Emily Hoff Finds Inspiration in Street Trees and Whiskey Shots
When Emily Hoff took a job in New York in 2012, she wasn’t so sure about moving to the city. But five days in, she called her family and told them to send the rest of her things. Emily fell in love with the “energy, creativity, and weirdos” of the city. Eight years later, she remains energized by the big, creative things happening in the Big Apple, the place she’s made her home.
A museum curator with a dual Masters in History and Museum Studies, Emily has worked with some of the most prominent museums in New York. At the American Museum of Natural History, she curated an exhibit on Pterosaurs, the flying reptiles that lived alongside the dinosaurs. This year, Emily co-authored the book Scenic Science of the National Parks. From her Brooklyn apartment, Emily shares what makes her city so dazzling.
Tell us the first thing you’ll eat when restaurants open again.
Believe it or not, I’m heading right to Times Square to eat at one of my favorite spots in the city—Gyu Kaku, a Japanese barbecue joint. I’m going to grill piles of delicious pieces of meat, eat garlic noodles until they are coming out of my pores, order more dumplings than should be allowed, and drink oh-so-many way-too-cheap and way-too-big glasses of wine. In the before times, my side hustle was leading walking tours, and the Times Square Gyu Kaku (there are a few others in NYC) was one of our stops. I got to know the staff, and I miss them terribly! Even when I was running tours every day, I still ate everything on offer at Gyu Kaku—I could skip any stop, but not that one!
What three things make for a perfect New York Sunday?
A fresh copy of the New York Times to hunt and peck my way through (front page section, book review, arts, metropolitan, real estate, crossword…usually in that order), a bright sunny day with big white puffy clouds, and a prime spot in a park—dappled sunlight and lots of dogs walking by, please. I guess for it to be perfect, we should add a bottle of wine or some to-go Aperol spritzes. Oh my god, and a doubles or four.
What do you love most about your neighborhood?
I live in a small three-unit building across the street from a massive public housing development. In the warmer months, folks spend pretty much all day out in front of the building, cooking food, socializing, and playing music. The music is my favorite part—I joke that from May until October, my roommates and I never have to turn music on in the living room. Just open the windows and see what’s cranking. I love it!
What New York tourist site do you still love?
After all these years, I am still massively obsessed with all the glorious bridges in this town. They are just so beautiful, and I’m totally in love with all of NYC’s water. You’ll find me in water-adjacent parks and on NYC ferries in all kinds of weather. I’ve transferred subway trains unnecessarily just so I can go over a bridge and look at the other ones—it’s that level of dedication. If you need me, I’ll be the weirdo with my nose pressed against the train door windows.
Where do you go for your favorite view of New York?
The Staten Island Ferry (see my obsession with water above)— I call it the best dive bar in NYC. The drinks are cheap—I’m partial to a tall boy of White Claw, myself—and the views are truly breathtaking. People sometimes look at me funny when I say that, but once you’ve felt the harbor wind on your face while staring right at Lady Liberty and drinking out of a brown paper bag, you will know what I mean. Plus, the people watching never disappoints.
Where do you go for a moment of peace?
I’ll admit to being as stir-crazy as anyone at this point, but my peace is always my home. It’s my little corner of all of this craziness. I love being surrounded by my books and having a quiet place to work, relax, and hang out. Plus, I’m fortunate to have access to a backyard with green space and plenty of sunlight. If it’s warm enough, you can bet I’m considering firing up the grill.
Experience New York From Home
What book feels like stepping inside your city?
New York Diaries— it’s a chronological (January 1–December 31) compilation of dozens of diaries kept by New Yorkers of all eras and stripes from citizen bloggers in the aftermath of 9/11 back to Henry Hudson’s crew. Okay, they weren’t New Yorkers, but you get my drift (pun intended). I read the whole thing cover to cover years ago. Now, I go back and flip to specific days—like today’s date or my birthday—just to see what was going on in 1780, 1847, 1990, or whenever. The longest entry on my birthday is Simone de Beauvoir trying out “jazz cigarettes” for the first time. That feels right.
What songs remind you of New York?
“Living for the City” by Stevie Wonder
“My Metrocard” by Le Tigre
“Shattered” by The Rolling Stones
“New York, New York” by Frank Sinatra (I mean, c’mon!)
“Rhapsody in Blue” by George Gershwin
“Pigeon” by Cannibal Ox
“The Bridge” by Sonny Rollins
What are your three favorite places in New York from our Atlas?
City Hall Station—I adore the subway. It’s sprawling and chaotic, and being able to navigate it feels like knowing another language or being able to solve complex calculus equations. Our subway, like the rest of the city, is more or less one giant, cobbled together Rube Goldberg Machine, and I’m just as fascinated by the parts that have gone obsolete as I am the parts that still function. An old empty station with beautiful decorations that I can gawk at from an empty train car? That’s a yes for me!
Broken Kilometer/ Earth Room—These sites are indicative to me of all the weird, fantastic, brain-tickling art tucked into all sorts of spaces all over town. These are two more well-known examples, but there are very few places you can visit in NYC and not be near some kind of visual art—learning to look for and find those moments is a fascinating part of getting to know this city.
Prison Ship Martyrs Monument—New York’s role in the American Revolution isn’t as broadly known as it should be (what part of U.S. history is?). Still, this city was central to the war and the highly imperfect nation-building that followed. That more people died on the prison ships the British anchored in the East River than in any battle is a mind-boggling statistic. The monument itself is beautiful, and the views into Manhattan are great, but what gets me every time is that this location isn’t some random, idyllic spot. The land that now makes up Fort Greene Park was where the Continental Forces retreated after losing the rest of Long Island. It’s where they planned their daring and ludicrous escape across the East River. I love to walk around imagining soldiers trying to sneak off with campfires still burning and the British edging ever closer. What a place!
By Nick Papa
I’m the editor of the Atlas Obscura trips blog. I talk to our trip leaders, travelers, and friends in the industry about how they explore the world’s wondrous places.
