Born and bred in “The Big Apple” the answer seems simple at the moment it’s Mayor Mike. However in my 61 years of residing in the Bronx,Queens and Manhattan I know it’s much more complex than that. As Hilary Clinton wrote it takes a village. We are composed of people from all over the US and the world.We speak multiple languages and hundreds of dialects.Our city is made up of lots of little neighborhoods many known by their unique specialty known as districts such as the Fur, Jewelry and Meat packing Districts. Many formed by the immigrant population that settled the area and later continued to attract more people and businesses . Some sections grew as a result of their proximity to a port or around a particular ethnic settlement such as Harlem, China Town,Little Italy and the Lower East side whose once large Eastern European Jewish settlements have significantly dwindled.
New York is a sky-high large city with a small footprint of committed people in all kinds of jobs that make the city run. There are Sanitation and Transit workers, Police, Teachers and Taxi Drivers who support the large populations in all 5 boroughs; Wall St. Finance types, Bankers and Retailers,Doctors and Lawyers and all the staff that support their businesses.
New York was one of the major entry points to the United States for decades it as though we were the initial screen for a recruiting process to building a society. The best networking opportunities happen in New York, whether it be at a coffee shop or the random seating at a theater or on a bus, train or plane. Perhaps you strike up a conversation with a person at the library or taking a class at many of the educational institutions in and around New York for credit or a particular hobby or interest.
The opportunities in New York are staggering and always changing. I believe each and every one of us runs New York and has the chance to make a contribution.
You run New York and I run New York…we make it tick and we make it run, it runs on human energy, spirit and enthusiasm the belief that we drive the future for ourselves on a daily basis and for future generations.
