Stefano Giovannini
Disney World has Mickey Mouse — and New York City has Nicolas Heller.
Better known as New York Nico to his fervent following, Heller, 35, has built a viral career chronicling the glorious nooks and crannies of life in the Big Apple.
But he has trouble answering the most common question people pose.
“I can’t tell you my single favorite business here, ’cause that’s like picking your favorite child,” he told The Post. Case in point: For his new book “New York Nico’s Guide to NYC,” Heller only managed to whittle it down to 100 of them.
Billing itself as “an authentic, locals-only tour of the city,” don’t expect to find the Times Square Olive Garden in its pages. Mimicking Heller’s social media, he instead points his lens at the mom-and-pop and old-school shops that make up the metropolitan landscape.
That includes the 70-year-old Peter Pan Donuts in Greenpoint, where Heller ordered an eyebrow-raising selection: a bacon, egg and cheese on a glazed coconut donut with hot sauce.
The seen-it-all waitress was unfazed by the off-menu request. “This is by far the least odd I’ve seen,” she said, to which Heller naturally replied: “What’s the oddest order?” “Salmon with peanut butter and jelly with bacon, sausage on a donut. That was wild.”
While Heller doesn’t consider himself a foodie, he instead has an appetite for the city’s many characters. After growing up in Union Square, a miserable post-college stint in Los Angeles led the fledgling director back to his home city for some soul-searching.
“I was sitting in the park contemplating what my next move was when out of the corner of my eye I noticed this street character I’ve seen all throughout high school but never spoke to,” Heller remembered of the towering personality who would hold a sign that said The 6’7″ Jew Who Will Rap For You. “He was like a celebrity to me.”
After befriending the street performer, Heller was inspired to tell his story. “I’d never made a documentary before, but I was like, ‘Why not?’” he said of what became the viral 2014 webseries “No Your City.” “I thought I could do this for other New York characters that I’ve been curious about.”
From there, he’s scoured the city ever since, along the way helping save struggling businesses, including the East Houston Street stalwart Army & Navy Bags (his post about the shop helped raise $50,000 for them during the pandemic) and shining frequent lights on favorites including the West Village literary hub Casa Magazine and Lower East Side landmark Katz’s Deli, for which he recently directed the restaurant’s first-ever commercial.
He also has a knack for finding the most peculiar sights at major Big Apple events, including the recent New York Marathon.
Many of his most popular characters came out in force for his October book launch at Astor Place Hairstyles, including the personality known as Green Lady of Brooklyn and New York icons like NY1 anchor Pat Kiernan and comedian Jeff Garlin.
“The idea of making a book was not something that I was interested in initially because I like things with immediate gratification,” he said, alluding to social media. “But then I remembered everybody always asks for recommendations. So I was like, ‘OK, a guide would make sense.’”
Eventually, the wild donut creation we ordered came out; with the lip-smacking sweet treat stuffed with the breakfast accouterments. Peter Pan owner Demtri Siafakas stood by, musing about the shop’s virality thanks to the likes of Nico and Tina Fey.
“We get celebrities in here occasionally,” Siafakas said. “And that includes Nico.”
New York Nico’s MTA Guide
As the Big Apple’s unofficial chronicler, Heller can usually be found zipping around underground. Here are his most important pieces of advice the next time you’re using the MTA.
- Avert your eyes! “Don’t make direct eye contact with people,” he said. “It’s mind your own business type s – – t. That’s gotten me out of trouble so many times in my life.”
- “Under no circumstances should you eat on a train,” he implored riders. “I mean, candy is fine, but anything that has been cooked with a smell, just don’t do it.”
- While you’re at it, keep it down. “I’m not a big fan of people playing music on the train, but you don’t really see that as much anymore,” he explained. “When I was a kid, all my friends would do it, and it would always piss me off.”
- “When the doors to the train open and people get off, you make room for them to leave, wait and then board,” Heller explained of the often-lost common courtesy. “I think it’s obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people ignore that one.”
- Quit the manspreading, fellas. “Avoid taking up more than one seat unless you need it,” Heller proclaimed. “And that includes bags.”
- Once you’re off the train, there’s order to the staircase. “Whether you’re going up or down, you walk on the right side, not the left side,” Heller said. “Then again, New Yorkers will walk on any side they want to.”