My own story is not of one New York, but of many. I was born at NYP-Weill Cornell and spent the first few years of my life on the Upper East Side, before moving across the river to Roosevelt Island (which technically is part of Manhattan, but really isn’t) and then again to the Upper West Side, where I spent the majority of my childhood and teenage years. After graduating high school, my mother made the decision to move our family to an apartment in Morningside Heights, a subsection of the historic Harlem.
But my New York City experience is defined by more than just where I have lived: it is made up of the neighborhoods I have spent countless hours immersed within, the places I have frequented, and the many people I have met. Whether that be going to school in Tribeca, shopping for traditional Arab sundries in Astoria, or trying new restaurants in Brooklyn Heights, New York’s people, institutions and culture have shaped me into the person I am today.
For as long as I can remember, I have always been fascinated by public transit, and there are few places with a greater and more robust system than NYC. Every native New Yorker develops a mental map of the subway in their head—complete with weekend service changes—and, assuming no delays, can move about the city to their intended destination for the single price of $2.75.
Whenever I visit a new city, the first ‘lens’ I use to experience it is through their public transportation. I gauge how frequently subways and buses run, check how accessible all of the popular sights are, and determine how easy the system is to navigate. Unsurprisingly, few networks I have had the privilege to experience stand up to mighty New York.
My many New Yorks are united by the colorful spaghetti of the New York City Subway, the packed buses navigating the crowded city streets, and the tempting opportunities to escape the hustle and bustle of the city via the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North. I can clearly recall taking the M7 bus by myself for the first time to get to elementary school. I remember often being late for high school when delayed on the 3 train—a nightmare that I still sometimes wake up in a cold sweat from. My stuffy commute to Wall Street for my first internship; the two hours I spent each day commuting to the far reaches of Queens when campaigning for local politicians; the countless hours and hundreds of miles I spent on CitiBikes during the pandemic. Behind every story, every experience, every phase of my life, New York’s public transit has supported me (even if it doesn’t feel like it sometimes).
I think many New Yorkers—including myself—take this gift for granted far too often. Every time I left the city’s embrace, and experienced other places in the world, I would often get frustrated at how hard or inconvenient it would be to travel without a car. New York would not be the same to me if it was not supported by its beloved—even though it is sometimes reviled—Metropolitan Transportation Authority, or MTA.
For better or for worse, the New York experience is most authentic deep within the subways, packed on a crowded bus at rush hour, or zipping through streets on an e-bike—commuting to school or work to a soundtrack of subway screeches and horns, coming home from a late night out with friends, or embarking on a new adventure to a part of the city you’ve never seen before. While I wish all cities had access to the high-quality transportation New York does, I understand that’s part of what makes the city—my home—special.
