New York state of mind

"I used to feel very much at home in New York City. I wasn't born here, but I might as well have been: I belonged here. Several years ago, however, I began to be oppressed by a feeling that New York City had gone past me and that I didn't belong here anymore. At first, these feelings were vague and sporadic, but then gradually became more definite and quite frequent. I began to feel painfully out of place where ever I was. Then, one Saturday afternoon, while I was walking around the ruins of Washington Market, something happened to me that led me, step by step, out of my depression. A change took place in me. And that I what i want to tell about." - Joseph Mitchell