Offering 20% off on current “indie bestsellers” (and 10% off picks from their well-read staff), you can still get a good deal while supporting one of the city’s last independent bookstores. They also carry an impressive selection of magazines and literary journals that you can flip through in their café. McNally’s event calendar is packed with appearances and readings by authors like Zadie Smith and Chris Kraus, but they're perhaps best known for their in-store printing press and self-publishing services.

A wonderful farm in the middle of NYC.

Books are Magic is a great local spot for bookworms. The staff is warm and friendly with regular events happening monthly. 

The jetties along Rockaway Beach are one of my regular destinations when I can get out there. I grew up in a Coast Guard family and spent a fair amount of time around the ocean and surfing. I still like to get in the water and this is the first Atlantic-exposed beach on Long Island as you start to get out of the city. When it comes to the environment, constructions like these can be contentious things but they also make for a series of interesting surf spots. Its got a lot of New York metro qualities you might expect including the Subway making its stops a couple of blocks back from the water.

A new artificial island park where all New Yorkers and visitors can experience nature and art in a unique urban oasis on the Hudson River. The park features a lush, seasonal, landscape with rolling hills, winding pathways and dazzling views coupled with programming that includes music, dance, theater, poetry, comedy and arts workshops for all ages.