a local?

I was in a Manhattan tourist shop this afternoon buying a t-shirt with the above "I heart NY" graphic. I needed to buy the shirt to decorate "the Jo Doll" (wooden doll that my friends from high school decorate and send around." The shirt was cheap--only $4. When I got to the checkout, the owner of the store said to me, "You're not a tourist. You live here in New York, right?" I told him that I did live in New York. He said, "I can tell. I've lived here all my life and I know who lives here and who doesn't. You live in Brooklyn, right?" I was really surprised and told him that I do indeed live in Brooklyn. Weird.