KCRag Forum

If you can't get tickets to something you want to see on Broadway, consider an off-Broadway show called "Alter Boyz".  It's playing at a small theatre west of Broadway on 50th St.  If you or your wife grew up Catholic, you will find it hilarious.  The premise is boy band meets christian rock and all of the funny stereotypes about Catholics are played out with fairly kick-ass music and dancing.

i forgot to mention this inexpensive hotel option: http://www.thepodhotel.com/index.html

KCMax wrote: I'm going in June for vacation. We're going to catch a Broadway show (probably the Producers if we can get tix), visit the Met, picnic in Central Park and maybe catch a Mets game.

We went last summer and that city is so overwhelming, we didn't get to do half the things we wanted to do.

I saw The Producers the summer of 2003.  Entertaining show.  Definitely a good choice.

pittsburghparoyal wrote: So many things to do....I would say the best thing tho, was probably the tour of Ellis Island.  If you're into history, you need to see it.

Over-rated:  Statue of Liberty, NY Stock Exchange, Yankee Stadium, Empire State Building
Under-rated: Ellis Island, Flushing Meadows (US Open tennis grounds)

I agree.  Yankee Stadium is sorta sterile.  Kauffman is even better.

I was amazed at what a dump Yankee Stadium is. For an urban stadium, the area around it doesn't seem all that vibrant either.

You can buy a New York CityPass ($53 adults, $44 kids), it includes admission to the Empire State Building Observatory (90 minutes), Circle Line Sightseeing Cruise (90 minutes), the amazing American Museum of Natural History (3 hours), Guggenheim Museum (1 hour), and The Museum of Modern Art (2 hours) which is near St. Patrick's Cathedral and Rockefeller Center. Make sure you visit Greenwich Village for lunch and stroll around Time's Square near dinner time.  It's also an easy walk from Grand Central Station to the United Nations (go there before the museums open). Little Italy is a disappointment and Chinatown smells. Don't waste your time traveling to Bronx, Brooklyn, etc. Buy a 2-day subway pass.       

QueSi2Opie wrote: Little Italy is a disappointment and Chinatown smells. Don't waste your time traveling to Bronx, Brooklyn, etc. Buy a 2-day subway pass.       

all chinatowns smell; it's part of what makes them different. you should absolutely go to brooklyn. it is the most populous borough and is experiencing a make-over (read: hipper, cheaper). it is also home to the brooklyn botanical garden and the new york transit museum. it has become the "real new york" since manhattan is now an overpriced playground.

DaveKCMO wrote: all chinatowns smell; it's part of what makes them different. you should absolutely go to brooklyn. it is the most populous borough and is experiencing a make-over (read: hipper, cheaper). it is also home to the brooklyn botanical garden and the new york transit museum. it has become the "real new york" since manhattan is now an overpriced playground.

Maybe I'm comparing it too much to the Chinatown in San Francisco, which I absolutely love. 

I'm not saying that Brooklyn isn't nice, I'm just saying that if you only had a single weekend in NYC, why spend it outside Manhattan?  There's so much to do and see in Manhattan alone without worrying about visiting surrounding boroughs.   

If you only have one weekend i think it'll be tough to exhaust what Manhattan has to offer, but there are definitely things in the burroughs worth visiting, even if you have a weekend (but it's really depending on your tastes and inclinations.  For example, if you are a zoo freak, the Bronx Zoo is a must). 

Being a museum geek, I would hit up atleast one of the museums in Manhattan for a couple of hours.  The Natural History Museum was one of my favorite places as a kid, and it continues to be one of the coolest things about NY (for me).  Then again, being such a massive museum, you really have to spend a couple of hours to browse through it.  If that isn't your thing, check out one of the art museums. 

It's kind of hard to think of places to definitely recommend since there are so many.  But i'll say there are a couple of things that are  overrated IMO:

1) Times Square.  Sorry, it just doesn't do much for me.

2) Little Italy.  I'm sure it was cool back in the early 20th century.  These days it looks like a pretty forced tourist area filled with italian restaurants, bakeries, and shitty souvenir shops.  If you really want to see something resembling an active and breathing Little italy you probably have to head out to the burroughs (i.e Bronx and Brooklyn, which each have their own Little Italies).

3) Chinatown.  There are lots of great things about Chinatown, but it's not the kind of place you stroll through and take in the sights (the way it is in San Fran).  It's more like if you want a specific Chinese related thing you can find it there (i.e awesome Chinese food, goods), but you want to get in and out as quickly as possible.

4) 5th Avenue.  I'm not much of a shopper, so it didn't do anything for me.  Although the FAO Schwarz was cool to walk into.

 

I can recommend the following hotels to you- 

Thirty Thirty: It looks as though they've raised their rates a bit (I've seen them accept as little as $130 per night), but it's nice, sharp and clean and they do offer special rates.  Not actually in the theatre district, but nearby.  http://www.thirtythirty-nyc.com/specials.html

Holiday Inn Express (15 W 45th St, New York City, NY 10036) I've not been in the rooms, but the lobby and the bar is nice enough.  I think my friend who likes to stay here pays $160 per night and he's pretty darn picky about cleanliness, so...?  It's probably good.

HoJo Express in Soho (1st & Houston) : I kid you not, if you want a super affordable, clean, modern place to sleep at a great rate only a few blocks from CBGB's (RIP), a stones throw from the subway, and a five minute ride from there to the theatre district- this place is it.  You can ask if they still have their "neighborhood rate" ($109) but it looks like that might even be their standard low rate now, at least it does from this ad: http://www.hotel-rates.com/us/new-york/ ... attan.html 135 E Houston St, New York, NY 10002

The above are hotels friends would stay at when visiting me back home, but now that I live here, when I returned to visit family and friends, I've stayed at the Regent, the Soho Grand and HoJo's in Soho.  You know what though?  I honestly prefer Howard Johnson's of the three because of it's location, vibe and price.  I think a bonus here for you (considering your limited schedule) is that you'd be able to do the theatre thing, and also amble through Soho and snap some great architectural images AND do some window shopping in an interesting part of the city at the same time.  Additionally, the hotel is within walking distance of the famous Yonah Schimmels Knish Bakery and Katz's Deli http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katz's_Deli 

Oh, and if you want some fantastic walking shoes, don't forget to drop by Camper at Prince & Wooster! 

I wish you could spend more time there, because yeah, Brooklyn rocks these days, but you gotta do what you gotta do.  And whatever that entails, I know you'll have a blast. 

Thanks again for all the info.  I will use it all.

DaveKCMO wrote: all chinatowns smell; it's part of what makes them different. you should absolutely go to brooklyn. it is the most populous borough and is experiencing a make-over (read: hipper, cheaper). it is also home to the brooklyn botanical garden and the new york transit museum. it has become the "real new york" since manhattan is now an overpriced playground.

I would second that.

Check out the botanical garden, museum, and prospect park (all adjacent)

I'm also a fan of Coney Island.  You might want to check it out before they completely ruin it with all of the proposed development.

If you go to chinatown, there is one store (don't know the name) on Mulberry off of Canal that is incredible.  I was just there yesterday for a valentine's present (also did a lot of Christmas shopping there). 

One more thing.  The museum of natural history in manhattan is cool and if you wanna get your wife in the mood then there's the sex museum.

i'd just walk and loiter for hours.

KCtoBrooklyn wrote:
If you go to chinatown, there is one store (don't know the name) on Mulberry off of Canal that is incredible.  I was just there yesterday for a valentine's present (also did a lot of Christmas shopping there). 

And you can get all the knock off designer purses and bootleg DVDs you can handle!

KCMax wrote: And you can get all the knock off designer purses and bootleg DVDs you can handle!

Maybe we can offer TIF to get some bootleg purse dealers downtown!

KCMax wrote: And you can get all the knock off designer purses and bootleg DVDs you can handle!

Nah, I don't buy any of that crap.  I don't go to any of the stores that are directly on Canal, because they usually just sell that sort of junk.  But in some stores off of Canal, you can find some nice Chinese imports.  I'm a fan of Asian decor, and have a good part of my place decked out with it.

Here is the aforementioned gift, a stone Budha head, broken off a statue.  I think its the real deal, although there are a good number of knock off antiques throughout China town.

Fang is a former New Yorker, so I would probably do a much different visit than others. Thus far, I've lived more of my adult life there than anywhere else. Although my twangy accent might conceal that fact. When I used to tell people I was from New York City, they always seemed a bit perplexed.  It's kind of like when Charlize Theron writes on her paperwork for green card renewal that she is from Africa.

http://www.charlizetheron.com/Biography/biography.html

Having lived in New York City has influenced me more than almost any other experience (if you don't count single-handedly bringing the Nazis to their knees; and my years as a career coach and personal oracle to Cher)   8)   :D 

I can't believe that no one on this forum has recommended the Skyscraper Museum in Battery Park City. It seems like an obvious GRID haunt. Send your wife to Century 21 to shop (a great old art deco department store by the way; built as a bank), and go alone if she doesn't share the interest.

http://www.skyscraper.org

http://www.c21stores.com/nyc.asp

Century 21 Department Store was built as East River Savings Bank (even though it is closer to the Hudson River).



http://www.nyc-architecture.com/LM/LM073.htm

I would probably spend my weekend there totally devoted to visiting my wacky and iconoclastic friends, interviewing wise-cracking hookers, giving free makeovers to vagrants, and eating. I'm also a big fan of wandering aimlessly through the city.

I'm originally from NY, and I go there many times a year, partly because I have lots of family and friends there.  So, I'm actually going ot NY "for one weekend" two weekends from now.  As usual, my trip basically will include:

(1) lots of eating, because NY is the best food town in the country, IMO (I'm always happy to give restaurant advice),
(2) lots of drinking and partying, because it's St. Patty's Day weekend and, besides that, the nightlife always is very fun,
(3) lots of shopping, because it's really hard for me to buy clothes anywhere else in the US,
and (4) lots of art museums, because what better to do when full of food and drink? 

I've met lots of Kansas Citians either who haven't been to NY or who have been and say they don't like it for whatever reason (too crowded, too rude, too busy, &c.).  If you haven't been there, I'd suggest that you go several times.  Sure, be a tourist the first time or so and do all the necessary touristy things.  After that, though, try to blend in and explore.  If you have been but don't like it, then you probably haven't seen the right NY or in the right context. 

I would catch a taping of the Late Show with David Letterman.