Going to NEW YORK !!!!

about the steak thing..
saw a reportage about some steakhose in NYC, and was very surprised about that aging thing... you will not find that here in germany... have to try.

will follow morback's advise as well. eating on the street . years ago,I went to Japan (mainly Tokyo) and alwas took "street fodd". not knowing a single japanese word it was the most fun. met some grat people there.
 
chris00nj said:
Harlem, Spanish Harlem. Don't go above 95th street. Don't go to the Bronx, most parts of the other boroughs.
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This may have been reasonable advice in 1982, it is rubbish advice now. My sister-in-law lives at 125th and Amsterdam. Vibrant, alive neighborhood. I live in Queens. Most friends live in Brooklyn. Bronx Botanical Gardens and the Cloisters are wonderful places to shoot.

As someone who lives here, there's a nasty subtext to the statement above I don't even want to bother with.
 
and the "don't go there", it seems your feedback is a bit mixed... dont go to the Bronx... not problem to go there... just as dangerous as the Elsass...

well, after one year living in COVENTRY/UK (hillfields!), doing enginerring jobs in Israel (habour of Ashdod when someone blew up himself) and the Ukraine with some Mafia guys next to me... I think, I do not hev to be scared too much... anyway, my avatar is my real apperance...:D should make the bad guys scared...
 
There is so much "street food" in NYC. look at Timeout New York for up to the week events in the city http://newyork.timeout.com/

I, too, would vouch for a May visit, as the summer is not the best time to visit. Most NY'ers leave the city for their summer homes b/c it is hot and humid.

NYC is full of neighborhoods, both in Manhattan and in the other boroughs. Each has its own distinct charm (except maybe Staten Island;)). Do the touristy things (Time Square, Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty) but then also explore the neighborhoods (Lower East Side, Williamsburg, etc...).

If you go to Peter Luger's, walk across the Williamsburg Bridge for a great view. The restaurant is at the foot of the bridge. And get the bacon - its about 1/4 inch thick and incredible. But again, you can't go wrong with a $2 hot dog from a street vendor.

And finally, its one of the safest large cities in the world.
 
ARI_1969 said:
about the steak thing..
saw a reportage about some steakhose in NYC, and was very surprised about that aging thing... you will not find that here in germany... have to try.

will follow morback's advise as well. eating on the street . years ago,I went to Japan (mainly Tokyo) and alwas took "street fodd". not knowing a single japanese word it was the most fun. met some grat people there.
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You probably saw the same reportage (on N24?) as I did. It was about Wolfgang's Steakhouse. This guy worked at Peter Luger and now has his own Steakhouse. Aging is a very euphemistic term for the meat getting moldy in a controlled way. I am friend of eating on the street too,

I want to visit New York in the first week of April (the latest possible date when I have to spend my remaining vacation days). So I am following this thread with great interest.
 
Definitely walk the Brookly Bridge and visit the promenade in Brookly Heights. Great people watching and views of Manhatten, epecially early in the day on the weekends.
 
scottwallick said:
This may have been reasonable advice in 1982, it is rubbish advice now. My sister-in-law lives at 125th and Amsterdam. Vibrant, alive neighborhood. I live in Queens. Most friends live in Brooklyn. Bronx Botanical Gardens and the Cloisters are wonderful places to shoot.

As someone who lives here, there's a nasty subtext to the statement above I don't even want to bother with.
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Agreed. Upper Manhattan pretty much anywhere above 95th during the day is completely safe save for maybe a precious few areas one is unlikely to stumble upon. Even then, it's likely nothing will happen. I've lived around Harlem for many years and have never had a problem nor felt unsafe.
 
I'm from California and this past May my wife and I spent a fabulous week in Manhattan. It rained a little one day and threatened another but finally did not rain so all in all the weather was as perfect as you can get anywhere in the world at that time of year. We did all the tourist things as outlines an all the previous posts and had a wonderful time. We went to many places that probably wouldn't be considered safe but we had no problems . Just be aware of where you are and be smart, don't take chances and you'll be fine. This advice holds true for any where in the world I have been.
 
Chelsea Savoy Hotel
Colonial House Inn
Larchmont Hotel
The Gershwin
New Yorker Hotel
Red Roof Inn
Super 8 Hotel Times Square

are $100 or less
 
Well, this thread is timely: i just booked flights to NYC in May (LAX-JFK $99!), and have just started the "where to stay/ what to do" research. I suppose I'll just follow this thread. And as a bonus, I get "what to shoot/ what to shoot with" tips as well :)
 
scottwallick said:
As someone who lives here, there's a nasty subtext to the statement above I don't even want to bother with.
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Totally agree, and glad you used the phrase "nasty subtext" which is right on the money. Full stop.

Personally, "my" Manhattan lies 14th St and below, 103rd St. and above.

If you like to walk, take a stroll across 125th St. Maybe you'll bump into Bill Clinton!

Eat in Chinatown. Try the Vietnamese places around the Tombs.

Get some Korean BBQ in Koreatown

Walk Ave C from 14th St down to Houston St, cross Houston, check out Orchard St, Grand St, Rivington St. Lower East Side Tenement Museum, East Broadway, Keep going thru the finanical canyon down to Battery Park.

Take the F train to Coney Island - go before dawn so you get there at sunrise and photograph the old parachute drop and what's left of the amusement rides. Walk around and have an early lunch at the Russian restaurants in Brighton Beach.

Midtown is BORING other than the museums and of course Times Square which is utterly surreal now that they made a pedestrian mall (^&@#%$!!!)

Forget the circle line, it's a total tourist trap and you don't see that much, ride the Staten Island Ferry instead, you'll save a lot of money and have a real NYC experience.

Bronx Terminal Market, early in the AM, take the train to 149th St and Grand Concourse - just a few minutes from Manhattan.

Williamsburg

Atlantic Ave.

I could go on and on.

Just my personal opinion of course, my little stream of consciousness rant.
 
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The best times to visit New York, as others have said, are late spring or early autumn. Of course, that depends on what range of weather you can tolerate. Recently, on a damp and cold day, a friend from the UK didn't seem to mind the weather as much as I did!

I've lived here for years, and if you exercise good judgment, you can safely visit almost anywhere in the city. It used to be true that a trip above 96th Street in Manhattan was unwise, but that's not really true anymore. There is more to see south of 96th Street, but don't let fear keep you from exploring. I would spend time downtown (south of 14th Street): Greenwich Village, the East Village, Chinatown, Tribeca, etc. There's a lot to see in a relatively compact area.

Three small pieces of advice. The first is a quick rule of thumb to judge distances. North of 14th Street, which is where the Manhattan "grid" begins, there are 20 north-south city blocks to the mile. East-west blocks are longer.

Second, beware that the subway system can be very unreliable during the weekends. Because the subways do not shut down at night, much of the major upkeep is done by weekend diversions that are often poorly announced. I feel terrible when I see tourists staring at subway maps trying to figure out why a train that should be running to a particular station ended up somewhere else.

Third, a word about Peter Luger steakhouse. Unless they have recently changed their policy, they do not take credit cards.
 
I stayed at The Larchmont on my honeymoon and while your stay may not be the same as mine I highly recommend it ........ the subway experience is not to be missed and if nothing else ride it to Coney Island (see my avitar for a shot from there) you will still have plenty of opportunities to walk
 
Am I the only one who think Peter Lugar's is overrated? I mean, the steak is great but there are plenty of other steak houses that do it just as well these days without the moody staff or long wait times.

While it's a bistro and not a steakhouse, Id head to Raoul's on Prince street and get a steak au poivre.
 
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New York in late spring or late summer is keen. There are three holidays, in fact (Memorial Day and Independence Day in late spring/summer, Labor Day in late summer/fall) which is lovely, because a lot of city folk clear out. You can walk the streets without a lot of dodging, get a good table at a restaurant without much waiting, and the city develops a nice, cool, loping sort of tempo.

As far as cheap(ish) accommodations go, this place is rather cool if you don't mind the somewhat adventurous décor. :)

Steak houses? My fave place was a little old house on MacDougal called the Derby. Fantastic steaks, true old-school charm, and friendly help (my usual response to questions about the other, snooty place on this side of the Battery was always, "Peter who?") Derby bit the dust a handful of years ago; still looking for a house I can call my own. Had a nice steak once at Smith & Wollensky, but the place is just too huge for my comfort level. (Edit: While not exactly a steak house, Moutarde here in Park Slope is great for steak frites.)

The Boroughs: I was born in Manhattan, spent some years in the Bronx during the Dark Ages, and now reside in Brooklyn. If you can't hit all the boroughs (and there's something at least a bit interesting about all of 'em), definitely spend a bit of time here in Brooklyn. A lot to see, a lot to love. Have your camera(s), and a good pair of walking shoes, at the ready.

More to tell, so keep asking questions. :)


- Barrett
 
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