At first, this park felt too arranged and perfect for me but somehow it became my safe place. Going here always picks me up. The piers have a breathtaking view of the downtown Manhattan skyline, The Statue of Liberty, and The Brooklyn Bridge. Undeniably magical. The piers host picnic spots, soccer fields, roller skating, basketball, outdoor gyms, tennis walls, grills for barbeque, and more. I also appreciate how they designed the plantations with so much care and it’s just a lovely space overall for anyone to enjoy.

Great gallery space in Brooklyn/Bushwick with oftentimes pop-up-exhibitions like the picture above during the opening of @preludeprojects

My second-favorite outdoor-place in Manhattan. The abandoned 1.6 km rail tracks running above Chelsea down to the Meatpacking district were turned into an above-ground park. Perfectly nice place for sitting in the sun, reading, relaxing, having lunch in some green spot in the city. Nice views at the Hudson River, New Jersey, the Statue of Liberty (little small from there but still visible) and the architecture around Chelsea.

Andrew Tarlow's Diner is a neighborhood institution and pioneer of gratuity-free establishments in Brooklyn. This place serves up breakfast, lunch and dinner in an old converted dining car under the Williamsburg bridge. A seasonal menu of fresh, New American style food that changes daily.

Dia:Beacon is a short train ride from the city in a former Nabisco box printing factory. This art foundation has 240,000 square feet of art from the 1960s to the present. Dia features the work of Sol LeWitt, Imi Knoebel, Andy Warhol, Dan Flavin, Agnes Martin, On Kawara, Bruce Nauman, and many others. I love going during the summer to enjoy the gardens surronding the building.