TONY Kids Best of Picks
Time Out New York Kids just finished counting votes for The Parents Awards…..I think sometimes these kinds of awards are similar to "American Idol" and the results are due to networking and friends, and other times the "best" really does win. Here are my picks of the winners- some I chose because they are Brooklyn businesses and others because they truly are fantastic and others because they might be new "finds" for you. To see the entire list go here.
Best play space: Apple Seeds
If only
the real New York were as cushy as the version kids can explore at this
Chelsea haven. The 2,500-square-foot indoor playground is divided into
sections, each of which targets a certain age range and is modeled
after a familiar city locale. Your kids can play on the soft benches in
“Central Park” or drive a stationary yellow taxi in “construction
city.” Classes, a café, a bookstore, birthday parties and a haircut
salon make the annual fee ($850 per family) easier to take. Sadly,
there’s no “rent-control village,” but everything except the playground
is open to nonmembers. 10 W 25th St between Broadway and Sixth Ave (212-792-7590, appleseedsnyc.com).
Runner up
Brooklyn Play Spot 399 Atlantic Ave at Bond St, Lower Level, Fort Greene (718-852-2494, brooklynplayspot.com). Subway: A, C, G to Hoyt-Schermerhorn Sts.
Best storytime: Books of Wonder
A
great storytime can spark imagination and instill a love of literature,
not to mention buy you a few moments of peace. A subpar version can be
deadly. (Remember how time stood still when a beloved teacher was
replaced by a tuneless sub?) Books of Wonder does things right: Its
readings are short, led by a staff member and packed with picture books
tailored to kids up to age seven. There’s an in-house cupcake café,
too, because only termites and freaky loners in movies can live on
books alone. 18 W 18th St between Fifth and Sixth Aves (212-989-3270, booksofwonder.com); storytime at noon on Sundays.
Runner up
Tea Lounge 837 Union St between 6th and 7th Ave, Park Slope (718-789-2762, tealoungeny.com). Subway: B, Q to 7th Ave.
Best kids’ clothing store: Corduroy Kid
Corduroy
Kid owner Monica Willis isn’t just a stylist and fashion designer—she’s
a mum, which is to say she’s Australian. Since opening her
400-square-foot Prospect Heights shop in the fall of 2006, she’s kept
it packed with offbeat international goods like pink metallic baby
shoes ($29) and adorable “Tootlebug monkey” tees ($36) to outfit even
the most eclectic tastes stylishly and comfortably. Willis has dubbed
the store a “children’s lifestyle boutique” because in addition to
clothes, she sells furniture, toys and gifts. We dig her cool messenger
bags, which are designed to fit over stroller arms as well as mom and
dad arms. 613 Vanderbilt Ave between Bergen St and St. Marks Ave, Prospect Heights, Brooklyn (718-622-4145, corduroykid.com).
Runner up
Maggie’s Threads 411 7th Ave between 13th and 14th Sts, Park Slope (718-369-0411, maggiesthreads.com). Subway: F to 7th Ave.
Best place to host a birthday party: New York Hall of Science
Wishing
your child’s birthday came about once every other year? Don’t feel bad.
Planning a birthday party is stressful for most of us—with the
exception of those rare few who seem born to fete. That’s why taking
the tot to the New York Hall of Science, which offers an array of
themed parties for different ages, is an ideal solution. Each shindig
comes with all the accoutrements, including invitations, a teenage
explainer (so the little kids can learn about science from a cool big
kid), a party host, and food, toys, balloons and more. 47-01 111th St at 47th Ave, Corona, Queens (718-699-0005, nyhallsci.org).
Runner up
The Art Farm 419 East 91st St at 1st Ave ((212) 410-3117, uppereast.com). Subway: 4, 5, 6 to 86th St; 6 to 96th St.
Best independent toy store: Kid O
Your
choice for best indie toy store—Kid O—is run by mom and former
architect Lisa Mahar. The shop, which caters to children from newborn
to about 13, is loaded with European toys and is the exclusive retailer
of the Montessori-based Nienhuis line. Not all the wares are
educational or development-based, but most are, though the youngsters
happily playing in the colorful outpost are none the wiser. “It’s
organized, but welcoming at the same time,” says sales associate Megan
Bacher. 123 W 10th St between Sixth and Greenwich Aves (212-366-5436, kidonyc.com).
Runner up
Toy Space 426 7th Ave at 14th St, Park Slope (718-369-9096). Subway: F to 7th Ave.
Most kid-friendly art museum: Children’s Museum of the Arts
CMA
engages kids from ten months to three and a half with its Wee-Arts
Drop-In program, featuring hands-on activities involving Play-Doh,
glue, paint and other materials, and finishing out its
hour-and-15-minute sessions with music and a storytime. Bigger kids are
well served, too, with a variety of interactive programs in addition to
permanent and rotating exhibitions, each designed to foster the artist
in all children. 182 Lafayette St between Broome and Grand Sts (212-274-0986, cmany.org).
Runner up
MoMA 11 West 53rd St between 5th and 6th Ave (212-708-9400, moma.org). Subway: E, V to 5th Ave/53rd St.
Best playground: Imagination Playground, Prospect Park
You’ll
notice the absence of standard kiddie fare like seesaws, swings or
slides. Instead, Prospect Park’s Imagination Playground encourages
inventive play with fixtures like a bronze dragon statue that spews
water instead of fire, a sculpture of a boy reading while reaching down
to pet his dog, cutout animal masks that kids can set their faces in,
and a stage with multiple platforms of different heights for little
ones to play on. In the summer, programs including storytelling, plays,
music and crafts are available. Ocean Ave between Lincoln Rd and Parkside Ave, Brooklyn (718-965-8951, prospectpark.org).
Runner up
Heckscher Playground Mid-West Central Park near 64th St (centralpark.org). Subway: A, B, C, D, 1 to 59th St-Columbus Circle.
Best children’s furniture store: Kids Supply Company
The
exclusive offerings at this design studio and retail store made it your
pick for best children’s furniture. The shop, which has outposts in
Manhattan and Connecticut, wasn’t on our original ballot—it won in a
write-in campaign. Clearly, parents are passionate about its jaunty
collections of midcentury modern to Swedish Country, all well made,
sophisticated and cheery, from a store that stocks everything from baby
bedding to adult furniture. If you’re the kind of person who’d rather
eat lug nuts than haul your buns to Ikea, head to Kids Supply Company,
where you’ll pay a bit more but avoid the prefab frustration. 1343 Madison Ave between 94th and 95th Sts (212-426-1200, kidssupply.com).
Runner up
Mini Jake 178 North 9th St between Bedford and Driggs Aves (718-782 2005, minijake.com). Subway: L to Bedford Ave.
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