Halls of Shrewd'm / US Policy❤
No. of Recommendations: 0
Going to be in New York City for the 1st time, and wondering if anybody has any tips for getting around on the subway system ?
We'll be going to 2 ballgames at Yankee stadium, these are night games. Want to make sure we can get a train back to the hotel if the game ends late, say at midnight.
I've been watching some youtube vids, plan on getting a 7 day metro card. Printed out a map of the subway routes and stations, and have a general idea of how the street numbering works
( streets run East to West, and increase in number as they go north, Avenues run North to South and increase in number as they go West ) once off the train and on the street we should have a basic ability to get around. I plan on bringing a compass and handheld gps, I use those a lot when out in the woods, not sure how good they'll work in the concrete canyons.
We'll be there 1 day before the night ballgames, so will have a chance to try the subway out beforehand. Plan on the usual sightseeing, Central Park, Financial District, Ground Zero,.....
so probably spending the vast majority of time in Manhattan.
As a maybe an odd quirk, I would like to jog Central Park, probably just a 5 mile run, and I assume this is a safe daytime activity ?
No. of Recommendations: 3
The subway is great. You have to buy a card (for something like a dollar), and then you can recharge it over and over. If you want to save the dollar, often you'll find a used card just laying on the ground on the stairs or just inside. Don't know why people toss them, but they do. We actually found two or three.
I can't speak for the routes (e.g. Yankee stadium), but I remember it being pretty easy to get around.
There was a fair amount of walking, but we visited the Intrepid, WTC memorial park, Chinatown, John Lennon's former residence (by the Park, so we also walked through Central Park), did the free ferry to Staten Island (which gives you a great view of the Statue of Liberty), and a few other things. No issues in the Park during the day.
No. of Recommendations: 1
Joe, you may have already completed your trip (sorry, I've been away), but...
NYC subways run virtually 24/7, although obviously the time between trains is longer in the off hours. Thousands of people will be taking the subway home from a Yankees game, even at night. Just use common sense and you'll be fine.
I find New Yorkers to be almost uniformly helpful and friendly. They've directed me to the right platforms at stations, the right bus, what stop to get off at, etc. One time I was in a rush, bought a banana from a street vendor, and started to rush off again. He yelled after me, "Ay, Mistah! Ya fawgaht ya change!"
I also love Central Park. It is getting clogged with pedicabs, rental bikes, carriages, and whatnot, but the best running routes are clearly marked, and if you go with the flow of runners, all will be well.
If you've not walked the High Line, it's def worth doing. And it's free.
https://www.thehighline.org/visit/The run along the Hudson is also terrific.
--Greg
No. of Recommendations: 1
thanks for the info, Greg. My friends and I will be arriving in NYC on Tuesday, probably going to see the Tigers-Yankees on Tuesday & Wednesday, due to more chance of rain for Thursday's night game.
The High Line looks pretty cool, hopefully I get a chance to check it out. Will definitely be around Central Park a couple of times over the 5 days. It's a little overwhelming, all of the things to see in NYC, and I'll be in a group with different likes/dislikes, so am going to be real open minded and flexible about what we do. Definitely packing shorts and running shoes, should be able to get a big city run in of some type, hopefully in Central Park.
No. of Recommendations: 4
So, had a good time in NYC, and the area. It was extremely hot, so did not do my run thru Central Park, but did walk all around it, CP is a Crown Jewel, just loved it !
Navigated the subway system pretty good, had a hiccup or two because it was so crowded,
couldn't really identify the train we were hopping on. Soon enough learned that the train was labeled on the outside front ( ex., a big A for A-train, lol ) and spots on the inside. There were just so many people on it, that couldn't always see the ID's. But all we had to do to rectify the problem was get off, and backtrack to the appropriate subway station, never even had to leave the station.
Every interaction we had with NYC locals was positive. English was definitely a 2nd language for many, but no big deal. We treated them with respect, and they fully reciprocated.
On the way out of NYC, we wanted to stop at Liberty State Park, in Jersey City, NJ. We stopped
in Jersey City to grab a bite to eat, and had a very hard time finding parking spot. We tried parking on the street, and I would always hop out of the vehicle to make sure friend didn't ding his car or the adjacent car up. One of the times I did that, I unknowingly knocked my wallet out of the car. I had pulled it out and had it sitting between my legs on the seat, thinking I'd need quick access to it for any tolls or parking fees. Once I figured out I'd lost it, we could not locate it, so worked thru getting everything in it cancelled, and just wrote off the loss of cash ( had about $150 in it ).
I arrived home to find a message on FB from a Jersey City resident, he had found my wallet !
I asked him if he could mail it back to me, and that he could keep the money in it for the hassle/cost and expense of mailing it, and as a reward for being so honest. He replied back that no, he would not take the money, and that he will mail it out to me as soon as he can!
I am most definitely going to send him a reward of some type, as well as write something on his work profile that showed up when I googled him. ( He works in real estate ).
There truly are good people out there in the world !
No. of Recommendations: 2
just an fyi, received my wallet today, with everything in it, cash, cc's, atm card, drivers license, BCBS card,............
The guy doesn't want a reward, but am sending one out in the morning.
Good people all over, including the Big City !
No. of Recommendations: 1
I was surprised by NYC. I always heard bad things (crowded, pushing/shoving, stepping over dead bodies, etc). None of that was true. We wandered all over Manhattan, sometimes at night, no issues of any kind. This was several years ago (maybe 5?). Central Park was really nice (didn't do that at night). Subway was fine. No significant smog. No issues at all.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/31997995@N02/albums/...
No. of Recommendations: 2
nice pics !!
I don't want to go back to NYC, but I'm glad I went. Definitely not a Big City guy,
but I did grow up in an urban environment ( relatively speaking,lol, nothing like NYC).
I definitely learned how to be street smart growing up, but that was actually easy.
The old saying " you can't con an honest man" is full of wisdom.
We had nothing but positive interactions with everybody we came across in NYC, and we were in Harlem and the Bronx at times, 2 supposedly dangerous places. Had a great lunch in Harlem at a Spanish deli?/restaurant, great food ! It was definitely a gentrified area, clean, actually pretty. The Bronx ( Yankee Stadium ) was crazy busy for the 2 ballgames we went to. Sat next to Yankee fans ( of course ), and they were friendly as could be. I am not an obnoxious fan of "my" team, and I was actually wanting to see Aaron Judge and DJ Lemahieu drive some balls deep.
Hopefully my next vacation is on the North Shore of Lake Superior in Canada, Fall color tour,much more my thing, but I'm glad I got to experience NYC once in my life.
And yeah, good people everywhere, including the Big City !
No. of Recommendations: 1
There truly are good people out there in the world !
There are, indeed. And I'm happy that your trip worked out so well.
In Honolulu, the clasp on my wife's bracelet (a gift from me decades ago) somehow opened, and the bracelet fell on the steps of the Blaisdell Center as she was entering to watch a performance. She didn't discover the loss until she'd gotten back to our condo. She immediately returned to the Center and searched all over, to no avail, but left her phone number with the box office in case someone turned it in.
Sure enough, the next day she got a call from the box office. Someone had indeed turned it in! The bracelet now has a double-secure clasp that a jeweler recommended.
