NYC is the most populous city in the united states, with more people in closer proximity than in any other city. This living situation begets the reduction of personal space in public places – subways, sidewalks, department stores, and nightlife spots.
I spend the majority of my public hours shoulder to shoulder with new yorkers, citizens and any number of foreigners walking to the store for toothpaste, deodorant and my evenings dinner – all in plane site for those that I bump or pass by. I run in the park or along the waterfront sweating with the rest of the nyers trying to stay fit and shed some of the city’s stress. I spend Sunday afternoons with my friends at my local pub with the NFL package watching all the games at once well because they have more room than my living room and better access to food and beer.
This life is common for New York and something I seriously debated getting used to when looking at moving. I truly loved the flexibility of surrounding myself with people when I wanted and having the space to avoid them when I didn’t. However, in my 4+ years I, like the New Yorkers before me, have gotten used to living my private life publicly in the same manner.
We take ownership of life on the street as our own. This is our block, this butcher is my guy, that’s my Italian spot, I get my mozzarella from Joe’s, and this is my pub like as if this is my couch in my living room. When locals and even celebrities enter our home they become part of the scenery, part of the atmosphere and just party of the whole experience of being in NY. This is my time and Jay-z is here enjoying dinner at my spot, not the other way around.
In my time in NY I run into celebrities more here than anywhere I’ve lived and part of that is the closeness of everyone but also we all share the same environments you’re bound to have dinner next to Demi Moore and Ashton, crossing the same street under the same umbrella as Rosario Dawson, accidentally running over Giada De Laurentiis coming out of her hotel or having coffee with Famke Janssen at your local shop.
With celebrity sightings NYers may look twice because there is a moment of recognition; they process why the face is recognized, realize it is not someone you actually know, and move on. We’re inundated with their faces and people all the time.
Really though the last thing I need is one more person fawning over ME and taking my picture. Get a life, celebrities. Seriously.