New York City Code

How we live together

New York City is not an easy place to live, but what makes it possible is when New Yorkers look out and make room for each other. Maybe that is what helped human civilization survive this long -- less the warships and power grabs -- and more the individuals choosing to make room for others, no matter how difficult life can be.

There’s a lot happening around the country and the world. In my small corner the other night, I appreciated that NYC made some room for me. It doesn’t always happen like this, but when it does, it shows that the best of humanity is still possible.

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I hope you enjoyed this diary comic as much as I enjoyed drawing it. It’s a little different from what I share online, but keeping one daily helps me pay attention without becoming totally overwhelmed. Maybe you have a practice that centers and calms you too.

Sketchbooks and journals I filled in 2025; starting 2026 with new pages to fill.

I started my year with new sketchbooks that I can carry around with me. All of my ideas start on paper, drawn from memory and never with generative AI assistance. Why would I outsource my reason for being a cartoonist?

Whatever you do, wherever you are reading from, thank you for being here.

Art description: 6-panel autobio comic about riding a crowded subway on a freezing cold night in New York City and small gestures of city dwellers who make room for each other. Panels illustrate a figure rushing to catch a train and the small moments when even a city as overpopulated as NYC can feel like a community. Titled "New York City Code," original art by Connie Sun, 2026.

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