The most wonderful time of the year has snuck up on us once again. And as New Yorkers know, it’s easy to get caught up in the festivities and put off your holiday shopping. If you’re scrambling to find gifts for your city-dwelling friends and family — or an aspirational New Yorker — don’t fret. Here are 10 perfect New York gift ideas.
Table of Contents
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Lincoln Square
160 West 71st Street
$3,150No Fee
Studio |
1
Manhattan Valley
123 West 106th Street
$3,450No Fee
3 |
1
Central Harlem
2847 Frederick Douglass Boulevard
$2,760No Fee
2 |
1
Fort George
618 West 182nd Street
$2,350No Fee
3 |
1
Yorkville
326 East 85th Street
$2,795No Fee
1 |
1
Fort George
64 Wadsworth Terrace
$2,995No Fee
3 |
1
Lenox Hill
438 East 75th Street
$2,550No Fee
1 |
1
Hell’s Kitchen
725 Ninth Avenue
$2,350No Fee
1 |
1
Turtle Bay
321 East 45th Street
$3,100No Fee
Studio |
1
Hudson Yards
449 West 37th Street
$2,395No Fee
1 |
1
Lenox Hill
488 East 74th Street
$2,250No Fee
Studio |
1
Chinatown
54 Elizabeth Street
$2,000No Fee
Studio |
1
For the transit lover
There’s nothing more fitting for a populous that’s obsessed (consumed? disgruntled?) with the city’s transportation system than a subway-themed gift. From the New York Transit Museum Store, you can buy everything from MetroCard totes to subway-themed mugs and baby onesies.
You can purchase from the store online, or in-person at three different locations: the NY Transit Museum & Store in Downtown Brooklyn, the New York Transit Museum Gallery Annex & Store inside Grand Central Terminal, or the New York Transit Museum Shop in the Financial District. Check out the museum while you’re at it!
For the book lover
For the readers on your shopping list, go for New York-themed books. As you can imagine, there are countless fiction and non-fiction works on the subject. Local stores like The Strand and the Tenement Museum Shop have massive online and in-person selections of books about NYC. The Strand even offers a New York Collection bundle of used hardcover books on New York City history, culture, and more.
Literature fans will love Manhattan Beach by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jennifer Egan, a historical drama that takes place in 1940s Brooklyn. Or consider Colson Whitehead’s The Collosus of New York, an ultra-relatable collection of essays inspired by the city. For history fans, the acclaimed biography The Power Broker will give readers a thorough (like, 1,344-pages thorough) understanding of infamous city official Robert Moses and how he shaped New York into the metropolis we know today.
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Bushwick
98 Cornelia Street
$2,650No Fee
1 |
1
Weeksville
1334 Sterling Place
$2,399No Fee
3 |
1
Bushwick
191 Stanhope Street
$2,750No Fee
2 |
2
Stuyvesant Heights
213 Stuyvesant Avenue
$2,800No Fee
1 |
1
Crown Heights
548 Saint Mark’s Avenue
$2,800No Fee
2 |
1
Fort Hamilton
120 96th Street
$1,950No Fee
1 |
1
Park Slope
121 Eighth Avenue
$2,700No Fee
Studio |
1
Williamsburg
45 Cook Street
$2,699No Fee
1 |
1
Bay Ridge
326 78th Street
$2,950No Fee
2 |
1
Mapleton
2337 64th Street
$2,500No Fee
2 |
1
Bay Ridge
535 Bay Ridge Parkway
$2,799No Fee
3 |
1
East New York
622 Glenmore Avenue
$2,400No Fee
1 |
1
For the financially-minded
There’s one New York gift idea that’ll always work when time is running out before the holidays: cash. And given the cost of living in NYC, New Yorkers need plenty of it.
A survey conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of StreetEasy asked New Yorkers about what they’d like to receive as a gift. When presented with the options of a vacation, money toward rent or a down payment, new electronics, or concert tickets, 2 out of 5 renters opted for the rent money, while 3 out of 10 aspiring buyers preferred money for a down payment. Recent sellers would also rather receive money toward a down payment on their next home than a trip or vacation. In other words, cash is king, especially for New Yorkers — and it’s an easy gift to give.
For the art and culture lover
You’ll never run out of gifts to give to the NYC culture hound in your life. But if you’re having a hard time choosing, here are a few ideas.
Jazz at Lincoln Center tickets or classes
As one of the leading jazz educational institutions and performance centers in the world, Jazz at Lincoln Center is a standout cultural institution in a city full of them. Give tickets to any of their stellar performances, or consider a Swing University class, where students learn about the history of jazz and how to appreciate the genre. Classes are held virtually, and can be purchased singularly or as a package.
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Astoria
31-56 34th Street
$2,190No Fee
1 |
1
Maspeth
58-34 Fresh Pond Road
$2,200No Fee
1 |
1
Elmhurst
74-28 Woodside Avenue
$1,899No Fee
Studio |
1
Astoria
25-33 42nd Street
$2,200No Fee
Studio |
1
South Jamaica
116-31 170th Street
$1,750No Fee
1 |
1
Forest Hills
110-45 Queens Boulevard
$2,350No Fee
1 |
1
Bayswater
10-10 Hartman Lane
$1,750No Fee
1 |
1
Woodside
63-11 Queens Boulevard
$2,150No Fee
1 |
1
Rego Park
61-61 Woodhaven Boulevard
$2,400No Fee
2 |
1
Rego Park
61-61 Woodhaven Boulevard
$1,950No Fee
1 |
1
Flushing
143-05 41st Avenue
$2,175No Fee
1 |
1
Jamaica
152-09 88th Avenue
$2,150No Fee
Studio |
1
NYC photography
Help your friends decorate their homes with famous New York photographs, like the one of those men lunching precariously on a skyscraper construction beam. If you want to pick up some cheap prints, you can find them at many stands near tourist-heavy spots, like Times Square or Columbus Circle. And if you want to class it up a bit, you can opt for framed prints or unique reproductions by vendors at NYC holiday markets or on sites like Etsy.
Museum memberships
A museum membership is a thoughtful gift that will keep on giving…at least until its expires. The Whitney Museum is expansive, hip, and has an outdoor terrace with Hudson River views for $90 per year. The Museum of Modern Art offers annual memberships for as low as $65, with higher tiers for the most dedicated of patrons. If you want to venture out of Manhattan and mix in a little nature with your nurture, think about a membership to the New York Botanical Garden or the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, whose exhibitions change with the seasons.
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Lincoln Square
243 West End Avenue
$460,000
Studio |
1
Chelsea
228 West 17th Street
$625,000
1 |
1
Inwood
1825 Riverside Drive
$545,000
2 |
1
Financial District
20 Pine Street
$1,495,000
2 |
2
Gramercy Park
201 East 21st Street
$749,000
1 |
1
Sutton Place
200 East 58th Street
$729,000
Studio |
1
West Village
9 Barrow Street
$749,000
Studio |
1
Yorkville
389 East 89th Street
$1,225,000
1 |
1
Hell’s Kitchen
350 West 50th Street
$825,000
1 |
1
Lenox Hill
115 East 61st Street
$700,000
Studio |
0.5
Financial District
20 Pine Street
$815,000
Studio |
1
Lenox Hill
311 East 75th Street
$325,000
Studio |
1
Broadway tickets
Even if New Yorkers claim to hate Times Square, any sane person will make an exception for a Broadway show. If you’re looking to wow the lucky recipient, choose a coveted favorite like Hamilton, The Lion King, or Wicked. There are several resale and discount ticket sites and apps you can use to score a deal. If you want something a bit more low-key and less expensive, there are a slew of phenomenal off-Broadway theaters. Try Signature Theatre or Roundabout Theatre Company, which offer more intimate viewing experiences and top-notch performers, many of whom also work on more glitzy Broadway stages.
The New Yorker magazine subscription
Are you truly an NYC resident until you’re 20-plus weeks behind on your New Yorker pile? Give the gift of incredible long-form articles, restaurant recommendations, cultural commentary, and hilarious cartoons — all in one magazine that may take you an entire week to finish (in the best way!).
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Brighton Beach
150 West End Avenue
$749,000
3 |
2
Bushwick
1048 Flushing Avenue
$1,095,000
2 |
2.5
Windsor Terrace
423 Greenwood Avenue
$885,000
2 |
1
Bushwick
343 Menahan Street
$1,250,000
2 |
2.5
Fort Hamilton
9411 Shore Road
$340,000
1 |
1
Crown Heights
98 Albany Avenue
$1,299,000
5 |
2.5
Canarsie
730 East 82nd Street
$1,199,000
6 |
4.5
Windsor Terrace
1139 Prospect Avenue
$1,250,000
3 |
2
Williamsburg
139 Skillman Avenue
$665,000
Studio |
1
Farragut
1150 Schenectady Avenue
$799,000
3 |
3.5
East Flatbush
80 East 51st Street
$799,000
5 |
2
Gravesend
2483 West 16th Street
$448,000
2 |
1
For the sports fan
A love of sports runs deep in NYC’s pulsing, concrete-enshrouded heart, and team loyalties will always be a point of both pride and contention. Any Modell’s location in the city will have an array of local team gear. Or, browse the MLB Store for hats and jerseys from New York’s two baseball clubs. Whatever you’re gifting, though, don’t choose wrong — a Yankees fan will scoff at a Mets hat, and a Mets fan will certainly throw that Yankees jersey in the donation pile.
If you want to go all out, why not surprise and delight with tickets to a game? There are still a few games left in the NFL season, and the NHL season goes to mid-April. Tickets for next year’s MLB season are usually available this time of year, too. Grab home game tickets for the Giants, Jets, Rangers, Islanders, Yankees, or Mets.
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Forest Hills
112-50 78th Avenue
$399,000
2 |
1
Jamaica Hills
81-19 164 Place
$969,000
4 |
3
Glen Oaks
260-18 74th Avenue
$489,000
2 |
1
Forest Hills
100-11 67 Road
$315,000
1 |
1
Woodside
65-15 38th Avenue
$385,000
1 |
1
Sunnyside
45-08 40th Street
$625,000
2 |
2
Forest Hills
66-36 Yellowstone Boulevard
$409,000
1 |
1
Jackson Heights
34-41 85th Street
$630,000
2 |
1
Little Neck
63-05 Marathon Parkway
$429,000
2 |
1
Bellerose
225-15 Hillside Avenue
$315,000
3 |
1
Maspeth
64-51 59th Avenue
$699,000
2 |
1
Jackson Heights
83-10 35th Avenue
$450,000
1 |
1
For the New York foodie
New Yorkers love — no, adore — their bagels and lox, and you can fuel their affair with a Russ & Daughters gift basket. The beloved Lower East Side institution first opened its doors in 1914, and has been wooing locals with perfect bagels and fresh fish ever since. Show your friends and family that you know good New York bagels when you see them.
If you have another spot in mind for the foodie on your list, Goldbelly offers a variety of specialties from legendary NYC purveyors like Barney Greengrass, Levain Bakery, John’s of Bleecker Street, Gramercy Tavern, and more. They deliver nationwide, so you can gift a little taste of New York to your loved ones even if they don’t call it home!