How to Make It in New York Abridged

The story of an immigrant entrepreneur in the melting pot

No New Yorker would be surprised to see a Captain America from Puerto Rico

New York has a personality. It may be the only city with its own citizenship. You are either born a New Yorker or it takes 10 years to earn the significant title. One would think you would know most of what an experience is in 5 years, but I remember knowing one person who lived in New York for 7 years and he told me that he hasn’t even scratched the surface.

This is my short story that I want to share and I also wanted to write to make a short summary of what New York is for me because when you write, you remember, and when you remember, you live those moments again and I think every moment we remember is different every time we remember them because we constantly change.

Manhattanhenge is the Stonehenge moment of New York when the sun sets between the buildings

The first time I visited New York was when I was a student back in 2001, two months after 9/11. I was struck by the semi-transparent phrase written on the board of the Ground Zero site:

“If you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere.” It was hard for me to understand why they would make such a point at a place of deep grief.