Upper West Side guide - Everything you need to know 🙌

Hey,

“London is satisfied, Paris is resigned, but New York is always hopeful. Always it believes that something good is about to come off, and it must hurry to meet it.”

— Dorothy Parker

In this week’s newsletter:

🧱 Complete Upper West Side guide - Including two UWS residents’ favorite spots

🌳 New York Know-How: Times Square to Central Park - It’s closer than you think

📍 MTA’s new subway map - The fastest way to divide opinion

🎫 Events we love this week: April 16-23 - Our favorite Central Park spot is reopening

🚗 NYC History: Ford Mustang Debut - Another iconic NYC moment at the World Fair 61 years ago

🍜 You’ll Have to Check It Out - The cheapest Chinese spot you don’t wanna miss

Hurry.👇

Note: As always, this email was written by an actual human who lives in NYC, not artificial intelligence. 🥸

Complete Upper West Side Guide

The Upper West Side is a quintessential NYC neighborhood. 🌆

Tree-lined streets, a lively bar and night scene, and, of course, the Museum of Natural History make it a can't-miss for anyone in NYC.

We’ve got you covered with a comprehensive UWS guide, including two guest UWS residents on the podcast episode who dive deep into their favorite food spot in the neighborhood! 👀

This guide showcases dozens of bars, restaurants, and things to do. Plus, you can view it all on a handy Google Maps list (which you can save/follow for future use).

Explore our Upper West Side guide here!

MTA’s New Subway Map

The internet is ruthless, and New Yorkers speak their minds.

So it should come as no surprise that the unveiling of the new MTA Subway map has been met with some incredibly different takes.

Here’s the old map:

And the new one:

Making a map that would please everyone is impossible, but here are some of the best takes we’ve seen since the release.

“This new map is much easier to read. The old more geographically accurate map was difficult to visualize and understand the different service patterns.” Source.

“I love the new map. It reminds me of the London tube map: so much clearer and easier to understand, particularly for out of towners who struggle with local and express.” Source.

With the flip side.. 👇

“This map sucks. It uses way too much space for lines instead of making use of the redundancy of lines on shared tracks. This leads to crazy distortion of distances above ground.” Source.

“Nah. The new one clubs you over the head with cluttered lines, jammed together, with no relationship to the actual geography of the city.” Source.

Our take? We LOVE it!

Just know that some of the proportions and associated geography are not accurate.

Use it as a tool, not a solution. 🫡

Reply with your thoughts on the map change; we’d love to know.

Events We Love This Week (April 16-23, 2025)

In the city this week? Here are some fun events we’re keeping an eye on.

Central Park’s Conservatory Garden Reopens - April 17 (probably)

We are so disappointed that it took us over a year of living in NYC to go to the Conservatory Garden. It is PHENOMENAL. 

It boasts three different style areas. The center Italianate Garden (pictured above), the French-style North Garden, and the English-style South Garden.

For the past 18-ish months, the center and north gardens have been under renovation.

Luckily, tomorrow, April 17, the entire garden will probably* reopen!

(*This info was given to us directly from a park worker at the garden, so it may be subject to change.)

Read more about the Conservatory Garden here.

Japan Fes - April 19 & 20

From their website: “Welcome to JAPAN Fes, where the vibrant celebration of Japanese culture flows smoothly across the world! With over 1,000,000 projected annual attendees and 2,000 vendors, we proudly host the world's largest Japanese food festival.

We embrace the spirit of '和洋折衷' - the fusion of Japanese and Western influences - while actively engaging with our local communities.”

The upcoming dates are:

• Upper West Side on April 19 - Near Columbia University on 114-116 Streets

• Chelsea on April 20 - 6th Ave from 24-26 Streets

We’d recommend following their Instagram for up-to-date info and exact locations.

It’s 100% free to attend; no ticket is required. 🇯🇵

NYC History: Ford Mustang Revealed

Few car models are more iconic than the Ford Mustang.

Tomorrow, 61 years ago, April 17, 1964, this best-selling car debuted to the public at the World Fair in Queens.

Henry Ford II even partnered with Disney to create a Magic Skyway attraction at the fair. It allowed attendees to climb into the newly-released vehicle (placed on a conveyor belt), which “passed through tunnels and a series of displays that began with animatronic dinosaurs and cavemen inventing the wheel and ended with futuristic cityscapes.”

One of the riders?

A young Jay Leno with his father, who he recalls, was irritated by the long line to get on the attraction. 😅

Decades later, the Mustang is still one of the most recognizable and iconic cars to hit the market!

You’ll Have to Check It Out - Tasty Hand Pulled Noodles

New York City is known for many things, and damn good Asian food is one of them! NYC has always been home to vibrant Asian communities, and with that comes top-notch food options.

Our go-to for cheap, delicious, no-frills Chinese food? 👇

Tasty Hand Pulled Noodles!

And lucky for all of us, they have a location in Hell’s Kitchen (near Midtown) and a downtown location in Chinatown. 🙌

We can actually put our "we've been here at least 5 times" stamp of approval on Tasty Hand Pulled Noodles..

We've never waited for a table, the staff is friendly and attentive, and the food comes out quickly!

Check out Tasty Hand Pulled Noodles in Hell’s Kitchen here and their downtown location here!

All the best,

Ashley & Devin from Better Together Here 🍜