New york city Quote by Lucy Sante
![“We thought of [New York] as a free city, like one of those storied prewar tropical nests of intrigue and licentiousness where exiles and lamsters and refugees found shelter in a tangle of improbable juxtapositions.” quote by Lucy Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/32c/lucy-sante-67080_new-york-city_we-thought-of-new-york-as-a-free-city-li_3043554.jpg)
““We thought of [New York] as a free city, like one of those storied prewar tropical nests of intrigue and licentiousness where exiles and lamsters and refugees found shelter in a tangle of improbable juxtapositions.””
About This Quote
Source Essay: New York City, Lucy Sante, 1995
New York is imagined as a chaotic, free city where diverse outsiders find refuge amid contradictions.
In simple terms: NYC is a free, chaotic refuge for outsiders.
Key Takeaway
Embrace the city's contradictions.
Themes
urban life
refuge
diversity
Mood
nostalgic
critical
Type
cultural
observational
When to use this quote
- travel writing
- urban studies
- social commentary
Key Concepts
sociology
city myth
cultural melting pot
Questions to Reflect On
- What draws people to such contradictory spaces?
- How does this view affect urban policy?
A Different Perspective
Romanticizing chaos can overlook hardships.
![“With recidivism algorithms, for example, I worry about racist outcomes. With personality tests [for hiring], I worry about filtering out people with mental health problems from jobs. And with a teacher value-added model algorithm [used in New York City to score teachers], I worry literally that…” quote by Cathy O'Neil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/7df/cathy-o-neil-11478_algorithms_with-recidivism-algorithms-for-example-i_18212.jpg)
