The Colossus of New York By Colson Whitehead is a summary about each individual building their “own New York”. Whitehead says that being in New York makes other places seem inferior. Whitehead also believes that every person starts building their own New York the first time they lay there eyes on the city. Whitehead says his first building block of his “own New York” was when he first saw the city’s No. 1 train. We all see the same thing but have different perspectives on what we see in New York. Things in the city will always be changing but we will remember those things as they were the first time we laid our eyes on them. It’s true that NYC is changing everyday and it’s up to the people to decide on how they want to view the changes. Those who have lived in New York for decades have seen the city undergo massive transformations. Whitehead will always believe what he saw or experienced at the time, no matter what others tell him about New York because there were stories that hes heard such as when Whitehead heard about the “rumors” that there was water at Bryant Park, but the only time he has seen water there was when there was a huge water pipe explosion. Whitehead believes that it’s important that you remember how things were because the day they will be gone you will not get the chance to say your farewell as it could happen at any given moment.