Newsstands

Indie newsstands are better than a peep show—they let you touch the goods as long as you want, mixing thumbprints with those of strangers who read before you. Why be caught dead at the Barnes & Noble magazine racks, when you can patronize the city’s newsstands? Stumbling home at 5 a.m., buy a newspaper at a local kiosk. Before a date, expose yourself to enough glossy mags and neon to wake you up for days. Signs of a good newsstand: an ATM, music, cheerful clerks, subscription cards scattered on the floor.

Below Houston

UNIVERSAL NEWS & CAFÉ 484 Broadway, 212-965-9042, open 6 a.m. to midnight • Mag mecca, claiming over 7,000 titles and catering to every taste.

LAFAYETTESMOKE SHOP 63 Spring Street, 212-226-3475, open Sunday through Thursday 5:30 a.m. to 1 a.m., Friday and Saturday to 2 a.m. • A few glossies and journals, good for a quick fix.

KIOSK Delancey and Clinton streets, 212-353-9370, open 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. • Reliable source in a nabe where delivery can be unpredictable.

WEST VILLAGE

SS INTERNATIONAL 405 Sixth Avenue, 212-243-8734, open 24-7 • In business since 1948, more tent than store. Bonus for those with expense accounts: cheerful about issuing receipts.

GLOBAL NEWS, A/K/A CASA MAGAZINES 22 Eighth Avenue, 212-645-1197, open 6 a.m. to midnight • Caters to sophisticates, with a wide range of foreign papers, fashion and art mags. Journals hung from the rafters.

EAST VILLAGE

GEM SPA 131 Second Avenue, 212-995-1866, open 24-7 • Gets the Times between 5 and 6 a.m. Bonus: egg creams, cute clerks.

ST. MARK’S BOOKSHOP 31 Third Avenue, 212-260-7853, open Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. to midnight, Sunday 11 a.m. to midnight • Best source for lit mags and zines. Beware McSweeney’s overload.

GALLAGHER’S PAPER COLLECTIBLES Basement of 126 East 12th Street, 212-473-2404, open daily 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. • Where do slick books go when they die? To this morgue, which houses stacks of 1920s Vogue, ancient Harper’s Bazaar , and mid-century Playboys. Bonus: old issues of Spy.

MIDATLANTIC NEWS 83 Third Avenue, 212-533-4635, open daily 9 a.m. to midnight • Glossies galore. Bonus: Internet connection.

14^TH TO 23^RD STREETS

UNION SQUARE MAGAZINE SHOP 200 Park Avenue South, 212-598-0618, open Monday through Thursday 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., Friday to midnight, Saturday 7 a.m. to midnight, Sunday 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. • Loads of foreign/domestic mags and papers. Bonus: porn at eye level.

NATIONAL NEWS 302 Third Avenue, 212-473-8080, open 5 a.m. to midnight • Some foreign papers along with glossies geared to the School of Visual Arts crowd.

A&H 94 Seventh Avenue, 212-741-1442, 5 a.m. to midnight • Run by Yemenis. Foreign papers galore.

MIDTOWN

UNIVERSAL NEWS & CAFÉ 29 West 35th Street, 212-594-3302, 6 a.m to midnight • Glossies for the Fairchild crowd. Bonus: They let you haggle for cheap cigarettes.

AROUND THE WORLD 28 West 40th Street, 212-575-8543, open Sunday through Friday 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. • Fashion mags to die for. Bonus: design books (Medieval Tile Designs).

UNIVERSAL NEWS 234 West 42nd Street, 212-221-1809, open 24-7 • Domestic and foreign glossies,

standout selection of foreign and U.S. papers. Drawback: brass bull souvenirs.

KIOSK Southwest corner of 42nd Street and Seventh Avenue, open 24-7 • Gets New York Times between 4 and 5 a.m., sometimes earlier.

UPPER WEST SIDE

KIOSK Southwest corner of Broadway and 116th Street, open 24-7 • Gets New York Times between 5 and 5:30 a.m.

GLOBAL INK 2876 Broadway, 212-280-5071, open Monday through Saturday 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., Sunday 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. • Aptly named. Glossies, foreign papers and mags. Journals at back. Bonus: comics for kids.

LABYRINTH BOOKS 536 West 112th Street, 212-865-1588, open Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. • Hard-to-find literary journals and magazines (Bitch: Feminist Response to Pop Culture), plus back issues. Drawback: journal rack in entrance not conducive to lurking.