Contrast and Tension

"New York is a city of contrast and tension—wearing a diamond watch in the subway with a Luger in your pocket while reading the Wall Street Journal."
Gay Talese, New York Magazine

Triumph

"Triumph of the Human Spirit" by Lorenzo Pace

"The very act of residing in New York represents risk. To persist, to remain, is a sign of endurance, and a kind of triumph."
Gay Talese, New York Magazine

Capable of Going Mad

Cooper Square

"There are times when it seems the whole city of New York is capable of going mad, of exploding into riot."
Gay Talese, Fame and Obscurity

Things Unnoticed

West 113th

"New York is a city of things unnoticed. It is a city with cats sleeping under parked cars, two stone armadillos crawling up St. Patrick's Cathedral, and thousands of ants creeping on top of the Empire State Building."
Gay Talese, New York: A Serendipiter's Journey