Best of New York 2021
Illustration: by Jorge Colombo
Since 1985, our annual “Best of New York” issue has named exceptional service, unique shops and special places in dozens of categories. Now that Curbed is part of new Yorkin the digital family, we set out to reinvent ‘Best of New York’ as an online project – an ever-expanding resource that could rival Yelp in utility, but more like a secret Google document passed between friends. We have decided to double and increase the number of entries that we consider to be ‘better’, as the ideal upholsterer for repairing a craigslist sofa at a low price is very different from that for retail work on a rare Jean Royère sofa. Polar bear. Plus, in a year when more than 3,000 small businesses have closed in New York City, many of them permanently, why not include as many carefully vetted listings as possible? To find the venues recommended on these lists, which we’ll post throughout this week and extend into the weeks and months to come, we interviewed hundreds of stylish and savvy New Yorkers – set designers, curators, architects and more. Scarlett Johansson among them – and begged them to tell us their go-tos. The result: our own Yellow Pages, containing only excellent addresses.
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The UN Hidden Shop where Anna Wintour sends her interns (“I used to go to Miho’s in Anna’s town car every week to pick up the arrangements she ordered” ), a Flower District mainstay with tulips shipped direct from Holland, the family farm that sells marigold bouquets for $ 10, and more.
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Not Too Gentle Prenatal Yoga (author Jia Tolentino says he “hit a sweet spot – therapeutic but stimulating, a slow but rewarding burn”), the former Rockette who helped Gagosian gallery director Sarah Hoover lose 70 pounds and a positive vinyasa for the flow body (“The switch to virtual training has in no way limited the teaching,” says one client).
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A tarot reader who isn’t afraid to give direct advice (you can book sessions through Instagram), a surprisingly precise psychic preferred by C-suite types, and a healer who will do aromatherapy or aromatherapy. acupuncture while balancing your chakras (and can incorporate microneedling and cupping in sessions, too).
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A rat scientist for references (the company recently addressed a major mouse problem plaguing some high-profile residences near Central Park), Chloe Sevigny’s Cockroach (Neil Patrick Harris and Ellen Barkin also call him), and the company the city hired to keep pests out of emergency tents during the pandemic.
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For jet black shiny bobs, buzz orange (or bubblegum pink) cuts, hand-painted individual braids, and shiny blonde highlights by the person responsible for Scarlett Johansson (“She thinks where the sun would hit and creates highlights depending on the time of year, ”says Johansson).
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From a Mediterranean cafe that has “singlehandedly fed the entire Bushwick circus community” to a West African spot that serves platters of beef kebabs with suya spices and bissap and lime cocktails in a chef who “mixes Indian spices with other Middle Eastern, Italian and Greek cuisines. “
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A nine-time-recommended Williamsburg store with intentionally affordable vintage furniture (a customer found an abandoned dark gray BoConcept loveseat for $ 650), a Corona Plaza vendor frequented by a MoMA PS1 curator, and a vintage clothing store with an amazing excellent 19th century. quilts.
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A Harlem light fixture owned by a former schoolteacher (the store offers STEM toys, puzzles, art supplies and more), the Lexington Avenue spot, Upper East Side parents consider “an essential step on their way to birthday parties, ”and author of Cobble Hill Gills, Emma Straub, calls it“ perfect ”.
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A favorite architect who has been equated with Jackson Pollock (“He’s one of those people we never talk about but who’s an integral part of our practice,” says one architect), a downtown staple with a knack for combinations colors (and can double as an entrepreneur), and a perfectly reliable and always precise tactile upper.
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Whether you want a Judd-style plywood bench with light pink 80s-style seat cushions, a full wall of rift cut oak shelving, or just simple, inexpensive cabinetry (“You don’t have a lot of stores who can do a range of jobs and make it consistent at all costs, ”explains an interior designer.
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From the 25-year-old boutique that remains a “cult figure among interior designers” for their tight work and above all their low prices, to the one-man operation who prefers to stuff unusual items – including tall ones – speakers, bedroom doors and, for artist Laila Gohar, the legs of a dining table.
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Giant geodesic climbing nets that resemble Mt. Everest for Tribeca students, ravines filled with sprinklers and a variety of slides (one designed to look like an industrial pipe, another 14 feet and falls from a rock wall into a sandbox, then there is the evolving pirate ship where children can slide down a rotating slide).
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Sometimes the person you trust the most for a referral isn’t someone you want to share a therapist with. We interviewed 31 notable New Yorkers (including actor Parker Posey, CEO Kevin Liles, editor Mickey Boardman, etc.) about their therapists and post their references in their own words.
