“History books and public television documentaries are always trying to tell you all sorts of “facts” about New york. That Canal Street used to be a canal. That Bryant Park used to be a reservoir. It’s all hokum. I’ve been to Canal Street, and the only time I ever saw a river flow through it was during the last water-main explosion. Never listen to what people tell you about old New York, because if you didn’t witness it, it is not part of your New York and might as well be Jersey.”

— Colson Whitehead, The Colossus of New York