All articles by Lidia Ryan

From a cemetery to an island: The best places to see cherry blossoms in NYC and when to visit

Cherry blossoms at Little Island. Photo Credit: Liz Ligon

March 28, 2025

From a cemetery to an island: The best places to see cherry blossoms in NYC and when to visit

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Sara Evans is the Director of the Living Collections and Curator at The Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn. While that title may sound ironic given her workplace, cemeteries are home to a large breadth of plant life. This includes cherry blossom trees, of which Green-Wood has 172.
cherry blossoms this way
The Affordable Art Fair returns to NYC with artwork for every budget

Photo courtesy of Phillip Reed Photography and the Affordable Art Fair.

March 19, 2025

The Affordable Art Fair returns to NYC with artwork for every budget

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Art is at New Yorkers’ fingertips, from the world’s most famous and significant works housed in the hallowed halls of The Met, MoMA, and Guggenheim, to countless art galleries and exhibitions across the five boroughs. However, when it comes to building a personal collection, or even just owning one special piece, art becomes less accessible with prices soaring into the tens of thousands. But for the past 23 years, the Affordable Art Fair has been bringing one-of-a-kind art pieces to New Yorkers at a price range of $100 to $12,000. There’s even a curated installation called Wonders Under $1,000 marked by pink stickers. This year, the spring fair runs from March 19 to March 23 at the Metropolitan Pavilion in Chelsea with 78 exhibitors and 400 contemporary living artists from all over the world.
details here
A guide to planning a park wedding in New York City

Credit: Sascha Reinking

March 3, 2025

A guide to planning a park wedding in New York City

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Dana and Asiedu met for the second time on the L train. The first time they met was about 20 years prior as teenagers. They dated for four years and then lost touch for 16 years, until a fateful day in 2019 when they crossed paths again in the most New York City fashion. "One night while I was getting off the train heading home from work, I recognized the back of her in the crowd walking out of the station," Asiedu recalled. "She lived out of state but was visiting her dad who happened to live in my neighborhood. We talked and walked her dad’s block. It took about a year for us to see each other again. We were married about a year and a half later." The couple, who now lives in Brooklyn and has an 18-month-old son, wed in true New York style at Prospect Park in Brooklyn in the fall of 2021.
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4 cozy winter cabin getaways in New York
February 18, 2025

4 cozy winter cabin getaways in New York

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Illustrator Jennifer Velasquez and her husband Jacob Kolbusz met in high school and bonded over a children’s book called "My Side of the Mountain." In the book, a boy named Sam runs away from New York City to live in the Catskills. "'Let’s build a cabin Sam would want to live in,'" Velasquez says they decided. Today, the couple owns 40 acres of land in Margaretville, where they live and operate a small 1950s A-frame Airbnb. "When we bought the house we fell in love with the land first, it was just everything you could ever want – no neighbors, backs into state land. We knew that's what we wanted forever home," she said.
book your getaway
There’s still time to get special Broadway Week pricing for these shows

Hadestown. Photo by Matthew Murphy

January 27, 2025

There’s still time to get special Broadway Week pricing for these shows

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Broadway Week is back, with over two dozen shows offering two-for-one ticket pricing through February 9. With the success of the "Wicked" movie adaptation catapulting Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo into award season, the stage show has been sold out for weeks. But there’s still time to catch other major productions like “Romeo + Juliet” starring Rachel Zegler, “Aladdin,” “The Book of Mormon,” and “Sunset Blvd.” with Nicole Scherzinger. New shows include the musical adaptation of the 1992 Goldie Hawn and Meryl Streep movie “Death Becomes Her,” featuring Michelle Williams of Destiny’s Child fame, and “Redwood” with Idina Menzel. Since its inception in 2011, Broadway Week has aimed to make theater accessible to more people.
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How to spend a perfect holiday afternoon in Central Park

A snow day in Central Park last year. Photo courtesy of the Central Park Conservancy.

December 19, 2024

How to spend a perfect holiday afternoon in Central Park

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Is there anywhere more magical than Central Park during the holidays? With Christmas and Hanukkah beginning on December 25, take some time and appreciate the peaceful feeling of a day in the park before the rush of parties and gift-giving commences. Read on for our idea of a perfect holiday afternoon in Central Park.
our itinerary, this way
How an UWS dry cleaner brings joy to the community through elaborate Barbie window displays

All photos courtesy of  Debra Kravet unless otherwise noted.

December 2, 2024

How an UWS dry cleaner brings joy to the community through elaborate Barbie window displays

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There’s a splash of hot pink on Amsterdam Avenue — well, Barbie pink. Since the "Barbie" movie came out in the summer of 2023, a dream house scene with doll versions of characters from the movie, including Margot Robbie’s Barbie and Ryan Gosling’s Ken, has been on display (and still growing) in the window of Apthorp Cleaners. But Barbie has a much longer history with this Upper West Side dry cleaner. Since owner Debra Kravet and her husband Joel moved into the space at 383 Amsterdam Avenue in 2009, Debra has been creating elaborate Barbie window displays in keeping with pop culture, the seasons, and timely events. Right now, a "Wicked" display with doll versions of Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo as Glinda and Elphaba complement the “Barbie” movie window.
details here
Boroughs of the Dead ghost tours dive into the real-life macabre history of NYC

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Cemetery in Astoria. All photos courtesy of Boroughs of the Dead

October 25, 2024

Boroughs of the Dead ghost tours dive into the real-life macabre history of NYC

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Spooky season is in full swing, and if you’re a history nerd who wants to learn about the "macabre, strange, spooky, weird, spectral history of the city," there’s a tour group for that. Boroughs of the Dead: Macabre New York City Walking Tours, founded by Andrea Janes, brings groups through the spookiest, most "haunted" areas of New York City, creating a "ghost map" of the city by overlaying scary stories over the “terrain of the real,” Janes describes.
discover the spooky side of NYC
8 best bike rides in NYC

Photo by Santeri Liukkonen on Unsplash

September 4, 2024

8 best bike rides in NYC

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"We’re not hidden in a 3,000-pound cage," says Gersh Kuntzman. He’s an avid biker and the editor-in-chief of Streetsblog, a website "devoted to making the city’s streets and neighborhoods far more walkable, bikeable, and transit-friendly." He touts the benefits of biking in New York City, including the community accessibility that driving in a car (or cage) does not afford. "Cycling is the best way to connect to the neighborhoods and your neighbors. Very few drivers ever stop along the way to shop or hang out, but cyclists always do."
Like To bike?
Inside the world of NYC birding: City wildlife is more than ‘just pigeons and cockroaches’

Photo credit: NYC Bird Alliance

August 15, 2024

Inside the world of NYC birding: City wildlife is more than ‘just pigeons and cockroaches’

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Angie Co’s favorite spots for birding in New York City are Prospect Park, Greenwood Cemetery, and Jamaica Bay, a wildlife refuge and National Park that’s host to over 325 species of birds, mostly migratory waterfowl. But it was in a community garden a few blocks from her Brooklyn home that her husband, also an avid birder (and one gifted in recognizing bird songs), spotted a bright yellow Kentucky warbler. Within minutes, birders descended on the park with cameras; they had gotten a rare bird alert on eBird. Co prefers not to sign up for alerts. "I like to be surprised and find birds myself," she said. "I don’t like to chase birds."
details here
The ferry is a breezy way to get to NYC’s summer destinations — and maybe even see dolphins

Photo courtesy of Benjamin Kanter/Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

July 8, 2024

The ferry is a breezy way to get to NYC’s summer destinations — and maybe even see dolphins

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It’s in his blood, NYC Ferry Captain Vincent Ardolino says. His father was a captain, his grandfather was a captain, and his uncles, too. Growing up in the Rockaways, his typical ferry route from Wall Street to Brooklyn to Rockaway Beach is a natural one for him – and his favorite.
all aboard
Petite but posh: Interior designers share their favorite small-space makeovers 
April 22, 2024

Petite but posh: Interior designers share their favorite small-space makeovers 

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New York City apartments are small. It’s just a fact of life that in a city that crams over 8 million people into 300 square miles, there will be some space challenges. From using the oven for storage a la Carrie Bradshaw to turning hallways and closets into bedrooms, most New Yorkers know how to get creative in their living spaces. But as New Yorkers graduate to more “grown up” apartments, the space-saving hacks should get more sophisticated too. Interior designers based in New York, San Francisco (our cramped sister city to the west), and nationwide share how they made tight spaces shine in elegant homes.
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How to make beautiful bouquets for cheap with flowers from Trader Joe’s

All photos courtesy of Joe’s Florist on Instagram

April 1, 2024

How to make beautiful bouquets for cheap with flowers from Trader Joe’s

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Joe’s Florist on Instagram is not actually an official Trader Joe’s florist at all. Rachel, the New York City woman behind the account that has amassed 245,000 followers (plus 37,000 on TikTok), works in the tech industry and makes bouquets as a hobby. "My earlier career was more creative pursuits, but now it's a more tech-heavy space, so I was looking for something creative to fill that hole,” she said. “It had been a while since I flexed that muscle, so I was intimidated to go back to painting or something like that, so I went to flower arranging." Rachel relies on flowers from Trader Joe’s because they are among the most affordable; she shows her followers how to combine the low-cost bundles of flowers into beautiful arrangements that look much more expensive than they are. Rachel also offers tips and tricks and answers floral arrangement questions from her commenters.
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7 must-have luxury apartment perks in NYC, according to brokers
February 28, 2024

7 must-have luxury apartment perks in NYC, according to brokers

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There’s a running joke among New Yorkers that having in-unit laundry means you’ve "made it." And, according to Corcoran broker Vicki Negron, at this point, in-unit washer-dryers are an "absolute must" for a New York City apartment to be considered part of the "luxury" market. "People are eager for any opportunity to avoid a trip to the laundromat. Even if it means sacrificing closet space to accommodate an in-unit washer and dryer, it's a trade-off that many are willing to make,” she added. So now that we’ve reached peak washer/dryer necessity, what are the next big things in NYC luxury apartment living? Real estate brokers dished on what’s hot on the market right now.
get the details
NYC’s mocktail scene goes high-end for Dry January and beyond

Photo of Jac’s on Bond by William Jess Laird.

January 16, 2024

NYC’s mocktail scene goes high-end for Dry January and beyond

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Forget staying in during dry January. As the ritual of going sober for January gains popularity — as do sober/sober-curious lifestyles — the options for non-alcoholic (N/A) cocktails, a.k.a mocktails, have boomed over the past few years. And now, more than ever, mocktails have been elevated so high that they bear no resemblance to the plain soda water and lime of yesteryear.
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The best NYC hotels for a luxury holiday experience

Image courtesy of the Plaza Hotel

December 18, 2023

The best NYC hotels for a luxury holiday experience

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In New York City, you can get it all in one place — one minute you can indulge in a $1 slice of pizza on the sidewalk and the next you can be in one of the finest hotels in the country (or even the world). For those looking to get into option two, what better time than the holidays to get a little fancy? We rounded up four ultra-luxury hotels in the city that go all out with holiday decor and experiences that guests and non-guests alike can enjoy.
get the details
15 quintessential NYC gifts for the New Yorker in your life
December 5, 2023

15 quintessential NYC gifts for the New Yorker in your life

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New Yorkers are full of pride for their city. So when it comes to buying gifts for the special New Yorker in your life, why not lean into that? We’ve rounded up 15 quintessential NYC gifts that either help your loved ones show off that pride, support the city’s institutions, or both! These are also great options for ex-New Yorkers who might be feeling nostalgic for the city around the holidays.
GIFTS THIS WAY
10 best under-the-radar holiday events in New York City

Photo courtesy of Winter Lantern Festival.

November 30, 2023

10 best under-the-radar holiday events in New York City

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Holiday magic permeates New York City each year as locals and tourists alike flock to the Fifth Avenue window displays, the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, and the many holiday markets. And while tradition is good, it’s also fun to step out of the box and celebrate the holidays with some off-the-beaten-path events (and maybe even start some new traditions). Here are 10 holiday events in NYC that go beyond Manhattan’s classics.
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At 50, the Village Halloween Parade has become New York City’s ‘healing ritual’

All photos courtesy of New York’s Village Halloween Parade

October 30, 2023

At 50, the Village Halloween Parade has become New York City’s ‘healing ritual’

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Fifty years ago, Ralph Lee took a walk around Greenwich Village with his puppets on Halloween night. It resonated with people. A couple of years later, as part of the City in the Streets program, Theater for the New City stepped in and produced the event on a larger scale, hitting more Village streets and attracting more participants. After Lee stopped his involvement with the parade, Jeanne Fleming stepped in. Today, over four decades under Fleming’s careful eye as artistic and producing director, the Village Halloween Parade is a part of New York City’s cultural identity — an event that through hardship and triumph over the past 50 years, has remained a ritual.
more on on the iconic event here
How to start an art collection in NYC

Photo Credit: Affordable Art Fair New York / Phillip Reed

September 20, 2023

How to start an art collection in NYC

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In a city where you’re surrounded by art — from the classics at the Met to Chelsea’s contemporary art gallery scene to performers on the subway — day-to-day life is an immersive art experience. "The art community is extremely dynamic and diversified (in New York City),” said Ashkan Baghestani, Head of Contemporary Day Sale at Sotheby's. "People are interested in art and … sophisticated New Yorkers are people who spend time appreciating art. That does not mean they always buy it." So when it comes to bringing that art into your home, where do you start? And is it even possible on a budget?
tips and tricks this way
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