Blog Posts by Subject: New York City

It’s time for the second annual NYPL Best Books for Teens list! Get ready for the most memorable, the most gut-wrenching, the most exciting, the most fun, the most swoony, the most informative and the most engaging books of the year.

Born October 9, 1940, John Lennon spent his post-Beatles years (1971–1980) living and working in New York City. Commemorate Lennon's birthday and life in NYC by exploring an interactive map of landmarks, suggested books, and more.

Culinary tours…global entrepreneurs…dangerous political weapons in America…Nazi art theft and the quest for justice…forensic DNA…the Tappan Zee Mega Project…the Gowanus Canal…. If any of these topics have piqued your interest, then please join us for an Author @ the Library program in October at the Mid-Manhattan Library.

A wide variety of titles, including memoirs, essays, classic and contemporary fiction, history, and poetry connected to New York.

This past month in New York City, political issues have surrounded the Painted Ladies of Times Square like googly-eyed tourists with cameras on selfie sticks. The uproar fittingly abides the municipal brouhaha over the last 100 years that has possessed the behavioral pressure cooker of Times Square. 'Twas ever thus.

For the reader who just can't get enough of those busy city streets, or is just dying to know where exactly in the five boroughs their favorite characters are inhabiting, here is a list of famous New York City-based novels according to the neighborhood in which they take place—complete with an interactive map of nearby landmarks and attractions!

Ellis Island is powerfully symbolic in American culture. For many it marks the beginning of their American identity. For Native Americans and African Americans, it became a powerful place to stage a protest in the 1970s.

Redefined by the city’s growth, changing populations, and the plans of real estate developers, New York City neighborhoods are ever-evolving entities. They can be researched through our collections—useful materials include neighborhood and borough-specific histories, NYC guidebooks, city agency reports, local newspapers, clippings, statistical data, and maps.

The staff at New York Public Library love their city. Here are some books for young children, middle graders, and teens they feel deliver all the charm, mystique, and humanity that makes this place great.

The staff at the New York Public Library loves their city as well as a story that captures what is truly special and wonderful about this place. Here are a few of their favorites.

Dance in unexpected places... walking through literary New York... New York's incredible abandoned spaces... photographing fashion's trendsetters... recipes in literature... unusual hiking destinations... coming of age in postwar America... the art and science of what we eat... southern Italy's most celebrated gardens... urban transformation in Chelsea... the influence of our infrastructure...

William "Bill" Barvin worked for over two decades as a location manager and scout for television and film, taking thousands of photos during the course of his career of New York and New Jersey streets, apartments, storefronts, and rooftops; bars, clubs, restaurants, and theaters; hotels, hospitals, laundromats, and churches.

Drawing as a form of inquiry... groundbreaking graphic designers... The U.S. a safe haven for Nazis... 1,000 years of visualizing the cosmos... a moment-by-moment account of Hurricane Sandy... the era of great American songwriting... the evolution of the painted nail...

Bars, hotels, library branches, and other, more unexpected haunts.

The lost tribe of Coney Island... building the Statue of Liberty... a culinary history of America in 100 bites... the sinking of refugee ship The Wilhelm Gustloff during World War II... a close-up of the planet Mars... forgiving, remembering, and forgetting in personal and political contexts... a road trip through presidential libraries... curious New York activities... what online data can tell us about ourselves... reducing inequality in the 21st century... the history of New York's mass transit systems between 1940 and 1968... tales from a world traveler...

A few months ago, the NYPL Milstein Division of United States History, Local History & Genealogy put our collective local history obsessive minds together to bring you a list of our favorite NYC non-fiction books. Now we reveal our favorite New York documentaries. These documentary films best depict New York, either in moments or over lengths of time, providing a capsule of a New York experience.

The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel is synonymous with luxurious accommodations. Guests expect excellence in surroundings, room service, food and entertainment. One hundred years ago, white glove service was also expected by guests at the first Waldorf-Astoria's Hotel located on 5th Avenue and 33rd Street.

Sam Roberts discussed his latest book A History of New York in 101 Objects. He spoke about what he thinks the motto of New York City should be, seeing history through objects, and productive procrastination.

With thousands of people every day trying to find or planning to visit one of over 90 NYPL branches, the Locations section is the most heavily visited part of the website after the homepage. We’ve been testing our new version internally for a couple of months now and we’re ready to open it up to the public for beta testing.