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First New York trip - tips, places to stay, things to see...

I def can't afford $2000 for my accomodation. I have had an email back and they have the guest room available for my dates for $75 which is just great.

BUT....just noticed that I'm planning my travel during my BFs birthday so may have to change dates...so I have just gone all woo hoo ready to book my flight and secure this fab room to oh no what an idiot!

ETA: I'm wanting to fly from Birmingham and see that there are non stop flights for £380 to Liberty Airport which makes flying time just under 8 hours. I have read a little bit about distance to Manhattan and transport but not fully sussed how I would do it. Which airport do you reckon I should be aiming for and avoiding?
 
editor said:
I can't wait to take a walk on the High Line: http://www.thehighline.org/

homepage_sternfeld.jpg
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Oh yes. I read about this a few months back and thought it was amazing. Inspiring use of space..:)
 
Helpful thread. I'm considering going to NY at some point fairly soon, so this was a timely read. Think some of the photos might need updating though!

ny066.jpg
 
Liberty is Newark - no one ever calls it "Liberty".

Getting from Newark to NYC is a minor hassle, but not too bad. Take the airtrain and shuttle from Newark airport.

I can't recall how long it takes - I haven't flown in/out of there in ages.
 
D said:
Liberty is Newark - no one ever calls it "Liberty".

Getting from Newark to NYC is a minor hassle, but not too bad. Take the airtrain and shuttle from Newark airport.

I can't recall how long it takes - I haven't flown in/out of there in ages.
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Even better, take the blue shuttle van from Newark and ride up front with the driver. Way cheaper than a cab, cool ride along the mad NJ turnpike for about 15-20 mins and great views of Manhattan as you get closer to NYC before desending down Holland Tunnel and emerging into the metropolis of Manhattan itself, skyscrapers and all.

If you're lucky, youll get a mini tour of midtown while the driver drops off people at places like the Times Square Hilton and Marriot Park Ave etc. Its dead fun if you're not in a rush.
 
skyscraper101 said:
Even better, take the blue shuttle van from Newark and ride up front with the driver. Way cheaper than a cab, cool ride along the mad NJ turnpike for about 15-20 mins and great views of Manhattan as you get closer to NYC before desending down Holland Tunnel and emerging into the metropolis of Manhattan itself, skyscrapers and all.

If you're lucky, youll get a mini tour of midtown while the driver drops off people at places like the Times Square Hilton and Marriot Park Ave etc. Its dead fun if you're not in a rush.
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Ah, yes, the Super Shuttle. I am not a big fan Super Shuttle, personally, but skyscraper's right that it could be fun for views, etc. if you've got the time/inclination. And I live in NY, so the Super Shuttle is just reminds me the fact that transportation to and from NYC area airports and my home is a pain in the butt.
 
I always get the cab because being stuck in long traffic jams ain't my bag. Mind you, it's rubbish that JFK hasn't got a proper rail link.
 
Beanburger said:
Helpful thread. I'm considering going to NY at some point fairly soon, so this was a timely read. Think some of the photos might need updating though!

ny066.jpg
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I'm glad I took those photos and there's no reason to 'update' them, although my biggest regret is not taking more pics when I first went over in the 80s.

The city was a far rougher place then so I was really wary of wandering around with a camera. The place looks nothing like this any more:
ny069.jpg
 
editor said:
I always get the cab because being stuck in long traffic jams ain't my bag. Mind you, it's rubbish that JFK hasn't got a proper rail link.
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It DOES have a rail link, it's just an annoying one. At Heathrow you've got to be prepared to walk a bazillion miles from the tube to your terminal. At JFK you've got to take the stupid air train a bazillion miles from your terminal to the subway.

The Airtrain part of the journey is usually what takes the longest especially if you accidentally get on the air train going in the wrong direction and end up on a massive tour of JFK instead of wherever you need to be.

I once missed the check-in time for my flight because I didn't leave enough time for airtrain bullshit. The subway journey part didn't even take that long.
 
Are there any good books on the modern history of New York??? Say from 1900 onwards??? I really want to know why it was such a shit hole back in the 70's and 80's like in Ed's photo.
 
Also, if you're willing to pay a little more, you can always take the LIRR from JFK into Manhattan, but depending on the train schedule and your arrival/departure time it might just end up being more expensive without being faster than the subway.

My least favorite of all - though sometimes irresistible if I'm exhausted and the airtrain is a HUGE walk from wherever I've landed - is the NY Airport Express bus. Huge rip-off if you're at LaGuardia and headed anywhere on the E Side or in midtown and it's not rush hour. From JFK, however, it sometimes makes sense. But they have terrible customer service. And I just find it irritating to pay that much to ride a bus such a short distance.
 
Kenneth Jackson's The Encylcopedia of New York City is a great history text, HobgoblinMan.

It was last updated, though, in 1995, I believe. Not sure if he's working on an addendum or a new book.
 
HobgoblinMan said:
Are there any good books on the modern history of New York??? Say from 1900 onwards??? I really want to know why it was such a shit hole back in the 70's and 80's like in Ed's photo.
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White flight and consequent lack of investment/interest.

I preferred it then personally.
 
HobgoblinMan said:
Are there any good books on the modern history of New York??? Say from 1900 onwards??? I really want to know why it was such a shit hole back in the 70's and 80's like in Ed's photo.
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A plug for Robert AM Stern's books - nominally architectural history, but the building of New York is actually a mix of social, political, sporting and art history:

New York 1880
New York 1900
New York 1930
New York 1960
New York 2000

Your coffee table will need steel reinforcements if you have more than one out at at time:D

ETA: This is a plug for his abilities as a historian and editor, not as an architect - his firm has early involvement in the clean up of Times Square
 
Woo Hoo....my flight is booked. Will be there for last week in April. I booked on Continental airlines flying into Newark as it doesn't seem too much hassle and given that I have never visted USA/NYC before I shall regard it as part of my sight-seeing..:)

Just waiting for www.staythenight.com to return my call so I can book a room.


Then I need to save,save,save in order to pay for the trip!

:)

ETA: just had a call-back and have booked guestroom II.

Thank you so much 1927 for suggesting this place.
 
moonsi til said:
Woo Hoo....my flight is booked. Will be there for last week in April. I booked on Continental airlines flying into Newark as it doesn't seem too much hassle and given that I have never visted USA/NYC before I shall regard it as part of my sight-seeing..:)

Just waiting for www.staythenight.com to return my call so I can book a room.


Then I need to save,save,save in order to pay for the trip!

:)

ETA: just had a call-back and have booked guestroom II.

Thank you so much 1927 for suggesting this place.
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No probs, I get a buzz out of knowing you will have a great time staying there. If you want to visit the crown of the Statue of Liberty make sure you book your tickets NOW as they book up months in advance.
 
Just booked a 5 day trip with some mates this afternoon. I'll be there Wednesday week to the Monday. I can't believe this is the first time i'm going as it's only a 90 min flight from Montréal.

Now I just need to find a pub that'll play the Wales vs. England match.
 
kage said:
Just booked a 5 day trip with some mates this afternoon. I'll be there Wednesday week to the Monday. I can't believe this is the first time i'm going as it's only a 90 min flight from Montréal.

Now I just need to find a pub that'll play the Wales vs. England match.
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Patrick Kavanagh's on 3rd street is a fab place to watch rugby. Great crowd of Taffs in there.
 
HobgoblinMan said:
Are there any good books on the modern history of New York??? Say from 1900 onwards??? I really want to know why it was such a shit hole back in the 70's and 80's like in Ed's photo.
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I am no expert but I remember David Harvey wrote something about this...

Along with the 68 revolt came a financial crisis within the credit institutions that, through debt-financing, had powered the property boom in the preceding decades. The crisis gathered momentum at the end of the 1960s until the whole capitalist system crashed, starting with the bursting of the global property-market bubble in 1973, followed by the fiscal bankruptcy of New York City in 1975. As William Tabb argued, the response to the consequences of the latter effectively pioneered the construction of a neoliberal answer to the problems of perpetuating class power and of reviving the capacity to absorb the surpluses that capitalism must produce to survive. [5]
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http://www.newleftreview.org/?view=2740

I cant remember the exact details, but it was something about the banks trying to collect debt with The City of New York, trying to make them pay up when the people collecting the debt knew they couldn't afford it. Before 1973, NYC had pretty strong municipal services, good schools, welfare, etc. After they were made to go bankrupt, a lot of neo-liberal conditions were imposed, which made them cut down extensively to the very bare minimum (which is essentially what happens on a larger scale with the IMF and third world countries). After that, NYC went to shit.

Like I said though, I am no expert. I have never even visited New York, even though it is one of the places I would most like to be.
 
There are incredible parties in Bushwick Brooklyn. It's a neighborhood that's not yet gentrified and a lot of artists are starting to move in. So there are a ton of incredible semi-legal parties in abandoned buildings. Just do research and know where you're going before you get there.
 
D said:
Kenneth Jackson's The Encylcopedia of New York City is a great history text, HobgoblinMan.

It was last updated, though, in 1995, I believe. Not sure if he's working on an addendum or a new book.
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Google "New York a documentary" there are plenty of torrents available, its in 8 parts and charts the history of NY since Henry Hudson sailed into the harbour. I think 4 or 5 of the parst are 20th century tho. Very interesting documentary.
 
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