NYC: The 212 List

Area code in NYC = 212

Area code in Baton Rouge = 225

I've started following some Baton Rouge blogs/twitterers, and noticed @cheekycherry tweeting a list of 225 things to miss about the red stick. I'll be watching that closely and gleaning the goodness from her experience!

I'd like to do a similar list for NYC -- although is it possible to find two hundred and twelve things that I will miss about New York? Here it is:

1. The cachet of living here
2. FreshDirect grocery delivery
3. Walkable, walkable, walkable
4. Public transportation
5. The New York Times, especially the New York section (and recognizing the 'hoods)
6. Sunday Styles, including Modern Love
7. The New York Times Magazine, especially Cooking with Dexter
8. Convenient gyms -- Coles and Palladium
9. Washington Square Park (after renovations!)
10. The view up 5th Avenue through the WSP arch
11. Duane Reade (love hate, but it's so New York)
12. Staten Island Ferry (free transport/entertainment/views)
13. 5th Avenue bus
14. Macy's
15. Rockaway Beach (in one hour I could be at the ocean!)
16. Coney Island
17. The Wonder Wheel
18. Hot dogs
19. Hawt cawfee
20. Oren's Daily Roast latte
21. Tim Horton's latte (technically Canadian chain BUT I will miss them)
22. Mercado's Pizza
23. Top of the Rock (where I received my rock)
24. Central Park
25. Specifically Bow Bridge
26. The Ramble 
27. Sheep's Meadow
28. Turtle Pond
29. Broadway shows
30. Off-Broadway shows
31. NYU Tisch Theater
32. St. Mark's Place
33. Street Festivals!
34. Street fair food -- corn dogs, $5 Thai and gyros
35. Street fair purchases -- scarves, hats, jewelry, cheapie toys
36. Brooklyn Bridge (free views!)
37. People watching everywhere
    
38. Union Square Farmer's Market
39. Union Square Holiday Fair
40. Bryant Park's Holiday Fair
41. Grand Central Station's Holiday Fair
42. Bagels
43. PAUMC (my church)
44. Forced to be efficient in space usage
45. Purple flowers all around NYU campus
46. NYU women's basketball team
47. Empire State Building
48. Flat Iron Building
49. Chrysler Building
50. Skyline in general -- especially from New Jersey or a bridge
51. Pearl River Mart
    
52. The Met
53. Museum of Natural History (esp the whale room)
54. Street performers (sometimes)
55. Sidewalk art
56. Street vendors -- purses, scarves, magnets, etc.
57. Money saving (for us anyway)
58. People want to come visit us here -- it's a destination
    
59. The weather in the spring and fall
60. The leaves changing -- esp. around the reservoir in CP
61. Cheap, tasty sushi
62. Our super-fast Chinese delivery joint
63. Delivery Five Guys Burgers
64. No need for a car (or its upkeep and expense)
65. Feeling justified at buying plane tickets BECAUSE I don't have the expense of a car
66. Free water taxi to Ikea!
67. Bleecker Street -- history and good eats
68. Fourth of July fireworks over the East River (last year the Hudson)
69. The Highline
70. Chelsea Market (TBD -- on my bucket list, but I imagine I'll enjoy!)
71. The chance that at any moment you could see a celebrity (Vincent D'Onofrio, Minnie Driver, Chris Noth, Scott Speedman, Leonardo DiCaprio, etc.)
72. Gawker Stalker (although I rarely check it, nice to know it's there so I can look up a celebrity I spot and see if anyone else noticed too!)
73. Paper Source stationery store
74. M&J Trimming
75. Margaritas at Dallas BBQ
76. Times Square, even at its most crowded -- it sparkles
77. Toys R Us in Times Square (for my Owen Jay)
78. FAO Schwarz
79. Delivery.com and the choices in general
80. Jefferson Market Library branch and its DVD collection
81. The main NYC Library -- read between the lions
82. Cozy Diner
83. Silver Spurs Diner
84. The Red Lion -- live music and pub food, a winning combination
85. Views down canyoned streets
86. Manhattan solstice when sunset/sunrise light and streets align
87. The evening light on the buildings
88. Water towers on tops of buildings
89. Double decker tour bus trips!
90. Statue of Liberty
91. Ellis Island
92. Random film sets -- on location
93. My neighborhood on the big screen (not that I ever saw Remember Me, but I will!)
94. Constant access -- 24 hour sections of town if needed
95. The vintage stores, even though I'm too intimidated to enter
96. Our Mexican place across 6th Ave
97. Jane Street
98. Free Bumble & Bumble haircuts
99. Meatpacking District (just sounds cool ... and it is)
100. Hudson River Park
101. The N train to Astoria when it curves to the north -- the view
102. Tompkins Square Park - so shady
103. MoMA (specifically its stores/shopping!)
104. Sartorial design blogs all based here -- recognizing places on those blogs
105. The view from our window
106. The view from our window on a rainy day -- of the students' open umbrellas - colorful!
107. Law & Order courthouse steps
108. Law & Order filming around town (cancellation sob)
109. My chiropractor and her receptionist
110. Easy access to Penn Station and Amtrak
111. Madison Square Garden (even if the Knicks are terrible the games are fun)
112. Discounted tickets from NYU
113. Lincoln Center -- high culture is available and accessible to me!
114. Window shopping on 5th Avenue -- Tiffany's, etc.
115. Everything constantly changes
116. The city itself is a constant
117. "Empire State of Mind"
118. "New York, New York"
119. Snow falling on snow -- deep mounds of white beauty
120. The city, silent after a heavy snowfall
121. And yet never totally silent
122. My ZIP code
123. Our apartment's hardwood floors
124. Our giant chalk board
125. Walking distance to Shawn's office
126. Magazines are MADE here!
127. Strand Bookstore
128. Giant Barnes & Noble at Union Square
129. (Most of) Our Doormen
130. Renegade Craft Fair
131. Souvenir tents on Canal Street (and elsewhere)
132. Governor's Island (another on the bucket list, but I suspect I'll enjoy!)
133. The feeling downtown amid all the buildings
134. Century 21
135. The "abandoned" station -- Cortland Street
136. PATH Train to Jersey City for suburban paradise excursion
137. The I *Heart* NY logo
138. Free transfer to the bus from the subway (or vice versa)
139. Bronx Zoo
140. Central Park Zoo (although a little pricey)
141. Museum of NYC
142. Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum
143. Smithsonian free museum day!
144. Aspects of working from home
145. Anonymity even among huge crowds
146. Window displays at Christmas
147. Saks Fifth Avenue snowflakes at Christmas
148. Rockefeller Christmas Tree and lights
149. Rockettes and Christmas Spectacular
150. So many TV shows set in NYC (although most not filmed here!)
151. No smoking in restaurants or bars
152. Calorie counts everywhere (although that's a curse if you're looking to indulge!)
153. Access to any movie that's out
154. The Angelika movie theater
155. City Cinemas Village East (main theater used to be a Yiddish live action theater and is LOVELY with an ornate ceiling and plush, wide seats)
156. IFC Theater - independent and foreign!
157. Broadway Panhandler
158. Surprise! Surprise! (a cool some-of-everything store ~12th Street)
159. Shake Shack burgers in Madison Square Park (nom, nom, nom)
160. Fresh air after rising from the stank of the subway
161. Feeling like I know this place
162. I can navigate the subway to any spot and feel in control 
163. I can figure out where I am on the island relatively easily
164. Little Italy -- yummy food
165. Upper West Side -- just a fun vibe in the neighborhood, especially along Columbus
166. Waldorf-Astoria (despite being part of a minor shoot out)
167. United Nations (another bucket list item I expect to like)
168. Plethora of taxis when needed
169. Car services to the airport
170. Book signings - if I got my act together to go
171. Internet access in the parks -- and many coffee shops
172. Chumley's - secret and 86 that!
173. Yankees and Mets baseball games
174. Halloween Parade in Greenwich Village
175. Greenflea Market
176. The crazy countdown clock in Union Square
177. The smell of roasted nuts on the street -- OMG, heaven
178. Grand Central Station
179. South Street Seaport -- and the views of Brooklyn Bridge
180. Washington Square Art Show
181. Music in the Park (another bucket list ... want to do this KNOW I'll love it)
182. The volume of food choices -- intimidating but nice to know it's there
183. New York Aquarium
184. B&H Photo
185. Magnolia Bakery
186. Pop Up Shops that come and go
187. There's a restaurant for Peanut Butter Sandwiches!
188. Wall Street -- the bull statue
189. Photo ops around every turn
190. Including interesting graffiti
191. Our neighborhood and the local NYU cops that keep things safe
192. It's an island!
193. NYC tap water is pretty darn tasty
194. All kinds of people -- and no one will care what you wear
195. Fishs Eddy
196. Shopping in general
197. Top Shop and H&M dotted throughout the city
198. Mud Truck coffee
199. Museum Mile
200. Anything you need -- it's right here (almost)
     
201. Temporary clean smell after a rain
202. Loads of cool people live here
203. Shops at Time Warner Center
204. Ironic T-shirts
205. Overhearing hipster doofus conversations
206. Being within reach of culture, feeling like it rubs off on me!
207. Economy Candy store
208. Bodegas -- the word itself
209. Times Square musicians -- subway performers
210. The beauty of the city in all its grotesqueness 
     
211. A million little things I've forgotten or never knew
212. It's the place where I became a wife and started my life as MW