BY TAMMY SCILEPPI
Whether you believe the world will be ending in a decade or not, you should pick up a copy of “100 Things to Do in NYC Before You Die” (Reedy Press) just in case.
While it ain’t perfect, there’s still no place like home!
So, bring your bucket list and explore Spidey’s hometown and discover or re-discover those iconic must-sees and hidden gems, foodie offerings, off the beaten path spots, and so much more, across every borough.
Conquering New York in one visit is impossible, so native New Yorker and seasoned, world-traveling journalist and author Evelyn Kanter has put together a helpful insider’s guide to 100 astounding adventures, off-beat treats, and memorable historic sights, so locals and visitors alike can experience the best that Gotham and, of course, “The World’s Borough,” have to offer.
You can meet the author on Nov. 9 at Hunters Point Library located at 47-40 Center Blvd. — at 2:30 p.m., when she will share some of the unexpected delights of the city we call home. Books will be available for sale and signing and cardholders can borrow the guide, as well.
“There are many New York City guidebooks. ‘100 Things to do in NYC Before You Die’ is unique because it cuts through the clutter and gives everybody something new to experience through the eyes of a native who has been there and done that,” Kanter said. “Hopefully, I’ve written each entry in a way that will inspire even jaded native New Yorkers to become tourists in their own city.”
One of the entries, “Find Your Seventh Heaven,” is about eating your way around the world on the No. 7 train.
“Each subway stop is home to a different community, with small family-owned restaurants offering delicious, low-cost, home-cooked meals. It’s more fun and less expensive than an airline ticket,” she noted.
Other fun stuff: Brooklyn’s Royal Palms Shuffleboard Court is like a bowling alley, but with shuffleboard lanes instead of bowling lanes; Staten Island’s Jacques Marais Museum of Tibetan Art is one of the city’s best small and little-known museums; and one of the most unique carousels on the planet is the SeaGlass Carousel in Manhattan’s Battery Park, where you ride inside plexiglass fishes, instead of on top of horses or other animals.
Kanter said her Queens faves include: “The Museum of the Moving Image, probably the best museum of its kind on the planet; and who doesn’t love ‘The Muppets?’ Socrates Park, and the new Domino Park, are also gems. And, there are the world-class white sand beaches of Rockaway and Riis Park,” she shared.
After starting out as a network news writer and producer, Kanter became an investigative consumer reporter for WCBS NewsRadio 88 and then WABC-TV Eyewitness News. “It’s been 20 years since I left broadcast news, but I’m still writing about those things, along with the happier subjects of the best travel destinations and deals, including what to see and do in my hometown,” she said.
So, what makes the city that never sleeps, a hot vacation destination?
“NYC is one of the world’s top tourism destinations every year, and it always irks me that visitors tend to stay in Manhattan and miss what the rest of the city offers, including Queens,” Kanter said. “I love that you can take the subway to the beach! I love that Queens is an integral part of the Gateway National Recreation Area, part of the national park system, and that you can walk along rustic trails and see egrets and herons. Only in New York. Only in Queens.”
Kanter writes regularly for airline and AAA magazines, other publications, and for her own websites: www.nyconthecheap.com and www.ecoxplorer.com.
Visit www.nyconthecheap.com
