New York hardcore describes the scene propagated originally by Hardcore Punk bands from New York City from the 1980s and onwards. Musically, the early NYHC artists such as The Mob, Warzone and Agnostic Front took strong influence from British Oi! and with the main aim of creating a type of hardcore punk that was more mosh-friendly than the sound being played elsewhere.

Thematically, most songs are about togetherness, brotherhood (especially in a communal sense rather than specific interpersonal friendships), everyday struggles of the working class (much of the New York hardcore audience was comprised of skinheads, typically SHARPs/anti-racist skinheads), and straight edge. Most to all of New York hardcore towards the late 80s is fast-paced, places little emphasis on guitar solos (if there are any at all) and incorporates significant Thrash Metal influence - many songs include metallic breakdowns and gang vocals. Examples of this period are Gorilla Biscuits, Youth of Today and Judge.

The scene later on took strong influences from other growing styles of hardcore, and began to implement Metalcore, Beatdown Hardcore, Crossover Thrash, and Groove Metal. Later bands, such as Merauder, Madball, and Indecision, are strong examples of the scene evolving with the popular state of hardcore music. While there is no central sound to New York hardcore, all the bands in the scene tend to incorporate the same aesthetics and themes as the foundation bands in the scene and are only connected through their location and diverse Hardcore music.