I have a friend who’ll be in New York from Dec 31 to Jan 6.
Can anyone recommend anything for her to do?
She’s staying at the Majestic, she’s a trendy punk type. She’s twenty-three and her boyfriend is eighteen, but he plans on getting a fake ID, so nightlife plans are okay.
Nothing. Might as well just go home.
;j
That’s what I keep telling her.
There was a thread just like this my first week here. It was chock full of goodies after a couple of days.
As soon as the NYC Dopers see it, this one wil fill up, too.
It’s been a couple of years since I’ve been there, but I found something for all my varied tastes. I’m sure she’ll have fun. Word of caution, though, it’s no fun to spend a night in jail in a strange city. Trust me.
Stuyguy will be able to help.
While we’re waiting, I’ll suggest:
-MOMA
-Natural History Museum
-Catch an Islanders game out on the Island 
-A walk or carriage ride around Central Park if it’s not too cold
-Visit the Dakota where John Lennon lived
-Check out that big toy store on 5th Ave…hell what’s it called…the one from “big” with the annoying singing mechanical children…
-Tiffany’s
-Have a Corned Beef on Rye at the Waiverly Room in the Village.
-Wander SoHo, lots of neat little head-shop type places there.
-If you wanna see a show, go to the “TKTS” booth in Times Square for same-day tickets at good discounts.
-Walk the Brooklyn Bridge. It’ll be cold, but if you’re into photography you can get some nice pictures.
-Probably way to cold for the statue of Liberty.
But I’m not very trendy, so I can’t comment on the night life.
I’ll be keeping an eye on this thread – my wife and I will be visiting NYC from Christmas Day through Jan. 5. We’ve got a list of stuff we want to do, but there’s plenty of room for more ideas.
Stuff alread on our list: a show at the Upright Citizens Brigade theater, “Matt and Ben,” “Henry IV,” the Museum of Sex, Kate’s Paperie, Grand Central Station, and who knows what all else.
Interrobang!?: “Matt & Ben”! I enjoyed the hell out of that. Great, great show.
Otherwise, she could always see a show or two at CBGB’s.
I didn’t think it was real, but your description is awesome.
F.A.O. Schwartz?
Trying to revive this thing for more info…
Do you enjoy sports? I think I’d try and catch the Jets or Giants given the opportunity.
Go to Rocky Sullivan’s at 28th (?) and Lexington and have a Guinness and look at all the pictures of famous Irish folk on the walls. Plus Jack Kerouac, who I guess is an honorary Irishman.
Oh! If either of you is a book lover, you MUST go to The Strand for used books.
I’m a little sketchy on the details, but I hear tell of a punk rock/heavy metal kareoke club. You get to sing on stage, and they have a backup band, as opposed to the regular computer-generated cheese. I’ll try to make with the address and stuff soon, but if anyone else here knows what I’m talking about, feel free to help me out.
I’ll jump in with the obligatory link to the wisdom of stuyguy in the thread Vacation Advice, Please. Also, I’ll second NoGoodNamesLeft’s suggestion to search for other posts by stuyguy, our New York Guru.
I’m assuming your friend knows they have a little bit of a “do” in Times Square every New Years Eve?
If she does know make sure to tell her DON’T DO IT! Oh wait. She’s a trendy punk? She make like it. It’s very much like being in a mosh pit, only with more of a chance of getting both robbed and frostbite.
I’m saying this, and I loooooove NY.
Two things: This year (and most years as of late), a person who enjoys sports would have No Business At All watching either team, since most of the time they don’t even put up a good fight. And besides, the stadium’s 45 minutes into New Jersey.
A couple of things I would add to Stuyguy’s thread: MOMA is in a former stapler factory in Queens right now - not that hard to get to, but it takes a little more time if you’re staying in Manhattan. (They’re working on an enormous, and even more enormously expensive, expansion project at their 53rd Street location.)
Speaking of 53rd street, next to the MOMA construction site is the newly completed and quite spectacular American Folk Art Museum. Well worth a visit.
I can’t underscore often enough how much I love the Frick, one of the New York’s most humane spaces.
You’re also in time to see the National Design Triennial at the Cooper-Hewitt, the Smithsonian National Design Museum. It’s in the former Carnegie mansion at 5th & 91st. Highly recommended - a bunch of us Dopers visited the Triennial over the summer.
If you’re headed to the Metropolitan: my single favorite part of the museum is the Japanese art collection, which also houses a small suite of George Nakashima furniture - and sometimes you can actually sit on the chairs, which is a treat.
The Village Voice
Chock full of listings for punk rock shows.
I was there around that time back a few years and I had a great time (even though it was a bit cold).
Stuff I liked:
Dave T
I guess that after all the advance work that previous posters have done on my behalf I should check in at this thread. (Thanks guys for your votes of confidence, esp Billdo who posted the link to that now-famous NYC sightseeing thread.)
My advice to all NYC tourists who have a few days to spend sightseeing is to get the heck out of Manhattan for at least one day. There are four other boroughs, and though they are not as turbo-charged as Manhattan they all have their charms and attractions that make them worth a visit. (See the linked thread for some examples. If you want more – as well as lesser-known sights in Manhattan, too – get a book called City Secrets: New York City; I contributed many of my suggestions to that book.)
Since you’ll be visiting during the holidays you’ll have a rare opportunity to catch an outer-borough attraction that will pop your eyes out: the Christmas light decoration orgies of Dyker Heights, Brooklyn (83 & 84 Sts. from 10th to 13th Aves., and nearby). The residents of this neighborhood festoon their houses with garish lights, decorations and automatons that makes one think of a Caligulan Disneyland designer with lots of money and hardly any taste. Too much is never enough with these people. Some call it jubulant and delightful; others call it tacky beyond words. Whatever the case, everyone should experience it at least once in their lives.
These houses have become such a tradition that tour companies have buses that will shuttle you from Manhattan. Too easy and antiseptic! I say forego that route and take the subway – you’ll have to hike a bit, but you’ll get a real flavor for a genuine Brooklyn Italian-American neighborhood that you’ll never know from the inside of a tour bus. Plus the streets are a snap to navigate on foot. It’s a grid with numbered avenues that run N-S, and streets that run E-W – just like Manhattan except that the street numbers get higher as you walk south, not north. (Bring a map anyway since there are a few obstructions that can confound you if you don’t know the exact lay of the land.)
But why do just the Christmas light houses? Piggyback the trip with brief detours to nearby Verrazano Bridge and maybe even Fort Hamilton (they have, or had, a small military museum – better call to check). Take the R train to 95th Street & 4th Ave. (the end of the line) walk south (the street numbers will get higher) over the Belt Parkway overpass to the esplanade that runs under the Verrazano Bridge – a stunning sight and the location of some of the most memerable scenes from Saturday Night Fever. Visit Ft. Hamilton if you like which is right nearby (never been there, so I can’t offer any concrete details, sorry).
Then retrace your steps heading north along 4th Ave. to 86th Street. Turn right. Walk to 10th Ave., and turn left to 83rd Street. Turn right for the Christmas light houses. Plan your trip to get there after sunset for the most striking experience.
You’ve walked enough for a well deserved meal. Head back to 4th and 5th Aves. and check out the eateries and pastry shops there for some of the best Italian food this side of the Atlantic Ocean. Ask the locals for the best places.
Then get back on the R train (stops are at 95th, 86th and 77th Streets and 4th Ave.) to Manhattan.
Have fun!!!
~ stuyguy (who grew up only a short distance from this neighborhood)