Get Ready New York (for dumb questions)

[jwdd27]

The British are coming
Well I am. Im gonna be in NYC from July 2 to 5.

Ive got a fair idea what Ill be doing and where Ill be going, but as a first time NYC (and USA) visitor I do have (quite a few) more general questions. Any help appreciated, you dont have to answer every question, just the ones you know.

Whats the weather like there at the moment
How hot is it likely to be? You know us British tend to start whinging if it goes above 80f.

I dont wanna get stabbed / mugged / ripped off
Any tips on how NOT to look like a tourist I know that I love NY gear, cameras, maps are a giveaway, but anything else clothing or behaviour wise which I should avoid if I want to blend in? What else makes tourists stand out?

Am I rich enough?
My budget for the three days will be around $350-400. Does this sound enough for meals, travel and tips? Nothing too extravagant, but nothing too cheap either.

Who DONT I tip?
Im prepared to tip everyone 15% if thats the way you crazy Americans like things done, but what are the exceptions? I seem to remember a thread about this

July 4
I understand you guys are having a bit of a party in my honour on the Tuesday. Is the East River fireworks thing the only show in town, or are there other, less crowded events (or less crowded places than 34th St. to view the river show)? Will everywhere in the city be open on the 4th, or does everything shut down?

US Airways punctuality
On the 5th I leave to see my sister in Chicago, and I then fly back to NY on the Saturday to hook up with my flight home. The problem is the flight from Chicago to NY has been put back an hour, which now only leaves me a 2 hour gap to get from LaGuardia to check in at JFK. Obviously I might have a problem if the flight out of Chicago was delayed by any more than 90mins any ideas how likely this is? Or are internal flights a bit more reliable than international?

Smoking
Yes Im a nicotine addict. What are the rules in bars / restaurants / outdoors now?

Im sure Ill come up with other dumb shit I dont know, but this post is too long already.

Thanks.

[Patrice]

I'm at work and bored so here are some answers.....

What’s the weather like there at the moment

It was rainy for a strech but supposedly the nice weather we have no is supposed to hold out for a while. It's 88 degrees today but not sticky hot.

I don’t wanna get stabbed / mugged / ripped off

Just say no to the following:

Fanny packs

Maps (tricky but necessary, unless you get a small wallet sized one)

Subway Maps especially..but you're british and if you know the tube system over there you should figure out the trains in less than an afternoon. It's not that complicated.

Socks with Sandals or any Urban Safari type outfits. Dress like you would at home not like your going hiking.

Also avoid stopping in the middle of the sidewalk to do anything. Pretend it's a highway. pull over to the shoulder to do anything you need to do.

If you aren't going to walk an escalator stay to the same side as the rest of the people who aren'ty walking it either. It will save you from the sighs of others.

Just in general be aware of the flow of foot traffic around you. It's vacation for you but just Tuesady for everyone else. that lunchtime stroll your taking is probably the only hour of personal time for someone else so they are rushing for a reason.

Am I rich enough?

You should be fine. Just avoid the bullshit tourist trap spending...Times Square,Hard Rock Cafe, Major chain restaurants and you should be cool. The Weather is nice enough to walk or just get an unlimited metrocard. You can ride the train till you pass out for one price.

Also leave Manhattan and you can get cheaper drinks and have a good time that's a bit less tourist focused.

Who DON’T I tip?

Normal rules apply....Hotel staff that hook you up and waiters...the rest is optional.

Smoking

A no-no indoors and some places with outdoors still have a seperate smoking section.

[teerts]

Weather. Not too bad right now. Ranging between 70F and 89F.

Tourist. No Fanny-packs or huge backpacks. Don't walk around staring up
at buildings too much. be discrete when you appreciate architecture. Walk
like you own the place but don't be rude. Don'tactually wear your i <3 NY
shirt unless you already got mugged and ripped off and all you have is $2
with which to buy clothes for yourself...

Dough. It can be done. Chain burger joints have dollar menus that will
fatten your fat and clog your arteries...but it's cheap. Plenty of reasonably
priced food places everywhere.
If planning on subway travel, go to www.mta.info and study the map. Stay
below 110th st in manhattan...below 96th in night time. Buy an unlimited
ride metro card for the subway and buses. $7 for unlimited 1-day card. $24 for unlimited
7 day card. otherwise it's $2 per ride.

Find out how you're getting from/to airport. Cabs can be expensive for those trips
($35-$50ish) what airport are you flying to, where will you be staying?

Tips. Cabbies and food delivery guys. at the very least $1. but usually around $2. not 15%
If a hobo/bum (tramp, as you call them) offers to get a cab for you, say no. They will want
$1 or 2$ for doing what you do to hail a cab. Any hotel with
doormen will hail cabs for you...but probably you shoudl give them a buck too.

July 4th. Wear a Union Jack. Play NY: "Tag, you're it."
As long as you are on the easternmost part of manhattan below 90th st you
will get a good view of the fireworks. Restaurants with a view of the east
river will probably be full and overpriced. The east river walkway will be very
crowded. people will stop in the middle of the FDR to watch the fireworks.

Flights. Call the airline. The pilot of your chicago-ny flight will know that
you have a connecting flight if it is with the same airline. If not, let them know.
Getting from LaGuardia to JFK is going to be quite the pain in the ass. a
Cab might be your only option to make it in time. and even then you might
not have enough time.

Smoking. Smoking is very bad for you, ok?
Can't smoke in the bars, can't smoke in any public building. Might be able
to smoke in hotel if you asked for smoking room. Can smoke in restaurants
where they have an outdoor place (sometimes)...it's a grey area. If you're
behind the restaurant and not facing the street, usually it's ok...if you're out
front, it's usually ok if you're right by the barrier. Boo smoking in this city.
Outdoors you're required to blow huge plumes of smoke in the faces of your
fellow pedestrians. And when they complain, remind them that all the diesel
exhaust in this city will give them cancer much much more than your outdoor
2nd hand. If you prefer brevity, that can be shortened to "go fuck yourself!"

enjoy your stay.

[william]

Check out this thread What to do in NYC

Whats the weather like there at the moment
It probably will go above 80f.

I dont wanna get stabbed / mugged / ripped off
No worries being a tourist. Its the 3AM stuff and not being aware of your surroundings that gets you killed.

Couples wearing backpacks and shorts and carrying an Eyewitness guide to NYC are a dead giveaway.

Dress in dark colors at night and you'll fit right in.

Am I rich enough?
My budget for the three days will be around $350-400.
Per person? Enough. Even for two, depending on what you do to eat. If its $400 for two people for three days - err.... You'll be eating hot dogs and riding the subway.

By the way, my thoughts for getting around - take a cab during non rush-hours. You can get almost anywhere in Manhattan for $20 or less. Going crosstown - take a cab. They'll always beat a bus. During rush hours the subway's the best way to get uptown/downtown.


Who DONT I tip?
Tip Cab drivers IF they provide you good service. If the motherfucker drives like a maniac then tip him a dollar at most. Tip waiters and barkeeps. Tip KATG Forum members who respond to your inquiry. I cant think of anyone else you should tip.

July 4
Donno. For years Ive had non-public access arrangements for the Fourth.

Everythings open except for government offices and banks. Unless you like being in the mists of 100,000 people with no bathroom access for hours, I would avoid (seriously avoid) going to the East River. If you do go, bring your own food and water. Show starts around 9PM or so.

Smoking
Not allowed at bars / restaurants unless they have a smoking section. Youll have to stand outside. Enjoy the heat.

[mali]

If you're staying at around 34th st, you don't want to eat or go to bars in that area. Waaaay too fucking overpriced. Total tourist trap.

Take the subway down to Lower East Side.. Say around Avenue A, between Houston (pronounced HOW-stun) and 12th st. There are tons of super cute cafes and restaurants, open late, great food and cheap. There are also a ton of cool bars down there, including Nice Guy Eddies.

For the fireworks show, if you happen to know anyone in town, see if you can hang out on their roof for the show. That's the best!

[jwdd27]

Hey,
Thanks Patrice, Teerts, William and Mali, very useful info.
Especially William as you told me some of that in the chat but I was drunk and forgot.

My biggest concern is getting back home. I googled Chicago O'Hare punctuality, and it's the worst in the U.S.A. Great.
What might be in my favour is that I fly back over the pond with Air India, who have the worst punctuality record in the world. So hopefully if one plane is late the other will be too.
My Chicago-NY flight is due in to LaGuardia at 16.03. My London flight leaves JFK at 20.10. It'll have to be a 30 minute (? on a Sat afternoon?) cab dash between the airports, but if there are any delays I'll be shitting it. Although as I take a LOT of sedatives when I fly, I'll probably not give a fuck by that stage. I'm sure it'll be fine.

I am of course staying in the tourist area around 34thst / Penn Station, so I'll make sure I don't waste my money in the rip-off places around there. I already kinda had the Lower East Side pinned as more of a "real" New York experience.

Thanks again, and if anyone has more to add, feel free.
Hell, I might even come up with a couple more questions yet.

[deznice]

Originally Posted by jwdd27

My Chicago-NY flight is due in to LaGuardia at 16.03. My London flight leaves JFK at 20.10. It'll have to be a 30 minute (? on a Sat afternoon?) cab dash between the airports, but if there are any delays I'll be shitting it. Although as I take a LOT of sedatives when I fly, I'll probably not give a fuck by that stage. I'm sure it'll be fine.

there are shuttles b/t laguardia and JFK... They are the best way to go... but ermmm 1/2 an hour... no way dude.... try to change that now....

[william]

Originally Posted by deznice

there are shuttles b/t laguardia and JFK... They are the best way to go... but ermmm 1/2 an hour... no way dude.... try to change that now....

I'll second that. 1/2 an hour? No way. Not even at 3AM when the roads are empty and all the tourists are being stabbed. It'll take you ten minutes just to exit the airport.

I'm missing something here. You wrote:

NY flight is due in to LaGuardia at 16.03. My London flight leaves JFK at 20.10.

That gives you three hours, 2 if you have to check in two hours before. Is it the same airline for both legs? Let the stewards on the Chi-NY leg and the people at the gate know about your transfer. If the flight is delayed a few minutes they may be willing to hold the plane for you at JFK.

[jwdd27]

I got the timings from the Port Authority's website, www.panynj.com
These are the travel options it gives you between LGA and JFK:

Service Approximate Frequency & Travel Time

New York Airport Service Express Bus
(718) 875-8200 $13 Every 30 minutes 7:30 AM to 8:00 PM
45 minutes

Taxi (Metered)
Go to Uniformed Taxi Dispatcher
$25-$29 On demand 30 minutes

Private Limousine/Van Service
Go to Ground Transportation Information Counter in Airport Baggage Claim Area
Prices vary On demand30 minutes

My flight CHI-NY is US Airways. My flight NY-LON is Air India.
There is easily enough time if the flights run to schedule but it will be tight if there's a mess-up at O'Hare.
I think rather than worrying about it, I'll try and switch to an earlier flight from Chicago. I booked that bit through lastminute.com, so I expect I'll get raped for extra cash for switching so late, but it's probably better than getting stranded in New York and having to pay for a transatlantic flight, which I can't afford. I'll ring Air India as well re: check-in times, their website is a bit third world, as is their airline by all accounts...

[blobby]

The weather go here and then get a forecast a few days before you leave. http://www.weather.com/weather/local...om=search_city But usually New York is pretty hot this time a year. But it can rain doing the summer.

When i was in NYC last time i asked a cap driver where i should stay away from, they ussually know stuff.
He told me to stay below 110th street on manhatten.

Ohh and just anouther thing i discovered when i was in NYC, when a black person starts with hey/yo brother they ussually want money og cigarets.