75 Excellent Things To Do In June In NYC

Claire Leaden - Managing Editor, East Coast • June 5, 2020

June marks the first month of “summer in the city,” though of course this year it’s looking quite different from the past.

But you can still make a difference and have an impact while also enjoying yourself and what the city has to offer.

From continuing to support and amplify the Black community, to getting outdoors to enjoy the first burst of summer weather, here are 75 excellent ways to spend the month of June.

1-10. Support The Black Lives Matter Movement Here In NYC

Here are 10 tangible ways to be a part of the change and support the powerful sweeping the country movement, that goes well beyond this month.

11-20. Read Literature To Help Educate You On Systemic Racism

This list is a good place to start.

21. Support Black-Owned Businesses In NYC

This initiative challenges you to “put your money where your mouth is” by exclusively supporting Black-owned businesses in NYC for the entire month of June.

22. Attend A Gorgeous Concert By Candlelight (At Home)

Fever Originals brought their stunning concert series into an exclusive live stream setting. Relive the greatest works of classical music, from Beethoven to Chopin to Vivaldi, bathed in the gentle glow of candlelight.

23. Attend An NYC Dueling Pianos Show (Virtually)

We’re all missing NYC’s incredible arts and entertainment scene, especially the music, but there are still ways to experience it from home. Thankfully, New York’s longest running dueling pianos show, Shake, Rattle & Roll Pianos, has taken their high-energy show into the digital world

24. Try Oat Milk Ice Cream

You can now get it to-go on the Lower East Side.

25. Try Socially Distanced Outdoor Dining

If the new City Council bill is approved, that is.

26. Learn How to Make Color-Changing Whiskey Cocktails

In this cocktail experience, you’ll receive all the ingredients you need to make two servings of two different cocktails (so four drinks total) that will completely blow your mind. Along with mixers, garnishes and recipe cards, an 100 ml bottle of small-batch rice whiskey and mini hand sanitizer will be delivered right to your door.

27. Test Your Knowledge At Seagram’s 7 Dive Bar Virtual Trivia Night

Hitting a dive bar these days for a 7&7 and trivia with friends may not be possible, but you can still bring game night home! Grab your whisky and your roommates and get ready for a virtual trivia night in which you’ll be able to chat and interact with participants as if you’re all gathered at your favorite local bar. ⭐️Sponsored⭐️

28. Learn How To Give Yourself A Stress-Relieving Massage

Get your blood pumping and body moving with this invigorating self-massage and stretching sequence. Licensed Massage Therapist Chris Minehan will guide you through a specialized sequence targeting issues that can arise from lack of mobility and muscle stagnation, including lower back tension, neck stiffness, sciatic pain and carpal tunnel pain.

29. Head To The Beach, Safely

Both New York State and New Jersey beaches are now open, with safety regulations.

30. Meet Someone Special With This Low-Pressure Virtual Dating Experience

Fever Originals (who are behind beloved NYC events like the Mad Hatter’s Gin & Tea Party) and “swipe for your friends” app Chorus have joined forces to bring New Yorkers an epic speed-dating experience that’s made for the time of coronavirus. And this isn’t your average, random swipe-left-and-rights. This is a safe and fun curated experience by matchmaking specialists.

31-34. Learn A New Cooking Skill

These incredible cooking classes will take you from sous-chef to kitchen expert in no time. Try:

35-36. Try Unlimited Online Yoga Classes

This exclusive deal gives you a month of unlimited yoga with Sputnik Yoga, a studio in Nomad that creates elevated yoga and wellness experiences through movement, sights and sounds.

37. Pick Up To-Go Cocktails

Here are 10 places you can get them in NYC!

38. Make Your Own Escape Room

Transform your living room, bathroom, kitchen or even your garden into a thrilling escape game with this incredible Escape Kit.

39. Participate In A Piano Bar Sing-Along

If you think belting out a show tune will help keep you sane during this quarantine, Marie’s Crisis has you covered, just like old times. Known for its fantastic piano sing-alongs where patrons crowd around the piano and sing show tunes to their heart’s content, Marie’s is still doing a live virtual piano bar every evening on Facebook (and most on Instagram too).

40. Host An At-Home Paint Night

This virtual painting class, which includes all the supplies you need, will add some much-needed color to your quarantine routine. And you don’t even have to leave your couch!

41-46. Plan A Future Vacation

So many countries are starting to open back up to tourists. Here’s where we have our eye on:

47. Grab Burgers & Beer At One Of The Oldest Irish Pubs in Manhattan

McSorley’s Old Ale House, which has been an East Village staple since it opened at 15 East 7th Street in 1854, has reopened for takeout food and beer!

48. Order Drag-livery Brunch

Fresco’s Cantina in Astoria, Queens was one of NYC’s top drag show brunch spots, and they’re keeping the lip sync alive with an incredible new ‘drag-livery’ service. The Mexican restaurant started the service earlier this month, which includes a quick curbside drag show for an extra $15 fee (100% of the service charge goes directly to the drag queen) along with your brunch delivery.

49. Enjoy Open Streets If You Can’t Get To A Park

There are over 40 miles open!

50. Plan What You’ll Do In NYC When The Pandemic Is Over with Fever Credit

New York City will be New York City again, but before it is, there are businesses who still need the support of local patrons. While you can’t leave the house to go to bars, restaurants, shows, and tours, you can still support them by purchasing a voucher to one of their future events. And Fever is helping you do just that.

51. Order From Chinatown Favorite Hop Kee

Hop Kee has been open since 1968 and is now offering take-out and delivery. The cellar restaurant is beloved by New Yorkers for its mouthwatering Cantonese dishes, especially seafood like lobster and crab, and was one of Anthony Bourdain’s favorites.

52-54. Check Out a Drive-In Movie Theater or Restaurant

You have multiple options!

55. Explore The Most Beautiful Wisteria Tree In The World, Virtually

This stunning wisteria tree has wandered straight out of a fairytale.

56. Get NYC’s Best Steak To-Go

Famous Brooklyn steakhouse Peter Luger, often reviewed as the “best” in NYC, is now offering something it never has throughout its 133-year history: delivery.

57. Tune In To The First Sunrise And Sunset At Stonehenge

Stonehenge will stream the summer solstice live for the first time in its 5,000-year history! Here’s how you can experience this once-in-a-lifetime event from home.

58. Make Shake Shack’s Cheese Sauce At Home

Mark Rosati, the Culinary Director at Shake Shack, recently jumped on the company’s Instagram channel to walk followers through how to make their epic cheese sauce at home. They appear to be making it a series — cleverly titled “Shake Shack at Your Shack” — sharing recipe videos that you can cook along with. Get the recipe here!

59. Catch The Perfect Sunrise Over The NYC Skyline

You can catch a beautiful livestream of the sun rising over the NYC skyline every morning from a prime spot…the Statue of Liberty.

60. Bake Milk Bar’s Famous Compost Cookies

In case you missed it, pastry chef and Milk Bar owner Christina Tosi is doing oh-so-sweet baking lessons on Instagram every day. And she recently revealed the recipe for the dessertery’s famous salty-and-sweet Compost Cookies.

61. Take A 360-Degree Virtual Tour Of NYC Street Art

Though clicking around Google maps isn’t quite the same as going on a walk, their Arts & Culture program is letting you experience our amazing street art once again. If you visit their “9 Amazing Street Art Murals in New York,” you’re able to click into the murals they’ve selected from a street view, moving around 360-degrees to take it all in.

62. Learn About Your Family History From Ellis Island

The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation has started an amazing new service for these digital times, where their research experts will figure out the story of your own family’s journey through Ellis Island.

63-70. Have Your Favorite NYC Java Delivered

Whether you want to try your hand at grinding your own beans and doing pour-over (if there was any time to become a coffee connoisseur, it would be now!), or just want to kick it with a can of cold brew, these NYC coffee shops have you covered.

71-75. Tour The Country’s Breathtaking National Parks

Five National Parks from across the U.S. are now ripe for exploration on Google Arts & Culture, who’ve created 360-degree video tours of each park. It’s high-production stuff, too, with a swish video intro setting the scene, and a park ranger on hand to walk you through the most dramatic landscapes, historical landmarks, and beautiful bits of each park. Here’s where you can explore!

featured image source: Instagram / @urbandessertlab