A place for when you only have a day and your soul needs the smell of an ocean breeze and to feel sand between your toes. You can watch all the craziness of Coney Island from across the water.

A beautiful and abandoned New York subway station from 1904, complete with chandelier. Take the 6 train heading downtown. When the train makes its final stop at the “Brooklyn Bridge/City Hall” station, passengers are told to exit the train. Stay on the train and duck down so as not to be easily spotted. When the train departs the station, it will pass through the abandoned City Hall Station.

Death & Co is my favorite place for delicious cocktails and small bites. Their truffle mac and cheese and lobster rolls are delicious and love just about every drink on their whisky menu.

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.

where I walk with my dog near my apartment, is also the remains of what was Fort Putnam in the late 1700’s and later Fort Washington near the Navy Yard. Not the largest park but a regular part of my routine and big enough to feel like you’re still out of the city when you’re in the middle of it.