Brand New to NYC, so need advice. My dad isn't in to art, or broadway shows. He like golf, beer and steak. He's 61 and gets cold very easily. Tell me what you think of my itinerary. He's been to New York before.

Day 1: Dad Arrives at 10 am. After he settles in, lunch at our favorite pub in Tribeca.
option A: Walk along battery park, to see statue of liberty, then walk brooklyn bridge (what subway would we take from tribeca to brooklyn if we wanted to walk the bridge back to tribeca?
option B: (if it's raining) My dad might enjoy the lower east side tenement museum, can we wing it or is it a must to buy tickets in advance?

Day 2: subway to midtown to show dad where we work. He wants to see our office. Then into central park for lunch at the boathouse, and ice skating in central park. (Whats it like to ice skate here on the weekends? Is it too crowded for a 61 yr old man to iceskate without fear?
If time permits, I'd like to take him to the zoo in the park to see the seals...is this really a childrens zoo? Will it be corny for adults without kids?
We have dinner reservations at the Striphouse, but would be happy for other suggestions.

Day 3: Breakfast at Bubbys, in the am, then relax and walk over to start our Greenwich village food tour at noon. Ends at 3...where can we go in the village to hang out and people watch...he hates to shop. I figure we'll be full from the tour so maybe we can grab a beer somewhere?
Dinner in Tribeca

Day 4: This is dads last day, but his flight isn't until 7:53 pm. No idea what to do at this point. Maybe Ellis Island? I hate to commit to buying advance tickets in case he's exhausted or its raining and freezing out. Can we show up and purchase tickets on a tuesday without too crazy of a line? Where do we "show up?"

The Tenement Museum is very popular, and tour groups must be kept small due to the small space inside, so yes, buying a ticket in advance is very advisable. While you're in that area, make a stop at the Essex St Market, lots of great food vendors, and very New York-ish.

As additional suggestions:
Museum of Natural History
(and the Planetarium has a schedule of very cool Imax films about space)
If you're interested in steak and in the Brooklyn Bridge, consider having lunch or dinner at Peter Luger's Steakhouse in Bklyn.
It ain't cheap, but the steaks are
the best of the best. Their policy was always cash only or house account; that may have changed, but maybe not. Reserve well in advance.

Hi - sounds like a very good itinerary given your dad's interests... I'll add: on Day 1, since you'll be downtown, consider taking the free Staten Island Ferry for closer views of the Statue of Liberty. There is also "The Body Exhibit" in the south street seaport area that many are saying is great (by the way, in battery park city - there is a free shuttle called "Connections" that drops you off and picks you up at different points in the area, up to the seaport - few people know of it - take advantage). You should stop by the Winter Garden at 4 World Financial Center...very pretty during winter time and they sometimes have a live choir singing Christmas songs -- they also have shops and restaurants within the building -- very nice. On a different note, I would reconsider the Central Park
Zoo -- it's truly a kid's zoo and pretty corny. You might consider going to the Bronx Zoo instead, which is the largest in the City, and it's just fantastic -- you can spend an entire day there! Maybe a great back-up for Day 4? I also second visiting the Natural Museum of History.

You're lanning a lot of time outdoors for someone who doesn;t like the cold.

If he likes sports how about adding a Knick or Ranger game?

The Central Park zoo is small but mildly interesting. (There is a separate children's zoo there.) If he's interested in nature he might like the Museum of Natural History or the Planetarium - science -- not art - and a bunch of IMAX movies.

Sorry - and I think Chelsea Piers has some golf - at least a driving range if nothing else.

I disagree with others who don't enjoy the Central Park Zoo--it's small but very good. There is a separate cutesy children's zoo, but the main part has exhibits that will interest anyone who enjoys animals. Besides the outdoor seal pool, also interesting is the indoor penguin house and the outdoor polar bear area. All three of these areas have underwater viewing--it's especially interesting to stand next to an 8-foot wall of glass with a swimming polar bear on the other side. The other main exhibit is an indoor rain forest. Visitors wander deckways through the rain forest as animals scurry below and birds fly right by.

I too was going to suggest the driving range at Chelsea Piers -
http://www.chelseapiers.com/alsoPhotoGallery.htm#gc

Pretty cool to power a drive off the 5th floor into the next state! (check out the photos)
Also - I was just in the Whole Foods on Houston street, they have a pretty great separate beer tasting room - and a great selection of beers - easy to spend a little time there after the Tenement Museum - maybe co--ordinate it with a visit to Katz's Dei, which is just down the block.

Another very nice place to skate that doesn't get that crowded is "The Pond" at Bryant Park - on 42nd street and 6th Avenue, behind the Library. There is also a very nice indoor skating facility at Chelsea piers - 2 huge rinks, a lot of high end figure skaters and hockey players can be seen there, it's open to the public, too.

not sure if he's into wine, but i lived in ny for a few years and each time my dad and i would go to this wine bar called vintage new york in soho. its very casual, not at all snobby, and all of the wines and cheeses, etc are from new york state so its sort of a cool local thing. but we usually did it after a day of shopping down there, and since he's not into that, you might not be down there otherwise. steak - if you want to spend a decent amoutn of money, take him to churasscaria plataforma in either times square or tribeca. its one of those traditional (though not sure how authentic) brazilian steakhouses where they bring out the different cuts of meat on big skewers until you want to stop. its a price fix of like $55 a person but includes a GIANT salad bar (think like sushi, pasta, cheese also) and all you can steak. and its delicious. otherwise there are a million other more typical steakhouses yyou can pick from. hope this helps!

If your dad likes beer, consider taking him to Gingerman for lunch and a beer one afternoon.

http://www.gingerman-ny.com/