PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: Brian Kennedy

New York is a place where being on the margin is a way of life for many. People, young and old, flock to the city looking for its marginal communities. Living outside the mainstream here has become almost mainstream in its own right.

But marginal doesn't have to be wacky. Our reporters take a look at New Yorkers who see margin as the space between ourselves and our limits.

They talk with young men who lovingly pump half their paychecks into their souped-up cars, tour guides who eschew the obvious for a more seedy side of the city's history, women motorcyclists who defy gender stereotypes with their passion, and a team of scientists working on groundbreaking ways to help the body regenerate itself.

In a city where many eyes are kept firmly on the profit margin, and it often seems there is little margin of error, these people are thriving in that narrow band near the edge.

EDITORS: FRANZISKA BRUNER & LEELA AGUADULCE LANDRESS

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BY FRANZISKA BRUNER
& LEELA AGUADULCE LANDRESS
Not content to take the subway, urban drag racers bring speed and style to New York. More

A Walk on the
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& RACHELE KANIGEL
Haunted homes, celebrity gravesites, Mafia hit spots, Gotham is teeming with macabre tourist destinations.More

Feisty, Fast
& Female
BY CLAUDIA CARLIN
& IWONA K HOFFMAN
While women make up only 10% of American motorcycle owners, their passion for the ride tops all divisions of age, race and gender. More

Dance the
Bionic Electric
BY MICHAEL CERVIERI
& FANG CUI
Next generation tissue engineering is giving us new bodies. More