This may be a really, silly question, but am asking anyway.

Two women want to vist the Empire State building in the evening hours.They plan on hauling a taxi after the visit,as it could be 10 P.M. or so. They feel walking alone back to hotel might not be to wise. Question is are there a lot of cabs to be found in this area at that time of night?

Silly question, Dottie? Not at all. If you and your friend wish to get some after dinner exercise by hauling a taxi, who's to say you shouldn't?

Oh, did you mean HAILING a taxi?

There should be plenty of taxis midtown at 10pm. Walk over to the avenue (north/south street) that runs either uptown or downtown, whichever direction your hotel lies in, and hail a cab there. Personally, I wouldn't think twice about walking if the distance were not too great.

Duh! Yes I did mean Hail a Taxi.

Thanks for the quick response.

Where is your hotel? I know the area by the ESB is safe at 10pm - in fact I can;t think of anyplace in NYC a tourist would be that isn;t safe at 10PM - that EARLY! - but if we know where your hotel is we can give options (bus, subway etc.)

Hi Dottie,
I agree with Marilyn that if the distance is not great, then walking is a safe option. We walked from the ESB at around 10:00 pm back to our hotel which was some 8 blocks away with no problems whatsoever. The streets still have quite a few people out and about at this hour and are very well lit.

There will be many taxis around also if you feel that is the better choice.

You shouldn't have a problem at that hour - except perhaps on a rainy night when cabs can sometimes be few and far between.

We may be staying at the Casablanca in the Times Square area.

Thanks for all your help so far.

Hey, Dottie, thanks for taking my ribbing with good humor. I did appreciate the chuckle I got from reading your header.

We stayed at the Casablanca last May for about 10 days. You can certainly walk back there at 10pm -- there will be a million people on the street. If you want to know anything else about the hotel, just let me know.

I also enjoyed that one Dottie! I had a very vivid picture of 2 women (one in the front and one in the back) with a yellow taxi hoisted up over their shoulders grunting past the ESB with some poor cabbie inside thinking OMG, why did I move to NYC again??

Thanks for the chuckle.

Now,that is some image. My friend and I trying to pick up a cab. LOL
I am always glad when I can help, make someones day a bit brighter.



Marilyn,
Did you like the Casablanca? How was your room?

I am glad to know that you are not hauling a taxi. Those things are heavy, particularly when it has people in it.

One of those Crown Victorias must weigh more than 4,000 pounds.

To cut the comedy, yes you can get a cab easily at 10 PM. New York has something like 13,000 yellow cabs that cruise around hunting for business. The place seems to be crawling with them!

If you don't see a free one soon, change your location a little because they often cruise the hotels. At night, the streets are usually well lighted, but it might not hurt your chances if you wave your handbag or something so the cabbie can see that you want a cab.

I have seen cabs make a u turn in the middle of a block to pick up a rider.

We were at the Hotel Beacon and I waved at a cab going by. The driver had a fare, but some guy going south on Broadway saw me and he made a neat U turn and stopped with the door at my feet.

You can get some wierdo drivers, but they are all licensed and the cabs are numbered. Last fall, we took a cab down to the Lower East Side and our driver chanted, hummed and sang non stop all the way down there, hardling paying any attention to us until he wanted his money. I tried talking to him, but he would not answer. He just hummed louder. Maybe I was interrupting his nap or his praying. I don't know.

The only time it might be difficult to HAIL a taxi is if it is pouring rain -- they all seem to disappear when it rains (obviously they're just busier). The other thing is never try to get a taxi in the theatre district as shows let out unless you are really forceful!! Be ready to knock down old ladies and push the handicap out of your way to get one first -- at least that seems to be how it works.

Oh, No!! They use Crowne Victorias as taxis? We are in trouble! I was thinking more of a volkswagon.

Just talked to Letterman....he wants to have the two women hauling a taxi on his show for the stupid human tricks!!!!!!! Good times! Thanks for the laugh! To the literate police....this is proof that typos can be a good thing!!!!!

Dottie, we liked the Casablanca a lot. I think it is a particularly good hotel for you if you are not experienced in New York. We stayed there because a friend of ours was going to be there at the same time. The staff is extremely helpful -- our friend even called them on her cell when she was out and about to ask a question or for some assistance.

I don't like staying in the Times Square area (way too intense for me) but it does have a lot of advantages.

I think it is easier to haul a cab with a towtruck.

Sorry, I couldn't resist

The Avenues are usually an easier place for me to catch a cab.

What about hailing a taxi that is "hauling ass" up the street?

Patrick, that's usually me hauling ass up the street to catch the cab!

Sorry, I couldn't resist either. I'm just now picturing two women hauling a taxi through Manhattan, it would be a great stunt/bit of perfomance art