Instead, pick any point on the compass and strike out uptown, downtown or cross-town to find an altogether more authentic slice of city, along with plenty of evidence that keeping cool in summertime New York is far from thirstywork.
Book browsing is hungry and thirstywork, but there are plenty of options for a prolonged stop: pull up a chair at one of the many cafes that surround the city's squares or head for the Mosae Gusto underground food hall.