Sense of Recognition

Chrysler Building

"I think when people first come to New York they often experience a very strong sense of recognition, because we’ve all seen the movies and the TV shows and the photographs. We look for the landmarks and the clichés that we expect, and there they all are. There is the Chrysler Building, glinting, and there are all the yellow cabs surfing the green lights. We all feel as if it is our city. But that recognition proves—not untrustworthy, exactly, but to some extent a mistake. It is a different culture, and there are rules that you have to learn; you are, at first, a stranger. It takes time to adjust to the reality rather than the image."
Deborah Meyler, The Bookstore

Trick of Vision

SoHo

"There is a moment when all that is manifestly ugly, noisy and expensive can suddenly appear beautiful, civilized and desirable. The moment New York plays that trick of vision on you, it's impossible to go back through the looking-glass again. The city has made you a New Yorker."
Robert MacNeil, quoted in The Bookstore