In my experience New Yorkers hate to make idle chat unless they've been given a reason. In general, we're happy to give directions, and we are happy to talk to

In my experience New Yorkers hate to make idle chat unless they've been given a reason. In general, we're happy to give directions, and we are happy to talk to people if we're in some constrained situation, like standing on line together, commiserating over transportation, that sort of thing. But if we're on the street or in the park and you approach us to talk, odds are good you're homeless, crazy, grifting, or you want us to sign some god-damned petition.