February 11, 2026
How Do I Love Thee, NoMad? Let Me Count the Ways.
A love letter from Leslie Spira Lopez.
I love you for what you were before you had a name at all.
A brown zone on a taxi map. A place people passed through, never guessing what was happening inside the buildings. Wholesale dreams, quietly fueling New York.
I love you for how you grew.
No grand reveal. No sudden flip. Just blocks evolving. Businesses opening. Neighbors showing up. I came to work here in the mid-70s, in my father’s real estate office. Back then, the tenants were the soul of this place. Independent. Creative. Resourceful. They gave NoMad its backbone before anyone called it NoMad.
I love you in the morning.
When coffee shops buzz. When sidewalks feel optimistic.
I love you at lunch.
When longtime favorites and new spots share the same stretch of pavement – especially along the NoMad Piazza.
I love you at night.
When restaurants glow and the neighborhood feels close, familiar, and alive.
I love you for Madison Square Park.
For blankets and folding chairs. For picnics that turn strangers into neighbors. For music drifting through the trees and stopping people in their tracks.
That love is why I founded The NoMad Alliance 15 years ago and help give the district that inspires a name. To give the neighborhood a voice. To connect residents, businesses, and culture. To keep NoMad moving forward – together.
That love is why we publish NOMAD Magazine. A guide to the culture, history, and ideas shaping this neighborhood. A place to celebrate its people and its stories. Past. Present. What’s coming next.
That love is why we produced the inaugural NoMad Jazz Festival. Free. Public. World-class. A record-breaking weekend that filled the park and the streets around it. Thousands gathered. Blankets down. Music up. An unprecedented success.
I wear many hats here: Longtime NoMad resident; President & CEO of Kew Management, a family business rooted in NoMad for 75 years; Founder & President of The NoMad Alliance; Board member of the Flatiron NoMad Partnership BID; Board member of the Madison Square Park Conservancy.
The return isn’t financial. It is pride, connection, and community.
Different roles. Same motivations:
I live here.
I work here.
I want great food nearby.
I want culture outside my door.
I want parks filled with life.
I want small businesses to thrive.
I want an ever-better NoMad.
This neighborhood has always been generous. Creative. Full of possibility. This love is personal.
And shared.
There’s no place like NoMad.
How do I love thee, NoMad? In every way that matters.
Leslie Spira Lopez
Founder & President, The NoMad Alliance
President & CEO, Kew Management