The crown jewel of the Queens Museum is a nearly 10,000-square-foot architectural model of the city originally built for the 1964 World's Fair.

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.

For art books, monographs and catalogs new and used at a discount. I can never manage to leave here without a bag full of books in tow.

XXXI (‘Thirty-One’) is ❶ a mixed-use community space for designers (and others) to exhibit, teach, and discuss self-initiated work; ❷ a shared studio space; ❸ a residency for designers; and ❹ an online (and sometimes physical) store. It purposefully lives outside (or against) the constraints of the city it exists in and traditional commercial practice to ask what design can do when its goal is not money.

Best sicilian slices in all of Brooklyn. Tasty creamsicle as well.