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New York Glossary

New York Glossary

The words, places and institutions that come up when you plan a trip to New York, explained in plain language. Each entry says what it is, why it matters and what to do about it.

150 terms

Neighborhoods

Neighborhoods Astoria The Queens neighborhood famed for Greek tavernas, beer gardens and one of the city's most livable food scenes. Neighborhoods Bushwick Brooklyn's street art and nightlife district, where warehouse blocks hold murals, galleries, clubs and Roberta's... Neighborhoods Chinatown Manhattan's dense, working Chinese neighborhood of markets, dumpling counters and a century and a half of history. Neighborhoods DUMBO The cobblestoned district Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass, home of the famous bridge-framed Washington... Neighborhoods East Village The neighborhood east of the Bowery that birthed punk at CBGB and still runs on venues, dive bars and immigrant... Neighborhoods Flushing Queens' Chinese food capital at the end of the 7 train, denser and more current than Manhattan's Chinatown. Neighborhoods Greenwich Village The bohemian heart of Manhattan, crooked tree-lined streets that hosted the folk revival, Stonewall and a century of... Neighborhoods Harlem The capital of Black American culture, home of the Renaissance, the Apollo, gospel Sundays and soul food royalty. Neighborhoods Jackson Heights The most diverse neighborhood on earth, where Little India, Latin American blocks and historic garden apartments... Neighborhoods Lower East Side The historic immigrant gateway neighborhood, now layering galleries and nightlife over tenements, delis and knish... Neighborhoods Red Hook The isolated Brooklyn waterfront village with cobblestones, key lime pie, lobster rolls and dead-on Statue of Liberty... Neighborhoods SoHo The cast-iron district south of Houston Street, where 19th-century lofts became art studios and then a shopping mecca. Neighborhoods Williamsburg Brooklyn's trend engine across the East River, dense with restaurants, vintage shops, music venues and waterfront...

Landmarks

Landmarks Brooklyn Bridge The 1883 Gothic-towered suspension bridge whose elevated walkway is the city's most famous free walk. Landmarks Coney Island Brooklyn's historic beachfront amusement district, home of the Cyclone coaster, Nathan's Famous and the boardwalk. Landmarks Edge at Hudson Yards The western hemisphere's highest outdoor sky deck, jutting from Hudson Yards with a glass floor 100 stories up. Landmarks Ellis Island The immigration station where 12 million people entered America, now a museum included on the Statue of Liberty ferry. Landmarks Empire State Building The 1931 Art Deco skyscraper whose 86th floor open-air deck remains the classic New York observation experience. Landmarks Grand Central Terminal The 1913 Beaux-Arts rail terminal with the turquoise zodiac ceiling, whispering gallery and oyster bar. Landmarks One World Observatory The enclosed observation floors atop One World Trade Center, the tallest building in the western hemisphere. Landmarks Rockefeller Center The Art Deco complex hosting the winter ice rink, Christmas tree, Radio City and NBC studios. Landmarks Statue of Liberty The 1886 copper colossus on Liberty Island, reachable only by the official Statue City Cruises ferry from Battery... Landmarks Stonewall Inn The Greenwich Village bar where 1969 riots launched the modern LGBTQ rights movement, now a national monument. Landmarks SUMMIT One Vanderbilt The mirrored observation experience atop One Vanderbilt by Grand Central, part art installation, part skyline deck. Landmarks Times Square The neon canyon at Broadway and Seventh Avenue, the world's most visited and most locally avoided intersection. Landmarks Top of the Rock Rockefeller Center's observation decks, prized for the head-on view of the Empire State Building and Central Park.

Museums

Museums 9/11 Memorial & Museum The memorial pools and underground museum at the World Trade Center site documenting the September 11 attacks. Museums American Museum of Natural History The Upper West Side giant with the blue whale, dinosaur halls and the Gilder Center's canyon-like architecture. Museums Brooklyn Museum The Beaux-Arts giant beside Prospect Park holding Egyptian treasures, feminist art landmarks and first-Saturday... Museums MoMA PS1 MoMA's experimental sister in a converted Long Island City schoolhouse, home of raw contemporary shows and summer... Museums Museum of Modern Art The Midtown museum holding Starry Night, Les Demoiselles d'Avignon and the definitive modern art collection. Museums New Museum The Bowery's contemporary art museum, reopened in fall 2025 with an OMA-designed expansion doubling its galleries. Museums Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum Frank Lloyd Wright's spiral masterpiece on Fifth Avenue, a building that competes with the art inside it. Museums Tenement Museum The Lower East Side museum telling immigrant family stories inside preserved 19th-century tenement apartments, by... Museums The Frick Collection Old master paintings in a Gilded Age mansion on Fifth Avenue, reopened in 2025 after a five-year renovation. Museums The Met Cloisters The Met's medieval branch in Fort Tryon Park, assembled from European monastery fragments above the Hudson. Museums The Metropolitan Museum of Art America's largest art museum, spanning 5,000 years on Fifth Avenue, from Egyptian temples to the rooftop bar. Museums The Noguchi Museum Sculptor Isamu Noguchi's self-designed museum and garden in Astoria, the calmest art experience in New York. Museums Whitney Museum of American Art The American art museum in the Meatpacking District, home of the Whitney Biennial and Hudson-facing terraces.

Parks

Parks Brooklyn Bridge Park The Brooklyn waterfront park under the bridges, with skyline lawns, Jane's Carousel and recreation piers. Parks Bryant Park The Midtown lawn behind the New York Public Library, hosting free summer movies and a winter village with free-entry... Parks Central Park The 843-acre engineered wilderness at Manhattan's heart, designed by Olmsted and Vaux in 1858. Parks Domino Park The Williamsburg waterfront park built at the old Domino Sugar Refinery, with salvaged industrial relics and skyline... Parks Flushing Meadows Corona Park The Queens park built for two World's Fairs, home of the Unisphere, the US Open and Citi Field. Parks Fort Tryon Park The dramatic hilltop park in Washington Heights holding the Met Cloisters and the Hudson's best gardens. Parks Governors Island The car-free island in the harbor, an eight-minute ferry from Manhattan, with hammocks, bikes and skyline lawns. Parks Little Island The park on tulip-shaped concrete pilings floating over the Hudson at Pier 55, funded by Barry Diller. Parks Prospect Park Olmsted and Vaux's Brooklyn park, considered by its designers their masterpiece, with the borough's best meadow and... Parks The High Line The elevated park built on an abandoned freight rail line, threading through Chelsea from Gansevoort Street to Hudson... Parks Tompkins Square Park The East Village's storied square, from riots and punk history to hardcore shows, dog runs and farmers markets. Parks Washington Square Park Greenwich Village's marble-arched square, the city's stage for pianists, chess hustlers, NYU life and protest.

Getting around

Getting around AirTrain JFK The automated rail link connecting JFK terminals to the subway at Jamaica and Howard Beach. Getting around Citi Bike The bike-share system with thousands of docks across the city, including electric bikes for bridge climbs. Getting around Congestion Pricing The toll charged to vehicles entering Manhattan below 60th Street, launched in 2025 as America's first such program. Getting around Local vs Express Trains The subway's two service patterns: express trains skip stations on the middle tracks, locals stop everywhere. Getting around MetroCard The yellow swipe card that ruled New York transit from 1993 until sales ended December 31, 2025. Getting around NYC Ferry The commuter ferry network linking Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Manhattan piers at near-subway fares. Getting around OMNY The MTA's tap-to-pay fare system on all subways and buses, which took over from the MetroCard when card sales ended... Getting around PATH Train The separate rapid transit system linking Manhattan with Hoboken, Jersey City and Newark under the Hudson. Getting around Q70 LaGuardia Link The free express bus connecting LaGuardia Airport to the subway and LIRR at Jackson Heights and Woodside. Getting around Roosevelt Island Tramway The aerial tram gliding beside the Queensboro Bridge to Roosevelt Island, a skyline ride at subway fare. Getting around Staten Island Ferry The free 24-hour ferry between Lower Manhattan and Staten Island, sailing past the Statue of Liberty. Getting around Yellow Cab The classic metered taxi hailed from the street, still the fastest door-to-door option in the Manhattan core.

Culture and venues

Culture and venues 92NY The Upper East Side cultural center hosting the city's premier talks, readings and ideas programming since 1874. Culture and venues Apollo Theater The 125th Street stage where Ella Fitzgerald, James Brown and countless legends broke, still running Amateur Night. Culture and venues Brooklyn Academy of Music America's oldest performing arts center, Fort Greene's home for avant-garde theater, dance, opera and film. Culture and venues Carnegie Hall The 1891 concert hall whose acoustics and history define classical music prestige in America. Culture and venues Film Forum The nonprofit Houston Street cinema defining repertory film culture in New York since 1970. Culture and venues La MaMa The East Village experimental theater founded by Ellen Stewart in 1961, birthplace of Off-Off-Broadway. Culture and venues Lincoln Center The Upper West Side campus housing the Metropolitan Opera, New York Philharmonic, New York City Ballet and Juilliard. Culture and venues Radio City Music Hall The 1932 Art Deco showplace at Rockefeller Center, home of the Rockettes and the Christmas Spectacular. Culture and venues The Public Theater The downtown theater that launched Hamilton and A Chorus Line, and the company behind free Shakespeare in the Park at... Culture and venues The Shed Hudson Yards' shape-shifting arts center whose telescoping shell rolls open for commissioned performances and... Culture and venues Village Vanguard The basement jazz club on Seventh Avenue South operating since 1935, the most recorded jazz room on earth.

Restaurants

Restaurants Balthazar Keith McNally's grand SoHo brasserie since 1997, the city's definitive French bistro set piece for breakfast through... Restaurants Gray's Papaya The Upper West Side hot dog stand open around the clock, home of the Recession Special and papaya drink pairing. Restaurants Keens Steakhouse An 1885 Midtown chophouse famous for its legendary mutton chop and 45,000 antique churchwarden pipes on the ceilings. Restaurants Le Bernardin Eric Ripert's Midtown seafood temple, holder of top Michelin and ranking honors for decades of precise fish cookery. Restaurants Los Tacos No. 1 The standing-only taqueria at Chelsea Market and beyond, widely called the best tacos in New York. Restaurants Peter Luger Steak House The 1887 Williamsburg steakhouse serving dry-aged porterhouse on sizzling plates, long the city's most argued-about... Restaurants Red Rooster Harlem Marcus Samuelsson's Lenox Avenue restaurant mixing comfort food, live music and Harlem art since 2010. Restaurants S&P Lunch The revived Flatiron luncheonette at the former Eisenberg's counter, serving tuna melts, matzo ball soup and egg... Restaurants Sylvia's The Queen of Soul Food's Harlem restaurant since 1962, serving smothered chicken, ribs and gospel Sunday brunch. Restaurants Tatiana by Kwame Onwuachi The Afro-Caribbean restaurant at Lincoln Center repeatedly named the city's best, famous for braised oxtails and... Restaurants Veselka The East Village Ukrainian diner since 1954, famous for pierogi and borscht, back to 24-hour weekend service. Restaurants Via Carota The West Village Italian trattoria from Jody Williams and Rita Sodi, famous for its svizzerina and no-reservation... Restaurants Wo Hop The basement Cantonese restaurant at 17 Mott Street since 1938, a late-night Chinatown legend and James Beard... Restaurants Xi'an Famous Foods The family chain that introduced New York to hand-ripped biang biang noodles and spicy cumin lamb from a Flushing...

Pizza

Pizza Di Fara Pizza The Midwood, Brooklyn pizzeria founded in 1965 by Dom DeMarco, a pilgrimage site for serious pizza eaters. Pizza Joe's Pizza The Greenwich Village slice shop operating since 1975, widely cited as the benchmark for the classic New York plain... Pizza John's of Bleecker Street A 1929 Greenwich Village institution baking blistered coal-oven pies in carved-up wooden booths, famously no slices. Pizza L'industrie Pizzeria The Williamsburg slice shop whose burrata slice made it a modern classic, now with a West Village outpost. Pizza L&B Spumoni Gardens The 1939 Bensonhurst institution famous for Sicilian square slices with sauce over the cheese, plus tricolor spumoni. Pizza Lombardi's America's first licensed pizzeria, opened in 1905 in Nolita, still baking coal-oven pies with fresh mozzarella. Pizza Lucali The candlelit Carroll Gardens pizzeria where Mark Iacono hand-rolls pies with a wine bottle, famous for brutal waits. Pizza NY Pizza Suprema A family-run slice institution since 1964 across from Penn Station and Madison Square Garden, beloved for the... Pizza Patsy's Pizzeria East Harlem The 1933 coal-oven original in East Harlem, one of the few historic pizzerias that still sells slices. Pizza Prince Street Pizza The Nolita counter famous for the Spicy Spring, a square slice stacked with crisped pepperoni cups and spicy sauce. Pizza Scarr's Pizza The Lower East Side slice shop milling its own flour, a retro-styled favorite of pizza obsessives since 2016. Pizza Totonno's The 1924 Coney Island coal-oven pizzeria run by the same family for a century, now open weekends only.

Bagels and delis

Bagels and delis 2nd Ave Deli A kosher deli institution serving pastrami, matzo ball soup and free health warnings, now located on 33rd Street. Bagels and delis Barney Greengrass The Upper West Side sturgeon king since 1908, an unchanged Jewish appetizing restaurant with weekend lines to match. Bagels and delis Ess-a-Bagel The Midtown East bagel shop since 1976 famous for oversized chewy bagels and generous schmear architecture. Bagels and delis Frankel's Delicatessen A modern Greenpoint deli reviving Jewish appetizing classics, best known for its pastrami egg and cheese. Bagels and delis H&H Bagels The famous Upper West Side bagel brand from 1972, revived and expanding, known for sweet-tinged plain bagels. Bagels and delis Katz's Delicatessen The 1888 Lower East Side deli famous for hand-carved pastrami on rye and the ticket system every visitor fumbles. Bagels and delis Pastrami Queen A kosher deli since 1956 whose Upper East Side and Moynihan Train Hall counters serve top-tier hand-sliced pastrami. Bagels and delis Russ & Daughters The century-old appetizing shop on Houston Street, the definitive source for lox, smoked fish and bagel boxes. Bagels and delis Tompkins Square Bagels The East Village bagel shop known for hand-rolled bagels and an enormous menu of creative cream cheeses. Bagels and delis Utopia Bagels The Whitestone, Queens bagel shop many rankings crown best in the city, hand-rolling since 1981. Bagels and delis Yonah Schimmel Knish Bakery The Houston Street bakery selling old-world knishes since 1910, one of the last of its kind in America. Bagels and delis Zabar's The Upper West Side food emporium since 1934, a temple of smoked fish, cheese, coffee and housewares upstairs.

Coffee

Coffee Abraço An East Village espresso and bakery cult favorite famous for olive oil cake and a no-nonsense standing culture. Coffee Café Grumpy The Greenpoint-born roaster with the scowling cup logo, a pioneer of New York's specialty coffee wave since 2005. Coffee Caffe Reggio The 1927 Greenwich Village cafe that claims America's first cappuccino, still pouring under dark oil paintings. Coffee Devoción A Colombian roaster whose Williamsburg flagship flies beans fresh from Bogotá and serves them under a giant skylight. Coffee Everyman Espresso A pioneering specialty espresso bar near Union Square operating inside a historic theater lobby since 2008. Coffee Hungarian Pastry Shop The Morningside Heights cafe since 1961 where Columbia academics write books over bottomless coffee and strudel. Coffee La Cabra The Danish roaster whose East Village bakery cafe brought Scandinavian light roasts and cardamom buns to New York. Coffee Partners Coffee The Williamsburg roastery, formerly Toby's Estate, running flagship cafes with serious sourcing and brewing classes. Coffee Porto Rico Importing Co. A Greenwich Village coffee bean merchant since 1907, selling burlap-sack beans by the pound from a wood-floored shop. Coffee Sey Coffee A Bushwick roaster in a skylit industrial space, considered one of the most serious light-roast programs in America. Coffee Variety Coffee Roasters A Bushwick-born roaster with roomy cafes across Brooklyn and Manhattan, known for approachable roasts and long hours.

Ice cream

Ice cream Ample Hills Creamery The Brooklyn ice cream maker of Ooey Gooey Butter Cake fame, brought back from bankruptcy in 2023 and still scooping... Ice cream Brooklyn Farmacy & Soda Fountain A restored 1920s apothecary in Carroll Gardens operating as a classic soda fountain with sundaes and egg creams. Ice cream Caffè Panna The Gramercy shop whose Italian-inspired daily flavor drops cause lines, now with a Greenpoint sibling. Ice cream Eddie's Sweet Shop A Forest Hills ice cream parlor operating since 1925 with original marble counter, stools and hand-whipped cream. Ice cream Malai A Carroll Gardens shop churning South Asian flavors like masala chai and rose with cinnamon almonds. Ice cream Morgenstern's Finest Ice Cream Nicholas Morgenstern's texture-obsessed ice cream parlor, reopened on the Lower East Side after its Village flagship... Ice cream OddFellows Ice Cream Co. A Brooklyn maker known for experimental small batches, scooping in DUMBO, Domino Park and Chelsea. Ice cream Ray's Candy Store The East Village 24-hour counter since 1974 slinging soft serve, egg creams and fried Oreos to night owls. Ice cream Sugar Hill Creamery A family-run Harlem ice cream maker on Lenox Avenue with flavors rooted in the neighborhood's culture. Ice cream The Lemon Ice King of Corona The Corona, Queens stand serving true Italian ices since 1944, immortalized in the King of Queens credits. Ice cream The Original Chinatown Ice Cream Factory A family-run Chinatown scoop shop since 1978 famous for black sesame, lychee and other Chinese-inspired flavors. Ice cream Van Leeuwen Ice Cream The yellow-truck-turned-chain from Greenpoint scooping French-style ice cream and pioneering vegan flavors citywide.

NYC slang

NYC slang Bacon Egg and Cheese The standard New York breakfast sandwich, griddled bacon, egg and American cheese on a roll from a bodega or deli. NYC slang Bodega A corner convenience store found on nearly every NYC block, selling snacks, coffee, sandwiches and household basics... NYC slang Borough One of the five divisions of New York City: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island. NYC slang Brick New York slang for bitterly cold weather, as in it is brick outside in January. NYC slang Deadass New York slang meaning seriously or genuinely, used to emphasize that a statement is completely true. NYC slang Dollar Slice The famously cheap pizza slice sold around $1, a New York institution of late-night budget eating that now starts at... NYC slang Egg Cream A classic New York fountain drink of milk, seltzer and chocolate syrup containing neither egg nor cream. NYC slang Houston Street Pronunciation The Manhattan street pronounced HOW-stun, not like the Texas city, and the fastest way locals spot a tourist. NYC slang Pie New York shorthand for a whole pizza, as in ordering a whole pie instead of a slice. NYC slang Regular Coffee In New York diner and cart language, a coffee with milk and two sugars, not a plain black coffee. NYC slang Schmear The Yiddish-derived word for the generous layer of cream cheese spread on a bagel at New York bagel shops. NYC slang Slice Joint A no-frills pizzeria selling pizza by the slice over the counter, eaten standing up or folded on the go. NYC slang Stoop The front steps of a brownstone or townhouse, used by New Yorkers as porch, social club and summer living room. NYC slang The City What locals across the five boroughs and suburbs call Manhattan specifically, not New York City as a whole. NYC slang Uptown and Downtown The two directions of Manhattan life: uptown means north toward Harlem, downtown means south toward the Financial...