Part of the Marlow restaurant group, Diner is one of the more casual / rustic options. The menu changes daily and is written out (most likely upside down by the wait staff) on your table or the back of a receipt. The only constant item is the burger, which to be honest, is one of the best in the neighborhood. If they have a breakfast sandwich for brunch, get that. The fried chicken sandwich (with dark meat) is also a favorite. They make scrambled egg dishes better than most. Dinner is solid all around (they crush a steak for two). Homemade ketchup and dijon mustard are on every table, so regardless of what you get, these two condiments are worth the visit. 

Fav art bookstore in the city (and the world?). Great place for inspiration and reference art, both new and vintage finds. Not very cheap but mostly quite worth it.

A New York garbage depot holds a secret collection of weird and wonderful refuse.

A living archive preserving history and promoting scholarship of grassroots urban space activism by researching and archiving efforts to create community spaces. They also exhibit materials that document these actions, to educate people on the political implications of reclaimed space.

I love how I walk around the city and bump into so many musicians. It's nice to see them rocking in the street and stopping busy New Yorkers from walking.