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and trains on the other side will go in the opposite direction. If you descended a long way or had to navigate a spiraling stairwell, you may arrive on the platform somewhat disoriented. Check the signage to determine the correct direction for your travel. If the signs don’t help, simply ask another waiting passenger.
If there are several trains that stop at both your departure and destination stations, you can take your choice. If you are going a relatively short distance (30 blocks or less), go ahead and hop on the first train that comes along. If it’s a “local,” it will make a lot of stops, but you will still probably arrive sooner than if you had waited for an express.
When the train comes into the station, it will be well marked. The A-Circle train on the Eighth Avenue Blue Line, for example, will sport big blue circles with the letter A inside. The conductor usually rides in the middle of the train and will usually stick his head out the window when the train stops. If you are really confused, ask him if the train goes to your destination station. If you have mistakenly boarded the right train in the wrong direction, wait until the train stops at one of the larger stations, where internal passages allow you to cross over to the opposite platform without leaving the station and having to pay to reenter.
You’ve probably seen film footage of people crowding onto and battling off subways. Although this does sometimes occur at the height of rush hour in the larger stations, usually things are much more civil. When the train stops, approach the door and wait for it to open. Allow passengers getting off to disembark, then step into the car. The conductor observes the loading process, so unless you’re trying to leap on or off at the last second (not recommended), you shouldn’t have to worry about getting caught in a closing door.
If you are still a little confused about which direction you’re headed, look for the system map on the wall of the car. Check the next scheduled stop for the direction you wish to travel. When the train pulls in, verify by the signs on the platform that you are traveling in the right direction, and if necessary get off and cross over. Newer trains have electronic signs inside the car, telling you which station is next.
BUSES
I N A D D I T I O N TO B E I N G S U B J E C T TO A L L T H E P RO B L E M S that
afflict Manhattan surface traffic, buses are slow, make innumerable stops, and have difficulty maneuvering. Even so, there are several good reasons to use public bus service. After 11 p.m., buses are safer than walking if you don’t want to spring for a cab. Though subways excel in north– south, uptown–downtown service, there is less crosstown (east–west) subway service than one would hope (especially because no subways
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cross beneath Central Park). Buses fill this pub- unofficial T I P lic transportation gap, running a good number
of crosstown routes. You can get a vague idea of the bus’s destination by making a note of the letter or letters that precede the route number: M for Manhattan, Q for Queens, B for Brooklyn, and Bx for the Bronx. That’s “up,” remember? Finally, of course, buses are inexpensive to ride, especially with the MetroCard, which allows bus-to-bus, bus-to-subway, and subway-to-bus transfers. Maps of Manhattan bus routes can be found in the front of the NYNEX Manhat-
tan Yellow Pages book. MTA buses cost $2.25 and require either exact change or a MetroCard (and express buses take MetroCard only). For more information, check out mta.nyc.ny.us.
WALKING
N E W YO R K I S A G R E AT TOW N F O R WA L K I N G . Like most cities, it
has neighborhoods that are not ideally suited for an evening stroll, but these are easily avoided. If you observe a few precautions and exercise some common sense, you will find the sidewalks of New York not only interesting and exhilarating but also quite hospitable.
The blocks between the (usually numbered) east–west streets are quite short. Thus, walking south (toward Downtown) on Seventh Avenue, most folks will be able to cover the blocks from 59th Street to 49th Street in about 12 minutes, even assuming a wait for traffic at several intersections. Crossing town from east to west (or vice versa), the blocks are much longer. A walk from First Avenue to Tenth Avenue along 42nd Street is a real hike, requiring more than 30 minutes for most people. If you want to try a restaurant eight blocks away, and the address is north or south of where you are, you won’t even need a cab. If the restaurant is eight blocks away across town (east–west), take the subway or hail a taxi.
If you become disoriented during a walk, proceed to the nearest street corner and see what the street is (as opposed to an avenue). Then walk one additional short block in either direction. If the next cross street is higher in number, you are heading north (uptown). East will be to your right, and west to your left. If the next cross street is lower in number, then you are walking south. East will be to your left, and west to your right.
Or you can go by the traffic: Fifth and Lexington avenues are oneway streets going south; Madison and Third go north; Park Avenue is two-way. Seventh and Broadway go south; Eighth goes north until it
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becomes Central Park West, when it is two-way (but, of course, you can see the park from there anyway), and so on.
Because there is no better or more direct way to experience New York than to explore it on foot, we recommend that you do as much hoofing as your time and stamina permit. To help you organize your walking, we include several walking tours (guided and self-guided) in Part Six, Sightseeing, Tours, and Attractions in Depth.
THINGS the LOCALS
Already KNOW
T I P P I N G
N E W YO R K ’ S U N F R I E N D LY R E P U TAT I O N is highly exaggerated, but
the city requires a little “friendliness” on your part too. This is a society accustomed to—one might almost say built on—the tipping system, and you should be prepared right from the start. Cabbies generally expect 15% to 20% of the fare as a tip, and you should certainly be generous if traffic is as bad as it generally is. If your hotel doorman gets you the cab, it’s customary, though still optional, to slip him a dollar bill (besides, you don’t want to have to wait next time, do you?). However, if you pick up the cab from one of the managed taxi stands
unofficial T I P |
at the train stations or airports, do not tip the |
traffic conductor. |
|
If you are staying several |
Once at the hotel, expect to slip the bell- |
days in the same hotel |
hop a dollar per suitcase ($2 if it’s really heavy |
room, leave cash for the |
or clumsy); when you check out, leave behind |
day and evening maids sep- |
at least $2 a day for the maids, $3 if the room |
arately, as the night shift |
has a second visit for turndown service or |
is usually shorted when it |
extra care. Tipping the concierge is a ques- |
comes to tips. |
tion of letting the reward fit the service: if she |
|
merely makes dinner reservations, a warm |
thank you may suffice, but if she finagles them in the hottest restaurant in town, or gets opening-night tickets to a Broadway blockbuster, go for the 20% rule.
Bartenders typically get a dollar a drink for a simple cocktail, but the elaborate ones now common—and especially the “signature” creations at the trendier bars, which may involve infusions, muddlings, or fancy garnish—get $2 or $3. (Look around: if you notice the regulars leaving larger tips, follow suit, and service or portions are likely to be improved.) Waiters generally get 15% to 20%, although you should look to see whether an automatic gratuity has been built into the total. If you check your coats, tip the attendant $1 per wrap when you pick them up, and
T H I N G S T H E L O C A L S A L R E A D Y K N O W 1 2 7
perhaps another dollar for large umbrellas or briefcases. Legends to the contrary, it is rare that slipping the maître d’ a bribe will do you much good, and it makes you look like a rube unless some actual rearrangement has been necessary. If you have summoned the sommelier to consult on the wine choice, you should leave him something in the range of 10% of the cost of the bottle. (Remember to check the bill; give the sommelier his tip, and then figure the waiter’s on the remaining cost.)
Any personal services you arrange, such as a massage, hairstyling, a manicure, or the like, also require a tip of about 20%. And if you get a shoeshine—an underestimated pleasure, incidentally—you should surely throw in a similar bonus.
J A Y W A L K I N G
Y E S , I T ’ S I L L E G A L , and no, we’re not actually encouraging it, but the fact is, New Yorkers are rarely in the mood to wait for the traffic signals to change. Even the police officers assigned to guard traffic intersections are accustomed to the problem, usually whistling or yelling only to those who are truly oblivious to their danger.
If you wish to do as the locals do, here is some advice. The biggest rule, if it can be called that, is not to interfere with the flow of traffic; if your stepping into the road will cause the oncoming taxi to have to brake or swerve, you are doubly in the wrong. (And remember, large commercial vehicles take longer to slow than cars.) If the way is clear, or if the light is already turning yellow—although only if the oncoming traffic is some ways away—you are acceptably transgressing. If traffic has become backed up in the intersection, which is not uncommon, you may walk between the vehicles, but keep at least one eye on the drivers, who may be frustrated and concentrating only on getting on.
Don’t step off the curb just become someone else does. Talking on cell phones tends to distract pedestrians, and there is a certain hypnotic effect that walking many blocks seems to induce even in experienced commuters. Also, there are those who still think their time is more important than anyone else’s and who will disrupt the rhythm of the traffic, but that’s seriously not recommended.
And if you are crossing the street in the middle of a block, do look both ways, even if it seems to be a one-way street: Manhattan has a lot of active parking lots and enclosed but active driveways. In addition, double-parked delivery trucks, utility trucks, police cars, etc., might be pulling out or backing up, and not all have those nice, handy-dandy beep alerts.
R A D I O A N D T E L E V I S I O N S T A T I O N S
N E W YO R K H A S A T H O U S A N D R A D I O S TAT I O N S —well, maybe it
just sounds that way, getting in and out of taxis and shopping malls—
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but among the most useful for out-of-towners are National Public Radio’s flagship WNYC (AM 820 and FM 93.9); sports WFAN (AM 660); and the all-news WCBS (AM 880). For those runners who haven’t yet succumbed to the MP3 craze (or who would rather lose a cheap radio), the music choices include classical WQXR (FM 105.9), rock and adult contemporary WXPK (FM 107.1), adult-contemporary WPLJ (FM 95.5); classic-rock WAXQ (FM 104.3), and WQHT (FM 97.1), which claims to be the biggest hip-hop and R&B station in the country.
Most hotels have cable TV, and if you’re lucky, the list of stations in your room will more or less correspond to what you actually get. The major networks are easy to find, however: CBS on Channel 2, NBC on Channel 4, Fox on 5, ABC on 7, and PBS on 13.
P U B L I C A C C O M M O D A T I O N S
T H E U N O F F I C I A L G U I D E S A R E S TA RT I N G TO G E T a reputation for
worrying about restrooms or, rather, about your being able to find them. This is a, uh, tribute to the relatively short staying power of our founder, Bob Sehlinger, and someday we’ll stop teasing him about it. But he has a good point; being uncomfortable doesn’t help you enjoy a walking tour or a museum. And especially in summer, when New York can be so hot, it’s tempting to drink a lot. (When on a vacation is it not tempting to drink a lot?) There are plenty of restrooms in the transportation terminals, such as Grand Central and Penn Station, which are much cleaner and safer than they used to be; the large theaters (though most lobbies will be inaccessible during the day) and museums have them, too, but the lines can be rather long.
In Central Park, look for the restrooms near the Delacorte Theater at 79th Street. There are also public facilities behind the
Public Library in Bryant Park on Sixth Avenue and 42nd Street. In fact, the ones in Bryant Park were saluted by the Web site RestroomRatings
.com as “the best truly public restroom anywhere.” (The restrooms in Washington Square Park also get high ratings for cleanliness, although no points for privacy.) In Herald Square, where a brief flirtation with French automated self-cleaning kiosks was quietly abandoned, the renovated and now manually cleaned restrooms are now among the city’s most, um, visited.
Castle Clinton in Battery Park is nice and not usually crowded. The nearby Robert Wagner Park facility is even better. Big tourist centers such as Chelsea Piers, department stores, and malls are good bets, though the quality varies with the age and general atmosphere (in the Manhattan Mall, check the seventh floor). The large hotel lobbies have restrooms, of course, although you should take advantage of them only in an emergency and when you are reasonably well dressed.
Finally, there are very few stretches in New York that don’t have at least one bar or restaurant. If you are really in a pinch for a restroom, go to the bar and at least order a soda before you hit the john.