About Melissa – Your NYC Insider Guide Expert
Hi! I’m Melissa, a fourth-generation New Yorker who has been lucky enough to live in New York for over 30 years. As someone whose family roots run deep in this city, I bring an authentic, insider perspective that you simply can’t find anywhere else. I love just about everything in New York City, the very reason I started this web site in 2008, and I look forward to sharing it all with you.
My NYC Expertise & Credentials
Since launching NYC Insider Guide in 2008, I’ve dedicated over 15 years to helping visitors and locals discover the best of New York City. My expertise comes from:
- Generational Knowledge: As a fourth-generation New Yorker, I have access to family stories, hidden gems, and local insights passed down through generations
- Extensive Research: I personally visit, test, and review every recommendation on this site
- Local Network: Deep connections with NYC business owners, chefs, and cultural insiders
- Continuous Updates: Regular exploration of new openings, seasonal events, and changing neighborhoods
What Makes My Recommendations Trustworthy
Unlike AI-generated content or generic travel sites, every recommendation on NYC Insider Guide comes from real, personal experience. I am privileged to experience slices of New York no tourist could see without some guidance. Some are not available to the public, or just won’t be during your visit, but many are, and are all over this site.
My Commitment to Accuracy: When I travel, I’m often surprised at some people’s opinions of New York City. Dirty city, rude people? I just cannot figure out what city they were in – because it certainly wasn’t mine! This drives my passion to show visitors the real New York – the one locals love.
Recognition & Authority
NYC Insider Guide has been featured in various travel publications and has helped thousands of visitors create memorable New York experiences. My local expertise has been recognized by:
- Travel bloggers and influencers who reference my neighborhood guides
- Visitors who return year after year using my recommendations
- Local businesses who trust me to accurately represent their offerings
My Promise to You
Every piece of content on this site reflects my personal experience and genuine recommendations. I don’t just write about places – I live them, breathe them, and share them with the same enthusiasm I’d have when recommending spots to my closest friends and family.
Whether you’re planning your first visit or you’re a longtime New Yorker looking for something new, my goal is to help you experience the authentic New York that I’ve been fortunate to call home for over three decades.
About The NYC Insider Guide
The idea for the NYC Insider Guide came to me when I tried to help an international friend plan her New York City vacation. With all the online information about NYC, little of it was targeted to visitors wanting to live like a “real New Yorker,” a more sophisticated traveler or someone who had already been here and seen most of the typical tourist attractions.
While some New York City Tourism Guides had great reference material, none of them could address what’s going in New York City now, today, this minute!
My Family History
My Grandfather, Uncle and Father were all taxi drivers. Family folklore states my grandfather was the fourth licensed taxi driver in New York City, and bought his medallion for $5 in 1937 (today they sell for $600,000 and up). As a ‘cabbie’ for over 40 years, he put three daughters through college, and his driving stories are just incredible!
Here’s a photo of my Mom and cousin on my Uncle’s Checker Cab, circa 1950
My father is a passionate photographer and his NYC photos (and many others) are all over this site.
He is the crazy man on the side of the Queensborough Bridge, next to 75 mph traffic, with a tripod, waiting for just the right light to take a picture of our famous New York City Skyline.
Through family and friends, my life has been filled with stories of old NYC, “back in the day,” while experiencing modern New York City, which changes daily, but manages to retain so much of it’s historical culture and charm.
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About Me
Fortunately, I only have to head to my 20th floor roof deck to see amazing 360 degree views of Manhattan, including the Empire State, Chrysler, Met Life and Con Edison buildings and One World Trade Center. I go up every morning with my coffee, most evenings with a glass of wine, and on a nice day, you may actually catch me doing yoga on my roof – talk about a surreal experience. My roof deck is my own little slice of heaven in the heart of NYC.
What often happens is I live my life, and then it appears on TV or in the Movies.
My real life stories have been (unintentional) premises for Seinfeld, Friends, Sex and the City and so many more. The streets of our city are filmed every day – we serve Jury Duty at the Law & Order courthouse.
I’ve had the privilege of attending several MLB World Series games, Tennis U.S. Opens, Golf U.S. Opens, Stanley Cup games and NBA Finals (SuperBowl is still on the list). Our venues host more than sports, as we also have countless concerts of the world’s greatest talents.
My high school was filled with some amazing people, many of whom have become Hollywood legends and Broadway Stars. Meeting famous actors, politicians and sports stars, or being invited to exclusive events and seeing history being made are wonderful.
But, it’s the “every day” happenings in NYC that are my favorites – and they are just like yours are at home, only our backdrop is different.
Please relax and enjoy the information on my site. I hope it helps you plan your New York City Vacation, so you not only go home as a NYC Insider, but plan to visit us again soon.
If you like this site, please feel free to check out some of my others: TennisEventGuide.com and FilmProposals.com
NYC Personal Stories and Favorite Memories
NYC Hidden Secrets are most often found when you least expect them. Some of my personal stories are now my favorite memories and they happened at the most simple and unexpected times and places.
So what does the Seinfeld “Soup Nazi” have to do with my business job? Or how did I meet the cast of Friends during a long day of community service planting trees?
See more NYC hidden secrets by month and plan for the time you are here. It’s not really that these things are hidden, as a matter of fact, they are all very public. They just are not in your tourist guides or in your hotel lobby. Plus, the selection is huge. Everyone has their favorite things to do, so if you’ve liked this site so far, then let me show you the top things to do every month.
I can’t tell you how many times I associate with things I see on television or in the movies, because I actually lived them.
As you read through my stories, realize I’m not telling them to brag or show off. My point is that so much of New York City is hidden – and that often the simple, lesser known places and people are the most interesting!
Seinfeld
Early in my career, in 1994, I was an assistant at a large consulting firm. On my second day, my boss sat me down and told me I was about to go through the BIG test. Boy, was I nervous.
She handed me a list of soups and explained how I was going to the Soup Man. She handed me all kinds of small bills and change, told me to order the soups in the exact order of the list, hand the man the bills, request bread and fruit, and then immediately step to the left after I placed my order. “Do not ask for change and do not check the order, just say thank you and walk away. He may or may not give you the bread and fruit.”
This was my BIG test – ordering soup?
I’m happy to report I successfully ordered 7 soups, received change, got bread and fruit with every order – and even got a smile from the Soup Man! I had passed my test!
The following year, the Soup Man showed up on Seinfeld as “The Soup Nazi“…how’s that for reality TV?
Sex and the City
I don’t even know where to start with this one – this IS my life (for better or worse). The men, shoes, careers, dating games. Even the simple things, like when they are talking about guys while eating their Tasti-D-Lite. Carrie’s small apartment, the clubs and restaurants they frequent, the secret lists to get in, the Hamptons, dating “twentysomethings,” watching your friends turn into soccer moms, when the girls rent a car and no one knows how or wants to drive it, Samantha realizing she’s dating the same guy – again! Yeah, this one is just a little too close to home…
Friends
There was the time I ran into Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer twice in one day – once walking on the Upper West Side, covered in dirt after a community service project, and then, that night, in the middle of telling my friend that very story at a bar downtown, they walked right into the bar! I’ve done the Wedding Dress sale at Kleinfeld’s with my girlfriends. The outside of their apartment, on Grove and Bedford, was right across the street from a friend of mine (I used to joke he was “ugly, naked guy”). Friends was a great show no matter where you live, but there are certainly parts of it that make it more real to us New Yorkers.
Just Another Day at the Office
I worked in the Empire State Building, on the 71st floor, the last floor below the colored lights. I spent several July 4th holidays watching the fireworks over the East River sitting on a ledge, with my legs dangling out the window!
Talk about a breathtaking view! Working late into the night isn’t so bad when this is what’s outside your window…
Photo by H. C. Steensen – ESB East View
Blackout Wednesday/Thanksgiving Eve
In the mid-90s, I was at Bar Chichetti (now closed) with a girlfriend who was dating the manager. I was only there because I had to switch my flight that night – and I was really upset about it. The chef was a friend of Matt Dillion’s and so he and Cameron Diaz (his girlfriend at the time) were there, and then the band, REM, arrived. Well, the manager shut down the restaurant, REM jumped up on the tables and starting playing and Ms. Diaz poured the champagne all night. Talk about right place, right time!
High School Musicals
In 1994, I was invited to see two high school friends perform in the opening of an off-Broadway show at the New York Theatre Workshop. My friends and I didn’t have any expectations of the musical – we were really going to support our friends.
Turns out, the show was amazing and went on to become a huge, worldwide success. Maybe you’ve heard of it – the Pulitzer Prize and TONY award winning rock-opera RENT!
Hopefully these stories are able to convey that so much of New York City is magical and spontaneous. You just never know what can happen and when – and that often the simple, lesser known places and things are the most interesting!
NYC Insider Guide – The Basics
NYC Travel Vacation Advice
Looking for personalized New York Travel Planning? Want a “Plan My Vacation for Me” Service? How about your own personal NYC Concierge, NYC Insider Guide, to help with exactly what you want to know? I can offer customized planning for the best events, show tickets, hotels, shopping, restaurants and more.
NYC Insider Guide Feedback
Please let me know what you think of the NYC Insider Guide. What else would like to see? What was favorite tip? How does it compare to other sites? I love any and all feedback, so thank you for taking the time in advance.
Sep 13, 2011 – fantastic way to prepare my next holidays
by: Carmen, Granada, Spain
Hi Melissa,first of all congratulations and thanks to give me a fantastic way to prepare my next holidays.I’m writing to you from a little village in Spain, I’ve just discovered your blog because I’ll be in New York in December to visit my son (he is doing his internship there). We’ve planned to rent an apartment in the East Village (Sanctuary Guests Suites). I hope I have chosen the right choice. Thanks again for being so generous to share all you know about New York City.
Sep 07, 2011 – superb site
by: Ellen Bradshaw, NYC
Wonderful informative fun site!
Covers so much of NYC, what a wonderful service for visitors and city-dwellers alike!!
Many many thanks!
Sep 02, 2011 – Superb
by: Maisy C.
What a fantastic website, really looking forward to my trip to NYC and this is a great place to find all the info I need. Great job! the only thing i can think of that would add to the site is a weather guide- thanks so much.
NYC INSIDER GUIDE ROCKS
by: Anonymous
Free promotion for your event in the best city in the world, NEW YORK CITY; your event advertised too hundreds of thousands of people. Everybody loves the Big Apple and need a reliable source/guide for what’s happening and NYC Insider Guide is it.
– Silent Voices United, Inc.
Great Organization of NYC
by: Wellesley
I just love the way you organize the content!
Great information and great layout, luv it!
Keep up the great work, Melissa
Great Advice – Take Taxis and the Subway
by: Al, Upstate NY
I’m glad I found your website, I love it!! Your website by far is the best website I’ve come across for people living outside the city. You’re best advice to me was to take Taxi’s and Subways. I thought driving would be cheaper but I see your point. Thanks, Kind Regards, Al
Great for both visitors and lifelong New Yorkers!
by: Grace C.
I can understand a visiting tourist’s confusion when they enter this city. As a born-and-raised New Yorker, I can also understand how a lifelong resident can be swept away with all the hustle and bustle of city life. This city is alive and breathing, thus ever evolving.
Melissa has done a great job of putting everything together into one comprehensive site that addresses each facet of New York – so one can easily find what they are looking for.
Kudos!
My Favorite!
by: Anonymous
NYC Insider Guide is a fabulous site – so much great information. I love the shopping and sample sale tips!
Wonderful personable site
by: Mary
I love that your site is written by you and not by a large company. I appreciate your insider tips and personal experiences in the city. It’s awesome how you love your town and share it with the rest of the world. Keep up the nice work.
Mary, Front Porch Ideas and More
The NYC Insider guide is awesome!
by: Dave
This is one of the most informative guides I have seen. It has everything you need and more. Keep up the great work.
Great Resource for Native NY-ers
by: Tanya
Your site is amazing and really comprehensive! A great resource both for native New Yorkers and visitors. Keep up the fantastic work! Tanya, NYC
one of the most comprehensive and informative tourism sites i have seen in a long time
by: joseph p.martino
the nyc insider guide is more comprehensive and informative than most country, state and provincial tourism/travel guides.
the content and graphics are spectacular.
much success,
joseph p.martino poet, writer, motivator. world traveler over 45 countries.
former resident of nyc of 70 years
| Feb 16, 2011
★★★★★ |
We are impressed with the NYC Insider Guide by: LindsayWe’re impressed with the extensive and diverse site attractions NYC Insider Guide offers and covers. You have been so helpful and thrilled you enjoyed your time at the Merchant’s House Museum.Lindsay, Merchant’s House Museum |
| Jan 25, 2011
★★★★★ |
love this guide! by: Stephanie CFantastic resource. Great details! |
| Jan 18, 2011
★★★★★ |
What a great a resource! by: SandyI am very excited about being introduced to this great guide! I live on Long Island and love going into Manhattan. I like knowing about the new places to go… I am just sorry I didn’t know about this sooner. I used to by Zagat guides each year but this is so much easier to use and it includes other venues…My hats off to Melissa on this innovative and useful tool!! |
| Jan 13, 2011
★★★★★ |
Love it!! by: Jason M.Wow, what a helpful site!It is making our trip planning, hotel planning, discount ticket buying, etc a BREEZE!Thanks!!!! |
| Jan 11, 2011
★★★★★ |
love NYC InsiderGuide by: bethThe Insider Guide was a great reference point when planning my trip to NYC. It is nice to read about places from a real person and not Fodor’s. While I didn’t take advantage of all of the opportunities that the site introduces to it’s readers, on my next trip, I will certainly look into the half price Broadway tickets and hotels from this site. |
| Nov 30, 2010
★★★★★ |
Great NYC Site to Commmunicate to Readers by: SenaGreat site! Very informative about everything NYC! Love the option to submit our own articles and communicate with all NYC readers. The NYC Insider Guide team is very informative, speedy, and easy to work with! |
| Sep 17, 2010
★★★★★ |
I miss New York City already by: Daniel, AustraliaI recently visited NYC and have since returned to Australia. Your newsletter was a great way to get local and insider knowledge and helped a great deal in discovering the best places to see and things to do. I actually had to unsubscribe because seeing the newsletter reminded me how much I miss the place. |
| Sep 14, 2010
★★★★★ |
Congrats From an Old High School Friend… by: FranHey Missy: I was in O’Hare on a stopover today, and started conversion with a baby boomer couple from Winnipeg. They were traveling to NYC, and had a Google map printed out with handwritten references for events that they “got from this great website!”. You guessed it – from the NYC Insider Guide! Of course I told them I knew you and they thought that was pretty cool too…keep up the great work!-Fran, Connecticut |
| Sep 14, 2010
★★★★★ |
NYC Insider Guide is now my Home Page! by: MichelleWe are in Venice at the moment, because my husband is performing La Traviata at La Fenice Theatre at the Metropolitan Opera for 4 months this winter. We often have to move around Italy, Europe, Canada and USA for working and that’s why we are trying to learn NYC fast, so we can live there and enjoy it.What do I think of www.nycinsiderguide.com? Well, I’ve chosen it as my home page and you cannot even imagine how precious it is in order to help me in this wonderful jungle named NYC. I’m learning by heart your NYC MAP that I find simply fantastic because of its colors and the things you can learn by clicking the mouse on each neighborhood. So congratulations, we can feel the passion and the excitement behind your job…-Michelle, Italy |
| Sep 14, 2010
★★★★★ |
Fantastic Guide by: PeterYou know Melissa, I think your guide is really and truly fantastic!! I know anyone looking for information about New York would love your guide, I spent a lot of time on it myself and am quite amazed and wowed. It is clean, organized and so so easy to navigate…a job very well done!!-Peter, Brockville, Ontario, CA |
| Sep 14, 2010
★★★★★ |
Glad I found the NYC Insider Guide. by: MandieI think the NYC Insider Guide is a wonderful source of information. Are you the only person creating content for the site? I know that it’s hard work to maintain a personal blog, so I can only imagine that something like the NYC Insider Guide would take a lot of time and effort to keep up to date. I’m just very happy that I found it!- MandiePort Elizabeth, Eastern Cape, South Africa |
| Aug 22, 2010
★★★★★ |
Love NY and your site! by: GaleI just wanted to let you know how much I love your site.Unfortunately I only get to go to NY about once a year, but when I do, your site is invaluable. I used to have to go to several places to get all the info I needed but now I get it all from just your site. I’ve even got my friends and co-workers saying it’s their favorite NY web site.We use the NYC Insider Guide any time we have to decide on where to eat, what’s the best time to visit a particular museum, what events are taking place while we’re there, and all the details you provide like cost, maps, and reviews.I just got back from NY last week and I used your mini-guide. I just stuck in in my purse and had access to everything I needed. I especially loved the easy to follow maps and we used your restaurant by neighborhood section to help us find great meals.I love that every time I come back to your site you’ve got fresh new information. -Gale, www.happyhalfway.com |
| Aug 19, 2010
★★★★★ |
From Oregon to NYC – I Love Facebook’s Open Graph by: Danika DahlI’m a huge fan of Facebook. I live it, I breathe it, I study it…for business.When I saw a friend in Oregon made a post on his Facebook wall that he was headed to New York City, I knew I had to connect him to the NYC Insider Guide..Even though he was a somewhat seasoned traveler in New York, I thought he might find all your well-organized and great information handy at some point in his trip.What didn’t dawn on me at the time I was sharing your site, is that he would come back from his trip and provide an incredibly noteworthy content 2.0 page of the “Top 10 Things He Loves About New York City.“It was like a boomerang effect — in a good way! My only intent was to provide him with one of the best NYC sites, and in turn, he came back with one of the best “Top 10” lists I’ve ever read. Perhaps, it’s because his profession is a writer 😉 -Danika, www.I-Love-Delray-Beach.com |
| Aug 09, 2010
★★★★★ |
Great info on NYC – keeps us coming back! by: ArleneI think the NYC Insider Guide is awesome, great information given we used a lot of your suggestions on the past trip in April it was very helpful in getting us around and seeing and doing some of the things we never would’ve known to do not being from there. So any information for us tourists ~:) is great. I look forward to getting the new info each month, that way I can highlight the things that we should be seeing and doing when we come back to your great city.-Arlene, CA |
| Aug 04, 2010
★★★★★ |
Great Compilation of all that is happening in the Big Apple! by: PatI live on the West Coast and was visiting a niece and wanted to get some good inside info on fun things to do while I was in NYC. Your e-zine is a wonderful compilation of all that is happening in the Big Apple and was great in helping to plan my vacation.Thank you for all the insightful info!! I think you are doing a great job! |
| Jun 29, 2010
★★★★★ |
Excited to find the NYC Insider Guide! by: Miss EllaI really enjoy the New York City Events section with the cool stuff that’s usually spread by word of mouth. It’s a great way to find out what the locals are doing for fun and makes for some great off-the-beaten-path entertainment adventures! Plus on the website, the photos are fun, and there’s a map to help get where you’re go’n explore’n!The NYC Insider Guide is great.Miss Ella, Producer, THE KONG SHOW: Comedy Variety Show |
| Jun 22, 2010
★★★★★ |
A genuine and insightful insider guide to NYC by: ChrisThe NYCInsiderGuide is a great site for those new to the city. I found the site when I arrived here from Sydney back in January and have been using it regularly ever since. It’s certainly a go-to website on a Friday when you’re checking out the cool things to do in Manhattan for the weekend. With guides, maps, accommodation etc – it really has everything you need in just one single place. |
| May 19, 2010
★★★★★ |
9 days in NYC was nowhere near enough by: Kylie, AustraliaI utilized your web site for my recent holiday to New York. It was wonderful, thank you! I’m desperate to get back to new York as 9 days was nowhere near enough. Thanks again!!! |
| May 10, 2010
★★★★★ |
Great! Get this Guide! by: JessicaMy friend and I just got back from our first trip to NYC. Your guide was GREAT!! We used it everyday. I particularly loved how there were suggestions for each area/neighbrohood! That was very useful! |
| Mar 01, 2010
★★★★★ |
Great website, by: Yioula from OZSo much good information, you have been so very helpful! We are visiting your beautiful city for the first time and I try to get as much info as possible.Thanks. |
| Oct 05, 2009
★★★★★ |
Very useful already by: Antoinette from NetherlandsVery useful already and we’re not leaving until 11/29.Thanks to the information on your site I’ve been able to buy tickets for A Steady Rain as a surprise for my husbands’ 50 anniversary !!Will be checking NYC Insider Scoop very often in the next weeks 🙂 ! |
| Oct 03, 2009
★★★★★ |
Amazing Site by: Eline from BelgiumSearching the web for some help for our 3-day trip to New York I found your amazing site and got totally interested in it!!! What a great site with the most useful information I could find!!! |
| Oct 03, 2009
★★★★★ |
November Trip by: Sakis from Greece Thank you for all the incredible information you have gathered here. It looks like you have saved us hundreds of hours of researching and walking aimlessly 🙂 I hope one day you will come to Thessaloniki and we can reciprocate by taking you around our city. |
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