New York In January??

Chong

Quick question for all , I am thinking of going to new york for new years, I what I am wondering though is it bitterly cold at time of year or what. The question is really would I still have a good time in January.

ixoy

I was there in January of this year. It *was* cold but we all enjoyed ourselves. Indeed the cold was quite bracing at times, such as the top of the Empire State Building (about -12 or so) and it scared the queues away.

We even got snow (a few feet with all internal flights cancelled) and it made the city very pretty - Central Park was gorgeous.

Just wrap up and you'll be fine. The city is perfectly capable of handling the cold and everywhere inside is warm.

BuffyBot

As ixoy said, it will be cold, but if you wrap up, you'll be fine

Chong

Great thanx for the advice buffy and ixoy.

Farls

I was there also in January of this year, it was very cold but it was excellent. My advice is don't bother bringing over warm clothes....just bring 1 change and buy everything over there...its what we did and it worked out excellent.

New York is a beautiful place

Enjoy

Farlz

Chong

Ok guys 3 weeks till I head off, just a few q's. Is it worth going to any of the bigger outlets stores in New Jersey, also in the city is century 21 actually any good. I would like to buy me an new suit nothing too dear nor designer any shopping suggestions. Plus I have got 5 full days there like, was thinking of having 3 days shopping first then spend the last two days sight seeing woud this be a good idea. Finally if you have any other shopping/sightseeing tips and ideas hit me please.

Jeepers, you'll be there the same time as me
Yes it is worth going up to woodbury common, an hours drive north of NY.
Theres been a fair amount of snow in new york already

I was there in february 3 years ago and the snow in central park was knee depth.
The skating rink was open at night and well lit up-just sweet.

If you have 5 full days there, it would be worth your while to fly down to washington for one of the days.You'd get a return flight for well under $100 from laguardia and theres enough flights to give you a relaxed 8 or 10 hours there,see the sights, do the tours etc.
No need to shop in washington,thats for woodbury.

*edit* theres a very frequent subway from reagan airport in washington right into the city centre

Chong

Sweet Earthman thanks for the ideas, I am just worried that there will be snow and too much of it. In regards to woodbury common, I have heard many conflicting reports on whether its worth or not like. Some say its the best because its got all the shops but then some say that macys caters for absolutley everything like.

WDK

WDK wrote:

Sweet Earthman thanks for the ideas, I am just worried that there will be snow and too much of it. In regards to woodbury common, I have heard many conflicting reports on whether its worth or not like. Some say its the best because its got all the shops but then some say that macys caters for absolutley everything like.

I'm concerned about the snow too,in that I wont be able to drive around as much maybe if its there.I'm more worried though about snow delaying flights on this end though(and I'm not joking,I am the weather mod ) I dont mind being held up on the way back.

As regards woodbury Vs Macey's. I've been in New York about 7 or 8 times and woodbury 2 or 3 times.
If you are going to buy clothes,dont shop on 5th ave, shop in Woodbury or the eqivalent one in New Jersey.
About half the price of Maceys and a fifth the price of 5th ave or Ireland for lots of thisngs.
If you want a new mp3 player,woodbury has a sony shop.
Trust me - go there!

BuffyBot

ou'll be there the same time as me

And (possibly) me

dingding

Me also

Chong

Crazy lads, maybe we can meet up for a New York Beers .

Litcagral

Earthman wrote:

I'm concerned about the snow too,in that I wont be able to drive around as much maybe if its there.I'm more worried though about snow delaying flights on this end though(and I'm not joking,I am the weather mod ) I dont mind being held up on the way back.

QUOTE]

They are well equipped for snow. Roads are usually cleared quite quickly as many private people have contract to operate small jeep mounted snow ploughs in their immediate area in conjunction with large public authority ploughs.

oh dear

Moved to the events board

I know how they deal with snow, what with emmergency snow routes and piling the snow miles high at the sides of the road.
It's the slippy conditions I wouldnt like driving in-last thing I want in the states is an accident :eek: and Woodbury is in the foothills of the catskills

Litcagral

Earthman wrote:

oh dear

and Woodbury is in the foothills of the catskills

Is there not a bus from Grand Central Station? I vaguely remember my wife getting it.

cee_jay

Was there last December/January, Woodbury i thought was ok - prefered Jersey Gardens as an outlet mall - just get a train from Penn Station to Elizabeth and a short taxi ride there then - plan on spending the whole day there!
Only thing I didnt like was searching through all the horrible cheap stuff to get something good!
I would recommend Macy's for at least one of your shopping days!
Didn't like Century 21 that much

Chong

Is there any other good shopping departmental stores in manhattan itself, what about bloomingdales is that any good. Plus is the subway fairly safe to be travelling on .

Litcagral

cAr0l wrote:

I would recommend Macy's for at least one of your shopping days!
Didn't like Century 21 that much

Yes I would agree with you about that. I'm not into shopping but I did a quick run into Macy's one morning and bought ten good shirts and five pairs of trousers in about 30 minutes. Also they give you an extra 11% off if you're a visitor.

Chong

Thats brilliant about the whole 11% off like.

irishguy

WDK wrote:

Is there any other good shopping departmental stores in manhattan itself, what about bloomingdales is that any good. Plus is the subway fairly safe to be travelling on .

all those department stores are going to be more expensive than the outlet stores. But with the january sales you could get a good bargin anywhere.
The subway is fine but it depends where your staying you mightnt need to get it much. It always better to walk anyway (depends if its snowing or not of course)

I would recomend seeing the sights as much as possible as new york is a great city with loads to do

cee_jay

I agree with the walking - we walked everywhere and it wasn't too bad even though it was snowing (bought lovely warm coats in The Gap when we got there).
Found the subway fine - no problems at all - and I got it from JFK to Penn Station by myself at 6 am in the morning - I was the only white person in the carriage, the youngest female by about 20 years and the only one who had no seat! Very strange!
Didn't make it to Bloomingdales so couldn't tell you what its like!

Litcagral

irishguy wrote:

I would recomend seeing the sights as much as possible as new york is a great city with loads to do

I enjoyed every second of it. The subway generally feels safe especially in the city centre - it has some dodgy characters further out. I found the Coney Island area a bit intimidating. It's not as straightforward as the "Tube" regarding the letters used to describe lines and takes a bit of getting used to. If you intend using it a lot, get one of the limitless tickets and hop on and off as you please.

Our man in Havana

Would it not be cheaper to shop across the river in New Jersey? No sales tax on clothes and only 6% on other goods. Compare this to 8.375% for NYC.

Loads of buses and trains to take you the short hop from NYC to jersey city.

Litcagral

Bond-007 wrote:

Would it not be cheaper to shop across the river in New Jersey? No sales tax on clothes and only 6% on other goods. Compare this to 8.375% for NYC.

Loads of buses and trains to take you the short hop from NYC to jersey city.

True but you wouldn't have the 'Manhattan' experience if that's what your there for.

Some shops display prices excluding tax so bear that in mind.

Our man in Havana

Some shops display prices excluding tax so bear that in mind.

AFAIK it is standard parctice throughout the US to show prices without taxes.

Litcagral

I stand corrected.

Bond-007

Bond-007 wrote:

Would it not be cheaper to shop across the river in New Jersey? No sales tax on clothes and only 6% on other goods. Compare this to 8.375% for NYC.

Loads of buses and trains to take you the short hop from NYC to jersey city.

Theres an outlet centre in New Jersey thats as big as woodbury and a similar distance afaik.
It's been mentioned here before.
I am interested in that.
But with Gap jeans in woodbury for $10-you cant go far wrong.

Also driving to woodbury is nice scenery and it gets you into rural small town New York state and the hills.

doshin

Can anyone reccommend somewhere to stay in NYC.

irishguy

doshin wrote:

Can anyone reccommend somewhere to stay in NYC.

www.comfortinnmanhattan.com very central hotel (next door to the empire state building and macys) 7 blocks for times square/broadway.
It wasnt that expensive cant remember how much though

Chong

It being my first time in New York, I dunno what the procedures are. I received an email from Aer Lingus asking me to log onto their site to fill out my "advanced passenger information", which I did.

Now what I would like to know is do I still have to fill some card my mom keeps banging on about. Also do I have to fill out something or input something when I get to JFK.

Litcagral

WDK wrote:

It being my first time in New York, I dunno what the procedures are. I received an email from Aer Lingus asking me to log onto their site to fill out my "advanced passenger information", which I did.

Now what I would like to know is do I still have to fill some card my mom keeps banging on about. Also do I have to fill out something or input something when I get to JFK.

US immigration in Shannon will request that you complete a green form with all your personal details including your reason for visiting etc. They also insist that you write the exactaddress where you will be staying. Even if you have nothing confirmed they will still insist on an address. When you have done this in Ireland you should not have any holdups in JFK.

Chong

Yes but what I filled out on Aer Lingus's website seems to be exactly the same as what your saying.

BuffyBot

Still got to be done, and it's the much same imformation but not quite the same thing.

Chong

I see , its kinda stupid then going to the bother of filling out the information on the Aer Lingus.

Gandhi

I heard once that if someone gets turned back at their destination's passport control, the airline that brought them there is responsible for bringing them back. Don't know if that is correct, but I've always assumed that is why the airlines are so enthusiastic about gathering info on passengers.

BuffyBot

Yes, generally the airline is responsible for bringing them back. They also face a fine I believe.

Our man in Havana

BuffyBot wrote:

Yes, generally the airline is responsible for bringing them back. They also face a fine I believe.

That's not the reason with Aer Lingus. If you are going to be refused you won't even get onto the plane in Shannon. Saves them the $2000 fine! Its the whole reason they have immigration in Ireland for the US.

Dodge

Been to New York the previous 2 Decembers. If you're planning on doing lot of shopping make sure you wear lots of layers as it'll probably be *freezing* outsise but all shops will be *roasting*

There's a bus that leaves the Port Authority vus station for Woodbury Common about 6/7 times a day. It was $37 dollars last Dec. Well worth it as you could save a fortune. Here's their website with a full store listing. In Manhatten, Macy's is by far the best dept. store.

All your immigration forms etc are filled out in the airport, you'l be given them when you check in by the Aer Lingus staff. Should take about 10 minutes to go through. Only thing to do in JFK is show them your PP.

Enjoy

Chong

Thanks dodge for the great advice. Thanks to everyone for the great advice I cant wait for next week, its going to be class.

Also is possible can anyone someone sights to be seen: apart from the usual.

In regards to the museums which are the best ones to go to, I was thinking of going to the Guggenheim and the American Natural History one.

Dodge

You'll obviously visit time square and the Empire state building but make sure you walk across the Brokklyn bridge. I'd also recommend buying a metrocard over there for the duration of your stay. The subways are great and buying a five day ticket (for example) will save you loads of hassle. We pretty much walked everywhere in midtown manhatten but if you're going to do the bridge, or take the (free) staten island ferry or visit the Statue of Liberty, you will need the subway. (plus if its that cold, you mightn't wanto to walk).

EDIT: If the Chriatmas tree is still up in Rockefeller Centre, its also a must see

Subliminal

Ill be there monday myself, cant wait! Going to buy a camera in b&h.. $450 there...same camera 675 Euro here. I know you can buy power adapters on the flight, but will the camera cost much to bring back? and do i have to tell the sales guy when i buy it? Also, i am just getting over a fractured foot, and cant walk very far, apart from other transport, are taxis expensive? say from empire state to woodburys?

Cheers.

BuffyBot

say from empire state to woodburys?

That would be crazy. Get a taxi to the Port Authority Bus Terminal on 8th Avenue instead, and get the direct bus from there.

Chong

Ok just one more question from before tommorrow the big day. We all hear about no go areas like Haarlem, the bronx, and to some extent Chinatown but is there any other areas I shouldnt be going like aroun broadway and in / around Time Sq?

BuffyBot

Not really. Even Harlem (in the main spots) and the Bronx have been cleaned up and are reasonably safe. Usual advice applies as it would with any city - don't act like a tourist, don't have valuables in sight etc

Chong

Thanks Buffy.

ergo

Dodge wrote:

make sure you walk across the Brokklyn bridge.

this is damn good advice, it's a lovely walk, have done it most times I've been to NY

was there at the end of feb back in 2003, had a great week, it was absolutely freezing but hey, New York is still New York!

another thing, if you're into music, I found a shop that seemed to be excellent value for all CD's but especially new releases, place is called Disc-O-Rama, has 2 shops, the main one is at 186 W4th Street
New York, NY 10014. or see www.discorama.com

and enjoy!

BuffyBot

BuffyBot wrote:

Not really. Even Harlem (in the main spots) and the Bronx have been cleaned up and are reasonably safe. Usual advice applies as it would with any city - don't act like a tourist, don't have valuables in sight etc

LoL
Broad daylight somewhere near the train heading to jfk-we ran to catch it to shouts from the local dudes... "run white boy run...!"

Harmless fun but quite funny at the time.

Dodge

Subliminal wrote:

are taxis expensive? say from empire state to woodburys?

Taxis aren't too expensive if travelling in the mrning or late evening but rush hour traffic in midtown manhatten is ridiculous. You could be a taxi for an hour trying to go 3/4 blocks. The other thing to note is that practically all NYC streets/avenues are one way so you might have to go round much further than you think for a seemingly simple journey.

Woodbury Commons is in upstate new York and the bus willl take between 60 and 90 miutes to get there