Humans of New York

I'm completely absorbed in Humans of New York. Created by photographer Brandon Stanton, the project is focused on creating a photographic census of New York City. He set out to take 10,000 portraits of the city's inhabitants. The funny thing is, I recognize a number of the folks featured. Even in a city of over 8 million, the world feels small:)

New Jersey is not pretty much New York.

Dear Citizens of Hoboken, Jersey City and other surrounding areas:

Please stop claiming that you live in New York City. You may work in one of the five boroughs (Staten Island you're a stretch, but you pay city taxes, so we'll take you) but living in Jersey does not qualify you as a New Yorker. I've had people compare Hoboken to Brooklyn. What is this? Hoboken is a homogenized community located in New Jersey that is most accurately described as the Greek Row of NYC...non-affiliated. They come onto campus during the day to educate themselves or work- and we tolerate them as they pay tuition and occasionally do some forced community service. Have you ever noticed how commuters from Connecticut do not claim to be from NYC? That's because they aren't trying to make up for something. They know who they are.

Beyond the obvious geographic boundaries and taxes- transportation is another indicator on whether or not you're a New Yorker. Known for its mass transit system, living in New York City means it costs your $2.00 via subway to get anywhere. It doesn't mean that you take the Metro North for $14.00 from Fairfield, or take the PATH for $1.75, then take the subway for an additional $2.00.

With all that being said, I'd like to further support my case with an excerpt from How I Met Your Mother:

Art and Modesty

As featured in the November W Magazine- Herbert and Dorothy Vogel speak on their some 4,500 piece collection of modern art. Both from modest backgrounds, Herbert a retired postal worker, connected with Dorothy, a former librarian, when he took an interest in learning about art. More impressive than their collection and its worth- is that the Vogel's have never sold a piece. A marker of true passion- not even the temptation of securing them as millionaires, offers a temptation to the couple. In fact, at one point they began to live off Dorothy's earnings and devoting Herbert's entire salary to building their collection.

Read more here.