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I have lived in this city my whole life and have seen the way gentrification has changed it. I'm not necessarily against transplants, as 75 percent of my good friends, roommate, and boyfriend are not native New Yorkers.

Gentrification is a form of immigration, though almost nobody calls it that.

In many cities, it's become popular to hate 'gentrifiers,' rich people who move in and drive up housing prices - pushing everyone else out.

New York has changed amazingly; it's gentrified everywhere, and it's a much gentler place.

It's common for cultural shifts to start with young, urban adopters before going mainstream.

Each new generation born is in effect an invasion of civilization by little barbarians, who must be civilized before it is too late.

There's an enormous amount of obliviousness: a desire among young gentrifiers to see only the city they want to see.

Gen Y is really quite distinct from Gen X; it's really self-involved and very narcissistic - their cameras are filled with pictures of themselves; Facebook, it's about me. It's a generation that's been pampered by their parents and their schools, given prizes for just taking part.

Some people are born for the city. I'm not one of them.

Each generation wants new symbols, new people, new names. They want to divorce themselves from their predecessors.