“I’ve been living here for 11 years,” says Aman Ali, a performer and film producer. “My brother lives here too and we work together on a film company. One time, we met for a meeting. It ran really late; it was 11:30 at night, and we were like let’s go get bubble tea. We’re cutting through Central Park, and there is a bubble tea place on the other side. We go up these stone stairs, and then there [are] bushes on both sides of the stairs. I’m going up the stairs and all of a sudden this guy pops out of the bushes and says, ‘Excuse me, did you just see a blind man that walks by?’ I’m like no. And he says, ‘Well, he didn’t see you guys either!’ And then goes back into the bush. What just happened? So that is why [I live in New York City]. Why would I leave? It’s like free entertainment here. The diversity especially. The vibe. The energy. Everyone is doing dope things. Everyone is doing incredible and awesome things. In my friend circle, it’s not that we get competitive in a catty, want-to-one-up-each-other way. But when someone is doing well, I am happy for them, but it makes me feel like I need to step my game up. I gotta get back and do something else. It is always just that vibe and energy is creative and inspirational, and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”
