New York Woman was a magazine that blended features on fashion and the arts, literary and humorous essays, and consumer-oriented services pieces such as reviews of restaurants, shops, or films. Its target audience was intelligent women living in the New York Metropolitan area. It was launched as a bimonthly by the Esquire Magazine Group Inc. in 1987. Legendary mergers-and-acquisitions specialist Bruce Wasserstein of Wasserstein Perella reportedly brokering the magazines's sale to American Express Publishing Corporation, publisher of Travel + Leisure and Food & Wine.
New York Woman's founding publisher was Julie Lewit-Nirenberg, who was later founding publisher of Mirabella, often referred to as a smart woman's fashion magazine. Later she served as a director of special projects at Conde-Nast.
The magazine's founding editor was Betsy Carter (who went on to work for O, the Oprah Magazine, Oprah Winfrey's magazine).
The French graphic designer Fabien Baron used his creative director position at the magazine as an opportunity to further develop relationships with important clients in the fashion business such as Barneys and Calvin Klein. After leaving New York Woman, Baron continued to earn accolades for his fashion-oriented work in advertising and for magazines such as Harper's Bazaar.
Writers included playwright Wendy Wasserstein, the Andy Warhol superstar Viva, sociologist Barbara Ehrenreich, comedy writer Merrill Markoe and Maureen Orth, who later wrote for Vanity Fair Magazine. The magazine is now defunct.