We are staying on 46th in Midtown, plan to take the subway towards Battery Park for the ferry to the statue. I see that I should take the 1 or R?? but the website shows construction, is that going to be a problem? best place to get on? Also, we would like to walk around the village, little Italy, wall street, trinity church and ground zero while in the area, can someone suggest where to get off the subway to begin our "walk around"? lunch suggestion? (I know that last question is pretty vague, sorry!) thanks!! we leave tomorrow for NYC!!! thank you all that post here, it has been a tremendous help! Oh, and what time does it get dark there?? we are in Oregon.

" Oh, and what time does it get dark there??"

Shortly after the sun goes down

Normally, either the 1 or the R (or the 4 or the 5) are convenient to Battery Park. But recently there has been construction on the weekend, so you'll have to check NYC transit website. Weekdays are fine. If there is construction on the 1, you can easily take the 2 or the 3 to Park Place and walk past Ground Zero, Trinity Church, Wall Street on the way to Battery Park. For a lunch suggestion, I recommend one of three places along the river -- just south of the Battery Park and in Battery Park City. All three places -- on a nice day -- have fabulous views of the Statute of Libery. Gigino's in Wagner Park -- across the street from the Ritz -- serves Italian food. Past the Jewish musuem by South End Avenue, along the promendate that follows the river is Liberty View Chinese and next door is a Japanese restaurant. Go for the outside seating. But if the weather isn't good, I might try Inatesso, which is next door to the Ritz along the West Side Highway. Great pizza, but it also serves high-end Italian.

I assume you already have tickets for the Statue and the ferry. Entrance to the Statue typically sells out at least several weeks in advance - and while without entry to the Statue you can still take the ferryt o Liberty Island, without advance tickets you will have several long waits (one to buy tickets, one for security to get on the ferry, then again on the island). If you don;t have tickets you may want to avoid the trek (the process starting from lining up to get ferry tickets through the various ferries, ellis island and back to Manhattan typically takes about 6 hours) you may want to just take the free Staten Island ferry for a fairly close view of the SoL and a great view of the Manhattan skyline. They run every 15 to 20 minutes and a RT will take about 1.5 hours.

I have tickets for 1pm for the statue pedestal (not crown), how soon do you think I would need to arrive at Battery Park? Thank you Tim_J for the suggestion, and very funny to vjpblovesitaly about when it gets dark . . .but not helpful to two single women not wanting to be lost when it is getting dark.

Also if you just wanted to eat at the Statue of Liberty, the food was pretty good there. They had surprisingly good hamburgers and paninis and nice outdoor seating. One thing that surprised me - I had a shoulder bag that had bottled water and trail mix in it, and they confiscated those - not allowed to bring any food or drink with you. I had even emptied the water bottles, and they still confiscated them. I would guess it would get dark a little after six o'clock.

You can check when sundown is on the internet. Where do you think you will be that there will be no lights? If you weren't single you would want to get lost? I can't blame you!

id suggest taking cabs if youre worried about getting around--subway is simple if youre from NYC,but a little cumbersome if youre a first time traveller.Also NYC cabs are part of the whole NYC experience
Best place to view WTC site is from the upper lobby in World Financial 2 building--after viewing they have avery nice outside restaurant called southwestNY nearby

Many find the subway intimidating until they do it once.

A taxi to the Battery from Times Square is needless expense.

thanks all. I have been to NYC 3 times, but usually with a group of people for conferences, etc. Sorry if it seemed odd to ask about when it gets dark . . . Just feel that caution and being prepared is better than not!

No one can assure another's safety but NYC is the safest large city in America, especially in the tourist areas.

to be clear,i didnt say anything about not being safe--i was born and raised in NYC,and know how complicated the subways CAN be.The last 2 years we visited my home town with a different couple who said they much prefeerred the taxi to subway,just from the point of view of seeing,and feeling the city--each to is own i guess

If you have tickets for the pedestal for 1 pm I would want to be on the ferry by noon, which means getting to South Ferry not much later than 11 am. (The security line alone is about 45 minutes, assuming you have your ferry tickets and don;t need to stand on the ticket buyer's line.)

As for after dark - unless you're on side strets in residential areas late - at least after 10 pm- there will be people all over the street and most stores/restaurants will be open and well-lit. And all streets have relaible lighting.