New York City Unofficially: Part 1

THE BEST OF THE BEST

• Best bar, best bathroom, best bus line, best block party, best back party, best brooklyn hipster haircuts, best gossip, best magazine search, best outlaws patriots… Do you have something? better? THE VILLAGE VOICE Best of New York http://www.villiagevoice.com
• The best way to find whatever you’re looking for: http://www.CITYSEARCH.COM helps you find bars, restaurants, shops and museums all the time.

CUP OF COFFEE

• JACK’S COFFEE ‘Jack’s is no ordinary coffee shop’. Stir brewed coffee, premium teas, live music on Tuesdays and movies on Thursday nights. ‘Great atmosphere’. 138 West 10th Street.
• The Village Voice named MUD ‘Best Coffee Empire’, giving New York City residents an alternative to acquiring (Star-$$$). Look for the orange truck at Astor Place and Union Square.
• THE HUNGARIAN PASTRY SHOP – A heavenly view of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Amsterdam and 109 street.
• THE CUPCAKE CAFE is close to Broadway and the fabulous 42nd Street area where there are movies, arcade games and a wonderful group of import stores. It’s right behind the Port Authority of New York, New Jersey, in an area where you might not think to wander. Located at 522 9th Avenue at the corner of 39th Street, the nearby freeway leads to the Lincoln Tunnel.
• HOUSING WORKS USED BOOKS AND COFFEE-‘Soho’s Best Kept Secret’- 126 Crosby Street, NYC 10012.

HAVE MORE FUN

• ST. ANN’S WAREHOUSE: artists, audiences, volunteers, creative freedom and some of the best performances in the world of entertainment. 38 Water Street Dumbobrooklyn.
• GALÁPAGOS ‘may be the only public place in the city where (while you drink) you can listen to a reading from Shakespeare’s The Tempest, dance to live Cuban music and see trapeze artists, all in the same month.’ 70 North 6th St. (Williamsburg/ Greenpoint) Between Wythe and Kent Aves. Take the L train to Brooklyn 718-782-5188
• POETRY SLAM With poetry or prose, inexperienced and unstoppable writers gain an experience worthy of the stage. NUYORICAN POETS CAFE – 236 E 3rd between B & C (212) 505-8183
• THE BOWERY POETRY CLUB – 308 feet of First Street between Houston and Bleecker
• FILM FORUM – 209 W. HOUSTON ST. NY, NY 10014 BOX OFFICE: (212) 727-8110 New York’s premier movie theater for independent releases and repertoire programming: The Film Forum presents independent filmmakers, international collections, comprehensive retrospectives of worthy filmmakers, silent films and mini-festivals.
• FREE TIME PORT AUTHORITY BOWLING CENTER & COCKTAIL LOUNGE – 8th-9th Avenue 40th-42nd Street, 268-6909 Electronic Scoring! Lots of lanes.
• THE MERMAID PARADE – A completely original creation that is the nation’s largest art parade and one of New York City’s hottest summer events located on CONEY ISLAND where the streets, buildings, public beach and the boardwalk may be a bit depressed, but it’s still a one-of-a-kind destination. Surf Avenue and West 15th Street neighborhood, Brooklyn, NY http://www.coneyisland.com
• The STORY BOOTH is a soundproof environment where you can record your story or the stories of your loved ones located between Tracks 13 and 14 of Grand Central Terminal.
• THE LIVING ROOM –Best of indie for acoustic folk, country, pop, rock and soul–154 Ludlow Street NYC (between Stanton and Rivington)

LISTEN

• National Public Radio WNYC 820-AM
• WFMU College Free Form 91.1- FM
• WFUV-FM Adult Alternative 90.7

PEOPLE ARE HAPPIEST WHEN THEY ARE LEARNING

• WARD STUDIO: A coveted acting studio in the Miesner approach. Offering summer sabbaticals for the corporate professional and intensive acting training for the serious minded actor. 145 West 28th St. New York, New York 212-239-1456 http://www.wardstudio.com
• DANCE THEATER WORKSHOP @ 219 West 19th St. is about supporting and promoting the work of artists, constantly evolving to support artists at every stage of their development. They provide a wide range of administrative, promotional, and technical services to the community of independent artists in New York, across the country, and around the world.
• THE CULINARY EDUCATION INSTITUTE was named “Vocational Cooking School of the Year” by the International Association of Culinary Professionals. ICE has three divisions: Recreational, Professional, and Special Events: 50 West 23rd Street between 5th and 6th Avenues [http://www.iceculinary.com]
• ANNE BOGART AND SITI TRAINING — Different, challenging and innovative methods of actor training. Points of View and Suzuki, Master Classes: Guest Artist Series, Drop-In Classes. http://www.site.org
• CRUSH WINE CO. -153 E. 57th St. offers a quick introduction to wine tasting for $50.

LARGE PUBLIC SPACES

• PALEY PARK @ 53rd Street between Madison and Fifth Avenues. Located within the Midtown Cultural District and surrounded by skyscrapers, this celebrated “vest pocket” park is a welcome respite from the sights and sounds of urban life.
• NY PUBLIC LIBRARY at 42nd street and Madison has a beautiful reading room that would make anyone feel like royalty; in fact, it rivals the ballrooms of European palaces. But up front, across the street, is where this illustrious institution truly connects with the city that surrounds it. A series of well-connected spaces -stairs, squares, corners and paths- provide countless places to sit, meet, eat and chat.
• BRYANT PARK has a sultry green urban oasis that includes the “Seventh on Sixth” fashion shows; the JVC Jazz Festival; the “New York Times Young Performers Series”; lunchtime concerts by Juilliard students; movies on Monday nights in the summer; the Kaleidoscope Circus; balls and chess sets.
• HUA MEI BIRD GARDEN Community garden that hosts daily early morning gatherings of Chinese men who bring beautiful songbirds in elegant bamboo cages. Sara Delano Roosevelt Park. Lower East Side, New York, New York
• GRAND CENTRAL TERMINAL – One of the best-known and most impressive indoor public spaces in the country, Grand Central Terminal provides an unparalleled experience to more than half a million people every day. Park Avenue and 42nd Street, New York, NY
• METROPOLITAN MUSEUM STEPS: The grand granite steps leading up to the Metropolitan Museum of Art are a destination unto themselves: a place to meet, eat, talk, and people-watch and watch the traffic of Fifth Avenue. Fifth Avenue from 80th to 84th Streets, New York, NY

IN PRAISE OF THE LOCAL BOOKSTORE

— Owning a bookstore is a labor of love, and the financial rewards are few. Independently owned businesses, such as bookstores, pharmacies, or hardware stores, help define a community.

• “Oh joy! Oh ecstasy!” COLOSSEUM BOOKS— WELCOME BACK!! 11 W. 42nd Street New York, NY Phone: (212) 803-5890. Across the street from BRYANT PARK
• LABYRINTH BOOKS – 536 West 112th Street, for university presses.
• S T. MARKS BOOKS – 31 Third Avenue, for a wide selection of all books.
• THREE LIVES AND CO 154 West 10th Street, for fiction.
• THE DRAMA BOOK SHOP–Drama Books is one of the largest bookstores specializing in drama-related material. 250 W. 40th St Phone: (212) 944-0595

SMALL BUSINESSES MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE

• A beautifully made hat is a headturning. BARBAR FEINMAN MINERAL SHOP – 66 East 7th Street NY, NY 212-358-7092.
• Wow! Elisa Miller knows how to throw a Swank class act! SOMEDAY PRODUCTIONS handles all aspects of party and event planning: 347-432-8949 [http://www.somedayproductions.com]
• GO YOGA Located in the heart of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. A small and friendly yoga center that offers a variety of classes throughout the day, every day. Go Yoga is located inside the Girdle factory at: 218 Bedford Avenue Brooklyn NY. 718.486.5602 [http://www.goyoga.com]

TO THE MARKET WE GO

• GREENMARKET FARMERS MARKET is a program of the Council on the Environment of NYC, which promotes regional agriculture and ensures a continuous supply of fresh, local produce for New Yorkers. Comprehensive regulations govern what can be sold in a Greenmarket. With few exceptions, all items must be grown, raised, foraged, caught, or otherwise produced by the seller. http://www.cenyc.org
• CHELSEA MARKET includes The Juice Factory, Amy’s Bread, Chelsea Wholesale Flower Market, Fat Witch, Chelsea Wine Vault, Hale and Hearty Soups and much more… Eat, explore and take a leisurely walk. 75 9th Avenue New York, NY 10011
• UNION SQUARE PARK AND GREEN MARKET – Three-block urban park that hosts a year-round outdoor farmers market four times a week. 14th Street and Broadway, New York, NY