Headed To New York

PSOVLSK

Making my first trip to NYC. I'm sure we'll do all of the "tourist" things, but anything in particular I should do? Have my wife and two kids (9 and 15) to consider as well. Plan on doing the Yankee Stadium tour because my son in a big fan of the Yankees of old. I think he'll get a kick out of monument park. We'd planned to go to Cooperstown, but I don't think that's going to pan out.

So, any places we really need to eat (or that we should avoid)? Any of the tourist attractions a must (or a must not)? Any suggestions for something fun that's not so "touristy"?

We're staying at 39th and Lexington if that makes a difference.

nooshinjohn

Stay away from the 32 ounce Cokes as they may lock you up and toss the key:cheesygrin:


have a fun and safe trip... remember to post a few pics.

drselect

Went for the first time just over a month ago. We did mostly the tourist things. One of the things I enjoyed the most is the Staton Island Ferry. It was free. And had great views of the statue of liberty and the NYC skyline. Walk out on the front and back decks and got some great pictures. We went on a weekend morning and it was not that busy.

cnh

drselect wrote: »

Went for the first time just over a month ago. We did mostly the tourist things. One of the things I enjoyed the most is the Staton Island Ferry. It was free. And had great views of the statue of liberty and the NYC skyline. Walk out on the front and back decks and got some great pictures. We went on a weekend morning and it was not that busy.

It's free? Hmmm. Used to be 25 cents when I lived in NYC. A must for a CHEAP STUDENT date!

There are so many many things to do in NY. It's hard to provide a list. You're on the East side at Lexington.

God. All the Museums, Lincoln Center, Columbia University, Grant's tomb, Central Park, Washington Square, the Village, Broadway, Fifth Ave., Rockefeller Center, etc.

Food. EVERYTHING is available. But I suspect things have MOVED since my time. Korea town used to be in the low 30's just around the corner from Madison Ave. Chinatown is a stop on the subway, worth the visit and near it, Little Italy! Little India used to be located near 1st Ave and 6th St. I believe. If you like Indian food! The Polish section was at 1st Ave and 1st street. (My memories are a bit old so check your guide book).

Lots of SHOPPING.

You could spend a week in NYC and not see everything. Heck, people who live there have not seen it all!

ENJOY!

cnh

ZLTFUL

drselect wrote: »

Went for the first time just over a month ago. We did mostly the tourist things. One of the things I enjoyed the most is the Staten Island Ferry. It was free. And had great views of the statue of liberty and the NYC skyline. Walk out on the front and back decks and got some great pictures. We went on a weekend morning and it was not that busy.

Fixed it for you.

Liberty Park on the NJ side of the Hudson is fantastic.
You also need to find yourself a good mom and pop pizza joint in Brooklyn.

nooshinjohn

Seeing Freedom Tower and paying my respects at Ground Zero would be the very first thing I do when I got to NYC... I have never seen the place but it is on my bucket list.

cnh

nooshinjohn wrote: »

Seeing Freedom Tower and paying my respects at Ground Zero would be the very first thing I do when I got to NYC... I have never seen the place but it is on my bucket list.

Definitely a must. I lived in the city for over a decade. Used to take friends and visitors to the top of the Twin Towers all the time. I've been out of the city since 1990. Visited in 2000, and returned to what was Ground Zero a few years later in DISBELIEF. I could not believe my eyes because I was so familiar with what had been there, now a monstrous hole in the ground, fenced off and under construction. It would be nice to remove that vision from my brain with a fresh one where things are up and running!

cnh

Jetmaker737

Was there two weeks ago with my kids (14 and 17). Ground zero was an inspiring and thoughtful place. The Metropolitan Museum of Art was really cool. Much more so than I expected. If you go there make sure you see the Egypt and Weapons/Armor sections. We saw a Yankees game (awesome!). Top of the Rock has awesome views... highly recommend. Do a harbor tour or the Ferry for sure. Times square at night is unbelievable. More lit up than Vegas. Subways were a fun adventure and take you most anywhere you need to go. High Line Park is a nice quiet respite if you need one.

nspindel

Glad to hear you're going to the House that Jeter Built. I'm a season ticket holder...

George Grand

nspindel wrote: »

Glad to hear you're going to the House that Jeter Built. I'm a season ticket holder...

Know any more cool Yankee stuff? You're disgusting you know that?

There's a place in downtown Brooklyn where during the Revolutionary War, the "Maryland 400" battled in and about a structure, and held out until just about the last man, while Washington boogied away with the rest of the guys. Neat stuff.

Msabot1

You are right about that! When I go to places,I check out the local history....check out the old five points location...Ferry trip around the harbor...Hoboken piers where the old liners berthed...don't forget the big pretzels with mustard...the W T C site say a prayer for all the lives lost there!!

pglbook

Union Square Park area is a great area to people watch. It is what Washington Park used to be like but no longer is. The Strand Bookstore is near there if you are a book person. It is a landmark. Chinatown is also cool to visit and to grab some great Chinese food. Greenwich Village is a must see as well, although it has lost much of its bohemian character and is now quite gentrified and full of upscale boutiques like Kim Kardashian's Dash store. That is a real shame because in the past it was the coolest part of NYC, with its coffeehouses and vintage clothing and record stores and used bookstores but that is almost all gone. And, of course, you have to go to Rockefeller Center, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Radio City Music Hall, and the Empire State building (all near each other) .

But, above all, spend a lot of time walking around Central Park. That is a jewel. There is also a theater in the park where you can see a free Shakespeare play. You can also walk across the park to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, another must see. The entrance fee is quite steep (around $20) for the Met but, what a lot of people do not know, is that it is only a SUGGESTED price (they do not advertise that fact) and one can pay whatever one can afford so do not let the high cost of admission deter you from seeing the museum. Just let the person at the entrance know you only have a few dollars to pay to get in and it will be fine. One can literally spend a whole day at the Met and not see half of all of the amazing exhibits there.

And, being a big Yankees fan myself, I am glad you are going to see the new stadium. Just don't visit Yankees Stadium at night on a non-game night as that part of the Bronx is not a great area to be walking around in at night when there is not a game.

I grew up an hour from NYC, on Long Island, and have been to NYC a million times in my life but I had not done a lot of the touristy things until I took my wife, who is from Mexico, there a few years ago. We went to Times Square and bought an all-day pass for the Tour Bus (I forget the exact name but it's a double decker tour bus) which I definitely would recommend as it goes all over the city and one can get off/on as one pleases and there is a tour guide providing running commentary. I think there is a separate tour bus for uptown and one for downtown and I think there might be one that does both. We did the downtown one which hits midtown (Rockefeller Center area) and goes all the way to Battery Park (where one can get a ferry to see the Statue of Liberty). I think it was around $100 for an all-day pass.

Have a great trip and enjoy.

PSOVLSK

Thanks for suggestions. I have to balance pleasing my son who loves history and sports with my daughter who loves typical 15 year old girls stuff (which doesn't include history or sports):rolleyes:

A few things that have been suggested are already in the plans. A few will now need to added. I'd love to spend a day reading, relaxing, and people watching in Central Park, but I don't know if the family will care to join me.

Getting excited about the trip.

George Grand

The Bethesda Fountain in Central Park on Sunday morning was for years the unofficial freak show of all freak shows. There were freak energy rays coming out of that fountain or something. It has been years so I don't know if it still goes on, or if the city has figured out a way to cut back the drawing power coming out of that thing. It was a great couple/three hour diversion, usually ending up in going home with a sore stomach from laughing so hard, or to hide under my bed.

Give it a shot.

zingo

Visit Chesky Records?

nspindel

George Grand wrote: »

You're disgusting you know that?

I know it!

By the way, Jackie was out at the plate in the '55 World Series. Yogi got the tag in, it was a bad call.

Strong Bad

Went to NYC a month ago to do the tourist thing. I took these photos from the Top of the Rock at Rockefeller Center. I'd suggest you make a stop there. Check out the Lego Store at Rockefeller Center as well. Times Square is a must see also.

George Grand

nspindel wrote: »

I know it!

By the way, Jackie was out at the plate in the '55 World Series. Yogi got the tag in, it was a bad call.

Funny you should bring that up. I have a HUGE, framed picture in my stereo room of Yogi missing that tag. It's pretty obvious when blown up to wall/museum size.

George Grand

How about going out to JFK Int'l. Airport, just to see the place where more goods, money, dope has been hijacked or stolen over the years than any other place on Earth? A must see! You can even take a NYC cab to get there, and fill that square at the same time. Plus, if you go, on the way there here's another historic spot. Right off the Belt Pkwy (Flatbush Ave. exit) is Floyd Bennett Field. THIS is the airfield that launched the fighters that gunned King Kong off the top of the Empire State Building. Okay, that one might be hard on the kids but you can ask them.

Get a slow day, here's a real one. Get transport down to the Brooklyn Bridge and walk across. Hang around Brooklyn for 15 minutes, long enough to mark your territory, or long enough to get a couple slices, and then walk back across the bridge to the city. Good stuff.

Ride the Roosevelt Island tram halfway across the river for good measure. More good stuff.

Systems

Strong Bad wrote: »

Went to NYC a month ago to do the tourist thing. I took these photos from the Top of the Rock at Rockefeller Center. I'd suggest you make a stop there. Check out the Lego Store at Rockefeller Center as well. Times Square is a must see also.

Killer pics...
Truely!

I would have to do the whole "Central Park" thing.
Just soooooooo much history involved with NYC, I would need at least a month!

PSOVLSK

If I take my son to the Lego store that will be a day gone, but it's a must I suppose.

George, glad I wasn't taking a drink while reading your last post. Hilarious. Even funnier is that my son would love to see the "King Kong" airfield. He'd think that was great.

Anybody have any experience with the Water Taxi? We were thinking about taking it to the 9/11 Memorial and Statue of Liberty. I think it's also supposed to go by the Brooklyn Bridge. That might be my chance to walk across if they drop-off nearby.

nspindel

George Grand wrote: »

Funny you should bring that up. I have a HUGE, framed picture in my stereo room of Yogi missing that tag. It's pretty obvious when blown up to wall/museum size.

He was out. I know this for a fact, because Yogi says so.

Moose68Bash

PSOVLSK,

You've received some advice -- mostly good -- about visiting NYC.

I'll only add one piece to the list:

Villa Mosconi, 69 MacDougall Street (between West Houston and Bleecker Streets) in Greenwich Village. Superb Italian food and reasonable (by NYC standards) prices.

If you're of a mind to do so, tell them you heard about the restaurant from descendants of the Carterelli and Marchesani families, who were in the furniture business in that neighborhood in the middle of the 20th century. The current family owner/operators may not know the reference, but if they do, you may be treated even better than they usually treat their customer (which is quite well, indeed).

nspindel

I definitely agree that a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge is highly worthwhile!

Strong Bad

One more shot from Top of the Rock. This was shot with a 70-200mm lens, zoomed out to 200mm. This photo is uncropped, just resized and converted to B&W, so you can see the types of photos you can get if you have the camera gear. Alot of people like to visit the Empire State Building for photos of the city, but I prefer Top of the Rock so I can get photos like this and the ones in my earlier post. I prefer to get photos of the Empire State Building rather than visiting it. Visited it once and that was fun, but enough.

Big Dawg

All great suggestions above. My sister visited recently, and my kids and I joined her for a food tour of lower manhattan. It was a great day, but for me the highlight was the best pastrami in the world at Katz's deli. Katz's has been around for about 125 years, was the scene of Sally's fake "O" in "When Harry Met Sally," and is a treasure from New York's past. Ground Zero is serene and very well done; for those of us who knew the towers well and remember the place raw in the aftermath of the attack, it's hard to comprehend.

A window shopping stroll up 5th avenue can be fun, finish at FAO Schwart toy store (remember the toy store in BIG?), then you'll be at the corner of central park near the plaza. The diamond district on 47th street is dazzling, great guitar/music stores on 48th street.

Also, given your location, check out grand central station. Read up on history first.

If you like aircraft, the Intrepid is very cool.

Depending on your budget, NYC has some of the finest restaurants in the world. The museums are world class. Times Square at night is fun (but nothing like it used to be!), a broadway show, a concert at the Beacon Theater on the upper west side, Zabar's, a Yankee's game if you must, Ray's pizza (some better than others), Junior's cheesecake in Brooklyn, etc. Time, money, and energy are your only limitations.

Hope you have fun!

devani

I've lived in Bergen county for 23 years...went to NYC on many occasions and I was in NYC in 12-31-1999(never forget it)
those listed above will take at least a week to skim through....rockfeller plaza in winter and ferry around the city in summer is a must....
statue of liberty just opened after Sandy so take a visit there.....the battery park is beautiful and it's worth a trip
china town for everything you can imagine....and also take a subway if you can....and go on a city tour bus around the city....
and have fun....

nspindel

Actually, nobody has mentioned a Broadway show. Always a great experience.

And for a good harbor ride with amazing views of the statue, and I believe it's still free, try the Staten Island Ferry. It's a New York institution and the views are incredible.

ESavinon

Go to Coney Island by train with the kids.

bklynNupe

Get 7-day unlimited Metro cards which are good for all of the city subway and bus lines. Stay away from those double decker tourist buses, they are expensive and it’s not the way to see NYC.

Brooklyn Pizza
http://www.grimaldis.com/

Brooklyn Museum is certainly worth the trip, the kids will love it. Prospect Park and the Botanical Gardens are all next to each other.
http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/


If you go to Greenwich Village and want to shop for music go here:

http://www.othermusic.com/


Try not to do too much of the touristy crap, it’s really overrated.

PSOVLSK

Made it back home safely last night after a week in NY.

Thanks to all for the recommendations and suggestions.

Didn't get to do everything I wanted and probably did a bit too much of the "touristy crap", but we had a great time. The weather couldn't have been better except for the brief rain at Battery Park.

We bought a New York Pass before leaving, so most of these attractions were "free." I highly recommend checking it out if visiting. Might not work for you, but it saved us some money.

Here's a list of some of the things we did. Remember, 10yr old boy and 15yr old girl we were trying to keep happy too:

1) Water taxi to Battery Park/Brooklyn Bridge/Statue of Liberty. It's a hop-on/hop-off taxi with 5 stops, so actually pretty cool.
2) 9/11 Memorial
3) Mets vs Braves at Citi-Field
4) Central Park Zoo
5) Walked around Central Park, but didn't spend near enough time here.
6) Empire St. Building
7) Top of the Rock and Tour of Rockefeller Center
8) NBC Studio Tour (My son got to sit behind a news desk and "throw it" to the weatherman)
9) Walked across the Brooklyn Bridge
10) American Museum of Natural History
11) Museum of Modern Art
12) FAO Swartz
13) Dylan's Candy Bar
14) Yankee Stadium Tour (this may say a lot about me, but probably my favorite thing we did. The museum and Monument Park are awesome)
15) Grand Central Terminal
16) Macy's on 34th St.
17) Madison Square Garden
18) Lego Store at Rockefeller Center
19) Spderman at the Foxwood Theater
20) Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum (I wanted to avoid this, but the kids wanted to go. Figures are well done)
21) Wall Street
22) Selena Gomez concert in Central Park (well, my wife and daughter went...my son and I stayed in bed)

Probably missed a few things, but it was a busy week.

I would have liked to have walked around a few of the areas more, but my kids didn't have much interest in that so maybe one of these days I'll go back and do more of that.