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Whether you’re making the most of a weekend getaway or looking to mix up your lunch break, Lower Manhattan has all the shopping, dining and entertainment you could want. From City Hall to the Battery, savor unique flavors, discover awe-inspiring museums, catch a show and so much more.
When one square mile contains infinite possibility, you never know what’s next. So get going, and see what’s happening in downtown New York.
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Downtown has been changing
Managing the Downtown-Lower Manhattan Business Improvement District (BID), the Downtown Alliance is your first and best business resource. Whether you’re dreaming of a grand opening or big-time growth, we’re here to help in more ways than one.
The venn diagram of people who still don’t know what they’re making for holiday desserts and the people who haven’t watched our latest episode of Cooking at Home is a circle ⚪️
Series host Rocco DiSpirito joins Emily Hall, SAGA’s executive pastry chef, in the kitchen to create two of her signature festive confections: a Sweet Potato Custard Tart and a Quince Cruller. Full video is up now on YouTube – link in bio 🔗
For decades, City Blossoms has been there for New Yorkers who need flowers.
Mother-daughter duo Karina Granin and Inna Lipovsky create arrangements for all occasions from their shop at 62 Trinity Place. In their years in Lower Manhattan, the pair have filled standing orders for corporate clients on Wall Street, made bouquets for City Hall brides, and prepared flowers for 9/11 memorials. The nature of the business means Granin and Lipovsky have had a hand in some of their customers’ most joyful and most somber moments, imbuing both with the beauty of their work.
To understand how this downtown legacy business has kept their doors open through September 11, the 2008 financial crash, the Covid-19 pandemic and more, we sat down with co-owner Karina Granin. Learn more about the shop’s origins and its long history in the neighborhood at link in our bio 🔗💐
It’s skating season in NYC ⛸️
Lacing up your skates and making a graceful glide (or a charming Hallmark movie-esque stumble) onto the ice is a great way to appreciate New York during the winter. At the link in our bio, we rounded up the downtown rink options we’ve got this year, and what makes each one special ✨
Ever since Otto Penzler opened the Mysterious Bookshop in 1979, it has become one of the most well-regarded speciality bookstores in the country, boasting floor-to-ceiling stacks of mystery, crime, detective and spy novels.
The gorgeous, meticulously organized shop is worth the visit at any time of year, but if you go during the holiday season, you’re in for a treat: with every purchase made from Black Friday to New Year’s Day, the bookstore includes a free Christmas-themed mystery story.
“Otto takes the holidays and Christmas very, very seriously,” Mysterious Bookshop Manager Ryan Lee Gilbert recently told the Alliance. “He gets very much into the spirit of giving, and handing out the free Christmas mystery gives him a lot of joy.”
We talked more with Gilbert about the Christmas mysteries, and his other book recommendations for anyone with love for suspense and a gumshoe in their heart. Head to the link in our bio for more!
With just over two weeks until the big day, we present to you: The Downtown Gift Shopping Matrix! 🎄🎁
Composed almost entirely of small businesses, our last matrix of 2024 breaks down the local shopping scene into four quadrants to help you source the perfect gifts for everyone on your list.
For out-of-the-box options, look to your right: these shops are offering unique clothing pieces, rare wines, curated books, vintage art, handmade items and bold accessories. To your left, you’ll find classics you can’t go wrong with: fine jewelry, luxe floral arrangements, melt-in-your-mouth chocolates, specialty beauty and grooming services, hearty spirits and local provisions. Move up and down along the Savvy / Spluge axis as your heart and budget desires, and we guarantee the gift gears will start turning.
Lower Manhattan is the privileged home to hundreds of great stores – far too many to include here. So if you’re looking for something outside the lines of our humble matrix, head to the link in our bio to access our 2024 Shop Dine Guide, aka our comprehensive directory of all of downtown New York’s businesses.
Happy gifting!
With their punchy, sunshine-yellow signage and pastry case full of Brazilian delicacies with flavors to match, Cafe Patoro, located at 223 Front Street, draws people in and invites them to stay awhile.
We talked to Cafe Patoro`s Ahla Ko-Oh about her passion for food, her journey from hobby-baker to business owner and the fateful encounter that helped jumpstart it all. Link in bio 🔗
“He just always believed in us.”
Chef Emily Hall speaks on the positive influence the late James Kent had on the pastry program at SAGA, where Kent’s legacy and ethos as a chef continue to live on.
Today is the last day to pre-register for exclusive access to our next episode of Dine Around Downtown: Cooking at Home with Rocco DiSipirito and Emily Hall. All pre-registrants will automatically be entered to win a dinner for two at SAGA. Link in bio 🔗
Meet “Star Light Star Bright,” Lower Manhattan’s newest public art installation designed by @hou_de_sousa 🌟
Inspired by the cultural tradition of wishing trees, Star Light Star Bright encourages visitors to attach their wishes to the sculpture, helping it grow bigger and brighter as the holiday season stretches on.
If you can’t make it to the plaza at 140 Broadway to make your wish, comment your wish below and we will place it on the sculpture for you! Happy holidays ❤️
Who is the downtown alliance
Our mission at the Alliance for Downtown New York is to provide service, advocacy, research and information to enhance the quality of life in Lower Manhattan and advance the vibrant neighborhood as a global model of a 21st century Central Business District. By supporting economic development, public safety, sanitation, transportation and more, we strive to make Lower Manhattan an exciting, clean and safe place to live, work and play.
About the Alliance
