Triangle Trip

Spring has finally arrived in New York. I have been getting many questions from friends, family members and clients on where to go in New York City. I initially drafted the post below nearly 10 years ago for a client in Kansas City intending to visit NYC for the first time in his life. I have just updated the information and thought it would be helpful to share it with everyone. If you start your day at 8AM or so from Downtown Manhattan and have an unlimited Metrocard, I believe you can see all of NYC in one day.

NYC is so big and has so much to see. I am sure I’ve missed a site here or there but I hope you find this helpful. Feedback welcome!  Enjoy the Big Apple!!!

Downtown

1.  Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island – located in lower Manhattan by Broadway & Whitehall St. (N or R train to Whitehall; 4, 5, 6 trains to Bowling Green). Tickets can be purchased by the Park located on Broadway by the Staten Island Ferry.

2.  NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) – on Broad Street, 6-10 blocks north from Statue of Liberty Park. Tickets can be purchased at the Exchange. Hours are 10 to 3. (Wall Street stop for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 trains; Broad Street stop for M, J and Z trains).

3.  South Street Seaport – South Street, 5 blocks east of Broadway, right by the water. Nothing special, just a shopping/eating area downtown. Walking distance from Wall Street.

4.  World Trade Center (WTC) – Site of Ground Zero. It’s on Church Street (three blocks north, two blocks west of Wall Street) between Fulton and Liberty. (Fulton Street stop for A/C and 4/5 trains).

5.  New York City Hall – On Broadway (N train City Hall stop) and Chambers Street. You can actually walk north of WTC and stay on Broadway which will take you to City Hall. Park has been renovated and has free wi-fi.

6.  Brooklyn Bridge – Steps away from City Hall, you can actually walk across this bridge on a sunny day. Bridge takes you to Brooklyn and offers a great view of lower Manhattan. Brooklyn Bridge is approximately 10-15 blocks north of Wall Street; 2 blocks east of the WTC. (Brooklyn Bridge stop – 4, 5, 6 train).

7.  Chinatown – Largest Chinatown in the US. Radius: Worth Street to Broom, East Broadway to West Broadway. Chinatown is approximately 1 mile from Wall Street. If you’re in a walking mood, you can walk north on Broadway and it’ll take you to Chinatown (make a right turn/east on Canal Street). You would want to walk Mott Street, Chinatown’s busiest Street. Mott Street is 6 blocks east of Broadway. (N, R trains to Canal St).

8.  Little Italy – was one of the largest Italian neighborhoods in the US. It is located inside Chinatown. Mulberry Street is the busiest street (Mulberry’s right next to Mott Street).

SOHO/Village

1.  SOHO (South of Houston Street) – ranges from Broom Street to 4th Street along Broadway.  SOHO’s famous for art galleries and alternative fashion. It’s just north of Chinatown. You’ll want to walk a few blocks east and west of Broadway to check out the culture. (N, R train to Spring Street)

2.  Greenwich Village – also known as “The Village.” Northwest of SOHO. Definitely NYC culture. Located west of Broadway. The Village ranges from west of 5th Ave to 7th Ave,  between West 4th to 14th Street. There are lots of boutiques, bars, restaurants, clubs, strange people, etc. New York University is also located in the Village. (B, C, D, F, E trains to West 4 St).

3.  East Village – East village is located east of Broadway. It ranges from west of Broadway to 2nd Ave, between East 4th and East 14th Street. (6th train to Astor Place).

Midtown

1.  Herald Square – 34th Street and 6th Avenue. Macy’s, the world’s largest department store, and a lot of other large retail shopping stores are located in Herald Square.  Madison Square Garden is located on 34th Street and 7th Ave, 1 block west of Macy’s. (Nearly all the trains go to 34th Street – B, D, N, Q, R, etc.)

2.  Empire State Building – 34th Street and 5th Ave.

3. K-Town – Koreatown is located right next to the Empire State Building (one block south). You can find great Korea food from 31st to 33rd Street between 6th Avenue and Madison Avenue.

4.  Rockefeller Center/Radio City Music Hall – the place where they have the big Christmas tree during the Holidays. 49th Street and 5th Ave. (49th Street stop on the B, D, Q trains).

5.  St. Patrick’s Cathedral – across the street from Rockefeller Center. 5th Ave and 50th Street.

6.  Time Square – 42nd Street and Broadway/6th and 7th Ave (All the Avenues converge). Time Square actually span more than 10 blocks – from 40th Street to 52nd Street. (Nearly all the trains go to Time Square – B, D, N, Q, R, 7, etc.). David Letterman’s studio is on 52nd and 7th, a few blocks north of Time Sq. You can also catch a great “Broadway Show!”

7.  United Nations – Located on 42nd Street and 1st Avenue, east of Time Square (FDR Drive). No trains go to the UN, taking a cab from Time Square is your best bet.

8.  The Intrepid Museum – located on 42nd and 12th Avenue, west of Time Square (West side Highway). No trains go to the Intrepid, taking a cab from Time Square is your best bet. The Intrepid is an old Aircraft Carrier with a lot of WWII, Korean War and Vietnam War planes and helicopters.

9.  Circle Line Cruise – located next to the Intrepid museum. You can take a 4 hour scenic tour around Manhattan. Circle Line also offers a helicopter ride around the city. The cost of boat tour is approximately $10, helicopter ride will cost you approximately $100.

10.  Lincoln Center/Columbus Circle – home of a lot of symphonies. Located on 59th Street and 7th Ave, right across the street from Central Park, north of Time Sq.

11.  Central Park – The Park is huge. Ranges from 5th Avenue to 7th Ave, 57th Street to 86th Street. The Park has a zoo, the Great Lawn (it’s in a lot of movies), NYC reservoir, etc.

12.  5th Avenue & Madison Avenue from 50’s to 80’s – where most famous designer boutiques have shops are setup. You’ll find Tiffany, DKNY, Prada, FAO Schwarz, etc.

Uptown – East (Museum Mile)

1.  Museum of Modern Arts – 53rd Street, between 5th Ave and 6th Ave. Walking distance from Rockefeller Center.

2.  Museum of National History – Central Park West (also known as 5th Ave) at 79th Street. A must see!

3.  The Guggenheim – 5th Ave and 89th Street.

4.  Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) – 5th Ave and 82nd Street. (4 or 5 train to 86th Street, walk 4 blocks south and 4 blocks west).

5.  The Planetarium is also along the Museum Mile. . .

Furthering my previous post highlighting issues with (Fly) Clear, below are two more missteps:

According (Fly) Clear, they would have Clear service at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) by winter 2009. To me, winter 2009 has come and gone. December 21, 2009 is not winter 2009, it is actually winter 2010 (just look at all the winter Olympics schedules if you do not agree). Here we are, spring 2009 and I do not see any signs of (Fly) Clear at LAX. I visited the Clear website today and noticed LAX is now off the map (not even a “coming soon” city). How can (Fly) Clear stay in business when they cannot service the second most populated city in the US.

(Fly) Clear also announced that they have launched Clear services at JFK’s terminal 4. I am a frequent flier out of JFK’s terminal 4 and only realized last week that I could use the Clear service. I have been standing on the regular line all this time because I don’t see any Clear signage. How I found out that Clear actually launched in terminal 4 was when someone cut my line last week. There is a Clear station after you pass the initial ID screening. I thought Clear was supposed to help you bypass the ID screening process as most airports have a Clear agent standing right next to the ID screening TSA agent.

If Clear executives read all my post regarding (Fly) Clear to date, their service would grow in leaps and bounces. I should send them an invoice for my consulting services.

The Westin snack and minibar sensors are way too sensitive. I was recently at Westin and accidentally knocked over a can of peanuts on the snack tray. I picked up and placed the peanuts back on the tray but apparently did not do it fast enough. The next day I noticed charges for peanuts and cookies on my hotel bill – apparently I also knocked the cookies off its place on the sensored tray.

I had to talk to the front desk to  straighten out my bill before I left the hotel. Due to the long line, I  wasted 15 minutes of my valuable time – luckily I didn’t have an urgent meeting or catch a flight. The front desk agent was very nice and removed the charges without question. However, this inconvenience gave me the feeling of Westin trying to tack on extra charges to my bill. Had I not reviewed the bill before leaving the hotel, I would have been charged $20 for the peanuts and cookies.

Westin could have prevented this inconvenience had they done the following:

1.  Had the front desk warn me about the minibar and snack sensors. The front desk should have to told me I had x seconds to put the snack or drink back or I will be charged for removing the item off its place. What if I only want to see the packaging or read the ingredients?

2.  Have a very large sign on top of the snacks and on the minibar door clearly stating that their is a sensor tied to the drinks and snacks. The tray holding the snacks had a sign on the edge of the tray which was way below eye level. The sign on the door was so small I couldn’t even read it with a magnified glass.