One of the great things about a big city is the range of options you can have for interacting with other people. You can be anonymous, if you'd like. Or you can seek out the company of others if you'd prefer to do that. Or, in large common spaces like a Central Park, you can move back and forth between the two, choosing now to find a quiet space to read or stroll and then joining with others to applaud a street musician. That ease of movement between different degrees of social interaction also makes it easier to try your hand at street photography: as long as you are not obnoxious, no one is the least bit surprised to see you taking pictures. Much harder to do in a smaller town.
I like NY.