For New Yorkers, New Yorkers at heart, anyone who has ever visited New York, anyone who is longing to visit New York…be assured, you don’t have to be a resident of the five boroughs to appreciate the Almanac of New York City.

Much like the city itself, the Almanac is overflowing with wit, whimsy, humor, frustration, optimism, irony, affection, and all the rest. Not only is it an event calendar and planner, but it’s much, much more—one might say a daily dose of adrenaline with a side of municipal pride.  

Yes, it’s a day-by-day guide to the coming year in NYC: cultural events, holidays, historical anniversaries, weather predictions, the night sky. Each week gets its own page, with enough space to record your own appointments.

But that’s just for starters. Each month opens with an essay that sets the mood for the coming weeks—a panoramic sweep across the month’s events. February will possibly bring “Excitement and dread, hope and anxiety. New Yorkers know the familiar feeling of awaiting the special chaos of a city snowstorm.” Take time in March to celebrate Flaco the owl’s birthday (“the gutsy outsider—cunning, adaptable, fearless”). June is a good month to celebrate the city’s stoops (“What better place to observe what Jane Jacobs called ‘the ballet of the good city sidewalk’”). In July, remember that the city is surrounded by water, and although the stagnant heat can make us feel we’re landlocked, there are water views in every borough, from Brooklyn Bridge Park, to the Upper West Side’s new Waterline Square Park, to LIC’s Gantry Plaza State Park (and Little Island). 

In addition, you’ll find recommendations for a Gotham-related Book of the Month and Movie of the Month, with a brief description of each.

Each week opens with a quote about the city by a notable person, from Helen Keller to David Byrne, Norman Rockwell, John O’Hara, Joseph Mitchell, A. J. Leibling, Walt “Clyde” Frazier, John Cheever, Fran Lebowitz, and more. 

The daily notations range from factual to lyrical.

A sampling of daily entries noting past events:

July 7 (1957): Ticker-tape parade for Harlem-born Althea Gibson, the first Black American to win at Wimbledon.

July 16 (1927): Dr. Seuss’s first cartoon is published in the Saturday Evening Post—the $25 sale encourages him to move to NYC.

July 17 (1976): Seven farmers show up at Union Square for the city’s first Greenmarket.

Aug. 21 (1978): Dolly Parton surprises fans with a lunchtime concert on the steps of City Hall the day before her sold-out performance at the Palladium.

And a brief sampling of the hundreds of things to look forward to in the New Year: Jazz at Lincoln Center presents Cool School and Hard Bop: The JOCO with Wynton Marsalis; Last chance to see Robert Caro’s “The Power Broker” at 50 at the New-York Historical Society; The Lord of the Rings in concert: The Return of the King at Radio City Music Hall; Flamenco Festival at City Center; New York International Children’s Film Festival; Barnyard Egg Hunt at Queens County Farm Museum; Fleet Week; Coney Island Mermaid Parade; and on and on (and that’s only through June). 

Paperbound, 7" x 4.25", 1/4" thick.