@DrX what is good breh? I read you here in New York. Cool.
I've been busy and lurking this site while out and about and I had to offer some choice advice cause while New York does present many opportunities as a creative you have to be realistic. This city is not a cakewalk. It doesnt care about you. It will spit you up and chew you out if you are not careful. Already you're making some bad moves out here and I'll just point these out as constructive criticism.
1) you need to drop this me against the world victimhood mentality with you and your art. Here in New York its about what you have up your sleeve, what you bring to the table no one cared about all that other extra shyt I'm going to be absolutely honest. People don't want to deal with people with an obvious chip on their shoulder. Yea racism sucks yeah dealong with trustafarians and the children of nepotism sucks but you know how many black people are making it here cause they took all the opportunities they were given here and actually did something with themselves instead of sit on their ass and bytch about how everything should be handed to them on a silver platter on a webforum all day? TONS. you got to play the game to make any moves. And a part of art is being a capitalist. Who the fukk wants to be broke and eating ramen noodles or potato chips from the corner store or going days without eating cause you dont got any cash flow to buy food? Who the fukk wants to be broke when you can get money and go out and meet women and get some cool and interestimg p*ssy? Not me my nikka. Not me. So humble yourself and get a fukking job and drop this shyt. Capitalism sucks but being broke and unable to afford any sort of lifestyle to maintain living here sucks even more. I've been fukking homeless here nikka. Sleeping in a car under a bridge on wilson ave in Bushwick. That sucked so damn hard it made me work my ass off to not be in that situation and I went from fukking homeless to working on wall street as an insurance agent to running a pop up store to being able to get my own apartment where i'm posting from nlw. Thats REAL shyt.
2) you need to get a better understanding of how to move about in this city and how to get "established". You should of moved here with a job or something to provide you with some income while you do your thing artistically. You living everyday. You need money to eat well. Pay rent. Pay bills. Buy supplies. And to jist have out here cause this city is not fukking cheap at all. This isn't Buffalo...this is a real city. This is the city. If you cant mame it here you really cant make it anywhere else. You know how many people move here with these big dreams of making it here...being famous running some company making it in some big corporate job then end up moving back home with mommy and daddy cause they ran out of money and could afford to live here anymore? Cause they got sick and tired of living in an hotel or an air bnb while trying to look for a room or an apartment cause they think NYC is as cheap and easy as where they came from and weren't prepared for this? I worked in rental management and had to deal with kids like this. And I wish I could of told them the same shyt cause i'm not an inconsiderate a$$hole who likes to laugh at others shortcomings and misfortunes like some people on this forum ITT right now.
3) you neee to humble yourself and stop acting like your art is the end all to be all. I'm going to post this.
People like art but it isnt neccessary like being a doctor or being a technician or something of that matter. So drop the ego and attitude I had to humble myself tenfold when i realized I'm not in competion with anybody but myself. And while I like your art...compared to other artists who have technical skills and have honed and mastered their crafts it really doesn't compare. Like this guy.
This is a DRAWING by Nigerian artist Arinze Stanley. Not too many people can do stuff like this on this....PLANET! Thats why this guy is sought after and respected in the art world.
Also the art scene here in New York is very cutthroat like anything else here. If you dont know gallery owners or hang out in the right scenes with the right people who can put you on you'll be on the outside looking in. It took me 5 years at this point to get "established" here to the point I know DJs and club owners and record label people and producers and rappers and everyone else. You're not going to meet these people by staying inside and posting on the coli all day you got to poind the pavement. I hung out at clubs and bars and met people that put me on for work and pubbed my music and was able to get connections for screenprinting services and record pressing plants and all that.
4) I read you nearly got scammed for a job interview

Dude there are tons of realistic employment opportunities here stop looking on craigslist the majority of those are scams where they want you to pay money for a license that costs fractions less that you can use or for job placement. No real job is asking you to pay for anything other than a uniform or whatever and even then they should have the money to pay for those services asides from certification and license training. I related to that cause I nearly fell into those same pitfalls 4 years ago around the time i first started posting here regularly. Once with nearly getting scammed for hundreds for a fake security license at an office that closed down on w 47th and 7th weeks afterwards where I used it to work security at forever 21 across the street. The next selling energy and door to door bullshyt where they pay nothing....i was happy to even see 200 off one sale.

I was working at a yoga studio too at the same time...but jobs here...you really have to know people or pound the pavement. Cause just like rooms apartments...jobs here there are probably 100 people looking at the same thing you are willing to take it from you you cant sit on your ass and do nothing why do you think I stopped posting here? I was too busy in real life and this was a waste of time after a certain point once I started seeing the fruits of my labor.
5) you need to move better in this city. Why you talkijng about Brooklyn in passing like its just some random neighborhood like there aint 2.7 million people living here? Like there ain't 20+ neighborhoods here? Seems you've only been to the gentrified parts of Brooklyn thats not real. And why do you talk like all there is to NYC is Manhattan (the city)? I live in Bushwick/Ridgewood and I havent been to Manhattan since December.

Why would I unless it's for work or business related or if its to go out? Everything from my apartment to my corner store to grocery stores to bars to clubs to clothing stores is right in my reach here. I barely take the train cause I either walk or skate everywhere. No one really lives in Manhattan like that anymore...its too fukking expensive. But shyt...Brooklyn rents are on par with Manhattan rents here at 3000 for a 1 bed room average.

thats not to say that there arent cheap places to be found...rooms for 550-750...maybe 800-1000 max. In Brooklyn or in Queens. Depending on how you want to live...your job and your commute there are train stations everywhere and they are easy as fukk to get around on

did you even think these things out before you moved here?
I don't know man. I aint trying to be a hater I aint trying to be a harsh critic but from what I read...maybe New York City might not be for you.

you have to be on your ps and qs here otherwise you'll be in Times Square scraping by looking for money to just afford a bus ticket to get back home.
If you really want to make it here you have to make sacrifices but judging by what you've been sharing and what I have read I don't think you're prepared to make those sacrifices or already have. I moved here when I already had a degree and a substantial body of work under my belt you cant just move here and expect everything to pop instantly. Its luck some people have it some people don't.