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 | City Guide / Heading 2

They don’t come any bigger than

the Big Apple.
King of the hill, top of the heap, New York, New York.
It’s got its fair share of the tired, the poor, and the huddled
masses, but it also has world-class museums, big statues,

New York City Guide

even bigger buildings, outrageous excess, and a whole lot of
whooo-wheee! New York is a densely packed mass of humanity
and all this living on top of one another makes the New Yorker
a special kind of person. It’s hard to put a finger on what makes
the place buzz so hard, but the city’s hyperactive rush keeps
drawing more and more people to it.

Washington
Heights
HARLEM

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Riv
Morningside

n
Heights

dso
Hu
CENTRAL
PARK

UPPER
WEST SIDE

UPPER
EAST SIDE

Times
MIDTOWN Square
WEST MIDTOWN
EAST
CHELSEA Long Island
City
MEATPACKING
DISTRICT Union
Square UNION SQUARE,
GREENWICH & FLATIRON DISTRICT &
WEST VILLAGE EAST GRAMERCY PARK
VILLAGE Greenpoint
SOHO, NOHO
& NOLITA LOWER East
EAST SIDE Williamsburg
Tribeca
LOWER Williamsburg
MANHATTAN
Dumbo
Brooklyn CHINATOWN &
Heights LITTLE ITALY
Downtown Bedford-
Brooklyn Stuyvesant
Cobble
Hill Boerum Prospect
Hill
Heights
BROOKLYN
Gowanus Park Eastern
Slope Parkway

Upper New Greenwood Prospect

York Bay Heights Lefferts
Gardens

Prospect Flatbush
Park
South

0 4 km
0 2 miles
2 | New York City Guide / Facts For The Visitor
“New York, you are an Egypt!
But an Egypt turned inside out.
For she erected pyramids of
Facts & Figures slavery to death, and you erect
Population: 8,000,000

Latitude: 40°41’N
pyramids of democracy with
Longitude: 73°59’W
the vertical organpipes of your
Area: 785 sq km
skyscrapers all meeting at the
Timezone: GMT/UTC -5
point of infinity of liberty.”
Breakout box
Daylight Savings
Salvador Dali

Starts: first Sunday in April

Ends: last Sunday in October

Weights & Measures: Imperial

Electricity: 110V, 60Hz

Area codes
Manhattan 212 or 646. 718 Brooklyn, the
Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island. Note that
you have to dial a 1 before dialling the area
code followed by the local number.

Carry-on Baggage Restrictions

Restrictions on airline carry-on baggage
are in place throughout the US. For details
check the Transport Security Administration
website. Warning level: Mid-level alert View of East River and Manhattan Bridge

Orientation mass. Manhattan and Staten Island stand

Most of Manhattan is extremely easy to navigate,
thanks to a grid system of named or numbered
avenues running the north-south length of the
island, cut across by numbered streets that run
from east to west. Above Washington Square,
Fifth Ave and Central Park serve as the dividing
line between the East Side and the West Side.
Cross-street numbers begin at Fifth Ave and
grow higher toward each river, generally (but not
exclusively) in 100-digit increments per block.
Broadway, the only avenue to cut diagonally
across the island, was originally a woodland
path; it runs in some form from the southern tip
of the island all the way to the state capital of
Albany, 240km (150mi) away.
Craning your neck amongst the skyscrapers
of Manhattan, it’s easy to forget that islands
make up most of New York City’s land
alone; Queens and Brooklyn comprise the
western end of Long Island. Only the Bronx
is connected to the continental mainland.
The water gap between Brooklyn and Staten
Island - the ‘narrows’ through which the first
Europeans entered the area - serves as the
entrance to New York Harbor, which is also
accessible to ships from the north via Long
Island Sound. Manhattan is bordered on the
west by the Hudson River and on the east
by the East River, both technically estuaries
subject to tidal fluctuations.
Society
People: Caucasion (45%), African-American
(26%), Latino (28%), Asian (11%).
Languages spoken: English (official)
While English is the official language, you’ll hear all
sorts of words and phrases from different countries
of the world while you’re in New York. Expect to
encounter scatterings of Yiddish, Polish, Hebrew,
Korean, Spanish...and many more. Even if you’re
from an English-speaking country it can still be
confusing. Houston St, for example, is pronounced
‘How-ston’ not ‘Hew-ston’.
Religion: Christian (70%), no religion (14%),
Judaic (12%), other (4%)
Money
Currency code: USD
Currency name: US Dollar
Currency symbol: US$
Currency unit: Dollar
Sample prices
> Cup of coffee US$1.50
> Hot dog US$1.75
> Movie ticket US$10.50
> Taxi ride from Midtown
to the Upper West Side US$12
> Small bottle of water US$1.50
> Souvenir t-shirt US$10
> Yankees Bleachers ticket US$12
> Pair of AG jeans US$160
> Protein shake from a juice bar US$4.50
> Subway ride US$2
Relative Costs (rooms)
> Low US$30-120
> Mid US$120-299
> High US$300-500
> Deluxe US$500+
3 | New York City Guide / Facts For The Visitor
The Museum of Modern Art
Relative Costs (meals)
> Low US$5-10
> Mid US$10-20
> High US$20-35
> Deluxe US$35+
Tipping
Tipping is expected in restaurants, bars and
better hotels, taxis, and by hairdressers and
baggage carriers. In restaurants, wait staff are
paid less than the minimum wage and rely upon
tips to make a living. Tip at least 15% unless the
service is terrible, in which case a light tip will
get your point across. Most New Yorkers either
tip a straight up 20%, or just double the 8.25%
sales tax. At bars, bartenders typically expect a
US$1 tip for every drink they serve (at preferred
drinking spots, the old rule of fourth round free
stands and decent tips help perpetuate that
tradition). Never tip in fast-food, take-out or
buffet-style restaurants where you serve yourself.
Taxi drivers expect 10% and hairdressers
15% if their service is satisfactory. Baggage
carriers (skycaps in airports, bellhops in hotels)
receive US$1 for the first bag and US$0.50 for
each additional bag. In 1st class and luxury
hotels, tipping can reach ludicrous proportions
- doormen, bellboys and parking attendants
all expect to be tipped at least US$1 for each
service performed - including simply opening a
taxi door for you. (Business travellers should tip
the cleaning staff US$5 a day.)
Before You Go
When to go
If it’s first-class international events and gallery
openings you’re after, the question is when not
to go. Despite the fantastic atmosphere around
Christmas/Hanukkah and the New Year, the
weather can be gaspingly chilly. In summer the
prices rise and the tourist numbers soar. It can
also be oppressively hot. Aim for spring (March-
June) and fall (September-November).
Visas overview
Canadians need proof of Canadian citizenship
or a passport to enter the USA. All other visitors
must have a valid passport, which should be
valid for at least six months longer than their
intended stay in the USA.
Travellers from countries such as Andorra,
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France,
Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands,
New Zealand, Spain, Switzerland and the United
Kingdom can enter the USA for up to 90 days
under a visa-waiver program if they have a
round-trip ticket that is nonrefundable in the US,
and have a passport valid for at least six months
past their scheduled departure date. All other
travellers will need a visitor’s visa. Visas can be
obtained at most US consulate offices overseas;
however, it is generally easier to obtain a visa
from an office in your home country.
The USA is regularly adjusting entry
requirements in an effort to reduce the threat of
terrorism. It is imperative that travellers double-
and triple-check current regulations before
coming to the USA, as changes will occur for
several years. A procedure introduced in 2004
requires most visitors travelling on visas to the
United States to have two fingerprints scanned
by an inkless device and a digital photograph
taken by immigration officials upon entry at US
air and seaports.
Under new regulations phased after 2005,
travellers from VWP-eligible countries need to
present a biometric passport or US visa. You
don’t need a visa if: your passport was issued
before October 26, 2005, but is ‘machine
readable’; if it was issued on or after October
26, 2005, and includes a digital photo as well as
being machine readable; or if it was issued on
or after October 26, 2006, and contains a digital
photo and ‘biometric data,’ such as digital
iris scans and fingerprints. Further details and
information on the changes to the visa system
can be found at www.travel.state.gov/visa.
Activities
Do
Traffic and its fumes are a serious disincentive
to exercise-minded New Yorkers. So are bagels
and cream cheese. Most New Yorkers are not
fitness freaks, and yet there seems to be a gym
on every corner.
Gym
The massive gym at Chelsea Piers has a thousand
ways to make you sweat. Choose - if you can
- from bowling, skating, horseback-riding, indoor
wall-climbing and swinging a golf club.
Jogging
Central Park’s 10km (6mi) roadway loops around
the park and is closed to cars between 10:00
and 15:00 weekdays and all weekend. The
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir has a
soft 2.5km (1.5mi) running track.
Fishing
You can actually fish on the piers overlooking the
Hudson River, but the river’s history of chemical
contamination makes eating the fish an unlikely
proposition. Instead, head to City Island in
the Bronx.
Cycling
The only places for good-karma cycling in the
city are the pastoral paths of Central or Prospect
Park or along the Hudson River.
Skating
Central Park is the place to try out your Xanadu
skating impressions. Head to the mall that runs
east of Sheep Meadow or, on weekends, skate
on Central Park Dr, which is off-limits to cars.
Transport
Getting there and away
Served by three major airports, two train
terminals and a massive bus depot, New York
City is the most important transportation hub in
the northeastern USA. Of the airports, Newark or
La Guardia are more convenient to the city than
JFK. Getting into the city by car is easy enough
until you hit the tunnels and bridges, which are
often clogged to bursting point.
Getting around
Don’t be afraid of the subway: it’s pretty safe
these days and is still the speediest way of
taking on Manhattan, although the buses are
also efficient. They do take much longer than
trains but sometimes you need to take one if
want to get crosstown. If you’re going to be
taking several trains during the day or week,
it’s best to buy a Metrocard so you’re not
scrambling to buy a ticket when the train pulls in.
Don’t be afraid of the taxi drivers either: the
majority of them are fine, and if you do have
a problem it can almost always be solved by
taking the license number - most cabbies fear
being reported. Do be afraid of negotiating New
York traffic; it’s a nightmare, and rentals and
petrol are pricey. If it’s a scenic journey you’re
after, a ferry is your best bet.
Health & Safety
Many, many out-of-towners still expect to visit
here and find the New York of the 70s - all graffiti-
stained subway cars and menacing muggers - but
ex-mayor Giuliani’s radical cleanup of the city has
had startling effects. The murder rate has come
down 69% since the early 90s.
Times Square and the famous 42nd Street
thoroughfare continues to evolve into a brightly-
lit, family-friendly circus. Even the least savvy,
most wide-eyed tourists ride the subways at
night, encouraged by primped signage and
immaculate new subway cars, and it’s nearly
4 | New York City Guide / Events
impossible to find a Manhattan neighbourhood
that’s off-limits after dark these days.
That said, New York is still a big city, and one
in which the gulf between have and have-not
yawns ever wider. Sensible precautions against
pickpockets and scammers still apply, and it’s
wiser not to roam around at night until you have
a feel for the area.
Events
Hardly a week goes by without a special event
taking place in New York. In fact, there are some
50 officially recognised parades each year, along
with more than 400 street fairs. Times Square’s
New Year’s Eve festivities are probably the most
famous in the world; less popular is the 5 mile
(8km) midnight run in Central Park. On 5 January,
thousands of children wander up Fifth Ave, in a
cavalcade of sheep, camels and donkeys, for the
Three Kings Parade. The St Patrick’s Day Parade
down Fifth Ave on 17 March has been held every
year for 200 years.
In May, the Tribeca Film Festival, co-organised
by Robert DeNiro, kicks off, while in mid-June
head for Fifth Ave between 44th and 86th Sts
for the salsa sounds of the Puerto Rican Day
Parade. The JVC Jazz Festival is also held in
June, as is the Mermaid Parade, for which some
of the city’s most glamorous residents transform
Busking in Central Park
the Coney Island boardwalk into a sea of sequins
on the last weekend of the month.
On 4 July, Macy’s sponsors an Independence
Day fireworks spectacle on the East River. The city’s
premier black neighbourhood celebrates Harlem
Week in August, and on Labor Day over one million
people take part in the West Indian American Day
Carnival Parade in Brooklyn, the biggest single
event for the year. The New York Film Festival also
takes place in September. Don’t miss the Halloween
Parade on October 31, when the kooks take over
Sixth Ave in the West Village. Back in the straight
world, Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade in November
is always popular, and for more festive cheer don’t
miss the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting
on the following Tuesday.
> New Year’s Day (official holiday) 1 Jan
> New Year’s Day (official holiday) 1 Jan
> Three Kings Parade (festival/event) 5 Jan
> Martin Luther King Jr Day (official holiday)
third Monday in January
> Super Bowl (festival/event) late Jan
> Mardi Gras (festival/event) Feb/Mar
> Presidents’ Day (official holiday) third
Monday in February
> St Patrick’s Day Parade (festival/event)
17 Mar
> Easter (official holiday) Mar/Apr
> Kentucky Derby (festival/event) May
> Tribeca Film Festival (festival/event)
first week in May
> Memorial Day (official holiday) last Monday
in May
> JVC Jazz Festival (festival/event) Jun
> Puerto Rican Day Parade (festival/event)
second weekend in Jun
> Mermaid Parade (festival/event) last Sat in
June
> Independence Day (official holiday) 4 Jul
> Harlem Week (festival/event) Aug
> New York Film Festival (festival/event) Sep
> Labor Day (official holiday) first Monday in
September
> West Indian American Day Carnival Parade
(festival/event) first Monday in September
> Columbus Day (official holiday) second
Monday in October
> Halloween (festival/event) 31 Oct
> Veterans’ Day (official holiday) 11 Nov
> Thanksgiving Day (official holiday) fourth
Thursday in November
> Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting
(festival/event) Dec
> Christmas Day (official holiday) 25 Dec
> New Year’s Eve (festival/event) 31 Dec
Weather
Generally the nicest and most temperate time to
visit New York is from mid-September to mid-
November, along with all of May and early June.
Unfortunately, as these months are popular with
tourists, hotel prices are scaled accordingly.
Long periods of wet weather are common in
November and April, with freezing rain and often
snow from December to February. In summer,
humidity reigns supreme to make a unique,
quintessentially New York kind of soupy heat
that drives everyone to despair. This is perhaps
the time to explore further afield and leave the
city to its temper.
History
History pre-20th century
The area now known as New York City had been
occupied by Native Americans for more than
11,000 years before Giovanni da Verrazano, a
Florentine hired by the French to explore the
northeastern coast, arrived at New York Bay
in 1524. The area lay unmolested until English
explorer Henry Hudson stumbled on it while
searching for the Northwest Passage in 1609. ‘It
is as beautiful a land as one can hope to tread
upon,’ reported Hudson, who claimed the place
for the Dutch East India Company.
By 1625, the Dutch settlers had established a
fur trade with the natives and were augmented
by a group that established a post they
eventually called New Amsterdam, the seat of
a much larger colony called New Netherland.
Advertisements in Europe lured settlers to New
Amsterdam with promises of a temperate climate
and bountiful land, but the harsh winters claimed
many lives. Historians agree that Peter Minuit,
the director of the Dutch West India Company,
purchased the island from local tribes for goods
worth a pittance. But the goods were worth a
bit more than the US$24.00 commonly recorded
- probably closer to US$600.00 (still a bargain).
After some to-ing and fro-ing between Britain
and the Netherlands, New Amsterdam became
the British colony of New York in the 1670s.
Though colonists began cultivating farms in
New Jersey and on Long Island, the port town
remained geographically tiny - the area that
today runs from Wall St south to the tip of
Manhattan. Anti-British zeal caught on as early
as the 1730s. Thirty years later, New York’s
Commons - where City Hall stands today - was
the centre of many anti-British protests. Despite
the intensity of New Yorkers’ sentiments, King
George III’s troops controlled New York for most
of the war, finally withdrawing in 1783, a full two
years after the fighting stopped.
By the time George Washington was sworn in
as president of the new republic on the balcony
of Federal Hall on Wall St in 1789, New York was
a bustling seaport of 33,000 people, but it lagged
behind Philadelphia as a cultural capital. The new
Congress abandoned the city for the District of
Columbia the following year - Thomas Jefferson
later remarked that New York was a ‘cloacina
5 | New York City Guide / History
(sewer) of all the depravities of human nature.’
New York boomed in the early 19th century.
Its population swelled from 65,000 in 1800
to 250,000 in 1820. During the Civil War, the
city provided many volunteers for the Union
cause. But as the war dragged on, many of
the city’s poorest citizens turned against the
effort, especially after mandatory conscription
was introduced. In the summer of 1863, Irish
immigrants launched the ‘draft riots’ protesting
the provision that allowed wealthy men to pay
US$300.00 in order to avoid fighting. Within days
the rioters turned their anger on black citizens,
as they were considered the real reason for the
war and their main competition for work. At le
ast 11 men were lynched in the streets and a
black orphans’ home was burned to the ground.
The remainder of the century in New York
was a boom time for the city’s population,
which grew thanks to European immigration,
and for businessmen, who took advantage
of lax oversight of industry and stock trading
during the so-called ‘Gilded Age’. These men
built grand mansions along ‘millionaires row’ on
lower Fifth Ave. Along Broadway from City Hall
The Flatiron building
to Union Square, multi-storey buildings - the first
‘skyscrapers’ - were built to house corporate
headquarters.
As the city’s population more than doubled
from 500,000 in 1850 to over 1.1 million in 1880,
a tenement culture developed. The burgeoning of
New York’s population beyond the city limits led
to the consolidation movement, as the city and
its neighbouring districts struggled to service the
growing numbers. Residents of the independent
districts of Queens, Staten Island, the Bronx and
financially-strapped Brooklyn voted to become
‘boroughs’ of New York City in 1898.
Modern History
Between 1900 and 1930 the new metropolis
absorbed a huge wave of European immigrants
who arrived at New York’s Ellis Island and its
population exploded, from just over 3 million in
1900 to 7 million in 1930. During this period, horse-
drawn trolleys disappeared as a major network of
underground subways and elevated trains (‘Els’)
expanded into the city’s outer reaches.
As the immigrant population gathered
political strength, demands for change became
overwhelming and during the Depression a
crusader named Fiorello La Guardia (previously
an Ellis Island interpreter) was elected mayor. In
three terms in office the popular ‘Little Flower’
fought municipal corruption and expanded the
social service network. Meanwhile civic planner
Robert Moses used a series of appointed
positions to remake the city’s landscape
through public works projects, highways and
big events like the World’s Fairs of 1939 and
1964. Unfortunately, his projects (which include
the Triborough Bridge, Lincoln Center, several
highways and massive housing projects) often
destroyed entire neighbourhoods and rousted
huge numbers of residents.
New York emerged from WWII proud and
ready for business. As one of the few world-
class cities untouched by war, New York seemed
the place to be. But prosperity wasn’t limited to
the city. In the 1950s, highways made access to
the suburbs easy and hundreds of thousands
of New Yorkers moved away permanently. It
wasn’t just an understandable desire for upward
mobility that drew them away: many white
residents left neighbourhoods they felt had ‘gone
bad’, which was a racist way of saying that
“Between 1900 and 1930 the
new metropolis absorbed a huge
wave of European immigrants
who arrived at New York’s Ellis
Island and its population exploded,
from just over 3 million in 1900 to
7 million in 1930.”
African Americans and Puerto Ricans had taken
their rightful place there too.
While the politicos dithered and played to
various entrenched constituencies, the city
began to slide. TV production, manufacturing
jobs and even the fabled Brooklyn Dodgers
baseball team moved to the West Coast, along
with the Dodgers’ cross-town rivals the New
York Giants. Like most of the US, New York
looked to the West for cultural direction, and
eventually corporations began abandoning the
city as innovation in communications technology
made it possible to do business anywhere.
The city’s economic slide led to the threat of
bankruptcy in the 1970s, which was staved off
only by massive infusions of federal cash.
During the anything-goes Reagan years, the
city regained much of its swagger as billions
were made on Wall St. Ed Koch, the colourful
three-term mayor, seemed to embody the
New Yorker’s ability to charm and irritate at the
same time. But in 1989 Koch was defeated in a
Democratic primary election by David Dinkins,
who became the city’s first African American
mayor. Dinkins, a career Democratic-machine
politician, was rightly criticised for merely
presiding over a city government in need of
reform, though his moves to put more police
on the streets helped curb crime. He was
narrowly defeated for a second term in 1993 by
moderate Republican Rudolph Giuliani. Thanks
to a big drop in crime and the weakness of his
Democratic opponents, Giuliani triumphed in
the 1997 mayoral election. The tech bubble
usually associated with Silicon Valley in northern
California also took root here (NYC even had
its own ‘Silicon Alley’) - well at least for several
years - and it seemed like every other downtown
twentysomething was launching some obscure
internet venture in the hopes of being bought
out in a few months and retiring. For the first
Our
author’s
top day out
in NYC
GINGER ADAMS OTIS
There’s nothing like greeting the day with an early
morning stroll through Central Park, taking in the
birds, the breezes, the Type A personalities working
out their stresses with fist-pumping jogs and the laid-
back yoga practitioners zoning out in the grass.
When the hunger pangs set in, I’ll head to my favorite
(sort of) healthy breakfast joint, Soda Shop in Lower
Manhattan. Since I’m downtown, my next stop will be
Brooklyn, which means another relaxed jaunt on foot
across the Brooklyn Bridge to Dumbo.
It’s easy to wander aimlessly in Dumbo, watching
the sleepy art colony come to life, as shop owners
and artists open their galleries and stores in no
particular hurry.
Of course I have to swing by Jacques Torres
chocolate, where if I’m lucky I can snag one of
the three outdoor tables and sip my hot chocolate
watching the people go by.
When I’ve had my fill, I’ll grab the subway back to
Manhattan and head to Canal St in Chinatown for a
little bargain shopping, gradually making my way
into Little Italy and Nolita, where I can gaze longingly
through the windows of the high-priced boutiques on
Mott and Prince Sts.
To restore my sense of perspective on life, I’ll head
uptown for the afternoon, taking the 6 train to 103rd,
grabbing a taco at El Paso Taqueria, then walking west
to Fifth Ave. El Museo del Barrio and the City Museum,
two of my favorites, are crowd-free most afternoons.
That puts me in a prime position later to stroll down to
the Guggenheim Museum on 89th, arriving about an
hour before closing, which is when most people are
headed out, rather than in.
A nice glass of wine around 7 at a quiet boite like Etats
Unis, followed by dinner with friends, and then I’m
ready to cap off my day with some jazz at an uptown
place like smoke.
6 | New York City Guide / Sights
time in decades the city contemplated huge (and
necessary) projects to augment its infrastructure,
such as a new rail tunnel under the Hudson
River. Meanwhile Times Square underwent
transformation from a crime- and drug-ridden
red-light district in the 1960s and 1970s to a
Disneyfied tourist attraction in the late 1990s.
The city became safer and more prosperous, but
also more homogenised; the gap between rich
and poor widened, and the colourful subcultures
that used to give Manhattan its edge began a
mass exodus to the suburbs.
recent History
New York’s famous hustle and bustle was
abruptly cut short on 11 September 2001 when
a terrorist attack in the form of two hijacked
passenger aircraft razed the gleaming twin towers
of the World Trade Center. Thousands of people
were killed in the worst terrorist act ever on US soil.
New York, though severely shaken, showed its grit.
The city was fairly quick to regain its composure
and normality, rebuilding its business district and
its confidence. Shops and restaurants near the
site re-opened and tourists re-appeared. However,
memories of the attack still linger for most New
Yorkers but the rebuilding for the Ground Zero
Walking along Brooklyn Bridge
site’s rebirth is underway.
Sights
Look around (looking up makes you look like
a tourist). From the top of the Empire State
Building to the bottom of a glass in a Manhattan
nightclub, New York has it all. For a closer look
at the city, wander through Times Square and
the streets of Greenwich Village and Soho,
check out the Wall Street super traders, or
hop on a ferry to Staten Island.
Brooklyn Bridge
South Street Southport
cnr Park Row & Ave of the Finest
Tel: (info) 212 484 1200
Transport: (underground rail) 4, 5, 6 to City Hall
A New York icon, the Brooklyn Bridge has
many stories to tell. It held the angry marchers
outraged by the police torture of Abner Louima
in 1997. In spring 2004 it hosted a crowd of
gays and lesbians who marched in support of
legalising same-sex marriage. In late 2005, the
NYC masses commuted across it due to the
three-day Transit Workers Union strike.
When it opened, the 486m (1596ft) span
between its two support towers was the longest
in history. Today, the Brooklyn Bridge continues
to dazzle.
World Trade Center Site
Financial District, West St, 10006
Transport: (underground rail) N, R to Cortlandt St; A,
C, J, M, Z, 2, 3, 4, 5 to Fulton St-Broadway-Nassau
The dust of September 11 2001 may have
cleared, but controversy over what to do with
Ground Zero is not settled. Discussion over what
kind of redevelopment is appropriately soulful,
strong, beautiful and useful has been fraught
with drama, often pitting grieving survivors
against the artists and architects trying to bring
global meaning to the tragedy.
Central Park
Bounded by 5th Ave & Central Park W, Manhattan
Tel: (info) 212 360 3444 Visitor Center
Url: www.centralparknyc.org
Transport: (bus) M1-5, M72, M79, M86
(underground rail) 5th Ave (N, R), Columbus Circle,
72nd St (B, C), 81st St, 86th St (B, C), Cathedral Okwy
(B, C), Central Park North
If you’re ever lucky enough to fly into New York
over the stretch of Manhattan, one of the most
stunning visuals is not the buildings themselves
but the lack of them, within the 843-acre
carpet of green that makes up this stunning
park. Located smack-dab in the middle of the
borough, this is definitely a place that is not to
be missed.
An oasis from the insanity - the lush lawns,
cool forests, flowering gardens, glassy bodies
of water and meandering, wooded paths
provide the dose of serene nature New Yorkers
crave. While the park swarms with joggers,
inline skaters, musicians and tourists on warm
weekends, you’ll find it quieter on weekday
afternoons. Folks flock to the park even in winter,
where snowstorms can inspire cross-country
skiing and sledding or a simple stroll through
the white wonderland - and crowds turn out
every New Year’s Eve for a popular midnight
run. February of 2005 had an added bonus with
the installation of Christo’s Gates, comprising
7503 massive sheets of orange fabric hunge
from frames placed throughout 37km (23mi) of
walkways throughout the otherwise stark and
frozen park. Some New Yorkers loved it, others
despised it, but people came out in droves for
the unique and exciting spectacle.
Yankee Stadium
E 161st St at River Ave, Bronx,10032-6120
Tel: (info) 1718 293 6000
Url: www.yankees.com
Transport: (underground rail) 4 to Yankee Stadium
station; D, B to River Ave station
The Boston Red Sox like to talk about their
record of two World Series championships
in the last 80 years, but Yankees have won a
mere 26 in that period at his legendary ballpark.
The team’s banking that the magic will move
with them across 161st St to the new Yankee
Stadium. The Yankees play from April to October.
The old stadium offers hour-long guided tours
of the dugout, press box, clubhouse, field and
Monument Park (with plaques commemorating
greats like Babe Ruth and Joe DiMaggio).
Museum of Modern Art (Moma)
11 W 53rd St btwn Fifth & Sixth Aves, Midtown
Tel: (info) 212 708 9400
Url: www.moma.org
MOMA, a veritable art universe of more than
100,000 pieces, is hailed for its physical design
and the soul of its exhibits. Big hitters like
Matisse, Picasso, Cezanne, Rothko and Pollock
are housed in the central five-story atrium. The
museum’s sculpture garden – returned to its
original, larger vision of the early 1950s by Philip
Johnson – is a joy to sit in.
Statue of Liberty
New York Harbor, Liberty Island, 10004
Tel: (info) 1212 363 3200
(booking) 1212 269 5755
Url: www.statuereservations.com
Transport: (ferry) Circle line from Battery Park
(underground rail) 4, 5 to Bowling Green
Lady Liberty’s upper section is closed up tight
for security reasons, but a visit is definitely in
order if you haven’t been before. The sheer
7 | New York City Guide / Entertainment
size of her, seen up close, is mesmerizing. If
you want to enter the monument base, make a
reservation for a Time Pass, otherwise you can’t
get inside. Nearby Ellis Island is even more
fascinating. Its carefully assembled exhibits and
detailed accounts of immigrant life are moving
and informative.
Radio City Music Hall
51st St at Sixth Ave, Midtown,10020
Tel: (info) 212 247 4777
Url: www.radiocity.com
Transport: (underground rail) B, D, F, V to 47th-50th
Sts-Rockefeller Center
Hours: Mon-Sun 11:00-15:00, Tours leave every
half hour
This 6000-seat Art Deco movie palace had its
interior declared a protected landmark and is
looking fine, thanks to extensive restoration. The
velvet seats and furnishings have been returned
to the exact state they were in when the building
opened in 1932, and even the toilets are elegant
at the Showplace of the Nation. Samuel ‘Roxy’
Rothafel, the man responsible for the high-
kicking chorus line, declared ‘a visit to Radio City
is as good as a month in the country’.
Chrysler Building
Midtown – 405 Lexington Ave at 42nd St, 10017
Transport: (underground rail) any train to Grand
Central-42nd St
The 319m (1048ft) Chrysler Building has been
widely named as a favourite work of architecture
by lay people and building aficionados alike
- an art deco masterpiece designed by William
Van Alen in 1930. It briefly reigned as the tallest
structure in the world until being superseded by
the Empire State Building a few months later.
Entertainment
New York’s novella-length weekly
entertainment listings tend to include a
favourite performer you never dared dream
you’d see live. The city also contains
thousands of venues, ranging from poky
East Village bars to pulsating mega-clubs or
luxurious late-night lounges.
Did you know?
Picassos! Cabs!
Yellow cabs, with a black and
white checker strip down the
side, were a common sight on
New York streets for 60 years.
The last checkered cab was
retired in 1999, and sold
at Sotheby’s for US$134,500.
Ginger’s
363 Fifth Ave, Brooklyn
Tel: (info) 718 778 0924
Transport: (underground rail) F, M, R to Fourth
Ave-9th St
Let-love-rule lesbian bar with ruby-red walls that
sees a lot of gays and straights at its long bar up
front and big garden in the back. More laid-back
than Manhattan’s lesbian bars? Sure, this is
Brookburg, baby.
Double Happiness
173 Mott St, Btwn Broome & Grand Sts, Chinatown
10002
Tel: (info) 1212 941 1282
Transport: (underground rail) J, M, Z to Bowery,
6 to Spring St
Enter down a flight of stone steps that lead into
a dark basement with no sign - it’s all part of the
fun though, and the well-mannered crowd inside
enjoys the joke enough to come back again and
again. The narrow room is filled with flickering
candles, lending it a sexy and sinister air.
Brick Theater
575 Metropolitan Ave btwn Union Ave & Lorimer St
Brooklyn
Tel: (info) 718 907 6189
Url: www.bricktheater.com
Transport: (underground rail) G, L to Metropolitan
Ave-Lorimer St
Formerly an auto-body shop, a yoga studio
and various storage spaces, this brick-walled
garage has been completely refurbished into a
state-of-the-art dance and theater complex, with
a large sprung floor, professional lighting and
sound package. Now it does critically acclaimed
productions like Jenna is Nuts, Habitat, In a
Strange Room (based on Faulkner’s As I Lay
Dying), stagings of Chekhov’s Three Sisters and
O’Neill’s Beyond the Horizon.
Jazz At Lincoln Center
Broadway at 60th St, Upper West Side
Tel: (info) 212 258 9595
Url: www.jazzatlincolncenter.org
Transport: (underground rail) A, B, C, D, 1 to 59th
St-Columbus Circle
Of the three venues, the fancy Rose Theater and
Allen Room, it’s Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola that you’re
most likely to wind up in, as it’s got nightly shows.
And how lucky for you, since, with the exception
of its awful name, the nightclub is flawless, with
stunning views overlooking Central Park and
excellent lineups of both local and touring artists.
Eating
If you’re hungry in New York, you’re just not
trying - it’s a glutton’s dream. With around
20,000 eateries, the possibilities are almost
endless: you could have dinner at a different
restaurant every night for 50 years, running the
gourmet gamut from hot dog to Cordon Bleu.
Mo Pitkins
34 Ave A btwn 2nd and 3rd Sts, East Village
Tel: (info) 212 777 5660
Url: www.mopitkins.com
Transport: (underground rail) F, V at Lower East Side-
Second Ave
Words really can’t do justice to the whacked out,
high energy shows that appear at Mo Pitkins, a
‘Judeo-Latin’ restaurant/cabaret/literary salon.
Mo Knows Songwriters is a popular weekly
crooner event, but you’ll also see acoustic sets
and all-out big band swing on other nights.
Either way, it’s innovative entertainment with
some kicking kosher Latin food. Monday night is
literary night; expect live readings. Dishes include
mac-n-cheese, garlic fries with manchego, fried
artichokes, rotisserie kosher chicken and other
delights, like flourless chocolate cake.
Skating in Manhattan’s Central Park
8 | New York City Guide / Shopping
Amuse
108 W 18th St, Chelsea
Tel: (info) 212 929 9755
Transport: (underground rail) 1 to 18th St
You’ll love grazing on the small plates of Amuse
Fries (served with chipotle and aioli), olive
poached tuna, braised beets or roasted shiitake
mushrooms (to name but a few). To try it all, get
the prix-fixe sampler.
Tavern on the Green
Central Park West at 67th St
Tel: (info) 212 873 3200
Transport: (underground rail) 1 at 66th St.-Lincoln
Center, B, C at 72nd St
Everything about Tavern on the Green screams
romance - its location, its quiet ambience, its
bejeweled and bedecked gardens with sweeping
views. It’s a unique experience to dine there,
but don’t go expecting great cuisine. The
menu’s been the same forever it seems, and the
kitchen’s apparently just lost interest. But, don’t
let that fact spoil your view.
Boathouse
E 72nd St at Park Dr N, Central Park
Tel: (info) 212 517 2233
After a recent makeover and refinancing,
Central Park Boathouse shed its reputation as
a restaurant that only cared about communing
with nature and became a culinary delight. The
roasted duck and delicate salmon tartare are on
par with some of the city’s best, and it still has
that gorgeous waterfront spot.
Elmo
156 Seventh Ave btwn W 19th & W 20th St, Chelsea
Tel: (info) 212 337 8000
Transport: (underground rail) 1 to 18th St
An epicenter for Chelsea boys, Elmo is a sexy
scene with high ceilings, low lighting, cushy
banquettes and a garage door-like facade that’s
opened to the street come spring and summer.
The simple, comfort-food favorites - meatloaf,
fried chicken, baked mac ‘n’ cheese (with added
fontina and Gruyère), mussels (steamed in
tequila) and big fresh salads - are consistently
delicious. And so are the lovely looking waitstaff
and clientele.
Elmo is on the big bandwagon of diners
sporting a nightclub vibe (and it’s got an actual
clubby lounge, with a rotating performance
schedule, in its basement).
Zaitzeff
72 Nassau St
Lower Manhattan
Tel: (info) 212 571 7272
Url: www.zaitzeffnyc.com
Transport: (underground rail) 2, 3, 4, 5, A, C, J, M, Z
to Fulton St-Broadway-Nassau St
Finally, healthy but quick organic eats in downtown
Manhattan. A former Wall St trader opened this
zippy spot and now sells all-natural beef burgers
(turkey, too) on whole-grain Portuguese buns
to former colleagues. Plenty of organic muffins,
salads, sweet-potato fries and vegetarian options
available too (also for takeout or delivery).
Shopping
There isn’t a craving that can’t be satisfied in
New York. Tibetan fur-trimmed hat? Worm-
studded lollypops? Thought you’d never ask!
The shopping is so good that you might find
yourself buying something you thought you’d
never need: extra luggage.
Century 21
22 Cortland St at Church St Lower Manhattan
Tel: (info) 212 227 9092
Url: www.c21stores.com
Transport: (underground rail) A, C, 4, 5 to Fulton St-
Broadway-Nassau St
Welcome to New York’s worst-kept secret.
Deep discounts on really high-end couture line
the racks of this square-shaped downtown
department store. Most of the time it’s a mob
scene, but you can walk out with some gorgeous
designer duds.
Footlight Records
113 E 12th St, East Village
Tel: (info) 212 533 1572
A NY taxi on 5th Avenue
9 | New York City Guide / Hotels & Hostels
Transport: (underground rail) R, W to 8th St-NYU,
6 to Astor Pl
Home to a well-chosen collection of out-of-
print Broadway and foreign-movie soundtracks,
Footlight is a must-visit for vinyl hounds, show
tune lovers and anyone searching for a particular
version of a hard-to-find cabaret song.
Bloomingdale’s
1000 3rd Ave at 59th St, Upper East Side
Tel: (info) 212 705 2000
Url: www.bloomingdales.com
Transport: (underground rail) 4, 5, 6 to 59th St, N, R,
W to Lexington Ave-59th St
It’s big and brash and full of attitude - beloved
Bloomie’s is where New Yorkers go to get a
major shopping fix. While the store carries plenty
of high-end names, it also likes to bring in new
designers and right-off the runway collections
that won’t break the bank.
Hotels & Hostels
There are almost limitless options in New
York City, but pick your budget range and
your neighborhood wisely. Business travelers
and theater lovers prefer Midtown, while
families go for the Upper East and West
Sides. Backpackers and non-establishment
travelers will find a few good budget places
sprinkled around town, and for the young and
hip, it has to be downtown.
On the Ave
2178 Broadway
The address says it’s on Broadway, but the door is
around the corner on 77th St, Upper West Side 10024
Tel: (info) 212 362 1100 (info) 800 497 6028 (toll free)
Email: info@ontheave-nyc.com
Url: www.ontheave.com
Transport: (underground rail) subway 2, 3, 9 to 79 St
An excellent uptown hotel, the stylish and cool
16-floor On the Ave boasts 266 rooms done up
in earthy tones and lots of extras from a recent
renovation, including featherbeds, fluffy down
duvets, fudge-colored suede headboards and
bedside CD players.
Sunlight pours into the huge windows - though
sensitive sleepers may want to face 77th St instead
of Broadway. Flat-screen TVs give a little extra
elbow room, useful in the small standard rooms.
Spacious deluxe rooms cost extra. All rooms
have dataport and wi-fi access in the rooms, and
there’s a business center in the lobby, and a nice
sitting area, where a pianist plucks away nightly.
If you can swing it, the 23 penthouses rooms and
suites with private balconies are best. Everyone
has access to the glassed-in top-floor balcony with
stunning views to the north.
Hotel 373
35th St and Fifth Ave, Midtown East, 10016
Tel: (info) 212 213-3388
Url: www.hotel373.com
Rooms are a bit of a squeeze, but it’s hard to
beat Hotel 373’s location and overall quality for
its price point. Ignore the lack of space, and
this clean, modern and stylish hotel has got
everything else going for it.
The claustrophobic among us will not
appreciate Hotel 373’s cunning, multi-use
furnishings and teeny-tiny little rooms, but
those who like a great deal will understand that
affordable and clean, fun, fabulous hotels just
steps from the Empire State Building always
have a drawback somewhere. Hotel 373’s rooms
are a tight squeeze, but it’s just a wee sliver of
a building, and what it lacks in square footage it
makes up for in charm. Besides, the managers
have somehow found a way to get in small
chairs and workspaces without making you feel
smothered. And can you beat the fact that the
next door Starbucks is practically in the lobby?
Baisley House
294 Hoyt St in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn 11231
Tel: (info) 718 935 1959
Email: baisleyhousenyc@aol.com
Url: www.virtualcities.com/ons/ny/n/nyn1901.htm
Transport: (underground rail) F, G
Btwn Union and Sackett Streets; from the Carroll St
station. Head N a block to Union Street, turn right for
a block to Hoyt St, then left; it’s half a block down on
the left.
On a side street of mid-18th century
townhouses, the three-room Baisley House is
like taking a step back in to the days of Victoria
with its collection of 17th- to 19th-century
pieces. It’s lush and comfortable, which befits
the home of an engaging interior decorator
who doubles as a human encyclopedia of area
knowledge.
One of Brooklyn’s best deals, the Baisley
is named for the first owner (a merchant who
moved there in 1845) - later Edithe Marrener
(better know as Hollywood starlet Susan
Hayworth) grew up in the house. Everywhere you
look are authentic pieces of the past - busts and
clocks on mantels, wing-back chairs, period-
piece paintings (one bedroom has eight!). Big
breakfasts consisting of a daily changing menu
of crepes, omelettes, waffles, potato pancakes
The Iroquois Hotel
are served on a round table in the parlor (unless
the weather’s good, when genial host Harry
moves breakfast to the garden outside). All
rooms have access to a clean shared bath.
Mercifully, rooms have air-con in summer, plus
TVs with cable and telephones - the rest is all
1845, babe.
Iroquois
49 W 44th St, Midtown, 10036
btwn 5th & 6th Aves
Tel: (info) 212 840 3080
Email: reservations@iroquoisny.com
Url: www.iroquoisny.com
Most who come here are from the affluent
older set, who you’ll most probably see reading
the Times in the small oak library in the lobby.
Some rooms on the top three of its dozen floors
face the Chrysler Building through a canyon of
Midtown buildings. Done up in relaxing greens
and creams, all rooms have giant headboards
and goose-down pillows. Bathrooms are small,
with Italian marble that reaches the ceiling. Wi-fi
access is available throughout the hotel. There’s
a small fitness centre overlooking 44th St. The
superb lobby restaurant, Le Petite Triomphe,
stirs a mean martini, and attracts a loyal pre-
theatre crowd. Bring your leather pumps - guests
get a free shoeshine upon arrival. Jimmy Dean
must’ve dug that.
Further Reading
The Encyclopedia of New York City, Kenneth
Jackson (ed) (history/politics)
This heavyweight will test the strength of your
bookshelf, but it’s indispensable to New York
know-it-alls.
AIA Guide to New York City, The American
Institute of Architects (non-fiction)
Direct from the gurus, this is the classic text for
aficionados of New York City’s architecture.
New York: A Guide to the Metropolis, Gerald
Wolfe (history/politics)
Reveals the city’s history through walking tours
of its neighbourhoods and architecture.
10 | New York City Guide / Further Reading

The Historical Atlas of New York City, Eric
Homberger, Alice Hudson (history/politics)
This unsual tome comprehensively maps the
city’s past.
The Epic of New York City, Edward Robb Ellis
(history/politics)
An anecdotal history of New York covering most
major events from colonial times to the mid-20th
century, especially the late-19th-century corruption
of ‘Boss’ Tweed and his Tammany Hall gang.
World of Our Fathers, Irving Howe (history/politics)
The perfect accompaniment to a trip to the
Lower East Side Tenement Museum, this is a
comprehensive study of the lives of New York’s
Eastern European Jewish immigrants in the late
19th century.
The Power Broker, Robert Caro (history/politics)
The story of the ruthless civil servant Robert
Moses, whose 40 years in power changed the
face of New York.
722 Miles: The Building of the Subways and
How They Transformed New York, Clifton
Hood (history/politics)
Not only for locomotive buffs, the history of
New York’s subway system is a fabled and
fabulous story.
WPA Guide to New York City, Federal Writers’
Project (history/politics)
Published in 1939 as a Depression-era
employment project for the city’s writers,
this volume offers a time-frozen look at a
lost metropolis.
Kafka Was All the Rage, Anatole Broyard
(history/politics)
A bittersweet look at life in Greenwich Village
just after WWII by the late book reviewer for the
New York Times.
New York in the Fifties, Dan Wakefield
(history/politics)
A renowned journalist recalls this stultifying
decade.
Here is New York, EB White (history/politics)
The author of Stuart Little and Charlotte’s Web
treats New Yorkers to an affectionate view of life
in the fast lane in 1940s New York.
Slaves of New York, Tama Janowitz (fiction)
Kooky interrelated short stories from the queen
of 80s New York eccentrica.
Underworld, Don de Lillo (fiction)
De Lillo’s all-the-balls-in-the-air masterwork
starts at a legendary New York baseball game
and goes on to interrogate the nature of America.
Worth the hard work.
Colossus of New York, Colson Whitehead
(travel)
A collection of personal vignettes, meditations
and memories of the city from a real New Yorker,
capturing a chaotic mix of hope and sadness.

A Drinking Life, Pete Hamill (non-fiction)

One of New York’s most famous newspaper
columnists recalls his Irish American Brooklyn
childhood.

The Andy Warhol Diaries, Andy Warhol, Pat

Hackett (ed) (non-fiction)
A wild and bitchy account of New York clublife
in the 1970s.
Cafe culture in Greenwich Village
Lonesome Traveler, Jack Kerouac (non-fiction)
Down and out on the streets of New York -
Kerouac’s self-portrait is legendary. © 2009 Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd. All rights reserved. Lonely Planet has tried to make the information in this travel guide as accurate as
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