[x]

But there’s one thing I don’t get. What’s the significance of spelling “New” like “Noo” when simulating the New York accent? To me, they sound the same. Folks from elsewhere, what’s your take on this? Do you perhaps say “nyew?”

A lot of it is just a putdown. But supposedly it's a harsher sound formed a little further back with the the tongue lower in the mouth. I don't know whether New Yorkers actually talk that way.

[FelixFelicis]

Ah. Well described; I think I know what you mean. Yes, some do speak that way. Interesting the subtle variations you can pick up even among people who speak “standard” English. In college I took a course that was sort of a combination of phonetics, linguistics, and the history of the English language. A few times the professor went around the room and had everyone pronounce a given word, such as “caught.” There must have been seven or eight distinct variations.