"The Nickel" = 5th Avenue in New York City, around 42nd St/Times Square, much, much grittier when this almost inconceivably beautiful song was written about it, or even when I moved to the City, now nothing but banal corporate shit with the occasional poor degenerate homeless bastard such as the song speaks for, or with whom I work everyday. If he's lucky NYPD will give him to me, if not, fuck it, space and aesthetics for Japanese tourists take priority, off to Rikers with him. Giuliani et seq drove most of them out. Requisciat in pace, my beautiful City, I adopted up you as my home far too late …