New York

I like the alcohols.

www.alldisco.net

drink a quart of ballantine ale -- tastes like pine needles

stroll down clinton rivington or ludlow street and try to imagine that all those trendy shops/bars/restaurants used to be drug spots

go to katz delicatessen and send a salami to somebody in Iraq

battery park at sunset followed by dinner at trattoria gigino

shop for restaurant supplies on the bowery, then stop and and pay respects at CBGB while you still can

storm the locked gates at residents-only grammercy park, and then have a drink at the grammercy park hotel (if it's still there)

walk through the garment district (7th ave west 30s)during business hours, watch out for flying coat racks

try to find a porn shop/strip club in Times Square: happy hunting!

drink a $15 martini in the 4 seasons hotel lobby, it's sorta worth it

eat BBQ and catch an early set at the Jazz Standard (Blue Smoke)

go to the northern end of Central Park and check the Harlem Meer

worship at the church synagogue mosque or bank of your choice

Have a drink at Bemelmans Bar in the Carlyle Hotel (76th St. and Madison), where the walls are fully illustrated by Ludwig Bemelman of "Madeline" fame.

Visit the main Manhattan library branch on 42nd Street -- read between the lions etc etc and have a picnic lunch in Bryant Park behind the library.

Stroll through Chinatown and try the dumplings at several different places for a taste test. I don't have any favorites but I'm sure someone on here does.

Have very good and not very expensive Thai food at Pong Sri on Bayard and Baxter (Chinatown). Specifically, have the coconut rice with your dish if possible. Go in the early evening to the park across the street from the restaurant and watch the very elderly Chinese men play Go and soak up the last of the sun.

Go downtown to City Hall and walk (or bike) across the Brooklyn Bridge.

Convince the security guard to let you into the incredibly ornate lobby of the Woolworth's building. Not sure if you can still get in during these parlous times, but used to be you could stroll around the ground floor and get an eyeful. I think there are retail shops in there now so you can probably manage.

"It's titled 'Subway Map Floating on a New York Sidewalk,' and it was created in 1986 by Francoise Schein, a Belgian artist and architect, who now lives in Paris. The schematic runs the length of the building -- 87 feet -- and is 12 feet wide. The IRT, BMT and IND are represented by half-inch-wide stainless-steel bars embedded in concrete, with lights indicating SoHo-area subway stops. The project cost an estimated $30,000 to produce and won the City Art Commission award for the best art project that year."

Hang out and read a book in the various courtyards at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. It's surprisingly tranquil and you can scope out lots of art/dance students.

also if you like architecture, take the m5 bus up to grants tomb/riverside church and check out all the awesome buildings on riverside drive

Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.

Have a burger at the Corner Bistro on W. 4th & Jane St.

At night go out drinking in the East Village and/or Lower East Side.

Take one of the tours offered by the Lower East Side Tenement Museum. Fascinating and it'll make you see NYC, especially downtown, in a new light.

Walk the entire lenght of Central Park and marvel at the genius of Olmstead.

Damnit! When I was in NYC I spent all my time between there and Bronxville!

Casimir is my pop star crush, so I'll keep away.

Check out the Metropolitan Museum and MOMA's new space. I've heard good things mainly about the latter, the former will take hours. There's also a fantastic house off of Central Park with a museum in it, the house alone is worth the entrance but there are some real gems there! It's called the Frick Collection or Museum.

I loved Ellis island and was proud of a cork woman being first through (Up the rebels) and of course you've got to visit the Jolly Green Giants French mistress.

There's so much I want to go back and do, see Grand Central station's restored roof, drink expensive cocktails, just go mental and figure out how to calmly call a taxi (seriously). Plans afoot to move there at some point so here's hoping.

Oooo and before I forget: shop. Really. You don't need to eat after the trip. Century 21 is great cos I'm cheap and a browser but there's so much else obviously.

Spencer is OTM, start q-ing around an hour and a half before sun down for the Empire State cos we didn't and missed it unfortunately.

God there's so much. Now sitting at desk consumed by jealousy... Enjoy it though, don't make it your last trip sure isn't there the rest of the world to explore!?

There are no more Allan Kaprows in the art world

when: Now through Sun 8.14 (Wed-Sun: 12-6pm)
where: Silo (1 Freeman Alley, entrance on Rivington St, btwn Bowery & Chrystie St, 212.505.9156) map
price:
links: Event Info | Allan Kaprow

Tucked away in the Manhattan oasis Freeman Alley, Silo celebrates its one-year anniversary with homage to legendary "happenings" pioneer Allan Kaprow. Following his lead, the artists here eschew formal convention in search of liminal spaces between art and everyday life. Stephan Pascher's after-hours intervention at a Swedish co-op investigates the intersection between shoppers' inner thoughts and the anonymous eye of the security camera. Elke Lehmann unravels the symbols of American post-9/11 patriotism through found fashion, and Douglas Boatwright reinterprets the Beach Boys in a deadpan, self-produced videogram. Patrick Grenier's slide presentation Invisible History of Chelsea is perhaps best representative of the ideas driving this show in its unrelenting circumvention of the gallery scene. (AM)

New suggestions are appreciated.

I love walking around the new york public library, YOu can run down the steps like peter venkman.

The transit museum in Brooklyn is worth an hour or so of anyone's time

PS1 is generally worth an afternoon, check out kate masonic boom's old favourite diner, the court square whilst you're at it.

Prospect Park is at least as good as central park for walking in.

I love Smith/9th St Subway stop and the really huge girder structure it's on

http://static.flickr.com/39/105802374_a92193fafe.jpg?v=0

Give my love to the G train.

See what's on a Galapagos in Williamsburg. Say Ed sent you (only works with one waitress).

Point yourself in any direction and walk

Zabar's, Russ and Daughters, Katz's

is anything good happening next week? i don't know how much free time i'll have, but recommendations for stuff happening mon/tue night, or just good places to hang out near le parker meridien (where i'm staying) would be much appreciated in case i find myself with spare hours...

Tuesday - Q-Tip at Nokia Theatre (Times Square); El Guincho at le poisson rouge (Greenwich Village)

You are right in the middle of the most garish, crowded bit of Midtown but on the plus side just over the road from Central Park which is worth a half-hour wander round. The bit down from Union Square to the Lower East Side was my favourite bit of Manhattan just to wander round, and it would be very difficult for even you to get lost.

Somewhere in my Gmail I have a load of eating and drinking recommendations from Tracer as well that I can forward to you.

Bar Americain (a dramatic-looking restaurant that does good haute regional American food) is 5 blocks away. Norma's, inside the hotel, is considered one of the best brunch places in the city (not cheap).

you're 2-3 blocks from the Carnegie Deli (Jewish deli for enormous corned beef and/or pastrami sandwiches, etc.), which is not the best, but the most famous of its type

a great brunch place right where i'm staying? this is fantastic news. thanks for the recommendations gabbneb (got yr emails matt, cheers) - i will take note and use if time permits

also, the lobby of your hotel contains Burger Joint, one of the best burgers in NYC

:D

what good bars are in the area?

love the Burger Joint. follow the neon burger sign

"good" bars, I'd probably head downtown. You are right in the middle of the most garish, crowded bit of Midtown

There are loads of good bars as you head down towards Greenwich Village or towards the East Village from Union Square. Most of them further downtown seem pretty passable though.

If you are only there a couple of days I'd recommend getting the subway down to somewhere in the 20s and then just wandering south and getting a feel for the streets, taking in any particular landmarks you want to see.

The bit you're in is roughly the equivalent of staying somewhere between Piccadilly Circus and Oxford Street, with all the horror that entails.

what good bars are in the area?

you probably want to go elsewhere for that, certainly if you want to hang out with ILXors, as most places in the neighborhood cater to wealthy business types, tourists/out-of-towners, and/or workingmen. but i'll mention:
- Salon de Ning at the Peninsula Hotel (outdoor space is the biggest draw, so probably more of a summer phenomenon)
- ava lounge in the dream hotel (same; less upscale)
- downstairs bar at Tao restaurant, popularized by Sex and the City, and probably filled with midwestern tourists, but might be up your alley
- the Townhouse, a v upscale, clubby midtown gay bar.
- the (classic) king cole bar in the st. regis hotel (where the bloody mary was either invented or introduced to the US)

another attractive and expensive nearby restaurant is the modern, inside the MoMA, with separate bar and main rooms and alsatian-inspired cuisine. at further reaches of midtown, the Grand Central Oyster Bar is a classic NY place amid the commuter rush of Grand Central Terminal with great oysters and decent, fairly simple seafood. GCT also has the Campbell Apartment bar.

hey matt can you send me tracer's tips too? looks like i'll be going to NYC for work from time to time and will be staying in that same garish area (was at the hudson last time which was the smallest room i've even been in!). the office is in rockefeller ctr, and i fear there's really nothing around there's that's not touristy crap. i'll be happy to venture around.

if you are at rock ctr and don't mind walking over to 9th ave, there are lots of little restaurants/bars. uncle nick's ouzaria is good greek tapas, next door to vintage, which has nice cocktails/"martinis" that are $10-12 instead of $15-20. uncle vanya on 54th is also nom and has infused vodkas (though if that's your thing, the vodka selection is better at the russian samovar).

none of these places are "fancy" or especially nice, but i find the quality to be pretty good and not overly expensive. if you want shi-shi atmosphere, these are not the places to go, though (with the exception of vintage) they have a lot of character.

i'm not that fancy ;) i'm sure i'll see shi-shi places with work people, but when i'm on my own that's a different story...

the waitstaff at uncle vanya is kind of lolinsovietrussiacaviareatsyouawesome.

i like cheap & full of character just as much as fancy atmosphere, but waiters like that (and infused vodkas) are the kind of quality which swing a place for me

i was just reading internets reviews and the consensus seems to be that the appetizers are better at the vodka room or russian samovar. i can not speak to that because i have only had vodka at the samovar, but i had a really nice experience at uncle vanya. also lol @ chowhound.

god i miss all those great bars in the east village

oh yeah, there's the bar at the Hudson too. if you stay there, the Cafeteria's an obvious eating choice, but Whole Foods in the Time-Warner Center is a great resource for less chi-chi, cheaper and/or solo eating

lol the new aq kafe near col circle has ikea food in pain quotidien setting. it look intersting for casual dining. i had take out coffee - not bad!

Wholefoods in the TWC is also a good way to loose your mind in a 400 person queue.

it moves pretty fast, though!

the lady at the flower counter made me 2 LOVELY bouquets that got lots of compliments the other day for under $50.

new aq kafe near col circle

!

pain quotidien setting

meaning it's not colorful like scandinavia house? i kinda hate pain quotidien.

it's more dimly lit than pq, so it feels warmer and less cafeteria-ish. i have not been to scandinavia house, but the color palette was mostly neutral with clean lines.

not really on topic, but aq cafe makes me think of aquavit which makes me think of the smorgasboard brunch. A+++++ (although probably not if you hate herring).

my parents love that stuff. i hate herring.

This is all pretty Tourist 101, but if i were in NYC for the first time and staying in midtown, I would certainly go to Rockefeller Center and check out the skating rink/tree, the Top of the Rock observation deck (at least $20), the murals inside, and Saks Fifth Avenue (49th-50th). (there's also the, uh, Radio City Christmas Spectacular; a tour also gets you inside). From there, especially if you're into architecture, you could head East past McKim, Mead & White's Villard Houses (Madison b/w 50th and 51st, best seen at night) over to Park Ave for the view down (right) to the 1929 Helmsley Building (best at night) and up to the '50s-era Seagram Building (Mies/Philip Johnson, between 52nd and 53rd) and Lever House (53rd-54th) (both better daytime).

Central Park is definitely a good idea - head up 5th Ave and enter the park at the Southeast corner. Follow the path up to the far end of the lake and loop left around Wollman skating rink.

Times Square can definitely be annoyingly crowded/touristy like Piccadilly Circus, but it's also bigger and brighter, especially this time of year, and I'd recommend heading down Broadway at night to 42nd, and maybe looping around the theater district to 8th Ave (where you get a tiny taste of the old Times Square) on 44th and 45th. Follow 44th East to Grand Central Terminal and its great main hall.

btw, if you're into modern dance at all, you're 2 blocks from City Center, the major venue in NY for same. Beginning next Wednesday, they've got Alvin Ailey with Wynton Marsalis/the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and Sweet Honey in the Rock.

ed koch, ilxor

I just want to say how very much I enjoyed visiting New York in October to see Echo & The Bunnymen, but not just that, I bonded with the city in some small way there in Manhattan and I never thought I would. I had a dream when I was a teenager that I was walking NYC streets and the idea of visiting New York always scared me because of that, but it turned out that I loved it. Thanks much and I hope maybe one day I will return there. It's nice to feel at peace with something that you previously feared.

NY loves you too, Bimble!

That said, I was planning to take a nice long walk into Park Slope to pick up all the goods I need for the week (passover and regular shopping) but blech, what nasty rains.

For the people who live in NY, I always wondered this: how in the hell do you afford it? What do you do for a living? And is there such a thing as a middle-class there?

I've always wanted to live there, but always assumed it was out-of-this-world expensive and never likely to happen. Do most of you live in Jersey or something?

i am moving away to live some place cheaper!

is there such a thing as a middle-class there?

getting closer and closer to "poor"

yeah. i would say this is not a good time to move to ny.

unless you would like to rent my room!

d'oh. I want to move there eventually but there's no way I could make enough money right now, I think.

you spend more money but you make more money. You also live in a room in a an apt shared with many other people and often don't have much space for the same amount of money other people in other places pay to live in larger apartments. It's just about what you're comfortable with. You also maybe don't save much money because you spend more on rent then you should. Depending on what kind of work you can do, there are still certain jobs and those jobs will still pay more then in other places.

Thanks everyone for the responses. My dream may not match up with reality. So I guess it comes down to is this: how many roommates can you handle? - LOL

For what it's worth, I'm just your average Joe-Blow who works basic office-jobs, never having gone past a bachelor's degree. I don't make a lot of money, just middle-class where I live (which would probably be considered dirt-poor in NY).

i do it by sharing a small studio apt with my girlfriend, eating at home a lot, packing a lunch, getting my transportation comped by my job, doing laundry at my parents house, stealing internet from neighbors, not owning a tv, and pirating all my tv and movies

i do it by being a broke-ass bitch always on the verge of a serious situation but having fun anyway

see the thing for me is that in my field, i will make the same money somewhere else, so...

also happy hour specials and owning a flask

tehresa and flask otm!

the other obvious rule is...how far do you want to live from manhattan? how desirable a neighborhood? For relatively little money you can live in parts of Queens and Brooklyn that are totally pleasant and cheap and awesome, and you're a 20 minute train ride from parts of Queens and Brooklyn that are totally cool and hip and a 40 minute train ride from Manhattan, where everybody wants to go for some reason.

sunnyside is lovely!

love it

You also live in a room in an apt shared with many other people

As if it needs to be said, haha & fuck this.

sunnyside is lovely but Woodside and Jackson Heights are even cheaper! Though the south-side of Sunnyside is still pretty cheap and you can walk to the industrial part of greenpoint where everybody lives now anyway.

Looked up Woodside and Jackson Heights. Both look nice! I guess rent averages around 1300 a month for a one bedroom. I'm paying 900 a month where I live in Portland.

This may seem like a stupid question but do you guys own a car?

you don't even have to walk! you can just take the B24!
xpost

nope no car. recently joined Zipcar but I've barely used it. you really don't need one.

yeah. i would say this is not a good time to move to ny.

nytimes disagrees! i guess if u can find a job rents are declining/steady in a lot of neighborhoods due to rising vacancy rates this seems true to me fwiw

the real trick may be getting a job.

Cool, thanks. Yeah, I wouldn't move there without a job lined up, which probably means I'll never move there. :)

I do own a car, which makes living in Queens much easier. These areas aren't for everyone. If you like to leave your house and walk down the street and go to a record store or a cool bar, you can forget about it. If you do nothing but eat tacos and empenadas and comparing where to get the best thai crispy duck salad, then you're golden. A lot of people who end up in queens are domesticating, like moving in with a significant other and decided that cheap rent is more important than hanging out at a crowded Williamsburg bar.

It's really hard to find a cheap 1 bedroom in New York. My theory is that they just don't exist. Pretty much every 1 bedroom apartment has some shitty little extra room that was probably used for the baby or storage in the early 20th century but is now being sold as a second bedroom, so a 1 bedroom is 1300 but for 1500 you get a 2 bedroom where the second bedroom often sucks. Not always though.

Having a car in Woodside is great and parking is pretty easy, but in Jackson Heights it can be a nightmare. Jackson Heights has better train options, with the 7,E,R,V,F etc.

pretty much every 1 bedroom apartment has some shitty little extra room that was probably used for the baby or storage in the early 20th century but is now being sold as a second bedroom, so a 1 bedroom is 1300 but for 1500 you get a 2 bedroom where the second bedroom often sucks.

This is disturbingly OTM. I recently tromped all over Bed-Stuy to a place that was about 6 blocks farther from the train than the ad said it was, only to be told that the "second bedroom" was a small alcove off the living room that wouldn't fit a double bed and didn't even have anywhere to hang a DOOR.

The apt was incredibly beautiful and well-restored but under no possible circumstance was it a 2-bedroom.

this picture in times real estate this weekend was lolz

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2009/05/17/realestate/17cover650.5.jpg

Michael Robinson checks out an alleged bedroom in Manhattan. He is still looking.

^^^^^^ Jamiroquai video?

HAHAHA

would that even fit a twin bed???

a hammock maybe

it wouldnt even fit jay kays hat

haha as soon as dan posted abt tiny bedrooms i thought of that picture

I do own a car, which makes living in Queens much easier. These areas aren't for everyone. If you like to leave your house and walk down the street and go to a record store or a cool bar, you can forget about it. If you do nothing but eat tacos and empenadas and comparing where to get the best thai crispy duck salad, then you're golden. A lot of people who end up in queens are domesticating, like moving in with a significant other and decided that cheap rent is more important than hanging out at a crowded Williamsburg bar.
- dan selzer

HA HA yeah, not looking to settle down anytime soon. Thanks for the info. Maybe I'll just make a mil a year and live in the upper eastside.

Or stay in Portland and keep my 40k a year job. ;)

if you have a 40k job of the type that your salary would jump up in nyc, you'll be perfectly fine. you'd be fine with 40. not like, super luxuriously comfortable, but definitely not dirt poor.

im makin a little more than half that and beyond the stuff i listed above im not making any major sacrifices to live here!

tho i dont know--one of the big elephants in the room is also your social life, your friend circle, i.e. what kinds of restaurants and bars your friends will want to go to. i do OK cuz most of my friends are making similar amnts of money and have similar budgets; kids i know who are brokers/i-bankers (or WERE brokers/i-bankers, HA HA HA HA HA HA) & spend time w/ their co-workers or others from similar social circles tend to spend a lot more on a weekend/night out than i do

yah being realistic i would be... stretched on under $40K of course its totally doable but im not exactly sharing a studio apt in brklyn idk

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2009/05/17/realestate/17cover650.5.jpg

this man is 9ft tall btw... liberal media...

I know that's not true because Uniqlo and H+M don't even make pants that fit me.

And I'm only 8ft tall.

Though that guy is a lot more slender.

special ordered from the serbian uniqlo!

tho i dont know--one of the big elephants in the room is also your social life, your friend circle, i.e. what kinds of restaurants and bars your friends will want to go to. i do OK cuz most of my friends are making similar amnts of money and have similar budgets; kids i know who are brokers/i-bankers (or WERE brokers/i-bankers, HA HA HA HA HA HA) & spend time w/ their co-workers or others from similar social circles tend to spend a lot more on a weekend/night out than i do

― rip dom passantino 3/5/09 never forget (max), Monday, May 18, 2009 1:14 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Well, if I moved to NY, I wouldn't have any friends. Problem solved! And that makes it a little intimidating. Are a lot of you guys from NY originally?

I grew up 30 minutes away in New Jersey, but I never say I'm "from New York". Which is funny because people in other cities tend to say they're from that city even when they live 2 hours away. Poseurs.

im from NJ too and i always say im from NJ--partly because if i pulled the "im from NY" card and ppl found out i was from NJ id get no end of shit, and partly because, fuck you, NJ rules

Agreed, but despite all this NJ love, I would recommend against living there if you're goal is to live it up and party in NY. Yes, Jersey City is pretty cool and has come a long way...but it's not MUCH cheaper then Queens or Brooklyn, while it is MUCH less cool and much less convenient.

otm

totally better options for getting across the East river then the Hudson. especially late night

and cheaper options...

for now.

http://www.pixelcase.com.au/vr/2009/newyork/

ooooh!

Michael Robinson checks out an alleged bedroom in Manhattan. He is still looking.

i could probably make it work, but yeah, forget about a "bed"

I work in the public sector for a comparatively low to middling salary and share a two-bedroom in Queens for a very reasonable rent. (That makes me sound so boring!) I'm not really pinched financially, though I would be more so if I had my own apartment, which I would like to have, someday. You could find a studio in Queens for around $1,000, so that wouldn't be much different than your Portland rent, though it would be surely lesser in space and amenities. I don't have a car--not having to drive (or own a car) is for me, one of the most convenient aspects of NYC living. There's a large middle class in Queens--not so much in Manhattan anymore.

Thanks Virginia Plain! I wouldn't be opposed to having a roommate, assuming it wasn't a psycho (I had some pretty nutty roomies in college). I have about 9 more months until my lease is up to figure it out.

did the pollen etc kill anybody today? i thought first it was my acid reflux, but since noon I've been coughing myself to tears.

i can't tell if i'm dry and scratchy bc of pollen or because i shredded documents for like 4 hours and have kicked up a lot of dust in my packing.

Having lived in Jersey City I would maybe recommend it over the further parts of Queens, although even then there's just something about New York that feels like New York, and something about Jersey City that feels like imitation New York.

i'm not even comparing Jersey City to the further parts of queens (college point? flushing?)

Astoria/Sunnyside/Woodside/Jackson Heights should be considered more nearer then further.

i just sold my dresser to a hipster dude with an asian girlfriend and i just... felt so right about my decision to move.

I'm not even comparing Jersey City to the further parts of queens (college point? flushing?)

Astoria/Sunnyside/Woodside/Jackson Heights should be considered more nearer then further.

― dan selzer, Thursday, May 21, 2009 10:44 PM (18 minutes ago) Bookmark

For someone who works long hours in downtown manhattan and cares a lot about convenience, Jersey City is probably a better lifestyle than Jackson Heights, Astoria etc. That said, no one works in downtown manhattan anymore and I never knew many of the kind of people who fit my description.

i just sold my dresser to a hipster dude with an asian girlfriend and i just... felt so right about my decision to move.

― ricardos montalban (tehresa), Thursday, May 21, 2009 10:57 PM (7 minutes ago) Bookmark

Tipping point?

how much did they get you for?

in re: rents and real estate, i have no idea how representative this is, but we just knocked $250/month off our rent in negotiating a renewal, without even trying hard. our landlord is one of those big asshole companies that own lots of buildings, so obviously they have access to all sorts of info on rent trends and whatnot, which means it's probably a good renters' market. (or we were just overpaying by so much that they felt bad for us. or they just really like us. but neither of those seems awfully likely to me.)

somehow I don't think joblessness is gonna get my rent-stabilized hike of 4-1/2% waived next month.

need hotel. doesn't matter where too much, needs to not be gross, prefer cheap.

?

i got a couch which will run you one six-pack per night + the cost of food delivery.

for serious? I there for Boadrum...

i would be open to lettin u stay on couch for sure, adamrl. e-mail a bro.

OK

BROOKLYN tell me abt the hood around DEAN and NOSTRAND

does anyone know of any large coffee houses in new york?

How large?

larger than your usual diner or starbucks. I'm thinking there aren't any...

the starbucks at astor place is pretty big

i would have said Lotus on the lower east side but it's closed :(

did anyone else just hear that big scary missile/thunder sound?

ah, it's raining.

Anything happening between the 7th and 11th? i'm going! very excited about it, never having been to America before!

open house new york lets you go see some cool buildings and sites. check it out
http://www.ohny.org/

thanks!

hey guys i am going to be in nyc this wknd. uh webmail me or something if you wanna say "hi" or buy "e" a birthday lager or premium ale. i am gonna try to go to friend's bar in brooklyn or heck, "Scratcher" (my favorite bar ever) or just camp out at my friend's house in queens. but i need to get out of here. okay, goodbye forever. click on my name if you read this, and call me or txt me. ok, bye.

yeah, i need to get out of town./././././.

I have Saturday night, Sun/Mon, and Tuesday morning in Manhattan.

I know I at least want to hit MOMA, but I'm really clueless as to what else should go on the itinerary.

going to be in NYC for first time in apr. stoked

there's an african jazz night at st nicks pub (189th st iirc?), every saturday night starting midnight. fun to go loosen up at if you're just arriving in town. you get to take the a train!

Heading to NYC tomorrow pm - Mon am with my bf. Staying in the East Village (air b&b apartment). 1. It's going to rain all weekend; 2. bf has done his back in and can't walk very far or for very long.

Any East Village activity suggestions based on these two facts, other than chilling out and eating and drinking?

Put me in the pool of people who are going. Huge university trip in two weeks.

cocaine...

sooo want to be in dat city right now

Arriving Friday, leaving Monday... partly wandering around on my own, partly hanging out with a friend and her kids... late notice, but let me know if any fapinterest.

there's gonna be something saturday: i go to new york

Arriving Wednesday, leaving Thursday! I think for the week we can call it New ILX, yes?

er of next week. I'm just excited!

working in new york for a week from saturday, staying meat packing district but up for some exploration and really want to be told about some kind of amazing record store where mint conditon disco records go for a dolllar. Anyone any wonderful local treasures they want to let me know about or does that involve a time machine to the 90s?

just a random recommendation for dumbo. one of the only neighborhoods left with cobblestone streets.

http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/images/h94000/h94785.jpg

working in new york for a week from saturday, staying meat packing district but up for some exploration and really want to be told about some kind of amazing record store where mint conditon disco records go for a dolllar. Anyone any wonderful local treasures they want to let me know about or does that involve a time machine to the 90s?

― straightola, Thursday, July 12, 2012 1:43 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

lol

Any of you guys and girls live on the UWS?

I used to know someone who lived on the UWS. She was a struggling documentary filmmaker! I also used to know people who lived in Chelsea. I knew somebody who rented a room in the meatpacking district for peanuts. One of my best friends lived on Ludlow Street. But nobody lives in Manhattan any more, right?

Talk about NEW YORK, people. What is the deal? I haven't lived there in 8 years and I imagine it as a kind of post-apocalyptic landscape of rich people, ringed by pools of poor people, reinforced by vast concrete holding pens of families just gettin' by, interlaced and suffused with artisanal seams of Portlandia extras who receive outsized attention in regional magazine articles.

it's been fucking over for years, even before we got Domino's Pizza and police-state patdowns at ballgames.

I've lived all over in 3 boroughs I'm the past 20 years and I like the UWS a lot. Everything is right there. And 5 blocks between Ruverside and Central Parks.

Lower Manhattan is just French ppl and some Scandinavians

Can someone please lower the tax rate in France so these horrible people stop coming to Brooklyn?

sad http://www.grubstreet.com/2016/08/times-squares-seor-frogs-has-closed.html

Times Square hasn't been good since Mars 2112 closed

goodbye Houston Street Lenin

http://evgrieve.com/2016/09/the-fall-of-lenin-iconic-statue-removed.html

Tapping into the ilx hive mind, heading to NYC soon for a family trip. My son wants to do a lot of the touristy stuff of course, so we'll be hitting up Ellis Island, Central Park, Broadway (Hadestown and Sweeney Todd - son is so beyond excited to see one of the Stranger Things kids in the latter), etc.

Will be staying in Chelsea area and wife will be working in Financial District a few days - looking for book/record store recs. Are there any of the latter left in Manhattan (doubt we'll have much time to head to Brooklyn or anywhere else this trip)? Planning to hit up 30 Rock anyway and I understand Rough Trade reopened there for some reason, but happy to hear any other recs. Also happy to hear any food spots in Chelsea area - keep in mind we'll have an 11 year old with us, but he is an adventurous eater.

here are some very standard recs

bookstores - strand, mcnally jackson, bluestockings (a little out of the way from you but employee-owned anarcho LBGTQ coop), printed matter, book-off

record stores - feel like a-1 records or academy are your best best for finding something good and reasonably priced. otherwise, there are a bunch of small random shops that are very expensive all over town.

food - chelsea market is touristy but good, otherwise chelsea is kind of a desert, maybe shukette? better bet would be to walk down a few blocks and go to the west village (lot of choices but $$$) or macdougal street, or an even better bet is to head over to the east village or chinatown. if you're going to 30 rock, urban hawker is kind of a fun food hall, otherwise there are a lot of restaurants in the area that cater to the business lunch crowd. this is probably the hardest thing to recommend without some kind of forcing function, just see whatever's hot on eater.com at the moment.

Thanks! That is all super helpful. yeah we'll definitely be roaming around the city, just good to have some ideas close to where we are staying. Strand was already for sure on my list.

I'll be there tonight to Friday, it's an ILX Chicago to NYC exodus!

Go to the Lower East Side Tenement Museum!

Didn't make it to the Tenement Museum, couldn't convince the family. But we had a great time, my son is already asking when we can go again. Didn't hurt that he was able to get a selfie with Dustin from Stranger Things after the performance of Sweeney Todd we saw, and that he got to visit Flight Club, an apparently super popular sneaker store.

A few thoughts:
best food was Bazar Tapas on 26th, Black Tap (I loved the burgers, kid loved the insane shakes), Anita Gelato, Stone Street Tavern
Academy Records was great, found some good stuff at reasonable prices
Rough Trade at 30 Rock was fine I guess? decent selection, but packed with random tourists completely uninterested in looking at the selection (due to the location), also hate when these newer shops stock their CD shelves so you can only see the spines, makes it hard as hell to find anything and gives you a sore damn neck (lol, old)
shout out to the super nice bartender at Fraunces Tavern that let us bring the history loving kid in after 11 pm to look around and gave him a tour
Strand lived up to the reputation, had to come back a second time due to being kinda overwhelmed the first time on a crowded weekend day
McNally Jackson was really nice! obvs not as deep as Strand, but had a cool vibe, super friendly employees and a thoughtful approach to curation
Hadestown was fine, but honestly don't get the insane hype
kid loved the audio tour at Ellis Island
so glad to finally get to experience the Guggenheim
High Line kinda sucked tbh, we went at 9 am on a Tuesday and it was already so packed we could only kinda shuffle along
Felt really out of place at the ritzy Hudson Yards mall thing, but The Edge was cool
Fuck JK Rowling forever and I kind of felt gross about the Harry Potter store when we randomly stumbled upon it, but hard to argue with the absolute magic in my son's eyes as he got excited about all the wands and butterbeer and everything

all in all, A+++++++ visit would recommend, fuck the "NYC is scary and violent" narrative. can't wait to go back when my wife is less tied to her work and we can hit up some of the other boroughs.

Reviving Jon’s question above. We’re bringing our 3 teenage girls to NYC this weekend, also staying in Chelsea. They say they don’t want to book tickets for any shows and would rather wander south on shopping adventures. I’m into that but would welcome any ilxor endorsements or recs for exhibits or other events that don’t involve Times Sq or Central Park madness. South of Chelsea would be a plus but I’m shaky on NYC geography and am not picky on that point.

I'm pretty out of the loop on stuff, but I know there's a Harry Smith exhibit at the Whitney right now that looks pretty cool.

staten island ferry is free; brooklyn bridge park for views of LM (accessable via A/C to high st; F to York - CHECK YOUR WEEKEND TRAIN REPAIR INFO). Chinatown for curios and breakable stuff and good eats (Tasty Hand Pulled is my jam). Outdoor Holiday markets at union sq (near the Strand) and Bryant Park.

Wandering shopping from Bleecker St at christopher, all the way over to 10th and B and down to Reade or so (excite 4 u 2 b poor). Your garden variety brand names/flagship stores are on lower broadway so if ur looking for unique you won't find it there.

Central park is enormous and once you get about 70th st or so the crowds thin out dramatically (I would advise going to any of the 110th st stops and walking DOWN to the reservoir or belvedere castle)

If I knew what they actually liked I may be able to help more.

https://americanindian.si.edu/visit/reopening-ny

https://www.mocanyc.org/

https://www.govisland.com/things-to-do/events/winter-solstice-celebration

the new museum is cool and it is right on the bowery. https://www.newmuseum.org/exhibitions

for shopping, i recommend that area, like elizabeth street, mott street, etc. a little off from the main soho drag with the mall-like stores.

Walk south on the high line

Hudson yards is worth a trip, you can get to it from the high line as well

Thanks peeps