An Incomplete List of Places to Cry in New York City

New York City! Ah yes, a place where a thinking person can finally breathe! Where Real Intellectuals can dispense of the wasteful excesses of the rest of America and get down to brass tacks!

Who needs a yard and a car when you've got Central Park and the MTA? Who needs the dignity of living sans roommate when you've got the dignity of Real Ass Culture^TM? Who needs privacy when you can open-air sob on miles and miles of sidewalk? What of it? It gets the job done, don't it? Don't it???

We asked some of the most spiritually destroyed New Yorkers we know to tell us where they goto escape the chattering masses and let it all out.

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L Train

HARRY HILL @veryharryhill

As a New Yorker, I don't cry. But when I do, it's on the L train, behind a pair of Ray Ban Wayfarers, into a book. It's rare, but it happens. It's more of a transitory weeping. The kind of tears that dry before I get wherever I'm going.

The L Train is the perfect place to weep because it's private. Not in the sense that you're alone, but in the sense that nobody cares that you're crying. There's a million distractions to keep your tears on the DL– a drummer, a gaggle of giggling school children, someone watching Tik Tok without headphones; nobody will notice a rogue tear descending down your cheek as you pull up to the Bedford stop. If they do, it's their fault for being nosy. This isn't the place to all-out bawl, but rather a place to weep quietly underground. Perfect for the last page of a book or a text from a lover that makes you smile so hard that you accidentally squeeze a tear out. In conclusion, a 10/10 place to cry. But take note: you must bring sunglasses in order for the tears to flow freely so you don't get cry-shy.

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The New C Train with No Doors

SIMONA CRUZER @simonacruzer

When I’m looking to cry in public, I’m preferably on the new C train with no doors, heading uptown so I don't run into anyone. I go above 14th street; don't put words in my mouth! While one might assume the new infinite abyss train does not lend itself well to privacy, one would be mistaken; people are too busy ogling the new development of wide trains to notice you, hyperventilating on the corner seat.

Because the infinite abyss train is new, it is also is clean (which is nice). If it pleases you, hopping the turnstile is one way to extract to an even more cathartic experience. Loss of cell service is actually incredibly crucial to the 5 star rating I am awarding to this experience!f

It’s worth noting that in a worst-case scenario – for example, if The Puncher or a Shooter got onto my C train cry car – I feel like he would look at me, give an understanding shrug, and head on his way. Peace for everyone.

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West Side Highway

MYA ROSE MILLER @myarosemiller

I used to love to cry anywhere on the West Side Highway during some long and intense runs (especially when I was training for the New York City Marathon). I did some of my deepest thinking and reflecting while on these hour plus runs and also had some of my best ideas. I attached a picture of the Little Island because this was one of my standard rest stops where I'd be able to wipe my tears and stretch out a bit. There is something so humbling about crying in New York City. No one bats an eye at you whether you're on the subway, in a Starbucks or running along the West Side Highway (all places I've cried). In fact, you likely won't be the only person crying. I'd say Little Island is a great spot for a reflective cry. You're surrounded by the beauty of Manhattan but also the calmness of the water; you’re equally free to have a “pinch-me” moment about achieving your dreams or a “WTF am I doing with my life” moment. The options are endless!

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Williamsburg Bridge

KATE GLAVAN @kateglavan

The Willamsburg Bridge is my favorite spot for a nostalgic, therapeutic cry. I find myself crying while running over the bridge during marathon training (obviously, running is hard and a good outlet for processing grief, loss, etc.). Running the bridge tends to bring up repressed emotions which can always trigger a good cry for me. I also feel so proud that my body is able to run over such a massive bridge which gets me feeling accomplished and emo. You’ll likely be pretty alone at the top of the bridge— definitely a great place to ugly cry all you want.

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Central Park and Elizabeth St Garden

DEVIN APOLLON @devapollon

Both Central Park and the Elizabeth Street Garden have offered a comfort location for me to just bawl. When I think back to when I first moved to NYC and I was quite literally in the trenches, Spring St. Garden helped me out. Those sad and confused cries about love interests and just life... those were good cries that I learned from. No one cared at Elizabeth Street Garden. I had my little corner and I would even talk to people on the phone; it felt like a little bubble there. Nowadays,for different reasons, Central Park -- the unbothered park of New York – (and now that I have a dog, it makes the perfect multi-tasked combo) provides a back drop for my tears. There were happy tears that occurred there. It’s a gorgeous park and another New York spot where the surroundings almost feel like a video game. No one is concerned about you, so don't worry about that aspect. There is a joyous, comforting feeling to the park that will never get old to me. It feels like a big hug amongst the craziness of the city.

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Walking East on Houston

CLARA PERLMUTTER @tinyjewishgirl

I have lived somewhere nearby the East side of Houston for over five of the six and a half years I have lived in New York. A walk eastbound on Houston is usually a key part of a journey home. Oftentimes, these crying walks consist of tearful venting phone calls to my mom. Sometimes, these walks are triggered by a call with my mom! A crying walkast on Houston signifies a return home after a long, hard day. Every step takes me closer to safety and comfort.

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On Top of a Hill in Fort Greene or Prospect Park

JAZMINE BROWN @thatcurlytop

You know the image of The Giving Tree where the little boy keeps coming to the same tree to find comfort? Well that's been me with the trees in Fort Greene and Prospect Parks. There's something so comforting about cuddling up to a big tree for a good cry and even it’s better when the tree is on top of a hill (where, in a weird way, I feel hidden). I enjoy getting a silent cry in under the shade of a tree while being comforted by the squirrels running around and people passing by below having no idea what I'm going through. Last year I went through a long term break up (aka a divorce), and I was the one who did the breaking up. It was obviously a very difficult decision to make and I didn't feel safe processing (and crying) at home. I desperately sought comfort elsewhere and found it in my local park. I was afraid of crying in public at first but soon learned people didn't really care too much. I've now evolved to crying on the streets and not giving a f*ck, but these spots will forever have my heart.

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Equinox Steam Room
(Orchard Street)

COLE HABERSHAM @cashmeretote

Most Equinox steam rooms offer what you need in a good New York crying spot: privacy, comfort and just enough noise to mask your whimpers. I prefer this Equinox location over most because the steam is especially foggy (see also: Hudson Yards location), the room itself is big enough to create some distance between you and other steamers and I've found the men to be particularly friendly. Tears contain toxins. Sweat it all out.

As an added bonus, walk ten minutes south on Orchard to Colbo for some retail recovery.

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Under the Scaffolding on the Corner of 1st Ave & 6th

PAIGE HANSERD @mustarrrrd

This spot is perfect for a good sad cathartic and happy cry all mixed into one. It's the post-breakup kind of cry that's healthy but sad but also happy because you're hot and single now (but then also it's cathartic because it feels like, very specific to a type of relief that could only be achieved if you are grieving a dead person as well as grieving an alive person while also finding the humor in it all. :)) The humor part is appropriate for a few reasons... but the only ones I'm willing to share here are that it's on the corner of your old day job while also being on the corner of your regular bar. A pack of Parliaments are sort of a part of the experience. Not sure if the je nais se quoi would really hit the same without them. Bonus points--there's a McDonald's right there so you can get a large fry too and then hit a shot of tequila while you round the corner back to your day job :) Oh, but I would not recommend going into the BK/Dunkin—'ve been rounding this corner for maybe close to 10 years now and something has always told me "nah."

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Brooklyn Kolache
(520 Dekalb Ave)

ROSE DOMMU @rosedommu

Great pastries, good coffee, friendly staff. There's even a lovely outdoor patio perfect for sobbing on the phone to your mom about how life has no meaning and you yearn for death. The patio is surrounded by private backyards so someone will definitely hear you and the people sitting inside on their laptops will peer at you in sympathy and disgust for your public display of emotion. And then if they're in season, you can get a strawberry rhubarb kolache as a post-cry snack!