70 Most Famous Quotes About New York City (NYC)

Top 12 Most Famous Quotes About New York City (BEST)

“Cut off as I am, it is inevitable that I should sometimes feel like a shadow walking in a shadowy world. When this happens I ask to be taken to New York City. Always I return home weary but I have the comforting certainty that mankind is real flesh and I myself am not a dream.”
Helen Keller

But there is one thing about it - once you have lived in New York and it has become your home, no place else is good enough. - John Steinbeck — But there is one thing about it – once you have lived in New York and it has become your home, no place else is good enough. – **John Steinbeck**

And because no matter who you are, if you believe in yourself and your dream, New York will always be the place for you. — And because no matter who you are, if you believe in yourself and your **dream**, New York will always be the place for you. – **Michael Bloomberg**

One belongs to New York instantly, one belongs to its as much as five minutes as in five years. - Tom Wolfe — One belongs to New York instantly, one belongs to its as much as five minutes as in five years. – Tom Wolfe

Yet, as only New Yorkers know, if you can get through the twilight, you'll live through the night. - Dorothy Parker — Yet, as only New Yorkers know, if you can get through the twilight, you’ll live through the night. – **Dorothy Parker**

Whoever is born in New York is ill-equipped to deal with any other city all other cities seem, at best, a mistake, and, at worst, a fraud. - James Baldwin — Whoever is born in New York is ill-equipped to deal with any other city: all other cities seem, at best, a mistake, and, at worst, a fraud. – **James Baldwin**

“New York is a different country. Maybe it ought to have a separate government. Everybody thinks differently, they just don’t know what the hell the rest of the United States is.”
Henry Ford

New York was a city where you could be frozen to death in the midst of a busy street and nobody would notice. - Bob Dylan — New York was a city where you could be frozen to **death** in the midst of a busy street and nobody would notice. – **Bob Dylan**

There is something in the New York air that makes sleep useless. - Simone de Beauvoir — There is something in the New York air that makes **sleep** useless. – **Simone de Beauvoir**

The city seen from the Queensborough Bridge is always the city seen for the first time, in its first wild promise of all the mystery and the beauty in the world. - F. Scott Fitzgerald — The city seen from the Queensborough Bridge is always the city seen for the first **time**, in its first wild promise of all the mystery and the **beauty** in the world. – **F. Scott Fitzgerald**

Give me such shows — give me the streets of Manhattan! - Walt Whitman — Give me such shows — give me the streets of Manhattan! – **Walt Whitman**

In Boston, they ask, how much does he know In New York, how much is he worth In Philadelphia, who were his parents - Mark Twain — In Boston, they ask, how much does he know? In New York, how much is he worth? In Philadelphia, who were his **parents**? – **Mark Twain**

22 Quotes About New York City That Will Make You Want to Visit

“I love New York. You can pop out of the Underworld in Central Park, hail a taxi, head down Fifth Avenue with a giant hellhound loping behind you, and nobody even looks at you funny.”
Rick Riordan

New York is really the place to be; to go to New York, you’re going to the centre of the world, the lion’s den. - Zubin Mehta — New York is really the place to be; to go to New York, you’re going to the centre of the world, the lion’s den. – Zubin Mehta

I wake up every morning and say to myself, ‘Well, I’m still in New York’. Thank you, God. - Ed Koch — I wake up every morning and say to myself, ‘Well, I’m still in New York’. Thank you, God. – Ed Koch

For me, New York is comfortable, not strange. - Karl Lagerfeld — For me, New York is comfortable, not strange. – **Karl Lagerfeld**

“I love that about New York: You just dress the way you want to dress and feel really comfortable because nobody is judging. You can just be yourself, and it’s perfectly normal.”
Henrik Lundquist

London is satisfied, Paris is resigned, but New York is always hopeful. Always it believes that something good is about to come off, and it must hurry to meet it. - Dorothy Parker — London is satisfied, Paris is resigned, but New York is always **hopeful**. Always it **believes** that something good is about to come off, and it must hurry to meet it. – Dorothy Parker

Somewhere between living and dreaming, there’s New York.

I go to Paris, I go to London, I go to Rome, and I always say, ‘There’s no place like New York. It’s the most exciting city in the world now. That’s the way it is. That’s it.’ - Robert de Niro — I go to Paris, I go to London, I go to Rome, and I always say, ‘There’s no place like New York. It’s the most **exciting** city in the world now. That’s the way it is. That’s it.’ – Robert de Niro

“In New York, the sky is bluer, and the grass is greener, and the girls are prettier, and the steaks are thicker, and the buildings are higher, and the streets are wider, and the air is finer than the sky, or the grass, or the girls, or the steaks, or the air of any place else in the world.”
Edna Ferber

When I’m in New York, I just want to walk down the street and feel this thing, like I’m in a movie. - Ryan Adams — When I’m in New York, I just want to walk down the street and feel this thing, like I’m in a movie. – Ryan Adams

There is more sophistication and less sense in New York than anywhere else on the globe. - Elbert Hubbart — There is more sophistication and less sense in New York than anywhere else on the globe. – Elbert Hubbart

'New York!' he said. 'That’s not a place, it’s a dream'. - Ralph Ellison — ‘New York!’ he said. ‘That’s not a place, it’s a dream’. – Ralph Ellison

New York is a work of art in and of itself. It’s a masterpiece that shouldn’t make sense, yet somehow, it does. - Jacqueline E. Smith — New York is a work of art in and of itself. It’s a masterpiece that shouldn’t make sense, yet somehow, it does. – Jacqueline E. Smith

I get out of the taxi and it’s probably the only city which in reality looks better than on the postcards, New York. - Milos Forman — I get out of the taxi and it’s probably the only city which in reality looks better than on the postcards, New York. – Milos Forman

I love New York, even though it isn't mine, the way something has to be, a tree or a street or a house, something, anyway, that belongs to me because I belong to it. - Truman Capote — I love New York, even though it isn’t mine, the way something has to be, a tree or a street or a house, something, anyway, that belongs to me because I belong to it. – **Truman Capote**

A hundred times I have thought New York is a catastrophe, and fifty times it’s a beautiful catastrophe. - Le Corbusier — A hundred times I have thought: New York is a catastrophe, and fifty times: it’s a beautiful catastrophe. – Le Corbusier

Practically everybody in New York has half a mind to write a book and does. - Groucho Marx — Practically everybody in New York has half a mind to **write** a book and does. – Groucho Marx

Don't you love New York in the fall It makes me want to buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address. - Nora Ephron — Don’t you love NeIf you’re **greedy** for life, that’s what New York is all about. If you’re trying to get as much as you can every day, this city is the place to be. – Pam Nelsonw York in the fall? It makes me want to buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address. – Nora Ephron

If you’re greedy for life, that’s what New York is all about. If you’re trying to get as much as you can every day, this city is the place to be. - Pam Nelson — If you’re **greedy** for life, that’s what New York is all about. If you’re trying to get as much as you can every day, this city is the place to be. – Pam Nelson

One can’t paint New York as it is, but rather as it is felt. - Georgia O’Keefe — One can’t paint New York as it is, but rather as it is felt. – Georgia O’Keefe

Make your mark in New York and you are a made man. - Mark Twain — Make your mark in New York and you are a made man. – Mark Twain

It wasn’t so much that I thought there was nowhere to go, in this huge city; but with so many places to go, where were you supposed to begin - Kelly Braffet — It wasn’t so much that I thought there was nowhere to go, in this huge city; but with so many places to go, where were you supposed to begin? – Kelly Braffet

It was never built for the comfort and happiness of its citizens, but to astonish the world. - Susan Ertz — It was never built for the comfort and **happiness** of its citizens, but to astonish the world. – Susan Ertz

7 Quotes About New York City for New Yorkers

“Being a New Yorker grounds you in every way. Before you walk out of the house, you can dress in the nicest clothes and be whoever you think you are, but when you’re on those streets, you’re just in the school of fish.”
Awkafina

You can do what you like, sir, but I'll tell you this. New York is the true capital of America. Every New Yorker knows it, and by God, we always shall. - Edward Rutherfurd — You can do what you like, sir, but I’ll tell you this. New York is the true capital of America. Every New Yorker knows it, and by God, we always shall. – Edward Rutherfurd

The true New Yorker secretly believes that people living anywhere else have to be, in some sense, kidding. - John Updike — The true New Yorker secretly believes that people living anywhere else have to be, in some sense, kidding. – John Updike

“If you want to become a real New Yorker, there’s only one rule: You have to believe New York is, has been, and always will be the greatest city on earth. The center of the universe.”
Ellen R. Shapiro

I believe in New Yorkers. Whether they’ve ever questioned the dream in which they live, I wouldn’t know, because I won’t ever dare ask that question. - Dylan Thomas — I believe in New Yorkers. Whether they’ve ever questioned the dream in which they live, I wouldn’t know, because I won’t ever dare ask that question. – Dylan Thomas

My favorite thing about New York is the people, because I think they’re misunderstood. I don’t think people realize how kind New York people are. - Bill Murray — My favorite thing about New York is the people, because I think they’re misunderstood. I don’t think people realize how **kind** New York people are. – Bill Murray

“By comparison with other less hectic days, the city is uncomfortable and inconvenient; but New Yorkers temperamentally do not crave comfort and convenience—if they did they would live elsewhere.”
E.B. White

3 Quotes About New York City and Los Angeles

“When its 100 degrees in New York, it’s 72 in Los Angeles. When its 30 degrees in New York, in Los Angeles it’s still 72. However, there are 6 million interesting people in New York, and only 72 in Los Angeles.”
Neil Simon

People go to LA to find themselves, they come to New York to become someone new. - Lindsey Kelk — People go to LA to “find themselves”, they come to New York to become someone new. – Lindsey Kelk

“I don’t like Los Angeles. The people are awful and terribly shallow, and everybody wants to be famous but nobody wants to play the game. I’m from New York. I will kill to get what I need.”
Lady Gaga

2 Quotes About New York City at Night

“At night… the streets become rhythmical perspectives of glowing dotted lines, reflections hung upon them in the streets as the wisteria hangs its violet racemes on its trellis. The buildings are shimmering verticality, a gossamer veil, a festive scene-prop hanging there against the black sky to dazzle, entertain, amaze.”
Frank Lloyd Wright

“And New York is the most beautiful city in the world? It is not far from it. No urban night is like the night there… Squares after squares of flame, set up, and cut into the ether. Here is our poetry, for we have pulled down the stars to our will.”
Ezra Pound

2 Quotes About New York City Skyline

“I would give the greatest sunset in the world for one sight of New York’s skyline. Particularly when one can’t see the details. Just the shapes. The shapes and the thought that made them. The sky over New York and the will of man made visible. What other religion do we need? And then people tell me about pilgrimages to some dank pesthole in a jungle where they go to do homage to a crumbling temple, to a leering stone monster with a pot belly, created by some leprous savage. Is it beauty and genius they want to see? Do they seek a sense of the sublime? Let them come to New York, stand on the shore of the Hudson, look and kneel. When I see the city from my window – no, I don’t feel how small I am – but I feel that if a war came to threaten this, I would throw myself into space, over the city, and protect these buildings with my body.”
Ayn Rand

“I look out the window and I see the lights and the skyline and the people on the street rushing around looking for action, love, and the world’s greatest chocolate chip cookie, and my heart does a little dance.”
Nora Ephron

5 Funny Quotes About New York City

New York is my Lourdes, where I go for spiritual refreshment... a place where you're least likely to be bitten by a wild goat. - Brendan Behan — New York is my Lourdes, where I go for spiritual refreshment… a place where you’re least likely to be bitten by a wild goat. – Brendan Behan

Anytime four New Yorkers get into a cab together without arguing, a bank robbery has just taken place. - Johnny Carson — Anytime four New Yorkers get into a cab together without arguing, a bank robbery has just taken place. – Johnny Carson

The flag of New York City should be someone with four bags opening a door with their shoulder. - Alex Baze — The flag of New York City should be someone with four bags opening a door with their shoulder. – Alex Baze

When you leave New York, you are astonished at how clean the rest of the world is. Clean is not enough. - Fran Lebowitz — When you leave New York, you are astonished at how clean the rest of the world is. **Clean** is not enough. – Fran Lebowitz

Cities have sexes London is a man, Paris a woman, and New York a well-adjusted transsexual. - Angela Carter — Cities have sexes: London is a man, Paris a woman, and New York a well-adjusted transsexual. – Angela Carter

17 Quotes About New York City that will Make You Think & Ponder

“I wanted solitude, but a treasure like that didn’t exist in the city. I only found silence in Central Park, still littered with people of course, but the only place that held moments of calm. I breathed in that wonderful silence as my pace finally slowed, and nature delighted my senses.”
Lee Matthew Goldberg

What's the use of a great city having temptations if fellows don't yield to them - P.G. Wodehouse — What’s the use of a great city having temptations if fellows don’t yield to them? – P.G. Wodehouse

When you leave New York you ain't going anywhere. - Jimmy Breslin — When you leave New York you ain’t going anywhere. – Jimmy Breslin

A middle finger is more New York than a corporate ambush. I bleed for my hometown, and I'd die for my fans. - Lady Gaga — A middle finger is more New York than a corporate ambush. I bleed for my hometown, and I’d die for my fans. – Lady Gaga

New York City is a great monument to the power of money and greed… a race for rent. - Frank Lloyd Wright — New York City is a great monument to the power of **money** and **greed**… a race for rent. – **Frank Lloyd Wright**

“It is often said that New York is a city for only the very rich and the very poor. It is less often said that New York is also, at least for those of us who came there from somewhere else, a city for only the very young.”
Joan Didion

It is ridiculous to set a detective story in New York City. New York City is itself a detective story. - Agatha Christie — It is ridiculous to set a detective story in New York City. New York City is itself a detective story. – **Agatha Christie**

Things always change and New York teaches you that. - Richard Hell — Things always **change** and New York teaches you that. – Richard Hell

“New York has a trip-hammer vitality which drives you insane with restlessness if you have no inner stabilizer…. In New York, I have always felt lonely, the loneliness of the caged animal, which brings on crime, sex, alcohol, and other madnesses.”
Henry Miller