New York Belongs to the Young

"Everyone thinks the New York City of his youth is the real New York City, and it is. New York City belongs to the young; it belongs to those who fervently believe they can mold it to their purposes."
David Marcus, The Federalist

Nationality

"I don't see myself as either Irish or American, I'm a New Yorker."
Frank McCourt, Irish Times

Every Human Being

"I fell in love with New York. It was like every human being, like any relationship. When I was a young New Yorker, it was one city. When I was a grown man, it was another city."
Mikhail Baryshnikov, quoted in Historic Landmarks of Old New York