Things to Do and See in NYC for the ‘Gram

It’s time we get out of the Instagram rut of posting our kids doing the same thing for the nth time—or, if we're being totally honest, what we made for dinner. We scoured New York City for Insta-worthy things to do and see. Get 'gramming, and tag us in your posts @NYMetroParents!
    

Snap a photo of the sunset.

But not just any sunset. Unique to Manhattan, Manhattanhenge—when the sunset is perfectly aligned with the grid of the streets in Manhattan—will occur twice this summer. If you miss the May 30 (8:12pm) sunset, mark your calendars for July 12 at 8:20pm. The best streets to get breath-taking photos are 14th, 23rd, 34th, 42nd, and 57th, according to famed astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, Ph.D. Just make sure to be as far east as possible, while having a clear sightline west, and be in position 30 minutes before the above times.
   

#DanceWithHippoBallerina

The installation of artist Bjorn Skaarup’s bronze statue has been dancing outside Lincoln Center since February, and will remain until July 31. Jeté over to Dante Park (at 64th Street and Broadway) on the Upper West Side of Manhattan to ’gram your tiny dancers before she disappears.
   

  
Visit a locksmith.

Even if you don’t need keys made, you’ll want to stop by Greenwich Locksmiths to see an amazing key mosaic on the shop’s façade. Owner Philip Mortillaro, who started locksmithing in 1964 and opened this location in 1980, says he had always wanted to make a chair out of keys, and when that was accomplished, he started on his door and then moved onto the building itself. Greenwich Locksmiths is located at 56 Seventh Ave. S., West Village, Manhattan.
   

	Above: Philip Mortillaro, owner of Greenwich Locksmiths welded the key mosaic on the façade of his shop, as well as the chair sitting out front, and the inside of the door.  Left: A closeup of the key mosaic on Greenwich Locksmiths (the spiral section on the bottom left side of the building) Photos by Katelin Walling

Stand with Fearless Girl

The Fearless Girl statue appeared suddenly in Manhattan’s Financial District for International Women’s Day and immediately became a symbol of female strength and confidence. Snap a pic of your own fierce females posing with Fearless Girl this summer, if you haven’t already. While there has been controversy surrounding Fearless Girl (because of a plaque that used to be at her feet, and backlash from the artist of the Charging Bull), she is sticking around through February 2018, according to NY Daily News.
 

Indulge in over-the-top milkshakes.

Milkshakes have taken over Instagram. No, not your classic milkshakes—we’re talking indulgent, over-the-top, work-of-art milkshakes from Buns Bar, located in Chelsea, Manhattan, and Black Tap, located in Soho, Manhattan. We won’t try to describe these treats with words—we’ll let the pictures do the talking.
   

   
Eat cereal out of a shoebox.

Enjoy a bowl of the traditional breakfast meal for lunch at KITH Treats, a cereal “bar” at which you can order up a combination of your favorite cereals (there are 23 different cereals to choose from) with choice toppings, or choose one of the specials. Plus, you choose how you eat it: in a commuter cup, a shoebox, or as a custom ice cream flavor or milkshake. KITH Treats is located within KITH Brooklyn (233 Flatbush Ave., Boerum Hill, Brooklyn), a clothing store founded by Queens native Ronnie Fieg.
   

   
Revel in the beauty of the mosaic house.

Stop by and see what treasures you can find affixed to the façade of a Brooklyn Brownstone. Susan Gardner, creator and inhabitant of the mosaic house, began affixing items to her brownstone after 9/11 because she didn’t want to be alone in her studio, she says in a Moonshot Productions New Yorkers video. The house is located at 108 Wyckoff St., Boerum Hill, Brooklyn.

	Above: Susan Gardner has been affixing items to her brownstone since just after 9/11 to create this amazing mural in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn. Left: A closeup of the mosaic house (the section to the right of the front door) Photos by Katelin Walling

   
Call on the Ghostbusters!

Well, actually, the firehouse that was used as the Ghostbusters’ home base in the 1984 movie. Hook and Ladder No. 8, located at 14 N. Moore St., Tribeca, Manhattan, was used for the exterior shots of Ghostbusters HQ, and the logo sign used in the movies still hangs in the station today. This is a working firehouse, so be prepared to move quickly if the firefighters are called into action.

Main image: Black Tap milkshakes are piled high with goodies; pictured are The Cookie Shake, Cotton Candy, and Sweet N’ Salty.
Courtesy Black Tap

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