New York Heartbeat

A "New York heartbeat" is like a "New York minute" -- a very short period of time. The term was used frequently in the Broadway columns of Walter Winchell, from perhaps as early as the 1920s.

A "New York heartbeat" is the beat of New York, so it means more than just a "New York minute."

31 July 1928, New York Times, "New York's Bigness," pg. 13:
But, besides this, New York's heart beats with the throb of the world's life.

13 August 1935, Port Arthur (TX) News, pg. 4:
Broadway
By Walter Winchell
New York Heartbeat

10 April 1936, New York Times, pg. 10 ad:
If you see the new shows their first week on Broadway -- you have the New York Heartbeat. You are alert, well-dressed -- a Leighton's man. A Leighton suit is not just a so-so garment. It is typically New Yorkish. It says you're alive, sophisticated. Put one on -- and see.
(...)
Leightons
THE HEART-BEAT OF NEW YORK
Broadway at 47th
BROADWAY at 39th

3 May 1941, New York Times, pg. 20:
HOLLYWOOD, Calif., May 2 -- "New York Heartbeat," a story by Sam Marx dealing with the career of a tabloid newspaper publisher after the World War and during the rise of gangsterism, has been scheduled for Summer production at Metro.

21 April 1950, Washington Post, pg. B13:
Walter Winchell
New York Heartbeat