The oldest still-operating restaurant in New York City, still in the family of the original founders. At Christmastime, it's decorated to the nines. Go with a big group: portions are large and the wine flows liberally. Look for the little buttons on the walls: in the old days, the mafia would hang out in the back room, and if diners saw the cops come in, they'd press the buttons so the mafia guys could run out the back.

At first, this park felt too arranged and perfect for me but somehow it became my safe place. Going here always picks me up. The piers have a breathtaking view of the downtown Manhattan skyline, The Statue of Liberty, and The Brooklyn Bridge. Undeniably magical. The piers host picnic spots, soccer fields, roller skating, basketball, outdoor gyms, tennis walls, grills for barbeque, and more. I also appreciate how they designed the plantations with so much care and it’s just a lovely space overall for anyone to enjoy.

When I first visited NY in 2010 the New Museum left a permanent impression. I love the architecture and the concept of the piled-white-shoe-box look-a-like building at the edge of the Lower East Side neighborhood. The exhibition program is appealingly different, and the bookstore in the foyer is not to be missed!

While the current trend in noodles may well be ramen, this bafflingly-named Japanese restaurant just ten minutes from my apartment specialises in udon. Unless you are my friend Diego Zambrano it will probably take you several visits to get through all the things you need to try on the menu - the gyoza are otherworldly, the sushi 'tacos' clever enough without being silly. New York has thousands of awful Japanese places; this is not one of them. It's super nice to come in on a Sunday night and eat at the bar next to curmudgeonly old guys barking at each other in Japanese.

Opened in 1985, The Herb Lubalin Study Center of Design and Typography was created in order to preserve an unprecedented resource, Herb Lubalin’s vast collection of work. Its goal was to provide the design community with a means to honor Lubalin, and to study his innovative work. The collection also includes work by other eminent designers including Otl Aicher, Rudi Baur, Anthon Beeke, Lucian Bernhard, Lester Beall, Will Burtin, Lou Dorfsman, Karl Gerstner, Tibor Kalman, Alvin Lustig, The Push Pin Studios, Paul Rand, Bradbury Thompson, Massimo Vignelli, and many more. There is also a library of books and magazines about design and typography, an extensive collection of posters, myriad type specimen books and pamphlets.