LIFE THERE

IS IT EASY TI BE A NEW YORKER?

Visiting New York is like unpacking your first computer – you find yourself surrounded by lots of expensive pieces that don’t seem to fit together. The parts make no sense. Nothing works unless it’s hooked up to something else. That, in my view, in a nutshell, is New York.
The key to understanding New York is first to understand the New Yorker. The typical New Yorker is either Chinese, Jewish, African American, Italian, Greek, Dutch, Irish, German or Ukrainian. In other words, like the unicorn, there is no such creature.
Nothing about New Yorkers is typical except their attitude. The New Yorker Attitude hangs over the city like a London fog. The New York Attitude literally stops traffic. It can keep you from getting where you want to go. It can give you headaches, and make your blood pressure rise. Try to ignore it and, no matter how many maps you might have, you won’t get anywhere.
Spend a few minutes understanding it, and you’re on your way to conquering the city. The key ingredient in the New York Attitude is money. If New York had hills, they would be alive, I think, with the sound of money. This is the city that invented, along with “power lunches” and “street smarts”, the phrase “time is money.” In New York City everything is money. It costs money just to stand still. Can you believe $10-15 per hour to park your car in midtown? That’s why if somebody threatens you, “Your money or your life,” you may be absolutely sure that he is out-of-towner, because in New York your money is your life.
Being a New Yorker is something that New Yorkers do better than anyone else. It’s an around-the-clock business and they work hard at. Whatever you want to say about them, New Yorkers do their homework. It doesn’t matter how much they earn or how much they’re going to spend: everyone is an expert. They all know where to get the greatest hot dog in town, find the cheapest florist, which movie theatre has the best sound system, and which hit is worth seeing on Broadway. Not that any two lists are ever the same. No one is supposed to agree. That is the fun! The important thing is having an opinion.
So, knowing where to go and how to get there is an integral part of the New York Attitude.
Stop someone on the street and ask directions – it’s as though you, a total stranger, had walked into his private office in the middle of a conference he was having with himself.
New Yorkers value their privacy as fanatically as Italians or the Spanish their siestas.
Privacy is for New Yorkers what “saving face” is for Asians – a technique for survival in a crowded environment. It has nothing to do with being cold or unfriendly.
It’s hard being a New Yorker. On a daily basis, the city streets are littered with far more than old cans and gum wrappers. After the exodus of the middle class to the suburbs, New York became a city of extremes, people say. Extremes like characters in a soap opera “The Rich and the Homeless.” The truth really, in my view, is that a city with all the brightness of New York can’t help casting a few shadows. The homeless are a sad fact of life today, something you come upon in Paris, Hong Kong or London; New York isn’t alone in not knowing how best to handle the situation, but in New York it strikes you harder than elsewhere.
The city is also noisy and expensive, its people are pushy and rude, the weather is awful (especially in summer), the traffic is impossible and you often can’t find a cab when you need one. Everybody knows that, because people have been saying these things for years, and New York is still the most-visited city in the world.
Still, there must be something that attracts everyone – something in New York you can’t find anyplace else.
Unless you’re in town to visit relatives, New York means Manhattan. The Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island are not visited as tourist attractions despite every New Yorker having a favourite restaurant, bakery, park, or museum in one of the other four boroughs. Local people travel back and forth across the rivers and bridges to visit family or the ethnic delights of, for example, Italian Arthur Avenue in the Bronx. The so-called “outer” boroughs are culturally-rich outposts that offer entertainment. But there are so many interesting sights in New York that it’s really very hard for a New Yorker to know all of them.
That is another reason for the statement that it is not easy to be a New Yorker.
If you are going to do business with New Yorkers here are some tips on the business protocols of New York.
Because to New Yorkers time is money, do not be surprised if a New Yorker asks you: What’s in this deal for me? or What will I get out of this? Just make sure that you are prepared to answer the question.
New Yorkers rarely work as a team in business. Individual performance is what counts, and officers are rewarded according to their individual contribution to an organisation. Rank and status are not acquired at birth or with age; they are given to the individual who proves to be the best.
You will have to be very punctual with any appointment you make. Executives often schedule appointments within twenty minutes of each other. If you are late, you may have missed an opportunity to meet with the necessary party. Schedules are planned weeks in advance and it may be difficult to reschedule on short notice.
In business New Yorkers do not spend much time on pleasantries. Once you shake hands and exchange business cards get right to the point of your visit. Within the first five minutes, an executive will determine whether or not your proposal has merit, is right for the company, or is interesting enough to pursue further.
Business is often discussed socially: at breakfast, lunch, dinner, cocktail parties, golf outings, on tennis courts, or at health and fitness clubs.
It is not considered impolite for an executive to take calls while you are having a meeting in his/her office. In addition, many executives also carry a beeper which signals them they should call in.
New Yorkers love to conduct business over meals. It is very fashionable to have meetings over a “power breakfast” from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. Business lunches usually begin at 12:30 p.m. and end no later than 2 p.m., Business dinners are usually scheduled early, around 7 p.m., since many New Yorkers commute to the city from surroundings suburbs and wish to return home in time to be with their families before it gets too late.
Gifts are usually not exchanged when conducting business. Strict rules and policy in American corporations may prohibit or discourage the exchange of gifts. An executive must report any gift received and, in most cases, will not be allowed to accept those valued over twenty dollars.

I. Read the text and answer the following questions:

1. Is there such a creature as the typical New Yorker? Why?
2. What is the most important or key ingredient in the New York Attitude? Why?
3. What is an integral part of the New York Attitude?
4. What technique for survival in New York is mentioned in the text?
5. Why is it not easy to be a New Yorker? Why is New York a city of extremes?
6. What boroughs does a New Yorker often visit and why?
7. Are there any rules in conducting business with a New Yorker?
8. Do individual performances matter more than working in a team in New York?
9. Why is it important to be punctual with one’s appointment in New York?
10. How are you recommended to start your business meeting?
11. Where do many New York businessmen discuss business?
12. Is it all right to take a call during a business appointment?
13. When do business meals usually take place?
14. What can you say about exchanging gifts with a New York businessman?

II. Read the text again and make up a summary of it.

By Natalia Predtechenskaya