What to do in New York during the day?

In My Humble Opinion
1

You know, it’s really pathetic. I’ve lived in New York City just about my entire life and I’m woefully ignorant of the things the city has to offer.

As it turns out, I’m off on Monday (hooray!) as is my wife. The kids, however, are in school that day, so my wife and I have most of the day free.

What’s there to do in NYC during the day? The ground rules are:

  1. We have to be back by about 4:00 - 4:30.
  2. We’d prefer to be indoors.
  3. If food is involved, it’s got to be kosher.
  4. It can’t be terribly expensive.
  5. It shouldn’t be terribly athletic. My wife has bad knees.

Other than that, I’m open to suggestions. I’m looking for something a little more memorable than a day at the movies, but not quite on the level of a Broadway show either. (It doesn’t have to be entertainment either… that was just a guideline).

In the past, we’ve gone to the Museum of Natural History, the Planetarium and the Empire State Building. We’ve been to all the zoos (my kids love animals) and the aquarium. We don’t want to “window shop” where we can’t afford to buy (such as FAO Schwartz). If we can avoid the popular tourist traps, that’s even better.

So, what’s to do? What’s out there in our fair city?

Zev Steinhardt

2

I enjoyed the Cloisters, the Met’s museum of mediaeval art, at Fort Tryon, northern Manhattan.

3

There’s really not much to do in New York City. It’s a sleepy little town. “The city that always sleeps,” that’s what they call it. At least the people are mellow and laid back.

4

Maybe that’s why I’m not so familiar with it’s comings and goings. I’m a very atypical New Yorker in that I am very mellow and laid back. :slight_smile:

Zev Steinhardt

5

How about Coney Island? Can that be done in a day? I hear at least some of food claims to be Kosher :smiley:

6

I don’t know…maybe put yourselves in the shoes of a tourist seeing NYC for the first time. You could take a harbor cruise. Take a carriage ride. Go to the Waldorf Astoria and order a Waldorf Salad (forgive me if that’s not kosher, I’m not sure what the rules for that are). Sometimes it’s fun to play tourist in your own town.

Or you could do what I hope to have a chance to do when I visit in a few months: Check out Forgotten New York. It’s got a wealth of local oddities you can check out, if that’s your thing.

7

As a Limey who has just come back from 5 great days New York, may I suggest the following?

  1. Coney Island/Brighton Beach - have a Nathan’s Hot Dog and hear nothing but Russian spoken. The subway from Manhattan takes about 45 minutes.

  2. The Late Show with David Letterman - my mate and I got tickets to last Monday’s show, with guests Samuel L Jackson and BB King (and someone called Amy Poehler, of whom we had never heard). Bit of a palaver to get the tickets, mind, but they’re FREE.

  3. Visit Jeremy’s Ale House at 254 front Street. Stay long enough and you’ll get free food and drink.

  4. If you like military stuff, have a gander at the USS Intrepid Sea-Air-Space museum. They even have a Concorde on a barge.

8

New York – Manhattan especially – is filled with museums and odd shops. I don’t just mean the big ones, like the Met and the Museum of Natural History and the Museum of Modern Art.

I’m not sure how many of these are still there (I know that the Museum of the American Indian , for instance, has packed up and moved away, and the Museum of Immigration is now on Ellis Island, and the Museum f Holography is now owned by MIT and is in storage in Cambridge), but Go see:

The Museum of the City of New York

The New York Historical Society (right across from the AMNH!) (Both of these, by the way, have pieces of the gilt statue of King George that was ulled down and melted into bullets on the eve of he REvolution)

The Boxing Museum (has casts of the fists of famous boxers!)

Chinatown Museum

Frick Collection (in Henry Cly Frick’s mansion on Fifth Avenue)

The J.P. Morgan Library (the world’s largest collection of illumnated manuscripts, and the original MS of “A Christmas Carol”)

Museum of the Moving Imag (old TV shows not available on DVD or VHS)

The Museum of Jewish Heritage

and, oh, heck, look on the internet. Here, for instance:

http://www.ny.com/museums/all.museums.html
I’ll second The Cloisters (which is part of the Met, but is located up in Fort Tryon Park, and you can cover it in a couple f hours.

9

Defintiely check out the Ellis Island museum Then, if you’re hungry, it’s just a short hop on the subway to the Lower East Side…even if it’s being taken over by Chinatown and Little Italy, you still ought to be able to find some kosher restaurants.

Also, have you never, ever been to the Met? If not, then by all means, you should remedy this tragic omission!

10

No, the branch at the Custom House, at Bowling Green, is still there, even though the new main musuem has recently opened in Washingtopm.

11

Not to derail the thread, but she’s an actress on Saturday Night Live, the sketch comedy show.

12

There is a show on some local cable station called something like NYC on $9.99 a Day but I can’t find a web site for it.

I would recomend the Met, BMA or the new and imporved (with lemon fresh scent) MoMA. (MoMA is a bit on the pricey side)

There is always the movies and in NYC you can see movies that most US dopers have never heard of or won’t get to see for a few months.
Of you and Mrs. S could just stay home and get busy. :wink:

13

Here’s a thought: you could go to an event being held in honor of the holiday (btw, I guess your children aren’t in public school). It being the big city, there should be many options.

14

Oh, and if you take the suggestion of the Cloisters (which is wicked cool, btw) might I suggest taking the Madison Avenue Bus? You’ll see parts of Manhatten you may have never seen before or see rarely. It’s a bit slow so you might want to take the subway back,or vice versa. But, anyway, take the bus one way.

15

This thread is funny – watching all these out-of-towners giving tips to a Brooklynite.

Zev, here are 2 of my favorite tips for NYC natives trying to re/discover their hometown. They are both off the beaten track, so you won’t get swept up in a rush of sightseers and out-of-towners.

The first is the Panorama of the City of New York, a 3-D scale model of the five boroughs at the Queens Museum in Flushing Meadows Park. It’s right next to the Unisphere, a bonus attraction that all NYers must see. Bring a pair of binoculars to spot your house from the catwalk that rings the Panorama.

The second is the **Prison Ship Martyrs’ Monument ** in Ft. Greene Park, Brooklyn. The washed-up remains of some of the 11,000+ (!) American Revolutionary War soldiers and sailors that died on British prison ships in the East River are kept in a sealed crypt under the giant Doric column here. The site has been badly maintained, but it is being restored.

Have fun.

16

The first is the Panorama of the City of New York, a 3-D scale model of the five boroughs at the Queens Museum in Flushing Meadows Park. It’s right next to the Unisphere, a bonus attraction that all NYers must see. Bring a pair of binoculars to spot your house from the catwalk that rings the Panorama.

Have fun.
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Oh, this thing is pretty cool! Some years ago I placed temps to assist in restoring it. We got to visit and actually walk on it. Nearby is the Science museum, which is fun too, but will be loaded with kids who are off school for the day.
Zev , do you have a car? This trip from Brooklyn might be a little daunting via bus and subway.

17

Definately not for everyone, but I recently paid a visit to the Museum of Sex and it turned out to be very educational and only a little uncomfortable. They have a great exhibit on eroticism is China going, I highly reccomend it.

18

A hearty second (third?) to the Panorama and to the Musuem of the City of New York. Both very fun New York themed activities.

And it may sound corny, but I’d recommend Circle Line’s cruises. The full island tour is best - gives you a good sense of the scale of the island of Manhattan, but it won’t fit your schedule. The semi-circle cruise might, though. I’m also a life long New Yorker (well metro area at least) and when I got dragged along on one of the cruises several years ago I was surprised how much I enjoyed it.

Or you could just run a full day of OOTP sims, Zev… :slight_smile:

19

the tenement museum is very interesting.

20

Some of us may technically be out-of-towners at the moment, but have the majority of our extended families in the area and spend years living there ourselves.

Eva Luna, NYU '89