Only a 40-minute subway ride from my apartment and a world unto itself, Coney Island is always a new experience and like seaside weather, it’s always different. I stumbled upon this kite festival one grey fall afternoon. Other visits have yielded dance parties on the boardwalk, roller coaster rides, shandies in plastic cups on the beach, a trip to "Little Odessa", and a myriad of interesting characters and experiences.

Grand Central is big and beautiful and it also periodically hosts free cultural events - poets at typewriters custom-composing poems on demand - or Alvin Ailey dancers performing in Artist, Nick Cave's horse suits!

This park holds a special place in my heart because it has been like a backyard for me over the years. It is also named after the Secretary of State who negotiated the purchase of Alaska. There is even a Togo sculpture that reminds me of home. The bench strip doubles as a downtown runway.

The exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art can speak for themselves, but the Sculpture Garden there is the best backyard in the city.

Before you head to The Office NYC, stop at MAD - it is a beautiful museum with ever-changing exhibitions.