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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Central Harlem
2600 Seventh Avenue
$2,914base rent
1 |
1
Central Harlem
2600 Seventh Avenue
$2,996base rent
1 |
1
Central Harlem
2655 Frederick Douglass Boulevard
$2,550base rent
2 |
2
East Harlem
2147 Second Avenue
$3,300base rent
2 |
1
Central Harlem
2750 Frederick Douglass Boulevard
$3,025base rent
1 |
1
Central Harlem
168 West 136th Street
$3,117base rent
1 |
1
Chinatown
76 Canal Street
$2,450base rent
1 |
1
Midtown South
7 East 32nd Street
$3,095base rent
Studio |
1
Central Harlem
101 Macombs Place
$3,295base rent
1 |
1
Hamilton Heights
76 Saint Nicholas’s Place
$2,900base rent
2 |
1
Central Harlem
2322 Adam Clayton Powell Jr Boulevard
$3,300base rent
2 |
1
Hamilton Heights
560 West 144th Street
$2,695base rent
1 |
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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Flatbush
425 East 26th Street
$2,800base rent
1 |
1
Fort Greene
169 Park Avenue
$2,600base rent
1 |
1
Weeksville
1212 Lincoln Place
$2,295base rent
1 |
1
Homecrest
1705 East 17th Street
$2,501base rent
1 |
1
Bushwick
166 Bleecker Street
$2,750base rent
2 |
1
Bushwick
96 De Sales Place
$2,900base rent
2 |
1
Park Slope
338 16th Street
$2,950base rent
1 |
1
Weeksville
1563 Park Place
$2,500base rent
2 |
1
Stuyvesant Heights
582 Mac Donough Street
$2,500base rent
Studio |
1
Kensington
470 Ocean Parkway
$2,450base rent
Studio |
1
Windsor Terrace
91 Ocean Parkway
$2,800base rent
1 |
1
Williamsburg
393 Manhattan Avenue
$2,600base rent
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
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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Long Island City
25-19 40th Avenue
$2,058base rent
1 |
1
Far Rockaway
20-21 Seagirt Boulevard
$1,999base rent
1 |
1
Elmhurst
79-09 57th Avenue
$2,300base rent
2 |
1
Far Rockaway
20-38 Seagirt Boulevard
$1,804base rent
1 |
1
Far Rockaway
20-40 Seagirt Boulevard
$1,549base rent
Studio |
1
Forest Hills
77-54 Austin Street
$2,495base rent
1 |
1
Astoria
25-14 21st Street
$2,400base rent
Studio |
1
Sunnyside
45-25 42nd Street
$2,350base rent
1 |
1
St. Albans
172-10 Linden Boulevard
$2,499base rent
2 |
1
Ridgewood
9-13 Wyckoff Avenue
$2,400base rent
1 |
1
Rego Park
61-41 Saunders Street
$1,800base rent
Studio |
1
Elmhurst
40-05 Ithaca Street
$2,400base rent
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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Midtown
465 Park Avenue
$325,000
1 |
1
Hell’s Kitchen
432 West 52nd Street
$850,888
1 |
1
Battery Park City
21 South End Avenue
$539,000
1 |
1
West Chelsea
520 West 23rd Street
$1,080,000
1 |
1
Hell’s Kitchen
611 West 56th Street
$1,060,000
1 |
1
Upper East Side
40 East 80th Street
$399,000
Studio |
1
Murray Hill
2 Tudor City Place
$790,000
1 |
1
Lenox Hill
233 East 69th Street
$995,000
2 |
2
East Village
525 East 11th Street
$1,149,000
1 |
1
Chelsea
305 W 16th Street
$1,200,000
1 |
1
Lower East Side
473 FDR Drive
$795,000
2 |
1
Lenox Hill
205 East 65th Street
$1,250,000
3 |
3
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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Downtown Brooklyn
10 Nevins Street
$690,000
Studio |
1
Canarsie
727 East 83rd Street
$1,200,000
7 |
3
Park Slope
251 16th Street
$785,000
1 |
1
Canarsie
10009 Avenue L
$850,000
4 |
2
Dyker Heights
118 Battery Avenue
$999,000
Studio |
2
Bath Beach
8863 19th Avenue
$1,050,000
3 |
2
Flatbush
425 East 26th Street
$450,000
2 |
1
Brighton Beach
125 Neptune Avenue
$1,200,000
13 |
4
Brighton Beach
87 Brighton 1 Lane
$499,000
Studio |
1
Homecrest
2222 Ocean Avenue
$995,000
2 |
2
Bedford-Stuyvesant
341 Nostrand Avenue
$1,195,000
2 |
2
Bensonhurst
1414 West 4th Street
$1,140,000
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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Forest Hills
6 Burns Street
$389,000
1 |
1
Sunnyside
48-25 43rd Street
$579,000
2 |
1
Ditmars-Steinway
76-12 Ditmars Boulevard
$435,000
1 |
1
Sunnyside
41-09 41st Street
$440,000
Studio |
1
Hunters Point
10-63 Jackson Avenue
$680,000
Studio |
1
Murray Hill (Queens)
146-17 Northern Boulevard
$750,000
2 |
2
Ridgewood
59-05 Catalpa Avenue
$999,999
12 |
6
Rego Park
94-11 65 Road
$550,000
1 |
1
Forest Hills
67-38 108th Street
$399,000
2 |
1
Rego Park
97-30 64th Avenue
$678,800
1 |
1
Ditmars-Steinway
45-02 Ditmars Boulevard
$612,000
1 |
1
Rockwood Park
158-48 79th Street
$999,999
4 |
3
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!