Please critique my NYC itinerary
 

Hi Folks, I'd appreciate a critique of my planned NYC itinerary.

About me: I'm a 45-year-old Australian male, travelling solo. I've been to NYC a couple of times before and this time want to spend most of my time walking around the various neighbourhoods, while still taking in a few of the "tourist" sights. My main interests are music, culture (especially pop culture), theatre, literature and sport.

I arrive from Nashville (possibly exhausted!) Monday 21/9 and fly out the afternoon of Friday 25/9. So far, my rough itinerary looks like this:

Monday:
- Arrive LGA 13:40.
- Check in to hotel (Elysee on E54th St)
- Go for a wander, pick up a Metrocard
- Top of The Rock around 6:00pm
- Theatre: In The Heights 8:00 pm (booked)
- Post theatre: Birdland Cast Party

Tuesday:
AM
- UWS: Grant's tomb, Dakota Building, NY Historical Society
- 1:00 pm Central Park walk with Central Park Conservancy (booked)
PM
- Frick Museum
- Time permitting, a wander around the UES
Evening
- Baseball: Braves @ Mets

Wednesday:
AM
- Train to Brooklyn Heights, spend morning there
- Walk back over Brooklyn Bridge
PM
- Wall St (maybe)
- St Paul's church
- Tribeca
Evening
- SoHo, Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame Annex
- Try to catch a band somewhere (still working on this)

Thursday:
AM
- Lower East Side, Tenement Museum
- Little Italy / NoLita
PM
- Greenwich Village
- Chelsea
- The High Line
Evening
- Not sure. Music, if I can find something I like, otherwise theatre. Thinking of going to the Stone Pony in Asbury Park - is that realistic?

Friday:
AM
- Morgan Library
- MoMA
PM
- Grand Central Station. There is a tour at 12:30 but I might be cutting it a bit fine.
- Have to be at JFK by 15:30 - leave around 14:00?

Yes, I'm packing it in - but who knows when I'll get there again? Appreciate all sensible suggestions.

Thanks, P'chook

Your itinerary appears well planned save for Friday.

Both museums open at 10:30 am so you need to choose one. I'd
suggest MOMA as the 4th floor is devoted to Ron Arad whose
first US exhibit is amazing.
You can then rush to Grand Central.

If your JFK flight is international, I believe you need to check in earlier than you have planned.

What time is your flight (international?) from JFK leaving.
Is the 15:30 time you list at least 2 hours before the actual flight? How are you planning on getting to JFK? 90 minutes should be plenty whatever the method, but...

Tuesday am
"UWS: Grant's tomb, Dakota Building, NY Historical Society
- 1:00 pm Central Park walk with Central Park Conservancy"

Grant's Tomb is a bit of a distance from the Dakota, so this might be a bit rushed depending on how early you get started and how much time you spend at each place. From where does the Central Park tour start?

Congratulations on one of the more reaspnable itineraries. I do, however, agree with the others. MoMA is worth at least a morning or afternoon.

My only additional comment is about the Mets. they have suffered a huge number of injuris this year - and are close to not being a profesional club. If the Yankees are playing I would go for them instead - seeing the Mets might just be depresing.

Also- Gran'ts Tomb is of minimal interest while the NY Historical society is usually absolutely fascianting.

Asbury Park is a 1-1/2- to 2-hour train ride from Penn Station in New York via NJTransit. However, a look at the return schedule reveals that the last NYC-bound train departs at 8:53 p.m. It's not likely that even the earliest set would end soon enough for you to catch that train.

Bottom line: Unfortunately, not realistic, particularly considering the rest of your proposed itinerary.

Very rarely are both the Yankees and Mets at home. The schedule is specifically designed that way.

Academy Bus also serves Asbury Park from Port Authority Bus Terminal. The buses run later, but still would not be convenient for a late-night return to NYC.

My suggestion is to try stubhub (ebay or craigslist) if you haven't already gotten your Mets ticket. I got a single ticket from stubhub for way under face value when I went to a Mets game a few weeks ago. Citi Field is fabulous and definitely worth visiting even if the Mets aren't. And allow plenty of time to get there if you want to eat in the food court area. We arrived about 30 minutes before the game started and the line at Shake Shack was really long.

Thanks for the helpful replies. In answer to some of your questions and comments:

I thought Friday might be too much of a squeeze. Maybe on Tuesday after the Frick I could try to do the Morgan Library. I didn't really want to plan back-to-back museums or galleries but it's a possibility. That would leave Friday morning clear for MoMA.

My flight from JFK is domestic and departs at 16:45. Haven't thought much about how I'll get there but it will most likely be by cab or private car.

My Central Park tour starts from the statue of Samuel Morse inside the park at 5th and 72nd, which I guess is the East side. My current plan has me coming from the West side - doh! The other thing I was considering for Central Park was just hiring a bicycle and riding around, without doing a tour. I do like those small group walking tours though. Thoughts?

Sad to hear about the Mets but I'll still go. As Aduchamp says, the schedules seem to be designed so that only one of the NY teams plays at home at any given time. While I'm in town, it's the Mets. I was lucky enough to go to a game at Yankee Stadium last time I visited the city, so I'm interested in seeing a different stadium. At least if they're not travelling too well it might make it easier to get a ticket!

I'll have to do a bit more digging regarding Thursday night. If the Stone Pony remains my best option, I guess I could always stay somewhere down that way for the night. Marianne Faithfull is playing at the NY Town Hall that night, which sounds like a good venue to see. I'm a little concerned that Ms Faithfull might be more of a novelty act these days but there's still some appeal there.

Aduchamp1 -

It used to be that way - that the only time they were in the city together was when they were playing each other. but the last couple of years the schedules have been funky and they have been in town together a few times. Unfortunately this isn't one of them. (The Yankees come back the evening that the OP leaves - but to play Boston - so obviously no tickets.)