Birth of a Year

"Revelers" by Jane Dickson

"The birth of a year in New York is accompanied by the most stupendous sound I have ever heard. That is, not stupendous so much in the way of noise as in the terrific heart rending harmony it carries. To me it always sounded like the birth of all creation, especially if one was high up over it in some tall building where the individual noises were blended into the great whole." 

Dolly Grey, Dolly and Zane Grey

Limited Life

Times Square subway station

"I think New York is good for me in that my life is very limited. I have to take my kids to school, I do a very small amount of things, I don’t have adventures. If I was doing that in some rural village in England, I would feel that my subject is very small, whereas in New York, even though I walk three blocks, there’s an amazing amount of people in those three blocks, and an amazing amount of things to see. Just getting on the subway is useful to me. I’m lucky, the world comes to me. I don’t have to do much."
Zadie Smith, The Tulane Hullabaloo

Togetherness

Times Square subway station

"What I love most about New York is its people, and for me it was important to represent them and all of their wonderful complexities and diverse beauty in the piece. People looking and quietly observing together. In the subway, it’s always a togetherness that bonds us uniquely like no other place in the world."
Marcel Dzama, MTA.info

Heart of New York

Times Square subway station

"I love that you're able to get wherever you want to go in such a convenient and rather quick way. But more than anything, I just love the juxtaposition of this really dark underworld. It's like the underbelly of New York, but there's so much art, it's so vibrant. There's always music playing, there's always performers, stories to be told, people to meet. The subway is the heart of New York and that's why I love it so much. I've always loved the underdog and I feel like it's the underdog of the city."
Zión Moreno, V Magazine

Everyone is Weird

Times Square subway station

"Whatever, it's New York. Everyone's weird."
Ashley Poston, Geekerella

Become Anything and Anyone

Times Square subway station

"New York City is the only city in the world where you can come from anything and be anyone and become anything and become anyone. One of the things I'm most proud of in my entire life is that I became a New Yorker."
Annaleigh Ashford, NYC Next