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New York City |OT| GAF's Guide to the Greatest City in the World - Meetup on 18th

J

Jhoan

Member
Meet up at 2 Bit's Retro Arcade on Saturday night at 7PM.

Will be there with Noisepurge, Dreamgazer and PM/text other GAF members to get on it. If you plan on going please post because I have no internet at home and will be posting from my phone. Thank you.

EDIT: Only Yes or No. I don't want any maybes. If you have something to do or can't make it then so be it. I made a promise and I'm planning on sticking to it.
 
J

Jhoan

Member
Noisepurge said:
Sweet! ill be there. My phone got stolen so i have no way of calling anyone. Be punctual! :D
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I have a lateness habit that I have to fix/am working on but I promise I'll be there on time/several mins early. Use a pay phone to call me if anything; it's 25¢. I hope you find it.
 
N

Noisepurge

Member
yeah i can find it no problem, im a good navigator :D but i have no means of contacting or looking at gaf-messages after i leave the hotel.

will write your number down in case of emergencies.
 
B

bob page

Member
Finally someone articulates my thoughts:

NEW YORKERS AREN’T RUDE. YOU ARE.
And I mean that title with the utmost of respect.

I’ve been a denizen of this fair[ly crappy] city my entire life, in one way or another. I spent some time in LA during college, but don’t worry, I got over it. The one thing, though, that I’ve consistently heard from around the US is that New York is a rude city. This is, I feel, based on a fundamental misunderstanding of what this place is. New York is a massive city where most people have high-pressure jobs and their time is very precious. That isn’t unique, though it’s to an extreme in New York that most people from other parts of the US haven’t experienced.

It is also a city where the American infatuation with the combustion engine has been replaced by walking and public transportation. This is a small city, geographically, with an extensive system for getting you where you need to be without a car. Add to that tons of people, and it’s going to be one of the most crowded foot traffic experiences that most people have ever been a part of. This matters because it affects the basic rules of politeness within New York to a degree that you might not expect.

Many people realize, when they enter a small town, that there are unwritten codes of conduct amongst the people there that have been arrived at by years of social interaction. One of the things that an outsider has to do if they wish to be accepted is learn and respect these rules. The same thing with foreign countries. The concept of rudeness in a foreign country will be alien to you. Many travelers wonder why they have a bad experience abroad; the answer is often that they didn’t learn the local rules for politeness and came off as total jerks. New York also has its unwritten code of conduct.

Yet, for some reason, a huge number of tourists to New York seem to totally forget that when you are a guest somewhere, it behooves YOU to learn the unwritten rules of conduct so that you will not upset the delicate social balance of the place you are visiting. Because New York relies so much on foot traffic, these people often utterly disrupt the flow in the subway or on the street, and then complain that New Yorkers are “rude” when we do not accommodate their interference with our lives.

Don’t understand what I’m talking about? At peak hours, there can be 150 people walking on a given avenue block trying to get to work. There can be 1000 or more people on a subway train. There can be 50 people trying to get off of a bus or a subway car. 100 people may be trying to go up or down a staircase or escalator at any given time.
And yet, every day I see tourists and just general social malefactors who stop in the middle of sidewalks, who hold up entire subway trains because they try to force the doors open, who block a stairwell or who try to get on a subway car before they let anyone else off.

This is a sense of entitlement that the pace of this city cannot abide.

I assure you, you do not have an excuse for delaying 1000 people who are trying to get to work. If you do, you’d be in a job where you’d have a car with sirens, at the very least. Your trip to the bank or to the American Museum of Natural History is not something that should interfere with the professional lives of 1000 people. So when you hold that subway car, and people curse at you, or when you prevent them from getting off the train and they barrel right into you, there’s a simple lesson: this is your fault, as much as it would be your fault if you blocked three lanes of the highway so you could get out and look at your map.

You’re not necessarily a bad person. You may just be unaware, you may have failed to learn about the city before you came to it, you may have forgotten to keep in mind that you’re inconveniencing a horde of other people. No doubt many of the times this happens, it’s just inconsiderate absentmindedness. That said, it’s still rude. And when someone is rude, they will be treated rudely in return. If you come to this city, and you wonder why everyone is rude to you, what you should be asking yourself is this: What am I doing wrong?

In life in general, you will get farther with other people if you do not always blame them for the things that go wrong in your life. Asking yourself what you are doing to produce a certain response from others will take you far in reaching a greater harmony. And in the case of moving through New York City, it’ll help you get a long way on the road to not being rude.
Click to expand...
http://www.johnskylar.com/post/59499652245/new-yorkers-arent-rude-you-are
 
J

Jhoan

Member
bob page said:
Finally someone articulates my thoughts:


http://www.johnskylar.com/post/59499652245/new-yorkers-arent-rude-you-are
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Agreed but you should've made a thread for this in OT. ;p

I'm definitely in the friendly New Yorker camp. However, when I'm in a rush to get to get somewhere and/or walk at a brisk pace, there's nothing worse than trying to get through a crowd of tourists who take up 90% of the sidewalk to kill the pace.
Noisepurge said:
can a mod change the title date for tomorrow?
Click to expand...
No need to do that as this thread is in Community. The people who are subscribed to the thread no doubt saw it. There's also the fact that the Electric Zoo is this weekend which means I'm expecting a small group.

I can expect there to be about 8 or 9 of us including the initial 3 which includes me. I'm expecting 6 additional people. Small groups are good; I didn't want to make a proper meet up thread because it's too much of a hassle for something that's so soon. And no getting drunk since I retired my heavy drinking days.
 
N

Noisepurge

Member
Jipan said:
No need to do that as this thread is in Community. The people who are subscribed to the thread no doubt saw it. There's also the fact that the Electric Zoo is this weekend which means I'm expecting a small group.

I can expect there to be about 8 or 9 of us including the initial 3 which includes me. I'm expecting 6 additional people. Small groups are good; I didn't want to make a proper meet up thread because it's too much of a hassle for something that's so soon. And no getting drunk since I retired my heavy drinking days.
Click to expand...

allright, no worries :) sounds good!

you can recognize me by being a big nordic looking guy with a mohawk and a judge dredd shirt.
 
W

whiterabbit

Member
I'm a fan of NYC!!!! The subway is cool, the museums, the people, the buildings, the food, etc. However, I have never lived there. My grandparents from there live in Queens.
 
C

clemenx

Banned
As a current tourist in NYC I have to agree with that article. I'm traveling with my family and my mother is one or those people who stops in the middle of the street to take a picture of the sidewalk... I get so ashamed :( I always end up yelling at her to hurry up.

That said, you guys should probably suck it up a little. We DO bring a shitload of money to pour it all down on your city!
 
J

Jhoan

Member
Noisepurge said:
didnt get stabbed! victory! :D
Click to expand...
That's good to hear. It was a pleasure meeting you; I definitely won't forget that avatar. I'll be free for most of next week due to Jewish holidays. If I don't see you some time next week, then enjoy the rest of your stay and I'll see you around the forum. Hopefully you'll find your phone before you leave. I definitely need to visit Finland one of these years when I finally do a Euro trip; it sounds like a nice country cold weather aside.


clemenx said:
As a current tourist in NYC I have to agree with that article. I'm traveling with my family and my mother is one or those people who stops in the middle of the street to take a picture of the sidewalk... I get so ashamed :( I always end up yelling at her to hurry up.

That said, you guys should probably suck it up a little. We DO bring a shitload of money to pour it all down on your city!
Click to expand...

That's true I suppose but we New Yorkers often take that for granted. Yes you guys are definitely good for the economy since the city can invest it into projects to further improve it. Ah if we only we could take the time to smell the roses like you all do without a care in the world; that would be the life but alas we always have somewhere to be to even care. Such is the life of living in one of the biggest cities in world.
 
N

Noisepurge

Member
Jipan said:
That's good to hear. It was a pleasure meeting you; I'll be free for most of next week due to Jewish holidays.
Click to expand...

im going around town for the next week, but ill be at the Mashfest NYC, 202 W 40th street, Manhattan(Fashion 40 lounge) event next tuesday and Savage Saturday at Next Level arcade, 4013 8th Ave, Brooklyn if you guys are up to some tekken and streetfighter :D
 
J

Jhoan

Member
Noisepurge said:
im going around town for the next week, but ill be at the Mashfest NYC, 202 W 40th street, Manhattan(Fashion 40 lounge) event next tuesday and Savage Saturday at Next Level arcade, 4013 8th Ave, Brooklyn if you guys are up to some tekken and streetfighter :D
Click to expand...
I'll probably be able to go to Mashfest seeing as I only have one class on Tuesday from 10AM-1PM so I can easily walk down there from my college. Don't think I'll be able to make it on Saturday though as I'll be heading to this event on that day with some non-GAF friends and probably hanging out afterwards. I also gotta keep track of my finances. Last night took a beating out of me so I'm going to be frugal until I recuperate some cash.
 
O

Old Lace

Member
So, I might be entertaining some out of towners this weekend. They're interested in hip hop and alcohol. In Manhattan. What are my options?
 
A

Auron_Kale

Member
Just arrived here this morning and currently staying at the Milford NYC for a night before my cousin & friend joins me.

Did the GMA touristy thing as I currently have to kill time before I can try for early check-in. Was cool as I saw Jennifer Hudson & Alicia Keys. Normally I stay away from doing stuff like that but figured why the he'll not this time around.

Assuming that I might be able to check in early, I'll probably nap and clean up before heading out.
 
J

Jhoan

Member
Rhomega Beta said:
Thanks for telling me about this place. I'll have to put it on my list of places to go to whenever I go there.
Click to expand...
You're welcome man but while it's nothing that's going to blow you away, it does have a decent set of pinball machines, Marvel Vs Capcom, Street Fighter 2 and a bunch of shooters among other things. The cider is also pretty good and they show a bunch of 80s/90s films. It's a good place for a date given all the bars that around the area and the atmosphere is pretty chill.
Penguin said:
Here's one

What's a good/great craft beer store?
Click to expand...
I personally do not know of any since I'm not exactly a beer connoisseur. I would think that bob page would know since he knows his beers. But I suppose Brooklyn Brewery would be one even though it's not a store per se but more of a bar with their signature beers.
Old Lace said:
What ever happened to the meetups? NYC-GAF is slippin'.
Click to expand...
Technically there is one this month. Otherwise, meet ups (at least public meet up threads on GAF) are on vacation until December because I have school going on and I have get my act together. I'm thinking a Secret Santa theme in December would be cool. November is not going to work at all. I suppose a Halloween meet up would be cool but I'm learning towards no at the moment. If the demand is there, then definitely.

I haven't spoken to several folks in about over a month or so. If you want to make a meet up thread, then be my guest but lately, it's been more of a private thing as opposed to a public event in an effort make it more about friends getting together (in this case, the regulars).

It's not all the time that a meet up thread has to be warranted when I'm only getting together with a handful of GAF members who will make effort to show up if I invite/tell them via PM or otherwise. Hence, the frequency of meet up threads decreasing and the amount of under the radar/invite only meet ups increasing; spread out every few months (ala London GAF), it's good.

That being said, I would very much love to see new faces at the next big meet up if possible because the new faces is what makes it more interesting; it makes it seem like a small world when people get to know each other and realize they have common acquaintances. That's one of the best things I love about meet ups.
 
T

thomaser

Member
Going to NY on Thursday! First time in America. Will only be there until Sunday, so I'm a little uncertain about what to do. I'll have a few hours free on Thursday evening, a couple on Friday evening, all of Saturday after noon, and Sunday until 3 pm. Will stay on 29th street/Madison Avenue.

Are my plans doable for the little time I have? This is what I hope to do:
- Rent a bike and cycle around Central Park.
- Work out at an "old-school" gym, like Steel Gym.
- Visit a few shops: The Strand bookstore, Academy Records, Nintendo World, the big Toys r Us at Times Square (will also visit FAO Schwarz, but that's mandatory... I'm in the city for toy business reasons).
- Have a quick walk around Times Square, just to see it.
- Eat some good food. Breakfasts and dinners are set, but I can go other places for lunch. The Breslin is right by my hotel and seems very nice. Also want to try Sarabeth's by Central Park. And I want to sample a few good espresso bars, but they seem to be everywhere.
- Maybe visit The Museum of Modern Art.

And a few stupid questions:
- Can I pay with a card in taxis? How much should I tip them?
- What do I need to do to take the subway? Buy a Metro Card (where?), or can I just buy subway tickets in all subway stations?
- Who else should I tip? Waiters, cab drivers... anyone else? Should I do it in coffee bars, bakeries or in non-fancy cafes?
- Anything else a first-timer to the city should know so I don't make a fool of myself? I know to not stop on the sidewalk and stare dumbly at things.
 
Rhomega Beta

Rhomega Beta

Member
Jipan said:
You're welcome man but while it's nothing that's going to blow you away, it does have a decent set of pinball machines, Marvel Vs Capcom, Street Fighter 2 and a bunch of shooters among other things. The cider is also pretty good and they show a bunch of 80s/90s films. It's a good place for a date given all the bars that around the area and the atmosphere is pretty chill.
Click to expand...

That's just fine. I've always wanted to play pinball on an actual table, and even play old school arcade games on cabinets. I'm not expecting The Pinball Hall of Fame here.

thomaser said:
- What do I need to do to take the subway? Buy a Metro Card (where?), or can I just buy subway tickets in all subway stations?
Click to expand...

I've been researching this myself. You can buy MetroCards at every station (to my understanding). It's like a gift card that you can load and reload, or you can have week passes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lTERtXHIVY
 
R

RevDM

Banned
I've been eating so much damn pizza. Everything from 99 cent slices to rubirosa vodka sauce pizza. Shits delicious, I can't even pick a favorite.

What are some definitely great pizza by the slice places?
 
T

thomaser

Member
Back from my first trip to NYC! Was there last weekend and had a blast. Highlights:

- All the food. Pancakes at Sarabeths, breakfast at Breslin, an evening at the 230 Fifth rooftop, and a ton of coffee (I visited 8 coffee bars, and the best was Birch Coffee near Madison Square Park... but all of them were good, actually).
- Cycling around Central Park. Really nice place to bike.
- Some of the best bookstores I've seen. Strand and Rizzoli especially. The first for being a huge, chaotic labyrinth of books, and the second for being the opposite. Kinokuniya was also good.
- Just walking around, soaking up the energy. Cool and interesting things everywhere.

Already thinking about my next visit. It has to be much longer than three days, that's for sure. And I only got to see parts of midtown Manhattan this time, so there's still a LOT of ground to cover.
 
O

otake

Doesn't know that "You" is used in both the singular and plural
NYC gaf, I will be visiting manhattan next week. I'm working most of the week but Friday is mostly available. have to fly out of La Guardia Friday night.

What I'd like to ask is the following:

What can I do with one day in NYC? And where can I buy some street art?
 
J

Jhoan

Member
otake said:
NYC gaf, I will be visiting manhattan next week. I'm working most of the week but Friday is mostly available. have to fly out of La Guardia Friday night.

What I'd like to ask is the following:

What can I do with one day in NYC? And where can I buy some street art?
Click to expand...

You mean such as if you were to be outside from 8AM-about 12AM? It depends on what you're into/what you want to do e.g. go to Brooklyn or Queens. Plus you would have to divide up your day pretty evenly so you can get to everything you want to do.

My advice would be to stay in Manhattan for all intents and purposes and save the outer boroughs for another trip. You can walk around then go to MoMA around 10ish, then go take a tour of The Top of The Rock at NBC studio nearby (find out the times by googling it), go bike riding downtown to Battery Park, then maybe go check out Central Park and The Met later on since it's open until 9PM on Friday nights. Then maybe go hang out at a bar or two in the Lower East Side. Do avoid the tourist trap that is Times Square; all it is just a bunch of lights of ads bombarding people. Again, these are just ideas, I'm not telling what to do.

As for street art? I laugh at that stuff. If by street art you mean prints of streets/the city, people sell that crap in virtually every corner in midtown and lower Manhattan.Just in Times Square you'll see plenty of it. But if you mean actual art that's made by artists, Williamsburg would probably be your best bet because it has that whole hipster/art scene going on. You'll find a lot of quality "street art" out there but do be wary of prices.
 
B

bob page

Member
Jipan said:
You mean such as if you were to be outside from 8AM-about 12AM? It depends on what you're into/what you want to do e.g. go to Brooklyn or Queens. Plus you would have to divide up your day pretty evenly so you can get to everything you want to do.

My advice would be to stay in Manhattan for all intents and purposes and save the outer boroughs for another trip. You can walk around then go to MoMA around 10ish, then go take a tour of The Top of The Rock at NBC studio nearby (find out the times by googling it), go bike riding downtown to Battery Park, then maybe go check out Central Park and The Met later on since it's open until 9PM on Friday nights. Then maybe go hang out at a bar or two in the Lower East Side. Do avoid the tourist trap that is Times Square; all it is just a bunch of lights of ads bombarding people. Again, these are just ideas, I'm not telling what to do.

As for street art? I laugh at that stuff. If by street art you mean prints of streets/the city, people sell that crap in virtually every corner in midtown and lower Manhattan.Just in Times Square you'll see plenty of it. But if you mean actual art that's made by artists, Williamsburg would probably be your best bet because it has that whole hipster/art scene going on. You'll find a lot of quality "street art" out there but do be wary of prices.
Click to expand...
Soho has some pretty good street art that's not the copy & paste jobs like in Times Square, etc.
 
J

Jhoan

Member
Meet up update:

After 5 months without a meet up thread, be advised that I'll be making a December meet up thread soon; it'll be up some time later this week or next week . I'm gonna set it on the 21st (a Saturday) so hopefully you all will be free then (including myself). Right now it is in the planning stages but I'm thinking about incorporating an optional Secret Santa participation and keep it within the $10-$60 range but that's TBD. I understand GAF member 140.85 was curious about wanting whatever happened to our meet ups and wanted to do something. Please be excited for it.

I'm gonna mention this in the meet up thread, but I'll announce it in this thread in advance. Next year's first meet up will be in February 2014. Place, date, etc. TBD at a later point but thinking it's time we return back to The Gaf. This is to prevent meet up fatigue which happened this earlier year when we had two public meet up threads back to back in January and February.

If anyone has any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to post them and I'll get back to it. Thanks guys.
 
S

SKINNER!

Banned
Happy New Year NYCGAF.

Quick question, I'm wanting to visit NYC after PAX East in Boston this April. Wouldn't mind taking the train as it'll be most convenient for me since stations are in the city centre. Is going by train a good, affordable idea? Anything I should be aware of?

Additionally, any good hostels to stay in? I'll primarily be casual sightseeing.
 
T

TheWarrior

Banned
shorty_symd said:
Happy New Year NYCGAF.

Quick question, I'm wanting to visit NYC after PAX East in Boston this April. Wouldn't mind taking the train as it'll be most convenient for me since stations are in the city centre. Is going by train a good, affordable idea? Anything I should be aware of?

Additionally, any good hostels to stay in? I'll primarily be casual sightseeing.
Click to expand...

Amtrak from Boston to Penn Station is very economical. Especially considering gas and tolls. The time of day you travel will also affect the rates.
 
S

SKINNER!

Banned
Cheers buddy! Found a single train ticket for around $49 leaving at 8am. Now to look for a decent hostel and then that's me all sorted.
 
beat

beat

Member
shorty_symd said:
Additionally, any good hostels to stay in? I'll primarily be casual sightseeing.
Click to expand...
I have a soft spot for the Big Apple Hostel, though I haven't stayed there in a few years now and thus can't tell you what it's like now.

It's half a block from Times Square, so super touristy. It might not be your ideal location. But hey, the Times Square subway station is one of the most connected stations in the entire network, so it's a pretty good starting point to anywhere else in the city.
 
S

SKINNER!

Banned
Was going to choose either the Hostel Intl or Big Apple. Sweet! Thanks for the advice NYCGAF. Might pop in here every now and then to see if you guys are having a meetup or something. Alternatively, if any of you are going to PAX East then I'll be sure to say hi there.
 
B

bob page

Member
shorty_symd said:
Cheers buddy! Found a single train ticket for around $49 leaving at 8am. Now to look for a decent hostel and then that's me all sorted.
Click to expand...

There's also one in Bushwick that's pretty close to the L train, but the area is kind of sketchy, especially if you're not used to urban environments.

I took this pretty cool photo of Manhattan covered in snow while flying into JFK this morning. Took me 30 hours to get to the city from LA.

http://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/1udfou/a_snowcovered_nyc_as_seen_from_above/
 
S

SKINNER!

Banned
bob page said:
There's also one in Bushwick that's pretty close to the L train, but the area is kind of sketchy, especially if you're not used to urban environments.
Click to expand...

NYCGAF so damn helpful :) Can't thank you guys enough for the advice. Got my flight to Boston sorted and I'll be staying for 4 nights in NYC before flying back to Scotland from JFK airport. Was initially going to go for the NY Hostelling International one but the location for Big Apple Hostel is too good to let pass so I'm leaning towards that.
 
P

ProtoCents

Banned
Hey NYC-Gaf. So I'll be starting a job where the training is taking place in NYC and I am quite unfamiliar with the area. The office is located at Two Penn Plaza but from what I can tell from Google maps it looks like the same building as Madison Square Garden. I don't want to accidentally walk into the Knicks locker room instead of my office lobby :p. Are there offices within?

Also, I'll be commuting from quite a distance initially (Trenton, NJ suburbs)... any advice on the best train station in Jersey to take? Do I just pay on the train or do I have to pay before boarding? Will I need to transfer trains or can I ride the same one all the way to Penn Station? Silly questions I know but I am a lifelong suburbanite.
 
G

GC|Simon

Member
I'll visit NYC in March for a up to seven days. The info in this thread is pretty great. However, I have two questions:
- Any hotel hints? I checked booking.com and all the hotels are fucking expensive.
- How many days are recommended to spend in NYC? I can spend up to seven which is quite a lot of time for just one city (yeah, it's NYC, but I visited tons of other cities in 3-4 days like London, Paris, Berlin, etc.). If only around 4 days are okay: Go to Philadelphia, Boston or DC for two more days?

Thank you very much in advance!
 
B

bob page

Member
GC|Simon said:
I'll visit NYC in March for a up to seven days. The info in this thread is pretty great. However, I have two questions:
- Any hotel hints? I checked booking.com and all the hotels are fucking expensive.
- How many days are recommended to spend in NYC? I can spend up to seven which is quite a lot of time for just one city (yeah, it's NYC, but I visited tons of other cities in 3-4 days like London, Paris, Berlin, etc.). If only around 4 days are okay: Go to Philadelphia, Boston or DC for two more days?

Thank you very much in advance!
Click to expand...
7 days in NYC is good as long as you venture into the other boroughs. I think DC and Boston are worth a day or two each though.

As for hotels, check out Jetsetter Or HotelsTonight if you don't mind waiting until the last minute.
 
S

supergiz

Member
I might be moving to Brooklyn and looking for a room in an apartment. I've scoured Craigslist the past few days. How cheap can I 20 minute or less train ride from NYC without living in a dangerous part of Brooklyn or a bad looking apartment?
 
B

bob page

Member
supergiz said:
I might be moving to Brooklyn and looking for a room in an apartment. I've scoured Craigslist the past few days. How cheap can I 20 minute or less train ride from NYC without living in a dangerous part of Brooklyn or a bad looking apartment?
Click to expand...

Apartments within 20 mins of Manhattan will go for at least $2000 for a 1BR probably.
 
B

bob page

Member
supergiz said:
Ah ok. What about looking for a room in a 4 room apartment? Found some for as low as $600 a room.
Click to expand...

Probably will depend on the neighborhood then. Areas like Park Slope, Williamsburg & BK Heights will still be pretty expensive for a room in a big apartment. About 3 years ago I had a room in a 3 BR share in Park Slope and it ran me about $1400. But at the same time, I currently know people living in a highrise in the Financial District w/ gym, roof deck, etc for $1700 per room.
 
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