Taxis, no matter how long they have been driving, honking is therapeutic to release the stress they store up with daily drives.  They just can't help doing it.  They either still believe it helps them get there faster or are just relieving stress.

The Village doesn't change, it's the Village.  Nothing changes there.  the same can be said about the East Village.  I've always liked the East Village more than the Village.  It's more real, more grundgy less pretentious.  It has more stores, more boutiques, more artisanal thing.  It doesn't feel like a gigantic tourist trap.  It's real to me.  My favorite Japanese restaurant is still there, Yakitori Taisho. The perfect Japanese get together for Japanese people, it's an Izukaya.  I love going there and mixing with an Asian fauna of a younger generation.  It reminds me of when we lived in Kyoto.  However, the Village has Mary's Crisis and anyone who wants to experience NY late nights has to experience it.  It's a bar that collects, after hours a bunch of Broadway theater workers getting together in this cramped place singing Broadway hit shows while getting drunk.  Only in NY.