Gem Spa

Gem Spa is a newspaper stand located on the corner of St. Mark's Place and Second Avenue in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It opened under another name in the 1920s, and received its current name in 1957.It is open 24 hours a day, and is known for being commonly considered to be the birthplace of the authentic New York City-style egg cream,which its awning describes as "New York's Best."It does not stock pornographic magazines, and it gets magazines delivered one or two days before other New York City newsstands. In the 1950s, Gem Spa was a gathering place for beats, and in the 1960s it was a hippie hangout, known for selling a wide selection of underground newspapers.New York Magazine named it the best newsstand in the East Village in 2001, and it has been featured on television programs about food, including Kelly Choi's Secrets of New York.