“Life is fundamentally up for grabs”

“A superhero spliced criminals from victims. In Gowanus things tended to be more mixed up.”

“You could grow up in the city where history was made and still miss it all.”

“Someday I'd change my name to Shut Up and save everybody a lot of time.”

“But the day I can't shrug off a twinge of self-pity, is the day I'm washed up for keeps.”

“It was often this way, life consisted of a series of false beginnings, bluff declarations of arrival to destinations not even glimpsed.”

“She craned up on her toes and kissed my cheek..."Don't do that", I said. "You just met me. This is New York.”