People come to NYC (as well as other cities) for entertainment.  I love it for entertainment.  Broadway, off Broadway, Carnegie Hall, Brooklyn Academy of Music, performance of all kinds in venues of all sizes.   You can find anything and some things in abundance.

But I also enjoy is street/platform performance (I HATE when people perform in a subway car.  I think it is an invasion of my personal space because we are all trapped).

Street/platform performance has to be something I like or different, as I had had enough the guys with the flutes from Peru (no disrespect)

There are some performers that have permits from the city to play at a specific date and time and there are others that set up shop away from the eyes of the police.  I like the Japanese rap guys in Union Square, or the banjo players on a few of the Brooklyn subway platforms (banjos have become very hip, along with an over abundance of facial hair and a lack of bathing, but that is another discussion), and my favorite ever when was a group of boys from Chicago would start playing their brass in front of Whole Foods on 14^th Street.  They were called the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble http://www.hypnoticbrassensemble.com/ and even though they played venues, they would pop out a few tunes at what seemed to be an impromptu location. Of course there is always see the lone sax or guitar player and for me they are always welcome.

All of these performers are part of the soundtrack to the city, along with sirens, horns, talking, cursing and footsteps. Come take a listen