Keith Flyer

I recently moved back to New York, and wanted to share some observations on my first few months in town: - Much of what makes New York great is that there’s a large contingent of people who donate money the city and its institutions once they’ve made it. John Paulson made a fortune during the Financial Crisis, and subsequently donated $100 million to the Central Park Conservancy. - My biggest complaint about New York is the ambient noise, especially the way subways screech as they turn and siren sounds reverberate between the skyscrapers. New York’s always had Main Character Energy, and all those noises are its way of being heard. - It’s rare to hear a thick New York accent below 34th street these days. - The lifestyle can be exceptionally decadent. The dinners, the drinks, the shows, the sports. - People talk about New York being one of the most diverse cities in the world, and in some ways it is, but I’ve been struck by how segregated the ethnicities are as well. There are Russian neighborhoods and Jewish ones and Puerto Rican ones and Greek ones and Chinese ones, and the list goes on and on. - People here are much more flaky than they are anywhere else, presumably because of the number of options available to anybody at any given time. - One measure of social trust is how many products stores like Duane Reade and Best Buy can keep out in the open. On that measure, social trust has fallen. My local Duane Reade has an always-on security guard. At Best Buy, the headphones have been removed from the shelves and you have to talk to a clerk in order to buy some. - CitiBike has crossed a tipping point where there are enough places to rack your bike that you never have to worry about if there will be one next to where you’re going. That, along with all the electric ones, makes cycling (as opposed to the subway) my predominant mode of transportation for longer journeys. - The name Manhattan literally meant “Island of Many Hills,” and a long bike ride will give you a visceral sense for those elevation changes. - I have a drive to work and workout 30% harder in Manhattan than I do anywhere else. - Charles Taylor wrote about “thin places” where you feel closer to God just by being there. New York is the opposite: a “thick place.” God feels more distant here, maybe because everything around you is man-made or maybe because the city lights blind you to the infinite cosmos. - New York restaurants are strangely reluctant to adopt Apple Pay as the default. In cities like London and Amsterdam, it’s the default. Waiters and waitresses bring the terminal to your table and you pay right there. In NYC, you have to specifically ask for it, and sometimes you even need to walk over to the cash register to pay with it. - New York has suffered from many infrastructure-related failures over the years, such as Robert Moses refusing to build a single inch of subway track during his time in power. But the one that irks me most is the dearth of public transportation options between Manhattan and the three major airports. On a busy day, an Uber from JFK to the city will cost you north of $200. - It is exceptionally easy to meet people in New York, but quite difficult to turn those into deep friendships. People are too busy and too scattered, which means you’re less likely to consistently see the same people. Then there’s the transience of the city. A bunch of people have two homes. A bunch more leave once they have kids. - Perhaps the biggest quality of life boost on the west side, as opposed to the east side, is that there’s a boardwalk on the west side between the highway and the river, while the highway runs right along the river on the east side.