There is no definitive guide

to New York City, because there can't be one.

For every tale of glamour on / Manhattan Island, there's a

story about the N train

breaking down in the tunnel from the island to Queens on a rainy Wednesday afternoon. Instead of trying to paint one

Words and research: Iohn Regan

Photographs: Rob Hann

McCann Park

Matt Friedberger of The Fiery Furnaces contemplates the effect of environment on their music. lhe Hen l-urnat er; got together rn ()ueens, not Brookhn. as rs sometrmes written tong Island (3m rn Queens rs where we played our grgs when we, were gettrno started, It's a really cool area, rn an unassuming way. It doesn't look Irke much. \‘Jltlt warehouses and (fommereral hurldrnos evenwhere. but there's a lot going on. MOMA went there when the Manhattan Iot‘atron was herng renmated It's right across the water from midtown Manhattan

l suppose that where l lrve now. Flathush ill Brooklyn. has had an effect on the music "trike: though It's llléllllh' a West lndran nerghtwarh:nod. so exemvher'e you go mu hear thrs realh unusaa music. realh strange DJ sets with sounds out ..;~ .1 oxer the tracks that the» plax Guitar rock s xer‘. consenatxenot-Hitter; .1'xithe'“..~:u‘ that .‘m hear r" Ins area mikes '.c 'afe ":a:::::‘.e manner: nty . s. ax'tarn-es. that kznd or thrng

It's difficult to sax which are the {test "‘as .‘ en New York nowadays. because a rot or the xenues are Changlflg hands. It's cool to play Outsrde tn the summer. and one place that I know rs warth

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14 THE LIST 20 Jul—3 Aug} 2006

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Bowery Ballroom

Modern blues man M Ward locates the city’s best rooftop deck and some great places to eat.

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Fedora

Nils Bernstein, a director of the mighty Matador Records, explores an intriguing pocket of West-Village gastro-history.

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picture, we thought we'd leave it to the people who know the city best to describe the locations that make them care about the place. You won't find the information here in any guide-book; it's imparted by some of the city's most intriguing cultural figures and visitors; people who know its lesser-known side best.

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Harlem swimming pool Performance artist Taylor Mac - a kind of contemporary Leigh Bowery - observes oddly graceful submerged creatures uptown.

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