Metropolitan Diary Challenge Day 1: What Is Your N.Y. Story?

By Ed Shanahan Illustrations by Agnes Lee

Ed Shanahan has been the editor of Metropolitan Diary for 10 years. Agnes Lee has drawn more than 2000 illustrations for the weekly column since 2017.

June 27, 2026

Welcome to the Metropolitan Diary challenge, part of our 50th anniversary celebration for a column that, by design, could only have gotten this far with readers’ contributions. Metropolitan Diary is a weekly collection of New York experiences that capture the essence of this remarkable metropolis at its best — and it is composed entirely of submissions from readers sharing short personal stories.

In the next two days, the plan is to help you carry us to the 100-year mark. We want your New York story! Today, we’ll help you jog your memory to find a good one. Tomorrow, we’ll offer tips for how to turn it into a great written submission.

Metropolitan Diary is a grab bag with one constant: Every story is set in the city. Odd snippets overheard on the street; snappy comebacks from waiters; random encounters with strangers that illuminate human kindness; and, of course, the occasional celebrity sighting. It’s all column fodder.

So what’s your Metropolitan Diary story? First, a few basic parameters: It must be true, something you saw or experienced firsthand and be a tale you can tell in no more than 300 words (we are quite strict about that). We keep politics, and pretty much anything else that could be divisive, out. Also, nothing vulgar and, generally, no “kids say the darndest things.” Again, when we say “Metropolitan,” we really do mean a story about New York City.

Beyond that, it’s up to you. It’s almost certainly true that the submissions we wind up publishing begin with something that stuck in the author’s head for whatever reason — for a day, a week or 20 years — and made them think, “that’s New York to me.” It’s something you can’t wait to share with a partner, parent or friend over coffee or drinks. And very often, it’s something that others can easily relate to because there is something familiar in the details.

A story like this may already be in the back of your mind or on the tip of your tongue. If you’re unsure of how to begin the process of writing it down, consider these durable Diary categories as potential starting points. Here are some popular standbys:

Getting From One Place to Another

New York’s mass transit system, that great urban unifier, is a reliable source of items. Virtually everyone rides the subway or buses. Do you recall something funny that happened on the train? Ever see something unexpected during your daily commute? Did running late (or early) put you in a spot to meet someone you otherwise wouldn’t have?

A black and white drawing of a person holding a pepper grinder over a sandwich.

I got on the Q at 96th Street. I was on my way to Hell’s Kitchen to grab a quick dinner before watching “RuPaul’s Drag Race.”
A woman got on at 86th Street and sat right

A black and white drawing of a person on a subway platform waving to another person in a subway car.

It is 2 a.m. I dash up the subway stairs to catch the F back to Manhattan.
Just as I get to the platform, the train doors close and the train begins to pull away. The

A black and white drawing of a man in a clown costume standing in a subway car and looking at a woman and child who are seated.

It was a hot July afternoon, and I was on the No. 5 train returning to my law office. I took a seat, loosened my tie and looked at my phone.
Across the car was a

The Kindness of Strangers

Did a stranger ever do you a good deed or vice versa?

A black and white drawing of two women running, one behind the other.

I was running across the Manhattan Bridge when a woman ran past me.
She was a few paces ahead, so I picked up my speed to pass her.
Then she sped up and passed me.
Then I sped

A black and white drawing of a man in front of a hot dog cart handing a jacket to a woman on a windy day.

One early fall morning some years ago, I decided to walk to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and spend a few hours there before meeting a friend for lunch.
It was one of those days when

A black and white drawing of a man sitting next to a woman at a bar with the woman’s bag hanging on a hook between them.

I was on a first date in a crammed bar on the Lower East Side. Just after we sat down at the bar, I felt a tickle on my leg.
I looked down and saw it

Nostalgic Places

Do you have a memory of a special moment tied to one of the city’s well-known landmarks or neighborhoods? Is there a particular room at the Met or a favorite diner in Queens where you once had a memorable encounter?

A black and white drawing of a boy handing money to a man standing next to a large cooler on wheels.

Every morning before I left for school, my mother would hand me an emergency quarter. This was back when cellphones were a luxury and you couldn’t turn a corner in New York without seeing a

A black and white drawing of children running through a fenced-in area with tall grass and weeds.

I grew up in the 1960s in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn. Most mothers stayed at home and ran their households, and the fathers went off to work.

As children, we had to answer to

A black and white drawing of four couples who are smoking cigarettes while sitting at a nightclub banquette with drinks on the tables in front of them.

It was the early 1960s, and we decided the hippest place to go post-prom was the Embers, a nightclub on East 54th Street.

The prom ended around 10 p.m., and four couples, the guys in baby

Memorable Lines

Do you still laugh about something you overheard a passer-by say? Did a waitress or counterman ever respond to your order with a snappy comeback dripping with New York attitude?

A black and white drawing of two women walking next to each other as one of them points off to the side.

On a quick visit to New York recently to see some Broadway shows, my wife and I overheard two women talking on the sidewalk as we passed a Paper Source store on Fifth Avenue near

A black and white drawing of two women sitting at a restaurant table and holding menus while speaking to a waiter.

I was at a business lunch at a well-regarded restaurant near Union Square.
I asked the waiter if the beef on the menu was pasture raised. He said he would check with the chef.
He returned a

A black-and-white drawing of a woman who is speaking to the vendor at a produce stand.

I stopped at a fruit cart on my way into my Midtown office. The dates were seven for $1.00 A bargain!
“Seven dates, please,” I said to the vendor.

He broke into a huge smile.
“What time should

Did these stories remind you of anything? Spend some time today thinking about it. Once you have some ideas, jot them down. Come back tomorrow for Day 2 of the Metropolitan Diary challenge and we’ll help you develop one of them into a full story.

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