White is attuned to the changes wrought by time and the way these changes are visible and invisible. He notes that “to a New Yorker the city is both changeless and changing” (48), seemingly a contradiction. Though the city looks different, White says, it “carries on its lapel the unexpungable odor of the long past, so that no matter where you are in New York you feel the vibrations of great times and tall deeds, of queer people and undertakings” (19-20). In other words, history is present within the contemporary landscape.

White describes the ways that change occurs in the city, noting that “New York never quite catches up with itself, is never in equilibrium” (51). This unbalanced quality is related to the economic booms and busts that the city undergoes, resulting in people moving into and out of the city as jobs and opportunities become more and less available and affordable. White writes that he has personally witnessed the physical changes wrought by these economic conditions, including money being invested in building projects that change the city’s skyline and create new places for living and working.

White also elucidates the cultural and social changes that he has observed.