1. WALKING EVERYWHERE
2. Spending quality time with my kick-ass friends
3. Strolls along The High Line
4. Outings to Chelsea Market
5. Art gallery hopping
6. Rambling through Central Park, ending up @ the Roller Disco Dance Party
7. Washington Square Park – The Arch & Fountain; Crazy Piano Guy; street performers & artists; singing tunes & stimulating conversations with strangers
8. Tompkins Square Park – walking through every day on my way home; reading under the big tree; chatting with my neighbors; the dog run scene; lounging on the grass; watching the neighborhood kids play ball
9. Being an artist living in Greenwich Village
10. Being a resident of The East Village
11. My Sunday ritual: coffee, farmers market at 7th & Ave A, composting at the Lower East Side Ecology Garden
12. Alphabet City – Avenues A, B, & C (D not so much)
13. The Lower East Side
14. Being a Downtowner, living in Manhattan
15. Walking in the footsteps of history
16. Photo missions with my camera
17. The sound of jazz in the air
18. My chats with the city on my rooftop
19. The view from the bathtub in my kitchen overlooking the park
20. The best restaurants in the world right outside my doorstep
21. Superb artisanal cocktails served by ridiculously hot bartenders
22. $3.50 6-piece afternoon special from Dumpling Man on St. Mark’s Place
23. Grabbing a slice at South Brooklyn or Artichoke
24. Doughnut Plant
25. My favorite coffee joints, especially Abraco, La Columbe, & 9th St Espresso
26. Browsing local boutiques
27. Bodegas & delis
28. Mom & Pop shops
29. Going for a shvitz at The Russian Turkish Baths on E 10th Street
30. Shaking my booty with my fellow New Yorkers at Dance Parade
31. Riding my bike along the East River to the Governor’s Island ferry
32. Discovering new places that just opened
33. Knowing the perfect spot to go when friends ask
34. Wandering with no particular destination
35. Easy public transit
36. Yellow metrocards
37. Treating myself to a taxi cab ride
38. Sunday nibbling at the New Amsterdam Market
39. Food trucks and park bench picnics
40. Balthazar pastries
41. Sampling my way through Eataly
42. Public art installations, especially in Madison Square Park
43. Traversing 14th Street from river to river
44. Union Square – the epicenter gathering place; the steps; performers; chess players; artists; shopping at the Greenmarket
45. Buskers
46. Earbuds + iPhone: experiencing the city with a soundtrack
47. Fascinating eavesdropping
48. Randomly running into friends
49. Stumbling upon
50. Street fairs
51. Graffiti/street art
52. The murals at the corner of Bowery & Houston
53. Community gardens
54. Fire escapes
55. Cobblestone streets
56. Water towers
57. Broadway marquees
58. Ornate architecture
59. The Empire State & Chrysler Buildings
60. The Flat Iron Building
61. Strolling Fifth Avenue
62. Free Fridays at MoMA
63. Making wishes under the Xmas tree at Rockefeller Center
64. Exploring The Met and having a cocktail on the rooftop
65. Taking the train out to The Rockaways for a beach day
66. No frills, hardcore massages in Chinatown
67. Lounging along the Hudson River after work
68. The sight of the Statue of Liberty in NY Harbor
69. Ferry rides
70. The Manhattan skyline
71. Manhattanhenge
72. The epic feeling of crossing The Brooklyn Bridge
73. Eating @ Smorgasburg and strolling the Williamsburg waterfront
74. The view from the Q train across the Manhattan Bridge into Brooklyn
75. Exploring the best of Brooklyn
76. Weekend craft fairs
77. Local artists & artisans
78. New Yorkers hailing from all 5 Boroughs
79. Spring flowers
80. Fall foliage
81. Apple cider and hot chocolate on chilly days
82. Cool weather fashion: jacket, scarf, hat, and boots
83. Watching the snow fall outside my window
84. Walking through the streets holding my boyfriend’s hand
85. Catching myself in the midst of my own Carrie Bradshaw moment
86. The men I love(/d)
87. My gay boyfriends
88. The guy who sings “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg” to all the ladies
89. Cute sassy dogs and the people who walk them
90. The Halloween Dog Parade
91. The Easter Bonnet Parade
92. Gazing at the Empire State Building from my bed
93. Being inspired by smart, stylish New York women
94. The Occupy Movement
95. Life-changing conversations with stranger angels
96. Feeling like I belong here
97. Living away from home
98. This chapter of my life
99. Having a love affair with NY
100. Being a New Yorker
101. All the things I never did and all the places I never visited
