katefrisco

Sorry I know this is not really travel related but I need some guidance. My husband is up in NYC for a year..possibly more. He has an apartment off of 3rd and 37th.
If you live in the city and don't have a car..but will use public transportation...where is the easiest location to get to for shopping at Wal-Mart, Target, you know discount stores (doesn't have to be those specifically).
I am going to go up and get him situated..Please any advice would be great appreciated.
Thank you

nstevey

No Walmart or Target near the area. You could probably take NJ Transit to a big box store.

There is a Kmart in the NYU area, next to the Astor Place subway stop.

NewbE

I have heard from friends that New Yorkers will rent a car for a day or two to drive out of town for a shopping run. But they tend to do this rarely, or so it seems to me.

nstevey

Yeah, I do that once in a while, but I rent by the hour from Zipcar. Especially when there's just too much to carry or an item that's to big and heavy.

katefrisco

Thanks for your replies. I will check out NJ Transit.

Gekko

With rare exceptions, Manhattanites don't shop at Walmart or Target. What do you need? You can find everything you need without leaving Manhattan.

mp

There is also a Kmart on 34th Street between 7th And 8th Avenue. Rather than rent a car and schlep to NJ, it would probably be easier to buy what you need at the Kmart and take a ca back to the apartment, if you can't carry it.
More importantly, most NYers don't buy a lot in bulk because their apartments are small and we don't have the storage.

Also, if you determined to buy at a Target, there is one in Queens and also in Brooklyn.

What are you looking for specifically?

mp

oohh nice typos . . .
take a CAB back to the apartment,
if YOU'RE determined to buy

Aduchamp1

First, what does he need that has to go Target?

NYC is filled with thousands of stores that offer the cheapest crap to the most expensive stuff in the world.

There is even an IKEA in Brooklyn that delivers and assembles.

Although there are more chain stores in Manhattan than before, there are no malls in Manhattan and the chain stores have less square footage.

So give us a shopping list and price range and maybe we can help out.

lisettemac

Yeah, he doesn't really need Wal-Mart, but I certainly missed Target while I lived in Manhattan.

In addition to KMart, there is a Bed, Bath & Beyond near the Bridgemarket on 1st around 60th.

doug_stallings

So I guess that means he's staying in the Marriott longterm apartments there. I live in that neighborhood, so if you have more questions, I'd be happy to answer them.

That's a pretty convenient location. It's going to be way too difficult for him to get to Wal-Mart. As people have recommended below, we go to Bed, Bath & Beyond or KMart to get most household stuff (alarm clocks, cooking utensils, water bottles, etc.).

There's a Bed, Bath, and Beyond at 61st/1st Ave (he takes the bus up 1st Ave and gets off just north of the store); to return, he takes the bus down 2nd Avenue and gets off between 36th/37th.

There are 2 convenient Kmarts (Astor Place ... 6 Train to and from Astor Place; store is accessed directly from the downtown subway platform). Or at 34th (but a worse store, IMHO).

For typical soap, shampoo, etc., we tend to shop at drugstores. There's a Duane Reade at 34th/3rd and a Walgreen's (with a particularly good food selection, including milk and cheddar cheese) at 36th/3rd.

There's a (rather expensive) grocery store at 39th/3rd ... a D'Agostino). If you can believe, it a cheaper option is Whole Foods at Union Square (esp. for produce); an even cheaper option is Trader Joe's on 14th Street between 3rd and Irvin Place.

As another poster suggested, you can get to Target in Brooklyn by subway, but I find that store particularly ill-stocked and way too crowded. The savings just aren't worth it to me. There are no Wal-Marts in NYC, and I doubt very much if he could get to one on any transit line, though it's possible.

If you want to do a lot of shopping in one fell swoop, then it might be worthwhile to do a one-day car rental. You can get a car for $62 per day from Alamo on 31st Street (between 3rd and Lex). Tolls will cost you an additional $12 or so, including an $8 tunnel toll coming back into NYC. I think you can see why we don't usually bother with trips to NJ for shopping unless we already have a car. NJ Transit tickets are also not cheap.

Zipcar is meant for habitual renters and is simply not set up for a one-time rental. It has a one-time fee plus a monthly fee in addition to the hourly or daily rental charges.

But there's a big Newport Center Mall on the PATH train from 33rd/7th Ave. in Manhattan, and that trip is much cheaper ($2 I think). It has a Sears and some other big stores; another mall on the subway is the Queens Center Mall.

mp

Also, there is a Bed Bath and Beyond at 6th Avenue and 18th Street - they have everything from sheets and towels to toothpaste and toilet paper. They also deliver in Manhattan, same day for (I think) $15 or so . . .

katefrisco

Wow thank you for the feedback and sorry it took so long for me to post. Thank you for all of the responses. Doug Stallings- bingo that is where he is at! I think at this point I am going to rent a car and do the one fell swoop deal. My husband is already up there. I am just trying to take care of the set-up with things he likes. He is too busy to take the time. Also trying to get the "lay of the land" in his neighborhood. Doug he is working down off of Union Square. His commute is not bad at all. Doug I welcome any suggestions. I will definitely post from time to time. I have ordered several books on NYC..including Fodor's Books are helpful but I really prefer a local perspective. I appreciate everyone who responded..your insight is very helpful to me. Thank you again!

katefrisco

P.S. Thank God for the internet and travel websites!

smetz

the Newport Mall mentioned above by Doug, there is also a BJ's warehouse store.

smetz

That is "Across from" the Newport Mall.

joe_travel

poor guy

doug_stallings

If you rent a car, it just dawned on me that you should drive to Long Island instead of NJ (no tolls except at the Midtown Tunnel, and you can take the Queensboro Bridge or Brooklyn Bridge for free). There are Wal-Marts, Targets, and other big box stores out there, as well as many malls. There's even an Ikea store in Hicksville. I think you could get to these stores fairly easily, and it would help to minimize your costs.

Still, I'm not completely sure you'd save enough to really justify the cost of renting a car plus gas.

If you really wanted to make a day of it, you could rent a car and go to the Woodbury Common outlet mall in upstate NY. On the way, you pass a big super Wal-Mart (it's on the left side of the NY State Thruway, but I can't remember the town), and there are other big box stores in a few shopping centers along the way as well. There are outlets closer to NYC (including a brand-new one in Long Island), but Woodbury Common is really one of the best in the US, though it's a zoo between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

mclaurie

Assuming this place is basically furnished and you're looking for smaller items, it's really silly to leave Manhattan (imo). TJ Maxx, Century 21, Daffy's, Bed Bath & Beyond, K Mart and dozens of other home stores would certainly have what you want. IKEA is a ferry ride away in Brooklyn and the ferry is FREE on weekends. If you add the cost of a car rental into the equation, any money you MIGHT save by going to these big box stores will certainly be lost in the rental price not to mention tolls, gas and perhaps parking.

yk

katefrisco - I'm still wondering what your husband *needs* for his year in NYC that you can't get from the various shops mentioned above within Manhattan. When you add up the car rental cost and toll, I don't think you'll save any $ by going to the discount stores.