NYC Megathread Archive 1 (to 13/03/08)

Third_Echelon · 11-01-2008 05:38PM

Pigletlover wrote: »

I'm off to New York in the morning and I've heard lots of stories about people getting stopped by customs on the way back from the US before Christmas and I was just wondering what the story is at this time of year - are they still stopping people or was it just a big clamp down on Christmas shoppers? Also, someone was telling me that her nephew was stopped and was given the option of paying a 'flat fee' of around €85, or else have the custom officials go through his stuff and calculate the taxes due. Does anyone know if this guy was just lucky enough to meet lazy custom officials or if you are actually given this option? I'm flying to/from Shannon btw if that makes a difference.

I've never seen anyone being stopped in Dublin. If you are taking the complete p1ss and are pushing 6 suitcases past customs and you are quite clearly just one person, you have a higher chance of getting stopped.

If you are walking by with the normal amount, e.g. Cabin bag and one or two cases, you should be fine.

I have never heard of the 'flat fee' option.... If I was stopped and I had a lot of stuff, I'd definitely take that option for sure.

I was in NY last January and I wasn't stopped coming back through customs. Didn't actually have that much stuff anyway

Pythia · 11-01-2008 07:57PM

My boyfriend and I have just come back from NY. Our Aer Lingus flight came in at approx 5am. We had 3 gigantic suitcases stuffed with clothes, 2 rucksacks and a laptop in a laptop case.
There were customs guys in the Green Channel but we weren't stopped and I don't think anyone else was either.

As far as I know, they do a few token searches coming up to Xmas but that's it.

Femelade · 13-01-2008 11:39AM

I came into dublin before christmas from NY. There was one woman stopped, i didnt really see how many bags she had, but they were pulling out a load of cd's from her bag....
WE had 2 huge bags each and didnt get stopped.

JOJOC - We bought a ticket for the gray line bus tour, we bought one for 2 days and they have a night time tour too, which we didnt get to do cos it was raining...but would have loved to. But you will see these buses all over Manhatten..you can get on any bus you want and get off at any of the stops and there is another bus along in 15 mins..
There is an uptown one and a downtown one, but the one ticket works for them both. I think we paid 45 dollars each, a bit pricey but we did get to see loads. http://www.coachusa.com/newyorksightseeing/

wjc · 13-01-2008 07:50PM

Going to New York next weekend. Staying at Fitzpatricks on Lexington. Any idea where I could watch the Munster/Wasps game around noon next sat 19th?

MrJoeSoap · 13-01-2008 07:55PM

Tonnes of Irish bars on 5th Avenue, a couple of them around 7th and 8th and roughly 40th street. Try Scruffy Duffys, they were very accomodating when I went in last week to watch some hockey (whilst the college football bowls were on).

Otherwise the ESPN Zone in Times Square has 14HD screens on one wall, bit of a long shot but could be worth asking at least.

brettmirl · 14-01-2008 12:32PM

wjc wrote: »

Going to New York next weekend. Staying at Fitzpatricks on Lexington. Any idea where I could watch the Munster/Wasps game around noon next sat 19th?

Not sure if that game is showing on Setanta in the USA, but you can check on their website which bars show the channel:

http://linux11744.dn.net/setanta/jsp/NA_venues.jsp?head=0&radius=100&CAT1=r&zipCode=10022

unklerosco · 14-01-2008 12:57PM

Heading to NYC on Fri for 4 days....

Looking for any tips on places to go/see.. So far this is on my list of things to do.

Roof of Rockafeller Center
Ice skating in Central Park
Open Top bus tour, China Town, Wall Street, 5th Ave, Central Park, Brooklyn Bridge
Show on broadway(spamallot)
Catch a game at MSG
See some standup at the gotham comedy club

Shopping wise... I'll most likely be hitting Jersey gardens, liked it last time... Might hit Woodbury Common. The the usual electronics stores(apple, B&Q, Best Buy)...

Anyone got any other tips of things to do or see... Any bars that are good(not Irish bars), any coctail bars(missus wants a sex and the city drink).

Third_Echelon · 14-01-2008 01:16PM

unklerosco wrote: »

Heading to NYC on Fri for 4 days....

Looking for any tips on places to go/see.. So far this is on my list of things to do.

Roof of Rockafeller Center
Ice skating in Central Park
Open Top bus tour, China Town, Wall Street, 5th Ave, Central Park, Brooklyn Bridge
Show on broadway(spamallot)
Catch a game at MSG
See some standup at the gotham comedy club

Shopping wise... I'll most likely be hitting Jersey gardens, liked it last time... Might hit Woodbury Common. The the usual electronics stores(apple, B&Q, Best Buy)...

Anyone got any other tips of things to do or see... Any bars that are good(not Irish bars), any coctail bars(missus wants a sex and the city drink).

New York has some really good bars that have Irish names, but they are not really 'Irish Bars' in the tacky shamrock and leprechaun decorated places that you'd see in Europe or England for example. They are just really good bars where you can have a good night out, or just somewhere to start the night off. No riverdance in the background etc. By not going to 'Irish Bars' in New York you are doing yourself a disservice.

There is a bar at Houston and Lafayette street which is pretty good. Its called Puck Fair, so its has an Irish name, but its not really an 'Irish Bar'. Good place to start the night when you are downtown.

http://www.murphguide.com/bars/puckfair.htm

http://www.swiftbarnyc.com/

McSorelys is a good beer swilling type of place. Again it has an Irish name, but its not an 'Irish Bar' as such. Saw dust on the floor and they only sell dark or light beer. Probably my favourite bar in New York. It has do be done at some stage on any visit to NY. Find a table. Bed yourself in for the night and keep the beer coming quick to your table.

Beware of bringing the ladies here. Ensure that they don't mind drinking beer. Ask for wine, vodka and coke or cosmopolitan etc and you will get a beer and probably a dirty look

http://www.mcsorleysnewyork.com/

There are lots of bars in the village area. Just walk down a street and pick one.

DBA is a good bar. A bit like the porter house bars in Dublin area, where they have loads of beers from around the world. Good music and a good crowd in there. 20 somethings to early 30s crowd mainly.

http://www.drinkgoodstuff.com/ny/default.asp

There are loads more that I have been in. Can't remember names or streets [drink was involved

]

Explore.....

microgirl · 14-01-2008 01:27PM

ryker wrote: »

Hi folks just wanted to ask has anyone gone with delta to JFK i have gone with Aer Lingus twice, i am going in november i know its a long time away.
My other half likes to have everything booked months in advance Delta are coming out at 398 return while Aer lingus have not got there prices out, but the price for October is 521 which i am working off.

Basically just wanted to know if anybody has gone with both and how do the compare with each other. Another question has anybody stayed in the Edison hotel on 47th street any help would be greatful thanks.

Flew Delta back in mid-December. Thought it was grand. Now mind you, 99% of my flights are Ryanair to the UK, so *anything's* better than that :d But even still, I found Delta great for the price. The food was edible, and there was plenty of it. the staff were lovely, and they had some decent films on. The only slightly bad thing was that there wasn't personal screens in the back of each chair, but I don't know how common that is anyway. It was just occasional screens coming down from the ceiling. But that's a pretty small complaint.

Don't recall there being anything terribly bad coming out the other side either..

One tip, for both Delta and Aer Lingus (I think I read it on Boards actually) is to book two one-way flights, rather than a return. Booking that way with Delta saved me about €60 off the return price

unklerosco · 14-01-2008 03:23PM

Third_Echelon wrote: »

McSorelys is a good beer swilling type of place. Again it has an Irish name, but its not an 'Irish Bar' as such. Saw dust on the floor and they only sell dark or light beer. Probably my favourite bar in New York. It has do be done at some stage on any visit to NY. Find a table. Bed yourself in for the night and keep the beer coming quick to your table.

Beware of bringing the ladies here. Ensure that they don't mind drinking beer. Ask for wine, vodka and coke or cosmopolitan etc and you will get a beer and probably a dirty look

http://www.mcsorleysnewyork.com/

Think i'll be heading down there after the hockey game... Missus will be off on a sex n the city tour for 3 hours. Bliss

Third_Echelon · 14-01-2008 05:12PM

unklerosco wrote: »

Think i'll be heading down there after the hockey game... Missus will be off on a sex n the city tour for 3 hours. Bliss

Back of the net!!!!

Qwerty27 · 14-01-2008 05:23PM

Im headin go to NYC in early April and want to catch some sports. The rangers are playin the islanders in ice hockey but all the cheaper tickets seem to be sold out. Has anyone used touts?

Could go to see the NJ Nets play basketball but sdoes anyone know how far their arena is from manhattan or how to get there?
After that it lloks like a baseball game although Im not really a huge fan.

Anyone any suggestions? Thanks

brettmirl · 14-01-2008 05:48PM

Rangers and the Islanders is usually a sell out game. I was at a game back in Nov and the atmosphere was great.

There is a section on the Rangers website where season ticket holders sell their tickets to games they can't attend. Have a root around and you'll find it.

Femelade · 14-01-2008 05:50PM

Qwerty27 wrote: »

Im headin go to NYC in early April and want to catch some sports. The rangers are playin the islanders in ice hockey but all the cheaper tickets seem to be sold out. Has anyone used touts?

Could go to see the NJ Nets play basketball but sdoes anyone know how far their arena is from manhattan or how to get there?
After that it lloks like a baseball game although Im not really a huge fan.

Anyone any suggestions? Thanks

try this: http://www.coasttocoasttickets.com/buy/nyrangers_tickets.htm?pid=640625

I got tickets for an icehockey match last december through this crowd. they fed ex'd them to me within days..

unklerosco · 14-01-2008 05:52PM

ebay is good too.... Tickets are generally similar to prices on the net but u'll get much better seats.

Also on the rangers site u can get tickets as mick_irl describes... Some are mad prices but some people sell em at face value. U can pick up some really good seats there too

Meathlass · 15-01-2008 12:27PM

Heading to New York in the morning and back on Sun 20th . Heard a rumour that becuase of the writers strike and the actors refusing to pass pickets that all broadway shows and plays had been cancelled. Is this true? Was really hoping to catch a show while over there.

unklerosco · 15-01-2008 12:33PM

It'd be on the new if it was.... Did a search on google n nothing came up, some shows where canceled for a week last november but that was it. If it was true you wouldnt be able to buy tickets for it... friends have tickets booked for shows at the weekend

Meathlass · 15-01-2008 12:48PM

unklerosco wrote: »

It'd be on the new if it was.... Did a search on google n nothing came up, some shows where canceled for a week last november but that was it. If it was true you wouldnt be able to buy tickets for it... friends have tickets booked for shows at the weekend

ok thanks. Just asked because a friend of mine was in NY in November, they'd bought tickets for the Lion King online and when they got there it was cancelled and they couldn't get their money back from the online ticketting company but it wasn't cancelled but 'postponed'! I'll just be buying my tickets that day from the TKS booth in Times Square anyway.

Third_Echelon · 15-01-2008 12:56PM

Qwerty27 wrote: »

<snip>

Could go to see the NJ Nets play basketball but sdoes anyone know how far their arena is from manhattan or how to get there?
After that it lloks like a baseball game although Im not really a huge fan.

Anyone any suggestions? Thanks

There are usually buses that go from the port authority bus station, just off times square to meadowlands complex in NJ for all sporting events.

Check out the IZOD centre website (the arena that the nets play in) for transport details. Just click on the nets logo on the homepage:

http://www.izodcenter.com/

There is a 'fan information' and 'maps and directions' link on that page.

I went to see the NY Knicks play in Madison Sq Garden. I found basketball to be quite boring really. Only exciting bit was the last minute or so of the game.

Baseball is actually a really good day out. Go have a few beers and relax...

BuffyBot · 15-01-2008 01:08PM

There was a seperate strike of some Broadway workers, which has now been resolved.

suppafly · 15-01-2008 06:33PM

I'm going to NY in the middle of Feb. American Airlines seems to have the cheapest fares at $493(€331). I was about to book it and my mate told me he went with them at the same time last yr and said on the way back that the fly kept getting delayed cuz of the weather, but all of the other airlines were still flying. Has anybody else had this experience with AA or did my mate just get unlucky? he flew in JFK

sharkDawg · 15-01-2008 06:59PM

Qwerty27 wrote: »

After that it lloks like a baseball game although Im not really a huge fan.

Unless you've a fairly good understanding of the ins and outs of baseball i wouldn't really recommend it, games go on for 3-4 hours and depending on the game, there can be very little action, the crowd is usually there just to drink and the game just happens in the background!

hot fuss · 16-01-2008 05:37PM

sharkDawg wrote: »

Unless you've a fairly good understanding of the ins and outs of baseball i wouldn't really recommend it, games go on for 3-4 hours and depending on the game, there can be very little action, the crowd is usually there just to drink and the game just happens in the background!

I went to a baseball game in San Diego during the summer and LOVED it even though I hadn't a clue what was going on. Spent a lot of the time trying to figure out what the hell the rules were, but sitting out in the sun with a beer and a hot dog watching baseball was great fun, and they even sing 'take me out to the ballgame' after the 7th inning (I think!).. great craic..

dublad23 · 16-01-2008 09:22PM

What's the deal with using your mobile while over there

I thought that your phone had to be Quad-Band but my Dad was told by O2 today that his phone would work while over there. I am quite sure his phone is just Tri-Band

Anywhere where I can see if a phone is Quad-Band

Thanks

Pythia · 16-01-2008 09:41PM

Your phone just needs to be tri band.

Also, Meteor told us we'd need to register a credit card and pay e60 to be able to use our phone in America. We didn't bother and it worked fine!

seamus · 16-01-2008 10:28PM

Phone only needs to be triband. I'm Voda pay monthly and my fiance is RTG. I had no problems with calls or texts but she couldn't ring US numbers and couldn't text Irish or US numbers. She could text UK numbers though, which was odd.

sharkDawg · 16-01-2008 11:22PM

Tri band phones will work but you will have a better signal with a quad band, quad band will pick up both US frequency bands whereas tri band can just pick up the one.

MrJoeSoap · 16-01-2008 11:25PM

I'm tri-band with Vodafone and found the signal in some places to be quite poor. My phone kept switching between AT&T and T-Mobile and I could only send messages with the former.

dublad23 · 18-01-2008 01:07AM

Where abouts is Abercrombie and Fitch in New York??

Do us Irish get discount

Femelade · 18-01-2008 10:10AM

720 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10019

When i was there before christrmas, there was a long queue going in there, and only a few were let in at a time, so i didnt bother going in , it was freezing!

NYC Megathread Archive 1 (to 13/03/08)

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