New York Stories: The Best of the City Section of the New York Times

by Constance Rosenblum (Editor), Jill Eisenstadt

There are eight million stories in the Naked City. This famous line from the 1948 film The Naked City has become an emblem of New York City itself. One publication cultivating many of New York City's greatest stories is the City section in The New York Times. Each Sunday, this section of The New York Times, distributed only in papers in the five boroughs, captivates readers with tales of people and places that make the city unique.

Featuring a cast of stellar writers Phillip Lopate, Vivian Gornick, Thomas Beller and Laura Shaine Cunningham, among others New York Stories brings some of the best essays from the City section to readers around the country. New Yorkers can learn something new about their city, while other readers will enjoy the flavor of the Big Apple. New York Stories profiles people like sixteen-year-old Barbara Ott, who surfs the waters off Rockaway in Queens, and Sonny Payne, the beloved panhandler of the F train. Other essays explore memorable places in the city, from the Greenwich Village townhouse blown up by radical activists in the 1970s to a basketball court that serves as the heart of its Downtown neighborhood.

The forty essays collected in New York Stories reflect an intimate understanding of the city, one that goes beyond the headlines. The result is a passionate, well-written portrait of a legendary and ever-evolving place."

Genres: New York, Nonfiction, Journalism, Travel

303 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2005

About the author

Constance Rosenblum, most recently the author of the Habitats column published in the Real Estate section of The New York Times, is the longtime editor of the paper’s City section and a former editor of the Times’s Arts and Leisure section. She is the author of Boulevard of Dreams: Heady Times, Heartbreak, and Hope Along the Grand Concourse in the Bronx.

Reviews

[Hallie · Rating 2 out of 5]

A collection of NY Times features from the City section, dating back to the early 2000s. If you like that section of the paper, then this compilation will definitely be of interest. Otherwise (for me) the stories were hit or miss - some of them were interesting and gave me anecdotes about NYC that I'd never heard of, even for a lifelong New Yorker. Most were not.

[Cojaysea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anyone who knows anything about the city or who grew up in the area will relate and love this book

[Russ · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful collection of essays from the pages of the New York Times. These stories cover New York in all its colors - street basketball, finding an apartment, washing windows, rooting for sports teams. This is a good book not only for those from New York, but perhaps especially for those who are not from New York, like me. Reading these stories gave me a taste of what it might be like to live in the Big Apple and its boroughs.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

i don't even like new york that much & i inhaled this book. maybe new york is like the complete works of shakespeare: you don't have to like it to appreciate its delectable mythology. there was something kinda delicious about snooping in the local section of another city's paper - like reading a stranger's love letters that fit snugly into your own universe.

[Adrianna Grezak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Each story offers a different glimpse of life in New York City. I feel like these essays express exactly how I've felt the two years I've lived here. Some are stronger and more engaging than others. This text is worth reading for the variety of essays alone.

[Hillary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always enjoy reading the essays in the City section of the NY Times, but I don't often remember to do so, so I was pleased to find a book that collects many of them! A subsequent volume is coming soon...

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's the best essays of the City Section of the New York Times. Great nostalgia.

[Fuschia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow, I was really expecting this to be terribly interesting. I love reading about nyc. I found it mostly boring. Only 2 or 3 stories really captured my attention. Disappointing...

[Brenda Shufelt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent! Some really unique stories about various places in NYC and, of course, the various people that are there. Also, many stories about NYC as a newcomer experiences it.

[Graziella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect for small, quick bites of New York City life.

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

A distinctive window into the lives of New Yorkers. The sections vary in topic and quality, but paint a nice picture of a city said to be like no other.