[imserious]

Originally Posted by MisterF80M3

I was in NYC for 2 days. I stayed at Hyatt in Time Square.

I went to 9/11 Memorial, walked the Brooklyn bridge, Rockefeller center, Grand Central and Central Park.

You should be able to visit all those Friday night and whole Saturday.

I like this list. Can’t do it all, pick a few.

Touristy stuff: 9/11, Rockefeller, Central Park, grand central. 9/11 is so heavy in the best way. skim it and return, but skim it.

Food: pizza, I like difara’s in Brooklyn. Check out a speakeasy, I liked PDT, make reservations ahead of time. Maybe one nice restaurant.

Otherwise, don’t rush it. Enjoy the ambiance and return again later. It’s fun to literally walk down the street and pop into a few different bars in one night.

[Never_Enough]

9/11 memorial & ground zero. Other than that, leave. I'm not a city guy.

[Poiseuille]

+1 on 9/11 Memorial, if you go there make sure to find the Survivor Tree before you leave.

+1 on Empire State Building, get there as early as you can.

my favorite restaurant (that doesn't require a second mortgage) is 10 mins north of your hotel on W52nd St. between Broadway & 8th Ave. Google "Gallagher's Steakhouse NYC" for menus and details. Best staff, best kitchen and best ambiance you're likely to find. Make reservations before you leave home, you can always adjust +\-30mins once you're in town.

one bit of advice: if you're not well used to the NYC subway system, take cabs. there is Uber, but very limited compared to most cities.

Edit: regarding your question about best way to get from EWR to Times Square, bite the bullet and take a cab. Schlepping luggage around Manhattan is no fun, especially if the weather is bad. Both Uber & Lyft ARE available at the airport, about $50 to midtown Manhattan.

[rad doc]

Originally Posted by Poiseuille

+1 on 9/11 Memorial, if you go there make sure to find the Survivor Tree before you leave.

+1 on Empire State Building, get there as early as you can.

my favorite restaurant (that doesn't require a second mortgage) is 10 mins north of your hotel on W52nd St. between Broadway & 8th Ave. Google "Gallagher's Steakhouse NYC" for menus and details. Best staff, best kitchen and best ambiance you're likely to find. Make reservations before you leave home, you can always adjust +\-30mins once you're in town.

one bit of advice: if you're not well used to the NYC subway system, take cabs. there is Uber, but very limited compared to most cities.

Edit: regarding your question about best way to get from EWR to Times Square, bite the bullet and take a cab. Schlepping luggage around Manhattan is no fun, especially if the weather is bad. Both Uber & Lyft ARE available at the airport, about $50 to midtown Manhattan.

Honestly, I would skip Empire State. Go to 9/11 memorial. Then walk next door to One World Observatory. Far better views, better experience and saves time. Just buy tickets online and save time waiting in line too. Times square, Rockefeller and pizza should fill a day.

Agree regarding subway. You will waste time trying to figure it out if not used to it. Just uber, plenty of drives and usually never much of a wait for a ride.

[Germanauto]

Alright boys it was quite the experience!

Most flights into NYC on Friday got cancelled, including mine. Got home at 2 am and had to wake up in 3.5 hrs to go back to the airport. I was not going to let stupid a$$ rain ruin my weekend.

City itself was a blast. Once I reached my hotel at about 11 am I went and explored the city all day with the people I was staying with. Took a break from 6-8 to freshen up but otherwise was out and about till 1 am. In order to see as much as possible, I did the Big Bus tour which was well worth it. Got to go down to lower Manhattan and Wall St. Saw the 9/11 memorial, Oculus, Brookfield Place and its waterfront. Late night was in Times Square and Fifth Ave, including Rockefellar Center.

I had been asking about pizza...due to time concerns I didn't do Lombardi's which seemed to be the go-to from people. There's a place called John's on 44th and 7th which was just alright. Nice location and historic old building though. Place was really busy.

I will definitely be back! There's so much more to do and I had only scratched the surface. Living in the mid-Atlantic has got to be so fun as any long weekend you have a million things you can do. So many historic cities of all sizes within a stone's throw.

[Germanauto]

Alright so now for the bad part...

A lot of New Yorkers are really nasty people. One particular experience this morning was the worst. I skipped taking a Lyft to EWR because I wanted to (a) save money and (b) thought it would be fun to walk a few blocks to Penn Station and take the train.

"Public Safety Officer" near the station was standing around and joking with his "boys." I came and waited to speak with him since he was too busy entertaining his friends instead of doing his job and helping the public. Well, one of the dudes got in my face saying I "interrupted and disrespected him," to which I said whatever dude. He got very egregious and started cursing the threatening me. I just thought f*k these low-lifes and found my way to the station. Every employee in there literally did not give a sh*t to help me out. They were very rude and acted like they were doing me a favor when I'd ask for some assistance.

Unlike public transport in other places or airports, the system seemed very lacking in information for passengers. It is hard to figure out unless you are a native. Thankfully 3 different police officers in and a nice passenger on the train helped me get to where I needed to go. Even in the airport employees were rude.

I understand you can't judge an entire city based on a few knuckleheads, but it really reinforced a very pervasive stereotype about the city I had been picking up on during my stay. I still enjoyed my time and will be back, but definitely felt a lot of hostility I hadn't felt in many other cities all over US/Canada and Europe.

[David 12]

That’s NYC for you; take the good and the bad!

Yeah, the Oculus is pretty cool. Neat area too.

One tip about the 9/11 memorial. Sign up for a guided tour, it’s well worth the time.

Next time, try to get to Upland. It truly is a great restaurant. The cacio e pepe and the roasted branzino are tasty.

Dave

[imserious]

NY is certainly not the Midwest. You’re usually on your own and maybe you find a kind soul.

Sounds like you had a great taste of the city.

You did not miss anything with Lombardi’s. Big time tourist trap. History is cool, but pizza subpar. Lots more to see and eat the next time.

[dzvero]

define fun !

[Germanauto]

Originally Posted by dzvero

define fun !

Just so much to do, so many people. It's exhilarating.

I'm for sure a California guy though. Just counting down the time until I can settle down there, hopefully within 5 yrs.

[Dog Face Pony Soldier]

Originally Posted by Germanauto

...one of the dudes got in my face saying I "interrupted and disrespected him," to which I said whatever dude. He got very egregious and started cursing the threatening me.

Sounds like appropriate response to feeling disrespected, but then again I'm from NYC.

[10"]

Lol we ain't bad. We just don't like BS.