Little Italy is a downtown neighborhood that was once filled with Italians but it gets smaller every year as Italians are assimilated and Chinatown expands. They do still have festivals in the summer.

Taxis are completely safe in NYC, just be sure you take a real one, with a lighted sign on top. They are everywhere. A typical ride of a mile will cost about $8 with tip, but you cannot take a taxi to the Statue of Liberty since it is on an island.

If you have a required meeting related to business, I would forget the bus and go by train or plane to ensure that you get there in time for your meeting, even though it's more expensive...especially if it's a weekday...traffic can seriously delay you ANYWHERE in the Northeast corridor. Five hours is only if all goes relatively smoothly (admittedly a bad scenario, but it's ever taken me three hours just to get to Baltimore!). Don't forget you're travelling through/near multiple densely populated areas...DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, the NJ turnpike, NY.

Daniel

We all know that planes and trains are rarely late. ;-)

Just to add my two cents:

I use the Bolt Bus when I go to NYC because it is so much cheaper than the train.

Let me make another suggestion since you are bound and determined to make this trip. Take the bus up and take the train back. Trains leave later than buses and have a shorter trip back to DC. That way you get more than just a couple of hours.

Of course taxis in NYC are safe. But you have picked two places that take a very long time to see, mostly due to the long waiting line. To see the Empire State Building will take at least 2 hours - since there is a ticket buyers line, a first elevator line and then a second elevator line.

To get from there to South Ferry by cab will take 20 to 30 minutes. To see the Statue of Liberty (on an island in the harbor) you need to have at least 4 or 5 hours - since there is a long ticket buyer's line, then a security line (like airport security) to get on the ferry, the ferry trip to get to Liberty Island, a line on the island to get into the Statue, then the Ferry back (which stops at Ellis Island on the way).

You really can't expect to do either of these things in 2 hours.

In 2 hours you could go up the Top of the Rock (buy timed tickets in advance) to get a view of the whole city and spend a few minutes in Times Square. You can walk to/fro Penn Station if you want - or grab a cab.

And IMHO flying isn't really any faster. By the time you get to the airport (in advance) get through security and then from the airport into the city it will take as long as the train (which you can hop on 5 minutes in advance with no security line).

And yes, while trains can be late - it's very rarely more than 10/15 minutes or so. The bus can be help up by traffic from 10 minutes to an hour or more. (And anyone who disagrees has obviously never been on the Jersey Turnpike or equivalent when an accident causes a back-up. I've had it take 4 hours to get from near Princeton to the city - using back roads since the turnpike was blocked by a half a pre-fab house that had fallen off it;s trailer. Granted, not common, but accidents and heavy traffic/construction are.)