Friday On The Record

Re: Everybody hates Brooklyn, it is really amazing to see what strong feelings people in other parts of the country have about New York City. I had the pleasure of working for a couple of years in Kansas City which was OK despite my seriously missing NY. It was a lot of work dealing with people’s stereotypes and preconceived notions about New Yorkers, from our accents to our purported nastiness. I was an ambassador for NY, a one woman New Yorker anti-defamation society. I had this experience in Houston too, where I never lived but travelled often. The truth is that many people are intimidated by New York and have strong feelings about that. I get some kind of kick about helping tourists with info and directions, reading the maps, walking people to the right exits, being the nicest person they could ever meet, just to blow the stereotype. “Yes, Virginia, New Yorkers ARE wonderful…”