Shop Local *and* Global in Lower Manhattan This Holiday Season
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Where to Volunteer, Donate and Give Back This Holiday Season
Continue ReadingBeast & Butterflies Offers Tapas and Sangria With a View
Beast & Butterflies is now open at M Social New York Downtown (55 Church St.).
Video: Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson Croon Like Neil Diamond at Old Mates
Is Your World Cup Team Playing at MetLife? Base Your Stay in Lower Manhattan
FIFA World Cup heads to MetLife Stadium this summer.
Ho-Ho-How Santa Claus Came to (Down)Town
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There’s so much to see and do in Lower Manhattan
Spending a few days downtown? Check out these sample itineraries to make sure you don’t miss everything the neighborhood has to offer.
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Serving an area from roughly City Hall to the Battery, from the East River to West Street, the Downtown Alliance manages the Downtown-Lower Manhattan Business Improvement District (BID).
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It’s just not New York City without Lower Manhattan. It’s magnetic. It’s electric. It’s everything and a little bit more. Whether you’re making the most of a weekend getaway or looking for ways to mix up your lunch break, downtown has all the shopping, dining and entertainment you could ask for.
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Our 2025 holiday gift guide has just touched down for landing ✈️🌎🎁
This year, we wanted to celebrate the wealth of diversity in our downtown business community, curating a list that showcases amazing gifts from all over the world that you can find right here in Lower Manhattan.
Our recommendations focus on the thing that unites cultures above almost anything else: food. This holiday season, may you and yours break bread, clink glasses, and enjoy the spoils (chocolate! red wine! fine cigars!) at the close of another great year. Cheers ❤️
#giftguides #shopnyc
Quick! Someone put on the Mariah Carey version of “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” because it is indeed December 1.
If you’re ready to hit the ground running with festive events and holiday celebrations straight through to 2026, you’re in luck. There are countless things to do downtown from now until NYE — and we’ll keep sharing about them all month long — but for now, be sure to add some of these to your list.
From classic Christmas theater to holiday light displays to charitable opportunities, it’s going to be pretty merry and bright in Lower Manhattan this year.
As we move into Black Friday and gift-shopping season, take this as your friendly reminder to consider shopping locally this year!
We put together this neighborhood shopping matrix last year to help you source the perfect gifts for everyone on your list.
For out-of-the-box options, look to your right: these shops are offering unique rare wines, curated books, vintage art, handmade items and bold accessories. To your left, you’ll find classics you can’t go wrong with: fine jewelry, luxe floral arrangements, melt-in-your-mouth chocolates, specialty beauty and grooming services, hearty spirits and local provisions. Move up and down along the Savvy / Spluge axis as your heart and budget desires, and we guarantee the gift gears will start turning.
Lower Manhattan is the privileged home to hundreds of great stores – far too many to include here. So if you’re looking for something outside the lines of our humble matrix, head to the link in our bio to access our 2025 Shop Dine Guide, aka our comprehensive directory of all of downtown New York’s businesses. And keep an eye out next week for our full gift guide to hit the feeds!
Happy shopping 🛍️
What your camera roll looks like when you’re thankful for your neighborhood ❤️
Happy Thanksgiving from the Downtown Alliance! We couldn’t be more grateful to represent such a beautiful and vibrant corner of this city.
Over the weekend, @gothamfc made history by winning the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) Championship for the second time in three years. And on Monday morning, the city celebrated in style with a festive procession up Broadway, ending with a ceremony at City Hall.
Scroll for some pics from the festivities, which included ticker-tape (natch) and a speech from outgoing NYC mayor Eric Adams. Congratulations, Gotham FC!
Congratulations are in order for @gothamfc, your 2025 NWSL champions!
As per NYC tradition, a ticker-tape parade will be held for the team tomorrow in Lower Manhattan, beginning on Broadway and Barclay Street. Parade gates open at 9:00 a.m. with the team scheduled to start their procession at 9:30, before an official ceremony at City Hall at 11:00. Gotham FC’s official website advises revelers to arrive at the City Hall Park side of Broadway to see the processional move north towards Chambers Street. Both the parade and ceremony are free to attend, but an RSVP is required for entry at City Hall.
Tomorrow’s event will mark the second ticker-tape celebration for a New York-based women’s sports team in just over a year, following the New York Liberty’s historic WNBA win in 2024.
Find out everything you need to know about tomorrow’s celebration at the link in our bio 🔗
Sure, you could cram your parents, grandparents, siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles and friends into your apartment this Thanksgiving. And while you’re at it, you could try your hand at pies from scratch. Who cares if your oven makes your apartment so hot you have to open all of your windows in November!
Or… you could grab a table or some pre-made offerings at one of Lower Manhattan’s many restaurants. It’s your choice, but we’d suggest the latter.
Whether your crew prefers a classic Thanksgiving dinner or something a little more creative, there’s sure to be an option downtown that (almost) no one will complain about. At the link in our bio, we’ve highlighted restaurants serving up special Thanksgiving menus, and several spots where you can grab a full turkey dinner to-go, sides, pies and more.
It has never been a better time to be a coffee lover in Lower Manhattan.
Not only does the neighborhood boast over three dozen coffee shops, but most of them are right in the thick of autumn drink season. Which means that you can go into almost any given establishment, and order something that will immediately transport you to cozytown – flavors like pumpkin spice, maple, caramel and cinnamon abound.
We stopped by a handful of shops that have a particularly interesting seasonal offering on the menu. Here’s where we went and what we tried:
🇧🇷@cafepatoro: Pecan Oatmilk Latte
Takeaways: Nostalgic, sweet and nutty. Like Thanksgiving dessert in a cup, topped with crushed pecans
💚T Cafe: Brown Butter Maple Latte
Takeaways: Butter lovers, this one’s for you. Rich and unique, with tons of butter flavor.
🇫🇷 @laparisiennenyc: Spiced Burnt Honey Latte
Takeaways: Subtle and not too sweet, perfect for the person who wants a grown-up PSL
☕️@coffeeprojectny: Not Pumpkin Spice Latte
Takeaways: The “not” in the name means this drink has all of the autumn spices you love, without any pumpkin flavor. Bold and delicious.
🌉@kinshipcoffee: Autumn Spice
Takeaways: Smooth and luxurious with complex flavors.
🌹@caferuminyc: Kesar Chai
Takeaways: Includes saffron, rose and cardamom, with rose as the dominant flavor.
Explore more of Lower Manhattan’s excellent coffee shops at the link in our bio 🔗
About one in nine residents in the Lower Manhattan area are food insecure, according to the New York City Council. Food assistance requests in the city are at record highs, and the poverty rate in Manhattan is 17.2% as of recent estimates – meaning many of our neighbors are worried about how they’ll afford to feed their families, buy winter clothing or get holiday gifts for their children.
But the special thing about New Yorkers is that we look out for each other, especially in times of need and uncertainty. With so many people sharing the same city, we have no other choice but to work together. If you’re feeling moved to make life a little easier for our more vulnerable citizens, please consider volunteering, donating or giving back in some way this holiday season.
At the link in our bio, we’ve rounded up several organizations in Lower Manhattan looking for help, as well as city-wide initiatives and other charitable opportunities.
It’s been a minute since we’ve bragged about all of the new and exciting businesses making Lower Manhattan their home… so here we go!
In the last few months, the neighborhood has welcomed indoor soccer facility @socceroof, a sprawling new location of the beloved @barcade, @tacosdelbarrionyc — a taco shop run by “kid wonder” Aiden Sterlin, @kinshipcoffee, a gorgeous coffee spot with Brooklyn Bridge views, and a downtown destination for the bagel sensation @leonsbagelsnyc 🥯🌮☕️⚽️🕹️
Did you know? You can visit @theseaportnyc’s famous and festive Pumpkin Arch until November 17 📸🎃
Happy Halloween from your friendly neighborhood ghost hunters 👻
About the Alliance
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At the Downtown Alliance, our staff is committed to your success.
Downtown Connection
Our free bus service makes 36 stops around the perimeter of Lower Manhattan.
Dine Around Downtown
Sample signature menu dishes at a feast of Lower Manhattan restaurants for $5 to $10 all at one community food festival.
LM Live
Our live programming initiative brings the Lower Manhattan community together around events that highlight the neighborhood’s talent, innovation, history and culture.
We are the Alliance for Downtown New York. We manage the Lower Manhattan Business Improvement District (BID) and provide service, advocacy, research and information to advance Lower Manhattan as a global model of a 21st century Central Business District for businesses, residents and visitors. Our district comprises Lower Manhattan south of the north side of Murray Street, roughly from City Hall at the north to the Battery at the south, and from the East River to West Street.