Only in New York

Foreword by Pete Hamill xi
Preface to the Fordham University Press Edition xv
Introduction 1
Only in New York
The Biggest Apple 7
The (How) Big Apple? 9
A Streetlight Named Desire 11
Fighting Words 14
Go Figure 17
Park No Cars 19
Where the Boys Are 22
To the Wind 25
Birds of a Feather 28
Where America Begins 31
A Nose for News 33
Fat City 36
Alfred E. Newsman 39
Angels in America 42
Black Like Me 44
Who Counts Most? 47
Baseball’s Greatest Hit 50
Scoop 52
What’s That Sound? 55
Sit Tight 57
Knowledge of Wealth 60
North by Northwest 63
Christmas in New York 65
What Has Four Wheels . . . ? 67
An Open- and- Shut Case 70
Eat Your Heart Out 73
New Yorkers
A Place to Die For 79
The Best Policy 82
Survivor 85
Being There 88
No More Bull 91
Pay as You Go 94
Crimes of the Century 97
Articles of Faith 100
American Gangster 103
A Satisfying Life 106
Court of Public Opinion 109
The Mayor’s Man 112
New York’s Wild West Side 115
Dynasty 118
Hymie, We Hardly Knew Ye 121
Nowhere to Go But Up 124
History Lessons
Lost and Founded 129
The Summer of Sam 131
The Little Steamboat That Could 134
Work Is a Four-Letter Word 136
What Drives Us 139
Election Lore 142
Evacuation Day 145
The First Thanksgiving 148
Don’t Settle for Less 151
9/11 153
Dutch Treats 156
Washington Squared 159
Turnstile Justice 162
The Green Book 165
Thanks for the Lift 168
The Latest Poop 171
Let Them Eat Their Words 174
Four- Star Finale 177
Home, Sweet Home 179
Just the Other Day . . . 182
Tusk, Tusk 185
For the Record 188
The Blizzard of ’06 191
The Melting Metaphor 193
My New York
Hail Tilden High 199
Making It 202
The Apartment 205
The Other Summer of Sam 207
The Final Confession 210
Taking the Boy Out of Brooklyn 213
Something to Crow About 215
Please Don’t Stop the Presses 218
An Affair of the Heart 221
Next 224
Seen on the Subway 227
Brownsville 230
Obama’s New York 233
Acknowledgments 237