In ten days time we shall be visiting New York for the first time (we as in me,my wife and 14 year old son)
We have the New York pass and will be doing the usual touristy things.
Can you fellow Afterworders recommend any places of interest that may be off the radar (i.e Bookshops,record stores,museums,places to eat,etc)
All info welcomed!
Places To Visit In New York
Yep these two:
Other Music — East 4th Street (vinyl and CD)
Strand Bookstore — cnr. of Broadway and 12th Street
Both very well worth spending some time and dollars in. If you’re into musical instruments, then:
Main Drag Music — in Williamsburg somewhere (mouth watering vintage guitars, etc.)
Other Music has closed 🙁
Oh no
Louis Armstrong’s house in Queens
https://www.louisarmstronghouse.org/
If you’re into jazz, then the Blue Note in the west village should be good for a night out of music and food. Best to book though if it’s a name act. I saw Medeski, Martin & Wood there and all the seating was filled.
You could make a pilgrimage to The Village Vanguard, the venue for the greatest number of live albums, mainly Jazz. It’s surprisingly small but has magnificent acoustics.
Have a look at the listings: there is bound to be a decent band on somewhere, and somewhere that will sound exotic from reading a decade of inkies as a teenager. My 3 trips have mustered Fairport at the Bottom Line, Neko Case at the Bowery Ballroom and Dr John at B.B.Kings
BB Kings New York gone the same way as Other Music – closed.
On recommendation from the good people here
We ate breakfast a couple of times at EJ”s http://www.ejsluncheonette.com/
Coffee and cake in Little Italy
Walked the Highline https://www.thehighline.org/
My daughter loved the Japanese bookstore, Japanese books on the ground floor, wallet busting amounts of Manga further up https://usa.kinokuniya.com/ Barnes and Noble was good for books too.
When we went a few years ago, Bleecker St Records was still going. Alas, no more, but I did find a few second hand record shops in Greenwich Village. My favourite thing to do in NY is to walk around Greenwich Village. It has been gentrified a lot but I love the Brownstone buildings with the zig zag fire escapes that remind me of watching Starsky and Hutch as a kid, never dreaming I’d ever get there.
For getting around we either walked or used the subway. The ticket office told us to buy one Oyster type card and just pass it back through the barrier for the next person to use. It seems as long as there’s enough credit on the card, no one cares that everyone has their own. The buses are ok too but we found hailing a yellow cab on the street impossible.
The queues for Ground Zero and Liberty are really long, an early start advised if you want to see them. Statue of Liberty is smaller than expected but there’s a museum on Ellis Island that I’ve earmarked for a future visit, possibly not to everyone’s taste.
I think someone suggested the Staten Island ferry for a river view, not sure and I haven’t done it myself but I did do a night cruise around Manhattan many years ago which was very pretty.
I’m sure you’ll all love it. I’ve been several times since 1981 and always find something new.
Most remaining record stores in Manhattan are very very pricey. Better to go to Brooklyn.
I used to live nr New York, when I was there for a weekend earlier this year, I chose some favourite things to do (with daughter), Central Park inc Lennon based tourism, also found myself walking in a pro gay rights parade (accidentally). Staten Island ferry is a great thing to do (free), otherwise I just wandered about. Plenty of great restaurants, museums and retail opportunities. And go up very high at Rockefeller Center rather than Empire State.
Reading the above, I find it depressing how many of the spots I would go to in New York have gone. (Admittedly, the is the same for London.). NYC used to be hip central for me, and I heard talk that THe Strand is also under threat. Not quite sure what to do if all the bookshops, record shops, and funky diners are lost. Sushi, poke, cold press coffee and a download just ain’t the same. That said, Just as in London, I am trying to love new spots and use the old in case they also go,I reckon do the same for New York.
I can recommend for breakfast, if you’re around the south end of Manhattan Pearl Diner
Not an obscure place to visit, but the American Museum of Natural History is well worth your time. The dinosaur exhibition is excellent (especially for their T Rex collection) and watching the recreation of the expansion of the universe from the Big Bang, inside the Hayden Planetarium (which is found within the museum) is pretty awe-inspiring.
It can be found up the road from the Dakota Building, on the West Side of Central Park, so if you’re visiting Strawberry Fields you don’t have far to go.
You could also take a diagonal walk across Central Park, in a north-easterly direction, to the Guggenheim Museum. Even if you don’t go in, it’s worth it for a look at Frank Lloyd Wright’s unique, spiral construction.
I’m fond of The Morgan:
https://www.themorgan.org/
One important thing is not to cram so much in that you have to travel everywhere by subway. You need to be walking around to just see New York.
An evening ball game is always a good option.
The only living boy?
I’m hoping to visit one day and I hope you and yours have a great stay, Lester!
High line is fab..
Ellis Island and Stat of Lib likewise
Empire State at sunset is not as busy, but a visual treat as the city lights come up.
Plenty of excellent Mex restaurants in Greenwich Village.
Some of the touristy diners were a bit feed ’em quick, turf ’em out and hit ’em with 25% tip,which if not unquestioningly handed over is greeted with hostility..
Enjoy !
I think I may have said this on an older similar thread but keep the High Line for a few days in. We walked along it on our first morning the last time we were there and although it was a nice walk with good views over the water, we didn’t feel we were escaping the city like a lot of people do, rather we felt we were missing out on the hubbub.
I started a similar thread a couple of years ago – https://theafterword.co.uk/new-york-and-amsterdam-ideas-please
I always meant to revisit that thread and thank everyone for the suggestions! We had a great time. Spent three and a half days there and was utterly shattered at the end of it.
The New York pass thing is great. And I think if you are wanting to make the most of the pass you just have to commit to the touristy side of things – because you won’t have much time to do anything else! My brother had given me a list of great eateries in Brooklyn and then was furious when he found we hardly left Manhattan and just ate on the move instead. But a meal in Brooklyn would have meant missing a half-day of stuff in Manhattan and we just didn’t want to miss any of the obvious stuff.
I loved pretty much all of it. I won’t bore you with going into everything, but I’ll just explain my favourites: the Empire State Building and the Rockefeller Centre. We did the former by night and the latter by day, and I think this was a wise choice. Seen from above, the city is a wonder, whether lit by a million windows or by bright sunlight. I could have spent hours up on the Rockefeller just staring at all the buildings. It’s probably nigh on impossible to take a bad photograph from up there – I took about 200 and I’ve printed and framed a few of them.
I can heartily reccommend the Circle Line tour around Manhattan island. Three hours or so of fascinating sights including parts of Manhattan not on the standard tourist trail, with commentary from a supremely knowledgeable and amusing guide.
We also hit Queens Stadium to see the Mets play baseball. A fab way to spend an evening.
Don’t know what your budget is like but a helicopter ride over Manhattan is breathtaking.
Thanks for all the suggestions folks.
Will be back in 10 days with a full report!!