The NEW YORK Megathread (questions & answers..not chat)

DermoMIO

just wondering if its a good idea to book flights for January 17th with the bad weather over there at the moment will it last that long or should it clear up by then ?

littlemissteach

Hi all,
I will be visiting New York in February for 3 days and wondering what are the "must see" attractions seeing as I'm there for a short time.

Also I would like to go to an outlet mall- the two I've heard of are Jersey Gardens and Woodbury Common-Which is better and which is nearer to NYC?Please recommend other retails outlets also!

Finally I would love to go to a broadway show- would you recommend I wait til I get there and get tickets at one of the tckts outlets or should I get them before I head over?

Thanks a mill

Louisayankee2

Many people visit New York City, but when you mention New York, it has a very different meaning for people that run businesses there, or travel agents, or life time residents of the city itself, or surrounding towns, what they call " upstate New York"....
As a former resident of the Upstate part, I would like to give you some tips on how to save some earnest money.
One great way is to plan to take a plane or train to a city in either Connecticut or White Plains, Poughkeepsie area. Something along the Taconic Trail is very inexpensive, and if you rent a car, it saves lots of money.

Once you arrive close to N.Y.City itself, you'll "feel" ready when it's time to say, " Now we can take a cab" .

Since most cab drivers drive insane and can seem "mad-crazy", it's just that they earn their money by knowing how fast and when to take a flying chance , when and where...... they are worth their money.
Since NYCity is sketchy at night, it is always nice to know where you're exactly going , and they know lots of shortcuts, usually not taking you anywhere dangerous,nor out of their way.
They have more business than they can handle, and are always in a hurry to get to their next customer.

The foods are expensive in N.Y. City itself, unless you happen upon a nice busy diner. Outside of the city, there are loads of diners with great food, so don't think less of yourself catching a great breakfast at a busy one before heading straight into the city , itself.

You also save bunches by leaving the city , proper, about supper time, unless you're awaiting to see an evening of jazz or opera , theater, etc.

By getting out of the city early, you're never to late to hit one of the many diners with 24 hr. staff eager to satisfy a great bagel with lox, etc...

The most expensive thing about your stay in New York City is definitely the hotels, along with waking up to spend a fortune to eat somewhere near or in the hotel , itself.

I just thought I could save everyone some money , as I used to visit my sister in White Plains, and they learned these tricks and passed them on to us!
Have a Happy New Year !

gucciali

hey guys heading to NY 2nd feb (2 girls) , am really stuck on choosing a hotel just can't decide . looking for something very central , fairly comfortable , and maybe some night time entertainment , has anybody stayed in a hotel recently that they can reccomend please ? Also is there anything special on this time of year that we should see/do ?

Any good spots to go for a drink ? thanks for any replies:)

gimmick

littlemissteach wrote: »

Also I would like to go to an outlet mall- the two I've heard of are Jersey Gardens and Woodbury Common-Which is better and which is nearer to NYC?Please recommend other retails outlets also!

Jersey gardens is about a 25 minute bus from Port Authority. I think Woodbury is a good hour.

gucciali wrote: »

hey guys heading to NY 2nd feb (2 girls) , am really stuck on choosing a hotel just can't decide . looking for something very central , fairly comfortable , and maybe some night time entertainment , has anybody stayed in a hotel recently that they can reccomend please ? Also is there anything special on this time of year that we should see/do ?

Any good spots to go for a drink ? thanks for any replies:)

For a drink, check out the micro brewery at the foot of the Empire State - Woodland Brew House I think it is called.

Accomadation, check out New Yorker which might be a touch pricey, but dead central. Also people always talk about the Pennsylvania which is a cheap and "cheerful". Both are about a 10 minute walk from time square and are on the same street (more or less) as the ESB. You can see Madison Square Garden from the door of both also.

Toplink

Any idea why flights are so expensive to NY in 2011 from April onwards?

I have looked at April/May and again in Sept/Oct and the average return fare is approx 560 Euro non stop.

Does any body have any idea on potential Aer Lingus sales? I had planned a suprise 60th present for my Mum to send her over but these prices seem more expensive than the norm.

For example I can fly in Mid Feburary for 380 Return?

Any help appreciated.

Toto Wolfcastle

Air Lingus are having a sale on US flights up until April so that would be a reason why the flights are more expensive from April onwards.

Third_Echelon

Toplink wrote: »

Any idea why flights are so expensive to NY in 2011 from April onwards?

I have looked at April/May and again in Sept/Oct and the average return fare is approx 560 Euro non stop.

Does any body have any idea on potential Aer Lingus sales? I had planned a suprise 60th present for my Mum to send her over but these prices seem more expensive than the norm.

For example I can fly in Mid Feburary for 380 Return?

Any help appreciated.

Feb is off-season
after that is peak-season.... always more expensive in summer etc.

ncmc

Toplink wrote: »

Any idea why flights are so expensive to NY in 2011 from April onwards?

I have looked at April/May and again in Sept/Oct and the average return fare is approx 560 Euro non stop.

Does any body have any idea on potential Aer Lingus sales? I had planned a suprise 60th present for my Mum to send her over but these prices seem more expensive than the norm.

For example I can fly in Mid Feburary for 380 Return?

Any help appreciated.

Have you tried pricing Continental? I regularly find them the cheapest around, I flew last August for €450 per person. They fly to Newark in New Jersey, which is actually the most convenient airport for Manhattan. You can either get a bus or train into the city very easily. They are also great to fly with.

Third_Echelon

ncmc wrote: »

Have you tried pricing Continental? I regularly find them the cheapest around, I flew last August for €450 per person. They fly to Newark in New Jersey, which is actually the most convenient airport for Manhattan. You can either get a bus or train into the city very easily. They are also great to fly with.

Worst Airline EVER!

BaZmO*

Third_Echelon wrote: »

Worst Airline EVER!

Why?

I flew with them in 2008, on the recommendation of a friend that flies to New York quite a lot, and found them great.

Third_Echelon

BaZmO* wrote: »

Why?

I flew with them in 2008, on the recommendation of a friend that flies to New York quite a lot, and found them great.

I've flown with them quite a bit over the years internally within the US and also the Dublin-Newark and Houston-Sao Paulo international routes many times.... Of all the US based airlines they are the worst in my experience (and that is saying something!). A lot of my colleagues also think the same (my job involved a lot of US based travelling).

Late flights, lost bags (multiple occassions), re-routing (not always their fault), rude staff, stupid policies, getting bumped off flights etc.. The list is endless with them.

They are merging with United Airlines, so perhaps that might iron out some of their issues...

BaZmO*

Ha. That's fair enough. I've only flown with them once so I'll bow to your more extensive experience.

Third_Echelon

BaZmO* wrote: »

Ha. That's fair enough. I've only flown with them once so I'll bow to your more extensive experience.

Ha ha :-) They've just p1ssed me off more times that others have really!

displaced dub

gucciali wrote: »

hey guys heading to NY 2nd feb (2 girls) , am really stuck on choosing a hotel just can't decide . looking for something very central , fairly comfortable , and maybe some night time entertainment , has anybody stayed in a hotel recently that they can reccomend please ? Also is there anything special on this time of year that we should see/do ?

Any good spots to go for a drink ? thanks for any replies:)

Westin Times Square is a great hotel, very central and plush too, broadway shows on the door step never really had a good drinking experiance in NYC.

borderlinemeath

I quite like continental, I've flown transatlantic and internally with them.
Have had bad delays and rude staff experiences with both united and delta.
I find most of the US airlines are much of a muchness really.

displaced dub

littlemissteach wrote: »

Hi all,
I will be visiting New York in February for 3 days and wondering what are the "must see" attractions seeing as I'm there for a short time.

Also I would like to go to an outlet mall- the two I've heard of are Jersey Gardens and Woodbury Common-Which is better and which is nearer to NYC?Please recommend other retails outlets also!

Finally I would love to go to a broadway show- would you recommend I wait til I get there and get tickets at one of the tckts outlets or should I get them before I head over?

Thanks a mill

Woodbury is 40 minute bus journey which costs $40 approx, google premium outlets and scroll for woodbury. Sign up and print coupns before you get there as the savings are more than the discount book. Get bus from port authority bus terminal which is on west 43rd street(just off times square) tickets are for sale from street vendors on all approachs to the bus terminal. if your a serious shopper bring an expty suit case with you to fill in woodbury. ive been 8 times now and its my top tip.

i always book bradway shows via ticketmaster.com(not the ireland website) as you get the seats you want but you will pay face value. Dont expect at this stage to get to see the show you want as all the shows are mad busy there.

Must see, Empire at night or the top of the rock(rockerfella) is good also. I really like the southstreet seaport area, abercrombie have a good store down there and its not a crazy shop like the one on 5th, good pub on the corner also.

ncmc

Third_Echelon wrote: »

Worst Airline EVER!

I strongly disagree, I have flown Continental several times as have quite a few friends and family, and none of us have ever experienced delays, bumped flights, lost luggage or rudeness.

Maybe they aren't as good on their internal flights, but I have always found their trans-atlantic service excellent and very reasonabley priced in comparison with the other airlines.

Pythia

Had my best transatlantic experience with Continental. On time flights, very friendly staff, good food and drinks experience and cheaper than everyone else! Newark is also a far nicer airport than JFK, much more food options there.

curver

I am heading to NYC for the first time in dec this year, a group of 4 girls, and have lfights and accomodation sorted. We are looking for recommendations on really good places to eat and drink, and where are the best shopping places to visit?

thanks!

tipp86

Anyone got thoughts on this? Im thinking of staying at Howardjohnson hotel near woodside,queens.

Its so much cheaper than Manhattan yet with the subway your not exactly out of the way.

LambsEye

curver wrote: »

I am heading to NYC for the first time in dec this year, a group of 4 girls, and have lfights and accomodation sorted. We are looking for recommendations on really good places to eat and drink, and where are the best shopping places to visit?

thanks!

littlemissteach wrote: »

Hi all,
I will be visiting New York in February for 3 days and wondering what are the "must see" attractions seeing as I'm there for a short time.

Also I would like to go to an outlet mall- the two I've heard of are Jersey Gardens and Woodbury Common-Which is better and which is nearer to NYC?Please recommend other retails outlets also!

Finally I would love to go to a broadway show- would you recommend I wait til I get there and get tickets at one of the tckts outlets or should I get them before I head over?

Thanks a mill

tipp86 wrote: »

Anyone got thoughts on this? Im thinking of staying at Howardjohnson hotel near woodside,queens.

Its so much cheaper than Manhattan yet with the subway your not exactly out of the way.

The 7 train that runs in Woodside is fantastic and will link you directly to all the other subway lines (Grand Central, Byrant Park and Port Authority/Times Square.) It's also possible to get taytos there because it's a really Irish area!!

Hey folks,

I've been living in New York close to two years now and I absolutely adore the place.

I'm going to just lash out a load of recommendations that hopefully will satisfy your touristy needs but also give you a taste of the real New York!

I am a big fan of the Lower East Side, Williamsburg in Brooklyn, and the West Village but I'll try throw in some things from Midtown, Times Square Area.

Food:
Nolita House (E. Houstan.) Without a doubt, my all time favourite restaurant in New York. Excellent, local food. Awesome atmosphere. GO HERE.
QI Asian Eatery (W14th)
Mark (St. Marks Place) Best burgers at $2 a pop. Try the Guinness Milkshake!
S'Mac (E 12th) Hearty Mac and Cheese. US favourite. Great comfort food
Sweetwater (N 6th St, Brooklyn)
Yama Sushi (Carmine St)
Karahi - Indian (Christopher St, Btwn Bedford & Bleeker.)
Bar 41 (41st St, btwn 7th and 8th)
Any Heartland Brewery (there are loads around the place.)

Drink
Parkside Lounge (E. Houstan btwn Corner of Attorney) I'm biased because I used to work here. But it's the absolute BUSINESS
Pianos (158 Ludlow St.)
Motorcity (127 Ludlow St.)
Down The Hatch (West 4rd St.)
Fat Black Pussy Cat Club (West 3rd)
The Blind Barber (E 10th St.) THIS BAR ROCKS
Wicked Willies (149 Bleeker St.) Fantastic Happy Hour


Things to do:
Top of the Rock (Rockerfeller Center) is awesome at night
Take a stroll through Central Park, well worth it to rent a boat at the Boat House if it's open
Catch a Broadway show. Look online because you can get some fantastic deals.
Take a walk on the Highline Park. An old railway track turned into a park above the city. Entrance at West 20th
Comedy Show at Broadway Comedy Club (West 53rd and 8th)
Battery Park. Liness for the Statue of Liberty are SUPER long
South Street Seaport
Museums: MOMA (Free on Fridays,) Tenement Museum, Natural History, Googenheim
Staten Island Ferry - It's free!
Brooklyn Botanical Gardens
Ice Skating in Byrant Park if it's still on
Brooklyn Bridge
Go see a gig at any of these places: Bowery Ballroom, The Music Hall of Williamsburg, Terminal 5
Bowling at Brooklyn Bowl (they have beer, concerts, food - it's great.)

Shopping:
Herald Square (34th and 6th) Zara, H&M, Forever 21, Old Navy etc
Macys (34th and 6th)
Jersey Gardens. Get the 111 BUS from Gate 222 at Port Authority
Beacon's Closet. (North 11th St Brooklyn.) AMAZING vintage shop
The Lower East Side (Orchard, Rivingston, Ludlow, Stanton Sts.) If you have mad cash
Century 21 (27 Cortlandt St)
Chinatown (Canal St.) I personally don't like this stuff. You can get the real deal in Century 21 for a few dollars extra and it's not shady.
Broadway (Between Canal St upwards.)
Prince St.
Spring St.
5th Ave. If you have crazy bucks.

PHEW.

I hope all this helps you guys, I love my city!

Mr Moon

Flying from Dublin with a mate to New York next month (going to visit a mate who lives there) and I've a couple of questions.

We're spending one of the days doing site seeing, I've been there before but my friend hasn't, so I can recommend to him the good things I've done, can anyone give me some things to do that aren't the main attractions??

Also, how long do you have to be in the airport before you fly to the states? Is it 3, and do you do immigration over here still before you fly?

We're also looking at where would be a good place for three lads to go and have a mad night out on a Thursday? (cheaper the better)

Thanks in advance.

Ninja Edit: Staying in the Pennsylvania Hotel.

LambsEye

Mr Moon wrote: »

Flying from Dublin with a mate to New York next month (going to visit a mate who lives there) and I've a couple of questions.

We're spending one of the days doing site seeing, I've been there before but my friend hasn't, so I can recommend to him the good things I've done, can anyone give me some things to do that aren't the main attractions??

Also, how long do you have to be in the airport before you fly to the states? Is it 3, and do you do immigration over here still before you fly?

We're also looking at where would be a good place for three lads to go and have a mad night out on a Thursday? (cheaper the better)

Thanks in advance.

Ninja Edit: Staying in the Pennsylvania Hotel.

If you're flying from Dublin you will most likely do immigration at Dublin. UNLESS you're flying at a super inconvenient time like 4am, in which case you'll probably do it in America.

If all your **** is above board you will only spend max 10 minutes at the immigration desk, but you'll probably spend about 30 minutes queuing.

For the attractions, see my post above.

For a mad place to go on a Thursday I would recommend anywhere in the Lower East Side.

Get the F train to Delancey/Essex or just get a cab to Delancey and Orchard and walk down Orchard St. There are a million billion awesome bars around there.

See a list of the bars above. Off the top of my head (look up directions, all around the L.E.S.:)

200 Orchard
6th Ward
MotorCity
Fontanas
Pianos
The Skinny
Max Fish
Spitzers
Rockwood Music Hall

ontheditch2

Just back and said i would give my tuppence worth.
Stayed on 56th street. Spent 4 days there and below is the list of things i went to with herself. Will list them in 3 categories.
Things i enjoyed and will definitely do again:
Ice Hockey match at Madison Square Garden
Top of the Rock and Empire State Building, one at day, one at night.
Ellis Island, would need at least 2 hours in the museum there, very interesting.
Central Park, was really nice, covered in snow while we were there, ice skating there too.
The Lion King, was fantastic.
Grand Central Station
Times Square
Shops are amazing over there, i hate shopping and had no intention of buying anything too much over there, but they are something that will definitly get more of my time the next time i visit.
The revolvingbar in the Marriot on Time Square
Things i enjoyed but probably wont do again, once is nearly enough
Statue of Liberty
Natural History Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Walked over Brooklyn Bridge
Rockefeller Building
St Patricks Cathedral, scaffolding on the front of it, was nice inside though
Maddame Thussauds
Things i did, and wont do again, boring
Museum of Modern Art. Girlfriend loved it, i hated it, of the 3 museums it was her favourite, my least favourite.
Chrysler building, went to see it, scaffolding all on front of it, not much to see anyway

Overall, we tried to fit in as much as we could in the coule of days we were there. We seen a lot, and the next time we go, we wont have such a hectic schedule. I reckon we walked about 20-24 miles on the 1st 2 full days we were there and our legs were aching after that. We probably tried to fit in too much for our first trip there, but we just wanted to do as much as we could.

What i will do different the next time.
Get a hotel almost on Times Square.
Get in at least one sporting event.
Get in a least one Broadway show, plan on going to Jersey Boys or Wicked next time.
Will research restaurants better, had some truly awful food experiences. I love food and am usually not too picky, but the airplane food was better than some of the places we ate. only one evening did both of us enjoy our dinner.
Will spend a bit more time shopping, unreal bargains to be had.
Will not try to do as much touristy things.
Will definitely go back and am looking forward to it already.

BaZmO*

ontheditch2 wrote: »

Overall, we tried to fit in as much as we could in the coule of days we were there. We seen a lot, and the next time we go, we wont have such a hectic schedule. I reckon we walked about 20-24 miles on the 1st 2 full days we were there and our legs were aching after that. We probably tried to fit in too much for our first trip there, but we just wanted to do as much as we could.

We were there for longer, so had a bit more time, but still had aching legs from doing so much. Was worth it though. Can’t wait to go back so we can just take it handy and not try to cram so much in.

ontheditch2 wrote: »

Will research restaurants better, had some truly awful food experiences. I love food and am usually not too picky, but the airplane food was better than some of the places we ate. only one evening did both of us enjoy our dinner.

Agree 100%

Thought some of the food was shocking, in particular the restaurants that we went to. Street food and burger places were fine, but the restaurants were terrible. We ended up going back to an Irish Bar because the food was really nice, nothing fancy, but much better than the restaurants we tried.

ncmc

What i will do different the next time.
Get a hotel almost on Times Square.

Great post Ontheditch, very helpful to anyone planning a trip. However ^^^ this is the only statement I really disagree with! Our hotel was close enough to Times Square (about 3 blocks away) and as a result, we ended up walking through TS quite a lot. I have to say, when the city is busy, TS is a nightmare! It is so busy and headwrecking and full of inconsiderate tourists who stop right in front of you in the middle of the footpath so you either run into the back of them or get run over trying to avoid them! /rant over/

When I go again, I would prefer to stay somewhere like the Upper East or West side, where the locals actually live. Much more authentic experience and less likely to get ripped off in tourist trap restaurants!

Mr Moon

Have tickets for the NY Islanders, granted they suck but it's an Ice Hockey game, so I can't wait to see it, tickets cost $22 each

emc2

Mr Moon wrote: »

Have tickets for the NY Islanders, granted they suck but it's an Ice Hockey game, so I can't wait to see it, tickets cost $22 each

Heading over at the weekend and have tickets for the rangers on tuesday night. Really looking forward to heading to madison Sq Gardens.

bigfeller

emc2 wrote: »

Really looking forward to heading to madison Sq Gardens.

DO drink the beer
DO eat the pretzels
DON'T FOR THE LOVE OF SWEET BABY JEEBUS eat the hotdogs.


Just don't.