Photo Courtesy of Sophia Rosenbaum

Washington Square Park’s very own pianist

By Sophia Rosenbaum

Every Saturday in Washington Square Park, the normal activity of an urban green space is interrupted by a man playing a baby grand piano, stopping people in their tracks with his subtle chords and classical tunes.

“Conceptually, he’s just another street performer, because he has those buckets,” said Matt Kocienczny, 27, as he sat on a nearby park bench listening. “But the piano escalates his performance. This is really only in New York.”

The pianist is Colin Huggins, the self-proclaimed “Crazy Piano Guy” with radiant red hair, and he’s been a street performer for more than five years. Born in Decatur, Ga., Huggins moved to New York City in 2003. During his mid-twenties, he worked as a ballet accompanist for the American Ballet Theater and as music director at Joffrey School. But, in 2010, he quit both jobs and pursued street performances full time to have more musical freedom.

“At the end of the day,” said David Isakov, a New York University student and longtime classical music fan, “he does what he likes and he’s happy. Colin is inspirational.”

When Huggins, 34, first started performing, he transported an upright piano down into the subways and played anything that would get money in his five-gallon black bucket. But once he started playing in the park, his music evolved from pop to classical.

“In my experience, classical music has the most integrity,” he said. “I don’t like playing music without integrity even if it gets more money in the bucket.”

For the past two years, Huggins has towed his 650-pound Yahama piano to Washington Square Park every weekend. He likes to start early, around 8 a.m. As soon as he assembles the piano, the crowd starts. And, he plays no matter what the weather is like.

“I’ve seen him play in all types of weather—cold, cloudy, rainy, sunny, snowy,” Isakov, who comes to see him weekly, said.

Huggins never wears gloves while he’s playing, but he’ll take five-minute breaks to warm up his hands and take care of other needs.

“I think it’s pretty amazing that we have this world-class pianist playing,” said Annie Millican, as she sat bundled up on a nearby park bench. “It democratizes the chance to see this type of music and I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

By midday, all the park benches surrounding Huggins were filled. Most people said they sat down because they were shocked to hear classical music and see a baby grand piano in the middle of the park.

“It makes sitting in this park feel like you’re sitting in a fancy hotel,” Millican said.
Alexandra McHale, a freshman at NYU, first heard Huggins play a few months ago and decided to bring her parents to listen.

A few weeks ago, McHale approached Huggins to buy one of his $10 CDs. When she told him she went to NYU, he gave her a code to download the music for free.

He doesn’t like to talk about the business end of his performances, but said he makes a “modest living” that pays the rent.

Realistically, Huggins said he has a few more years left in him to continue outdoor performances, but he expects to be moving toward playing indoors in the future.

For now, he’s happy performing outside. Just before he left for his bathroom break, Huggins thanked everyone for listening and urged them to buy his CD.

One man came up and dropped a 10-dollar bill in one of his buckets.

“His life will never be the same,” Huggins said. “The same could happen to you for just 10 dollars.”

The Enigmatic Chess Hustlers of Washington Square Park

By Laurent Berstecher

Barely a minute had gone by, and the two armies had already slaughtered each other. Leading the skirmish, a white horse jumped over the last line of defense, galloping at full speed toward its target. Having long given up any concern for their own lives, the royal guards got into formation in a desperate attempt to protect their sovereign. Overwhelmed by the enemy’s tactical advantage, they soon found themselves outnumbered and completely surrounded. Then, just as the proud black king looked ready to abdicate, everything froze. Time had run out. The battle was over. Two gigantic hands slowly descended from the heavens, and shook each other firmly. “I almost had you there. Good game,” said the challenger, as his other hand skillfully slipped a piece of green paper across the chess mat.

Looking for a place to talk chess, play a game or two and potentially lose all of your money? If so, New York City’s Village Chess Shop, located at 230 Thompson St., is a must-visit. More than a simple chess-supply store, the shop is also a local hangout for chess aficionados, boasting a dozen tables where people can play to their hearts’—or to their wallets’—content. But mostly, this is a place where the eccentric and the wise meet, a place where reason and folly merge to become the single yet contradictory entity that is the Chess Hustler.

At first glance, the Shop doesn’t look like it has gone through any major renovations since it first opened in 1974. In fact, it could probably be mistaken for an old bookstore, were it not for the word “Chess” being featured on every single window. Inside, unstable wooden shelves are packed with dusty volumes and chessboards, and one can barely make out the walls underneath a thick layer of posters featuring chess legends and tournaments. How they managed to fit over 10 tables in such a crammed space remains a mystery, and there is barely enough room to move around. Yet, in the midst of this quasi-oppressive atmosphere, one thing stands to remind you that this is no library: People are not quiet.
When I first set foot in the shop, I was simply hoping to watch some games and refresh my memory. I then noticed about three or four people sitting at empty tables, as if awaiting opponents. They were all busily chatting with each other, yet none of them was actually playing chess. To my right was an elderly African-American man with barely six teeth in his gums, whistling a melody and nervously tapping his foot. Feeling bold, I challenged him to a friendly game. He refused. Not that he didn’t want to play, or didn’t know how. He simply told me, “I don’t play for fun.”

At the table next to him, another man in his fifties, with a pair of piercing blue eyes and also an apparent dental problem. As I approached him for a game, I got the same reaction: “Five bucks a game, on the clock.” I told him I didn’t play on the clock because I needed time to think of my moves. He shrugged. “Ten bucks without the clock.”

Wary that I was going to get hustled by an undercover Grand Master, I tried to explain that I was up to my neck in student debt and was currently eating half a sandwich a day. The spark in his eyes died out as if he suddenly lost all interest in me. He apathetically pointed to the third man who was sitting in the corner of the shop: “He’ll play you for fun.”
Increasingly feeling like a nuisance, I cautiously approached the mystery man and asked, almost apologetically, “Want to play a game?” He looked at me, sighed and gestured for me to sit down, mumbling a barely audible “Sure, why not.” He had a large grease stain on his shirt, but out of the three, he was certainly the one with the most teeth.

During the game, Mike, the charitable soul who had accepted my challenge, kept throwing glances at his watch and sighing heavily. He was obviously making an exception, playing with no clock and no money on the table, and did not seem too interested when I took his bishop and threatened to checkmate. Mechanically, he put his king down and accepted defeat. Then, he offered to play me again, for $5 this time. I politely declined. This was the first and only game I would ever win in the Village Chess Shop.

As it turns out, Mike really was the exception. On most days, playing chess in New York is a costly activity. The game’s popularity exploded in the 1970s, partly as a side effect of Bobby Fischer’s growing legend. Fischer, who started playing chess in Brooklyn, quickly became an emblematic figure in Washington Square, and subsequently became World Champion in 1972. Chess club attendance reached new peaks, and games of street chess began multiplying in the city’s parks. So much in fact, that chess hustling in the Big Apple has become somewhat of a cultural tradition. In summer, “chess tourists” now flock to the parks to watch and challenge dozens of hustlers, often at their own expense.
Although some retreat to the Chess Shop in the winter, most hustlers usually play outdoors. If the weather allows, Washington Square Park’s northwestern corner is almost always busy with dozens of players. Some of them sit there all day with their chess mats, singing, smoking cigarettes (though it’s now banned) and playfully challenging passersby to take their chance. Of course, most of these guys never lose.

While a few hustlers only wage money for the thrill, most make a living playing chess. Some are “hungrier” than others, carrying about that air, that deeply rooted conviction that nothing in life comes for free. When asked to play for fun, or simply have a friendly chat, they will give you a look that says, “What’s in it for me?”

In the shop, a man named Rahim once challenged me to a $5 game. Seeing his raggedy clothes and unshaven beard, I figured he could use the money. I also really wanted to play, so I accepted without much hesitation. My determination surprised him. He suddenly backed out, telling me he did not play against Grand Masters. I could tell that he was good, and that he was trying to lure me into something.

Disappointed, I decided to sit down and wait for another opponent.

I could feel Rahim looking at me, studying me, as if he could determine my real chess ability from my sitting posture. His gauging was briefly interrupted by a loud and round gentleman, who greeted him in a peculiar way: “Rahim! You showered today!”

The two of them casually chatted for a few minutes. Then, Rahim came up to me again and said “Ok, let’s play.” It was my turn to back out, as I was getting hungry and starting to seriously contemplate spending my $5 on a burger instead. I was also beginning to wonder whether I had any chance of winning this game at all. Rahim insisted a little but eventually gave up when I suggested we play for sport again.

I went back to the shop the next day. I was surprised to see Rahim, who had been so eager to get his hands on my money, patiently playing a game with a 5-year-old. The child, whose mother was encouragingly watching and taking pictures, seemed to really enjoy himself. So did Rahim. He even lost the game on purpose, the child triumphantly boasting: “Look mom, I beat him and he’s 54 years old!”

Rahim later told me that he had been teaching kids for over 10 years. He also confessed to having played chess till 6 a.m. the day before. And yet, there he was. So there was something, I thought, a real passion about the game, and a desire to transmit it. To Rahim, this was more than just a hustle.

A few days later, I ran into Rahim again, this time in Washington Square Park. Once more, he refused my friendly challenge. When I pointed out that I had seen him play for fun before, he replied, “Only with kids.” Our conversation abruptly ended as Rahim called out to a passerby, “Hey, want to try your luck?”

Rahim is, like many hustlers, an evasive and quiet man. He seems to only speak with caution, after having carefully evaluated the words he will use. When asked about his past, his eyes darken for a second. He looks away, marks a brief pause, and, like most of his colleagues, playfully changes the subject.

Although considered a form of gambling and technically illegal, chess hustling has become an accepted practice in New York, and games are rarely ever disturbed by the authorities. Still, most hustlers are reluctant to openly use the term, and money often changes hands very discreetly, or sometimes only figuratively, as players place their wagers under the chess mat before the game starts.

Mustafa, a Washington Square regular of Algerian origins, refuses to call himself a hustler. He prefers to see himself as giving expensive chess lessons. After beating me in a close game, he told me that he had only been playing for two years. Intrigued, I asked him if he ever lost money when challenged by better players. Mustafa smiled, and pointed at the clock sitting next to him. Although we hadn’t used it in our game, I understood that he, like many others, usually played blitz, those three-to-five-minute games where speed is a more valued attribute than tactical skill.

As I watched him play the next game, my suspicions were confirmed. Mustafa was getting cornered and seemed destined to lose, but when his opponent’s turn to make the final move came, the clock ran out. Mustafa had won by 14 seconds. The challenger humbly accepted defeat, and shook Mustafa’s hand while slipping him a bill. “Thank you, Mustafa. See you tomorrow!” he said before picking up his jacket and taking off.

“He is a regular” Mustafa told me. “He comes almost every day, and we play. He never wins, but he learns something. He’s getting quicker too, I think he will beat me next time.”

photo from Flickr Commons

It seems the ’2031 plan’ isn’t the only alteration NYU is making to its urban campus— they’re also making adjustments to the storied Elmer Holmes Bobst Library, and for an eerie reason.

To preclude the possibility of more suicides inside its library, the school will be adding digital-themed golden panels to the inside of the library’s complex staircase system (picture a very large, wide spiral staircase —its diameter, say, 10 feet— and shoving a 9’11″-diameter tube right down the middle). The panels, which purported won’t block the library’s view of Washington Square Park, will block people from being able to jump from the stairs and crashing to their death on the library’s bottom floor— something that’s happened three times before.

Two suicides occurred inside the library in 2003, prompting the school to construct an unobtrusive, clear barrier along the staircases, but another suicide occurred in 2009. The library has garnered an association with suicide— something that doesn’t bode well for the building’s popularity.

The panels will only weight about 150 pounds each and will not put any consequential burden on the building’s existing construct, the New York Times says.

There are pictures of the plans here and here. Study on.

Photo by Pete Souza, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

“What would be your first action as president?”

That’s one of several questions that Lori Korchek and Mike Bade asked people seated at the 540-pound replica of President Obama’s Oval Office desk that they brought into Washington Square Park on Sunday and Monday.

The park was a stop on their tour for “America for President,” a project that films everyday Americans’ responses to non-partisan political questions, according to a New York Times article on the pair. Participants sit behind the faux Resolute Desk and are free to dictate their answers to the country as they please.

“What legacy do you want to leave after your first administration?” “What do you think America’s values are?” “What kind of world do you want your children to enter after they graduate from high school?”

Bade and Korchek told the Times that they hope to release a documentary that combines participants’ responses. Their immediate goal, though, they said, was to reengage people with American democracy by encouraging them to vote and to participate in the political process beyond partisan divides.

“In the interviews you do, you can’t really tell who’s conservative and who’s not,” Korchek told DNAinfo. “Across the spectrum, people have a lot of the same aspirations.”

The pair is traveling around the country with a film crew and a U-Haul truck. They set up in Hannibal, Mo., in July, and will head to Williamsport, Pa., for the Little League World Series next. See some early edits of their footage here.

Robert & Jeff, studio musicians in their mid-40s who sometimes play in the park, were relaxing underneath a tree.
Is this the hottest New York City summer you can remember?
Robert: I’ll tell you, last week I felt like I weighed a thousand pounds.
Is there anything you like to do in this weather?
NAME?: We like to come down to the park in our off time, meet new friends and gamble.

Helen Hope, an 18-year-old model, was reading in the shade.
What are you doing to stay cool in this heat?
I’m staying in the shade and drinking lots of water. I’m also eating a lot of Pinkberry.
Is there anything you like to do outside in this weather?
I like to hang out in the park and stay very still.
What are you reading?
I live in a women’s residence and an old woman was handing out books so I took this one [Five Quarters of the Orange].

Reed Dunlea, 25, who works at WNYC, was eating french fries in the park.
What do you like to do to beat the heat?
I like to go swimming—this past weekend I went to two beaches in upstate New York. I’ve also been to the McCarren Park Pool.
Did you witness any violence at the McCarren Park Pool?
Unfortunately no.

Ron, 72, is retired and was tanning on a park bench in jean shorts with a bottle of cold juice and a bag of kettle-cooked potato chips.
What do you do to stay cool in this heat?
I drink Crystal Light and stay hydrated, unfortunately it’s frozen right now.
Is this the hottest summer you can remember here?
It’s not the hottest summer but it’s definitely one of them.
Is there anything you like to do outside in this heat?
I like to sit in the sun. I’ve been coming here since I was 9 and it’s basically the same.

There are many people who would argue that New York City, intrinsically, seems to have its own personality. Its diversity, culture, and scope that come naturally with a city so large aren’t only a part of a New Yorker’s life, but seem to permeate the works and pieces by the city’s artists, writers, and musicians.

Retna - photo by Scott Beale

Woody Allen named a movie after Manhattan. Title: Manhattan.

HBO’s Bored to Death (a cheap plug from a huge fan) basically used Brooklyn as its own character.

And now Willow Smith, Will Smith’s sweet-voiced daughter, in her latest video for her new song “I am Free”, showcases New York’s less iconic yet just as beautiful sites. (And fittingly. I don’t think Will Smith’s I am Legend would have been as definitive in a barren, say, Savannah.)

In her video that shows barely any interaction between Smith and anyone else except the city itself, she pretty much leads on that she is her own self in the midst of the city while the city moves around her.

Smith is seen skating and jumping around the red, white, and blue mural by Retna on Bowery and Houston, the in-your-face mural by JR in High Line Park, and a corner on 6th Ave. near the famous Gray’s Papaya. She also makes a few stops at Washington Square Park and Central Park, while her director uses come cool camera angles to help.

And even if you don’t like listening to an 11-year-old sing about herself and cry “YOLO”, you can at least appreciate the nice spots noticed in the video.

Anything you noticed in the video we might have missed? Better yet, what else use New York City as its own character?

-Nick Gallinelli

Music:

Catalpa Festival

Kicking off its first year, the Catalpa Festival offers yet another chance to see top-tier musical acts playing outdoors within city limits. The fest will feature more than 40 performers, including blues rock superstars The Black Keys and Snoop Dogg rocking his seminal album Doggystyle in its entirety. Other highlights include NYC faves TV on the Radio, Girl Talk and hip-hop instrumental wizard AraabMUZIK. There will also be a reggae stage sponsored by High Times magazine, a “sculpture” that belches fireballs in the air and various other novelties (inflatable “sham marriage” church?) included to distract from the fact that music lineup is mostly weak, aside from the headliners.

July 28-29; $140–$180 for the weekend. Randall’s Island Park, www.catalpanyc.com.

Electric Zoo

This is for those who dance. A lot. It’s three days; an all-night(s) blitz of modern dance music from the likes of David Guetta, A-Trak and more. If you appreciate the contemporary offshoots of what we used to call techno, this fest will be something of great joy. A zoo—of dancing people. 

Aug. 31-Sept. 2; $299 for all three days. Randall’s Island Park, electriczoofestival.com.

Washington Square Music Festival

Consisting of four Friday night concerts in July, the Washington Square Music Festival is now in its 54th year of entertaining New Yorkers in one of our most beautiful parks. This year, the festival will include a night of music and poetry, a night of Viennese chamber music, a night of music for strings and wings and one of the West African sounds of the Deep Sahara Band. Seating is first-come, first-served, so get there early to enjoy a night of music beneath the stars—and the park’s famous arch—or at St. Joseph’s Church, where the first two concerts will take place.

July 10, 17, 24 & 31, 8 p.m.; free. St. Joseph’s Church, 371 6th Ave. at Waverly Place and Washington Square Park, 5th Ave at Waverly Place, washingtonsquaremusicfestival.org.

Theatre:

Shakespeare in the Parking Lot

Tired of waiting in the stifling heat for Shakespeare in the Park to no avail? Fear not; there’s another free outdoor option to view the Bard’s work. The Drilling Company’s LES staple, taking place in the municipal parking lot at the corner of Broome and Ludlow streets, will present The Merry Wives of Windsor in July, followed by Coriolanus in August. Keep in mind that these productions are prone to interruption; the action occurs around parked cars whose drivers sometimes return and drive away mid-performance. Now that’s something performers never needed to concern themselves with during the Elizabethan era!

Thursdays-Saturdays, July 12-28 & Aug. 2-18, 8 p.m.; free. Broome St. at Ludlow St., shakespeareintheparkinglot.com.

Fringe Fest

Even at 16 years old, this annual marathon of offbeat, cutting-edge theater—which birthed Rent, among other memorable shows—is devoted to the new and the strange. This year’s performances will include From Busk Till Dawn: The Life of an NYC Street Performer, Love Death Brains (A Zombie Musical), Occupy the Constellations: A Collaborative Revolutionary Puppet Tale and, all the way from California, a show called What I Learned From Porn. Not everything you’ll see at the Fringe is great, but it’s always done with humor and spirit, making it more interesting—if not quite as professional—than most other festivals.

Aug. 10-26. fringenyc.org.

New York Musical Theatre Festival

Featuring live music, workshops and full productions of brand-new musicals, the NYMTF has been giving New York audiences a chance to experience exciting musical theater without Broadway price tags (or tourists) since 1994. This year’s lineup is particularly strong, with 30 musicals including A Letter To Harvey Milk, about a butcher sending a letter to Milk; Baby Case, Michael Ogborn’s take on the Lindbergh baby’s disappearance; and Prison Dancer, a show based on the Filipino prisoners who became a worldwide sensation thanks to their YouTube performances.

July 9-29. Various locations, nymf.org.

And the eyases are off! Washington Square Park’s popular baby red-tailed hawk duo Boo and Scout fledged just after 8 p.m.on Monday to the delight of the area’s robust hawk-loving community. The 48- and 49-days-old siblings made their first flights within 10 minutes of each other from their nest outside the twelfth floor of New York University’s Bobst Library to an eight-floor ledge outside the university’s Silver Center.

Urban hawks blogger D. Bruce Yolton, who was at the scene, noted that the tandem flight was as uncanny as it was spectacular. “Red-tailed hawks don’t normally fledge together nor do they usually fledge to the same place,” he wrote. “The fledge happened at dusk, another rarity.”

A screenshot of the baby hawks

Since hatching, Boo and Scout have been the online stars of the New York Times’ popular Hawk Cam 2012, which provides constant streaming video of their nest and posts stories and pictures of their growth. When the hawks were born, the website even allowed viewers to vote on the pair’s How to Kill a Mockingbird­-referencing names.

Enjoy the siblings while you can. The Hawk Cam’s F.A.Q. page explains that the newly-mobile duo will stick around the park for the next few weeks to develop flight muscles and to receive meals from their parents. Once they are competent fliers and hunters, though, they will leave their parents’ territory.

Participants at the annual Pillow Fight Day held at Washington Square Park on April 7.

Photos by Kathryn Fortuno.

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Best Place to Rediscover the Comics and Memorabilia of Your Youth: Forbidden Planet
840 Broadway (at E. 13th St.),
www.fpnyc.com
Have you ever found yourself walking toward Union Square and suddenly noticed a plastic Yoshi staring at you from a nearby shop? That would be Forbidden Planet, and beyond its doors is an impressive collection of comic books, manga and graphic novels. However, Forbidden Planet is perhaps best known for its multimedia-themed collectibles and merchandise. From apparel to toys to posters to virtually whatever, Forbidden Planet is a treasure trove of products to keep your closet geek at bay. But if merchandise and memorabilia don’t completely satisfy your nostalgic needs, the store also hosts regular in-store appearances and signings by comic book authors, illustrators and the like. After all, the only thing more appealing to your inner geek than an out-of-production Wolverine action figure is one that has been signed by someone from Marvel Comics.

Best New Public Transportation: East River Ferry
The subway is hot and crowded and the bus can be unreliable, but thanks to this year’s latest transportation innovation, The East River Ferry, getting around Manhattan, or even to far-flung destinations like Queens or Governors Island, can be easy, cheap and scenic. A $4 ride, which you can pick up at East 34th Street or Pier 11 in the Financial District, will shuttle you quickly to a number of spots, from Williamsburg to Dumbo or even Long Island City, with the oddly is-this-really-New-York-City feeling of being on a boat. On nice days the decks are the place to be, taking in the sun and watching the East River glisten almost as if it was the Mediterranean. On less pleasant days, stay indoors and thank your lucky stars that you’re not shoved into a speeding box with a thousand other wet, unhappy commuters. Besides fostering an appreciation for the waterfront we never had before, the ferry has made heading to hard-to-reach parts of town a snap and made everyday city life a bit more like a day trip. In our experience, nautical garb only makes the journey more pleasant.

Best Picnic Area in Central Park: West 100th Street near the pool
Let’s face it: Central Park is too damn crowded, at least during the times you want to be there. But the tourists haven’t yet figured out that the park extends north of the reservoir, so enjoy the space while it lasts. There are quite a few nice spots up there to spread a blanket and take off your shoes, but none better than facing the pool, the charming pond near the park’s northwest corner that receives more shade than any of the main lawns, where rushing waterfalls provide the background noise.

Best Place to Meet the Knicks: The Sky Room
330 W. 40th St., 33rd Fl. (betw. 8th & 9th Aves.), 212-380-1195
There’s a world above our world in Manhattan; from the street, The Sky Room (on the rooftop of a Times Square building) blinks like a distant star. But the trip up costs only your coat (they often lose it), and when you pop up on the sky top, you may, depending on the day, feel like an alien—a midget among Knicks. But they’re gentle giants, and you’ll soon relax. And marvel: from the Sky Room’s sky-nested deck bar, Manhattan glitters like red, green and gold star shards, a metropolis unlike the one you live in. And looking down at this other Manhattan—and up at the tall, tall men—can even be affordable; just order a soda.

Best Park for Live Music: Washington Square Park
Steve Earle walks his dog here, and Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas can occasionally be seen pushing a stroller under Washington Square’s massive white arch, but it’s the impressive and varied assortment of amateur and semi-professional musicians that make this West Village park the best spot for live (and free!) music. Drum circles, impromptu acoustic jam sessions and staged sets from jazz-infused NYU trios set the soundtrack for an afternoon around the Square’s fountain. Sure, Central Park’s SummerStage brings in the big name acts, but without stilts and a pair of binoculars, you’ll have a hard time getting a glimpse of the action at those jam-packed sweat fests. Instead, head over to Washington Square on an early Sunday afternoon, snag a bench or a spot by the fountain and open your eyes (people watching opportunities abound) and ears to the musical majesty awaiting.

The Best Place to Use the Restroom in NYC: Times Square Marriott
1535 Broadway (at 45th St.), www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/nycmq-new-york-marriott-marquis
The lines for the bathrooms can be outrageous during the intermissions of Broadway shows. Homeless people have populated the restrooms of Starbucks. So where is someone in the know supposed to duck in for the bathroom? Try the Marriott Marquis’ second-floor bathrooms. Clean and well-populated with stalls and urinals, the Marriott is close enough to the majority of Broadway theaters to make standing in an endless line unnecessary.

Best Place to Rescue a Smaller Dog: Bideawee
410 E. 38th St. (betw. FDR DR.& 1st Ave.), www.bideawee.org
Trying to adopt a pet at the city’s pounds and countless animal rescues is a daunting task, with lots of large dogs and special needs cats. Not everyone is equipped to nurse these animals back to health. Bring in Bideawee. This no-kill animal rescue has been a New York establishment since 1903. The staff at Bideawee brings in animals from the street, kill shelters and a multitude of other places and readies them for a family. They have programs to fly in smaller dogs from California pounds that are harder to adopt there than in our small-dog-loving city. New pet parents can rest assured that they’ll have support from the organization, as each pet comes with a free vet visit to Bideawee’s animal clinic to confirm that your new friend is in good health when they go home.

Best Bookstore: McNally Jackson
52 Prince St. (betw. Lafayette & Mulberry Sts.),
www.mcnallyjackson.com
This bilevel Soho book mecca is always packed, and that shouldn’t be surprising. It’s stocked with a large but well-curated selection of books, from fiction to travel guides and cookbooks, and boasts an impressive selection of readings, in-store book clubs and seriously good-looking patrons. There’s even a coffee shop off to the side of the main level in case you find yourself under-caffeinated or unable to leave the store without tearing into your new purchase. What’s most appealing about McNally, though, is the feeling of shopping at a locally owned store that’s not at all lacking in selection. There are none of the impersonal touches that chain stores can have and all of the New York charms they could never cultivate if they tried. Sure, you can order any book you’d like online, but the experience of shopping at McNally is more than worth the effort.

Best Record Store: Other Music
15 E. 4th St. (betw. Broadway & Lafayette St.), 212-477-8150
Most people are downloading their music these days, whether they’re buying it on iTunes or downloading it illegally. But if you’re looking to buy records—yes, the good old-fashioned kind—or CDs, Other Music in NoHo is the place to go. Staffed by knowledgeable if slightly aloof young people who seemingly live in hip Brooklyn rock clubs, the shop stocks not only the best in new, must-have music but a nice collection of used LPs and CDs that are discounted in price and offer a bit more eclectic a selection. The real secret about Other is that while the staff can seem a bit too cool, they’re actually quite helpful, whether you’re looking for the newest release from a practically unheard of band or something a bit more mainstream. If you’ve ever missed the classic record store experience or found yourself looking for something that hasn’t yet hit the store that lives in your computer, give Other Music a spin.

Best Reason Not to Miss Law & Order: All TV Shows Still Filming in New York
Some of them (The Good Wife) use New York to stand in for some place else. Some of them (Boardwalk Empire) film in New York to evoke days of yore. And some of them (Bored to Death, Damages, Gossip Girl, White Collar) take advantage of their filming location to show off the Big Apple’s many trendy and hidden sites in all their glory. All of them, mercifully, provide employment for the many local performers who feared they’d lost a home when the Dick Wolf evergreen came tumbling down in 2010. And as a result, terrific actors like Jayne Atkinson, Heather Burns, Len Cariou, Santino Fontana, Lisa Joyce, Danny Mastrogiorgio, Laila Robins and Paul Sparks don’t have to flock across the country to find work.

Best Tourist-Free Outdoor Shopping Mall: 5th Ave. betw. 14th and 23rd Sts.
Let’s face it, sometimes New Yorkers just need to step into an H&M that doesn’t make us feel like we’re in the middle of a strange, touristy, pop-music-filled torture chamber. Sometimes we need to impulsively buy a leopard-print shirt from Zara that we’ll only wear once because it’s been a long week and we don’t want to battle attractive Italian people who can afford to buy the entire store. Other times we may need to walk down the street and not worry about crashing into large, immobile groups of midwesterners in Hollister T-shirts holding maps on Broadway because we just want to pop into a J. Crew, Club Monaco or Madewell to scan the sale racks. That’s why lower Fifth Avenue is a New York shopper’s “safe space.” Spacious sidewalks allow you to avoid the tourist obstacle courses that usually end in passive-aggressive shoulder checks and nine times out of 10, the stores will have your size. It’s our very own private Mall of America—let’s just pray the out-of-towners don’t catch on.

Best $20 Gym Not in a Creepy Basement: Blink Fitness
E. 4th St. (at Broadway),
www.blinkfitness.com
Tiny basements with limited ventilation and budget-friendly gyms just don’t mix. Blink Fitness manages to buck tradition with spacious, light-filled, airy facilities so pleasant, you will actually find yourself wanting to go to the gym. A little sister of Equinox, Blink has every piece of up-to-date equipment your fancier gyms have, minus the classes to keep costs down. But who really enjoys those sweat-filled rooms full of Zumba-dancing strangers anyway? At $20 a month, there’s no reason not to join.

Best Busker: Asian Hipster at the 1st Ave. L Station
There’s something about the hipster Asian gentleman who often sits at the First Avenue L station, guitar in hand and harmonica perched on his neck. His voice isn’t classically good. His notes are not exactly crisp. He kind of sounds like a drunken, high-pitched Tom Waits at times. His accent is a bit off, as is his pronunciation of certain words, but I’ll be damned if he doesn’t melt you heart every single time you hear him. He just sits there on the benchs, playing a Rolling Stones cover, unperturbed by the masses walking by, singing his heart out. What he lacks in correct enunciation he more than makes up for with his perfectly mournful tones. There’s nothing better to hear when you’re returning to Brooklyn after a night that didn’t exactly go as planned.

Best Subway to Occupy (and Work On) Wall Street: No. 2 & 3
While other trains are stuck in the station, you can beat your broker Downtown and Occupy Wall Street with a 15-minute ride from the Upper West Side. While the A train has the largest “big play” express jump in Manhattan from 59th to 125th streets—which made for comic fodder in the indie classic The Brother From Another Planet—and the additional glamour of inspiring a jazz standard (“Take the A Train”), stop for stop, nothing moves you up and down Manhattan quicker than the 2 and 3 trains during rush hour. Added bonus: the No. 1 is often waiting across the platform if you are looking for a local station.

Best Street Exemplifying the Excesses of Capitalism: Freedom Place, Trump Place
66th Street at Freedom Place
This street is actually named in honor of three civil rights workers slain during the Freedom Summer of 1964. But like all idealistic endeavors, it eventually succumbed to the pressures of capitalism and is now lined with residential towers emblazoned in gold lettering with the namesake of Donald Trump. If you haven’t had enough development in the 14 years since its groundbreaking, Trump Place is expected to expand by another seven buildings before it’s complete. By then, you may be able to watch the Donald sporting an oxygen machine, sitting at a boardroom table in outer space tell a 39-year-old, fresh-out-of-rehab Justin Bieber, “You’re fired.”

Best Lawn That’s Empty on a Weekend Afternoon: Rockefeller University campus, Turtle Bay
On-campus housing is limited at Rockefeller University, so you pretty much have this oasis to yourself when class is out of session. Between ignoring your cell phone and getting engrossed in a novel, be sure to explore Manhattan’s forgotten campus, home to one of the world’s best biological sciences program. The rustic sculpture installation on the campus’ north end makes you question whether the old cliché about scientists in lab coats never seeing the light of day could possibly be true.

Best Place to Experience New York Like It’s 1608: Inwood Hill Park Indian Caves
Inwood Hill Park (at Dyckman St.), 212-304-2278
Some folks would probably argue that NYC has been going downhill ever since Henry Hudson started poking around out in the harbor. That’s fine, because in New York City, there’s even a place for the naysayers. The Wiechquaesgeck indians used the caves in Inwood Hill Park as a sort of pre-Columbian summer camp, complete with shellfish feasts and cool summer breezes. It is one of the very few places in Manhattan where it is actually conceivable to pitch a tent and frolic in the woods. Imagine a slightly more rustic version of the Hamptons and you get the idea.

Best Off-the-Beaten-Path First Date Spot: Les Enfants Terrible
37 Canal St. (at Ludlow St.), www.lesenfantsterriblesnyc.com
Way down on the Lower East Side there exists a radius of a few blocks that avoid the collection of sidewalk stumblers, women walking barefoot while holding their high heels and guys in collared shirts fighting in the middle of the street. In that space is a hip little French (or is it Brazilian?) restaurant/bar full of attractive people, good music and dark lighting. Les Enfants Terrible can get a little crowded, but it’s intimate and not too bustling and has a general vibe and out-of-the-wayness that will give your date the idea you’re in the know. Sure, your date’s eyes might linger a little too long on the younger version of Audrey Tautou seated next to you or the scruffy, scarf-wearing cigarette smoker hanging outside, but chances are that will end up rubbing off on you by the end of the night.

Best Outdoor Concert Series: SummerStage
www.summerstage.org

Photo by Flickr user yosoynuts

Working in over 750 parties citywide, SummerStage offers what is undoubtedly the most comprehensive and interesting outdoor musical offerings in New York City. This past summer’s slate included Yo-Yo Ma, hip-hop legend Funkmaster Flex, indie rockers Friendly Fires, local up-and-comers Milagres and a whole lot more. And it’s not just music: SummerStage offers dance and theater performances as well. The main stage, where the biggest concerts take place, is at the Rumsey Playfield in Central Park near Fifth Avenue and East 69th Street and features, in addition to performance, food and drink vendors curated by The Brooklyn Flea. The best part? Most of the shows are free. And the paid ones are usually fundraisers, which is hard to say no to when you’re enjoying so much complimentary culture each summer.

Best Place to Live a Jimmy Buffett Lifestyle: West 79th Street Boat Basin
W. 79th St. (at the Hudson River), 212-496-2105
Everyone knows that living on a boat is just about the coolest thing you can do. But living on a boat and simultaneously paying $417 a month for rent may also be the smartest decision you ever make. There are only 116 slips and the waiting list is a mile long, but register now and there may be a chance you could spend those golden years sipping rum drinks under the roar of the West Side Highway. There are only three prerequisites to starting your Manhattan yacht life: A boat, a sweet beard and a weathered stash of urban-themed Hawaiian shirts.

Best Small Outdoor Dog Run: Madison Square Park
www.madisonsquarepark.org
On the west side of the park near 25th street, just north of the regular dog run, is a nice play space for smaller canines. A friendly assortment of owners bring an equally interesting array of dogs to play, chase balls and, frankly, tire them out. Here people know their little darlings won’t get seriously pounded by a Siberian husky 50 times its size as in the bigger dog park. Water bowls are provided and if they’re not full, you can enter the big dog park and fill them with the hose at the south end. The small dog run is a great place for puppies to get socialized without getting traumatized. The first time I brought my new puppy there, she was filmed by CUNY.TV for a promo about how animals can keep you healthy. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Best Place to See the Stars: Columbia University Stargazing and Lecture Series
The Roof of Pupin Hall, 538 W. 120th St. (betw. Broadway & Amsterdam Ave.),
outreach.astro.columbia.edu
During the 2004 blackout, the Milky Way was visible from New York City for the first time in decades. Some people called 911 because they didn’t know what it was. Light pollution is an urban astronomer’s nightmare, washing out nearly all of the heavenly bodies. But Columbia University’s astronomers understand that people shouldn’t be deprived of seeing the rings of Saturn, the Seven Sisters or the mighty Orion. Every other Friday night, stargazers can enter Pupin Hall’s observatory and peer through their five telescopes at the night sky. Even on cloudy nights, the free movies and lectures on black holes, colliding galaxies and the latest in astronomical discoveries make the trip worthwhile.

Best Place to Find an Action Figure of Public Enemy’s Chuck D: Toy Tokyo
91 2nd Ave. (betw. 5th & 6th Sts.),

Photo by Flickr user joo0ey

Is it a rubber ducky with Mr. T’s head that catches your fancy? Or perhaps you’ve always wanted to try a Ghostbusters energy drink? These and other unique items line the somewhat out there and completely whimsical shelves of Toy Tokyo in the East Village. The shop, which boasts exclusive items including an action figure of Public Enemy’s Chuck D, as well as classic Star Wars and Wonder Woman toys, is a collector’s dream. Cool cache from around the world arrives on shelves every week, so whether you are looking to buy another Kid Robot or your very first Monchichi doll, you’re in luck. Vending machines filled with mini action figures can be found at the front of the store not far from the Justin Bieber sticker books, the one touch of irony in this toy oasis.

Best Meatpacking District Hot Spot Hotel: Dream Downtown
355 W. 16th St. (betw 8th & 9th aves.),
dreamdowntown.com
Move over Standard, step aside Jane, and forget you, Soho House—these days, there’s no topping The Dream Downtown. A hospitality mecca, the sprawling hotel boasts two restaurants: a steakhouse called Marble Lane run by the same team that operates Tao and Romera, which specializes in “neurogastronomy” and has one seating per night of an 11-course, $245-a-person dinner prepared by acclaimed chef and neurologist Dr. Miguel Sánchez Romera. To top it off, The Dream Downtown boasts a spacious penthouse lounge, PH-D, equipped with an elevated DJ booth and a state-of-the-art sound system housed between two floor-to-ceiling glass walls, one of which opens onto an expansive outdoor terrace. Down below there’s a basement lounge, Electric Room, run by Rose Bar’s Nur Khan. One things’s for sure: this is one hotel where few people come to sleep.

Best NYC Afternoon Without Spending a Cent: Hudson River Park
www.hudsonriverpark.org
Begin your journey at 23rd Street, cross the West Side Highway and enter the Hudson River Park. Once you get beyond the bedlam known as the bike path, you’ll find a delightful pedestrian walkway that moves at a much more civilized pace. Wander, perambulate and rejoice in the beauty of the river, the fresh air, the sky and the immaculate landscaping. Remember and celebrate the fact that you live on an island. Sit on a bench and read a book you’ve been meaning to get to, feel the sun on your face, reflect and hang out. Be aware of each moment in the present as it cascades into the next. Sit in the sun or find some shade and rest on the totally dog-free lawns. Stroll for hours. Revel in the idea that you’ve found joy without money for just one day.

Best Home Brewing Supply Store: Whole Foods Market Bowery Beer Room
95 E. Houston St. (at Bowery), 212-420-1320
With the closest home brew shop a lengthy subway ride into Brooklyn away, I was relieved when the Whole Foods Market Bowery Beer Room opened at the Houston Street Whole Foods. Besides having one of the most impressive local beer selections in the five boroughs, they have anything and everything you’d need to get your own brew started in your very own kitchen. Bottles, hops, tubes and the all-important, hard-to-find beer yeast are all there for the perusing. Sure, this stuff is all available online, but it’s always better to see the stuff in person. Cheers to a welcome addition to the do-it-yourself landscape of Manhattan!

Best Place to Feel Like Edith Wharton: The Old Mercantile Library
Center for Fiction, E. 47th St. (betw. 5th & Madison Aves.),
www.centerforfiction.org
Ascend the staircase of The Old Mercantile Library, select a clothbound novel from the shelves, settle down in a wingbacked leather chair and visualize yourself a regency noble or Bostonian spinster poetess. Or ride up in the gloriously claustrophobic, rickety elevator and read literary quotes from the decoupaged newspaper pages and clips that line its walls. It’s practically a ghost town during weekday business hours, when members can treat the Henry Otis Chapman-designed spaces as their personal drawing rooms. Don’t forget to visit the stacks in the recessed bowels of the building. Dark and empty, we imagine more than a few live bodice rippings might have taken place among the tomes.

Best by-the-Hour Cubicle: Paragraph
35 W. 14th St. #3 (betw. 5th & 6th Aves), www.paragraphny.com
If you find yourself without an office and are sick of writing at home, Paragraph—a rental space for writers—awaits. Grab a first-come, first-served cubicle and silently glance at the Wooly Cap Guy, the Literary Glasses Girl or the Intellectual Loner while you pretend to work, basking in the glow of your laptop. For around $150 a month, there’s free coffee and candy in the kitchen, along with the chance to strike up a conversation about Rilke or Egan with someone who might actually know who they are.

Best Subway Art—Official: 14th Street A/C/E Platform
Most MTA art ranges from the spectacularly inoffensive—mosaic waterfalls and literary snippets under the NYPL—to the hopelessly misguided—the “interactive sound experience” on the 34th Street N platform that begs tourists and drunks to bombard innocent bystanders with a cacophonous din of rain sticks and xylophones. None of it inspires any emotion—that is, except for Tom Otterness’ “Life Underground.” In a corner of the system used primarily by Meatpacking clubgoers lurks a world of featureless, mildly sinister characters going about the same business of subway-riding as everyone else, only cuter. Otterness’ signature figures scrounge for change (in sacks of gold coins), sleep on benches (with top hats pulled over their eyes) and get pulled down open manholes by equally adorable crocodiles. Equal parts Rich Uncle Moneybags and the industrious Doozers from Fraggle Rock, the foot-high figurines will inspire at least one emotion while you wait for the train: delight.

Best Subway Art—Unofficial: MTA “Service Advisories”
Since the sanctioned art scene below-ground is so dull, many industrious artists have taken it upon themselves to liven up the scene, bringing the mountain to the MTA’s Mohammed. Of course there’s the graffiti and Poster Boy’s (née Henry Matyjewicz) iconically iconoclastic corruption of station billboards, though recent legal hassles have slowed his once-prolific output, but for the best of the bunch, our money’s on the fake MTA posters. About six years ago, a genius with an ax to grind and some amazing Photoshop skills discovered they could perfectly replicate the MTA’s service advisory posters and created their own, warning riders about the transit corporation’s corruption, greed and indifference to its customers. Though the format has since been cracked and is now available for any average Joe to crank out a poster, the biting, politically strident originals used the medium to subvert itself and its viewer’s expectations, the true test of high art.

Best Neighborhood to Wind up an Extra on TV: Tribeca
In the space of 10 blocks below Canal Street you can go from the pan-Asian bustle of Chinatown past the imposing monuments to justice of the court system down to a world of wider-than-average cobblestoned streets and family-friendly, post-industrial lofts. Nowhere else in New York has less of a unifying aesthetic, making Tribeca the perfect choice for those trying to simulate just about anywhere in America, from big-shouldered Chicago to tony West Hollywood as well as New York City itself. Though Law & Order no longer films daily in and around The Tombs, a number of series have picked up the slack and neighborhood residents are now immune to the thrill of walking past craft services tables and sneaking a peek inside trailers. Walk down any street and you’re sure to end up in a crowd scene or two—hang around long enough and you may just get discovered.

Most Color-Coordinated Brownstone: 48 W. 10th St. (betw. 5th & 6th Aves.)
10th Street is, end to end, quite possibly the most beautiful residential street in the city. From St-Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery on the east side through the restored brownstones of the middle Village to the starchitect high rises on the Hudson River, it’s enough to inspire severe homeowner’s envy. Best (or worst) of all is the block between Fifth and Sixth avenues, a perfect row of brownstones with verdant window boxes and baroque ironwork that ends at the gorgeous clocktower of the Jefferson Market Library. Nestled in its center is a scene that has to have been planned: a single-family dwelling of brighter-than-usual red brick with vibrant turquoise shutters, outside of which is parked a trim turquoise Vespa with a brick-red seat. We’re convinced the Vespa’s for show only; in at least five years, it’s never once been away from its post. You want to resent the excess, but it’s just too perfect a picture.