Greenberg attended Rutgers University from 1989 to 1993. In December 1989, Greenberg met poet Allen Ginsberg in New York City. Greenberg published two chapbook collections of verse in 1991: Flesh and Astronomy. By 1994, Soft Skull Press published Feeling Gravity's Pull, the first "official" collection of poems by David Greenberg. That same year, Greenberg founded the NYC indie rock band Pen Pal along with poet and drummer Mario Mezzacappa. Pen Pal released one album Best Boy on Paradigm Records in 1996.

In addition to his poetic and musical projects, David Greenberg has collaborated on numerous catalogues with artist Donald Baechler including 1998's Crowd Paintings (published by Lars Bohman Gallery in Stockholm, Sweden) and 2002's 15 Paintings/15 Texts (published by Bernd Kluser Gallery, Munich, Germany). Greenberg's essays on artists Patti Smith and Donald Baechler have appeared in PARKETT magazine; and his writings on photographer Ryan McGinley, poet Gregory Corso and actor Leo Fitzpatrick appeared in the FADER magazine.

In 1999, Greenberg teamed up with producer/composer David Siskovic (Sisko) and created the songwriting/production duo Disco Pusher.

David Greenberg is the co-author of Strange Messenger: The Work of Patti Smith (published in 2002 by the Andy Warhol Museum) and was the on-line Art Critic at Large for www.anewyorkthing.com/GLOB.