New York Central is a true gem. Upstairs, they have an excellent paper department -- the staff is helpful, will cut paper to size, and wrap your purchase carefully in subway-proof flats. On the main floor, they have more varieties of sketchbook than I've ever seen in my life -- not to mention brushes and paints. Downstairs in the dusty basement cavern lies a wonderland of adhesives and ink bases, complete with a sarcastic but cleverly helpful staff who crank the music and the attitude way up (but never past the point of quirky). Potentially, you can get everything you need at NYCentral, if you're patient enough to navigate between the various floors and work with, not against, the staff. An excellent NY art store.
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