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have the itch to go outside even though it’s 11pm at night? here’s some things you can do without spending much and having to interact with anybody…
(mostly based in lower manhattan)
1. play street fighter for $1 at the waypoint cafe (65 ludlow st between grand & broome st)
skip all the clubs and bars on ludlow street and head straight to the late-night video game cafe outfitted with cheap arcade cabinets and PCs. there’s plenty of table top games, board games, and card games to play if you ask. open until midnight everyday.
2. read a book at book club bar (197 e 3rd st / ave b)
finally a non-overstimulating bar for the bookworms! take a book off the shelf or bring your own and chill out on the comfy couches. this place is the perfect sanctuary—quiet chatter, a pleasant coffee aroma, and relaxing music. open until 12am sunday–wednesday, and until 1am thursday–saturday.
3. grab cheap coffee and eats at caffe reggio (119 macdougal st / w 3rd st)
walk past washington square park into the dimly lit green cafe, an iconic spot known for its classic italian eats since 1927. order some hot pasta, sandwiches, or soup to warm you up on a cold night. this place is next to lots of comedy clubs, so beware of the rowdy crowds, but if you grab a seat in the corner you’ll be a-ok. open until 3am sunday–thursday, and until 4am friday–saturday.
4. contemplate at the water and brood
go to the east river or hudson river and sit at the pier to sink into deep thought and zone out. watch the boats and birds and trains pass by. highly recommend waiting until sunrise to watch the sun wash all the buildings with a beautiful pink-orange glow. i personally love hanging out at the skate park under the manhattan bridge and sitting on the swinging benches at pier 35. open 24/7.
honorable mentions:
- manousheh (403 grand st) — lebanese cafe that serves delicious dishes and coffee. open until 11pm.
- black cat les (172 rivington st) — comfy cafe with a living room vibe that hosts weekly comedy nights. open until 10pm.
let me know if you try out any of these places! feel free to use this as a map to guide your night and crawl from the lower east side to the west vilage, or check out each spot individually whenever you see fit.
hope my introverted night owls find their new late-night sanctuary. 🌙
Jun 2, 2024
Related Recs
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The best $25 I spend every month. Literally pays for itself if you see one movie
plus if I see a bad movie I don’t feel like I wasted money
Jan 30, 2024
I recently watched The Monkey for free at Chicago's Music Box Theatre — and even stuck around for Perkin's Q&A session. I have to say, it was the best movie-going experience I've ever had. An organist played the score with diabolical cymbals in the background — come on! And the movie was hilarious and equal parts gory!
Feb 11, 2025
I haven't been in NYC for that long but I've found that the well for film in NYC is pretty deep and you can really find anything you are looking for on a given night. Obscure, Foreign, Indie, Cult Classic, whatever.
Screen Slate is a good resource to find whats playing where all around the city.
I would also suggest following a lot of the theaters on ig and they will have posts about showings that might pique your interest.
Spectacle and Film Noir are pretty cool screening rooms in BK that are pretty low key and DIY if you are looking for an interesting night out.
Finally, getting a membership to metrograph, ifc or film forum is a good option if you go to one of them and like it. Reduced prices go along way if you are going to a theater pretty frequently.
Apr 22, 2024
Top Recs from @noisefervor
đź“ť
brain dumps are like to-do lists but for the adhd-er who’s always got ten million things on their mind.
so i get a piece of paper, sticky note, or open up a new page in my notebook and spill out all the tasks that are weighing down my mind in that moment. everything from the tiny, mundane tasks to the big, twenty step projects.
this allows me to just get it out on paper and not have it torment me any longer, and you’ll feel this weight off your shoulders once you see all your scary tasks written out. now that’s the big brain dump part where you throw up everything in your mind without caring about priorities or importance.
now, get out a new sheet of paper, and start sorting out those tasks from most important/most urgent and least important/least urgent. you can number the tasks or sort them into boxes, whatever works with you visually.
your big scary projects will be at the top of the list, such as “update my resume” or “write essay due next week,” and your smaller tasks like “take out the trash” and “organize bookshelf” will be at the bottom. my adhd self would still be a bit intimidated by this, however, let’s do the small tasks first to get the momentum rolling! so i’ll go to my kitchen and wrap up the jenga tower of trash, then neaten up a few books on my bookshelf. the aim is to *get it out of the way* and make progress over perfection!
ok i realize how LONG this is, but hopefully this method builds up momentum to get started on larger tasks and make you feel accomplished that you did something small, and that counts! :)
May 30, 2024
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i love collecting cool screenprinted patches or embroidered badges from art markets or online shops and sprucing up any item i own with them! or you can use scraps from clothes you’ve cut up previously if you wanna upcycle and not throw waste away.
it’s like a sticker in cloth form, and i can customize my belongings and give it my personality :D just take a needle and thread, and learn some basic backstitches or zigzag stitches, and handsew on some cool looking squares! you can take this project wherever you go, and it’s good to put on music or a movie and zone out ٩(๑❛ᴗ❛๑)۶
May 30, 2024
đź’ż
i’ll mostly list small or medium-capacity venues that host relatively cheap shows!
mostly 18+ or all ages:
- trans pecos
- mercury lounge
- bowery ballroom
- tompkins square park or maria hernandez park sometimes hosts free shows
occasionally has 18+ shows, but is 21+ most of the time:
- baby’s all right
- market hotel (usually earlier shows that start at 7pm aren’t 21+)
- elsewhere
- le poisson rouge
- gold sounds
highly recommend going through each of the venue’s websites and sifting through the show listings to double check! also the oh my rockness website and bandsintown are great places to check for shows happening tonight in your area and stay on top of shows!
Jun 4, 2024