Everyone thinks they're a 'real New Yorker.' One artist created a whole department to settle it
Aliquo got to work immediately, spending his summer designing the Department of New Yorker Verification, creating a sleek site engineered to command mock authority if the public bought in. "If people use it, then they are giving me their power," he noted about assuming the arbiter role. Franz Aliquo took it personally when Jennifer Lopez said that only people born in New York are real New Yorkers.
One of the hottest debates that has been going on for decades in New York is what it takes to be a New Yorker. Does one have to be born in one of the five boroughs, or can someone earn the tag through sheer survival in the Big Apple? It flared up again this summer when Jennifer Lopez appeared on ‘Subway Takes’ and casually declared that only native-born locals count. That rubbed Franz Aliquo the wrong way. A lifelong resident and a seasoned prankster, he decided to settle the argument with mock municipal bureaucracy by launching the Department of New Yorker Verification (DNYV), as reported by Fox 5 New York (@fox5ny) on October 3, 2026, garnering over 4,700 views.
A spark from J.Lo
The decades-old argument over local authenticity reached a boiling point after Jennifer Lopez appeared on 'Subway Takes' and insisted that only native-born locals qualify as genuine New Yorkers. Her hardline stance struck Queens-born creative director and seasoned prankster Franz Aliquo as peak hometown arrogance. Fed up with gatekeepers dictating belonging, Aliquo resolved to settle the debate through bureaucratic satire. "I was like, there should be someone or something that can decide who's a New Yorker," he explained, noting that the endless conflicting theories called for a single, definitive arbiter.
Building the mock agency
Aliquo got to work immediately, spending his summer designing the Department of New Yorker Verification, creating a sleek site engineered to command mock authority if the public bought in. "If people use it, then they are giving me their power," he noted about assuming the arbiter role. Speaking to Fox 5 New York, Aliquo emphasized that visual mimicry was critical. "To give it the kind of patina of officialness, I think the look of that was important," he said.
Nearly 600 curious users applied on launch day, but its uncanny civic design also drew an investigator from the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office, who warned that the page felt "a little shady." In response, Aliquo added explicit disclaimers noting that authentic city portals use nyc.gov rather than his .nyc address, while assuring users on Fox 5 New York that the site stores nothing permanently and all the data simply gets deleted.
The power of roots
For native applicants claiming birthright or formative years in town, the department enforces a strict documentation process to prove they came of age within the five boroughs. Hopefuls cannot rely on simple self-reporting. They are required to supply concrete records like official high school transcripts or signed statements verifying their local upbringing. To keep the process grounded in everyday city life, Aliquo accepts signed affidavits from family members, school teachers, childhood friends, or the corner bodega clerk to validate that an applicant genuinely grew up on their block.
Tallying up the trauma
Transplants who moved to the city must navigate a rigorous, point-based rubric that weighs residency alongside personal endurance. Applicants receive 50 points per year of living in the five boroughs up to a 500-point limit, but they are also required to log at least 250 "suffering points" by surviving quintessential urban horrors. Surviving bed bugs, scabies, muggings, alternate-side parking chaos, or aggressive subway rat encounters all boost the tally.
Those who amass 1,000 total points or more, or prove birthright, earn a digital credential and a printable certificate of authenticity. As for Aliquo, he is openly holding out hope for high-profile participation. This has been such a big hit because only 48% of New York City residents were born in the state, according to NYC Planning Population FactFinder. Meanwhile, over 36.6% of the city's population, which translates to roughly 3.1 million people, are foreign-born. At the same time, 11.9% of residents moved to New York City from another U.S. state.
Not born and raised
That being said, the people had their own views regarding the entire situation. @RobynHood1021 pointed out, "Sorry bro, you weren’t born and raised here, just raised! Not a true New Yorker." At the same time, @dominicperez3777 noted, "You have to be 'verified' to be officially a New Yorker? I'm a NYC native and resident from Queens, born and raised. In all 29 years of my life, I never heard such a thing."
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