LITTLE BITES OF THE BIG APPLE NEW YORK SIGHTS AND ACTIVITIES YOU SHOULDN'T MISS.Byline: Story and photos by Eric Noland Travel Editor NEW YORK New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of - Tell a friend you're headed to New York and you'll likely get a tip: on a club, a bookstore, a restaurant, a walk. Everyone who has passed through this city, it seems, has a favorite haunt or activity. Which presents the visitor with quite a challenge: Where to begin? The crush of Manhattan, where New York's classic offerings are concentrated, can be downright intimidating. But over a stay of a few days, a visitor - whether in town for leisure, business or a family get-together - can readily experience the best of what this city has to offer. Mix and match from this chronicle of New York essentials: SPEND A DAY IN CENTRAL PARK: This 843-acre expanse is the envy of every urban planner An Urban planner is a professional who works in the field of urban planning for the purpose of public health and safety in an urban setting. They work with local governments or private property owners (often with land developers) to formulate plans for the short- and long-term in America. Credit the foresight of city boosters in the 1850s for its existence as a sylvan sylvan emanating from or pertaining to woods. See also sylvatic. swath in a sea of concrete. To outsiders, the park is synonymous with synonymous with adjective equivalent to, the same as, identical to, similar to, identified with, equal to, tantamount to, interchangeable with, one and the same as rampant and horrific crime, but while there are remote areas that you'll want to stay out of after dark (or even during the day if you're in a group of less than six), on a weekend day you're more likely to be bowled over by bicyclists, in-line skaters, herds of joggers or a horse-drawn carriage than accosted ac·cost tr.v. ac·cost·ed, ac·cost·ing, ac·costs 1. To approach and speak to boldly or aggressively, as with a demand or request. 2. To solicit for sex. by a mugger mugger: see crocodile. . The southern reaches of the park, in particular, hum with activity on the weekends. On a recent Saturday, a women's choir from Middlebury (Vt.) College was singing in angelic harmonies in front of the Bethesda Fountain Bethesda Fountain is the central feature on the lower level of Bethesda Terrace overlooking The Lake in New York City's Central Park. The pool is centered by a fountain sculpture designed by Emma Stebbins in 1868 and unveiled in 1873. (too bad they couldn't have chosen something more elevated than Pat Benatar Pat Benatar (born Patricia Mae Andrzejewski on January 10, 1953) is an influential four-time Grammy Award-winning American rock singer with many million and multi-million selling records worldwide. ). A short distance away, a troupe of young people was dancing - on roller skates roller skates npl → patines mpl de rueda roller skates roll npl → patins mpl à roulettes roller skates roll npl - to music from a boom box. An army of ice skaters was carving up the surface at Wollman Rink. And beneath the Greywacke Greywacke (German grauwacke, signifying a grey, earthy rock) is a variety of sandstone generally characterized by its hardness, dark color, and poorly-sorted, angular grains of quartz, feldspar, and small rock fragments set in a compact, clay-fine matrix. Arch, a street musician was playing plaintive plain·tive adj. Expressing sorrow; mournful or melancholy. [Middle English plaintif, from Old French, aggrieved, lamenting, from plaint, complaint; see plaint. standards on his alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a variety of the saxophone, a family of woodwind instruments invented by Adolphe Sax. The alto is the third smallest of the saxophone family, which consists of ten sizes of saxophone (see saxophone). , lending the sense of a Woody Allen Noun 1. Woody Allen - United States filmmaker and comic actor (1935-) Allen Stewart Konigsberg, Allen soundtrack to the day. Serpentine walking paths course through the park, and they can be confusing. At intervals coming or happening with intervals between; now and then. See also: Interval are park diagrams, but someone needs to go through with an armful of ``you are here'' stickers to make explorations easier. ENJOY THEATER AT HALF PRICE: You can go through brokers or stop by box offices to pay full ticket prices for Broadway's plays and musicals, but if you're not dead-set on one particular show, the Tkts booth in Time Square, operated by the Theatre Development Fund, provides a delightful experience. It sells deeply discounted tickets (usually 50 percent) that are available only on the day of the performance. People begin lining up an hour or more before the windows open (midafternoon for evening performances, late morning for matinees). Waiting in line, however, just gives you a chance to gawk without shame at the visual assault of Times Square - video-screen images that change as if a madman has the remote, a collage of brightly lit marquees for blockbuster musicals, a giant Hershey bar Noun 1. Hershey bar - a bar of milk chocolate made by the Hershey company chocolate bar - a bar of chocolate candy stuck in a Reese's peanut butter cup, real steam rising off the Cup o' Noodles noo·dle 1 n. A narrow, ribbonlike strip of dried dough, usually made of flour, eggs, and water. [German Nudel. ad. Ticket availability for specific plays is displayed on a digital sign that you can't see until you're steps from the ticket windows, which fosters a last-minute jolt of adrenalin. It's a good idea to have Plans B, C and D ready to implement. Not wanting to be cooped up indoors on a gloriously sunny Sunday afternoon, I passed on the matinees and opted for a nighttime staging of the long-running ``Perfect Crime'' - and concluded the whodunit has just about run its course. The next day, the discount for Euripides' ``Medea'' was modest: The cheapest seat in the house is $60, and the best the Tkts booth could do was $43 for an orchestra seat. Half the fun of going to a play in New York is spilling out into the theater district afterward and finding it teeming teem 1 v. teemed, teem·ing, teems v.intr. 1. To be full of things; abound or swarm: A drop of water teems with microorganisms. 2. with life, the restaurants and bars crowded late into the night. EAT LUNCH AT A CLASSIC DELI: ``Picklemania,'' the waiter deadpanned as he set down a bowl of a dozen or so chubby dill pickles. The sandwich that followed, a combination of pastrami and corned beef, contained between 3/4 and a full 1 pound of meat, he said. I chose Carnegie Delicatessen, but you can't go wrong at any number of establishments: Katz's, Stage, Ess-A-Bagel. Or, if you want to buy the components separately for a picnic in Central Park, head to the delectable old grocery store that is Zabar's. Carnegie's cheesecake - which appeared to be a one-quarter portion of the entire cake - appeared equal to the sandwich for inducing heart failure. Most everyone who visits the deli requires a sack to carry out an uneaten sandwich portion. And I can testify that when you unwrap one of those babies on a food-free, transcontinental JetBlue flight, it's cruel and unusual punishment Such punishment as would amount to torture or barbarity, any cruel and degrading punishment not known to the Common Law, or any fine, penalty, confinement, or treatment that is so disproportionate to the offense as to shock the moral sense of the community. for your seatmates. RIDE THE STATEN ISLAND FERRY The Staten Island Ferry is a passenger ferry operated by the New York City Department of Transportation between Whitehall Street at the southernmost tip of Manhattan near Battery Park (South Ferry) and St. : You can go through money in a hurry in New York, but this unwitting tourist attraction Noun 1. tourist attraction - a characteristic that attracts tourists attractive feature, magnet, attractor, attracter, attraction - a characteristic that provides pleasure and attracts; "flowers are an attractor for bees" won't cost you a cent. Just head for the ratty rat·ty adj. rat·ti·er, rat·ti·est 1. Of or characteristic of rats. 2. Infested with rats. 3. Dilapidated; shabby. ferry terminal at the tip of Manhattan and board the free commuter boat to Staten Island Staten Island (1990 pop. 378,977), 59 sq mi (160 sq km), SE N.Y., in New York Bay, SW of Manhattan, forming Richmond co. of New York state and the borough of Staten Island of New York City. , a 25-minute ride that is offered every half-hour. Most visitors hop right back on a return boat after reaching Staten Island, because it's all about the ride. The boats themselves are utilitarian, with wooden benches and well- scuffed decks, but you'll probably spend most of your time at the rail (on the bottom two of the boat's three levels). The ferry ride provides a classic view of the Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan is the southernmost part of the island of Manhattan, the main island and center of business and government of the City of New York. Lower Manhattan is generally defined as the area delineated on the north by Chambers Street, on the west by the Hudson River (North skyline - today sadly missing the twin towers - and passes alongside Ellis Island Ellis Island, island, c.27 acres (10.9 hectares), in Upper New York Bay, SW of Manhattan island. Government-controlled since 1808, it was long the site of an arsenal and a fort, but most famously served (1892–1954) as the chief immigration station of the United and the Statue of Liberty Statue of Liberty great symbolic structure in New York harbor. [Am. Hist.: Jameson, 284] See : America Statue of Liberty perhaps the most famous monument to independence. [Am. Hist.: Jameson, 284] See : Freedom . To the east is Brooklyn and its famous bridge. New York's skyscrapers create a confining world for the folks down on the sidewalks. This boat ride enables you to take in the city from a detached perspective that provides a literal breath of fresh air. STAY IN A CUTTING-EDGE HOTEL: Ian Schrager Ian Schrager is a hotelier and real-estate developer. Schrager began his career as a nightclub owner. In 1977 he partnered with Steve Rubell, his fraternity brother from Syracuse University, in launching the New York City discothèque Studio 54. , the high priest of hip hostelry (London's St. Martins Lane, West Hollywood's Mondrian, etc.), advocates the concept of ``hotel as theater.'' Design elements create people-watching opportunities in lobbies, hallways, bars and restaurants. At the Hudson, just off the southwest corner of Central Park, an escalator lit in nuclear-waste yellow carries you from the street to the atrium lobby, and near the top you find yourself face-to-face through a window with patrons sitting at a banquette ban·quette n. 1. A platform lining a trench or parapet wall on which soldiers may stand when firing. 2. also ban·kit Southern Louisiana & East Texas A raised sidewalk: in the bar. The futuristic bar, by the way, is lit almost entirely from beneath a translucent floor - sort of ``Blade Runner'' meets ``Saturday Night Fever.'' It's so popular that hotel guests are issued a special card to get them past the velvet ropes at peak times. The Hudson staff is attired from head to toe in to stand or carry the feet in such a way that the toes of either foot incline toward the other. See also: Toe black - like commandos. But while you might expect snobbery, there is none. From bellmen to front- desk clerks to security guards, I found the staff universally personable PERSONABLE. Having the capacities of a person; for example, the defendant was judged personable to maintain this action. Old Nat. Brev. 142. This word is obsolete. and responsive. The guest rooms are monastic cells in terms of square footage, but who languishes in a hotel room in this city? They're also stylishly designed, with gleaming fixtures and a lot of varnished wood. An image of a woman's face gazed back from each of the bedside lampshades - vaguely disconcerting dis·con·cert tr.v. dis·con·cert·ed, dis·con·cert·ing, dis·con·certs 1. To upset the self-possession of; ruffle. See Synonyms at embarrass. 2. when you flip on a switch in the middle of the night. VISIT A MUSEUM: You'll find a feast of fine-art opportunities in New York, but don't skip the Metropolitan Museum of Art just because it is such an obvious tourist destination. The collection here is so exhaustive, you sometimes feel as if you're walking through a warehouse art-storage facility rather than an exhibition hall. The museum houses an entire Egyptian temple and gateway. The Temple at Dedur stood along the banks of the Nile at Nubia, Egypt, until 1963, when it was in danger of being submerged by the new Aswan Dam. Egypt put it up for sale to save it, and the United States got it for a song - $16 million. Kids at the Met (especially young boys) are thrilled with a room devoted to medieval armor and armaments, but you might also want to guide the kids to a room stocked with a fascinating array of antique musical instruments. If you haven't been to this museum since 1993, be sure to take in the European impressionist works on the second floor. The late publishing baron Walter H. Annenberg donated his $1 billion collection of 53 paintings, watercolors and drawings from the period, and it is astounding a·stound tr.v. a·stound·ed, a·stound·ing, a·stounds To astonish and bewilder. See Synonyms at surprise. [From Middle English astoned, past participle of astonen, . An entire room is devoted to Pissaro, another to Cezanne's still lifes, another to Degas' voyeuristic paintings and his delicate bronze sculptures. Monet's work spills into three rooms - and it represents a cross section of his subjects, from water lilies to the Rouen Cathedral to haystacks Haystacks can be:
Van Gogh has a strong presence, too, including one of his seven self- portraits with the straw hat. Another impressive art collection is housed in the former home of steel magnate Henry Clay Frick. He had quite the preoccupation with Old Masters portraiture, including the work of Van Dyck, Rembrandt and Gainsborough, but he also stumbled upon Vermeer, and three of the Dutch painter's beguiling household scenes are exhibited here. The Frick Collection is presented much as it was when this was a private home in that there are no title cards on the wall. However, an audio guide, corresponding to discreetly placed numbers on the wall, is free. The drawback is you can't limit your tour to artists you favor; you have to listen to each entry for identifying information. Also, maddeningly, numbers of several works have fallen off. ASCEND THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING: A quintessential tourist attraction in New York, but would you miss this one? Once you walk into the lobby, it's a little confusing making your way through security, to the ticket line ($10 for a view off the top of an office building?) and to the observatory elevators, but there are a lot of staffers to guide you along the way. Since 9-11, airport-style bag screeners and metal detectors are in place. One elevator whisks you to the 80th floor, and another carries you up to the 86th - and what a magnificent view is to be had here. When the World Trade Center towers came down, the Empire State Building, at 1,250 feet (not counting its TV spire), re-emerged as the tallest American building east of Chicago's Sears Tower. An outdoor observatory deck wraps entirely around the building, but if it's chilly there is also a glassed-in observation room - which you might conclude is really little more than a wrap-around gift shop. A diagram identifies 60 points of interest in the view to the south, but unfortunately there is nothing to tell you what you're looking at in the other three directions. You shouldn't have any trouble finding the Chrysler Building, with a summit that looks like radiator grills (or are those hubcaps on edge?) and its hood-ornament gargoyles gargoyles medieval European church waterspouts; made in form of grotesque creatures. [Architecture: NCE, 1046] See : Ugliness . The view here at night is particularly romantic, and the observatory stays open until midnight, as you undoubtedly learned in the Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan movie ``Sleepless in Seattle.'' DINE AT A CELEBRITY CHEF'S RESTAURANT: The lobster pasta and goat cheese salad were exquisite at Gotham Bar and Grill, the culinary canvas of Alfred Portale. At the bottom of your bill, a note informs you that both of his books are available for purchase. Personalized, of course. At 10:30 on a Saturday night, every table was filled, they were running a short wait in the dining room, and we were two-deep at the bar - not an uncommon experience in New York after the theaters let out. HEAR SOME MUSIC IN GREENWICH VILLAGE: Bruce Springsteen got his start at the Bottom Line, just off Washington Square, and it doesn't look as if they've painted the ceiling since. But in one of these cramped clubs of the Village you can gain an appreciation for the vast and varied musical offerings in New York. Jazz? Scads of it. Blues? Plenty. Folk? If you hunt a little bit. Plus a lot of the unexpected. On a Saturday night, I caught the playful 1940s-derivative music of Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks, an act that has been stumbling around the fringe of the music business for 30 years. The Savoy-Doucet Cajun Band, with its fiddle and squeeze box and lyrics all in French, was a crowd-pleasing warm-up act. On any given weekend night at this club you might find Jamaica funk, gypsy jazz from Budapest or Al Kooper's blues. When you're roaming about New York, be alert to make your own discoveries - an ethnic cafe, a musty bookstore, a to-die-for shop on Fifth Avenue, a 19th-century chapel. When you return home and encounter an acquaintance who is headed to the Big Apple, you might just find yourself saying, ``Oh! You've got to stop by this little place ... '' IF YOU GO GETTING THERE: Tired of the traffic snarls, interminable lines and security delays at Los Angeles International Airport “LAX” redirects here. For other uses, see LAX (disambiguation). “KLAX” redirects here. For other uses, see KLAX (disambiguation). Los Angeles International Airport (IATA: LAX, ICAO: KLAX, FAA LID: LAX ? Consider flying cut-rate JetBlue out of Long Beach Airport, a little mom-and-pop airfield where the remote parking costs only $6 a day and the ticket lines are a breeze. JetBlue flies into New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport (IATA: JFK, ICAO: KJFK, FAA LID: JFK and has its own small terminal building there, so check-in for your return flight is convenient, too. You'll have to pack lunch or dinner, as JetBlue does not serve meals - but who cares if you can find a round-trip fare under $300, as I did? GETTING AROUND: New York has a flat-rate cab fare from JFK to midtown: $35 (not including bridge or tunnel tolls or tip). In the city, you're on the meter: $2 initial charge, 30 cents per one-fifth mile, 20 cents per minute when stopped or in slow traffic, 50 cents night surcharge. An unsung mode of transportation but perfectly workable is the bus, which is $1.50 (quarters only) for any segment, and has big windows for sightseeing, something the subway can't afford you. With virtually flat terrain and streets conforming to a precise, numbered grid, New York is an ideal city for walking. RESOURCES: The ``Access'' guide to New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. (HarperResource; $19.95) is an indispensable guidebook, breaking Manhattan into 14 neighborhoods and providing exhaustive detail on each. Streetwise street·wise adj. Having the shrewd awareness, experience, and resourcefulness needed for survival in a difficult, often dangerous urban environment. Manhattan is a handy fold-up map ($5.95) - important if you don't want to unfurl a conventional map on the sidewalk and mark yourself unmistakably as a tourist. SIGHTS MENTIONED IN STORY: Bottom Line Cabaret: 15 W. Fourth St. Seats generally priced in the $15 to $25 range for a wide-ranging slate of music acts. Two shows often presented on weekend nights. (212) 228-6300; www.bottomlinecabaret.com. Carnegie Delicatessen: Seventh Avenue at West 55th Street. Comprehensive deli menu, but the sandwiches made of corned beef or pastrami ($11.95) are the showcase items. Save room - a lot of room - for cheesecake ($7.95 with fresh strawberries). No credit cards accepted. (212) 757-2245; www.carnegiedeli.com. Empire State Building: Fifth Avenue at West 34th Street. Observatory is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to midnight (last elevator up at 11:15 p.m.). Admission is $10 adults, $9 teens (ages 12 to 17), $9 seniors (ages 62 and up), $5 children (ages 6 to 11). (212) 736-3100; www.esbnyc.com. Frick Collection: Fifth Avenue at East 70th Street. Open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $12 adults, $8 seniors (ages 62 and up), $5 students. Children under 10 are not permitted. (212) 288-0700; www.frick.org. Gotham Bar and Grill: 12 E. 12th St. Elegant yet comfortable, it offers what chef Alfred Portale calls contemporary American cuisine. Excellent service. Starters in the high $10s, main courses - from striped bass striped bass moronesaxatilis. to squab squab baby or fledgling pigeon. to steak - in the $30s. Noted for its desserts. Reservations required (though it is permissible to eat at the bar on the spur of the moment Adv. 1. on the spur of the moment - on impulse; without premeditation; "he decided to go to Chicago on the spur of the moment"; "he made up his mind suddenly" suddenly ). (212) 620-4020; www.gothambarandgrill.com. Hudson Hotel: 356 W. 58th St. At this time of year, standard rooms are priced at $195 to $260 per night, depending on the days of the booking, but keep an eye out for winter specials (I was able to snag one for $165). Beware of New York's steep tax structure - nearly 15 percent per night. (212) 554-6000; www.ianschragerhotels.com. Metropolitan Museum of Art: Fifth Avenue at either 81st Street or 82nd Street. Admission $12 for adults, $7 for students and seniors. Open 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday through Sunday, 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday. (212) 879-5500; www.metmuseum.org. Tkts booth: 47th Street and Broadway (in Times Square). For 8 p.m. performances Monday through Saturday, open from 3 to 8 p.m. For evening performances on Tuesday, open from 2 p.m. until curtain. For 2 p.m. matinees on Wednesday and Saturday, open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For all shows on Sunday, open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tickets generally half price, plus $3 service charge; cash or traveler's checks only. (Tkts also has a booth in Lower Manhattan at the corner of Front and John streets.) (212) 768-1818; www.tdf.org. - Eric Noland CAPTION(S): 9 photos, box, map Photo: (1 -- color) ENJOY THEATER AT HALF PRICE: Brightly lit advertisements for Broadway blockbusters compete for the attention of visitors in New York's Times Square. (2 -- color) EAT LUNCH AT A CLASSIC DELI: Bring along a hearty appetite for a visit to Carnegie Delicatessen. The sandwiches routinely feature nearly a pound of meat. (3 -- color) Wreckage from the North Tower of the World Trade Center was found in the shape of a cross, left, and it now serves as part of a memorial to the Sept. 11 victims. Although there is no official accomodation of visitors at ground zero, they troop here daily by the hundreds. (4 -- color) RIDE THE STATEN ISLAND FERRY: Passengers on the ferry boats are afforded an unmatched view of the Lower Manhattan skyline. (5 -- color) ASCEND THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING: The view includes the distinctive architecture of the Chrysler Building. (6) The pace is easy on a weekend day in New York City's 843-acre Central Park, especially for those who opt for an unhurried carriage ride. (7 -- 8) Explore the knight life at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where there's a display of medieval armor, right. While you're there, visit ancient Egypt with a look at the gateway to the Temple at Dendur, above. (9) no caption (Statue of Liberty) Eric Noland/Travel Editor Box: IF YOU GO (see text) Map: New York Gregg Miller/Staff Artist |
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