I will be visiting New York for the first time the last week of March. I'm not willing to spend much for a place to sleep - plan to be on the go; least expensive place I find with a private bath is Herald Square Hotel (19 W. 31st Street). Can anyone tell me what the neighborhood is like? I will have my 11 y.o. daughter with me so need to be more cautious than in my young and wild days. Is this a decent (relatively safe) area? how about after dark?

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The hotel is just west of 5th Avenue. The area is almost exclusively commercial. During business hours it is crowded with people and vehiciular traffic. After the business days ends things get quiet and streets will not be crowded with pedestrians. The hotel is not very convenient to subway transportation. There is an entrance to the subway at 32nd and 7th - two very long blocks away. Another subway entrance at 33rd and Broadway and another subway entrance at Park Avenue and 33rd. All are a 5 to 10 minute walk away. Probably closer to five than ten. If I were exiting the subway at any of the locations mentioned above I would have no problem walking to the hotel after dark. YOu might feel a little uncomfortable because there will not be many people on the street after the end of the business day. This is a partial solution depending upon where you are at the end of day and ready to go back to the hotel. If north of the hotel, and most of your activities will probably be north of the hotel, you can always return by 5th Avenue bus. Higher numbered streets are north. I am not familiar with the bus stops but I am reasonably certain it will be no more than a very short one block walk to the hotel.
If you were to indicate those "must see" things you are going to do. I, and others, can help you with organizing your days and providing transportation options.

No advertising, please.

Thanks RQF for the info and the offer of further help. I don't mind being a little off the beaten path as long as not being further north doesn't waste a lot of travel time. I don't have any sense of how long it takes to get around by bus or subway.
Our "must see" places are pretty much the usual touristy stuff: American Museum of Natural History, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Times Square (of course, my daughter wants to be there for some MTV thing in the afternoon!), World Trade Center, Lower East Side Tenement Museum, United Nations, Wall Street, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, South Street Seaport. Undecided about a show - maybe Beauty and the Beast.
I really don't know if this is too much for three days or if we'll have more time for hanging out or doing more. I don't have a clue about how long to get from place to place and how much time I'll waste in line at each.
Is it worth it to pre-buy tickets online to places we plan to go? I HATE standing in line - don't want to waste all day in line at these places!

Your list of things to see is very agressive for three days. Many of the places you mentioned could take a half day. If I were you I'd stay in one part of the city each day. For example, on the west side see the Museum of Natural History, which also has a fantastic planetarium, then take bus/cab down to Times Square for your daughter on one day. There are many fun things to do in Times Square including a new wax museum. Then spend a day downtown for Wall Street, World Trade Center and Seaport (longish walk). You might want to take the Staten Island Ferry - much cheaper- to Staten Island and back just to see the Statue of Liberty up close instead of visiting (solves your "standing in line" issue). It can be a nice break where you can have a picnic lunch on the ferry. Check previous posts about the ferry as I'm not sure if it also passes Ellis Island but you get a good view of NYC. The United Nations is not near alot of other popular sights on the east side being all the way across the city from Times Square. You are staying in a location which can be pretty dark and deserted on weekends and at night so take a cab to the hotel if you will be out late. Enjoy the city.

Nan the area you are looking at is right by "Little Korea" and it is open 24 hours a day, so there should be LOTS of people on the street all the time. It is a fairly easy area to get around and you will be a few minutes from several subway lines, as mentioned above.

I live a few blocks from there and walk to the subway at 28th and 33rd all the time, so I don't think you should have a problem.

Lots of shopping in the area, so you should be able to find some things your daughter will like.

Don't have dinner in Little Korea, we did last week and it was awful. I hope we just chose a bad restaurant, but the food was not great.

There are alot of restaurants in the immedate area, fastish food and there's a Houlihan's at the Empire State.

Walk east to 3rd Ave for choices of restaurants and on 34th and 3rd and 2nd and 30th are two good movie theatres.

Have a great time while you are here.

The poster mentioning that Little Korea is busy at night is correct but it's centered mostly around 32nd Street. I drive over that block of 31st late at night quite regularly ans although it does tend to be very quiet (few pedestrians and no business open), you'll be safe. There are other moderate price hotels close to there including the Grand Union and the Wolcott - all are safe and clean. I stayed a few years ago in the Hotel Stanford on 32nd Street a few doors in from the Broadway Holiday Inn. It's a busier area at night than 31st and closer to the subway stations. IIRC I payed $125 per night for one person, one bed. It was clean and comfortable - by my standards quite nice for a moderate price property. Worth checking out - it's frequented mostly by Asian toursists and business travelers and does not advertise nor does it get much publicity but it's a great value if you can get the room for $140 or less - definitely a bit more convenient location that The Herald Square as the subway is right there on the corner.

AnnK (BTW, AK, I know who you are said: "Don't have dinner in Little Korea, we did last week and it was awful. I hope we just chose a bad restaurant, but the food was not great." Yes, you chose badly; otherwise, this is a ridiculous generalization. Kang Suh, on Broadway between 30th and 31st, is fun because you can barbecue at your table over real coals. Unfortunately, beyond the Korean restaurants, there is essentially no decent food in the immediate area, IMO, just fast food and bad chains like Houlihan's. So plan to have dinner out and about. This shouldn't be a problem, because your days will be packed! I agree with the suggestion to group your activities: Wall St., WTC, South Street Seaport, Staten Island Ferry all together (I agree you should ride the ferry for the view of the Statue, or take the ferry to Ellis Island and skip the Statue--if you're short on time and hate lines, the Statue will be a problem); Perhaps combine LES Tenement Museum and th UN, since they are both on the east side; and the museums, Central Park, and Times Square.

Nan:
The area is fairly safe. As long as you
do not hang around late at night (after midnight)there are plenty of decent people around and a good police presence.

Thanks for all the great info! I'll also look into the Stanford as Owen suggested. My preference would be to be close to subway and/or bus stop. When I first started looking that hadn't occurred to me. Other hotels that are available and inexpensive are New York Inn at 765 8th Ave and Portland Square Hotel at 132 W. 47th St.
Any thoughts on those?

Also, we've definitely agreed that we don't want to see B&TB. Doesn't seem worth it just to say we went when neither of us really want to see it! We both prefer a good comedy. I've looked at the listings and there are a few - Broadway and off-Broadway. Any suggestions which would be the best to see?

I have no direct knowledge of the New York Inn but I drive by every weekday. My wife works at 1515 Broadway - this the building where the MTV studios are located. Based on what I see it does not look very appealing. It is a four or five story building that probably pre dates WWI. I don't believe it has an elevator and it doesn't look to be in very good shape. I think you might consider passing on this. Don't know much about the Portland Square but it is certainly in a good location - W. 47th, half a block to Times Square. I have read some comments about this hotel and I seem to recall they were not unfavorable. Maybe someone who has stayed there will respond. As soon as you make a decision as to where you decide to stay post the information. People will then be in a position to provide some travel tips.
To do all that you stated in one of your notes will have you running around spending little time at every place you visit. A note will follow on how you might organize your days.

I'd say yes to the Portland Square re/reputation - it's similar to the Herald Square reputation - clean and safe but nothing fancy. I looked at the New York Inn from the outside when researching hotel options and didn't care for the look or the location - I haven't heard anything about it but vaguely recall something negative having once been in this forum. You should also consider Radio City Apartments. My daughter and I stayed there and it was great - old fashioned, clean and basic but a surprisingly large room and very quiet. It's on 49th two short block from Times Square - best location of any of the hotels yet discussed in this thread.

Ho, ho, ho, I also know who you are, AnnK! You shall be exposed in due time!

Nan, I recommend "Kiss Me Kate." It's an excellent revival (won the Tony) with a lot of humor (and all those Cole Porter songs you'll know). Seems like kids your daughter's age are enjoying it. Another possibility is "Annie Get Your Gun" (though I haven't seen it, so can't endorse its comedic value personally).

I stayed at the Portland Square last year. It's pretty decent for the price range. The room was clean, and the staff was friendly enough. Lobby and halls are painted bright pink - kind of usual, but the rooms themselves are pretty standard/traditional. The location is AMAZING. You can't get much better. It's half a block from the center of Times Square. Just as good as Radio City Apartments. You might even say better, depending on where you want to go. It's pretty quiet inside, too. Ask if a room with one of the oversize bathrooms (I think they're on the east side of the building, but I'm not positive) is available if you decide to go there. Oh, and be sure to ask for a private bath!

I stayed at a place across the street from the Herald Square. It's okay during the day, but a little shadier (not awful, but I probably wouldn't want to be alone) at night. Portland Square is a better location - you won't feel too concerned at night, since there's always people milling around Times Square due to the post-theater crowd. Plus Portland Square is right in the theater district - you'd have to walk at least ten block to get to a Broadway theater from Herald Square.

I've seen Annie Get Your Gun. It's cute. A big cheesy perhaps, but fun and it'll make you laugh. I haven't seen Reba in the title role, but I've heard she's wonderful.

Another possibility - The Seussical. I personally prefer Annie Get Your Gun, but a lot of people think The Seussical is fun as well.