THe NEW Urbanista

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Central Park Tennis Courts

There aren't too many outdoor tennis courts in the city, so it's not surprising that the tennis-obsessed love love hitting on the well-kept Central Park courts in the summer. Located near 93rd Street on the West Side, the park has 30 courts--four hard, and 26 fast dry. You'll need to purchase a $100 permit in order to play, but the process is painless, and if you buy your permit in early April, you can use it until the end of the tennis season in November. Plus, the Central Park courts are the only public courts in Manhattan that take reservations in advance. Central Park Tennis Courts are filed under urLIFE: Sports (Tennis: Courts).

Meurice Garment Care

If your teeny tiny West Village apartment barely has enough room for you, let alone your clothes, Meurice Garment Care has a solution: summer/winter clothes storage. Meurice will clean your seasonal threads in preparation for off-season hibernation, and then store away your clothes until you need them again. But extra closet space isn't the only thing that's great about Meurice: whether you've got a hole in your favorite jeans that needs reweaving, a dress that could benefit from an altering, or a leather jacket in dire need of cleaning, Meurice is a one-stop shop for all your clothing repair needs. Oh, and the cleaners, which has an uptown and downtown location, does dry cleaning and laundry too (and will pick up and drop off where ever). However, do note that Meurice is a tad expensive, so you might want to leave your run of the mill cleaning for your average neighborhood spot and let Merurice handle the tough stuff. Meurice Garment Care is filed under urCLOSET: Dry Cleaners, Tailors, Jeans Repair, and Leather Cleaning.

New York Road Runners

New York Road Runners, the city's premiere running organization, not only sponsors races practically every weekend, but the club also holds running classes and group runs during the week. For the $40 annual fee, you get both race discounts and access to the NYRR townhouse (it's located on the UES just one block from the park, and has changing rooms, water fountains, and lockers where you can stash your stuff while you go for a jog). But here's the best part about NYRR: members who run in nine qualifying races during a given year get guaranteed entry to the New York Marathon. Talk about a signing-up bonus! New York Road Runners is filed under urLIFE: Sports (Running: Club).

Sherry-Lehman Wines and Spirits

This New York institution opened in 1934 and has spent the past 72 years on Madison Avenue between 61st and 62nd Streets. Along with over 7,000 wines and spirits to choose from (400 of which are under $10!), Sherry-Lehmann boasts a friendly and knowledge staff, as well as an extensive and accessible website. What else could one ask of a wine wonderland? Hamptons delivery, duh. Oh, but wait, the shop's got that covered: Sherry-Lehmann will ship wine to your summer share—or anywhere else in the United States, for that matter—for free (as long as the order is over $124.95). Sherry-Lehmann is filed under urSHOPS: Wine Shop. --C.M.

Ricky's

If Ricky’s is that shop that you always walk by, but never actually walk into because you’re slightly frightened by the loud music and punk rock interior, then we're here to tell you this: Fear not. Ricky’s, which has locations all over the city, is actually a cutting edge beauty supply shop, where you can pick up your favorite salon quality shampoo (think Aveda, Bumble and Bumble, and Kerastase), find a fantastic hair dryer (such as a Babyliss Pro), and splurge on the latest anti-aging cream (StriVectin-SD, anyone?). It’s like the high-end, hip version of your local drugstore, with a twist—in an effort to keep it G-rated, we’ll just say some stores have a rather tasteful “adult” section. Oh come on, we had to point it out, because as Cindy Adams would say, “Only in New York, kids, only in New York." Ricky’s is filed under urBEAUTY: Products. --Caitlin McNary

A New York Love Story: ABC Carpet & Home

Here’s the story of how one urbanista fell in love with ABC Carpet & Home’s discount carpets room, which is located on the lowest level of the store’s 19th Street flagship.

Desperate for a reasonably priced floor covering for her apartment, an urbanista discovered a plethora of really expensive looking carpets the basement of ABC Carpet & Home. This didn’t surprise her because she knew that ABC is, in fact, the largest single retailer of rugs and carpets in the world. However, she was shocked to find that all of the carpets had affordable price tags. “How could this be?” she questioned. A very attentive sales person piped in, saying that large leftovers from too-big carpet orders are sent to ABC’s cheapie carpet wonderland, where the prices for these perfectly good carpets are subsequently slashed. He then explained that remnants can be cut to match any size specification, and the edges can be sewn up so the carpet won’t fray. After getting the 411, the urbanista looked around for a bit, and happened upon the perfect floor covering for her living space. The very attentive sales person helped the urbanista place her order, and told her that her carpet would be ready in a few days. This was on a Saturday. Ready for the amazing part? Her carpet was ready to go by Monday, just in time for her couch delivery on Tuesday. Even better? The carpet didn’t break the bank. Now she’s head over heels for ABC Carpet & Home (which is filed under just about everything in urHOME).

Do you have a New York love story? Email it to recommendations @ urbanistaonline.com.

Macy's

For some reason, we always forget that Macy's, which is located in unforgettable Herald Square, sells useful stuff, such as dishes. But it does. In fact, it inventories really great dining brands, including Kate Spade and Vera Wang, in addition to less expensive every day plateware. The other thing we didn't realize until recently is that Macy's actually sells mattresses. Of course the mattresses are way more expensive than a place such as 1.800.Mattress, but for urbanistas who get skeeved out by mattress showrooms, hitting up Macy's might be worth the extra money. Macy's is filed under urHOME: Dishes and Bedroom (Mattress).

Urbanista Face-Off: Your Shoe Guy

Something has become very clear to Urbanista: trends may come and go, but there's one thing well-heeled New York fashionistas adamantly adhere to season after season—and that’s their shoe repair guy. When explaining to someone what Urbanista is, the first thing that person will almost always say is, “Do you have [insert cobbler’s name here] listed? Because he’s the best.” And if you disagree, it’s like, get ready to throw down your hockey stick and toss your gloves on the ice, because them is fightin' words. Which is how we got the idea for Urbanista’s first ever face-off. Who do you think does the best shoe repair in the city—and most importantly, why? Email recommendation @ urbanistaonline.com. We’ll play referee post the winner.

Hable Construction

Next time you are in the West Village and craving something sweet, but not something calorie-filled like a Magnolia cupcake, check out Hable Construction, a sweet family-run apartment furnishings shop. Located slightly off the beaten path on Perry Street, Hable Construction carries its own line of adorable pillows, stretched canvases, and other home goods that use a variety of fabrics with imaginative, can't-find-anywhere-else patterns. The beaded look is Hable Construction's signature, but the store also carries a vast selection of other chic styles in colors that will match any taste. Hable Construction is filed under urHOME: Décor (Artwork) and Décor (Pillows).

Hollywood Tans

Nope, this isn't The Matrix, it's Hollywood Tans, the nation's largest tanning chain, which has four outposts in the city. You can opt to fake bake in a vertical booth for 8 to 11 minutes depending on the bulb wattage, or choose to be doused with 6-seconds worth of spray-on self-tan in one of the newer UV Free stand up capsules (just be sure to close your eyes--the mister is powerful). Reasonably priced monthly membership is available, and so are packages for sessions. One word of warning: don't expect Hollywood Tans to be a tanning wonderland--it really is just your average salon, but it gets the job done. Hollywood Tans is filed under urBEAUTY: Tanning.

Jeeves of Belgravia

Jeeves of Belgravia, a first-rate dry cleaner that is good for everyday clothes as well as complicated things, originally opened its doors in London in 1969. Now it has more than 10 locations across the pond, and also operates a New York branch on 65th Street. Plus, other cosmopolitian cities such as Hong Kong, Istanbul, Madrid, and Jakarta have Jeeves, too. And yes, because we know you're thinking it, we'll just come out and say it: the name Jeeves was actually inspired by P.G. Wodehouse's eponymous character. Jeeves of Belgravia is filed under urCLOSET: Dry Cleaning.

J&R

If you are in the market for home electronics, computer equipment, appliances, or just about anything that plugs in, J&R, a massive electronics emporium located downtown across from City Hall, should be your first stop. Not only does the 34-year-old, family-run megashop, which spans an entire city block, have a monstrous selection of all things electronic, it also has--here's the key--unbeatable prices. And if uptown urbanistas can't be bothered to venture to lower Manhattan for J&R's low prices, we've got a solution: J&R Express is located on the lower level of Macy's in Herald Square. J&R is filed under urHOME: Electronics (Gadgets).

Kmart

We aren't ashamed to say it: Kmart's Martha Stewart Everyday line totally rocks. You can't get better looking, more functional stuff for the price. In fact, the domestic goddess's brand alone is totally worth the trip to one of the island's two Kmart stores (one is on Astor Place, the other is on on 34th Street). And while you're at the big-K, you can pick up cheapie cleaning supplies, too. Kmart is filed under urHOME: Bathroom (Shower curtains Etc.) and Upkeep: Cleaning Supplies.