In 1963, the Italian-born sculptor Costantino Nivola filled a playground that covers an entire city block with avant-garde abstractions. In the middle of an Upper Manhattan housing project, there are cuboid cutouts sculpted in cement, a fountain made with two diamond-shaped boulders, concrete play horses, and a sand-casted relief carved high into a wall. In the northeast corner, a matriarchal figure known as “The Nanny” rises from the ground. The artist’s sculptures were built in an era when urban development incorporated art in its effort to uplift communities and express democratic ideals. “A work designed for a public space is less a work of art than a civic act,” Nivola once said. “It concerns the ways in which we live together, and in which we influence each other.”

Geek out over the massive menu of Belgian beer at Spuyten Duyvil. Relax in the backyard seating and say, "Ooh, I gotta remember this brew," without realizing you probably won't see it again elsewhere. Then cross the street to Fette Sau, a BBQ experience equally well designed because it's owned by the same couple, the Carrolls. Order from their wide selection of meat cuts, served by the pound on butcher paper. The sides shine too, with the best potato salad and best BBQ beans I've ever had.

I often run to this place and I love this perspective on glittering Manhattan and the feeling of coolness in the air from being so close to the water. To sweat and breathe and see this view of New York gives me a sense of being in this great City.

Interference Archive is a volunteer-run library, gallery, and archive of historical materials related to social and political activism and movements.

The Sill is one of our favorite places to shop for plants in all of New York City, offering amazing customer service and a busy calendar of events in their tiny shop on Hester Street to help you learn exactly how to keep that fiddle leaf fig or pothos alive.