one of the problems with visiting new york city is we're always in such a rush that sometimes
we miss amazing things right in front of our eyes today i'll be sharing
10 curious nyc secrets hidden in plain sight you don't want to miss
it this is one of new york's most romantic streets that most people never heard of love
lane and you are not very far from the brooklyn bridge there's a lot of theories to how this
street got its name the daily news said it was a popular spot to make out in the 1880s where
men would park their carriages before dropping their girlfriends off at the all girls school
around the corner all right ready three two one and we just proved right there why this
is one of the best instagram spots in the city that a lot of people don't know about
that love lane sign could belong in the uk correct me if i'm wrong it would be
pretty cool to tell people i live on love lane a heck of an address for an amazon delivery no
i'll be honest i didn't even know this existed until i did research for this video you may have
heard of fifth ave you may have heard of six staff but have you ever heard of six and a half avenue
this is the only fraction street in all of new york city this is actually on google maps it
was given official signage back in 2012 but it's not just a sign that would be cool enough no no
no follow me corridors between the streets here this reminds me of uh like montreal and toronto
having those covered areas to get between blocks in the winter i feel like this new
york city insider we're being chased by people and i'm like follow me we'll take six and a half
we need like a four and a half avenue a five and a half avenue
this is amazing just stroll in six and a half
we're in park slope brooklyn which just happens to be my neighborhood more strollers
and people here who knew parents like me too and if you walked by this sign art and gifts
you might not think much of it but what if i told you behind these doors is one of the best
gift shops stores and art galleries i've ever seen in new york city i hope you like monsters
i don't know what it is but this store just brings a smile to my face you don't have to be a kid
to enjoy this place at all i'm serene i'm the owner and creative director of leroy's place
the inspiration for the space comes from these monster paintings that we make in-house and the
idea is that we've brought those monster paintings to life so a lot of the curating
sort of revolves around these like monster themes and we carry all handmade gifts made
by independent artists and designers what i find so unique about the space is how interactive it is
you can just walk up here and we have like a little puppet right yeah you can
actually feed this tree a sandwich let me hear you for you ready i did not see
this is one of the best gift shops i've ever been to in new york city call it our wood blockbuster
it's made by a woman named catherine winchester and she does these great parodies of vhs tapes so
i love it because there's a lot of kids in the neighborhood and they come in and
they're like what are these remember the movie gremlins of course but this artist
designed the makeup for kremlin this candle legitimately if i closed my eyes
and smelled this i think there was a bowl of fruit loops in front of me it's ridiculous
so this is our outdoor courtyard space and we actually have a whole calendar of community events
so we host art openings fundraisers stand right here on this x all right all right three two one
well at least it's not wet you ever in the columbia street waterfront district just
south of brooklyn heights you might pass this sculpture garden and wonder what the heck is
going on because there's no way you're gonna walk past this and not stop and investigate so this was
actually bought by a dutch american her in this old warehouse in the 1980s into this eclectic
sculpture garden a lot of iconic works from around the world are here we have the easter island head
we have a replica of munches the scream tootin katman right there it's just really playful
that's why i like it now this is private property you can't jump over here and take photos be
respectful of that but you are free to come by and check out one of the quirkiest sculpture gardens
in brooklyn this place is amazing if you're ever crossing seventh ave there's a literal needle
in the haystack you got to be on the lookout for fashion avenue what a spot for this needle
and button on top of the information center paying homage to the history of the garment district but
there's more right here this bronze statue was made by judith weller showing her father one of
the many jewish immigrants who moved to new york and worked in the garment district but i think
this speaks to all the hard-working immigrants who came to new york city from any background if
you've spent any time in the big apple one of the most iconic things about the skyline are those old
wooden water towers and they're all still in use except for this one top of the moma sits
water tower a translucent sculpture made using a functioning cedar tower it was created by an
english artist rachel white red and she wanted to create something that was really new york city
that sculpture actually changes color depending on the lighting and the weather so the next time
you're walking in midtown manhattan and you look up and you see a water tower that looks
a little bit different than the others you know why so if you ever have the unfortunate
task of needing to shop at bed bath and beyond well at least you have this right here 13-foot
bronze statue of captain america right in the lobby good old steve rogers i'm just a
kid from brooklyn hometown pride dave cortez was approached by marvel to make this statue in honor
of captain america's 75th anniversary in 2016. it's actually been shuttled to san diego comic-con
i mean i admit the location's a little bit weird like what next the hulk get whole foods
i don't know i wonder how many marvel fans just walk by don't even turn their heads to
this probably more than you would think and now i've got to go buy a new shower curtain
you just arrived in new york city from the world's busiest bus terminal port authority
you're usually in such a rush that you won't even pay attention to a really cool statue
built right here in 1999 called ralph cramden who was a character that jackie gleason played in one
of the most famous tv series in american history the honeymooners and what was his profession
he was a bus driver so it's the perfect honor to him in front of port authority
where who knows maybe he could have worked eight feet tall in bronze
very late i'm gonna be honest i used to commute into this building from new jersey and it's
probably my least favorite place in new york city because i love you guys i want to show you a bonus
inside a port authority this is called commuters three bronze statues built in 1980 to honor
what most people in here are doing they're commuting interactive be a jerk and cut the line
you could wait in line don't touch them though of course and it even says next departure 3pm
and bryant park is one of my favorite parks in new york it's the ultimate escape from the hustle and
bustle of midtown but this is literally an escape the bryant park escape hatch hidden
underneath here now if you don't know what's right there it's a new york public library world
famous now in the 1980s the library had a space problem and rather than move extra books to new
jersey they built underground stacks underneath our feet right here in bryant park so you can't
see it but there's 84 miles of stacks holding 5.7 million books if somebody requests one of those
books at the library it's sent underground via an internal conveyor belt system but the staff down
there need an emergency exit and that's where this comes in you can't see it it's actually covered by
the names of many benefactors but if you lift it up there's a way out from the library underground
through the park right here so the way i see it is it was ever a zombie apocalypse and you're getting
chased to the park you slip in here and you get into the library and you figure it out from there
that's my advice anyway while this isn't hidden in plain sight the bryant park bathroom if you happen
to be here is not only the nicest public bathroom in new york city it might be one of the nicest
public bathrooms in the world it's like stepping into a five-star hotels lobby bathroom check it
out use it if you have to many people come to the macy's at herald square for shopping this is the
largest department store in the world it covers an entire city block but we're gonna go inside to see
something that most tourists have no idea about and it's practically extinct anywhere else in
the world you have to come to the ninth floor to find this one of the world's last remaining wooden
escalators built by the otis company between 1920 and 1930 you can even see the wooden slats
right there this is like a throwback to a bygone era this is like riding a literal time machine
that just feels different to step on this wow there's one working right there going up and
then the other one is working so i i'm counting three right now whoever the the spouse is i likes
to shop leave them here and you can just ride the escalators it's pretty fun it's pretty cool
those escalators look so boring compared to this if you want to see some more hidden gems check
out this video we shot just a few months ago five more secret spots i think you'll enjoy this a lot