York turned out to be completely claustrophobic. But it wasn't only a nightmare; it was also a fascinating place. I remember when I didn't have money; it's a difficult city to live in without money. I think that the only thing that I really liked about New York was that it used to break its own rhythm :  'Pum !, pum !, pum !,' like a musician playing the drums. But that also made it difficult for me; I had to find my own rhythm."
Terry Gilliam, Terry Gilliam

Sparkles and Thrills

 

"New York is floating in my blood because it’s one of the cities where I feel most at home. There’s really an energy and a pace which I love to live in and to live with. I think that New York is special and gives sparkles and thrills that no other city in the world gives to me, that’s for sure."
Lapo Elkann, Vogue

Real Magic

"I miss New York so much since I moved back to London four years ago. I miss the freedom of the city. There’s real magic. New York is my love. I love every single thing about it. I could cry."
Sienna Miller, Purist

Sesame Street

"New York is like Sesame Street for grown-ups, everyone has big hearts and you can be anything you want to be."
Caroline Kepnes, Providence

Rise to the Occasion

"New York is like a great pair of leather pants or a leather jacket. It’s very edgy, ambitious, driven, and it requires so much tenacity to live here. New York has really helped me rise to the occasion."
Edvin Thompson, Dazed

Rude and Polite

"New York is New York. We’re what everybody says we are. Rude, opinionated, pushy, loud, fast-talking, sarcastic, wiseass. But what people don’t understand is, what’s rude to the rest of the country is polite to us and vice versa. Because, if I go to a pizza place, and like, 'Gimme a slice.' – That’s polite. Because you’re not tryin’ to hold the line. There’s a line. You’re not tryin’ to slow… If you go into a pizza place like, 'Hi, how are you? You must be hot.' That’s rude. You know what I’m sayin’?"
Colin Quinn, The New York Story

No Room for Romance

"Love" by Robert Indiana (Pixabay)

"There's no room for romance in New York. There's only ambition: more and better, constantly. Until you triumph over the city or the city defeats you." 

Bernardo Hernández, quoted in Humanos y marcianos en Nueva York 

Everyday is an Adventure

"New York is home — that's why I moved back here a year and a half ago. I don't think there's a better city in the world. I love how many strangers I sit next to and how every day is an adventure, whether it's culinary or the weather."
Olivia Wilde, NY Daily News

Provider and Breaker

"New York is both the provider - and breaker - of what you want, what you need, and whatever direction you’re in."
Colin King, OliverPeoples.com

No Such Thing as Normal

"New York is such a vibrant city with so much beauty, I could not resist to explore. I have fallen in love with the fascinating people, the rich culture, the art, the music, and the endless blocks filled with flavors from all over the world. Above all, it is beautiful to me that there is no such thing as 'normal' here. Everyone dances to the beat of their own drum, and it’s perfectly accepted. The city has a refreshing level of freedom of expression and diversity that I absolutely adore."
Rachel Glick, Stonehenge