New Yorker dubs Queens ‘the new Manhattan,’ igniting fierce debate: ‘Unique experiences’ gone

Move complete Manhattan – Queens conscionable claimed your crown.

“Queens is what Manhattan utilized to be. Manhattan is simply a ammunition of itself,” a Queens autochthonal declared successful a viral video that’s dividing New Yorkers.

“I hide that there’s a immense subset of group who person ne'er gotten to acquisition really cool Manhattan was,” nan woman, who is from Flushing and goes by @leveluponepercent connected societal media, said successful a TikTok post.

“All nan group who brought each nan unsocial experiences, nan taste experiences, nan independent experiences person been pushed out, and you now person these gentrifiers who person hiked up prices, hiked up rents, and they’ve brought thing to lend to nan culture.

“All they’ve brought are matching workout sets and $10 lattes and $20 smoothies and waiting successful agelong lines for mediocre food,” she fumed successful nan one-and-a-half-minute-long clip, which has amassed 350,000 views and 1,550 comments successful nan period since it was dual-posted to Instagram alongside nan account @NewYorkers. 

“Now, anytime I want a fun, unique, taste experience, I caput to Queens. I spell to Flushing, I spell to Elmhurst, Jackson Heights, Astoria, and that’s wherever I tin get a sensation of these things again.”

Queens is 1 of nan astir divers places connected Earth, pinch astir 360 languages spoken among its 2.3 cardinal residents. 

Manhattan, pinch 1.6 cardinal denizens, is location to nan astir restaurants successful nan 5 boroughs – over 6,400.

The woman, who didn’t want to springiness her afloat sanction to The Post and would only opportunity she’s successful her mid-30s, grew up successful Flushing and Bayside earlier moving to Manhattan aft college. 

She said she witnessed nan borough’s alleged diminution first-hand while surviving for complete a decade betwixt nan East Village, Tribeca and West Harlem starring up to 2019, erstwhile she began splitting her clip betwixt nan West Village and Westchester.

“I consciousness for illustration [Manhattan] has go really sterile — it feels for illustration a mall. All of nan things that made it typical person vanished . . . location was a constituent erstwhile location was a large startup culture, and that was truthful nosy and truthful cool,” she said. “Now, I spell down Eighth Avenue successful nan West Village and it’s a Starbucks, past it’s a Baskin Robbins, past it’s a Five Guys. So each of nan cool, nosy places that made it bully and absorbing are each gone.

“Anytime I want really bully food, I spell to Queens. Anytime I want a cool, unsocial acquisition that we wouldn’t person successful Westchester, I spell to Queens,” she said, adding that she’s moreover considering swapping her residence successful nan Village for 1 successful nan World’s Borough. 

“I work together completely,” 1 Instagram personification wrote, and reminisced connected a play erstwhile “Time quadrate [sic] wasn’t an amusement parkland and corporations didn’t person their names lit up connected our beautiful buildings.

“What was erstwhile an astonishing metropolis is now a commercialized bore,” nan commenter said.

Others scoffed.

“Queens will ne'er beryllium Manhattan. Not moreover connected its champion day,” 1 commenter wrote. 

“New York is conscionable a spot of changeless alteration and that’s what makes New York New York truthful this thought of caller group coming and changing New York makes nary sense,” 1 personification pointed out.  

Others noted nan reality of surviving successful nan Big Apple past your 30th birthday.

“You’re conscionable getting older. Manhattan is still nan Sh-t!” wrote another.