Jo-Anne Elikann was born in Brooklyn, grew up in Queens, and lives in Manhattan. A freelance writer, artist, and photographer, her proudest achievement is having raised six children in an NYC apartment. She's a New Yorker through and through; a lifelong explorer of its incredible nooks and crannies. Susan Lusk has had a long career in publishing as an art director, magazine designer, book editor, author, photographer, and indie publisher. She co-authored 111 Shops in New York You Must Not Miss with her partner Mark Gabor. Born and bred in New York City, she never tires of exploring it to unearth new little gems hiding in plain sight.

• The Afro ArchivesBlack gold on Malcolm X Boulevard | 10The Algonquin LoungeLegendary literary lair | 12Alice Austen HousePhotographic memory | 14AsiaStore at Asia SocietyMuseum within a museum | 16B&H Dairy RestaurantComfort food from the old country | 18The Back RoomTabooze in a teacup | 20The Batman-Poe ConnectionPartners in crime? | 22Berlin Wall FragmentsArt of Freedom | 24Bloomingdale’s Retro RestroomPowder your nose in a Deco ladies’ lounge | 26Bohemian National HallReality Czech | 28Bowne & Co., StationersMaking a good impression | 30Building 92The Navy Yard goes green | 32CBGB’s Fashion MakeoverFrom punk hall to posh haberdashery | 34Chaim Gross’s Village StudioThe way to a man’s art | 36Championship PlayOn the world’s largest chessboard | 38The Chelsea HotelIf the walls could speak, the tales they’d tell | 40Chess ForumA place to check with a mate | 42Chico MuralsTransformative street art | 44The Chinese Immigrant ExperienceMOCA, an American story | 46Chrysler Building LobbyA triangular gem | 48City ReliquaryPersistence of memorabilia | 50Coney Island Circus SideshowWeirdness and wonder | 52Croquet in the ParkA wicket way to spend the day | 54The DakotaStoried stories | 56The Dinner PartyA seat at the table | 58The Drag Show at LipsBoys will be girls | 60The Dream HouseFrequencies in sound and light | 62Driving Along the HudsonThe Golf Club at Chelsea Piers | 64Duke Ellington Stands TallTribute to a jazz pioneer | 66The Dyckman FarmhouseDutch treat | 68Eddie’s Shoeshine & RepairShoe love | 70The Elevated AcreRetreat from the street | 72Elizabeth Street GardenOffbeat urban oasis | 74Enoteca MariaBecause nobody cooks like Nonna | 76Essex MarketSnack yourself silly | 78Fanelli CafeThe real deal | 80FDR Four Freedoms ParkA dream that wouldn’t die | 82Film ForumScreen gems | 84Fishing at Sheepshead BaySalty dogs and striped bass | 86Float Your BoatWaterways in the park | 88Flying LessonsWith no wings attached | 90Ford Foundation AtriumA refuge from the urban jungle | 92Fragrance GardenIndulge in sense-sational delights | 94Gertrude Stein StatueBuddha in Bryant Park | 96The Gospel TruthSunday services in Harlem | 98Governors IslandNot that far from the madding crowd | 100Grate SoundTimes Square humdinger | 102Greenwich LocksmithsCaptivated by keys | 104Green-Wood CemeteryHeaven here on earth | 106Hall of Fame for Great AmericansBig men and women on campus | 108Hangman’s TreeSwinging in Washington Square | 110Harriet Tubman’s SkirtTowering freedom fighter | 112Henderson PlaceA secret street | 114The High Road to a Tibetan RetreatElevate your spirits | 116Housing Works Bookstore Cafe & BarSettle in for a good read | 118Hua Mei BirdsSweetly tweeted symphonies | 120Irish Hunger MemorialThe persistence of memory | 122Jane’s CarouselA real survivor | 124Jefferson Market LibraryA castle with a clock tower | 126Katharine Hepburn GardenTribute to a passionate gardener | 128Keith Haring MuralWhimsical swims | 130Let There Be NeonIt’s a gas! | 132Library WayWords of wisdom underfoot | 134The Louis Armstrong House MuseumSatchmo’s home sweet home | 136Mahayana BuddhaMeditation amidst chaos | 138Manhattan Art & Antiques CenterOne of New York’s better kept secrets | 140Manhattan Night CourtA nice place to visit but … | 142Marjorie Eliot’s Sunday SalonLove, and all that jazz | 144Merchant’s HouseThe Tredwells at home | 146MmuseummA microcosm of the macrocosm | 148Morris-Jumel MansionGeorge Washington slept here | 150The Mossman CollectionLure of the lock | 152Mount Vernon Hotel & GardenA country escape, inside the city | 154National Museum of MathematicsA math playground | 156Nevelson’s Chapel of TranquilityWhite Light | 158The News BuildingSuperman worked here | 160Nicholas Roerich MuseumArt and ancient wisdom | 162Nuyorican Poets CafeBreaking barriers | 164The NY Earth RoomThe complexity of simplicity | 166The Old SynagogueFrom Ellis Island to Eldridge Street | 168Paley Center for MediaThe shows must go on | 170The Panorama of NYCThe not-so-big apple | 172The Park Avenue ArmoryBuilding excitement | 174Pastrami QueenLove at first bite | 176PDT SpeakeasyBeyond the telephone booth | 178Rats on the RopesOdd façade of the Graybar Building | 180Red Hook WineryFermenting a great idea | 182Romantic ViewpointEnchanting esplanade along the river | 184The Russian-Turkish BathsRub-a-dub-dub | 186Scandinavia HouseFrom gravlax to Garbo | 188SeaGlass CarouselSwim with the fishes | 190The Slave GalleriesA screaming silence | 192Small Dog RunGo to the dogs in Carl Schurz Park! | 194SmorgasburgEat, drink, and be merry | 196SoHo Sidewalk SurpriseWatch your step! | 198St. John the Divine’s Calamitous ColumnsThe End of New York | 200Stone StreetA taste of the high life | 202Sugar House WindowRelic of a notorious prison | 204Sweet Pickle BooksA most dill-icious bookstore | 206Transit System ArtSurprise – the subway’s an art gallery! | 208Tudor CityUtopia, ten minutes from Times Square | 210Under the High LineTop-level art from the ground up | 212Urban Squats & GardensOtherwise occupied | 214Visible Storage at the MetHidden riches | 216Wave HillTranquility on the Hudson | 218The Wedding GardenA photo op for the happy couple | 220Weehawken StreetA shady lane with a shadowy past | 222The Whispering GalleryCool acoustic oddity | 224White Horse TavernManhattan’s most haunted pub | 226Winnie-the-PoohFriends forever – even longer | 228Yorkville’s GlockenspielWhere time stands still | 230