Postpone travel plans to NY?
 

We have tickets to Wicked for next Thursday, November 8th. Because of the storm, we're trying to decide if we should postpone our trip to New York. Assuming our fight isn't cancelled to LGA, are we crazy to go next week? Any ideas if many restaurants, shops, etc. will still be closed? We'll be staying in Times Square area.

I'm guessing the subway will still be closed so getting around town may be difficult.

Any thoughts?

I promise I searched the Forum first by putting New York City in the search. Nothing recent came up. I should have put the abbreviation NYC instead. I've since been reading everyone's posts and they've been very helpful.

I still don't know what to do. Airline will allow us to postpone without a fee. Waiting to hear if Ticketmaster will let us exchange our tickets for a later date.

I live in NYC but am stranded elsewhere, and I don't even want to go home. I have power and my building was totally not affected. If I were you I'd reschedule for another time. I'm doing what I can to stay out of town for as long as possible. I'm happy where I am and it looks horrific.

The Times Square area is open. Subway service is beginning today - although in limited areas (as far south as 34th St). Almost all stores are open from 42nd St north- including restaurants - and they never lost power - so food should be fine. By the time you get here transit should be close to normal.

I think the biggest potential issue is LGA. There was significant damage to the airport. It is scheduled to reopen partially today with limited service - but it is not clear when full service will resume.

I would anticipate that by next Thursday the parts of the city you will be visiting will be fine. BUT, what do you mean by the "Times Square area". Have you checked to see if your hotel has power. (The city is still blacked out south of 39th St - and I wouldn;t want to be staying there.) Definitely call the hotel to check the status.

jewel, the reason you have had so few responses may be that many people in the area still do not have power. The advice you have received from nytraveler and Skiergirl is good.

I live in Midtown and other than the traffic tie-ups getting into the city, everything is normal. We never lost power and had virtually no damage, except for a few broken windows and a couple of trees coming down.

Having said that, I understand there is a gas shortage and many taxis have been pulled from the roads. Also big traffic jams into Manhattan since 3 tunnels are closed and the remaining bridges and tunnel are packed with traffic. Your biggest problem will be getting into an airport and than getting in & out of Manhattan.

If it were me, I'd probably cancel rather than have to monitor the situation on a daily basis and hope for the best.

You provide no info on how many of you there are, how long you plan to stay or where your hotel is located. If you've been planning this trip for a long time, have a hotel above 40 st on the east side or 34 st on the west side and dont mind some minor inconveniences, I see no reason to cancel. By next Thurs., hopefully a lot of the current problems will be eased. The only scenario I'd say for not coming is if you're booked at a hotel all the way downtown and cant change it.

I agree with mclaurie. I was in Times Square today and all was normal for the area. I took the subway from uptown to get there. Some things downtown may not be available, but all the midtown, uptown sights, parks, shows, museums, etc. will be available.

I work on 42 St and everything that far south is fine. We have numerous employees that live downtown who are still living in their apartments - but with no power. They have been told their power will be returned on Sat or Sun.

The subways are running in Manhattan as far as 34th St. There are now shuttle buses into Manhattan for individual travelers (those with 3 or more people in the car can drive into Manhattan).

The flooded downtown tunnels have been partly pumped out and are available for express bus service one way, and it is anticipated that both directions will be open in the next day or so - certainly by Monday rush hour.

The Staten Island ferry will start running again today.

Subway lines in the outer boroughs have been cleared and stations are added as power is restored to each area by ConEd.

NJ Transit express buses are running, although train lines are still being cleared and they are waiting for power.

LIRR service is partial - adding stations as power is restored to the areas.

Folks, this is NYC - not New Orleans. Even if your focus is downtown things should be available by next Thursday - but do check with your hotel.

It's all a matter of what financial loss you would be taking. If you can cancel the hotel, exchange the Wicked tickets, and suffer little or no penalty for the airfare, you'd be better off coming several weeks later if that's an option.

I agree that midtown is in good shape, but getting to and from the airport might be a challenge. Also with the gas shortage you might have problems getting taxis, of course some of those issues may be resolved by next week, but other unforseen issues might arise.

They are also predicting a Nor'easter may hit the Eastcoast sometime later next week.

I know when I go somewhere on vacation, I want to look forward to having fun, and right now there isn't alot of fun in NYC.

Ultimately it's your decision.

http://www.wtsp.com/weather/article/...perstorm-Sandy

To me, it is not just the nuts and bolts practical aspects but also how it *feels*. I would want a trip to be something I was anticipating with enjoyment. Can you do that for this trip? (I see now reading the post above that the same point has been made, so I will just echo that...)

I would go on Nov 8. Just make sure you book transport to and from the airport now unless you plan to take the airport bus.

We're expecting a storm to arrive Wednesday morning and last till Thursday. Personally, I think you're nuts to come here just to see Wicked. I've seen it 3 times and it's wonderful, but stay away from NYC for now. It's a sh*&show.

I have to disagree with my fellow NYers who are recommending postponing your trip. Manhattan, fortunately, is not Staten Island or Breezy Point. Unless your heart is set on seeing many sights downtown, there seems to be very little change. Tonight having dinner on the UES was almost festive. So many young people from downtown are up here in the bars and restaurants. And the restaurants have gotten food deliveries since Wed so no worry about food that isn't fresh.

My office is in Times Square - business as usual there and lots of tourists.

Did you hear back from Ticketmaster? I also have tickets that weekend to the Jersey Boys. We are trying to decide what to do.

Simple. You should come. You wont get your money back for the tickets.

For what it's worth, I was listening to the Frommers on the radio this AM and Arthur said NYC was hopping and dont stay away. Anything a tourist might want to do is available.

Anything except visiting the 911 Memorial and the Statue of Liberty, correct?

How's Chelsea doing? LES? Chinatown?

Reports say midtown is fine; transportation can still be a challenge but things are getting better every day.

Except on Staten Island. That's a shame and a mess.

Watch the weather reports. There's a nor'easter making its way into the news and up the East coast Tuesday thru Thursday.

Manhattan is coming back. Any weather is unpredictable but since the media is not getting hysterical about the Wednesday/Thursday storm, I would consider it just another bad weather day.

The subway is 85% back to normal, the problems are basically getting to Brooklyn. After the storm the restaurants in midtown were unusually crowded because below 39th street there was no power and people were migrating north for the basics, but now that all the Manhattan neighborhoods are slowly returning to normal, it should not be a problem.

Most of the parts of NYC that are of interest to tourists are open. I suspect there may still be problems around the Wall Street area, though some subway service is running down there.

The Statue of Liberty is indeed closed, but if you want to see it, the Staten Island Ferry is now running, though on a somewhat shorter schedule, so in deference to Staten Island commuters I'd recommend not doing that trip during rush hour (i.e., after 9 and before 3). I'm sure a lot of other sights downtown are closed since that are was the hardest hit, so anyone coming should certainly confirm that the things that interest them are open.

It's also proving to be very difficult to get to Brooklyn right now, and I'd recommend giving that a miss for this trip, though I think most of the businesses that were not flooded are open. The L train is running again to Williamsburg.

Otherwise, Manhattan is pretty much open for business. There was flooding in Chelsea on the far west side, so there could be some galleries and restaurants down there that are not open. The Highline, however, is open, but I think some of the elevators may be off-line, and the hours are restricted (it closes now at 5pm, which isn't a huge burden since that's after sunset). I'm not sure about the restaurant situation. Neither Collichio and Sons nor Del Posto show closures, and they are just west of the Highline, so that probably bodes well. And Chelsea Market is open. But I know there are a few businesses along 10th and 11th Avenues that were flooded, but perhaps only those directly on the waterfront.

57th Street is once again reopened, so those staying at the Le Parker Meridien should be ok after tomorrow (the hotel is supposed to reopen tomorrow ... the staff regained access to the building this morning). But the Burger Joint might not open until Wednesday if they still need food deliveries.

For now that's all I actually know. I just got back into the city last night myself (but no problems in my neighborhood on the Upper East Side).

I do think the storm that will be worse on Wednesday evening, will affect the airports, but it will be normal weather-related delays with perhaps a few extra cancelled flights than usual.

Doug, thanks for the updates. I'm freezing out here in Lambertville with no power yet, and no good predictions for when we might get it. I'm thinking now that NJTransit is running again, I just might want to head into the city and see a show on Wednesday -- at least I know they'll have heat! Things seem to be recovering pretty quickly in midtown!

If you can get into the city by NJ Transit train, that's a decent option. I think tickets will be fairly easy to get. TKTS is open, and many of the off-Broadway theaters are offering discounts (especially those downtown, which is open again). The restaurants and theaters are open and warm (but make a dinner reservation even if it's early because the hotels are jammed with displaced New Yorkers).

My trips are pretty much daytime only -- hence the Wednesday connection! Sadly there are almost no offBroadway shows that do Wednesday matinees -- but I do have a few shows I'd still like to see.

I wrote something that was wrong earlier. The L train is running, but it's not running between Manhattan and Brooklyn, so getting to Williamsburg is a hassle right now. That could change in the next couple of days, but I don't know when.

How are things near Union Square?

Union Square is totally normal, though the R train isn't running down there, only the 4/5/6. So there's limited subway service. As far as I know all business are open. I've gotten actual confirmation that Union Square Cafe is open as well as the movie theater, but I haven't been downtown yet, though Chinatown is business as usual except for the individual buildings that were damaged and the limited subway service.

Thanks so much for the info. I guess I will be there this weekend!

I think you should expect further positive developments by this weekend. More subway lines should be online, and you may be able to go uptown on more than just the 4/5/6 lines.

Here's a nice piece from Anthony Bourdain asking everyone who can to go out to eat in NYC and tip big:
http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2012/11/05/...y/?hpt=hp_rr_7

We're in the heart of NYC daily (Time Square) and to be honest things are returning back to normal. The mass transit seems to be running better every day. As far as your flight to LGA, I don't think it will be cancelled. With that being said "welcome to ny".

How are things near Union Square?

Con Ed is using Union Square as staging area and there wasn't a greemarket on Saturday and Monday. I have no idea when it will return but tomorrow's is up by Madison Square Park. Otherwise stores are frenetic as people try to re-stock their refrigerators with all the food that was lost since the storm.