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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Hell’s Kitchen
350 West 45th Street
$3,350No Fee
Studio |
1
Lower East Side
74 Forsyth Street
$3,395No Fee
1 |
1.5
Central Harlem
2028 Madison Avenue
$3,068No Fee
2 |
1
Washington Heights
715 West 172nd Street
$2,908No Fee
2 |
1
Sutton Place
420 East 55th Street
$3,350No Fee
Studio |
1
Murray Hill
10 Park Avenue
$3,300No Fee
Studio |
1
Central Harlem
112 West 138th Street
$2,200No Fee
2 |
1
East Village
309 East 9th Street
$2,800No Fee
1 |
1
Hamilton Heights
620 West 153rd Street
$3,378No Fee
1 |
1
Upper West Side
801 Amsterdam Avenue
$3,462No Fee
Studio |
1
Gramercy Park
4 Lexington Avenue
$3,300No Fee
Studio |
1
Hell’s Kitchen
500 West 43rd Street
$3,250No 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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Sunset Park
535 45th Street
$2,500No Fee
2 |
1
Stuyvesant Heights
930 De Kalb Avenue
$2,875No Fee
2 |
1
Flatbush
178 East 32nd Street
$2,500No Fee
2 |
1
Midwood
1652 East 14th Street
$2,650No Fee
1 |
1
Ocean Hill
145 Rockaway Avenue
$2,450No Fee
2 |
1
Midwood
1277 E 14th Street
$2,773No Fee
1 |
1
Park Slope
374 Seventh Avenue
$2,600No Fee
1 |
1
Greenwood
208 18th Street
$2,250No Fee
1 |
1
Prospect Lefferts Gardens
181 Hawthorne Street
$2,367No Fee
1 |
1
Park Slope
208 Saint John’s Place
$2,800No Fee
1 |
1
Stuyvesant Heights
225 Howard Avenue
$2,122No Fee
1 |
1
Borough Park
1062 62nd Street
$2,500No Fee
2 |
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
Jazz at Lincoln Center offers classes in addition to concerts. (Wikimedia Commons)
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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Woodside
61-15 43rd Avenue
$2,495No Fee
1 |
1
Ditmars-Steinway
24-02 21st Street
$2,300No Fee
1 |
1
Astoria
32-58 44th Street
$1,900No Fee
1 |
1
Murray Hill (Queens)
144-49 Northern Boulevard
$2,400No Fee
Studio |
1
Rockaway All
123-10 Ocean Pm
$2,200No Fee
1 |
1
Forest Hills
77-44 Austin Street
$2,200No Fee
1 |
1
Ditmars-Steinway
22-19 42nd Street
$2,300No Fee
1 |
1
Jackson Heights
35-20 73rd Street
$2,300No Fee
1 |
1
Bayside
210-02 43rd Avenue
$1,850No Fee
Studio |
1
East Flushing
40-41 190th Street
$2,150No Fee
1 |
1
Ditmars-Steinway
31-15 21st Avenue
$2,350No Fee
1 |
1
Ditmars-Steinway
21-16 24th Street
$2,300No Fee
1 |
1
NYC photography
Classic NYC photography always makes a great gift.
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
The Whitney offers great views outside, too.
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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Morningside Heights
507 West 111st Street
$849,000
2 |
1
Lincoln Square
1991 Broadway
$595,000
Studio |
1
Lower East Side
157 Broome Street
$375,000
Studio |
1
Midtown
77 West 55th Street
$948,000
1 |
1
Murray Hill
144 East 36th Street
$850,000
2 |
1.5
Lenox Hill
157 East 72nd Street
$725,000
1 |
1
Turtle Bay
310 East 46th Street
$695,000
1 |
1
Kips Bay
157 East 32nd Street
$799,000
1 |
1
Lenox Hill
301 East 69th Street
$699,000
1 |
1
Chelsea
255 West 23rd Street
$1,100,000
1 |
1
NoMad
425 Park Avenue South
$1,095,000
1 |
1.5
Midtown South
372 Fifth Avenue
$635,000
Studio |
1
Broadway tickets
Broadway shows: they make Times Square bearable.
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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Homecrest
2711 Avenue X
$364,998
2 |
1
Midwood
1223 East 34th Street
$899,000
3 |
2
Homecrest
2121 East 17th Street
$1,268,000
3 |
2.5
Sheepshead Bay
1213 Avenue Z
$548,000
2 |
1
Fort Hamilton
9729 Fourth Avenue
$405,000
Studio |
1
Stuyvesant Heights
64 Bainbridge Street
$1,475,000
3 |
5
Greenpoint
160 India Street
$1,250,000
1 |
1
Ditmas Park
1818 Newkirk Avenue
$595,500
2 |
1
Canarsie
1983 Rockaway Parkway
$450,000
Studio |
1
Canarsie
655 East 85th Street
$924,950
4 |
3
Sheepshead Bay
3135 Shore Parkway
$765,000
5 |
2
East New York
438 Shepherd Avenue
$719,000
3 |
2
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.
Hit the ball out of the park by giving tickets to a home game.
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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Flushing
136-18 Maple Avenue
$889,000
1 |
1
Jackson Heights
34-47 82nd Street
$550,000
2 |
1
Jackson Heights
37-30 73rd Street
$399,888
3 |
0.5
Rego Park
97-12 63 Drive
$485,000
1 |
1
Rego Park
65-18 Austin Street
$765,000
2 |
2
Woodside
56-07 31st Avenue
$375,000
2 |
1
Rego Park
65-50 Austin Street
$710,000
2 |
2
Rego Park
97-40 62 Drive
$310,000
1 |
1
St. Albans
121-17 194th Street
$799,000
3 |
3.5
Jackson Heights
83-10 35th Avenue
$650,000
2 |
1
Jackson Heights
86-11 34th Avenue
$479,999
2 |
1
Sunnyside
48-51 43rd Street
$378,000
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!