from May/June 2005
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Insider's New York
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3. Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge
"Taking a stroll along the Brooklyn Bridge with a significant other, some friends, or alone is an absolute must," says conference organizer Gina Imperato. "It doesn't cost anything. People don't realize the bridge provides great views of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty. Also, the bridge is a stunning piece of architecture: unique, intricate, and steeped in history, even recent history. Folks who live on the Brooklyn side had a bird's-eye view of the Twin Towers and the destruction of 9/11. End your crossing to Brooklyn with a stroll on Montague Street, which has lots of shops and restaurants, before heading back."
4. Take-out from Time Warner
"Columbus Circle's really come alive this past year with the opening of the Time Warner building and the new mall there," says midtown executive Shawn Fitzgibbon. "The new towers look beautiful, but my family goes directly to the basement to Whole Foods, where we grab an assortment of lunch fare from sushi and Indian curries to bagels and lox. It's like a New York Automat for the 21st century. Then we take our feast to Central Park—it's a delicious and affordable way to picnic in the center of the city."
5. Be a Madison Avenue power shopper
"Madison Avenue is theater and luxury," says Georgette Mosbacher, CEO of Borghese Cosmetics. "The stores represent the best brands in the world. As flagships, the retailers pour everything into them. From 57th Street to 81st you'll find whatever you like: jewelry, chocolate, cosmetics, all the major designers, and, still surviving, little coffee shops and delis nestled between very chic stores. My favorite deli is on the corner of 80th and Madison. Just window-shopping is a creative show, from Barneys [660 Madison Ave.; +1 212 826 8900] to Fred Leighton [773 Madison Ave.; +1 212 288 1872] to Ralph Lauren [888 Madison Ave.; +1 212 606 2100]. His building is absolutely breathtaking. It's Gothic and exquisite. And then go to Donna Karan [819 Madison Ave.; 866 240 4700 (U.S. and Canada)], which is two stories, all glass and very high-tech. Wear your running shoes on Madison because it's walk, walk, walk and shop, shop, shop."
6. Tripping in Tribeca
"Go get a bag of pistachios from Bazini's amazing deli [339 Greenwich St.; +1 212 334 1280] and eat them in Duane Park—the only English-looking square in New York," says Jason Kliot, a film producer who lives with his family in the neighborhood of lofts and warehouses. "Check out the Issey Miyake store [119 Hudson St.; +1 212 226 0100] and its Frank Gehry sculpture. If you need a bottle of wine, the best wine store in all New York is here—Chambers Street Wines [160 Chambers St.; +1 212 227 1434]. It features great wine from all over the world. Or if it's late and you're by yourself, sit at the bar at the Odeon [145 W. Broadway; +1 212 233 0507]. You can get food until 2 a.m."
7. Spend a Chelsea morning gallery hopping
"New York's gallery district has moved to Chelsea," says Sara Meltzer, owner of Sara Meltzer Gallery (516 W. 20th St.; +1 212 727 9330), "where many of the galleries were former taxi dispatchers, mechanic shops, and garages (like mine). Start at the Bohen Foundation [415 W. 13th St.; +1 212 414 4575]. It commissions artists and presents video, sculpture, and installation exhibitions. Vitra gallery [29 Ninth Ave.; +1 212 929 3626] has furniture by designers such as Eames, Nelson, and Hadid. If you need food or drink, hit Spice Market [29-35 Ninth Ave.; +1 212 675 2322], an Asian restaurant, or Chelsea Market [75 Ninth Ave.; +1 212 247 1423]. Young designers have opened some fantastic boutiques, like Stella McCartney [429 W. 14th St.; +1 212 255 2556]. Alexander and Bonin [132 Tenth Ave.; +1 212 367 7474] and Cohan, Leslie & Browne galleries [138 Tenth Ave.; +1 212 206 8710] are worth a visit. 24th Street is home to the big guys. Matthew Marks [523 W. 24th St.; +1 212 243 0200] and Barbara Gladstone [515 W. 24th St.; +1 212 206 9300] are remarkable."
8. See Broadway in the Museum of the City of New York
"We only collect New York," says curator Marty Jacobs. "We have 10,000 toys, for example. The kids love it. There are miniature objects: toy street cars, toy fire engines, toy cars. It's a toy traffic jam. The details on the dollhouses are not to be believed. There's one dollhouse—the 1838 Brett Baby House—that even has an outhouse. It's the finest collection of New York toys in the world. Our new Broadway exhibit has costumes, playbills, and set designs from the first black minstrel show in New York to Avenue Q." 1220 Fifth St.; +1 212 534 1672.
9. Check out Bryant Park
"Bryant Park—between Fifth and Sixth Avenues on 42nd Street—is a good hangout," says software salesman Shareef Haq. "There are fashion events in the fall and movies in the summer on Monday nights. It's fun to watch as the crowds gather and people bust out elaborate picnic spreads. The park has free wireless Internet access so send an e-mail back home from one of Manhattan's greatest parks."
10. See what fits at FIT
"The Met's fashion exhibits may be more high profile, but the Fashion Institute of Technology [FIT; Seventh Ave. at 27th St.; +1 212 217 7999] does more shows, and the best thing of all is it's free," says FIT student Melissa Marra. "There are three galleries housed in the school's 'E Building.' The exhibits aren't just about mannequins with clothing but include accessories, fashion photography, and drawings as well as our textile collection, so you can see how fashion all comes together from a cultural perspective—a picture of the time. You'll learn so much, the clothes are so beautiful, and it's open later than most museums—usually until 8 p.m. So come after everything else is closed."
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