He engages in a series of one night stands in the city's gay bars until he meets Mel Fredericks, with whom he decides to pursue a relationship.

The series, which was developed by author Marimo Ragawa after a visit to New York City, was serialized in the manga magazine Hana to Yume from 1995 to 1998.

[16] Mark McLelland of the University of Wollongong similarly notes that in contrast to "pre-political" yaoi of the 1990s that typically focused on romance to the exclusion of sexual identity, New York New York is notable as among the first yaoi manga to depict social realism in its treatment of gay identity through its portrayal of homophobia, coming out, gay bashing, sexual abuse, and rape.

[17] He commends the series for its attempt "to refer to the very real social problems in which same-sex desire is grounded," but writes that the sentimental and melodramatic nature of the story "works against a realistic interpretation of the narrative.

Mel assumes the role traditionally occupied by women in heterosexual romance fiction: he is physically weak, subordinated, emotional, and repeatedly the victim of crimes from which he is saved by his lover.