Over 200,000 people move to New York City each year for a reason. New Yorkers are famously proud of their city, but anyone who has lived here for any amount of time knows that the city certainly is not perfect. Here are some of the things NYU students think the city could improve.

Water

According to Stern freshman Jill Xu, New York City’s renowned tap water, which comes from the Catskill Mountain reservoirs, is sub-par compared to the tap water in her native Vancouver.

“The water here sucks, compared to Canada in general,” Xu said. “I’m sorry, but when you take water from the tap in Canada, you can’t even taste the toilet flavor. Vancouver has the best water. We get it directly from our glaciers.”

Convenience Stores

New York City’s numerous bodegas and Duane Reades don’t compare to the convenience stores in New Jersey, according to Liberal Studies freshman Regina Wright.

“If you come from a state that has Wawa, you know the struggle of moving to the city,” Wright said. “They’re like a 7-11 but cleaner, prettier, more colorful. It’s like a supermarket, but everyone goes there and gets lunch or dinner. They make it all themselves, and it just tastes better.”

Star Gazing

Even more than her favorite convenience store, Wright has missed seeing stars during her time in the city.

“I really miss the stars. I miss being able to look up at night and see constellations,” Wright said. “What’s really good about the night if you can’t see the moon or the stars?”

Pizza

CAS freshman and Chicago native Kiran Khatau made the polarizing assertion that a New York slice pales in comparison to the Windy City’s.

“This is going to be controversial, but pizza is better in Chicago,” said Khatau, who was less than impressed by New York’s famously thin slices.
“I am a big fan of deep dish pizza,” she said. “Dollar pizza is great and all but Giordano’s deep dish is better.”

Email Taylor Nicole Rogers at [email protected].