New York City
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New York City, also known as The Big Apple, is the biggest city in the United States.
Contents |
Meetings
Thursdays have been the weekly meeting day but there is always something going on. As of October 2009 the Thursday meetings are taking place at a bar called Revival (129 E 15th St, New York, NY 10003). Bastien, a NYC ambassador, has done a great job of securing space and drink specials specifically for couchsurfers. Attendance varies based on the season but as of late there has usually been 75+ surfers and hosts there.
There are also regular meetups in Brooklyn, Queens and New Jersey.
The Google Calendar for NYC is a great way to keep informed of upcoming events in the greater NYC area.
The New York City Group is also an excellent way to keep up to date. You should definitely join before visiting.
Tips
See the New York City Wikitravel page for detailed advice about transportation and attractions.
New York City isn't just Manhattan. It's worth at least a visit to each of the outer boroughs to provide yourself with a well rounded experience. New York City is comprised of Manhattan (New York County), The Bronx (Bronx County), Queens (Queens County), Brooklyn (Kings County), and Staten Island (Richmond County).
Some highly recommended places outside Manhattan include: Astoria, Queens (N,W from Broadway to Ditmars Bvld or R,V to Steinway) located directly across the East river from Manhattan. Houses a plethora of great ethnic restaurants from Eastern European and Greek to South American and Asian cuisine. Population is very diverse and mostly young; Jackson Heights, Queens (Roosevelt Ave stop on the E,F,R,V or anywhere on the 7 between about 74 and 90) is an incredible multicultural neighborhood primarily populated by various latino groups (bring your Spanish phrasebook!) and make sure to stop by the Little India; Williamsburg, Brooklyn (L to Bedford Ave.) is the up-and-come hipster neighborhood filled with many cute shops, restaurants, bars and clubs; Coney Island (D,N,F,Q to Coney Is.) is not to be missed almost any time of year if you can stomach the long subway trip. This is such a tiny offering of the hundreds of fascinating and diverse neighborhoods to explore.
When in Manhattan, JUST WALK! You can walk for hours and hours, and almost every street is fascinating. See how places change character over a matter of blocks, how different people live next to one another, etc. This is one of the best cities for just getting lost (although that's a bit difficult given the grid).
Being the big city that it is, New York City is home to many of the world's finest art museums featuring many well-known and famous paintings. Naturally (and unfortunately), you will have to pay for admission to these museums. Of course, these admissions benefit the museums and help them preserve their collections, but there is a once-weekly exception to this. On Fridays from 4:00 to 8:00 PM, one can gain free admission into the Museum of Modern Art (also known by its abbreviation, MoMA, and is commonly referred to as that) through their Target Free Friday Nights (which is sponsored by the American department store chain called Target). Outside of the museum before 4:00, a series of dividers are placed to the side of the museum to create a place for people to stand online while they wait to enter for free. Despite the 4 hour time range, one should arrive at least 45 minutes beforehand (3:15) because the line does becomes very long and full of people interested in free tickets. Tickets are given out first-come first-serve, so be sure to arrive early. Yes, the museum will be much more crowded than normally, but this is a great way to see some of the world's finest collections of modern art yet have money for dinner later on that night as well.
In Manhattan you can do some great dumpster diving. One spot for that is at the Food Emporium of 83rd Street and 3rd Avenue close to one of NYC's most active hosts, Slawek. You might be able to organize a big feast there. But be careful: dumpster diving was criminalized under the so-called quality of life initiatives.
Finding a Couch
Very important for New York City visiting CouchSurfers - you often want to ask early and be prepared to move around a bit while you are staying in the city. New York hosts are busy and often live in cramped quarters.
Also when doing a search, be prepared to look in Brooklyn (city), New York (state/province), or to search at least a 5 mile radius around the city, as saying New York, New York will only give you Manhattan and not bring up Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, Staten Island - all boroughs of New York City! If you want to have a great view of Manhattan itself while visiting, look for couches in Brooklyn & Queens (which will include the 'cities' of Astoria, Woodside, Kew Gardens, Long Island City, Sunnyside, Flushing, Elmhurst, & others).
Also, keep in mind that New Jersey is just over the river. Hoboken, Jersey City, Weehawken, Fort Lee, are closer to Manhattan than some parts of Brooklyn & Queens, and provide 24 hour access to the city (check hosts profile to see if they say that they live near a 24 hour bus or the PATH train - http://www.panynj.gov/path/).
If you're having a hard time finding a host in the greater New York area, try these sample CouchSearches:
Astoria, NY (Queens): http://www.couchsurfing.org/mapsurf.html?sid=ce070faee7a9bc8113c271a3e948bec4
New York, NY (Manhattan): http://www.couchsurfing.org/mapsurf.html?sid=e0600d77504af4e2ffb2057ed4e87715
Bronx, NY: http://www.couchsurfing.org/mapsurf.html?sid=e22a172bf7176574c6ffeb7c9750c14c
Brooklyn, NY: http://www.couchsurfing.org/mapsurf.html?sid=b8490a0961d0041d12bd4dfb9305ace9
Elmhurst, NY (Queens): http://www.couchsurfing.org/mapsurf.html?sid=6f01ac60f26be4b8a907b140941c3d9c
Flushing, NY (Queens): http://www.couchsurfing.org/mapsurf.html?sid=bcc81932d1e70d94ef34ff271ced3416
Hoboken, NJ: http://www.couchsurfing.org/mapsurf.html?sid=3d59f76f801a3175e098d57cb35dad93
Jackson Heights, NY (Queens): http://www.couchsurfing.org/mapsurf.html?sid=978347451fec21ce0826b90c1e16123e
Jersey City, NJ: http://www.couchsurfing.org/mapsurf.html?sid=c9fceaab77ff5e939afd9b3aee72f34a
Long Island City, NY (Queens): http://www.couchsurfing.org/mapsurf.html?sid=420fb18e854b0162a2ccc3fef1e5040b
Newark, NJ: http://www.couchsurfing.org/mapsurf.html?sid=aada8546abb86d98192315894ba48a93
Ridgewood, NY (Queens): http://www.couchsurfing.org/mapsurf.html?sid=ffb01fd91fcd92e6159e1d649f9a01b9
Staten Island, NY: http://www.couchsurfing.org/mapsurf.html?sid=1edfc7814d6a822577d58b52b6d3b2f0
Sunnyside, NY (Queens): http://www.couchsurfing.org/mapsurf.html?sid=e8f38eeaa65baff4a3298bd25bf508d4
Weehawken, NY: http://www.couchsurfing.org/mapsurf.html?sid=a8c7eaf4d6fc17158afe3c9545899fa4
White Plains, NY: http://www.couchsurfing.org/mapsurf.html?sid=aff241264d29bfa7263b763d1146d11f
Yonkers, NY: http://www.couchsurfing.org/mapsurf.html?sid=c25560181a137df7756ccc3b13e37613
All of these locations are within or reasonably close to New York City with convenient public transportation options. You can check the location on the search page map. A search for "New York" will concentrate on Manhattan, eliminating from your results thousands of potential hosts, but you can reach Manhattan easily from all of these locations.
Insider info on the different NYC boroughs to help you find a host
The various public transportation systems allow easy, relatively cheap movement around the NYC metro area. Pretty much everything within a 15-20 mile radius allows easy access to Manhattan. You can go as far as 100 miles out but fares and transit time increase. Maps are available online: NY Transit - http://www.mta.info (NYC subway and bus). MetroNorth (commuter rail to the north), New Jersey Transit - http://njtransit.com (commuter rail and bus), PATH - http://www.panynj.gov/path/ (subway to NJ). LIRR (commuter rail to the east), and Long Island Bus (buses to east).
So the technique is, basically, display a map, center it on Central Park and zoom in and out to find individual cities, boroughs and neighborhoods that are not Manhattan. Then CouchSearch each specific place for likely hosts. You can use the "within x miles of" feature but be aware that it unpredictably omits many towns in the specified radius. Doing a radius search from two adjacent towns could turn up a completely disjoint set of nearby ones. The only way to be sure of finding every host is to separately search every individual town, borough, and neighborhood name in the area -- impractical as that is for anyone with a life.
Searches are most useful when they don't max out the 300 hit limit. Once you reach that, you have no idea of which profiles you're NOT seeing within your parameters.
City names for the parts of NYC are not all intuitive. The legal NYC is composed of 5 boroughs with varying naming conventions: 1) A postal city of "New York" always means Manhattan. 2) A postal city of Staten Island always refers to that island (also known as Richmond County). 3) A postal city of "Bronx" always means the mainland portion of NYC north and east of Manhattan. 4) A postal city of Brooklyn always refers to the legendary borough, also known as Kings County, at the SW tip of Long Island, SE of Manhattan. 5) The fifth borough is the tough one. Queens residents may refer to living "in Queens" but there is no postal city by that name. Instead, through historical petrification, Queens is postally 5 separate towns. Worse yet, many postal codes in Queens have more than one allowable town name, so Queens residents have a lot of latitude as to what they put down as their town of residence. To search Queens exhaustively, you have to search each possible town name in the borough. Here's a list: http://www.queensbp.org/content_web/cultural_affairs/neighborhoods.shtml and a map: http://www.johnnyroadtrip.com/cities/newyork/maps/map_queens.htm
On top of all that, NYC is heavily neighborhood-oriented. Some people name their town as Park Slope, e.g., instead of the official Brooklyn. Even in Queens, postal names and neighborhood names are related but do not reliably correspond to each other. For anyone except Queens residents, the Queens naming scheme is a mess. And you have to deal with it!
Midtown Manhattan is closer to many places outside of official New York City than to many neighborhoods within it, so there's no reason to limit your search to NYC proper. I had a childhood friend from outer Queens who left his house to go to Manhattan years ago and still hasn't arrived. Adjacent non-NYC areas are northeastern New Jersey (northwest and southwest of Manhattan), southern Westchester County (north of the Bronx), and western Nassau County (east of Queens).
This is enough information to locate hosts in the metro area. Other things being equal, the likelihood of success is much higher outside of Manhattan than in it. No matter where a traveler searches for a host, the task is to convey a sense of "here's why you really want to host me!"
-John Gunther
Transportation
See the New York City Wikitravel page for detailed advice about transportation and attractions.
By Plane
There are three major Airports in the NYC area. JFK and Laguardia are both Located in Queens. Newark is located in New Jersey but provides for easy access to the city.
JFK
The AirTrain costs $5 and runs from JFK and connects to the following subway/train stops • LIRR trains and E/J/Z subways at Jamaica Station • The "A" subway line at Howard Beach Station From these subways and trains most of the 5 Burroughs and outlying areas can be reached rather easily. Cab rides to Manhattan are a flat fee of $45. If you're looking to cab in don't be afraid to ask people where they're going and see if they're willing to split a cab with you. Various Express buses are also running and range from 15 - 25 dollars for a trip to Manhattan.
Safety notice: Don't accept a ride from people inside or near the airport exit offering a taxi service as those drivers are unlicensed. Best case you will share the ride with strangers while paying the same rates as your own cab. Worst case...well, just don't use an unlicensed taxi service!
Left Luggage is available at JFK if you will only be in for a short while. http://www.panynj.gov/CommutingTravel/airports/html/ken_luggage.html
Laguardia
Various buses run between Laguardia and the 5 Burroughs. The two most popular buses are the M60 and the Q33. The M60 will take you into Manhattan and makes a stop near the 4, 5 and 6 subway line as well as the 125th Street LIRR station. The Q33 drops you off in Jackson Heights near different subway stations depending on where you need to get off. Don't hesitate to ask the driver where to get off for your particular subway line if you're unsure. Cab rides to Manhattan and other areas are metered. During non rush hours the typical cab ride into Manhattan will be at least $30. If you're looking to cab in don't be afraid to ask people where they're going and see if they're willing to split a cab with you.
Safety notice: Don't accept a ride from people inside or near the airport exit offering a taxi service as those drivers are unlicensed. Best case you will share the ride with strangers while paying the same rates as your own cab.
Newark
New Jersey Transit runs their airtrain service from Newark to New York Penn Station for around $15. This is usually the fastest method. See http://www.njtransit.com for more information. Cab rides to Manhattan and other areas are metered. During non rush hours the typical cab ride into Manhattan will be at least $50. If you're looking to cab in don't be afraid to ask people where they're going and see if they're willing to split a cab with you. The cheapest way is to take the New Jersey Transit #62 bus ($1.25) in front of the terminals to Newark Penn Station (20min), and then the Path train ($1.75) to lower Manhattan (25 min). They are both very frequent during the day.
Safety notice: Don't accept a ride from people inside or near the airport exit offering a taxi service as those drivers are unlicensed. Best case is that you will share the ride with strangers while paying the same rates as your own cab.
By Bus
There are many buses that connect New York with other major cities in the Northeast, which are often significantly cheaper and more convenient that Greyhound or even Amtrak. These are the Chinatown buses and will typically run from Chinatown to Chinatown. Often they pick up and drop off on the side of the street, so it is important to know where they are. There are many companies that operate between the major cities, usually running every half hour every day. The following are a few of the many companies:
New Century Travel
http://www.2000coach.com/
Operates between NYC and Philly ($20 RT), Washington ($35 RT) and Richmond ($60 RT)
Fung Wah Bus
https://www.fungwahbus.com/Default.aspx
Operates Between NYC and Boston ($30 RT)
Apex Bus
http://www.apexbus.com/
Operates between NYC and Philly ($20 RT), Washington ($35 RT), Richmond ($60 RT), Baltimore ($35 RT), Rockville, MD ($45 RT), Norfolk ($60 RT), Albany ($45 RT), Atlanta ($200 RT), Nashville ($70 RT)
Bolt Bus
http://www.boltbus.com/
Operates between NYC and Boston ($16-20 OW), Philly ($13-$15 OW), Baltimore ($18-$20 OW), Washington ($18-$25 OW). However, if you book far enough in advance you can get a ticket for as little as $1 OW. They also offer wifi on board and power outlets.
The best way to find other companies is to google "Chinatown bus New York 'city'"
By Car
Goethals Bridge Runs into Staten Island Holland Tunnel runs into Manhattan Lincoln Tunnel runs into Manhattan George Washington Bridge runs into Manhattan Current toll rates can be found at: http://www.panynj.gov/CommutingTravel/tunnels/html/tolls.html
By Foot or bicycle
The George Washington Bridge lets you walk or ride a bike across it when coming from the mainland (New Jersey). It offers quite a stunning view of the Hudson river and NYC skyline.
Luggage Storage
There are no luggage lockers in New York train stations. The lockers below have been posted to the NYC CS group.
Schwartz Travel Services 212-290-2626 355 W 36th St. Between 8th & 9th Ave. 2F NY NY 10018 Open: 8:30am - 8pm & 43 W 46th St. Between 5th & 6th Ave. 6F NY NY 10036. Open: 8am - 11pm Storage Price: approximately $8 to $10 (depending on size). per 24 hours. Monthly Rate: $3 to $5 a day, per luggage, box or locker.
Mass transit once in the city
New York City has arguably the best developed and easiest public transportation system out of all major cities in the United States ( http://www.mta.info). It is easily navigable, runs 24/7 and fairly safe. It is an aged system, though and the subway stations can be smelly and unbearably hot in the summer and there is a lot of rodentcide applied on a regular basis. But the subway cars are generally clean, climate-controlled and well-maintained. Also, note that you are also subject to random "bag checks" by the police at all times (but I've only seen a couple of instances of this in the last few years). As a traveler without a car or bicycle you will heavily rely on NYC's public transportation system and you could wind up taking at least half a dozen rides in the subway/bus on any given day. At $2.25 a ride that can become an expensive proposition. Thus, your best bet is to buy an "Unlimited" Metrocard that provides unlimited rides within the subway and bus system of NYC (all 5 boroughs) for either 1 day ($8.25), 7 days ($27), 14 days ($51.50) or 30 days ($89) including free bus transfers). In one of the most expensive cities in the world, the Unlimited ride option is one of the most cost-efficient purchases you can make. The metro cards are available 24/7 at the vending machines in any subway station. The regular option for a metro card will give you a 15% bonus for a purchase of $8 or more (e.g. $10 gets you $11.50). The system gives you a free bus transfer good for two hours following your entry into the system. So, you could take the subway uptown and then hope on a bus back back downtown for $2.25 provided you get on the bus within 2 hours of entering the subway station. Again, if you're going to spend a lot of time in the city and/or will be making a lot of trips, then you should favor the unlimited ride metrocard over regular metrocard option.
Bicycling within the city
New York city has become more bike friendly over the last couple of years with the establishment of bike lanes on various streets and avenues in the City. So, if you have a bike, ask your host if there is a safe place to store it.
NYC bike trails
http://www.nycbikemaps.com
Guides
HeyLetsGo New York- Lists fun events in New York.
[1] A free guide in which you can add and edit as well. If registered you can create a pdf of the guide via the build a guidebook function.
Summer Events
Internet Access
The NY Public Library, Times Square Information Center and Apple Stores have computers with free internet access and wifi.
Many of the parks have free wifi, including several downtown, Madison Square Park, Union Square, and Bryant Park.
