1.

When I was a child my parents would take my to New York City to see shows. We would always drive in. I hated it. I never liked the city from a young age. It was disgusting for starters, but the parking situation always created a headache because my Father would complain and argue with the attendants, we were always in some sort of a rush, and everything seemed so large and daunting. The entire city was covered in shadows and steam. I hated it. It was the worst and I never bothered to go in much until I had graduated college.

And then something strange happened. My brother’s friend invited me to hangout at someone’s apartment in the East Village. This was strange to me because I thought the entire city was based in Midtown. Yes, Midtown. My parents had only ever taken me to Midtown Manhattan. I had never once been anywhere else in New York City. Imagine my surprise in 2015 when I discovered the East Village and it’s endless artists, brunch spots, cafes and dive bars. The first things I did was call up my parents and berate them over the phone. My Mother surprised, and caught off-guard asked me incredulously “what the hell is an East Village?” That’s right, my parents, both who grew up on Long Island, hadn’t ever bothered to venture out past Midtown Manhattan. It was all they knew.

Soon, I found myself consuming everything I could about New York City. I spent more and more time commuting into the city with my brother’s friends and became more and more obsessed with the East Village (the superior village). I had one goal and that was to move into the East Village with some money saved up. After crashing on their couch for far too long, I began looking for a job that was more stable than being a Freelance Photographer.

This lead me to find a job in Fidi at an advertising agency and commute on the Long Island Railroad or LIRR. A decision that almost led me to killing myself. It’s strange to write that down on paper. I’ve said it out loud a few times here and there but until just now, I’ve never committed it to the page. In my quest to join New York City, the time I spent committing on the LIRR took me to some of the deepest and darkest places I’ve ever been. Four to five hours a day of travel will do that to a person. And this led me to see New York City for what it truly is, raw.

When I fell in love with New York City, it was not the city most think of. There were no walks in Central Park nor were there dates on the West End. I fell in love with tiny apartments, subway cars that reeked of mids and nights primarily spent bantering with random people in freezing weather as my friends and I were denied entry to exclusive clubs and bars which forced us to hit dive bars we still know and love. The New York City I know and love is disgusting. It is covered in rats and garbage. The smell of urine reminds me that I’m just twenty steps from my apartment and at least once a month all the subways break down and screw us all. 

But I love it. This is the New York I want to share with the world. Screw the rose-tinted glasses with champagne and Michelin stars, I mean, sure that’s great and all, but that isn’t New York to me. Give me strange substances in a warehouse in Bushwick at 4am. Give me tourists running from cockroaches and straight into a subway pillar. Give me endless murals to stare at after walking thirty blocks twisted as all hell after some guys gave me a joint in exchange for filling out a survey about animal safety and things I value about society. That is the New York I know and love! That is the New York I will bring to the masses and that is the New York that the world will soon know.

My name is David Matthew Friedman and I invite you to come with me and experience the real New York.