If I lived closer to the West Village I’d go over to Jack’s every morning for a coffee and occasionally having what is probably the best chocolate chip cookie in New York (and it’s just a dollar!). Even though it’s rarely in my way I try to go here now and then, maybe in combination with a stroll down the beautiful Bleeker Street or to read a book sitting in their window.

This bright and upbeat matcha spot in NoLIta, with its millennial pink and green color scheme, are what Instagram dreams are made of. In addition to your standard hot or iced matcha lattes, Cha Cha Matcha’s menu also offers trendy and healthful twists, like the addition of ginger and turmeric, or their rainbow “Divine Drink.” Oh, and did we mention you can order matcha soft-serve (which you can combine with flavors like acai, tangerine, or lavender) year-round?

I wish NYC produced more public projects like this. Chelsea is always worth a visit to check out the galleries. The highline is just another reason to make over to 10th ave. It is near our studio and a walk on the Highline always seems to clear any fog that might be gathering in your head. There are sections between buildings filled with trees. At night you can almost forget you are in the city. As an architect you can always find a detail or something that you would have done differently or that you think could have been better. The Highline is one of the few projects where everything just works perfectly how it is.

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.

On the west side highway...I don't ride much anymore but I stlll love hanging there, meet people, take pictures, look at the new school and old pros (It's Steve Olson on the pix) also one of the top spot to look at the sun come down...