New York's best days
14 prominent New Yorkers -- from the Rev. Al Sharpton and comedian John Leguizamo to Yoko Ono and architect Robert A. M Stern recently on the witness stand for the Disney/Ovitz trial -- were asked in this New York Times story (registration required) to define the best days of New York city. Here's an excerpt from writer and Vanity Fair contributing editor, Fran Lebowitz:
My youth was spent in New York in the 70's. We could live in Manhattan with no money, and we didn't mind. It was O.K. to live in a crummy apartment; that's what sent us outside. Who could stand to be inside a freezing place full of roaches? We used to stay out all night, and then see movies at noon at the Museum of Modern Art.
Today the city is preoccupied with food. In the 70's, we were preoccupied with sex. It was a moment of total hedonism with no consequences, no AIDS. And there was birth control and little thought of getting married. Now, a 25-year-old knows 70 kinds of sushi, but at what expense? A youth spent on restaurants is a youth misspent.