The world’s coolest party was happening five minutes up the road in New York – how did I miss it? | Arwa Mahdawi

Dimes square is being feted as the heartland of cool in the city. Living nearby in a neighbourhood dominated by retirees, I can't say I noticed

Until recently, I lived in what was probably the least cool area of New York City: a cluster of housing cooperatives in a tucked-away corner of Manhattan's Lower East Side classed as a Naturally Occurring Retirement Community. This unpretentious spot was full of old New Yorkers who had lived in the complex their entire lives.

It was all very charming, apart from the fact that each week there would be a sign in the lobby announcing yet another resident's demise. When I moved in, about a decade ago, I brought home a fledgling love interest just as a dead person (natural causes) was being wheeled out of the front door.