We chatted with Matt Coneybeare, Founder, Publisher & Editor-in-Chief of Viewing NYC. They feature articles, videos and photos of the art, culture, and technology around New York, and you can watch their videos on nyxt.nyc/viewingnyc.
NYXT: What is your professional experience and how did you start working at Viewing NYC?
Matt: Alongside Viewing NYC, I run a software development company called Urban Apps that makes mobile, desktop, and web apps, amongst other things. As a self-employed, entrepreneurial software engineer that loves everything about New York City, I decided to launch a cultural website in my spare time that would let me share things I knew and learned about the City, while also sharing that which others have discovered.
NYXT: What is Viewing NYC's vision? How does it resonate with you and your personal interests?
Matt: Viewing NYC isn’t a breaking news website. We actually try to shy away from news in general, and politics as well. We have made the site a fun place to find interesting photos and video of New York City art, comedy, culture, food, history and events. We try to keep it light, and let most of the visual media speak for themselves. You will always find links to deep dive into any article subject, but we won’t do that on Viewing NYC.
NYXT: What is your favorite uncommon place in NYC?
Matt: This is a tough question! I’ll try and give an answer for each borough, if that’s ok.
Manhattan: Despite being one of the city’s best museums, the Lower East Side Tenement Museum is often overlooked by tourists and locals alike. It’s a great way to learn about the immigration history of New York City from inside one of the buildings where it happened.
Brooklyn: Fort Greene park is loved by Brooklynites close to it, and rarely visited by anybody else. It is a beautiful, historic park filled with interesting things to do and see.
Queens: Queens is all about the great food stemming from its diverse population. Visit the few blocks surrounding the Jackson Heights - Roosevelt Ave subway station and go hungry — you will find great food from just about every culture.
Bronx: Many people think that the Brooklyn Bridge is the oldest in the city, but High Bridge in The Bronx is actually older. The bridge opened up to foot traffic for the first time in decades a few years ago, and I love to walk across it, taking in its history.
Staten Island: Battery Weed in Fort Wadsworth is an old fort that once protected New York Harbor. Now, it’s a great place to explore while getting amazing photographs at just about every angle you look.
NYXT: What is the first advice that you offer to someone that is in NYC for the first time or someone that just moved?
Walk! You will learn more about New York City by walking through it than you ever will by reading a webpage or book. Spend some time walking through a new neighborhood when you can, check out the local restaurants and shops, see where people are hanging out, get a pulse of the neighborhood feel. If you don’t have time to explore entire neighborhoods this way, make it a point to always get off one subway stop before or after where you actually want to go, then walk the rest of the way. You will feel like a local in no time.
NYXT: What are the changes that you would like to see in New York the next years?
Our aging subway system is of great concern. You can’t keep rising fares and giving less in return. Between Cuomo and de Blasio each pointing fingers, not much is getting done to fix the problems and New Yorkers are getting more and more frustrated by the day. In a city where most people do not own a private vehicle, and where luxury condos are pushing more New Yorkers deeper into the outer boroughs, ensuring that public transportation works well, is safe, clean, and efficient, is essential. I am by no means qualified to suggest fixes to these problems, but can definitely see they need fixing.
NYXT: How can people get involved with Viewing NYC?
If you know something great about New York City and want to share it with the world, consider writing a guest article for us! Even better, make a video or snap some great photos and send them our way. We’d love to take a look! https://viewing.nyc/contact
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