New York is the greatest place for kids. When my daughters were a little younger I would buckle them into the double stroller, pack up a couple of sippy cups, hard boiled eggs and rice crackers for lunch and go see the sights. We would do the playground hop, stopping at every playground on our way across town. My destination was either City Bakery (for a chocolate cookie) or the Cupcake Cafe across the street in Books of Wonder (for a cupcake). It was a dilemma, cookie or cupcake - which one to consume? I never had to worry about it being fattening because pushing the double stroller was such a work out. I always tried to time my expedition to coincide with the farmers market in Union Square so that I could purchase my groceries and tie them onto the stroller. The only thing I had to be careful of were the moments when my daughters would charge towards the swings, leaving my ... [more]
New York with Kids, Victoria Kann
Lower East Side
The East Village is home to immigrant families who have lived in the affordable housing here for generations (paid tribute to in the Lower East Side Tenement Museum and Katz’s Delicatessen, both on Delancey Street). The newly upscale profile of the East Village is headquartered on Rivington Street and embodied by the Rivington Hotel and restaurants like teany. An exploration of the East Village should be done on foot: walk east on First Street at mealtime where you’ll stumble upon Prune. East Village landmarks are Washington Square Park, New York University, and the Strand Bookstore; Tompkins Square Park and Chinatown (visit Pearl River Mart, a Chinese department store) are nearby.