On a scale of a dollar slice to “For a dollar!,” where does the Billy on Billy author fit? This is NYQ, a series in which we find out how “New York” notable New Yorkers really are.
How many years have you lived in New York City? My whole life. I grew up here. I’m always here.
What’s the longest you’ve ever waited on a subway platform? I grew up taking the subway to high school every day from Queens into Manhattan. I’ve waited a long time for subways.
Do you own a car? I don’t own a car. I don’t have a driver’s license. Don’t know how to drive. Never have — hate driving.
Your train line is down and you’re running late. What do you do? If I can walk, I’ll walk it. Usually, I’d probably get out and, like, kind of frantically jump in a yellow cab.
Your cab driver is taking you on a horrible route. Do you interrupt? Yes, say, “Sir, I’m sorry, how are you going?” And then I look at Waze and I’m like, “Waze is saying to do this.” And they don’t like that.
Every New Yorker should do what at least once? Go to Queens. Shout-out to the neighborhood I grew up in, Forest Hills. I wasn’t rich enough to be bar mitzvahed at the Forest Hills Jewish Center, so I got bar mitzvahed at the Rego Park Jewish Center, but I love Forest Hills.
Someone tries to hand you a flyer on the street. What do you do? I have a lot of experience going up to people on the street, and so I always try to be really nice and not just walk past them and ignore them.
Someone tries to make you film a TikTok on the street. What do you do? I ain’t doing that shit. No.
What’s the best place in New York to film? I filmed a lot of Billy on the Street in Chelsea. Twenty-Third Street between the Flatiron Building and Ninth Avenue, it’s magic. I owe a lot to 23rd Street in Chelsea.
It’s a blinking red light and you’re about to cross. Do you wait it out, or are you crossing? If I’m alone, I might try to make it. When I’m shooting with my whole crew, we do not cross against the light.
You’re in town for a long holiday weekend and know the city will empty out. Where do you go? Maybe get tickets to a show, walk through Central Park. I don’t know, sit on Grindr for a minute or two.
What’s your area code? 646. But growing up, 718.
Do you think they matter? Yes, they do matter.
Do you call Manhattan “the city” or just Manhattan? Growing up in Queens, it was always “the city.”
What’s the most you’ve ever paid for a coffee in New York City? I had a meeting once in the Park Hyatt hotel, and someone bought me a cold brew, and it was, like, 20 bucks.
Bedbugs or roaches? Roaches. That’s kind of like a romantic New York vibe.
Roaches or rats? Roaches. Rats have more, like, humanity.
Where do you go to cry? I was recently walking in Central Park listening to Stephen Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park With George, and I started crying.
What’s your go-to public bathroom? The bathrooms in Central Park. When in doubt, they’re usable.
What’s a place that closed that you wish you could bring back? The Lincoln Plaza Cinemas on the Upper West Side. It’s an iconic, elevated, chic, sophisticated movie theater. And they left the marquee up. Someone buy it or take the marquee down because it’s very depressing.
Last time you ate a hot dog from a hot-dog stand? Oh, it’s been years. But my dad loved getting those disgusting hot dogs from the hot-dog stand. It always freaked me out. That water.
Has your phone ever gone off during a live performance? God, I hope not. I don’t think so. I’m very, very neurotic about that.
Aisle or center? Aisle because I’m like Big Bird — I’m so tall.
Best New York celebrity sighting? The first celebrity I ever saw was the local news anchor when I was a kid here, Ernie Anastos. A New York local-news legend. My parents and I went to see a Broadway show and Ernie Anastos came out of the theater. It was like seeing Justin Bieber to see Ernie Anastos. It was magical.