"Going into the city" expression (New York, York: neighborhood, living in)
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Just a question - why is it that every other transplant says, "I'm going to the city" - meaning when they come into Manhattan from let's say, Brooklyn? As I understand it, "The City" is all five boroughs not just Manhattan.
Someone - who's not even from the US was actually telling me that, "the city" is only Manhattan. I disagree, and I'd never say, "Im leaving the city" when I go to Brooklyn, the Bronx or Queens.
Depends on who you interact with I guess. The only person I know at this point that refers to only Manhattan as the city and not the other 5 boroughs is a friend of mine whom was born in Italy, moved here when he was 2, and left last year to go live in London. I generally don't trust his opinions of the city though as he says Kew Gardens is a bad neighborhood having lived there (what?), you need to own a car in NYC (what?!), and his favorite pizza place is some random place in Carrol Gardens despite never have gone in his over 25 years living in/near NYC to DiFara, L&B Spumonis, or the many other ones that I'd think deserve a shot at the name.
I still meet people from Jersey who think Downtown is 'far' from Midtown though, yet will go to Flushing, Williamsburg, and Westchester... lol!
Depends on who you interact with I guess. The only person I know at this point that refers to only Manhattan as the city and not the other 5 boroughs is a friend of mine whom was born in Italy, moved here when he was 2, and left last year to go live in London. I generally don't trust his opinions of the city though as he says Kew Gardens is a bad neighborhood having lived there (what?), you need to own a car in NYC (what?!), and his favorite pizza place is some random place in Carrol Gardens despite never have gone in his over 25 years living in/near NYC to DiFara, L&B Spumonis, or the many other ones that I'd think deserve a shot at the name.
I still meet people from Jersey who think Downtown is 'far' from Midtown though, yet will go to Flushing, Williamsburg, and Westchester... lol!
That's been in the vernacular forever. Anywhere outside the city people say "going to the city."
Growing up "in the city" we used to tell the Brooklynites that they did not live in "New York City" that NYC is Manhattan, the borough of N.Y. We were only halfway busting their balls. This goes as far back as I remember. Older guys from the Village or the East Side if asked by a Brooklynite where they were from would reply, "New York."
It started a suburbanite thing and has since spread to Brooklyn and Queens
I think context matters though, "the city" can mean either Manhattan below 110th street or it can be all 5 boroughs.
Not really...
Myself, friends, family and countless others from Staten Island past and present refer to Manhattan as the "city".
If someone from SI says they are going "into the city" we know they mean Manhattan.
Ditto if someone says they want a ride to "the city", works in "the city", or whatever else.
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