Native New Yorker
One reason why I put up this blog is that I really enjoy reading other people's blogs and I thought that I should add something to the blog universe. The second reason why I put up this blog is that the term "Native New Yorker" has been taken, abused and generally gimped out to sell everything from pizza to toilet paper.
Case in point, www.nativenewyorker.com. You would think that this would be some sort of guide to New York or a diary of a native New Yorker. But no, my friend, this is the website of a state-wide franschise restaurant in Arizona. To add insult to injury, the founders of this restaurant are not even from New York City. They are from the illustrious city of Buffalo, NY. No offense to native Buffaloers.
I have very definite ideas of what a native New Yorker is. A Native New Yorker is a person who was born and raised in the glorious five boroughs of New York City. If you weren't born and raised in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan, Queens or Staten Island, you are not a native New Yorker. Period. It also helps if you still live in NYC but not a requirement by any means. There is an image of the native New Yorker cultivated by our real New Yorkers such as Woody Allen, Humphrey Bogart, Robert DiNiro, Seinfeld, Jennifer Lopez, P. Diddy, Ed Koch, Al Pacino, the list goes on and on. People start to use this term "native New Yorker" in conjunction with people who fit this image and it is now a term used to describe one born in New York City rather than New York State. It would be a disservice to use this to describe something other than what people know to be a "native New Yorker" (especially to sell things!) as it is deliberately leading them astray.
People from Buffalo are generally just known as up-staters. Upstate New York has a lot going for it (pretty leaves! fresh air! apple farms!) but us native New Yorkers really hate those guys because our tax money gets siphoned upstate mostly because the upstaters have much more political power. The political power in New York state is proportioned based mainly on land and not on population size. New Yorkers have a secret dream of seceding from the state and marking out our own territory but we know it won't ever happen. We just generate too much money for the rest of the state to let us go.
Now, I know how one describes a New Yorker can be highly controversial so I welcome any comments. Please note that I am describing a "native New Yorker" not a just plain old "New Yorker". I believe one can be a New Yorker if one moves here, falls in love with the city and sticks around for awhile. I appreciate anyone who loves my city as much as I do.
Case in point, www.nativenewyorker.com. You would think that this would be some sort of guide to New York or a diary of a native New Yorker. But no, my friend, this is the website of a state-wide franschise restaurant in Arizona. To add insult to injury, the founders of this restaurant are not even from New York City. They are from the illustrious city of Buffalo, NY. No offense to native Buffaloers.
I have very definite ideas of what a native New Yorker is. A Native New Yorker is a person who was born and raised in the glorious five boroughs of New York City. If you weren't born and raised in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan, Queens or Staten Island, you are not a native New Yorker. Period. It also helps if you still live in NYC but not a requirement by any means. There is an image of the native New Yorker cultivated by our real New Yorkers such as Woody Allen, Humphrey Bogart, Robert DiNiro, Seinfeld, Jennifer Lopez, P. Diddy, Ed Koch, Al Pacino, the list goes on and on. People start to use this term "native New Yorker" in conjunction with people who fit this image and it is now a term used to describe one born in New York City rather than New York State. It would be a disservice to use this to describe something other than what people know to be a "native New Yorker" (especially to sell things!) as it is deliberately leading them astray.
People from Buffalo are generally just known as up-staters. Upstate New York has a lot going for it (pretty leaves! fresh air! apple farms!) but us native New Yorkers really hate those guys because our tax money gets siphoned upstate mostly because the upstaters have much more political power. The political power in New York state is proportioned based mainly on land and not on population size. New Yorkers have a secret dream of seceding from the state and marking out our own territory but we know it won't ever happen. We just generate too much money for the rest of the state to let us go.
Now, I know how one describes a New Yorker can be highly controversial so I welcome any comments. Please note that I am describing a "native New Yorker" not a just plain old "New Yorker". I believe one can be a New Yorker if one moves here, falls in love with the city and sticks around for awhile. I appreciate anyone who loves my city as much as I do.
posted by Native New Yorker at 4:35 PM
2 Comments:
I'm so glad I stumbled upon your blog. I'm a native New Yorker born and raised on Staten Island (lived in Brooklyn for a short time as well). There is nothing in my life I'm more proud of than my daughter, and the fact that I'm a native of New York City.
I no longer live there. I moved to Connecticut around 20 years ago but close enough to come back for frequent visits (which I actually crave now and again).
You're exactly right. Upstaters are just that. Upstaters. When I hear someone say "native New Yorker" I immediately assume they were born and raised there. End of story. If I find out otherwise, I'm pretty quick to correct them.
I also resent the whole 'New York style' this and that just for the sake of attracting customers or making a buck. When I first moved here I was so happy to see a "New York Style Pizza" place. I went there and it was gross and NOTHING even close to being New York style! I really hate that.
Nice blog, by the way. Give it time to catch on. It will.
I'll be coming back every now and again now that I know you're here.
What area on the Island did you live? I'm from West Brighton and later, Dongan Hills.
Just going over your prev. post and since you are a qualified Native NYer, I give you both props and granted access to use the title... you've earned it by what you have stated. I, as a fellow New Yorker, couldn't have stated it better - or briefly.
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