Immigrant Metropolis

"The Immigrants" monument

"Perhaps it’s because I grew up in Russia, Canada, and Australia that I’ve always felt drawn to New York, that great immigrant metropolis. Or, perhaps it’s the city’s limitless size paired with its densely packed streets, which continue to yield surprises the more one wanders; the heady sense of human industry as soon as you step foot into Penn Station; the celebrated literary and artistic pedigree. It is, to me, all the things a city would be — warts and all — if one were to distill so many of the world’s population centers down to their essence, and use the concentrate to build something anew."
Ilia Blinderman, The Pudding