• I’ve gotten a lot of requests for recommendations on what to do and see in NYC. I am thrilled to oblige. It is important to point out that my focus is on things and places that appeal equally to visitors and locals. No Statue of Liberty or Empire State Building recos. (#1-8)
• I’m also including a link to an article on Sam Quinones’ new book about what is really fueling homelessness. It runs counter to the prevailing narrative blaming it all on affordable housing. Instead, he goes deep into the world of meth. Based on my personal encounters with the neighborhood homeless, Quinones book is spot-on. I consider it essential reading. (#10)
• Next week I’ll be posting from Austin. My first plane trip in over two years!! Wish me luck!!

1. VIDEO: The best itinerary for NYC (great for both locals and tourists)

2. NYC Itinerary: Hudson Yards/ Manhattan West

I have been a fan of Hudson Yards from DAY 1 (despite the naysayers). And this week, while there for lunch, I also learned that over 40K visitors streamed through Hudson Yards this past Saturday (the second-highest shopping day since the pandemic). With Manhattan West (right across the street), now up and running, the area is even more vibrant.

Highlights:

• Hudson Yards: YES, it’s a fancy mall but it’s not a “gated community” as the NYT keeps saying. The shopping bags I see most often are Uniqlo, Zara, H&M, and Sephora.
• And PS, if anyone from Hudson Yards is reading this, please do everything you can to add the following to your retail roster: Apple, Cos, All Saints, Supreme (the latter will never happen, but it would be awesome). I’d also get the MoMA Design Store to replace that tacky Avant Gallery on the 4th floor.
• Peak Restaurant on the 101st floor at Hudson Yards is one of my top 5 NYC restaurants. Staff is amazing, food is wonderful and the views are spectacular. While expensive, it’s not outrageous. And here’s an important tip: if you dine at Peak, make sure you ask for a special FREE visit to the Edge Observation Deck after your meal (that in itself saves you $30 per person!!).
• Manhattan West, across 10th Avenue, is also worth checking out. I’ve gone there primarily for restaurants and Citizens Food Hall. My favorite is Casa Dani (amazing!). LA’s Katsuya also just opened and Danny Meyer’s newest, Ci Siamo, is in the Manhattan West Plaza, and receiving rave reviews.
• The Pendry Hotel is the newest hotel in the neighborhood, joining the Equinox Hotel at Hudson Yards.
• And finally, if you visit on a nice, sunny day, take a stroll down the Highline to Chelsea/Meatpacking (see #7 below).

3. NYC Itinerary: Rockefeller Center and Midtown

Rockefeller Center and Midtown are “happening.” I may be giving Jenna Lyons too much credit for this transformation but it seems to me that since she has consulted with Tishman Speyer, Rock Center has gotten a major “cool” upgrade especially for their retail and hospitality.

Highlights:

• Rockefeller Center will replace iceskating with Flipper’s Roller Boogie Palace, starting April 15th. Very 70’s and even if you’re not into rollerskating, it will be fun to watch and great for Instagram!
• The Pebble Bar (a quasi-speakeasy) just opened on 49th Street. Pete Davidson is one of the investors (and Kanye West has been slamming the place to get back at him over the whole Kim situation). The bar is nice (not spectacular) and the cocktails and staff are both great but the food situation is a work in progress. That said, it is worth checking out. It’s definitely one of the buzziest places in town. If you do go: 2nd floor is walk-in only and 3rd floor is by reservation (Resy), top floor is for events.
• Lodi at 1 Rockefeller Center is terrific for a quick, delicious bite. It’s an Italian panini cafe concept from Chef Ignacio Mattos. Everything I’ve eaten there has been fabulous (their bread is beyond!) but it’s NOT the place for a leisurely lunch. They’ve recently added wine/spirits but it’s still not a place to linger. Reservations, however, are absolutely essential.
• Le Rock is scheduled to open in the Spring. It’s from the team behind Tribeca’s wildly popular Frenchette.
• Benoit at 60 West 55th is a great favorite of mine (while not technically at Rock Center, it’s close enough). Their duck foie gras and filet au poivre are out of this world.
• Summit One Vanderbilt, a few blocks from Rock Center, is SPECTACULAR. Reservations are essential (get the Summit Ascent ticket). It’s the only observation deck where what you see and experience inside is comparable to what you see outside.

4. NYC ITINERARY: South STreet Seaport/ pier 17/ World Trade Center Site

South Street Seaport – especially Pier 17 – is a fabulous spot to check out on a nice, sunny day. If you go make sure you reserve lunch/dinner at Jean Georges’ The Fulton. And a reminder that a short 15-minute walk gets you to the World Trade Center Site and its 9/11 Memorial Shrine and the newly rebuilt Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church (which I have not yet checked out but thank you Elliott T. for the tip).

Highlights:

• Live music on the rooftop at Pier 17 (I’ve never done this but the line-ups in the past have been stellar (this year includes Devo, Andrew Bird, Elvis Costello).
• Dante (one of the best bars in the world) is currently hosting authentic 1930’s club style jazz at the Dante Winter House pop-up at Pearl Alley/Pier 17. Not sure if that will continue into the Spring and Summer.
• Besides The Fulton, check out Momofuku Ssäm Bar (getting raves).
• The Tin Building by Jean-Georges (a 53,000-sq ft food hall/marketplace) will be a major attraction when it opens late Spring 2022.
• The World Trade Center/Ground Zero site (15 minute walk) includes the 9/11 Memorial Shrine, the newly rebuilt Saint Nicholas Greek Church (which was completely destroyed during the 9/11 attack), and the Santiago Calatrava-designed Oculus.

5. NYC ITINERARY: Central Park/ MET MUSEUM/ Upper East Side

I’ve gotten a whole new appreciation for Central Park and the Metropolitan Museum of Art through my friend Joseph Stadelmeier, who it turns out is an expert guide to all things Upper East Side!! I’m sharing what I’ve learned about these amazing places from him. Enjoy!

• Central Park’s Conservatory Garden (a 6-acre formal garden accessed on 5th Ave through the Vanderbilt Gate between 104th and 106th Street) and Shakespeare Garden, are next-level fabulous. Restorations are currently underway so please check online before you venture out.
• The reservoir: a walk around (or run if you must) is always amazing.
• Of all the major museums along 5th Avenue, my favorite has become The MET (again thanks to Joe). The Guggenheim hosts some wonderful shows as well and I’ve really come to love the Frick since they moved to their temporary home on Madison Avenue. TIP: always check for hours and days.
• NEARBY FAVORITE RESTAURANTS: Sistina (at 81st St), The Carlyle (Gallery) at 76th and Madison, and Tavern on the Green at West 67th St.

6. NYC Itinerary: LOWER EAST SIDE, Nolita, Chinatown

Not only is this my favorite neighborhood, it’s MY neighborhood. Always bustling and filled with young people, cool stores and art galleries, terrific restaurants and bars. This neighborhood always delivers on serendipitous meet-ups and discoveries. You catch a vibe as you stroll and explore. It also has a major homeless population, so stay hyper-aware of your surroundings.

Highlights:

• Nolita streets including the Bowery from Astor Place to Kenmare. Prince and Spring Streets from Broadway going East to the Bowery. Rivington Street and Freeman Alley.
• Lower East Side streets including Orchard and Ludlow running N/S from East Houston to Delancey.
• Chinatown streets from Canal to Baxter including Bowery, Mott, Bayard and Doyers.
• Nearby favorite restaurants: Peasant (Elizabeth St), Wayans (Spring St), Fish Cheeks (Bond St), Xi’An Famous Foods (Bayard St) – phenomenal spicy lamb noodle dishes, Keki Modern Cakes (Mott St) – their Ube cream pastries are AMAZING!!
• Nearby favorite galleries: Andrew Edlin (Bowery), Eric Firestone (Great Jones), The Hole (Bowery), Karma (2nd St), M23 (Henry St), Perrotin (Orchard St).
• Nearby “buzzy” retail: Supreme (Bowery/Spring) – always a scene but especially when there’s a “drop.” The recent Supreme x Burberry was madness.
• Nearby Lodgings: Untitled at Freeman (airbnb hotel in former Sister City Hotel). Always booked solid. Lots of young Europeans. Inexpensive for NYC.

7. NYC Itinerary: Meatpacking >>> Chelsea

Meatpacking has gone from a shopping destination to a hospitality/art destination. It’s anchored by the Whitney Museum and the Standard Hotel on one end and the Chelsea Gallery District on the other. Tieing it all together is the Highline.

Highlights:

• Meatpacking District is home to the Whitney (biennial April 6 – Sept 5), Standard Hotel – Highline, Soho House and numerous restaurants, e.g., Pastis, and bars/clubs, e.g., Le Bain.
• Chelsea is where you’ll find many of the top art galleries in the city, e.g., David Zwirner, Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth, Pace, Petzel. TIP: If art and galleries are your thing, download the free SeeSaw Art Gallery app to organize your gallery crawl. Nearby restaurants include Cookshop, Empire Diner, Shukette (delicious food but can get very loud and not always consistent).
• Little Islands, a gift to the city from Barry Diller, this beautiful 2.4-acre public park is located in the Hudson River off of the West Side Highway with entrances at West 13th and 14th Streets. Designed by British architect Thomas Heatherwick (who also designed the Vessel at Hudson Yards).

8. NYC Itinerary: green-wood cemetery and industry city, brooklyn

I know some of you will be disappointed by my lack of Brooklyn recommendations. I’m just not that familiar with it anymore and on top of that, Brooklyn is so spread out that it’s a little more complicated getting around without a car. BUT I ADORE Green-Wood Cemetery. It’s one of my favorite places in NYC. An absolute must if you have the time. It’s also where Basquiat is buried along with Leonard Bernstein, Boss Tweed, Charles Ebbets, and Louis Comfort Tiffany.

Highlights:

• Green-Wood Cemetery covers 478 acres and was the model for Central Park. It’s a National Historic Landmark.
• By the early 1860s it was attracting 500,000 visitors a year, second only to Niagara Falls as the nation’s greatest tourist attraction. Crowds flocked there to enjoy family outings, carriage rides, and sculpture viewing in the finest of first generation American landscapes. Green-Wood’s popularity helped inspire the creation of public parks, including New York City’s Central and Prospect Parks.
• It contains one of the largest outdoor collections of nineteenth- and twentieth-century statuary and mausoleums.
• From Green-Wood, it’s a short 10-minute walk to Industry City, a creative campus comprised of 16 buildings, built on 35 acres of repurposed industrial space. You’ll find over 50 eateries, Japan Village (an excellent food hall and marketplace), and over 550 companies including a sake brewery, a sword and knife making studio, furniture outlets, and The Makers Guild where you can get handmade shirts, bespoke hats, etc.

9. 2022 Top 100 Most Dangerous Cities in the U.S. (per NeighborhoodScout)

About the data:

NeighborhoodScout claims to provide the most comprehensive database of hyper-local real estate data available today. The platform is owned and operated by Location, Inc., builders of location-based Big Data and intelligence for the Fortune 1000 and beyond. Link here.

Highlights:

• Monroe, LA is back in the #1 spot this year as the most violent city in America with a violent crime rate of 29.4 per 1,000 population. The chance of being a violent crime victim is 1 in 34. The city reported 1,403 violent crimes last year, up 66% from the prior year.
• Rounding out the Top 10 most dangerous cities: Memphis, Saginaw, Detroit, St. Louis, Alexandria LA, Pine Bluff, Little Rock, Albany GA, and South Bend, IN.
• Salt Lake City, UT is back on the list for the first time since 2018 at #80 with a 26% year-over-year increase in its violent crime rate. Terre Haute, IN, is the newcomer with its highest violent crime rate of 14.6 per 1,000 population. This is an increase of 502% compared to the previous year.
• Other notable cities on the list: Milwaukee (#13), Kansas City MO (#15), New Orleans (#28), Oakland, CA (#30), Minneapolis (#42), Compton (#44), Nashville (#46), Palm Springs FL (#58), Washington DC (#62), Aurora CO (#96). Link here for entire list.

#MyTake: I’m surprised that NYC, Los Angeles, and San Francisco are not in the Top 100. Has anyone heard of this company? Living in a big city where crime seems to be so rampant, I am a little more reassured that we aren’t the only city where things seem to be going off the rails. However, I’m not entirely confident about this data.

10. THIS IS A MUST READ!!! What’s really Fueling our Homelessness Crisis? It’s not affordable housing.

A must-read article/book from former L.A. Times reporter Sam  Quinones on the undeniable link between the meth epidemic and the homeless epidemic and why no amount of affordable housing will make a difference until we address the underlying, real problem.

“Starting around 2009, meth effectively changed. It seemed to have a different and much darker impact on the people who were using it. One of the first people to clue me into this was a veteran meth user named Eric, who lives in L.A. He’d been using for almost a decade, and for several years he held his life together—he had a job, he had a girlfriend, a car. His life wasn’t great; he was constantly making up excuses for why he had to come in late to work and that kind of thing. But he wasn’t on the street. 

Sam Quinones, Author The Least of Us, a deep dive into the dark, even more destructive world of meth addiction. (LA MAG, 3/11/22)

In 2009, the drug changed one night. It was not the same drug. It was a drug that had him going crazy. He was imagining his girlfriend hiding men in the apartment, in the mattresses. And he began to stab the mattresses with a butcher knife. He went out of his mind. No more euphoria; now it was intense paranoia. And he never got back to that euphoric meth again. 

Finally, his life just completely crashed. He told me he stayed using it for the next four years, during which time he was gradually alienated from everybody. Eventually, he ends up homeless. 

And in 2013, just as the supplies are really about to explode, he gets sober through the VA as an ex-Marine. Before that, they had diagnosed him with schizophrenic. Now he stops using, and little by little his sanity kind of returns more or less, and they decide he’s actually not schizophrenic at all. 

What happened to him started happening to thousands of people across the country. And many addicts who had previously managed to tread water suddenly found themselves on the streets.

Here’s the link to the entire article.

And that’s a wrap for this week, my friends.

But I do have one last thing to add. It’s a follow-up to the MrBeast interview on Rogan that I wrote about last week. Turns out the Flagrant2 crew was as wowed by MrBeast as I was. Here is a very short video of their reactions. A must-watch for all my friends in entertainment, media and marketing.

And with that, I will sign off until next week when I will be in Austin. I’m planning to do a “SNAPSHOT” post from there based on the people I meet, the vibe of the city, my take on the rodeo, the art scene (from the James Turrell Skyspace to their street art). Also, very excited to be staying at the new Soho House Austin and super grateful to have my friend, Sheri, sherpa me around her town!!!