I can't believe I've never reviewed the Strand. I guess I haven't visited in years?! Well, I…read morecorrected that oversight last Sunday, and I still love it as much as I did when I was in college. I love bookstores, and NYC has lots of great ones. But the Strand Bookstore might be the best? It's a classic. It's the largest independent bookstore in the city, carrying 2.5 million used, new, and rare books (their tag line - "18 Miles of Books" refers to the fact that the shelf space in the store supposedly stretches over 18 miles)! Plenty of people just shop front their discount racks outside the sidewalk (where all books are $3-7) and then pop in just to pay. But the inside is incredible. More books than almost any bookstore I've ever been to. Still family-owned, over 100 years old, and with an emphasis on bookseller recommendations, it's just an excellent bookstore. When I stopped by on Sunday, I made it past about four tables and end displays - new fiction, signed books, and employee recommendations - about 50 feet into the store. I already had six books in my hands and decided I better leave quickly before I had a problem! Despite the size of the store and the number of shoppers, the line to check out was short and quick. With friendly customer service to boot. It's simply one of the best bookstores in the city. Maybe in the country, too?! Definitely check it out.

I was so surprised to see I have not written a review for Strand even though I have visited several…read moretimes. Strand Book Store is a landmark family owned bookstore famous for its "18 miles of books" and a massive inventory of over 2.5 million new, used, and rare titles. There are four floors - the first floor which is usually very busy and chaotic features a vast collection of new releases and best-sellers, and a wide variety of Strand themed merchandise The lower level is mainly non-fiction and music and travel section. The second floor has art, photography, architecture and children's books. The third floor is rare books. The store is packed with books and if you cannot find a book here it may not exist. It is easy to spend hours browsing through the aisles.

Great curated selection. Some real gems for collectors out there. Lovely staff and great vibes!read more

Nice selection of used books. Large group of mystery, fiction, and smatterings of Christian/Jewish…read morebooks. Always courteous service. Check out the carts outside always sold at deep discounts.

How cool are these. I just happened to be walking and voila this little thing appeared. I…read morecompletely love the concept of these birdhouse style mini libraries and upon further investigation found there are quite a few all over our city. You can buy a kit from the Little Free Library website or build your own. Either way a Google search will show you just how custom and charming these libraries are. Adds a ton of curb appeal and does something great for the neighborhood. Win win.

Offering an incredible opportunity to donate good books to a quality shop. a quirky used bookstore…read morein New York City's Lower East Side that lets customers trade books for its own brand of pickles, paying homage to the neighborhood's history as a pickle capital. You can swap books for pickles on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, but check their Instagram for current guidelines on which genres they're accepting. We god the sweet dill pickles and they're quickly our new favorites

5 stars largely for the business model! What a treat to be able to trade books for pickles! A real…read moreManhattan treat. As far as the bookstore goes, I wish there was more space and curation. I struggle with used bookstores because it's hard for me to know what is to my tastes. Decades of covers are hard to decode and get signals for what I'm attracted towards. I'd love a little more help from the booksellers to figure out what book works for me. But maybe that's what people like about used bookstores? The chaos of searching through books across time to find what's good?

Our neighborhood preschool is an absolute gem and we couldn't be happier with it! My second child…read morepresently attends and I have an older child that graduated. What impresses me most is that everything in the classroom and every daily activity is thoughtfully considered to help a child's development and inspire a sense of wonder for learning. The teachers are professionals who have studied child development and are often working on graduate degrees in education (or already have advanced degrees). The school is a warm and welcoming environment. The teachers are accessible and happy to answer any questions. The school also has "teacher talks" where they meet with parents and chat about different topics - like mindful parenting, creating positive sleep, dealing with transitions, etc. Classes are small, and well staffed. There are community building events like "Shabbat sing" and parent get-togethers. Kids talk about Jewish holidays and have occasionally had visitors (a rabbi who demos an oil press to make oil for Hanukah). I have absolutely nothing negative to say about this wonderful preschool. In a city with overwhelming choices and opinions, it is probably one of the only parenting decisions I'm thrilled about.

This is our third year at Yaldaynu. I could not ask for a better school for my children. Programs…read moreand teachers are fantastic. Children are exposed to art, science, literacy, nature, biology - all in an incredible playful, fun and nurturing way. The school is led by an intelligent and hard worker principal, who cares about these children as they were her own. My children are growing into smart, balanced, curios and sweet human beings because of Yaldaynu. I am so thankful for this school!

Lovely staff at the reception, in the locker room, and in the pool. On a Friday evening around…read more6:30, it was wonderfully quiet in the pool: I was one of only two in a lane. The premises seemed clean to me. And when an administrative issue came up, I received a most accommodating response via email in no time. I'm a fan!

Finding a big enough pool in NYC for lap swimming that isn't overcrowded is a pain. If you can get…read morehere at the right hours, you can get a lane and share it with only one person or maybe have it to yourself for a bit. That's a huge luxury in NYC. Stop by and read the pool schedule to see the times when they have all six lanes open and not taken up with swim team or lessons. If you can fit yourself in those hours, it's good. if you can't you might find swimming here extremely frustrating. The locker room, showers, steam/sauna are clean enough, could be better (they ain't Equinox). People are nice and price is about $125 per month which also includes basketball court/pickleball, indoor track, very well equipped weight room, classes, etc. I think there's a childcare room too. This is a family/community place. All walks of life. I like it.

I have been here a number of times for different garments and it is always excellent and fast…read moreservice - ask for Yaser

Yaser performed precision surgery on a beautiful brocade coat that was so ill-fitting I couldn't…read morewear it. Now it's as if custom made! He also altered another jacket to perfection. Highly recommend ALTS: I'll be back!