“I want to be a part of it, New York, New York…” Well Frankie Boy, I gotta admit, I completely agree with you there. I mean, honestly is there anywhere else in the world you’d rather be? I grew up on Long Island, been to Albany, Binghamton, and now I live in queens. I have to admit, I am simply infatuated with New York.
As a musician, businessman, actor, writer, whatever your profession, if you want to make it, come to New York. It’s the epicenter of all things great, the true place of opportunity. A place where struggling, out of work musicians aren’t looked upon as lazy, but as the norm! So come on hippies, bohemians and beatniks, and unite!
But it’s not just because of all the connections and jobs one can attain just by standing on the streets of New York City (and no, not that kind of job, but there are plenty of those here too), but it’s also because of the magic that hangs in the air. There is the statue of liberty, the empire state building, the centennial ball, the tree in Rockefeller center, approximately three million museums, madison square garden, and, my personal favorite, the NYC Subway. With a swipe of that mystical yellow card your shuttling off at unimaginable speeds to any of the aforementioned places.
I know that I am relatively new to New York City having only lived in Queens since September, but regardless I am still a little kid whenever I hop onto the subway (so much fun!) or step onto a bus (okay, not so much fun).
I remember the first time I went onto the long island railroad and exited into penn station. Everyone was running around, headed to some destination at a speed unreal to a mere mortal such as myself. I had to force myself through the throng of businessmen and women, giving alms to every singer in the place because I was not yet accustomed to them. To me, Penn Station was chaos, pandemoious and complete awesomeness rolled into one. But it was nothing compared with the streets of manhattan.
I remember the first time I was on a subway, and one of my closest friends lost balance and fell on top of me, causing me to slam into the crowd of people in front of me and causing a domino effect on the C train.
I remember the first time I went to Carnegie hall, touching the stage with the hopes that maybe some of its magic would rub off on me.
I remember going to the planetarium, and shuttling off into space.
I remember how amazing it felt to sit in the audience of my first broadway show (which was by the way The Producers, if you have never seen it, you should probably do it because it is a fantastic show!)
I remember, I remember, I remember…
All of my greatest memories take place in New York, whether it be in the city or in my hometown of mastic. Sure, I may be biased, living in New York my whole life, but I’ve been outside the state and trust me, it doesn’t get much better than this.
So, yeah, It’s safe to say that when I wear one of those infamous shirts sporting the logo I love New York, it’s because I truly, truly mean it.
