Last visited NYC 2 years ago and I have to say things have changed a lot.
Not as many independents.  
Most if the independents now require a lot of screening- 2 escorts approval etc (which I have trouble providing since I'm an infrequent "partaker")
Tons of choices but only a small percent seem to have any track record on TER
Agencies (esp Asian) do not have good reps at all and bait and switch seems to be the norm.  
Seems like there are a lot of agency websites that actually feed back to to one source.

What a difference a couple years can make.

have to be comfortable with the screening. Ultimately its about safety though. Get some good references and you should be good to go, I inform clients I provide references for them so they don't forget to use me just for that. By the way HI NYC! I'm Leslie!

I am still close with my ATF, and she visits here monthly.  There are a couple of other ladies I can see w/o difficulty if I contact them.  An old friend from out of town has been impossible to see for over a year, while  another friend from the West Coast has emerged...haven't seen her since Vegas and NYC almost six mos. ago, but there is more fun to cum in the future.  Then again, there is yet another visiting lady I saw for the first time a couple of weeks ago...review has to be written, and will see again when she next visits.  As for my British friend I saw twice this year during her time here...  

Bottom line....the hobby is still the hobby.  Some of the ladies you may have known may not be here anymore, but some still are most probably.   Your old friends will welcome you back, and there are new ladies to meet.  Sounds cool to me...

Requiring references on top of Date-Check or P411 is unnecessary and forces the client to bother one or two independent providers who are busy trying to screen their own prospective clients.

I've found that DT (along with having several references on that site) along with White List referrals does the trick. But some ladies want more assurances or are not on DT, in which case I either pass or I decide to find an independent lady I've seen and request verification. But I am very reluctant to request verification from the same lady more than once or twice, and I tend to repeat with ladies I like, so I don't have a huge portfolio of independents to select from for references at any given time.

Requiring one or two references for a prospective client who is not on DT/P411 is reasonable. Going just off TER WL referrals seems risky unless you also check in with a couple of the ladies.

Some agencies (especially the newer ones or those with +$700 girls) and professional screeners (the ones who represent many independent ladies and even maintain their own group website for these ladies) demand more than merely DT or P411, and often want 2 indies on top of that and (in the case of agencies) a client's legal name and employment info. That defeats the whole purpose of submitting private info one time to DT or P411 and paying them to vouch for me as a disinterested middle man. So I nearly always pass on these opportunities as my $500-$600 can easily be applied to opportunities with merely reasonable "barriers to entry."

But that's MHO and others may disagree.  

even for one such as me who shuns agencies, asians, eastern euros, bp, eros and more. NYC has many bright, with it, lovely ladies to partake of.

The rise in stalkings, robberies, busts, and killings are making us more cautious about who we see. The biggest thing about a session is feeling safe and secure. If you dont feel either you will never be able to relax and enjoy the fun. Like she said earlier would you guys want to see a provider who doesn't screen at all?