As NYC opens its first legal marijuana dispensary, sober bars continue popping up everywhere, and veganuary took over menus across the city, it’s starting to become harder to deny that California trends haven’t been seeping their way into NYC’s framework.
After the New York Times released Is New York Turning Into Los Angeles? by Michael M. Grynbaum, as hesitant as we are to admit, we have to wonder if Grynbaum’s got a point.
So where is the supposed Little L.A. (‘LiLA’) in NYC? According to Grynbaum, it’s the new NoHo—former neighborhood of Basquiat and Mapplethorpe, he makes sure to mention. He references L.A. businesses like Gjelina, Reformation and Goop that have taken up shop in the area.
Moreover, famous NYC institutions like the Jane have even shuttered with plans to become an NYC outpost for the exclusive West Coast private members club, San Vicente Bungalows.
Beyond businesses, Grynbaum notes other NYC habits that have already been observed in L.A. for some years including: early dining, self-improvement and culinary trends like wellness juices.
Grynbaum joked that the straw that would break the camel’s back would be the opening of notorious, high-priced LA grocery store Erewhon in NYC. He even went as far to ask Erewhon executive, Demi Marie Alhaik about it who said, “It will happen. It’s just a matter of when.”
The two cities seem to constantly have an ongoing feud (we love to poke fun with our friends over at Secret Los Angeles). Yet, the idea of NYC taking after L.A. is enough to make a New Yorker shiver to their core.
We already have a ‘Little Paris‘ and ‘Little Caribbean,’ but what about a ‘Little LA’ makes New Yorkers see red? Some locals have even taken to Twitter with their reactions and making light of the new nickname:
In the end, we as New Yorkers pride ourselves on individuality. We thrive on the idea that only those who live here could ever understand what it’s like in NYC. But does LiLA take that away from us? What do you think?