How is New York in July?
 

Hello again!
Everyone was so helpful when I was planning my last trip to NY, so I thought I would ask for some more guidance. We are going to be arriving July18-26. Few questions : 1. How is the weather? 2. We are planning to attend a Yankee game on the 22 at 1:05, will this take up the whole day/evening? 3.We would like to go to Grimaldis for pizza, if we take the water taxi from South Street Seaport is it easy to find once we get to Brooklyn? And is it hard to find our way onto the Brooklyn Bridge from there? 4. Lastly, many events going on in NY at that time? Last time I left the day of The MTV movie awards! Poor planning on my part, would not like that to happen again!
Thanks for all your help!
Reyna

1. Hot and often humid. Look at the trip planner on wunderground.com

2. It won't go into the evening unless there's a double header scheduled & you've got tickets to both games. You should be out by 4-5 pm

3. It's easy to find Grimaldi's and you'll see the bridge. Here's an older post that may be helpful.
http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34446722

4. Look at the calendar on nycvisit.com

I was in Manhatten that week last year. Lucky to be a week before the 100 heat the following week. :)

Yep- It's real hot, actually we rode the subway out to Jamaica to "cool off" but the subway platforms were reading close to 100. :) Be prepared, have plenty of drinks available and take your time.

Mmmmm.... NYC Late July/August: oppressive heat, humid, smells like urine everywhere....

Negative Nelly out of the way, you might want to check out Central Park Summerstage to see if there are any concerts you might like during this period. I can't think of any other major events during that time period...

I live in NY and ride the subways daily ... the only place in Manhattan with the mentioned odor is Times Square ... go figure.

New York City is the best place to be any time of year, so enjoy!

Trust me, you can get that pee smell in the East Village.

July is the hottest month in New York and often humid.

One issue is the subway. I usually take it - except in the summer. The cars have AC but the stations do not. so all the hot air from the cars sits in the stations - turning them into little hell holes. So - in July, August and early Sept I take bus, cab or car.

A baseball game usually lasts around 3 hours. So you should be out of the stadium by around 4:30pm. But - if it goes extra innings or there is a rain delay it can last much longer. (Do go to the Stadium very early - to tour Monument park and see the teams taking batting practice and pre-game warm-ups. (For a 1 pm game I would arrive no later than 11am.)

Also- don;t know where your seats are but the Stadium is huge - so bring binolulars. (Assume you have seats already - if not, get them NOW - for a chance at decent seats - since almost all games sell out.)

There is always something going on in NYC - and many will not be announced until much closer to the date (movie premieres etc). So - suggest you keep checking web sites of New York Magazine and TimeOut New York. Also - look at the web sites of any group you're interested in.

Times Square didn't have NEAR the offensive odors that Chinatown had in July. Made me want to run out of there in a hurry and certainly didn't stop to eat anything.

Pardon the pun, but what is this crap about the smell of urine in New York City! Trust me, folks, that odor really doesn't permeate throughout the Big Apple.
Also, I have a minor disagreement with nytraveler. I believe that August, not July, is historically the warmest month of the year in New York....not that it's so cool in July, but it's more bearable than August.
One thing I will agree on: The subway stations are definitely hot in the summer!

I will admit that I have always FELT August to be hotter - don;t know if it's the humidity or the length of the summer or what. But, in fact, all of the weather sites show July as being several degrees hotter than August (avg high of 86 versus 83).

nytraveler, maybe it's the humidity that's higher in August. Whatever the reason, August has always been considered the dog days!

So, should one choose busses over the subway while traveling in the city in summer?

Not necessarily ... crosstown busses in particular can be INCREDIBLY slow. One recent study showed that the M14 and M42 averaged 3-4 miles per hour.

If you're dressed comfortably, as a tourist should be, the subway platforms aren't that bad. (For New Yorkers in suits/professional clothes, it's awful.)

Well- there are so few crosstwon subways that this isn't an either or - except for 42 st shuttle - most subways go north/south. And for crosstown your choices are bus or taxi or walk.

The subway stations were extremely hot last time I was there at the end of August. I am preparing myself for the next trip. As for the smell, I was very surprised with the subway stations in general. The one thing I would hear over and over when I mention wanting to visit NY was how dirty it is and how much it smells. Obviously those comments were from people that have never even travelled to NY! I found it very clean and no smellier than most cities. I love my Seattle, but there are places that stink here too!
I have a few more questions: 1. Last visit I didnt attempt to go inside prada and all the other VERY expensive stores in fear they would scoff at me. Are they welcoming to visitors that just want to browse? 2. Unfortunately last time we ate at restuarants we knew more than ones we just discovered. Where can I find really good food for a moderate price. Still working with that waitress budget! 3. My brother in law is a huge sports fan and music fan (he is a dj) and I was wondering if you could give me some good advice on where to take him. We are going to a Yankee game, eating at ESPN Zone, and stopping by Madison Square Gardens( I did not see anything worthwile going on while we are there) and of course taking him to Virgin records. Any other suggestions? Thanks again!

July is HOT! HOT! Hot! in NY

ugh, we were there the first three days of July last year and it was in the 90s. Now I'm from Cleveland so I am used to this horrible, humid heat, but I'm usually in my Mom's pool or someone elses. I probably would not go back to NYC in the summer, but if you are prepared it will be ok. I survived, and I'm a big baby.

Ugh. Hit the Yankees game, and then hit the LIRR right on out to either Long Beach or the Hamptons and cool yourself off on the water.

If you insist on staying in the city, just take a cab, right on down to Artuoro's in the Village for pizza - you don't have to go all the way to DUMBO for pizza. Have fun!

Yes, it's hot, and you can practically met in the subway stations, no matter how comfortably dressed, and I really can't see HOW people in professional clothes do it without fainting. The thing I found hardest was that NOWHERE seemed cool--air-conditioning never seems to reach that cold level they achieve in south Florida, for example.

I know this year has been unusual weather-wise, but I took my daughter to NYC in late August 2006 for a week, fully expecting it to be uncomfortably hot and gross. It was not hot at all that week. We never broke a sweat. It rained some each day and was in the upper 70s, and it actually got cold enough on a Sunday (w/a rain storm) that I wished I had a jacket to go over my long sleeves. I know it was unusual, but maybe you'll luck out like that.

ESPN zone is a great place to have a drink and play games, but consider eating someplace else. The food is not very good and it's kind of expensive. When you go to the Yankee game make sure you go to Stan's for a drink before or after.

Hopefully, I can revitalize this thread without hi-jacking...

I got our tickets for a July '07 game at Yankee Stadium. We'll hope we're watching our MN Twins take one from the home team from our seats in Tier Box 658 Row D. (Hey, gotta be the optimist... it's a long season.) Ticketmaster was brutal yesterday -- first day tickets were available to the public. I know these are upper deck outfield, but happy to just be there. (Anybody know if these seats are any good at all?)

We did NYC for a week a few years back, so that won't be the main emphasis this time (although we certainly wouldn't mind). We're thinking of a drive from MN, taking a northern route. Maybe including Michigan's UP, Ottawa, Montreal, Cooperstown, and Yankee Stadium. I'm fairly certain that I do not want the hassle of driving down to the Bronx on gameday, but want to get somewhere nearby to allow for arriving at the stadium in time to see Monument Park before the game. (1:05 first pitch)

Help me with public transportation ideas and connections for gameday to make this work. We were toying with an overnight stay in Manhattan, but not too keen on the complications that adds (messing with luggage on a tight time frame).

The fastest and easiest way to get to the Stadium is by subway. I don't understand why you think an overnight stay in Manhattan is complicating things. It's the easiest answer. The Travel Inn is the only hotel in Manhattan with free parking. If you stay there, leave the car, you get on the subway at 11:30 and you should be at Yankee stadium by 12:10.

PS. It would have been better to start your own thread.

If you're thinking of staying only 1 night and you want it to be the night of the game (rather than the night before), hand the luggage to the hotel in the morning, park the car in their garage and leave.

If you don't want to stay at the Travel Inn, stay wherever you like, give the hotel the luggage to hold, park the car in an iconparking.com garage near the hotel.

Another option is to stay at the Holiday Inn near the George Washington Bridge in Ft. Lee, New Jersey. Give them your luggage. Then, either drive to the stadium over the GW Bridge OR drive the car to a garage near a stop on the D train and take the subway to the Stadium.

There are so many wonderful free events all over the city during the summer. In addition to plenty of free movies, there are often concerts and other special events (like the Midsummer Night Swing outdoor dancing at Lincoln Center). No matter your interest, you'll find plenty to do! But as someone mentioned earlier, most listings won't be available until much closer to July.

Enjoy! :)

If you don't stay in Manhattan, think about Westchester. You can take MetroNorth to 125th street and take the 4 uptown to 161st. From Manhattan take the 4 or the D. To get an idea of your seats, use this link
http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/ticke...x.jsp?c_id=nyy

Click on seating and pricing to the left. When the seating chart comes up click on your section and it will show you the view of the actual field from your seats. It's a beautiful stadium and in many ways there's just not a bad seat in the house. You'll have a good time even though your team is going to lose.

Thanks, all. Now, to avoid driving into the heart of the city, I'm toying with doing the HOF and Hudson River valley, driving down as far as Westchester, taking the train in the day before the game, a cab to a midtown hotel for 2 nights, some random Manhattan excitement, then the train back the morning after the game to continue the trip. Does this make economic sense?

Economic sense vs. what? You will pay for parking (different amts. depending on where), the Metro North train (how many of you are there?) PLUS 2 nights in Manhattan hotel which could be anything from $120/night via a Priceline bid to ~$160 at the Travel Inn (which would include parking) to $200+ for something else. So without knowing the details of the variables, I'd say it probably doesn't make economic sense. What day of the week is the game?

mclaurie: Weighing taking the train in vs. driving in and staying those same 2 nights. Just the 2 of us. Thursday aft game.

I figure parking could be $35-40+ a night? Could be wrong, but I'm guessing that public fares R/T will add up to more than that $70-80, however, it may be worth it to avoid driving into the heart of the beast. Last trip in, we were at the Hilton NY on 6th and 53rd. (Flew into Newark and took the SuperShuttle in and out.) Probably want to return to that area. We have a good sense of reality on Manhattan room rates here already, but always looking for a deal...

dolice: Those were the specifics I was looking for. Do the 4 and the D both stop right at the stadium? Where's Stan's? and don't be so sure about that Twins loss. We just signed the AL MVP for another year... :)

You can find parking on iconparking.com for less than $35-40/night. You can park for FREE at the Travel Inn as I keep saying. I don't know what parking at a suburban train station costs (and which allow it) plus train fare. If the tix are for a weekend, traffic in Manhattan in summer is usually light. You can get a room with a Priceline bid (and the NY Hilton is a Priceline hotel) for as little as $120/night. Read biddingfortravel.com or betterbidding.com.

I'd say you can stay 2 nights at a good hotel for $130/night plus tax via Priceline and park in the city for $40-50. Here's the subway map http://www.mta.info/nyct/maps/submap.htm
Yes, both the 4 and the D stop at the stadium.

I would not worry about the weather too much. Yes, it will be hot. Yes, it can be very humid. But if you dress accordingly and make sure you drink plenty of fluids, it can be very manageable and not an issue. I have gone to NYC multiple times in the dead of summer and survived. Then there was the time I was there for the great Blackout... that was wild! =)

Yes, those trains will take you right to the stadium - 161st street station. I think driving out of there is possibly the worst experience anyone can ever have in a car! Here is a link to a review of Stan's Sports Bar right by the stadium. It's always packed before and after the game but the bartenders are great and will make sure you get a drink no matter how deep the crowd is at the bar. I see you're going to Monument Park (I've never been there!!!!) so you can save Stan's till after the game. You'll probably want to drown your sorrows after your MVP gets his head handed to him. :)

http://www.nycpulse.com/nyc/?act=rev...;review_id=133

Enjoy your trip!!!!!!!