Tourist

At the risk of sounding Politically Incorrect, I think James's classification of all of the great tourist sights as "unimaginative tourist traps" is a bit over the top.

If "off the beaten path" is what turns you on, great. But don't put down all of the things that make New York the great city it is and a mecca for tourists the world over. You can't just discount all of the great hotels, restaurants, theater, shops along 5th and Madison Avenues, Rockerfeller Center, Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Central Park, etc. These are the things that make New York unique. Without them, New York would be just "another city" like so many others.

I feel comfortable in saying I believe your opinion reflects a very small minority of the population. I would venture to say most of the previous responders to this thread

Tourist

Computer got the hiccups this morning....as i was saying

I would venture to say most of the previous responders to this thread might applaud "off the beaten path" but travel very differently themselves when they visit another city while on vacation.

Just My Opinion, of course.

IamANYer

Tourist-I never got the feeling that James "put down" anything,he did say that these are of interest to him and that he enjoyed them.While James did this sort of trip in NYC,my husband and I have done it in London and had a great time and feel that there are many people, who having been to a city a few times, begin to enjoy the more out of the way,"off the beaten path" trips.
And out of the NY tourist areas, there are perhaps not such a Need for discounts as they are less expensive to begin with!

Ellen

James! Great report! Absolutely the best. Sorry about the coffee. Next time you are here contact me via the 'board' and you can come to my place for coffee & to use the facilities : - ) I actually have Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf ship me their beans and ingredients for Vanilla Ice Blendeds in case you get homesick.

As for NY--have you been up to the Riverdale area and the Cloisters?

fran

Is there a condensed version?!? Jeez, I fell asleep sometime early in day 2. I know MTV has ruined my attention span, but talk about unmitigated verbosity! I bet James is the kind of guy who loves to hear himself talk.

James

I would like to take a moment to respond to Tourist. If I made it sound like I thought all tourist sights were unimaginative, I'm very sorry. That was not my intent. I mean, I've been to the Empirt State Building, watched the Today show, walked through Times Square, etc.

Rather, what I meant to imply was that too many tourists in a city like New York never venture beyong the same tourist agenda. The beauty of New York is that it is a working, vibrant city, created over hundreds of years and still evolving. It's not a Disneyland, where everything was created as tourist sights.

I just wish more tourists ended up venturing beyong the typical sights. And I also think that some of the sights sound downright boring: South Street Seaport sound like Fisherman's Wharf to me, and why would anyone travel all the way to New York to go into ESPNZone and watch sports like they do on their couch at home?

I'm sorry if I sounded like I was putting down tourists sights. That was not my intent. But New York is the world's most exciting city, why limit yourself?

James

Hi Fran:

At the beginning of the report, I said that if the report didn't interest you, then please don't read it. I'm sorry if it was too long for you. But I would appreciate if you didn't put me down as a person based on the length of my story. You can criticize the story length, fine. But actually, I would rather write down a story like this so people DON'T have to hear me talk about it. This way, you can read it/enjoy it at your own pace. Thanks a lot for the feedback

Caitlin

Really nice report, James. You're right that many Manhattanites never venture north of 168th St or the Cloisters. I'll admit that I never was in Inwood until I went up to visit a friend there, but it's a really pleasant area. You wouldn't believe how cheap the rent is up there, for Manhattan anyway.

I see you've discovered Forgotten New York, a great site. As a transit geek and subway afficionado, you'd probably enjoy www.nycsubway.org, a site dedicated to the NYC subway system that has all kinds of info and also hosts SubTalk, a forum or people to talk about the subway.

Next trip, take the 7 train - "the international express" - through Queens. Allegedly, Queens has more nationalities represented and more languages spoken by its residents than any other place in the US. The 7 goes through various Latin American, Indian, Southeast Asian, and European immigrant neighborhoods, with terrific restaurants and food and other shops to match. Of course, if you haven't been, the Russian/Ukrainian enclave of Brighton Beach is a great area, too. With the disclosure that I work as a volunteer for the site, I recommend the Outer Boroughs board on www.chowhound.com as the best source around for info on restaurants of every stripe and ethnicity in the "other New York City."

wow

I really enjoyed reading the report and I think I read it after about 19 responses. I wondered how long it would take someone like tourist or fran to come along. Well, it didn't take long. To bad people can't just read and enjoy others road reports. Thanx James...

Laura

Gee, very interesting. We only did the real touristy things and now I know some new places to see when we return!
--Thanks

x

A friend shot 900 slides in New Zealand and then created a slide show for his friends. It ran six hours! NZ is a fascinating country. With fewer friends now he has more time to travel. A touch of brevity, here and there, might make it more alluring.

wendy

James,

I just moved to Park Slope from the West Village in Manhattan, and I loved reading your perspective on both places. I, too, love the Grey Dog (but also wonder why they get rave reviews for coffee). And I adore living in Park Slope and was thrilled to see you made it there. I've also been lost in the old Navy Yard area and whew, I didn't care much for that!

However, the best part of reading your trip report is that I know what I'm going to do next weekend. I'm going to print your report, get out my map and drag my boyfriend out of the house and explore the places you've been.

You've really impressed me with your committment to knowing NYC as a place where people eat, sleep, work and play - all while carving a little slice of life for themselves in the greatest city I know.

James

Hello All:

Thanks for the positive comments ;-) The funny thing is that when we got back, we met up with a friend for dinner and he asked what we did in New York. I know that most people aren't interested in my crazy excursions so my answer to him was "oh, just some eating and walking, nothing too exciting".

If you're going to do any of the stuff I did, here's a condensed version of what was really great:
-Grand Central is incredibly gorgeous
- St Nicholas Ave in Washington Heights was so alive and vibrant
-Lafayette Street in Fort Greene is like an undiscovered Brooklyn Heights
-Prospect Park Sout and Ditmas park are little jewels of residential areas you would never expect in the middle of New York.
-And something we didn't check out: the area of Washington Heights west of Broadway above the cliff has Art Deco apartments and views to die for

I also highly recommend the following reference tools: 1) a NYC subway map (free at any subway station I believe and also at the Grand Central transit store), 2) a Manhattan or Brooklyn bus map (shows buses and subways, plus fairly detailed streets. available at the GCT transit store and man y subway stations in the given borough) 3) a Streetwise map. 100% indispensible. Laminated, folding map. I have the one for Manhattan and the one for Brooklyn. Any major book store in New York (the Manhattan one is available all over the US and Canada)

patty

Thanks James for a wonderful trip report and for introducing this Manhattanite to Marble Hill! I had heard of Marble Hill, but I always assumed it was in the Bronx.

Have you seen the TimeOut Book of New York Walks? There are 23 walks, including outer borough walks around the Gowanus Canal area, Brighton Beach & Coney Island, Flushing & Corona Park, Brooklyn Heights & Carroll Gardens and a graffiti tour through Washington Heights and the Bronx using buses and subways. Their Manhattan walks are also interesting though 2 years out of date.

patty

I just read your last post and I agree about the west part of Washington Heights. I went up there for the first time only recently and there are fabulous buildings there! The one I saw was the Castle Village complex on Cabrini Blvd between 181 & 186 - terrific views of the river, bridge & Palisades, landscaped grounds... Across the street are the Hudson View Gardens (address is on Pinehurst Ave) built by the father of the man who built Castle Village. It's a gentrifying neighborhood with several restaurants popping up. And the Cloisters are only a subway stop away.

suzanne

What an interesting report - I live in one of the 'hoods you visited, near the York St. subway stop (yep, in a former warehouse). I have not yet visited several of the places you mentioned, but now I think I'd like to!

I agree with your desire to see things "off the beaten path". I, too, dislike the touristy places...they are overrated and extremely crowded. It took me until the age of 31 to finally go to Liberty Island...it was an all-day hassle, but (at least) I'll never have to even think about doing it again.

Thanks for your report.

Jennifer

Hello James, I liked your report. Obviously you have visited New York enough times to explore new neighborhoods each time. I like jumping on the subway and riding to the end of the line, just to say that I've ridden the J train or the F train, or been to Ditmas Park, Ozone Park, Midwood, Inwood, Bed-Stuy, all the neighborhoods that you read about in the Post or see on NY1. New York is too Manhattan-centric, and the boroughs are great exploration territory.

chris

Nice report. Left NYC as a kid and was raised upstate but have family in the city in Washington Heights. Its good to see that you decided to venture up to the other Manhattan that 99% of the tourists would never visit. I've spent a lot of time walking St. Nicholas and going up to the Cloisters . You've got to check them out next time. I don't get down there as often as I used to but thanks for bringing me back.

Merilee

My grandmother lived in the vicinty of Marble Hill in the Bronx and there was always a debate over whether you were in Manhattan or the Bronx...once you cross the Broadway Bridge (now under massive reconstruction) you will have a Bronx, New York 10463 address...that serves the area that encompasses West 225th Street, Marble Hill Avenue, Jacobus Place, etc....even the Columbia "rock" (fondly referred to as "the cut" way back when by the kids who dived off it and swam in the river) is considered Bronx, NY 10463...this was a great area to be a kid in at one time...there's even a Marble Hill reunion held every summer at a restaurant...I have taken visiting relatives and friends to the Washington Heights area and they all loved it...it's populated by people from the Dominican Republic...there are many shopping bargains there...there's a restaurant called La Dinastia on Broadway and West 170th Street that serves delicious Dominican, Puerto Rican, and Chinese food...huge portions and it's inexpensive...the bakery on St. Nicholas Avenue sells so many different Dominican cakes and pastries, all good...all the sights and sounds of that area make it alot of fun...and John (BMW) if you're still reading these posts, Tara Irish Gift Shop (for sale) and the Capitol Restaurant are still around! James, thanks for the great report...I remember you posted last year asking people to post info about their favorite less traveled neighborhoods.

Elfienyc

James, I've lived in New York for 21 years and thoroughly enjoyed reading your report. So glad you enjoyed your time here, you have AMAZING stamina to trek so far and wide! Next time you'd like to visit another interesting Brooklyn neighborhood, check out Greenpoint (or, as the old-timers call it, Greenpernt). Greenpoint has become a Little Poland, it's an incredibly rich cultural area and you can eat wonderful Polish food until you explode. Thanks so much for your report, it makes me proud to be a New Yorker to see my city through an appreciative vistor's eyes.