NEW YORK CITY!!!
 

My friend and I are traveling to the Big Apple and will be there from Sept 26 to Oct 2. We have accommodations and a reservation for Book of Mormon. Other than that we are wide open for suggestions. We would love to hear your favorites. Thanks much!

NYC has an incredible number of attractions and something - usually many things - for everyone. But for us to provide useful info you must tell us something about yourselves.

Ages
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Budget

I could give you a list of what my musts are - but it's likely very different from yours.

I suggest you get a copy of Time Out New York for someone your age. I am guessing from your screen name you are half Italian and half Irish and are 28 years old. There is enough to occupy a life time let alone a week

We are two women ages 68 and 46. Both very fit and plan to do a lot of walking. My friend loves food. I love NYC and have been there once before a long time ago. We will be staying in an apartment in Midtown West.

So far, in addition to The Book of Mormon, we have plans to take a circle line boat tour around Manhattan, go to Central Park (thinking about renting bikes) and the Met Museum of Art (love sculpture and impressionism), Harlem for some good food, SOHO for cronuts, the high line, the Brooklyn Bridge, Union Square Green Market and the flower market at W 28th (love flowers). A friend from Connecticut will be coming into the city for a day to show us Little Italy, Chinatown and Greenwich Village. We're both big movie fans too.

We will be arriving Sep 26 and leaving Oct 3. Yes, I'm Italian and Irish and I wish I were 28!!!

Hopefully you are staying in the apt. of a friend & this isn't some half-baked rental scheme.

The previous poster has made a good point and you should follow up on it. In general, short-term rentals are illegal in NYC. There are a lot scams involving short-term rentals.

If you are movie fans, there are a number of Indy movie houses that may show films that are not available in your hometown.

Personally I think circle line is a waste of time and money. For a much more interesting boat ride for free take the Staten Island Ferry after dark. You will see the Statue of Liberty and upon the return the lights grow as you approach Manhattan, very dramatic.

The best food value with an incredible variety is in the East Village.

You might want to call 311 when you get here. They will be able to connect you with eh city website that tells when movies and TV shows are shooting around the city and you might be able to visit a couple of outdoor sets (unofficially if you're interested.)

As far as biking in Central Park - do not that adults are limited to just one road through the park - most of the paths are for pedestrians only - so you will not get a chance to see much (better for exercise than sightseeing).

Sounds like a great week. We love walking NYC(SoHo, Jewish lower eastside, East Village AND Greenwich Village, Little Italy) and visiting in general. Some things that we love:

TOP OF THE ROCK for great views (Rockefellar Center)
RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL for show or take a tour
NYC SUBWAY MUSEUM is very interesting
911 MEMORIAL-worth the wait in line. Advance tix on line
METROPOLITAN OPERA if you are fans or just a tour
CLOISTERS for more art and the architecture is fantastic
THE FRICK Art Museum. Small but worth it.
THE GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM AND THE WHITNEY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART.
LOWER EAST SIDE TENEMENT MUSEUM - NOT TO BE MISSED. It is the best museum. Check it out on line. Advanced tix are essential and then walking the lower east side.
GRAND CENTRAL STATION, ST. PATRICKS
TEDDY ROOSEVELT Birthplace
CAFE LALO for great breakfast or coffee or incredible dessert, charming environment and neighborhood. We aim to get there on every visit but then we usually stay in the upper west side.

Pick up a walking book for NYC at Barnes and Nobel where you live... Frommers Memorable Walks is a really good one. It points out all the interesting things in various neighborhoods with suggestions for coffee and food breaks.

Good restaurant in the Museum of Modern Art. I believe it is called the Dining room..
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Enjoy this fascinating City. Makes me want to get back there.

Wow! Thanks to all for the great suggestions. I see I have my work cut out for me. We are aware of the issue with rentals and spoke at length with the renter about this. I have a reasonable degree of confidence that this will go well. She did say though, she's on the verge of getting out of the NYC market because of the hassles involved. Again, thanks for your ideas.

It's not that there are "hassles" in the rental market. It's that rentals less than 30 days are simply illegal - unless you are renting out a room or set of rooms in a private house.

(There are several reasons for this, including keeping apt rentals for permanent NYC residents - who are among those providing tax breaks to landlords that upgrade their buildings. Suffice it to say that many short-term rentals advertised are scam and most of the rest are illegal.)

Hi! I live in NYC and the Whitney Museum is having an incredible Jeff Koons exhibit through mid-Oct. They're closing down their location so you should definitely go! Read about it here:

http://www.imnotatouristiswear.com/s...ay-jeff-koons/

It's a great museum!

The old Whitney will re-open in the sometime future as the home of modern art for The Met. The Whitney is building a new home on Gansevoort Street at the foot of High Line which will be over 200,000 sq ft. and supposedly open next year.

We enjoyed the tram to Roosevelt island. We did a movie tour- loved it. Dylan's candy bar. Wish I had known about 311! Have fun

I will second Shar's recommendation for the Tenement Museum. My family and I found it fascinating. They offer several different tours, and we were very sorry we only booked one. Your Italian/Irish heritage may make it even more interesting!

for interesting walking tours check out Big Onion. lots of areas of the city and lots of good topics.

Met Museum is now open 7 days a week and its a pay what you wish admission.. the $25 is a "suggestion" you must pay something but you can decide.

MOMA has a schedule of films that are shown each week
Film Society of Lincoln Center also has a weekly schedule

<< We are aware of the issue with rentals and spoke at length with the renter about this. I have a reasonable degree of confidence that this will go well. She did say though, she's on the verge of getting out of the NYC market because of the hassles involved.>>

Feb to Sept is a long time. What if she is forced out of the market before you arrive?

italrish28 doesn't seem to have been here since April...

Even if Italirish is gone, the information above is still accurate.

Yes, it's true I haven't been here for awhile. You know how trip planning goes, you get all gung ho and then distracted. But it's getting close now, and I realized I haven't checked in. I was so surprised to see many more useful suggestions e.g. the Whitney exhibit, Big Onion walking tours, Roosevelt Island and the Tenement Museum. I so wish we had more time. We are going to squeeze in all that we can. I understand that apartment rental is a sensitive issue, and also risky. I can only say that we have found our stays in apartments make us feel so much more a part of daily life, even if it's an illusion. We continue to stay in touch with our landlord (?) and are as assured as we can be that it's legit and still firm. We shall see. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst is what we're aiming for. Thank you all again very much for your wonderful suggestions.

If the owner/renter of the apartment is present and living there then it is not illegal.

But there are leases/coops/zoning regualtions that prohibit commercial activity such as this.

My question is always, would you like someone from another town and conducting illegal activities where you live?

I understand what you are saying. At this point we are committed to the rental. From what some of you are saying there won't be and option for this in the future unless some other sanctioned option is put in place.

So now we're looking at walking food tours. Any advice?

Foods of New York...google it; we did their original tour, the Greenwich Village one...very fun!