Guide to New York City Urban Landscapes

A tour of not-to-be-missed public places―parks, plazas, memorials, streets―that shape the New York experience.

The thirty-eight urban gems covered here range from newly created linear spaces along the water’s edge, such as Brooklyn Bridge Park and the East River Waterfront Esplanade, to revitalized squares and circles, such as those at Gansevoort Plaza in the Meatpacking District and Columbus Circle, to repurposed open spaces like the freight tracks, now the High Line, and Concrete Plant Park in the Bronx. Readers can discover midtown atriums, mingle with the crowds in Union Square, travel offshore to nearby Governors Island, and enjoy the vistas of historic Green-Wood Cemetery. Pete Hamill writes in his foreword, “I’ve . . . made a list of new places I must visit while there is time. With any luck at all, I’ll see all of them. I hope you, the reader, can find the time too.” Concise descriptions, helpful maps, and vivid photographs capture the New York urban scene. 130 color photographs

Robin Lynn conceived and edited 10 Architectural Walks in Manhattan by Francis Morrone and Matthew Postal (W.W. Norton & Company, 2009), and co-authored A Walking Tour of Cast Iron Architecture in SoHo with Margot Gayle (Friends of Cast Iron Architecture, 1983; second edition, Victorian Society New York on behalf of Friends of Cast Iron Architecture, 2011). She organized architectural walking tours for the Municipal Art Society for over ten years. Robin teaches English and New York City history to new New Yorkers at the College of Mt. St. Vincent’s Center for Immigrant Studies and Columbia University’s Community Impact program.

Francis Morrone is an art and architecture critic who writes book reviews, film criticism, and design criticism for many publications. He has written architectural guides to Philadelphia and New York City. He lives in Brooklyn, New York. He is also the recipient of the 2012 Arthur Ross Award in History/Journalism, given by The Institute of Classical Architecture & Art (ICAA).

Pete Hamill (1935–2020) was a legendary reporter and columnist for the New York Post, the New York Daily News, and other publications.