The New York Nobody Knows Quotes

“According to the Bodega Association of the United States, New York City has twenty-five thousand bodegas, or delis, and counting. Their annual sales come to $7 billion a year, and they employ some sixty-five thousand people.”
― William B. Helmreich, The New York Nobody Knows: Walking 6,000 Miles in the City

“On the whole, I found great sympathy for the plight of the undocumented among people from every walk of life and irrespective of whether they lived in neighborhoods where illegals resided or in other communities. District managers of community boards were basically of one mind, best expressed by a Hispanic manager in the Bronx: “I have no problem with them, because they’re willing to work. Shame on employers for not paying them a decent wage. They’re not working for themselves; they’re working for their children. This country’s been founded on illegal activity. End of story.”
― William B. Helmreich, The New York Nobody Knows: Walking 6,000 Miles in the City

“In former mayor Dinkins’s view, education, along with helping immigrants, is perhaps the greatest challenge facing New York City today. As he put it, “We must see to it that all of our children are well-educated. I argue that we don’t own this planet. We hold it in trust. I love kids. I’m a nut for kids. I say to my friends, ‘As much as I like you, if you don’t take care of the children I’ll report you to the authorities.’ And they laugh, but I’m crazy about kids.”
― William B. Helmreich, The New York Nobody Knows: Walking 6,000 Miles in the City