Through content, events, and strategic partnerships, Manhattan Sideways shines a spotlight on the small businesses, streets, people, and places less traveled.
New York's side streets are home to a rich tapestry of small businesses, each unique, and together comprising the character of our city. Betsy Bober Polivy, the founder of Manhattan Sideways (sideways.nyc), tirelessly walks the side streets of New York, discovering these businesses and sharing their fascinating stories - she speaks from her heart in the website’s thousands of in-depth articles.
A deep love for Manhattan and a passion for small businesses inspired Betsy to launch Manhattan Sideways in 2011. From the East River to the Hudson, she has pounded the pavement from 1st through 155th Street - the original Manhattan Grid - documenting every shop, boutique, church, synagogue, restaurant, bar, garden, hotel, gallery, and so much more. Her objective is purely to bring attention to the side street businesses - to give them the exposure that they do not always receive. She is not a food, art, or fashion critic, she simply shares the stories that are told to her by the business owners. The website is an extensive resource featuring over 30,000 beautiful photographs and 50 behind-the-scenes videos.
Manhattan Sideways allows one to feel the life on the side streets, the ebb and flow of the businesses opening and closing, and the individual, heart-warming stories of the owners so central to New York’s unmistakable flavor and flare.
Books
Connecting Big Businesses with Small Businesses
Here are some of our clients
Events
Bringing Hidden Gems into the Spotlight
After years of walking the side streets, connecting with businesses and their owners, and sharing it on her website, Betsy has been creating one-of-a-kind experiences for both small scale (10-50 people) and large scale (150-500 people) events. From outstanding food and beverage provided by local restaurants and shops, to activities and games from decades-old toy stores, to interactive projects with New York artists, Betsy brings people together in distinctive settings across the city. This has proven to be an effective format to get employees out of their offices and mingling with one another while supporting local businesses. The possibilities are endless for corporate gatherings.
Podcast
Conversations with Small Business Owners
The Manhattan Sideways Podcast aims to create a platform to share the stories of the small businesses on the side streets of Manhattan. What motivated the business owners to open their businesses, and then to learn the ups and downs of their environments? What makes these businesses unique? We are not only documenting the owners' remarkable personal stories, but also their advice to current and aspiring business owners.
SideWalks
Curated Side Street Adventures
Out of Betsy’s relationships with the small businesses have emerged Manhattan Sideways SideWalk events. These function as team-building excursions for corporations or simply a fun activity for a fundraiser, an alumni organization, or a friends and family outing. With our clients, we take groups of varying sizes to different neighborhoods of Manhattan where they get to go behind the scenes and meet some of the incredible people of the side streets – visit an artist's studio, learn how to spin pottery, design a bouquet of flowers, watch a baker make bread. Participants explore the city, connect with one another, and support the small businesses all while eating, drinking, shopping, and discovering. Betsy takes her SideWalkers on adventures throughout the city - from the East Village to Harlem - experiencing the sights, sounds, smells, and stories of the side streets.
Photo Exhibitions
Manhattan's Character Captured in Over 50,000 Beautiful Photos
Manhattan Sideways celebrates the small businesses with spectacular original photography from 155 streets. Betsy has worked with talented photographers to capture the people, places and details that are the fabric of our city. And now, she is curating photo exhibitions in a variety of venues across the city: office spaces, galleries, bars, restaurants, salons, doctors’ offices and more. While the exhibits typically run for several weeks or months, the opening nights have proven to be another excellent opportunity to bring together small business owners, New Yorkers, and visitors alike with food and festivities.
AS SEEN IN
PARTNERSHIPS
We work with community organizations and businesses across the city to share our content, our connections, and our passion for Manhattan.
greater new york chamber of commerce
East Village Independent Merchants Association
Greenwich Village Chelsea Chamber of Commerce
Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation
Manhattan Chamber of Commerce
Municipal Art Society of New York
Neustar
Meatpacking District
Small Business Services
Straus News
Town Squared
Village Alliance
