I’m Maria Volpe, a computer science major who lives in Manhattan. I spend my free time visiting museums and stuffing myself with pork buns, two hobbies that New York enables. The first thing I like about New York is how accessible the entire city is on public transport. While our subway system is far from perfect, it does run to most corners of the city, and where the subway doesn’t reach a bus often will. It also runs all night! The second thing is the diversity of neighborhoods, especially in terms of food. I love having practically every culture’s food available to try or to hold dear. The third is the heavy presence of art. While NYC is definitely not the top city in this regard, in comparison to a rural town, it does shine. Seeing museums and off-off-off-Broadway experimental theatre are fun and enriching.

What I don’t like about NYC  is the flaws apparent with the transit system. MTA keeps raising fares, making it less accessible for the working class which defeats the purpose of public transport in my opinion. If they’re going to keep raising fares, they should focus more on improving the quality of subway service in neighborhoods that are less well off. Secondly, I really don’t know how to feel about the trendiness of certain foods in NYC. On one hand, the ramen and poke bowl explosion means that people are finally accepting that “ethnic” food can be worth more than an overpriced bowl of pasta. On the other, it seems eye roll-worthy that your average white New Yorker somehow previously failed to realize that foods from outside of certain European cultures are edible. Finally, I wish Donald Trump had cursed some other city with his presence.