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
Truly Wireless
If you have a laptop with wi-fi, you rarely need to be without My Urban Sherpa. More and more of the city's private and public spaces have free wireless access. Bryant Park has long been a laptop scene, more recently joined by Union Square Park, Dag Hammerskjold Park, eight locations in Central Park, and a variety of other spots will in town. A Starbucks often has a private wireless connection floating by, and some residents have been known to sidle up to big co-op buildings and play the odds: odds are, someone has a connection you can hitch-hike on.