When I first rolled into New York City on a Greyhound from the Martha's Vineyard ferry terminal back in 1981, I never dreamed I would spend at least the next 26 years of my life here. I was crashing on the floor of my former college roommate's studio apartment in the far West Village and I hoped, as I meandered about those maze-like streets, that downtown Manhattan would someday be my home. After protracted periods of life on the Upper East and West sides, I finally settled in Greenwich Village with my family of five. With an office in Soho, downtown is pretty much my full-time stomping ground.
Mornings are perfect at Balthazar in Soho, where the locals meet for blazing hot coffee, bread, and pastries baked at the Balthazar Bakery next door. Farther west on 12th Street, the new Cafe Cluny has a quiet neighborhood feel and plenty of free newspapers to peruse while ... [more]
Andy Arons, Gourmet Garage
Upper West Side
The Upper West Side has the same north-south perimeter as the Upper East Side (110th Street to 59th Street), with Central Park at her east and the Hudson River on the west. In the spirit of the freedom of thought on the Upper West, residents may also define their neighborhood as including Columbia University, which begins at 116th Street and heads north. The north-south avenues are, from west to east: Riverside Drive, West End Avenue, Broadway, Amsterdam Avenue, Columbus Avenue, and Central Park West.
The Upper West Side includes Lincoln Center, a wonderful performing arts center which encompasses twenty-two venues including the New York Philharmonic, the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Ballet, New York City Opera, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Julliard, and the School of American Ballet. Columbus Circle is newly revived with jazz performance spaces and ...