In Search of “Authentic” New York: A Conversation
Tuesday, May 12 at 6:30 p.m.
At the Museum of the City of New York
“The whole of New York is rebuilt about once in ten years,” diarist Philip Hone observed in 1839. Though still true in 2015, this has never stopped New Yorkers from arguing about what is or isn’t “authentic” about their protean city. Debating authenticity has become a favorite Gotham pastime, whether it takes the form of a preservation battle or a “pizza war.” But how do we recognize the “real” city: does such a place exist in the five boroughs, or is it only a charming fallacy, perpetuated by Woody Allen, Jay-Z, and (now) Taylor Swift? Join historian Elizabeth Bradley and humorist Ian Frazier for a lively conversation about the myth and meaning of “authentic” New York. Co-sponsored by the New York Council for the Humanities. Free for Museum members; $12 for students/seniors; $16 for general public.
