Illustration: Polly Becker

It’s easy to forget that nearly every New Yorker you ride the subway with—even that self-important asshole with the Wall Street Journal and the fancy shoes—has (or had) a mom and a dad. We’re hardened people, stalking this town efficiently and unsmilingly, working our butts off and acting adult (until nighttime, when we let loose). A real New Yorker, we think to ourselves, needs no coddling! But the truth is that no other city can make you feel so in need of support—emotional, financial, sartorial, whatever. So what’s the deal? Does New York push us closer to the ’rents or inspire us to grow apart from them?

Read the rest of the introduction

	The parent rap: How New Yorkers deal with the horrors of Mom and Dad.
	Parents talk back!: Impressions of New York from those who brought us into this world.
	The word is Mum’s: Son writes, mother meddles.
	Keep it in the family: We can’t imagine working with our parents. How do these people do it?
	Home movie: A new film looks at how, for some New Yorkers, their own parents make the perfect roommates.
	Mom-and-pop quiz: How messed up is your relationship with the parentals? Choose the answers that best match your familial state of being—and then have a good cry.

Online special: New York's late bloomers

	Don't call your parents: Well, do. But stop calling them every five minutes just because your drain backs up, or you need to sign a form at work. Our experts will help you with four eternally confusing adult issues.
	How old is too old?: There's a fine line between staying youthful and not growing up. Take our poll to help us define it.
	The life of the late bloomer: The metro area's biggest mama's boy chills in his parents' attic.
	Late blooming, by the numbers: Are New Yorkers truly afflicted by arrested development, or do we get a bad rap? We looked to demographic stats for an answer.