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.
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Hell’s Kitchen
343 West 51st Street
$3,275base rent
Studio |
1
Soho
181 Prince Street
$2,160base rent
Studio |
1
Yorkville
330 East 84th Street
$2,750base rent
Studio |
1
Yorkville
1733 Second Avenue
$2,695base rent
Studio |
1
Yorkville
329 East 92nd Street
$2,600base rent
Studio |
1
Chelsea
245 West 16th Street
$3,400base rent
Studio |
1
Midtown South
7 East 32nd Street
$3,295base rent
Studio |
1
Yorkville
333 East 85th Street
$2,496base rent
Studio |
1
Financial District
21 West Street
$3,460base rent
Studio |
1
Yorkville
319 East 91st Street
$2,750base rent
1 |
1
East Harlem
1546 Madison Avenue
$2,300base rent
Studio |
1
East Harlem
1546 Madison Avenue
$2,600base rent
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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Fort Hamilton
160 88th Street
$2,950base rent
1 |
1
Crown Heights
334 Montgomery Street
$2,400base rent
1 |
1
Prospect Lefferts Gardens
110 Empire Boulevard
$2,595base rent
2 |
1
Flatbush
2307 Clarendon Road
$2,100base rent
1 |
1
Stuyvesant Heights
1875 Atlantic Avenue
$2,900base rent
1 |
1
Stuyvesant Heights
443 Monroe Street
$2,650base rent
1 |
1
Columbia St Waterfront District
131 Columbia Street
$2,606base rent
Studio |
1
Ditmas Park
985 Ocean Avenue
$2,695base rent
1 |
1
Ditmas Park
1011 Ocean Avenue
$1,799base rent
Studio |
1
Prospect Park South
180 East 17th Street
$2,450base rent
1 |
1
Gowanus
292 Third Avenue
$2,799base rent
1 |
1
Greenwood
192 27th Street
$2,350base 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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Astoria
32-77 46th Street
$1,800base rent
Studio |
1
North Corona
37-17 107th Street
$1,999base rent
1 |
1
Rego Park
62-98 Saunders Street
$2,300base rent
1 |
1
Maspeth
68-18 Eliot Avenue
$2,000base rent
Studio |
1
Kew Gardens
83-15 118th Street
$2,400base rent
1 |
1
Sunnyside
51-01 39th Avenue
$2,300base rent
Studio |
1
Forest Hills
109-10 Queens Boulevard
$2,200base rent
Studio |
1
Astoria
23-12 Broadway
$2,130base rent
Studio |
1
Kew Gardens Hills
72-61 150th Street
$2,450base rent
2 |
1
Elmhurst
86-22 Dongan Avenue
$1,922base rent
1 |
1
Astoria
12-31 30 Drive
$2,300base rent
Studio |
1
Auburndale
56-31 189th Street
$2,400base rent
Studio |
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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Lower East Side
169 Allen Street
$725,000
2 |
1
Murray Hill
25 Tudor City Place
$339,000
Studio |
1
South Harlem
16 Morningside Avenue
$660,000
3 |
1
Yorkville
520 East 90th Street
$1,295,000
3 |
2
Lenox Hill
241 East 76th Street
$499,000
Studio |
1
Central Park South
106 Central Park South
$799,000
Studio |
1
Battery Park City
280 Rector Place
$799,000
2 |
1
Lower East Side
473 FDR Drive
$729,000
2 |
1
Lenox Hill
27 East 65th Street
$1,395,000
3 |
3
Central Harlem
171 West 131st Street
$859,000
2 |
2
Lincoln Square
100 Riverside Boulevard
$1,150,000
1 |
1
Lincoln Square
303 West 66th Street
$650,000
1 |
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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Kensington
415 Beverly Road
$750,000
2 |
1
Brighton Beach
60 Oceana Drive West
$724,900
2 |
1
Kensington
415 Beverley Road
$1,279,000
3 |
2
Bushwick
1074 Hart Street
$1,350,000
3 |
2
Williamsburg
196 Scholes Street
$985,000
1 |
2
Farragut
3820 Clarendon Road
$899,000
5 |
2
Canarsie
10120 Avenue J
$995,000
5 |
3
Fort Hamilton
42 89th Street
$1,399,000
3 |
2
East New York
516 Fountain Avenue
$750,000
Studio |
1
Williamsburg
149 South 4th Street
$475,000
2 |
1
Flatbush
1298 Rogers Avenue
$1,499,999
28 |
8
Vinegar Hill
167 Sands Street
$399,000
1 |
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.
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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Sunnyside
41-42 42nd Street
$399,000
1 |
1
Beechhurst
166-10 Powell Cove Boulevard
$485,000
3 |
1
Forest Hills
72-34 Austin Street
$430,000
1 |
1
Rockaway Park
121-16 Ocean Pm
$589,000
2 |
2
Forest Hills
67-30 Clyde Street
$340,000
1 |
1
Kew Gardens
116-11 Curzon Road
$659,000
2 |
2
Kew Gardens
84-51 Beverly Road
$325,000
1 |
1
North Corona
38-11 108th Street
$418,000
1 |
1
South Jamaica
130-32 144th Street
$769,000
3 |
2.5
Rego Park
63-93 Woodhaven Boulevard
$468,000
1 |
1
Arverne
195 Beach 60th Street
$915,000
5 |
3
Beechhurst
166-10 Powells Cove Boulevard
$349,898
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!