Familiar with NYC? Lower East Side?

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I am going overnight to NYC - I found a Fairfield Inn I can stay at with my points and the parking is just $35. For NYC it sounds reasonable. It says it is Manhattan/Downtown East - with an address on Henry Street.

It says - Just a short walk from our Chinatown hotel, find world-class shopping and dining at the South Street Seaport and Pier 36 as well as fun at Basketball City.

My daughter and I are going in for a concert at the Gramercy Theatre at 127 E 23rd St. It is about 2 miles away.

My question is - is this a safe area? Is it easy to take the subway/walk around the area? She has not been to NYC and has some things she would like to see during the day and then we would go to the concert early evening.

Any thoughts? We would leave the car at the hotel for the $35 fee and travel throughout the city

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@Linkat,

Are you talking about the Marriott? This is midtown-Manhattan. The area is fine (it is in the middle of the city, but it as safe an area as any other part of Manhattan). There are lots of upscale hotels there.

You can get to the Gramercy Theater in 17 minutes (I just checked on Google Maps). It is a single subway ride with no transfers.

This sounds like a great deal to me.

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@Linkat,

My daughter and I go to NYC a few times a year (she loves Musicals). We usually stay in a far more sketchy area in Queens. We have never had a problem (although she os a city girl).

Have fun!

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@Linkat,

Your nearest subway station would be on East Broadway, a few blocks away. It can also be reached at Delancey, which is a few more blocks away but a much less gloomy station. (Far less stairs too if memory serves).
Either way, there you get the F train which will take you up to 23rd Street (an actual station).

Another method, seeing as how you'll be right by Pike Street, is the M15 bus. That would give an above ground view as you headed up to First Avenue and 23rd. (Pike Street becomes Allen Street and then at Houston becomes First Avenue) For the return, the bus goes down Second Avenue.

Both deposit you and your kinfolk about 2 crosstown blocks from your destination. One you walk east, the other you head west.

It's not my favorite area (Chinatown), mainly because it's usually congested.

Safety? As safe as any other place. Just be aware of surroundings and know your exact routes. Never look touristy or worried. Think of it as just another city.

You need to get a metrocard to ride subways or the bus. Some/most stations have booth clerks. A few newsstands also have them. A hotel deskclerk might be able to answer and maybe the hotel sells them to the guests.

Remember, to get to Houston Street, it's House-ton, not Hugh-ston)

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@maxdancona,

Actually max, there is a Fairfield Marriott on Henry Stree, near the Manhattan Bridge, in Chinatown.

In recent years, a number of hotels and Inns have opened in areas beyond midtown. Probably in part because of rental properties costs of taxes if the business owns the property outright.

They're even planning a hotel on Staten Island, down in St.George at the Ferry terminal. It will be a Westin Hotel at Lighthouse Point. Take the Ferry to Manhattan and get the 1 train up to the theater district.

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@Sturgis,

Quote:

You need to get a metrocard to ride subways or the bus.

buses will take eleven quarters in lieu of a metrocard...

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@Region Philbis,

I did not know that! Wow. Good to know, thanks!

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@Sturgis,

Yeah you're right. That isn't quite as nice an area. But I still wouldn't feel uncomfortable.

BTW They have a new super aggressive gang of street performers. They do a couple acrobatics and then embarrass people into giving too much money by calling them forward.

Walk away.

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@maxdancona,

maxdancona wrote:

Are you talking about the Marriott? This is midtown-Manhattan. The area is fine (it is in the middle of the city, but it as safe an area as any other part of Manhattan). There are lots of upscale hotels there.

You can get to the Gramercy Theater in 17 minutes (I just checked on Google Maps). It is a single subway ride with no transfers.

This sounds like a great deal to me.

It is a Marriott but the Fairfield Inn not the mid-town - the reason for choosing it is the parking is lower priced. I can stay for free because I have enough points - also the mid-town Marriott is probably more points - I checked all the pricing for parking and most run 50 on up - this was only the place with $35 parking.

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@Sturgis,

Thanks - it has been years since I have been to NYC - I had a client there at a previous company and a good friend that lived on Long Island so I used to go there more frequently but I have to say it was before 9-11. I just want to make sure it is ok for the two of us to traveling in that area late at night (after the concert - whether the subway or just grab a taxi if it is not as safe).

I am some-what city-savy working in Boston - and I have traveled throughout London on visiting. I think I am ok blending in with city life. I do remember one time walking in London near Buckingham Palace and some sweet ladies from the country side must have been coming in to tour Buckingham Palace. The came up to me and asked me for directions - giving them very good directions as I had been staying in the area a couple of days - they did have a shocked look in their faces when they heard the Boston accent though.

The good thing - neither the Red Sox or Yankees are in the world series so hopefully the Boston accent won't get me in trouble.

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@Sturgis,

Sturgis wrote:

Actually max, there is a Fairfield Marriott on Henry Stree, near the Manhattan Bridge, in Chinatown.

In recent years, a number of hotels and Inns have opened in areas beyond midtown. Probably in part because of rental properties costs of taxes if the business owns the property outright.

They're even planning a hotel on Staten Island, down in St.George at the Ferry terminal. It will be a Westin Hotel at Lighthouse Point. Take the Ferry to Manhattan and get the 1 train up to the theater district.

Thats the one

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@maxdancona,

maxdancona wrote:

Yeah you're right. That isn't quite as nice an area. But I still wouldn't feel uncomfortable.

BTW They have a new super aggressive gang of street performers. They do a couple acrobatics and then embarrass people into giving too much money by calling them forward.

Walk away.

We got stuff like that in Boston - it is easy - I don't carry money! Just my ATM card or CC so unless they have that capability I have a good reason not to give cash!

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Is there a metrocard that you can get that is unlimited for a day?

I am wondering if this would help. We are thinking to arrive as early as possible in the morning - it will be a Sunday - probably why it was easy to get a hotel in NYC for lower points.

Maybe about 9 - 10 am - we would like to spend the day traveling through the city - my daughter has never been there - she has sights she would like to see. I will map it out and see what is reasonable with the time we have, etc. Then she has a meet and greet with the band so we go to the concert earlier - like 4:30 or so.

I was also thinking we could spend the morning seeing additional sights and head out for home about noon - avoiding as much morning traffic as possible. Maybe seeing sights that are walking distance to the hotel the next morning.

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@Linkat,

Linkat wrote:

Is there a metrocard that you can get that is unlimited for a day?

Not anymore (if memory serves me correctly).

So? You have 3 MTA stops in your immediate-ish vicinity. To get to the Gramercy Theatre on 23rd St. go to the East Broadway stop and take the uptown/Queens bound F train. You can either walk to the theatre when you get to the 23rd St. stop or transfer at Broadway Lafayette and take the Bleeker ST. 6 train uptown to 23rd St.

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@Linkat,

1. Yes, you can get an unlimited metro card. There are vending machines that take credit cards in most stations. I bought one a few weeks ago.

2. Google Maps works really well with the NYC metro. It will tell you what trains to get, how to walk to the station and where to get off. It even tells you when the next train will come.

3. You seem much better at planning than I am. We often head out with an idea of a few things we might want to do, and then end up doing something different as we get distracted.

Planning is good, but my advice is to leave open the possibility of changing plans.

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@maxdancona,

I just double checked. I had an unlinited weekly metro card (well worth the price if you are there for a few days). I don't know if they sell by the day.

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@maxdancona,

maxdancona wrote:

I just double checked. I had an unlinited weekly metro card (well worth the price if you are there for a few days). I don't know if they sell by the day.

They don't. They stopped making them several years ago... alongside one of the major pricing changes.

Quote:

2. Google Maps works really well with the NYC metro. It will tell you what trains to get, how to walk to the station and where to get off. It even tells you when the next train will come.

Google Maps is what I use every day and week. But PLEASE BE WARNED! The Google Maps DOESN'T usually have planned weekend route changes (maintenance related changes in a given train schedule). Try MTA.info or http://web.mta.info/weekender.html if you're looking to see if certain trains are effected on the weekend.

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@maxdancona,

Awesome - my daughter would like to see times square, would like to see Rockefeller Center (if it has the Christmas stuff then) - this would be the Sunday before Thanksgiving -

I thought after the concert we could go by Rockefeller Center and see the lights - I don't have an issue traveling by subway - and moving about a city - just want to make sure it would be safe for the two of us. We would not carry purses, and be wary of our jewelry.

Totally agree with you on the planning stuff - I often times plan things out but if something else ends up taking our time so be it.

Just to have a sort of plan and see what seems realistic with our limited time.

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Ok so I looked up the subway situation - it $2.75 for each trip - the weekly unlimited pass cost $33 which equates to 12 trips - so I guess it depends on how much we plan to use it.

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@Linkat,

Linkat wrote:

Ok so I looked up the subway situation - it $2.75 for each trip - the weekly unlimited pass cost $33 which equates to 12 trips - so I guess it depends on how much we plan to use it.

Sorry. But I think I need to clarify what may be a confusion here. Unlimited metrocards can't be shared by more than one person. Once it's been swiped at a station, it won't allow a second swipe until (I can't remember...) 10ish minutes or unless you try to enter a different station or bus. Not sure ... there might be a better way to express that.

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