[wallijonn]

Grinch,

I've lived and worked most of my life in NYC. I can say that I have seen almost everything that could happen, and some things that can't. I walked the city streets for over 25 years. If there was a club, chances are I went to it. (I still miss NY, NY and Roseland). So, yes, I saw a lot of crime, accidents, blasts, shootings, muggings, fights, rapes, knifings, gang wars, bricks falling from buildings, cranes tipping over, ... eh, life in the big city. can't get involved. time to go home.

You're right, NYC is probably no more crime infested than any other city. (My brother says that there's more happenings here than in NYC. I just tell him the in NYC crime takes a back seat to more important matters, like subway fare hikes and unemployment).

oh, to have a pizza on Columbus Circle, or a cold beer in Germantown... yeah, i miss it. sometimes. life is life no matter where you are.

 

[gloco]

Just have a fun time, by the way, when you hit up Wall Street head west to the Winter Garden, it's in between 2 WFC and 3 WFC (World Financial Center) located on West Side Drive and Vesey Street (directly across the street from where the WTC stood).

I would definitely hit one or two areas a day, i guess you can start from uptown and work your way down. I would avoid the Bronx as its a huge garbage dump of a borough.

Coney Island? Eh...

 

[Davie]

wallijonn.

When did you leave NYC? You're comments bring back memories of the city circa 1988.

 

[lan]

Quote:

Originally posted by gloco I would avoid the Bronx as its a huge garbage dump of a borough.

Garbage dump? Don't you mean Staten Island?

 

[gloco]

Quote:

Originally posted by lan Garbage dump? Don't you mean Staten Island?

LOL, ok, The Bronx reminds me of the Ghetto from Death Wish 3.

 

[wallijonn]

Davie,

it's only been two years.

but I still remember the hot spots. at least I can say that I went to the Playboy club

i'm hearing a lot of horror stories - a guy drops his token at the token booth. he bends over to pick it up. a cop gives him a ticket for obstructing traffic. bank robberies are on the rise...

i bet you that NYC will soon be a very clean place. who could afford the littering tickets?

make sure you only get one napkin with that hotdog. if one flys away...

there will soon be no jay walking in NYC. tickets. blow your horn? ticket. i think it is called fascism. from communism to fascism.

 

[gloco]

Quote:

Originally posted by wallijonn i bet you that NYC will soon be a very clean place. who could afford the littering tickets? make sure you only get one napkin with that hotdog. if one flys away... there will soon be no jay walking in NYC. tickets. blow your horn? ticket. i think it is called fascism. from communism to fascism.

that's what happens when people vote in a billionaire to run the city...

make sure not to take up a seat next to you on the train, they'll ticket you for that.

 

[wallijonn]

glo,

i heard about that. a woman put a package on the bench seat next to her and she got ticketed. bet no one is running to get a train. ticket. endangering the public.

guess they got smart - can't ticket the homeless. so ticket those that can pay. it used to be only criminals who were always watching out for the cops. now it's the populace. when the population is scared of offending a police officer - watch out.

 

[Sovkiller]

Quote:

Originally posted by Davie I think that what's going on here is: 1) NYC has a huge budget deficit. Even worse than most places because on top of the general economy, New York is dealing with the effects of September 11 and terrorism related security costs. 2) The city is trying to squeeze every penny it can in order to avoid closing firehouses, lay off cops, etc. etc. 3) Cops are getting pressured to write tickets. Some of them may deliberately go overboard so that there will be a media backlash and their superiors will be forced to lay off. Anyway, none of this typical operating procedure in New York, but you may want to be extra careful about observing the traffic and parking laws at this particular point in time.

About point number two, they already closed 5 firehouses, firing all the firemen, ridiculous, after the roll they played during 9/11, one day were heroes, the next year they got fired.
About point number 3, don't blame the cops, these orders came from above....

 

[PatM]

If the weather is nice (which seems to be a rarity, lately) I'd highly recommend a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. The structure itself is gorgeous and the views are unique. On the Brooklyn side, the promenade offers outstanding views of the city's skyline.

And if you are in the mood, the Bronx Zoo is also great and right next door is Arthur Avenue, a throwback Italian neighborhood with amazing stores/restaurants. Take in a Yankee game if you can to see Yankee stadium (also in the Bronx, which clearly ain't as bad as some have inferred).

All of these places are best gotten to by subway.

have a great time.

 

[Davie]

Quote:

Originally posted by PatM If the weather is nice (which seems to be a rarity, lately) I'd highly recommend a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. The structure itself is gorgeous and the views are unique. On the Brooklyn side, the promenade offers outstanding views of the city's skyline. And if you are in the mood, the Bronx Zoo is also great and right next door is Arthur Avenue, a throwback Italian neighborhood with amazing stores/restaurants. Take in a Yankee game if you can to see Yankee stadium (also in the Bronx, which clearly ain't as bad as some have inferred). All of these places are best gotten to by subway. have a great time.

The Bronx Zoo is also a fast ride on the Metro North commuter rail line from Grand Central.

 

[Calanctus]

I feel considerably safer now, living in NYC, than I ever did visiting it in the late 80s. I recall driving through the South Bronx at that time...it was literally like the movie set from 'The Omega Man'. But now I've been all over Manhattan at night (well, not past 90th St. I will admit) and have felt fine. Of course I'm a fairly big guy and would not recommend this to a female person, or to someone with no clue about what's going on around him...but NYC these days is very different.

The energy and dynamic movement of life here is special. There are other big cities with all or most of the things that New York has, in terms of culture, sports, landmarks, etc. but no city that I have ever been to that has the same sense of moving fast all the time. People in Manhattan walk FAST. When driving in to NYC, as soon as you get within about 50 miles of it, all the cars seem to speed up and drive just a bit more aggresively.

No one seems to have any manners, but don't take it personally--they're not being rude TO YOU, they're just missing some of the niceties that people elsewhere take for granted. Most New Yorkers that I've gotten to know are really pretty nice.

 

[Davie]

Quote:

Originally posted by Sovkiller About point number two, they already closed 5 firehouses, firing all the firemen, ridiculous, after the roll they played during 9/11, one day were heroes, the next year they got fired. About point number 3, don't blame the cops, these orders came from above....

Ok, *more* firehouses. And did they actually fire the firemen or just reassign them? (Do the tabloid headlines make this clear?) The administration may have some justification for what they're doing. If you look at NYC firehouses, many of them were built a century ago (before, say the construction of most of the subway system and the majority of the city's skyscrapers and housing stock) and may not be located in the most efficient way to serve the city's current needs. Politics being what it is, closing fire houses is never popular and therefore never happens until the fiscal crap hits the proverbial fan. And there will always be an alliance of neighborhood groups and uniform services unions to raise a ruckus and try to prevent any change. The firefighters are still heros in my book. I don't think any of them should be fired. But given the fact that school teachers, libraries, subway riders, tax payers, etc. -- i.e., everybody -- is being forced to make sacrifices, I don't think that the fire department should be *completely* insulated. Believe me, it's worse elsewhere.

And I'm not blaming cops. As I stated, they are being pressured from above and I'm sure they don't enjoy hassling people over petty violations. But when I'm being pressured by my boss to do something stupid, sometimes a little demonstration of what this literally involves can send a good message back up the line.

Anyway, my ultimate point is that people visiting New York shouldn't worry about these ruckuses -- which are for the most part creations of local political operators and media in the struggle over resources in the city and state budgets in a time of fiscal austerity and diminishing federal support. This behavior is *not* typical, and the city has not gone crazy or turned into some sort of fascist regime. So come to the city, enjoy yourself, spend your money, and in the unlikely event you get ticketed for sitting on a milk crate, get your face on the cover of the New York Post and enjoy your 15 minutes of fame!

 

[scrypt]

If you like music specialty stores, NYC is the place. Other Music, Vinyl Market, Etherea, Kim's Underground -- there are far too many to name. Breakbeat Science is one of the best drum and bass stores in the world. There are also some interesting music stores on the Indian restaurant block in the Lower East Side (6th Street, between 1st and 2nd Aves.). You can get finger puppets of Kali and Shiva around the counter (you know you want them).

There's a club next door to Stingy Lulu's on St. Marks that is currently a great place to go for experimental electronic jams with the likes of Japanese laptopist Oblaat: Openair (121 St. Marks Place, btwn 1st Ave. and Ave. A). The night is called Share (btwn 5-9 p.m.). For more info, go here.

There's also a club called Subtonic that should be gone to on Thursdays ("Phonomena" night) for more adventurous music. It's curated by DJ Olive & Toshio Kajiwara. Another name to watch out for: Keiko Omura.

These are the things you want to do in a place like NYC: See the great museums and taste the experimental culture.

You owe it to yourself to go to the Met, the Guggenheim and the Cloisters (the latter is especially good if you bring a lady friend and a bottle of wine with which to explore the surrounding park area -- that's how I spent a really pleasant New Years Eve in 1999-2000). Go to the Museum of American Folk Art as well and see the permanent Darger collection.

Visit Chinatown for cheap electronics. I've recommended Canal Dev before and am doing so again right now.

I wouldn't worry too much about SovKiller's issues with NYC. He's been here awhile and is going to be more jaded than you. Besides, the ratio of annoying hipsters is now greater in Williamsburg, Park Slope, Greenpoint and Dumbo than it is in NYC.

[Edit: Yes, Redshifter's Earth Room Gallery is still there. Experimental author Richard Kostelanetz left a book for me there last winter and I was forced to walk up flights of stairs and through the dirt room (not the dirt) to pick it up.]

All this talk is reminding me to get out and do things in the rain before dark. Toodles, you virile septuagenarians.

One Last Thing: If you're fiending after a bit of rich jazz and poetry culture, go to A Gathering of the Tribes on Avenue C. The place is an art gallery, literary magazine, literary workshop and web center run by novelist Steve Cannon, who is blind and walks with a cane. If ever you want to be inspired by what one disabled visionary can accomplish, go to that place. On a given day, experimental artists on the level of Butch Morris and Daniel Carter are hanging out with Mr. Cannon (whose Louis Armstrong tessitura will doubtless answer your call). Address: 285 E. 3rd, NY, NY 10009. Tel: 212 674 3778. The other day I stopped by and walked in on a solo piano concert by a gentleman who had recorded with Lionel Hampton. The concert was reviewed in the New York Times the next day.

 

[wallijonn]

don't forget to see Diamond Alley (45th Street I believe) between 5th & 7 th Avenues.

And Hi Fi Alley (47th Street?) between 5th & 6th (although by now most will surely be gone). Which only leaves the area between 34th street and 42 nd street along 8th avenue, and maybe a strip or two downtown (like Chinatown on Canal Street between Church & ?). Heck, you have to visit all the Canal Street Stores - they have everything from computers (west side, high gi, the middle, jewelrey the est side). Look for "Audio Exchange" stores.

One of the best Steak Houses is "Wollensky & Wollensky" on 46 & 3rd. (I never cared fro the steak house near 14t6h Street.)

Near wall street, there is an old tavern, Fraunces Tavern, where Washington used to stay.

there's a Church that was converted to a Disco. Limelight?

when going to a strip gentlemen's club, don't ever buy a waoman a drink, especially champagne. it'll probably cost you $125 for the $6.95 bottle. most all nude clubs in the city are now "clubs" and a membership "due" will have to be paid.

stock up on all foreign x-rated videos before going back home.

does the Metrpolitan Museum still have Deli's artwork? Supposedly his "Passion" (Christ on the Cross) can be seen only by appointment.